Face the Truth

        I believe that people don't believe in God, not because they don't believe that God exists, but because they are not ready to believe yet.  God is a threat to them at this point and they are not ready to give themselves up.  The truth is that God is love and the threat they feel is not caused by God, but by their own selfishness and blindness.  My sincere advice to them is: "Don't put off facing the truth that will always be present while there is still time."   

Focus on God's Mercy

        Today I committed a venial sin and lost my peace.  Naturally, I turned to the Lord to repent and pray for forgiveness.  But peace did not return to my heart.  After more praying, I finally realized that my pride was still in play ~ basically, I was bothered by my own spiritual failure.  You see, I was focusing on myself instead of God's infinite mercy.  There's no question that I'll be sinning again and again, but the Lord will set me free again and again.  Finally, I was set free this time.

Heart of the Matter

        The condition of the heart determines our eternal destination.  You could say that if the soul is a ship, then the heart is the pilot.  To keep us heading in the right direction, the heart must always be in the right place, that is, be pure, loving, and trusting in God.  The problems of our world can all be traced to the deplorable condition of the human heart.    

Sweetness of the Holy Spirit

          Today at Mass I experienced the sweetness of the Holy Spirit.  To get in touch with the Holy Spirit, you must go deep, deep within yourself to sense his presence.  His sweetness will melt your heart, purifying it in the process.  It is a sweetness intoxicating to the soul only. 

No Better Model

        We talk a lot about the importance of having good role models, especially for the younger generation.  I look at Jesus and see a perfect model.  What can be more perfect than being holy??  He shines and towers above mankind.  If you want to be godlike, just let him be your model.  Besides, he will actually help you achieve your goal along the way.      

God the Sole One

        Let God be your sole lord, your sole love, your sole hope, your sole joy, your sole guide, your sole teacher, your sole true companion, your sole source for strength, your sole comforter, your sole refuge, your sole... 

Self-Importance Important

        There's the right way to feel self-important and the wrong way to feel so.  To feel the right way, realize that you serve God to help save souls, and that's an important position.  You are to be a shining light in the world.  To remain fit in serve, it's imperative that you maintain your grow in holiness so that you'll be able to do the greatest possible good for the glory of God.  You are now indispensable to God ~ that's how important you are!

Life Has No Meaning?

        As I was praying the Sorrowful Mysteries today, this question popped into my mind.  If life has no meaning, then why would Jesus even bother to go through all the sufferings and die on the cross??

Store Up Treasure in Heaven

        Time is passing and so are the things of the world.  Nothing in our material world lasts forever.  A museum can house many valuable collections, but how long will they last?  How about the most impressive structures man has built?  No one knows, but certainly not forever.  Anything can happen.  The only things that last are the treasure we store up in heaven.

        Looking at all the things people do, I see so much time and effort wasted because they are not expended for the glory of God.  Television is said to be a vast wasteland, but many shows are even worse as they suck people away from God.  All things done out of selfishness or without love are wasted efforts.  Life is brief and the time left for storing up treasure in heaven, even briefer.  Yesterday I got the news that someone I saw at a wedding six days ago had drowned.  The Lord knows exactly how much time we spend and what our intentions are in doing each thing.  When we see the Lord, how good it will be to hear him say, "Well done, my faithful servant." 

Holy Spirit, the Greatest Teacher

        On my way to Mass this morning, I felt the need and urge to learn from the Lord ~ I wanted the Holy Spirit to teach me so that I may understand the mind of Christ.  Unquestionably, the Holy Spirit is the greatest and most perfect teacher you can possibly have.  Listen to and learn from him and you'll grow spiritually as far as you'll let him take you.  He will lead you straight to the heart and mind of God.  Many thoughts followed during Mass ~ I'll try to post them one by one.  

Make Macho Instinct Extinct

        This morning I had to skip my daily Mass because I felt called to help another person in her ministry.  On my drive to the destination at a red-light stop, I sensed that the driver to my right was going to forge fast ahead when the light changes.  Sure enough, it took off at full throttle ~ even the car behind me decided to change lanes to keep up with the front runner.  I realized that most men have this macho instinct to get ahead of others and not be left behind ~ it doesn't even have to be a race situation.  At the same time I heard words from the Scripture counseling us to be gentle, patient, and humble.  The Holy Spirit won out.  If I want the Lord to take away my ego, I'd better extinguish that macho instinct too. 

Formula for Happiness

        Happiness is where your heart is.  Therefore, give your heart to God and you'll be with him and happy.

The Holy Eucharist Appreciated

        As I received the Holy Eucharist this morning, I couldn't help thinking what a special privilege it was to receive the Lord in this way.  In my life I have tasted many different foods at various tables, but to eat and drink at the Lord's table is to partake of a banquet in heaven!  When the disciples first heard Jesus say about eating his body and drinking his blood, they couldn't stomach that and turned away from him ~ they were normal people; they just didn't understand.  Now that we comprehend what it's all about, uniting with the Lord in this way becomes a most moving, intimate, uplifting, and humbling experience.  I was born into this world ~ the purpose is now fulfilled through receiving the Holy Eucharist.         

Let Love Triumph

        Nothing is impossible with God, who is Love.  Therefore, nothing is impossible with love.  St. Paul described love in 1 Corinthians famously: Love is patient, kind, not pompous, not inflated, not rude,...  Therefore, let love be the (only) motivating force in us to guide us through life.  Love will remove all our fears, anxieties, worries, hangups, angers, resentments, all negative thoughts,... as God is all powerful.  Let love transform and renew us.  We have the secret recipe for living a triumphant life.
        A footnote.  The priest at this morning's Mass quoted another priest he knew: "To love, you anticipate the needs of others."

The Same Holy Communion

        When I received Holy Communion today, I saw that in essence the words I heard were exactly what Jesus said at the Last Supper and what I received was exactly what the Apostles received at the Last Supper, the first Mass.  This was a great feeling, even though Jesus was not visually present. 

Love Adds Meaning

        In today's readings at Mass, Paul pointed out that observing the law counts for nothing, but only faith through love; and Christ said to the Pharisees that observing the prescribed washing before meal does not cleanse the inside.  This lead me to think that we perform many deeds by going through the motion just because it's the practice, custom, or tradition.  If we're given free choice, we probably wouldn't want to do any of them.  What's lacking is love.  So doing them all with love for God, then they will become meaningful.  

Jesus' Challenge

        From Matthew 10:  "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.  But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."  These are strong words from Jesus.  We are faced with making a choice.  Of course, one can ignore him, but the question remains.  

        What I love about Jesus is that he challenges us and let us make up our own minds.  He knows what he's talking about.  Everything is clear cut.  To me, again, the mark of a true, loving God.    

Good Way to Keep Humble

        My last post deals with our nothingness before God.  The great saints regard themselves as being most wretched before God, so humility is definitely a sign of holiness.  The more we realize our sinful state and lowliness, the more we come to see how holy and exalted God is ~ a good way to keep us humble.