How Near Is Peace?

        The news happening around the world is getting worse each day.  What saddens me the most today is that child sacrifice is still a business in Uganda and the perpetrators are not even placed under police arrest.  Elsewhere we hear assassinations, murders, protests, mutual accusations and threats among the nations...  Back home, ambitious, egoistic, insincere, and unethical politicians place their own interests ahead those of the nation.       

        As long as we leave God out of the picture and do not repent and become humble, there will be no peace for us.  All peace starts with peace in our heart ~ it's that simple.

Truth of Jesus Realized

        After receiving Holy Communion at Mass today, in a instant I realized that the Lord is totally true.

Action Makes the Difference

        Jesus stresses the importance of hearing his word and acting on it so that we may bear fruit. After you hear the word preached in the homily at Sunday Mass, do you act upon it at all? Or your conscience tells you that you should do something and you only go as far as agreeing with it? The Protestants claim that we are justified by faith alone, while we Catholics believe that works are necessary too. In reality, if you truly believe in God, good works automatically follow ~ you can't help it. At any rate, whether you act or not after hearing the word of God makes the big difference. It results in the difference between being a nominal Christian and being a true disciple of Christ.

Our Best Assignment

        Athletes hoping to win an Olympic medal train long hours every day for years.  I know musicians who live for music; if you take away their music, they'd rather die.  Then there are high school students who set their minds on entering Harvard or Stanford, and business persons determined to make a fortune before they are 30 or 40.  Such single-mindedness, such determination, such dedication!  But to whom will the Olympic medal be awarded?  When life is over, will your music still be around?  Will Harvard or Stanford and making a fortune make you truly happy?  If you want to do all these things without involving God, then I'd say that you are basically self-centered.

        Jesus wants us to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength ~ here is the best assignment for us!  Replace all your worldly goals with loving God and you'll never regret the outcome.

Opposite States of Existence

        Surrendering to God lifts one to the highest, most wholesome, and realistic state of existence.  At the opposite end, one lives in a transitory, "dream" world, lost and without real hope.  Today's economic woes are our number one concern; but even if every single citizen makes a million dollars a year, as long as we exclude God and remain immoral, we will not be happier nor have peace in our hearts.  

How to Love the Lord

        If you yearn for God, then you must love him.  The way to let the Lord know that you love him is to love others.  You must conquer yourself first so that you become fit to love.  Start practicing with your own family or others close to you.

Union with God Best

        At Mass this morning, the Lord made me see that every moment we live without being aware of him is a moment lost forever.  We should cling to God for dear life because our lives are truly in danger without him.  The best solution is to seek union with him, then we'll be safe and secure in his hands now and forever.

Why I'm Catholic, Steve Ray's Website

        I lost my link list and am unable to start another one using the gadget.  I suspect (not believe) that it's because I have Internet Explorer 9 as my browser and Google is forcing us to switch to Chrome.  Anyway, a website I'd like to recommend is Steve Ray's: http://whyiamcatholic.com/.  I read Steve's book Crossing the Tiber a few years back and have enjoyed watching his presentations Footprints of God on EWTN.  Yesterday I saw him on Marcus Grodi's Journey Home, also on EWTN ~ he was a joy to watch as he was articulate, fluent, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and filled with joy.  So I went on his website Why I'm Catholic and found it to be full of beautiful conversion stories ~ a site as articulate and joyful as Steve himself.

Accepting God's Invitation to Be Chosen

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus told the parable of The Wedding Banquet and pointed out at the end: "Many are invited, but few are chosen."  It starts out beautifully, but ends on a rather sad note. Good questions to ask ourselves are: "Am I invited?" and "If so, am I chosen?"  I want to be a chosen one in the hope of changing the statement to "Many are invited and many are chosen" so as to give more joy to the Lord.   

Presence of Jesus Felt

        There was Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction after Mass this morning.  Again, I became aware of the presence of Jesus.  Seeing the consecrated host had the same effect on me as seeing Christ in person. 

Awareness of God Experienced

        There is a beautiful, carved statue of the Blesses Mother in the chapel where I attend daily Mass.  Noticing her beautifully carved hands this morning brought to my mind the wonderful design of the human hand with fingers of various sizes and lengths, working perfectly together.  Then the hand is just one of zillions of other designs.  In a flash, I was made aware of the existence of God.  Furthermore, I realized that, besides being a marvelous creator of physical designs, God also has an abstract dimension to him ~ love.  We, besides being physical, have an extra dimension too ~ we sense right from wrong, feel the beauty of nature, yearn for something greater than ourselves...

Follow God Perfectly

        When you are one with the Lord, you and he think alike and you do exactly what he would do ~ that is, you follow him perfectly (in theory).  There will be no leading nor falling behind him.  God often takes his time ~ see how long it took Jesus to begin his ministry.  By following him, we learn to be patient and calm.  The world rushes ahead on its own, no wonder it's in such trouble.  Follow God alone and not the world.

***Amazing Relationship

        St. John the Baptist said that he's not even worthy to carry Jesus' sandals, yet Jesus asked him to baptize him.  Jesus is the Lord of all, yet he washed the feet of his disciples.  He is my God, yet I can talk to him as if he's my brother.  He is all holy and mighty and I am a wretched sinner, yet he offers himself to me daily in the Holy Eucharist.  The Most Worthy died for the unworthy to save them ~ it just gets more and more amazing.

The Best Unity

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house."  A divided nation will not have peace and a family disunited falls apart.  It's very clear that strength comes from unity.  Therefore, unite with the very best and mightiest and you'll have both strength and stability.  How about union with the Lord?

A Joyful Situation

        At morning Mass, I felt joyful that I may freely turn to God at any time and that God may freely draw me close to him at any time.

A Better View on Life

       Again, I watched some of the videos on Steve Jobs online.  One is titled "Death is life's best invention" (according to Jobs).  His view was that since death is unavoidable, the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.  This view worked well for him, but will not satisfy a true Christian because it does not offer hope, is somewhat vague and self-centered, and sounds more like a temporary fix.  I might subscribe to his view if I didn't know of a loving God.  Now I know that there is life after death and true satisfaction comes only from serving God selflessly.      

Why Reject Jesus?

        After sensing that Jesus is the life (read my last post), I realize that he can also forgive your sins, make you pure, heal all your interior wounds, help you kick all your bad habits, replace your worries and anxieties with freedom and peace ~ basically, transforming you into a brand new creature.  If you still do not accept him, yet cannot say that he is all false, then you owe it to yourself to search your soul hard to find out why.

Jesus as the Life

        Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life."  Today as I received the Lord in Holy Communion, I particularly sensed him as the life.  He's not only sustaining my present life, but also breathing new life into me, preparing me for the eternal life.  The Lord creates, rejuvenates and resurrects life.