Reason to Believe

        Today being the first Friday of May, we had perhaps 60 people attending morning Mass at church. After Mass, we had Eucharistic adoration. I saw that God looked down upon us and knew every single heart there intimately. For me, that was reason enough for me to believe in him.

Our Position and Role

          As finite beings, we can never fully comprehend the greatness of our infinite God. It is a given that no creature can be greater than its creator. God's beauty and perfection are all beyond our comprehension. Our only role is to believe, trust, and obey our creator who has already revealed to us that he is love.

*Heavenly Experience on Earth

        Communion experience. Receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist is becoming one with your most beloved who happens to be God. No experience on earth can possibly top that!

*Second Coming Inevitable*

        Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." In our world, the opposites happen. Christ, the most humble of all men, got crucified, and today's pop stars with humongous egos are worshipped by the general public. It just shows that the world hasn't changed much fundamentally. Jesus came because mankind needs salvation. He foresaw that not all would listen to him, "forcing" God to schedule a second coming of his Son to judge all of us.      

Most Challenging Prayer

        Among all the prayers, I've found praying for the loved ones who are close to you most challenging, for you know them well and must make sure that your private emotions do not get in the way you place your trust in the Lord. Persistence in prayer is needed as your faith gets tested. As in all things we do, we must remember that God must come first. In fact, pleasing him alone matters.

Our Power Source

        Any appliance or machine will not work if it is not connected to a power source. For us, Christ is our power source and he is ready for us to be connected to him. Living without Christ is living with no true life in us. To get started, we must believe in him first. Then we shall receive life from him and be truly living.

**To Be Made by God

        Before God, let us be empty vessels, blank canvases, and pliable clay for him to fill us, transform us, or make something out of us to his heart's content, and we shall be contented.

Union Experience

        As you seek union with God, personal holiness is never on one's mind; you simply experience greater and greater freedom.

Extraordinary Power

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist lifts the sinner out of his miserable state to union with the Almighty!

*One Great Feeling

        Being with Christ, one great feeling I have is that I can start afresh with a clean slate at any moment, for he constantly keeps me clean.

The Least You Could Do

        If you can not love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all you mind, with all you soul, and with all your strength, the least you could (should) do is to believe that Christ has died for you so that you might live, for he is our only lifeline. 

Superior Prayer

        You can ask God to grant you any number of specific requests, but the superior prayer is to ask him to help you simply do his will always. 

Impure Thoughts

         Even if it were true that entertaining impure thoughts in your mind does not harm your soul, it's still a big waste of time, for it does not advance the status of your soul.

*Easier to Become Holy

        I play the piano and find that becoming holy is a lot easier than learning to play the piano well. In fact, it is easier than learning most other things. Let me explain. To learn to play the piano well, you must understand the piece you are playing, analyze its composition, and know how you wish to interpret it. Then it takes a lot of practice to learn all the notes. Even talented pianists spend up to 6 hours a day on practice. Some won't even play any work in public until they've mastered it for at least a year. You want to reach the point to be able to play the piece exactly the way you'd like to hear it played without any concern about the notes. As to becoming holy, you simply submit yourself to God. He then takes over and you place all your trust in him. The rest is up to the him, with no analyzing, no figuring out what to do, no memorization or any drudgery on your part. 

*Only Truth

        It is the coupling of authority and 'love and mercy' that distinguishes Christianity as the truth and not just another religion. No other religion can come close. (And please do not judge Christianity by the acts of some of its members, for all sinners fall short of being perfect or they wouldn't need Christ anymore.) 

Christ the Life Giver

        In today's Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus said to the crowd, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." I am here to testify to you that Jesus had spoken the truth, for all my spiritual hunger and thirst have been completely fulfilled. It's only after this happens that one can start living a happy and meaningful life. 

Appropriate Submission

        Today's response to Psalm 31 of David (verse 6a): Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. It was what Jesus cried out to the Father before he breathed his last on the cross. And this is exactly what we should be able to say to Christ as our shepherd and our God.   

*Freedom in God

        Do you realize that God cannot be a burden to us? If you think that he wants to control or enslave you, you've got it all wrong. The fact he has given you the free will shows that this fear is all conjured up by you in your heart and mind. In truth, God is our doorway to freedom. Once you submit yourself to him, you enter his infinite space and are free to do anything you want. The fear of God is basically caused by your rebellion against him and not by him.

