What to Do with God's Love?

        A friend of mine used to say that he was happy any day he woke up, checked the newspaper obituary column and didn't find his name listed there. Of course, he was not being serious. This morning I woke up and felt happy because I knew that God still loved me, and I am being serious. Knowing that God's love is always there for me is a great consolation and joy. Each of us must ultimately deal with it ~ to accept or reject this love. 

God's Infinite Mercy

        Besides love, infinity is other word by which to remember God. It would take infinite creative power to create just a single blade of grass. But I am thinking about his mercy. I can be the most wretched sinner of all and if I just turn to him, repent, and seek salvation, then I instantly become his son. This is only possible if his mercy is infinite. It is fitting for us to show our appreciation by taking advantage of this mercy.

The Lord Is Joy

        Our pastor today gave a beautiful homily on Jesus as the bread of life. The Mass became a celebration for life. Receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord is entering him, his world, to be transformed into a new creature beautiful for him to behold. There is no greater joy in this life than letting God give us whatever he wants to give us! Jesus is joy ~ how can he not make us joyful? All in all, a beautiful day today!

True Bread of Life

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass, John 6:51-58, Jesus made it absolutely clear in his discourse to the crowds that he is the living bread that came down from heaven and whoever eats this bread will live forever; and this bread is his flesh for the life of the world. The Jews who heard Jesus quarreled among themselves and questioned, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" It's obvious that they never doubted that Jesus was not speaking symbolically. Normally, when Jesus told a parable and if there was anything unclear to the listeners, he would explain its hidden meaning. Here, he's not using a parable and there's nothing to explain ~ he simply responded by repeating what he had said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood..." Even his disciples found the saying hard and difficult to accept; some of them left him. Now, did it strike you for a moment that Jesus didn't literally mean what he said?

       The belief that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist had been held by all since the beginning of the Church. Those today who think that the Lord only offered the bread and wine as symbols are misinterpreting his words to fit their own erroneous belief. In doing so, they miss receiving the most holy of all the sacraments, making it impossible to achieve the most intimate union with him in this life. The Holy Eucharist, Christ himself, is the center of worship in the Catholic Church. Nothing, not even the Bible, can replace that.

Keeping the Soul Safe

        Because God loves us (or if we love him), it is our duty to keep our soul safe. This means that we must avoid all external influences that can cause us to sin and remove all internal urges to sin. The best and only solution is total immersion in God, a.k.a. union with God. 

Most Beautiful Relationship

        When a man and a woman are joined by God to become one and even though they might not get along all the time, they want to preserve this union at all costs, there is definitely something beautiful about it. By contrast, breakups such as divorce, the dissolution of a friendship, leaving the Church, abortion...all have something ugly about it. Remaining in union of God then has to be the most beautiful relationship of all.  

God Inspires

       If a father is a good example that makes his son look up to him, the son usually wants to grow up to be like the father. This was the feeling I had at Mass this morning ~ the inspiring example of the Lord made me want to be just like him.  

Be like Children Again

        At this morning's Mass, from Matthew 19 we heard Jesus say that "the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children." Earlier Jesus had already said that "unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." I believe that when we were children, we had all experienced the warmth, comfort, and security when we were held by or just leaned against someone such as our mother or anyone who took good care of us ~ it's a great feeling to know that you are in the close company of someone who loves you. Now that we are adults, let's be like little children again ~ only now we seek comfort and protection in the heavenly Father. This way we enter the kingdom of heaven, enjoying the warmth, comfort, and security in God.

Union with God Is for All

        If you think that union with God is not for you because only saints can achieve such union, then you are mistaken. You seek and achieve union with God first, then you become a saint ~ not the other way around ~ a saint is already in union with God.

God as Teacher

        After receiving Holy Communion at Mass this morning, I felt so fortunate and grateful that the Lord made me see all my faults for my good. He is a most loving teacher.

On Following God

        We are supposed to be God's instruments, speaking for him and doing deeds for him; but sometimes we forget and start doing our will as his ~ this is where we can lose our inner balance. I must remember that I am to follow God, not charging ahead of him. Whoever said "patience is a sign of holiness" is correct. 

Happy Are the Ones Who...

have God to straighten out everything in their lives.

God Loves a Contrite Heart

        As I knelt and prayed in church this morning, I realized that this would be a terrible position for a hypocrite to be in ~ imagine approaching God when you are insincere, dishonest, unforgiving, resentful.... Then I saw that a contrite heart was all that's required to change everything.

Forgiving Others Through God's Mercy

        This morning's Gospel reading at Mass was take from Matthew 18. Jesus wants us to forgive all our brothers and sisters from the heart if we want the heavenly Father to forgive us. This seems totally fair, but in practice, it can be very difficult for us as we all know. Ideally, to resolve the problem it would be best for us is to meet or contact the other party involved and show our desire for reconciliation, but this may not be possible for various reasons. The least we could do is to forgive from the heart so that when such an opportunity arises, we'll be ready. Of course, praying for the ones we have trouble forgiving is the very first move we should make. 

        I am thinking that it's through God's love that we are able to love others, then why can't we immerse ourselves in his ocean of mercy and "borrow" some of that mercy and use it to forgives others? Basically, we "make" God do everything through us.

Dealing with the Devil

        The most effective way to deal with the Devil is not to challenge him. Give God your full attention and the Devil, zero; then he won't even be able to approach you. Ignore the Devil and he is as good as gone.

Being Daredevil for God

        Once you have put all your trust in God, you become daredevil in the sense that you no longer worry about anything ~ all you care about is whatever has to do with God. In a way, God's business is now your business.

Clarifying Mary

       On this Feast day of the Blessed Mother, I would like to make some of our Catholic beliefs about her clear, especially to our Protestant brothers and sisters.

       (1) I don't think I need to say this, but there are still many who do not know the truth yet. The truth is that we do not worship Mary, as she declared herself in her song to God (see my last post) that she was simply a lowly servant of God.

       (2) We love her as we love all the saints and angels. We love her precisely because we love God. She never causes us to love Jesus less; in fact, she inspires us to love him even more! Many Catholics and converts have found Jesus through Mary. This humble mother Jesus gave us from the cross never wants to draw attention to herself, remaining hidden in her Son always. She is a great model for us to follow and imitate. She is such a beautiful saint that even if she's not related to the Lord, you would want to know her. She is magnificent! (Read about the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 11, today's first reading at Mass.)        

Humble Love

        Today's is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 contains the Magnificat, the beautiful hymn of Mary (verses 46-55). In praising God, Mary regarded herself as his lowly servant. Our love for God should also spring from humility. Love that's not humble is not pure. Look at Jesus ~ he remained meek and humble throughout his life on earth, showing his greatest love for us. If God can be so humble, it would be unthinkable for us not to be.