I am most grateful for God's mercy on us. I am awed and inspired by his holiness. And I admire his humility the most, for he is omnipotent, yet he never looks down on us. We are nothing, so we should never let pride or ego get in our way. He has made us in his image and we can be like him if we remain humble most of all.
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
**Truth About Not Facing the Truth
It's clear that we are sinners, that we need a savior, and that God loves us (Christ is our living proof). So if we do not believe in God to be our Lord and Savior, it's not because what's been mentioned is false, but because we are afraid to face the truth.
*Our Only Focus
Seeking union with God is the means to the end of knowing God. Achieving union with God is not a status symbol. Whatever we do, the focus should always be knowing the Lord.
*God's Mercy Undeniable
On this Christmas day, I see the mercy of God to be undeniable. He sent his only Son to come into the world to be one among us and died for us so that we might be redeemed from sin. He will come again to judge us, giving us the chance to choose life or death in the meantime.
*The Peace of Christ
Jesus our Savior has come to bring us peace, but he has also caused division among us and there won't be peace in this world until we all have accepted him as Lord and Savior. Then where is this peace? For now, it is the inner peace he has brought to all those who follow him. For this, we can rejoice and be grateful. The peace of Christ must first begin in our hearts.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
***Reflecting on My Blog*
This blog began in 2009 and it's in 2010 that the Lord made it clear to me that I was to let the world know that he wants to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist. So this should speak to the Catholics most since they receive this sacrament at every Mass. Has the blog been a success? This is not for me to know or to be concerned about, for I am merely doing that the Lord instructs me to do. All is in his hands. But I can tell you my experience in general. Union with God is something people tend to shy away from; it is not something they want to latch onto right away. I could sense the disconnect in talking about it with others, laypeople or not. You don't get any reaction from them. Perhaps it's the fear that they cannot make it, so don't even think about it. As the pageviews are approaching 166,000, the message must have sown a seed in quite a few souls. Anyway, I am simply plowing along as the Lord leads me, which gives me great joy! My closing advice to all for the year on this Christmas Eve: Follow Christ all the way—yes, seek union with him—then your journey will be an absolutely safe and most exhilarating and uplifting adventure.
**Big Deal
"The forgiveness of sins"—we surely have heard that mentioned numerous times; but today, the Lord made me see that it is indeed a big deal. Essentially, we are all born sinners and sins not forgiven will keep us earth-bound. Only God can take away our sins and make us heaven-bound. To deal with our sins, we need God. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with them forever. To have our sins forgiven or not to have our sins forgiven, that is the big question!
**Solving Our Problem with Sin
As long as we keep sinning, we will not have inner peace. That's how the Lord has made us. He's letting us know that we cannot get along with sin and be happy, and that as long as we carry sins, we cannot get into heaven. We sin because we are self-centered. If we surrender ourselves to God, we become God-centered and our problem with sin will be no more. Not carrying any sin, our inner peace is then restored.
*Danger Zone
Without God, our mind wanders freely in all directions. We may not have evil intentions, but we seek to fulfill all our temporal desires. We are now in danger zone, may lose all self-control, and become addicted to certain sins. If we have God, he becomes our anchor and guardian, and we don't easily stray away from him anymore. When the Lord makes us feel good, we no longer desire anything that cannot truly make us happy.
Monday, December 23, 2019
*Only God and You
Let you be known to God alone, so live "secretly" in him. Live as if there are only God and you, as only he matters.
**Longing for Christ Only
Communion experience. I received the greatest joy and felt the deepest longing for Christ. I long for him precisely because he has fulfilled all my other longings on earth.
**A Lopsided Scene*
Today's Communion antiphon, Revelation 3.20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." God is so polite, yet so intimate. If you still turn him down, then you are playing God and definitely have a problem with your heart and need to examine yourself to get it fixed. The Lord will wait for your response as long as you wish, but you have only a limited lifetime to respond to him. Look at this way: he is offering you the opportunity to be happy for all eternity and you couldn't care less. How more lopsided can it be?
*Beware of the Ego
Anytime you want to draw attention to yourself, it's your ego rearing it's ugly head.
***Leave the Blessing to God
In today's continuous reading from Luke 1, we heard the birth of John the Baptist read. When all heard about the amazing signs that accompanied the birth of John the neighbors and relatives witnessed, they were sure that the hand of the Lord was with the child. Of course, we know that John the baptist got beheaded under the orders of King Herod later. How could we see such a brutal ending to be fit for someone whom the Lord greatly blessed? Clearly, God's ways are beyond our ways and his thoughts beyond our thoughts. What we see fit may even be an obstacle Satan wants to place in God's way (Matthew 16.23). What's best for us to focus on is what Jesus said in Matthew 16.25: "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Amen.
