In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything." I can testify to you that the Holy Spirit will indeed teach us God's ways, his wisdom, and how to live and keep his word. You do hear firsthand from the Lord when you are in union with him.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
***Right Approach to God
At Sunday Mass this morning, I saw clearly the right, logical approach to God – open your heart completely to God and surrender yourself unconditionally to him. This leads you straight to union with God, with you enjoying freedom and peace, and joy as icing on the cake.
To Be Rewarded Now or Later
If you seek your reward only from the world, you will have them. Then there will be no more reward for you after you leave this world. If you do not care about receiving any reward now but concentrate upon storing up treasures in heaven, you'll be rewarded amply later in your next life.
*Cause of Christian Joy
True Christians are joyful because they are in love with Christ the Lord, not even thinking about going to heaven.
"Chain of Command"
Just watch someone (maybe yourself). The person is physically active at all times . . . getting up, sitting down, eating, talking to someone, sending an email, cooking a meal, driving to work, and so on. All these physical activities are motivated at the mental level by the brain. That is, you do what you think of doing. To do the right things, you need to have the right thoughts. And you are sure to have right thoughts when you have a heart that's been purified by God. Therefore, know the Lord well and you'll be blameless in whatever you do.
Saturday, May 25, 2019
**We Are No God
Everything God does for our salvation will be known forever in heaven. What God does in saving each of us will be remembered by us forever too. What we do to glorify God will be known to him always, but what we do to serve ourselves will all be dismissed after our judgment. God forbid that we should ever think and act as if we are God.
Friday, May 24, 2019
*Only One Who Matters
What's great with the God of Christ is that in him, we can forget everything else and start anew. So there is always hope for us. Knowing that we are going to him, there is no point in looking back ever. When you have the good Lord, nothing else matters.
*God to Be Experienced
Communion experience. When I received the Holy Eucharist, I knew that the Lord wished me to experience him, for he understands our nature and needs. He gave us the sacrament of reconciliation for the same reason. We need concrete assurance that he is with us or that we've been forgiven. The Holy Eucharist is also our solid invitation to seek union with him.
How God Perfects Us
We are capable of doing both good as well as doing evil. When we surrender ourselves to God, he perfects us by preserving our good part and taking away the bad part.
**Achieving Your Full Potential
To achieve your full potential as God's creature, let God your creator do whatever he wants with you and he'll shape and mold you into the most perfect being with you enjoying full freedom in him. The corollary paradox: The more you give God your freedom, the more you are free.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
**Know God and Be Holy First
The Church convokes meetings, conferences, etc., to deal with the various problems, currently, the abuse crisis. But until we address and solve our own personal spiritual problems first, these various problems will persist as they have persisted throughout the past centuries. If we do not know the Lord well enough and are therefore causing problems ourselves, how can we expect the Church and the world to get better? Know God thoroughly first and you'll know his will and how to deal with any problem what comes up. Therefore, seek union with God without delay.
**About Becoming a Saint
A saint is someone in union with God. He is completely obedient to the Lord and thus free of the world. We may not be saints yet, but it does't mean we cannot become saints. Surely God would never tell us that we are holy enough for him now nor that we are not good enough to become saints. The fact that Jesus tells us to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect shows that he wants us to be saintly and that it's totally within our reach. To succeed in becoming a saint, we need to know in theory that we must let God truly be our God and follow in practice by yielding ourselves to God. The sooner we do it, the greater our reward in heaven will be.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Letting God Completely into Your Life
We should allow God into every aspect and facet of our lives so that he is never off-limits to us. This is to welcome him completely into our hearts. The reward for us will be peace, freedom, and joy. Not hiding from the one who knows all about us is truly being wise.
*Being Nourished and Pruned by God
In today's Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit." I feel that I am a branch of the vine that's Jesus, receiving all the nourishment from him to bear fruit for the glory of the Father. It also feels so good to be pruned by him to make me more fruitful. These are two great satisfying feelings.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
**Who Has the Right of Way?
God is never a barrier in our way, but we are always barriers in his way. Remember too that he was here first long before we came along.
*Start Everything with God
Whatever you wish to accomplish, go to the Lord God first, for nothing is impossible with him. Especially, when you wish to be holy to love him more, telling yourself to do so is useless. Going straight to God for help is the smart way to go. Only God can draw you to union with him, and he can make you holy in a jiffy.
Bold Living
You abandon yourself totally in God. Now you live securely above the world, for nothing in the world can take you down anymore.
God Refreshing Us
First thought at morning Mass. I am making a new start today. With Christ, you can do this at any time. Repent, get all your sins forgiven, and you are clean again. You now start afresh. God gives us continuously the opportunity to be saved.
