The More . . .

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus in his native place was not able to perform any might deed because of the lack of faith among his own kin. So we can say that

        The more we have faith, the more we shall see God performing mighty deeds.

        It's also true that

        The more we rely upon God, the more we become strong.

        The more we surrender to God, the more we become free.

        The more we rejoice in God, the more we receive joy from him.

        The more we rest in God, the more we experience peace. 
        The more we praise God, the more he blesses us.

        The more we hate sin, the more God purifies us.

        The more we suffer for God, the more he comforts us.

        The more we forgive others, the more God forgives us.

What's Amazing

        The fact that Jesus never ceases to amaze me as our God, our brother, and our servant. I can not get over it.       

All About Giving

        Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. God being the creator can only give, for all things come from him. He has given his only begotten Son for the sake of our salvation. And God the Son has given us his own mother to be our mother. The Son is also preparing a place in his Father's house so that we may be where he is. Such giving, such generosity, and such love! This is the big difference between God and us, for we are good takers. We love to receive anything that gratifies us. Until we are ready to give as God, we are not free. The truth is that there is nothing we can consider to be ours, for all things, ourselves included, belong to God. One greatest joy is actually the giving of ourselves back to God.

How Long Should We Live?

        As long as God needs us to serve him in this world.     

Making a Good Confession

        Here is a good talk by Fr. Adam Skwarczynski, a Polish priest. I recommend that you listen to his wise words on making a good confession (38:50 – 45:24). Going through the motion and hearing the priest absolve you at the end does not necessarily mean that God has forgiven you. 

        By the way, Fr. Adam says in this video that the Blessed Mother told him not only to ask God for much, but to ask God for everything. If you are praying for a few loved ones you know, God also wants you to pray for the billions whom you do not know. That is, never limit what you ask for!

Being Serious (Joyfully)

        Communion experience. Jesus made me sense the seriousness of receiving his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. In fact, we must be serious about everything the Lord has said, about doing his will, about how we should serve him . . . about every aspect of our relationship with him. Of course, being serious is not to be without joy. In fact, taking the Lord seriously itself is a source of joy. 

Offer Your Heart First

        We are supposed to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, yet we talk about ourselves most of the time. Shouldn't we at least think about him from time to time? No, we should instead think and talk about God at all times. How would that be possible? Answer: Offer your heart to God and it will happen.

Captured to Be Free

        Communion experience. I wanted Jesus to take complete hold of me because I knew that's how I could become free.

Primary Christian Goal

        We should never let any experience we encounter within or without the church, good or bad, pleasant or otherwise, make us ever forget that our primary goal is to get to know God, to know Christ, and to know the Holy Spirit. That's why seeking union with God must be our primary goal.

Small Act, Big Payoff

        Compared to eternity, our life span is so brief as to be practically nonexistent. We only need to believe in God, specifically the God of Christ, for such a short duration to gain eternal life!

Most Natural Return

        From Reading 1 from Jeremiah 1 at Mass, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you . . . ." I see clearly that it's most natural for us to return to our Father.

Like Father, Like Son

        When I saw how much my second son loved his newborn daughter, I realized God did create us in his image and we "learned" to love our children as he loves us.

How to Be Hopeful

        Appreciate God's mercy and you'll always be hopeful.

Calming the Storm in Our Heart

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 4 at Mass, we heard the calming of a storm at sea. Jesus was asleep in the stern of a boat with his disciples. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. Can Jesus also calm the storm in our heart? Of course, he can ~ but with one catch: possessing the free will, we must give him the OK first.

Humanity Under Siege

        Today's sad news is that more people starved to death in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya. The UN says some 400,000 people are trapped and in need of emergency assistance in 15 locations in Syria due to sieges imposed by the Syrian government-led coalition as well as by opposition groups. I recall when Jesus in his days saw some crowds, troubled and abandoned, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. Today he must feel the same about these besieged children of his. The least we could do is to pray hard for them and live as holy a life as possible.

Know Our limits

        Scientists try to figure out how our universe came about. If we exclude God, we do not even know how we first came about. So we have a bunch of unknowns trying to figure out other unknowns ~ it can't be any easy task. If we include God, then we realize that at best we are merely observers discovering how existing things work and that there is but one all-knowing creator, our God.  

Aching Heart

        Even after we've found God or attained union with him, the yearning for him continues. I believe it's because we are still material, living in a physical world, while God is Spirit (John 4.24). And I believe that after we shed our body, we'll be able to fully enjoy God without an aching heart.