***God Becoming Real!
When sometimes we even wonder whether God truly exists, that's because our faith is weak and we do not really know him. Here is the cure. Be courageous! Take a leap of faith to surrender yourself to God to be one with him. Once you attain union with him, he will become more real to you than anyone else you know on earth—I am telling you! This is now real living, being one with the living God.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
***Be with God Now to See Him Later*
Communion experience. When you are one with the Lord, you are with him in heaven spiritually. In a sense, you have already completed your spiritual journey. You die and you see immediately the Lord who has been with you all your life!
***To Be the Freest Person on Earth
In today's reading 2 from Romans 1, Paul calls himself a slave of Jesus Christ. For he knew that to be a slave of Jesus Christ made him the freest person on earth. I second that. (It follows that to be your own master is to be enslaved by yourself, and you are not free at all.)
True Joy in Christ
Watching those commercials on TV, you notice the phony joy paid actors display in selling or promoting a product or service. Without Christ, even the joy we seek and experience in this life seems to be empty or shallow. Only the joy of Christ is pure joy because it originates from the Holy Spirit. When we rejoice in Christ, that joy we feel is true joy.
**Well-Balanced in Christ
Once you have Christ, you never feel inferior to anyone anymore, for you already have the Lord; and you do not look down on anyone anymore, for you are humble in the Lord. You are now a happy well-balanced person.
Saturday, December 21, 2019
*Getting Personal with Jesus*
Communion experience. I felt that that Jesus was my home, the end of my search, my answer to all my questions, my all, my everything. Perhaps "my ultimate fulfillment" is closest to what I want to say. Then I feel best when I just say "Jesus is mine."
In Tune with the Holy Spirit
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1, we read about Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant (John the Baptist) leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew that Mary was the mother of her Lord. When we know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, it is also the Holy Spirit who has revealed it to us.
**Our Ultimate Fulfillment
Today's entrance antiphon from Isaiah 7 & 8: The Lord and Ruler will be coming soon, and his name will be called Emmanuel, because he will be God-with-us. Jesus is indeed God-with-us. He is also God-in-us, the one to be in union with. He is our ultimate fulfillment!
Wrong Priorities
People are always thinking about acquiring wealth, how to invest their money for good returns; concerned about their health, what to eat and what supplements to take; and worried about getting old, how they can still look young or who's going to take care of them later. They do not know that if they seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first, all these needs will be provided them besides (Matthew 6.33).
Friday, December 20, 2019
The Unworthy Exalted
Communion experience. I felt most unworthy as I approached the Lord to receive him. After he entered me, he greatly exalted me.
*Power of God's Joy
Once you finish school and land a great job, you don't care about all the hard studying you did and the tough exams you took. Once a couple find each other and fall in love, they don't mind their other problems much anymore. Once you have moved into a nice big new house, you no longer think about your small old dingy residence. It's also true that once you have become one with God, you forget all your miseries, sorrows, and sufferings. For no negative feeling can possibly pervade the joy of God.
***Simple Recipe for Returning to God*
Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 1, the announcement of the birth of Jesus by the angel Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth. Here are Gabriel's last words to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary's final response to the angel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." As long as we know and believe that nothing will be impossible for God and abandon ourselves to God as Mary did, our journey home to the Father will be smooth and straight all the way. So let's get going!
**Greatest Glory of God
Isaiah 40.5: The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. If you pay attention, you'll the see glory of God everywhere: in nature, in everything we see and hear on earth that is beautiful, inspiring, and uplifting. But the greatest glory revealed to us is the Lord himself, in how much he loves us, how he can free us from the bondage of sin, and how we can become like him and reunite with him in heaven.
**Jesus as Close as You Can Get
Last night I dreamt that I was trapped in a dangerous situation and I called to Jesus for help. I woke up and felt his presence. After all, he dwells within me. It's just so good to know that he hears me and is with me always.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Low Expectations of Life
If you only wish to be happy in this life, then your expectations are way low. Besides, your wish will never come true.
**Breakthroughs of Life
Accepting and believing in Christ is the first breakthrough. You realize that God loves you and he has now saved you from sin. Surrendering to God to become one with him is the second breakthrough, often more difficult to achieve than the first. Then, once you have broken through, the experience is so exalted and beautiful that you wish you'd done it a lot sooner.
*Ideal Mass
Complete focus upon the Lord with great reverence, with nothing that breaks up the solemnity of the celebration.
