Abandonment Time

        Communion experience. The perfect time to rest and abandon myself completely in Christ. 

Dead Serious About Jesus

        I am dead serious about accepting and obeying Jesus, for I am dead serious that I shall die and for all eternity be with God or cut off from him. 

Feel the Same Sorrows

        If we do love Jesus and want to remain in him, we must want to know and feel his sorrows. By experiencing the same sorrows, we console the Lord. Besides, he could use whatever merit we have acquired to benefit other souls. What an opportunity to be drawn to even closer union with him! 

*To Know God Firsthand

        I know that when you are with God totally, he does all the hard work for you. This is how you get transformed by him. The same goes with knowing him. People search for all the information about Christ in order to find out if he is the real God, and they can never be certain. On the other hand, if you simply believe that he is divine and want to know him, then he does the work and you come to know firsthand that he is indeed real, more real than anything else you know. 

Final Point

        There is a final point in life for us to reach. You are there when you completely believe in and rely upon the Lord. Being in union with God will do it. Once you are there, you are fully ready to go to him. Happy is the one who are free to leave this world to enter eternal freedom!

Do We Do What Matters to God?

        I attended Vigil Mass today. In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. He said, "God said to the rich man, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God." Jesus wants us to store up treasures in heaven. I think we all know when we do something whether we are becoming rich in what matters to God. If not, then we'll have wasted our time on earth.

Connecting With Jesus

        If you already know Jesus, how is your connection with him? A loose one is not much good, for he deserves better. The firmer your connection, the more you get out of it. To get your money's worth, be one with him.

Our Only Concern

        God alone is holy and perfect. We can be near-holy with God's help, but never completely holy. We can be saints, but human saints are never perfect. All we need to be concerned about is to love God as much as possible through surrendering ourselves to him. 

God's Solid Promise

        Know Jesus and listen to him alone; never be swayed by the knowledge and opinions of the world. And you will be richly rewarded beyond all your expectations at the end.

Saint or Not

        If you truly want to be a saint for the sake of God, then you are a saint already. But if you want to be a saint for the Church to canonize you and declare that you are a saint, you are not a saint.

Cornered by Jesus

        Today is the Memorial of St. Martha. In the Gospel reading from John 11, Jesus told Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world." How would you have answered? You can answer no, but only if you are convinced that what Jesus had proclaimed here and everything else he did, including his own Resurrection, were all nonsense ~ there's just no way around it.

Urgent Call to Prayer

        The world is causing Christ great sorrows. As Christians, we must share his sorrows. Since there is always hope in the Lord, my call to you is to double your effort in praying for the world.

God's Mercy Shines

        Came across this Journey Home episode on EWTN, the coming-home story of Fr. Donald Calloway. If you have an hour's time, you may enjoy watching it, for his conversion was quite dramatic.
   

Softening the Heart

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13.47-53, Jesus again said to his disciples that at the end of age, the angels would go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace ... ~ heaven and hell are real! It is truly amazing that humans have hardened their hearts to the point that they no longer look beyond this life. A heart remains blind and deaf until it has turned to God. A beautiful heart is one that's completely pliable for God to purify, mold, and shape. Union with God is all about giving your heart to God, letting the Lord transform it as he wishes.

God-Given Conscience

        If there are no good and evil, we wouldn't need a conscience. The fact that we do possessive one proves that good and evil exist. Conscience is God-given.

God Heals

        Communion experience. I felt great love for God because he could heal my soul and make me whole.

*To Know God Perfectly

        Attain union with God with a humble heart and you will know God perfectly.

Why We Don't Find God

        God loves us. He wants us to turn away from sin and return to him to live forever. The psalmists sing so many good, beautiful things about God. They are all true, yet we do not turn to God. That's because our hearts lack humility. The greatest obstacle to finding God is not God, not Satan, but our own ego. So God remains unknown and we remain in darkness. 

Looking the Wrong Way

        Currently, people show great interest in learning about their ancestors, their genealogy, where they came from . . . much more than where they'll go after death. In general, those who love to look back will not be ready for the future. The past is gone, let it go ~ just don't miss the future.

Time to Wake Up

        Lately, I've been posting about God and Satan, heaven and hell, good and evil. On this Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from Matthew 13 we heard Jesus mention the children of the Kingdom and the children of the Evil One, the Devil, and that at the end of age, all who cause others to sin and all evildoers will be thrown into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth, and the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. This confirms what I have blogged. Why do we still prefer to remain in darkness and not face the inevitable that's going to come? It's as if we were living in a stupor. How sad and stupid!

*Blunt Truth to Face

        There is God and there is Satan. We are caught between them and must make a choice to be with one or the other ~ I am presenting this truth bluntly here. If you want to be with God, you must choose him during your lifetime. I don't think there are many who would deliberately choose Satan, but putting off making the decision is risking being snatched up by Satan. 

On the Right Path

        Communion experience. The sweet love of God intensified my longing for him. Thirsting for finding the truth had finally lead me to thirsting for the truth itself ~ I knew I was on the right path.

*We Reap What We Sow

        Everyone has his or her own spiritual journey. The Lord knows all about us, so he leads us according to how we respond to him. In Matthew 13 (& 25), Jesus said, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." The perfect journey is to let the Holy Spirit lead you every step of the way. With God in command, the journey becomes a joy. Anyone who has not are those who go their own way. The Lord knows exactly what to give or take away from us. 

More than Being a Father

        Today's Communion antiphon: They drink the chalice of the Lord, and became the friends of God. To my knowledge, there is not another religion telling you that God loves to raise us to the level for us to become his friends.

Refreshing Feeling

        It is most refreshing to know that you remain holy in the world for the sake of the Lord God.