Up to Us

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. Once this smallest of all the seeds on the earth is sown in the ground, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade. How we respond to the word God sows in us determines whether we fulfill his kingdom or not. We all have the intellect or common sense needed for receiving his word, so it boils down to whether our heart is willing or not.

Amazing Truth

        In Christianity, we believe that God came down to earth, sacrificed himself on the cross so that we may have everlasting life with him in heaven. This is either the most incredible truth or just a fairy tale. Since all fairy tales are imagined and Christ is historically real, we are left with the most amazing truth!

Best Father

        My sons have grown up, but I still remember that when they still lived with me, I instinctively protected them from all harm and always wanted them to receive the best in life. If this is true with a finite, sinful mortal like me, imagine how much more our heavenly Father would protect us and give us the very best!

Powerful Love

        It's easy to get upset when things don't work out right for us, and life is full of such instances. Sometimes we tend to assume that someone intends to screw us up when it's not the case. The point is that we experience a lot of negative emotions in life. When I feel something disturbing my inner peace coming on, I just turn to Christ and immerse myself in his love ~ and I find this love so beautiful and powerful that nothing else matters and all my negative emotions just dissolve into nothingness.                

Vain Living

        "All is vanity except to love God and serve God alone" (Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ). To live not doing God's will is to live in vain (the thought came to me this morning).

Simple Progression

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." Jesus wants to bring us back to God our Father. All we need to do is the will of God. The Holy Eucharist is the perfect sacramental vehicle for accomplishing this goal. So it's a very simple progression: Holy Eucharist > Obedience to God > Back to God.

The True Jesus

        Today is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle. Before his conversion, Paul zealously persecuted followers of Jesus. Here in Reading 1 from Acts 22, Paul tells how Jesus first called him: "On that journey [to Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment followers of Jesus] as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.'" It strikes me that Jesus was gentle and polite in speaking to one of his then worst enemies and humbly referred to himself as "Jesus the Nazorean" rather than "your Lord and God." This should put all of us at ease in approaching the Lord who spoke the truth when he said "I am meek and humble of heart" (Matthew 11).

Dealing With God

        God knows everything about you and can detect the minutest insincerity in you. Examine your conscience to see how much you conceal from him and change. Stop being foolish, thinking knowingly or unknowingly that he does not know or care. 

Our Reference

        How are we doing? Good? Bad? It all depends upon what reference we use. Everything is relative. We may think that we are making good spiritual progress, but before the holy Lord, we are all wretched sinners. That's one big reason we should remain humble and not judge anyone. Let God be our reference and we won't go astray.

*Power of God's Holiness

        Communion experience. The holiness of God is awesome and most powerful. No sin can exist where his holiness reigns. Therefore, go humbly before the Lord to let his holiness obliterate all your sins so that you may be clean again. How beautiful it is to bask in God's holiness to remain pure!

Loving Jesus

        If you love Jesus, you would love his words, his teachings, the joy and consolation as well as the gifts and tests that he gives you, to hear his voice, to share his suffering, to rejoice in his glory . . . everything about him and from him.

God Waiting

        God is ready to give you all you need to get you to heaven ~ aren't you going to respond?

Most Beautiful Life

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 4 at Mass, we heard that Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

This event had to be as astounding as any of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. In fact, Jesus' whole life is astounding act after astounding act until even after his death, revealing fully to us the love of God for us. His life on earth had to be the most beautiful, amazing, and awe-inspiring life of all.  

Believing in Jesus

        In John 20, we read that after Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, he believed and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." If I do not believe, then I do not believe that Thomas actually saw Jesus. If I do believe, then, of course, there is no need for me to see Jesus. What happened to Thomas and what Jesus said to him help me believe in the unseen Lord with my whole heart.

Joy of Following Christ

        Self-importance imposes a big burden upon us. When we follow Christ as Lord and Savior, we lose our self-importance and joy ensues.        

Living Right

        When you follow Christ, you will never feel inferior nor superior to anyone, as you know that God loves everyone. In other words, you feel just right. And you are free to do whatever you want to do, which is pleasing God (and yourself). Then you receive the peace in your heart from the Lord and can't help but love him even more. It's a virtuous cycle.       

Most Horrible Destruction

        Not the destruction of our health, mind, the economy, all our physical assets, the entire planet . . . but the destruction of one single human soul. 

First Awareness

        If we are not aware that we are sinners living in a sinful world, we won't find God!

On Suffering

        Both we and God suffer because of sin. We suffer because sin robs us of peace, while God suffers because he loves us and wants us to be happy. It is through suffering that we seek and find God, and through suffering that God has redeemed us. In suffering, we and God become one. Therefore, do not despise suffering.

