In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, we heard four of Jesus' Beatitudes. They are (1) Blessed are you who are poor ..., (2) Blessed are you who are now hungry ..., (3) Blesses are you who are now weeping ..., (4) Blessed are you when people hate you ... on account of the Son of Man. Let's remember that being poor, hungry, mournful, or persecuted in this life is nothing compared to being separated from God for all eternity! In fact, they are blessings! What we must not ever let happen to us is losing our God forever.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Rejoice and Be Glad!
Today's Gospel Acclamation taken from Jesus' Sermon on the Plain: Rejoice and be glad: your reward will be great in heaven. If you know that you have been chosen by the Father, that you hear the voice of Jesus your shepherd and follow him, and that the Holy Spirit is guiding you on your journey back to God, why shouldn't you rejoice and be glad in advance of receiving your reward in heaven? You really should be the happiest person(s) in the whole world. Let this joy overcome any obstacles you encounter along the way. Keep loving God and nothing will be able to stop you from winning your glory!
Joy in Christ Video
I was going through the videos on the recommended list displayed in the right margin of my blog to see if they were still running on YouTube. The video Infectious Joy in Christ was posted almost 6 years ago. I watched it again and was moved to tears of joy. In case you haven't seen it yet, you may enjoy watching it now. It's just under 6 minutes.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Recognizing Obedience
Communion experience. I had my own agenda, but I must let God have the final say. Again, obedience.
Obedience to God
From today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, we heard that Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. I am certain he did not pray to have God change his will, for he is God. As a human being, he must have prayed for others and himself to carry out the Father's will. This is a great example for all of us to follow ~ it's obedience to God foremost and only.
Back to Trusting in God
The many ungodly things happening around the world form a heavy burden on my heart. Then I realize that I myself am passing and definitely shall not see all these things turn around in my lifetime. I should care about what God wishes, not what I wish to see happen. It's back to trusting in God, something we must not forget.
Monday, September 5, 2016
Following Christ in Peace
Communion experience. I just let Christ lead me on, so that I would live without anxieties.
Avoid the Shock
Early this morning after midnight, I had a scary dream. I no longer remember the details, but the horrific shock I experienced in that dream has stayed with me. This shock brings to mind what we could experience after we die when we face the Lord. If we are judged not fit to enter heaven, the shock would be so great and terrifying beyond words! My advice is to be sure that won't happen to you at all costs. The time to believe in Christ and love and serve the Lord is now.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Union With God Means ...
(1) God dwells in you, (2) you dwell in him, (3) you are completely open to him in every way and at all times, (4) both you and God share the same joys and sorrows, (5) his will becomes your will, (6) you seek and follow only his ways and thoughts (joyfully). Now you belong to God and are free in the world with its snares and traps; ready to be united with God the Father for all eternity when the time comes.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Avoid Getting Shocked
If you do not see a step in your path, you can get a shock if you trip over it or step off one you didn't think was there and fall. (This has happened to me enough times.) In the same way, if you do not see death coming, which is imminent, you can get a big shock, fall and be down forever when it happens. This is something to be avoided at all costs.
Jesus = Peace
Jesus is love. Jesus is joy. He is also peace! True peace (inner or outer) can only come from him.
Nothing to Everything
Communion thoughts. I am nothing without Christ. With him, I gain everything and become rich.
Stages of Finding Joy
Find joy in God first, then you'll find joy in serving him, and end up finding joy in living.
*Activating God
If you want to get close to God, do not struggle on your own, but remain passive and ask God to draw you. Likewise, if you want to become holy, do not struggle on you own, but remain passive and ask God to make you holy. Things happen only after you activate God.
Why Christians Rejoice
Today's Entrance: Blessed Gregory, raised upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived celebration of that love. I italicized the part I thought was beautiful. Indeed, God's beauty is to be sought and his love, celebrated.
Only Refuge
Today is the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church. At Mass, I was going to rest completely in God. There was really no other place anywhere I can or would want to go.
Only One Focus
Always do your best to serve the Lord, never counting how many good things you've done for him.
*Most Beautiful Feeling
Jesus the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son. You can get in on this too! Seek and attain union with Christ and you and God will be in each other. This is the most beautiful feeling you can possibly experience in life.
*Making Little Things Count
Every little thing, whether it's just a gesture or a thought, you make or have for the glory of God puts a smile on his face. He will never forget you again.
Fulfilling Your Life
You'll know that your life is fulfilled when you fulfill your role as a disciple of Christ. Only God can make life meaningful.
Rosary Benefit
Praying the Holy Rosary may appear to be repetitive, but when you say it from your meditative heart, every repetition is a step closer to the Lord, as Mary our Mother always leads us to her Son.
Making Life Meaningful
The God of Christ gives meaning to life. The more you cling to him, the more life becomes meaningful.
To Change the World
The day before yesterday, I received a couple of thoughts from the Lord after I went to bed. I thought of getting up to jot them down on paper lest I forget, but I was too tired and fell asleep. The next morning I couldn't quite recall what they were. Today, as if to compensate for their loss, the Lord gave me a burst of almost 20 thoughts in quick succession. I'll try to blog them all this morning.
First, if we want to change the world, we must start by changing ourselves first. This is basic.
Friday, September 2, 2016
Biggest Fools
God is the Lord. He created us and everything else. He keeps us breathing and supplies what we need for living while we are still alive. We can do whatever we want, but that will not change the fact that we shall ultimately be judged by him since all are in his hands. Therefore, atheists are the biggest fools (dumbest gamblers too).