*What Life Is All About

        Today's entrance antiphon at Mass: The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died for his flock. Here is the supreme example of God showing his love for his children. Hampered by the original sin we carry, we need his help to respond to this love and return to him. It all comes down to straightening out our relationship with God. 

Content in God

        Communion experience. After receiving the Lord, time froze and I clearly saw all the sins I committed before I knew him and the restless state my soul was in. Now, I am in him, with him, and could ask him to keep me clean to my heart's content. What a difference God can make! He does want to give us joy that can wipe out all sorrows.

Experiencing the Holy Spirit

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24, Jesus, after his Resurrection, appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Even though they were prevented from recognizing the Lord at first, their hearts burned within them when he spoke to them and opened the scriptures to them. If you experience the burning of the heart at the thought of him, it is the Holy Spirit, for you cannot induce this feeling yourself. Paul wrote that it is the Holy Spirit in us who prompts us to cry out, "Abba, Father!" Naturally, this has to come from the heart and not just saying it without feeling. Tears of joy is another gift of the Spirit. God is not cold; he is to be experienced.

Most Pleasing to God

        Sometimes we promise God that we would glorify him in some way if he would grant us a certain favor. But the Lord would be more pleased if we do not bargain with him but submit ourselves to his love with great trust. 

Our Full-Time Job

        Following Christ is a full-time job. In fact, it should become our second nature. To achieve that, simply seek union with God by surrendering ourselves to him.

*Tough or Timid

       There are guys who want to be tough, believe that they are tough, and act tough. But if they are afraid to look into themselves to see what they are made of and are afraid to face God, then they are in truth timid souls. On the other hand, those who remain humble and willingly submit themselves to God are the courageous (and wise) ones whom God will happily exalt.

God Incredible

        He loves me; he died for me; and he enters and becomes one with me through the Holy Eucharist. I believe in him and receive unbelievable benefits. Praise be to him forever!        

Feeling Sorrow in Happiness

        Communion experience. I already have the Lord and lack nothing, so I felt great sorrow for those who do not know him and greater sorrow for both the Lord and those who reject him.

Life Also Precious

        Even though our life on earth is relatively brief, it does provide us with many opportunities to increase our faith. When we are receptive to God, he also uses every moment to teach us. It is through living on earth that we receive our faith. Besides, our life is given by God. Thus life is essential and precious too.      

Faith Over Life on Earth

        Faith in Christ is infinitely more precious than life on earth, for the former guarantees life eternal, while the latter is over in the blink of an eye. If you ever have to choose either faith or life to keep, you should clearly choose faith.

**Life's No. 1 Concern

        If you have any foresight and courage at all, you should do your best to make sure that you soul will enter eternity happily, for it exists forever. A pointed question: what's the point of living if you future life is going to be even more miserable?

Guidelines for Living

        In today's first reading from Acts 5, the Apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name of Jesus. So it's not what others do to you, but how you respond to the Lord that matters. What the world thinks of you is utterly unimportant relative to what God think of you. And always follow the will of God and not be concerned about your success or failure in whatever you do.

Joy of Resurrection

        It's a great joy because the Resurrection of Jesus definitively gives us the hope of eternal life ~ simple as that.       

Profound Interior Renovation

        Communion experience. God entered me and I was never going to be the same again.

*Compelling Truth

        In this morning's first reading from Acts 5, the Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin and the high priest forbade them to teach in Jesus' name. Peter and the Apostles chose to obey God rather than men and this infuriated the members of the Sanhedrin. In the Gospel reading from John 3, John wrote about Jesus, the one from heaven: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." We see the clear division Jesus caused and that we must choose sides. The sign of truth is that it does not override our free will; it only compels us to either accept or reject it.  

*On Borrowed Time

        I got up this morning and realized that it's another day, and of course this has happened to me thousands and thousands of times. But today I realized something extra, that we are all on borrowed time. We don't know exactly how many days we borrowed from God, but that number is limited. When we return all the days to him, we shall be checked for how we "took care of" our days. Did we squander them as the prodigal son did in the parable or listen to and obey what he had taught us through Christ the Son of God? I am citing two extreme examples. Remember that everything that comes from God will return to him.