Monday, May 20, 2019
Good Awareness
God knows every single thought, word, and deed of ours. This is good news, for knowing this can keep us from destroying ourselves.
Secure in Christ
Communion experience. Life is like riding in a boat sailing on the sea. When you don't have Jesus with you, you are completely at the mercy of the weather and the waves. But the Lord is with me in my boat and I feel completely secure, for the winds and the sea all obey him (Matthew 8, Mark 4, Luke 8).
**Hallmark of Christianity
Today's entrance antiphon: The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died for his flock. Christ did willingly lay down his life for us. If you pause and think about it, it is truly an amazing act and fact. This is the beautiful hallmark of Christianity.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
*Honest View of Dishonesty
If we have not totally submitted ourselves to God yet, then we are not being totally honest with God yet, don't you agree?
***Desiring What God Desires
Communion experience. My sole desire was to be one with the Lord. This desire met his desire to be one with me and both our desires were instantly fulfilled! It's certainly a wow moment. While the church musicians and singers were performing nicely, I realized then that it's always our own desire that matters, not anything external.
**God Shapes His Servants
When you pray sincerely, you shape yourself too. Saying the Our Prayer from your heart makes you aware of your place before God. When the Holy Spirit leads you to share all the good thoughts with others, you are shaped by him too. As you teach others, the Lord teaches you. Serve God faithfully and he makes you holy.
**Glorifying God Nonstop
In today's first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas exhorted their disciples to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." In the Gospel reading from John 13, at the Last Supper after Judas had left, Jesus said to the rest of his disciples, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him." Jesus meant that he was to glorify God by letting himself be killed. Must we undergo hardships or die to glorify God? The fact is that we can glorify God at any time in every way. Celebrating Mass is a happy way of doing it. If I do dishes or take out garbage willingly for the sake of God, I glorify him too. Life provides a big opportunity of glorifying God in every way and we should appreciate that. Yes, keep glorifying God to store up treasures in heaven and we are bound to end up there.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
*In Spiritual Doldrums
The God of Christ has given us clear, simple instructions on how to enter heaven after we leave this world after sacrificing his Son on a cross for us, yet we hem and haw, drag my feet, or pretend that we don't know a thing. It shows how dull-witted we are and how badly we need to be saved!
**God Removing Our Limitations*
If you are not in union with God, what you want to do for God may not be what he wants you to do – this I would call "rushing ahead of the Holy Spirit." When you are in union with God, what's amazing is that he may want you to do what you would not think of doing – this is exciting, for the Lord shows that he can help you break through your self-imposed limitations.
***Knowing the Truth
Today's Gospel acclamation from John 8: If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. What Jesus says here is absolutely true: I know the Lord and he has set me free. That the Lord is the truth does not mean that everything else is false; it simply means that he is the most relevant truth essential for us to know, superseding all other truths. I know him to be this truth because he has revealed it to me in my very heart – there is no other way I can explain it. This is how God communicates with us. When he lets you know something, you just know it without any doubt. Very cool!
Friday, May 17, 2019
Being Good, Not Good Enough
Being a good person is not the same as accepting the truth. If you think you are a pretty good person but do not believe that you need Christ to save you, there is no guarantee that you will get to heaven.
***Most Mistreated One***
Jesus came into the world to give us the good news of God's salvation, and people put him to death. He has risen from the dead, but people today still snub him. God came to us purely because he loves us and wants to save us from eternal death, but we just don't get it. We are most precious to him, yet we are so thickheaded that we don't even care. In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus says to his disciples, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to myself so that where I am you also may be." Then, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I hope we all hear him loud and clear. Most urgently, we need to repent of mistreating the one who cares about us the most and to whom we owe our very existence!
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The Holy Spirit Within You
If you feel the urge from your heart to address Christ "My Lord and my God" as Thomas did after he eyewitnessed the Risen Lord, you can be sure that you've been prompted by the Holy Spirit.
Where to Find Your Solution
God should be the solution to all our problems. When you face a problem, don't just focus upon the problem. Instead, focus upon God for your solution. If God is truly your Lord, you must get him involved in every part of your life.
**Don't Just Talk About Jesus
If you only know about Jesus, you can only talk about him as you are still basically you. So, get to know the Lord so well that you become like him, then you can talk like him too.