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Destiny Warning
If you let God control your destiny, you'll always end up where he is. Should you decide to control your own destiny, you may end up where you do not want to go. That is, he who follows God will be with him, but he who follows himself risks losing his way.
*Look Beyond
Just realize that September has begun. How time flies! We are heading into fall toward the end of the year. It seems that time marches on relentlessly and we are speedily heading toward eternal union with God or eternal separation from him, nonstop. I am not trying to cause apprehension in anyone; I am only stating reality. In fact, some of us would be pleased to know that they are getting closer to be united with the Lord in person, their beloved Father. In anything, looking far beyond always pays off. In this case, our eternal destiny is at stake.
*Beautiful Realization
Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 5. Jesus got into Simon (Peter) the fisherman's boat and started teaching the crowds on shore. After he stopped speaking, he asked Simon to put into deep water and lower the nets. Simon and his partners had worked hard all night and caught nothing, but nevertheless, he obeyed. And they caught such a great number of fish that their nets were tearing. The catch filled both his boat and his partners' to the point they were in danger of sinking. Astonishment seized them all. Simon fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." What a beautiful response! If only we would all come to this realization. Of course, we now know that through repentance of our sins, we are reconciled to God.
Foolish Self-Serving
In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 3, Paul writes that the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. It came to me this morning that we do not always distinguish God's will from our will. We naturally choose to follow the world's way and do what we feel comfortable doing, not giving any thought to whether it's God's will or not. Self-serving comes first and we become foolish in the eyes of God. Only intimate union with God can make us more aware of God's will.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
*How to Be Chosen
Today's Response from Psalm 33 at Mass: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. Does God choose his own people? Yes. Can you get him to choose you? Yes too. All you need to do is to ask him to choose you.
Most Wonderful Day
This would be the a most wonderful day on earth if every earthling turns to God, acknowledges his or her sins, repents of them, and asks for God's forgiveness. Can this happen? Maybe.
*Faith Has to Be Meaningful
Faith to be meaningful must be voluntary. If God in some way forces us to believe in him, we really do not have faith on our own. I don't believe anyone would want to follow a tyrannical god. Our God, the God of Christ, who is love, proclaims the good news of salvation and waits for us to respond ~ this is all fair and square.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
The Spirit Difference
Unclean demons and spirits possess a person by taking control and subduing the subject. They must be cast out of the possessed as Jesus did in his days on earth. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit of God enters us only with our permission and leaves us when we reject him. He fully respects our free will and never tries to gain control of us. He only inspires, uplifts, and purifies us, empowering us to live a holy life in freedom.
Stubborn Hearts
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 4, Jesus taught on the sabbath in the synagogue at Capernaum. A man with the spirit of an unclean demon cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!" What's interesting is that unclean spirits know who Jesus is and obey him, but many of us human beings do not. Shouldn't the Incarnation of Jesus and the examples of Paul and other great saints be sufficient evidence for us to believe?
Union Experience
In today's first reading at Mass from 1 Corinthians 2, the following which Paul wrote resonates with me: We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. And we speak about them not with words taught by human wisdom, but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms.
Monday, August 29, 2016
The Christ Difference
They are many people who do not know Jesus. They are basically good people who won't harm anyone. When life becomes a mystery to them, finding no clear answers they are resigned to that fact. What's missing is hope and joy. Christ makes all the difference. With him, living becomes uplifting and is filled with hope. What a joy to know and have a loving Savior! There is so much to look forward to, for the best is still to come. Yes, it's upbeat all the way. Alleluia!
Wise and Merciful God
Each one of us is a unique being with strengths and weaknesses known to God. When we sincerely wish to serve God, he always makes use of our strengths to the point that our weaknesses practically become nonexistent. He is such a wise and merciful Lord.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
**Secret to Life
As Jesus said, narrow is the gate that leads to life. Do you know that if you open wide your heart to God, that gate opens wide too?
Asking for an Overhaul
I attended Vigil Mass today. My Communion experience. I wanted God to take away not just all my sins, but also everything that shouldn't be in my heart I didn't know about. In other words, I asked for a thorough overhauling.
God Came First
Sometimes we wonder why God is the Father and has a Son, and there's also the Holy Spirit. Why not just one God? We think only human beings have fathers, sons, and other family relationships. We forget that God exists before we were created! Whatever God has revealed to us, we must accept. To compare God using ourselves an the example is ludicrous.
*Sign You and God Are One
When God becomes real to you more than anything else you see, hear, and touch, you know you and God are in each other as one.
*Shaping Your Future
As I age, the Lord draws me closer and closer to him. I see this as his mercy at work and am most grateful for that. Growing old and not letting God change you a bit is wasting precious time on earth. Before you go to him, you want to be in as holy a position as possible to make your meeting with him your greatest joy before entering heaven. This way you have a future you can look forward to.
**Two Joys of Union
(1) Being aware that God knows exactly what your heart harbors.
(2) Seeing clearly what God's will is.
These are great joys because they reflect your intimacy with God who keeps you in union with him.
(2) Seeing clearly what God's will is.
These are great joys because they reflect your intimacy with God who keeps you in union with him.
Friday, August 26, 2016
You Are Loved!
No matter who you are, you feel good if someone, whether inside or outside your family, tells you that he or she loves you. Jesus has come and revealed to us that God loves us. Now, even if no one else has ever said "I love you" to you, you should be elated and start loving yourself and others. For how can you not love anyone whom God loves?
Appreciating God
Communion experience. God alone is worthy to be worshipped, adored, and praised. He is our most beloved, the treasure of all treasures and the pearl of all pearls. With him, life is joyfully worth living. Without him, it'd be better if we were never born.
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