Rejoice for Good Reason

        Today is the Feast of St. James, Apostle. The entrance antiphon from Matthew 4: As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending the nets and he called them. When you hear the Lord calling you, rejoice, for your name is written in heaven!

Best Possbile Choice

        God loves us and wants us to dwell with him in heaven forever. Therefore, if you choose to follow and belong to Jesus, who has promised to be with his disciples always, it has to be the best choice you can ever possibly make in this life ~ to be with him.

*Our Most Urgent Need

        To have God take away our sins so that we might not perish.

*Two Watershed Moments

        There are two important moments in one's spiritual journey. The first moment is when you reconcile yourself to God. The next one is when you surrender yourself to him completely. By the grace of God, many reach the first moment and become Christians. Reaching the second moment is not easy, for it involves truly letting God be your Lord. But the reward for those who have reached it is great, for they now have the easiest life, receiving full support from God in all things. 

Settling in God Is...

seeking his will and following his directions in all things. God's will becomes clear when you remove yourself completely from the picture.

Knowing the Truth

        The reason one experiences freedom, peace, and joy when in union with God is that he knows he already has the truth and his soul is at rest. When you know God, doubts and questions no longer exist, for everything is clear.

*Unavoidable Decision

        All of us who have heard enough about Jesus face the challenge whether to accept him as our Lord and Savior or not. There is no escape from this, for Jesus says in John 14.6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Putting aside your decision is tantamount to rejecting him.

Satan's Best Friend

        As long as you remain humble, you can forget about Satan. But if you have an ego, he notices it right away and you become his target.        

Amazing God

        Today, the Incarnation of Jesus struck me as something quite stunning, that God the Son should descent into the world, assuming human form. This may be familiar news, but the fact that he came down to die for us to save us from sin is a big surprise and should remain fresh in our mind. All I can say is that our Lord is truly amazing. As a result, following him also becomes an exciting journey. 

To Know God is Real

        How do you know that God is real? Ask him to change you, to become holy. Then it happens and you know.

Our Business

        Communion time thoughts. Mary Magdalene was a great sinner, and because of her love for Jesus, she was transformed into a saint. Our business as sinners is to let God transforms us also into saints, not to continue living selfishly for ourselves if we want to be with God for all eternity.

Perfect Example

        Jesus, besides coming into the world to die for us, he also came to show us how to live and love others. He is our perfect example.

Cleansing Joy

        I feel extra clean today because I experienced great joy at Mass and the joy from the Holy Spirit always cleanses one's heart.

Carried by God

        Today's Communion antiphon from 2 Corinthians 5: The love of God impels us, so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but him who died for them and was raised. So it's "Jesus died for us and we now live for him." This is completely logical and fair. With God helping us to live, we practically get the whole ride free.

Most Endearing Knowledge

        Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel reading from John 20, the Risen Lord, appearing to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb, said to her, "I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" It's most endearing, assuring, and such a joy to know that we and Jesus share the same Father and the same God. Heaven is our home-to-be!

*Knowing Jesus

        We can believe that Jesus was historically a real person through reading about him. Applying logic and reasoning, we may even believe that he is truly divine. But we still don't bother to know him, and we won't know him until we ask God to make us see, hear, and understand. We can never completely know someone in the distant past, but let me witness to you that this is not the case with Jesus. If you sincerely seek him, he will reveal himself to you for you to know him more than anyone else on earth. The fact that time is no barrier to him further confirms that he is God. There is no relationship more perfect and satisfying than knowing the one who created you and knows you the best.

Defining Moment

        Communion experience. If the host I had received was just symbolically the body of Christ, then receiving it was nothing more than contemplating the Lord. Since the Holy Eucharist was truly the body and blood of Christ, receiving it became a defining moment, the moment at which God and I were united both physically and spiritually.

Perfect State of Existence

        Union with God is the perfect state of existence. In that state, you abandon yourself completely to God with the Holy Spirit filling you to the full. You are now carefree, joyfully communing with, serving, and loving the Lord. 

Free Will the Key

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus told his disciples that knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven had been granted to them, but not to the crowd, and that he spoke to them in parables because, quoting Isaiah the prophet, they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Is there a mystery here? Predestination? Can the Lord make us see, listen, and understand? I believe that our free will plays a big part. If we choose to be interested in the Kingdom of heaven, then God will reveal its mysteries to us. There is always hope for anyone who turns to God. 

Only Perfect Friend

        We are always interested in knowing more about well-known personalities. If it happens to be someone of the past, we make conjectures about him or her. I thought of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Here's someone who came 2,000 years ago. While I have not understood any other human being completely, I have come to know him intimately as my most trusted friend ~ no ambiguity here. Not only does he know all about me, he reveals himself to me constantly to bring me closer to him. God is absolutely personal, the only perfect friend you can have and need.

No Waiting

        Communion experience. About 4 dozens of parishioners were at morning Mass today, so the lines to receive Holy Communion were not so short. The thought came to me that when you enter heaven, there will be no lines to delay you, which suits me fine.  

The Little Way

        Be holy in every little way ~ this is the key to holiness. Don't miss a single opportunity to show the love you have for Christ. It's doing the thing, not how big or impressive that thing is, that counts. This is the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux. If you are not familiar with it, read her autobiography The Story of a Soul. All her writings had drawn me closer to Christ in the past. 

Beautiful Partnership

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus told the crowds around him the parable the sower. A sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and nothing grew nor lived. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. When we are receptive to what the Lord wants us to do, we are the rich soil, and great things can be accomplished through us for his glory.

*Heaven and Hell Are Real

        If reward and punishment for us are only temporary after death, there would be no reason for us to stop sinning or to be holy. Only if heaven and hell are real can justice be fully served in the end.

Indiscriminate Loving

        Since God loves all of us, his children, we must also love all others, our brothers and sisters, beyond our own immediate family.