**How God Overcomes Us*
Today's entrance antiphon at Mass from David's Psalm 68: O God, when you went forth before your people, marching with them and living among them, the earth trembled, heavens poured down rain, alleluia. Look at our world. The leaders, the politicians, the big company CEOs, the pop stars, the entertainers . . . all try to gain a following by making big promises, coming up with enticing products, putting on dazzling performances or shows, etc., in an effort essentially to sell themselves. Now look at Jesus. He is meek and humble, focusing only upon serving and saving us via pure love. In the end, we are willing to offer him both our heart and our soul. Such is his power. And it is God who has designed us this way to be overcome by him. The psalmist is not exaggerating in what he writes.
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
No God More Credible
In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observer them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak." I left out only the last verse. I feel that we must absolutely pay serious attention to whatever Jesus says, for he speaks the truth as God. There is none other like him. He is our most credibly incredible God.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Saints Praying with Me
I had the chance to visit St. Antony's Chapel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, yesterday. It is the biggest reliquary outside of Vatican, containing over 5000 relics. Here's the website. I prayed to all the saints there to intercede for my intentions. As I prayed after Mass at my own church back home this morning, I felt that I was completely moved the Holy Spirit, for my thoughts did not wander in the least. And I did feel that those thousands of saints I prayed to were all praying with and for me. Indescribable peaceful feeling.
*Nothing More to Say
Communion experience. God has chosen me, called me. I now belong to him totally and am being taken care of by him for all eternity. What can I say but feeling gratitude and joy?
**Most Essential Joy
It would be most horrible to think that God does not love you nor want to save you. The God of Christ is our Savior, period. He wants to save our soul and desires us to live with him in paradise after we die. He cannot promise our happiness in this world, but he can promise joy in him – this is a big distinction. Happiness in the world does not guarantee eternal happiness, but joy in the Lord does. Have vision and patience and you will be rewarded with nothing short of God himself for all eternity.
Spreading the Gospel As Jesus Did
Christ has given us solid promises authoritatively. It is only a person with weak faith who would hope what Christ has promised will come true. Like the Lord, we can also spread authoritatively the messages he had already proclaimed with authority. The Holy Spirit is an emboldening spirit.
A Disciple's Perks
I resumed going to morning Mass today, which is the Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle. The Gospel reading was taken from John 15. Jesus first said to his disciples, "Remain in my love." I thought of resting in his love, letting it envelop and saturate my whole being so that his love would not only protect me from evil but also guide and motivate me in everything I do – it was certainly a beautiful image. Then later Jesus said, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last." Again, I was impressed by the fact that Christ had chosen me! Of course, he definitely had noticed me and given me my mission. Here's another cause for rejoicing.
**All Can Be Happy in God!
Some people are happy that I have found happiness in Christ and leave me at that; they congratulate me for being so lucky. Why should God say to some that you can be happy in me and to others that you cannot be so happy in me? That's just not possible? He can make all of us happy in him as much as we'll let him – this is the truth! When people say it's not for me, they are already shutting the door in God's face, not realizing that God can make you happy to your heart's content if you give him free rein! God is for all, not just for a selected few! It's nonsense to think that someone is created to be able to receive more happiness from God. Remember that God cares for each of us equally.
If You Want to Be Famous,
skip the world but serve God faithfully and you'll be well known to all in heaven for all eternity.
***How Wonderful Is God?
We experience God differently. But God remains wonderful forever and how wonderful he is depends upon how much you open up to him (how much you are willing to let him into your heart). To those who shares everything openly with the Lord, he becomes absolutely wonderful beyond words!
*To Love with God's Love
To love others is the Christian way of life. You don't have to like the people you love; you simply know that God wants you to love them blindly, not being dictated by any personal feelings. It's God's unconditional pure love.
***Call to Arms
Enjoying God aside, this is no time for complacency. We must put on the armor of God to fight evil in every way on every front and at all levels. There is no time to lose. Pray unceasingly from the depth of your heart, for the survival of many souls are at stakes. It's a fight for God's glory!
**Enjoying God on Earth
God is most enjoyable when you experience the oneness with him in solitude. No words need to be said; you and God simply remain in deep communion with each other, knowing that nothing in the world can possibly lessen this intimacy. It's pre-experiencing a bit of heaven on earth.
***Eternal Union or Separation
In the Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus said: "I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand." This shows that those who belong to the Lord are already being separated from those outside the fold. If the latter does not become his sheep, that separation will become a chasm impossible to cross forever – a thought too horrible to contemplate.
**Making the Right Choice
In the first reading from Acts 13 last Sunday at Mass, we heard that the Gentiles who were destined for eternal life came to accept the word of God. Are you destined for eternal life? Accept the word of God and you can be so destined too. Rejecting it is to condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life (verse 46). God offers us choices. Are we being smart or stupid? Know that if things do not work out, God is not the one to blame. We cannot avoid being imperfect, but we can definitely avoid being stupid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)