*Being Perfect & Being Holy
Only God is perfect. When God asks us to be perfect, he wants us to aim for perfection. But one day, he will make us perfect in heaven. We can be holy though, because a holy person needn't be perfect; he only desires to be perfect. All saints with the exception of our Holy Mother were not perfect. Let God make us holy by letting him enter us to be one with us.
Preach and Let Go
Jesus announced the good news to all and people were free to believe in him or not. Let us do the same. Spread the good news and let whoever hears it make up his or her own mind. Sometimes we worry too much about whether they heard us or not. In the final analysis, it's always between God and each of us.
Giving Our All to God
Give God your heart. Even though the mind will follow the heart, while your are at it, give your mind to him as well. Anyhow, we need to give our whole being, our spirit and soul included, to the Lord.
*Becoming More Inpedpendent
We have the Walkaway and Blexit movements going on in this country. They both attempt to teach voters to do their own thinking and come to their own decision to vote for the right party instead of being told by one party that they should always vote for them. We Catholics are used to follow spiritual guidance from the clergy. I think it'll be good for us to become more independent by learning what's going on within the Church, the good and the bad, as well as the teachings of the Church on our own. There is so much on the internet out there. Of course, you need be sure that the sources are legitimate and reliable. Then we can become better informed Catholics, more fit to fight the spiritual battle.
**How to Welcome the Lord (Perfect Obedience)*
Christmas is approaching. Jesus is already here; all we need to do is to open our hearts wide to let him in to do whatever he wishes with us. This is perfect obedience.
*Faith Vanquishes Fear
If you know that Christ has saved you and you are on your way to him in heaven, all your fears on earth should vanish.
***To Be in God!***
It is so good and incredible that we can get to know God, our Father and creator, personally so well that we fall deeply in love with him, become his soulmates, hear his sweet voice speaking to us in our hearts, and long for him so much that we lose all fear of death. Surrender yourself to him completely and you'll know.
***Quitting the Catholic Church
Recently, a well-known TV show host had announced that he was leaving the Catholic Church because of "institutionalized corruption." I have a lot to say about this, but here are just a few thoughts. (1) Since he was a cradled Catholic, I see the failure of the Church to teach him what the Church was all about, the significance of the Holy Eucharist, etc. Even today when we are facing major crises within the Church, business goes on as usual within most dioceses as if everything is all right. I understand God wants us to trust in him, but he wants us to go all out to fight the spiritual battle too. (2) The Catholic Church was established by Christ himself and he told us that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. Anyone who quits the Church is not placing his faith entirely in Christ. (3) Those with true faith will remain Catholic even if they are the only Catholics in the world who are not corrupt. Our government is corrupt, but no one gives up his citizenship or leave the country. (4) The Holy Eucharist is God's greatest gift to us. It's unthinkable that any true Catholic would ever want to give that up, literally excommunicating himself. Please pray hard for all Catholics now!
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
**Time for Total Abandonment
God can accomplish infinitely more than we can. Of course, we need to do our part. We need to pray, trust in him, and follow his will. Then we reach a point we just have to let the Lord take over completely, while we continue providing prayer support. This calls for greater trust and total abandonment in him. It's always exciting to see how God triumphs in the end.
**Only God Knows Us*
I know many fellow beings, including my own family members who know me the best, yet no one knows all about me nor the true me. But God our Father and creator knows all about me, inside and out. At judgment time, we'll be totally exposed before all. But know that even now, we are totally exposed to God alone every moment. So only God truly knows us and we can now choose to be either his friends or his enemies.
*To Remain Unafraid
Jesus always tells his disciples to not be afraid. If we always do God's will, then truly we do not need to be afraid of anything, for we'll always be doing the right thing as we head for heaven.
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
*All Sinners Are Equal
It's just eight days from Christmas. Today I see that we are all sinners, so we don't have the right to judge anyone. Before the Lord, we are all unclean, but he loves us all. We need to pray for ourselves first, then the others.
Monday, December 16, 2019
*Heavenly Experience*
Communion experience. God came, entered me, filled all of me, and remained in me!
**Jesus Christ, Our God and Judge
Jesus came and preached the best possible news to us. Those who were evil felt threatened and became hostile to him, but those who were good and open-hearted accepted him. It is the same today. Christ has made both enemies and friends, so he has brought us division. The people who wish to remain in darkness do not like to be exposed, while those wish to get out of darkness welcome his light. Jesus Christ is truly our God and judge.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
**Mercy and Peace
Communion thoughts. The Lord God is my true source of mercy and peace. When I place myself at his mercy, I receive peace from him.
*Rejoicing in Order
Today's entrance antiphon started with Philippians 4.5: Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. Jesus has come and saved us from our sins so that we can get to heaven to enjoy eternal life—how can we possibly not rejoice? Can you possibly think of any better news than this?
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