Abortion Continued

        Mother Teresa had said, "Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion." Indeed, if we do not respect life of the unborn, all the talks about protecting our citizens and stopping violence sound hollow and accusing other nations of violating human rights only bares our own hypocrisy. In Matthew 7, Jesus said, "For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." It's high time that we weep for ourselves.

Our Holocaust

        Today January 22 is Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The U.S. Supreme Court played God 43 years ago on this day by legalizing abortion. The lives of nearly 60 million unborn children have been terminated since that infamous decision. If this is not a holocaust, what is? It seems that we have severed our Christian roots and betrayed the Lord. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, ". . . woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born" (Matthew 26). The Communion verse at Mass, Psalm 36.10, reads: With you, O Lord, is the fountain of life, and in your light, we see light. I am most grateful that God has given me life, salvation, and the judgment that's going to come.  

Relating to God

        Communion time thoughts. To get the maximum benefit out of receiving the Lord, our relationship with him must be thorough, complete, total, and absolute. It must be all or nothing.

God's Omnipresence

        God is not just present during the Eucharistic consecration of the bread and wine, he is present at all times everywhere, even if we are not aware. Whether you are resting at home, out driving, doing whatever else, or even going through the dark night, God is there with you. His presence is absolute, regardless of how we feel or believe. He is always "on duty," ready to listen to us for whatever reason.

Obedience to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus warned those whose diseases he had cured and others whom he had delivered from unclean spirits sternly not to make him known. In the Gospels we read that in other cases, those who were healed spread their happy news quickly despite warming from Jesus. I do believe that we should always obey unquestionably the Lord's every command, even if we do not understand it. Obedience to God must be absolute, then we'll have inner peace, for inner turmoil is the result of rebellion against God. 

Blind to Truth

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, it's the sabbath and the Pharisees saw Jesus cure a man with a withered hand. Instead of being amazed at the miraculous restoration, they took offense at his healing the man on the sabbath, went out and took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death. The Pharisees were so focused upon their own power and position and became close-minded to the truth. Today's nonbelievers are no different. They are so focused upon living the material life that turn blind and deaf to the extraordinary good news of Jesus.

Know What You Do

        The sad news on BBC today: Satellite images confirm that the 1,400-year-old Christian monastery near Mosul in Iraq, the oldest, has been destroyed by the jihadist group Islamic State. Then in sharp contrast, this touching story also on BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35201822, shows that there is still goodness in man. Jesus prayed for those who crucified him: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Clearly, Jesus sees the goodness in us and that we turn bad when we are misguided. Stick with Jesus to avoid ever being led astray.

Fighting Satan

        When Satan is allowed to attack you, God is putting you through the test. The Evil One always tempts you into believing what you are doing is justifiable, even though you know deep down in your heart that it's wrong. Loss of peace is a strong sign that you've been trapped. Praying hard for deliverance and talking to someone spiritually wise can be most helpful. Know that once you pull through, you'd be brought closer to God, just as after a storm dies down, the sky turns blue again.

Peace in Jesus

        The best known Psalm has to be Psalm 23. It portraits a scene of extraordinary repose. The other day I saw most vividly myself and Jesus together in a green pasture. On the grass, I was lying facedown with the Lord sitting next to my front right, his right hand supporting his leaning position. I felt great peace, knowing that he is always with me, taking care of all things for me.

Why I Welcome Jesus

        Today's Communion verse, Psalm 23.5, at Mass: You have prepared a table before me, and how precious is the chalice that quenches my thirst. Jesus not only quenches my thirst, he also fills the heart with joy that bubbles forth like water from a spring.

Why I Love Jesus

        I love Jesus because he renews us, giving us hope, new life; and we are reborn in the Holy Spirit. This is for everyone ~ never late as long as you are still alive in this world. He is forever refreshing as the spring water. He is pure joy and, don't forget, also our door to heaven.

Joy in God

        Communion experience. Who am I that the Lord should choose, call to his supper, and enter himself? I could only rejoice.

Normalizing Relationship With God

        Really, God loves us, delights in us, and yearns to be one with us. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the subsequent great saints throughout the generations have made this amply clear. So we ought to reciprocate his love, delight in him, and seek union with him. As I have said, God is to be enjoyed, not feared, unless, of course, you choose to hide from him to remain in darkness for whatever reason.

Sacrifice and Grace

        The annual March for Life is coming up, to be held in various cities across the nation. I saw one priest who is involved with the March being interviewed on TV. He was asked if he was concerned about bad winter weather possibly dampening the march. He said in fact that he was hoping there would be snow or rain because the greater the sacrifice, the greater the grace. I did not catch his name but will always remember what he'd said.