*Big Screwup

        Reflecting on the earlier post "Declaration of Critical Truth," I see that God has made salvation simple and straightforward for us, but we have made it convoluted and hard for ourselves! 

Great Privilege

        Communion experience. I received exactly what Jesus handed out to his disciples at the Last Supper.

*Declaration of Critical Truth

        John 3.16-21 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. Here's verse 16: God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. You've probably heard this verse quoted and seen it on billboards so often that you don't think about it much anymore. To think about it, it is a declaration of the most beautiful truth of critical importance to us! We should really know it by heart and think about it often. Here are verses 19-20: And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. Here we have the "sickness" of the world clearly diagnosed by the Apostle John just about two thousand years ago.

*Expecting the Unexpected

        Jesus always taught his disciples to be watchful and alert, for they did not know when the Son of Man would come again. Wise is anyone who expects the unexpected. Recently, I heard about the sudden death of two persons, one in the 70s and the other at only 61. Both were seemingly in great physical shape before they died. There are also Christians on the lax side who think that spiritually they are OK, not realizing that God might think differently. For Catholics, frequent confession is a good defense in preparing for the unexpected. *To avoid eternal regret, never neglect the everlasting soul.

*Breakthroughs of Life

        I see two breakthroughs of life. The first is most important – it raises you to a new level of existence. You find Christ, discovering and accepting the truth that God is love and can save you from your sins. And you are no longer lost, with you future secured for eternity. This is a huge deal, for you are now separated from the secular world and live in the sphere of God. The second breakthrough is attaining union with God. This is fine-tuning and for the perfectionist, but the reward of experiencing freedom, peace, and joy is tremendous – a foretaste of heaven. Christ makes all the difference we absolutely need. 

Momentous Event

        Communion experience. As the bread and wine were consecrated, they changed into the body and blood of Christ. That was a momentous moment, deserving our full attention. All my life troubles were overshadowed and for the moment forgotten. Matthew 20.20: "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age," was fulfilled.

*Effective Evangelizing

        Famous quote from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." When it comes to bringing others to Christ, we should do exactly the opposite. That is, we do not tell others what they can do for God – we tell them what God can do for them.

Obligation to Christ

        The Resurrection of Christ changed everything: his disciples were revived and his church, invigorated, for the Resurrection proved clearly that Christ is God. Therefore, when he speaks, we must listen and obey. 

*Going Straight to God

          Catholics venerate relics of various saints. All saints are humble and would want to give glory to God alone. Therefore, they'd rather we go to the Lord directly and not center upon them. There is a fine line to be drawn here. It is perfectly fine to let the saints inspire us to increase our love for God, but we must never grow attached to any saint to the point that we lessen our focus upon the Lord. If you seek to attain union with God, it is best that you go to him directly and let absolutely nothing distract you along the way.

Unique, Unparalleled Rest

        Communion experience. With Jesus, I entered the most relaxed state, abandoning myself in him ~ it's letting-go time. 

Proper Mode of Living

        Today's Communion antiphon is based upon John 20.19. The full verse reads: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." If Jesus could appear anywhere as he wishes, certainly he can be ever present with any of us. It follows that we must stay awake and live as if he is physically present with us.

Role as God's Creatures

        God is our creator, greater than all his creatures. Naturally, we can only know what he wishes to reveal to us. Therefore, our role is clearly to trust, trust, trust in him. On a more personal level, we are the children of a loving God, our Father ~ all the more we can and should trust in him. 

Divine Mercy

        This is the Sunday of Divine Mercy. God is merciful because he is all love. And his mercy is infinite, which means that he does not condemn us as long as we still have time to repent of our sins. Moreover, it means that no matter how sinful we are, once we repent, we are forgiven and saved. Therefore, to think that God cannot save us is to limit his mercy, a thought offensive to him. Should God's mercy be finite, none will be able to survive. Praised be his divine mercy! 

How God Teaches Us

        When God teaches us, he simply enlightens us and we see and understand things we never saw or understood before. He opens up a beautiful new world to us. This is learning without drudgery and with delight only.          

*Sign We Don't Know God

        We do not know how wretched we are until we know how holy God is.

How to Tell Others About Christ

        To tell others about Christ, tell what he has done for you and can do for them. That is, the focus is to be on Christ with the goal of glorifying him.