Reacting to Election Outcome

       The election is over. I see an increasing polarized nation with more infringement upon religious freedom coming. In a secular society, such persecution is expected or even welcomed by those who are faithful to the Lord. Is there a lesson here for us? Rather than pointing the blaming finger at the enemy, I feel that the Lord wants us to examine ourselves first. It's the teaching on noticing the wooden beam in our own eye first before attempting to remove the splinter in our brother's eye (Matthew 7, Luke 6). Atheists and nonbelievers do not hear God speak, so any lesson is for us. 

         We need to ask ourselves many questions. How strong is our faith? How much do we really love the Lord? How faithful are we in following the teachings of our Church? How united are all the Christians? How united are we as Catholics? Did we just vote for our sake or for the glory of God? How bold are we in proclaiming the gospel? How much do we pray? Do we always obey the Holy Spirit? Do we play politics within the Church? These are all important questions and I am not just asking the laity, but the clergy as well. As in our personal spiritual life, it is us who are our worst enemy. The war against drugs will continue as long as the demand for it is present; similarly, the war against evil will continue as long as we do not give ourselves completely to God. We must be willing to carry our cross and be prepared to become martyrs if necessary. Don't put your hope in man or any government; put it in the Lord God alone, for you won't find true freedom anywhere except in him! 

Securing Your Future Now

        There is heaven and there is hell ~ Jesus made it clear and many saints and seers have been granted visions of one or the other or both. (It's worth watching the video A Judgment Experience on this blog.) For us, what we should "fear" are the things we don't see but are out there. Heaven and hell are the only two possible, very-near-future destinations for all of us. Time passes by quickly and the time left for each of us is unknown. Put your trust in Christ and start living a holy life right now and your future will have been secured. 

Accept God's Invitation?

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of the man giving a great dinner. He invited many, but one by one they all began to excuse themselves. Each could not come, claiming that he had some business to attend to or something that tied him up. The master of the house in a rage ordered his servant to go out and bring in everyone else to fill his home and said to the servant, "I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner." 

        Clearly, the invitation was to dine in the Kingdom of God. I can't help thinking that Catholics who do not follow all the teachings of the Church are rather like those guests who found excuses not to accept the invitation. The danger here is that they could miss out on entering the Kingdom of God altogether.

Holy Sorrow

        Today is the big day of voting when the American people choose their next president. As a Catholic, I feel great sorrow because many Catholics vote in contradiction to the teachings of the Church. This is holy sorrow because it is a sorrow that the Lord feels. Ordinary sorrows are self-centered and can rob us of peace, but holy sorrows do not. Jesus suffered agony, scourging, insults, and excruciating physical pain, yet he remained peaceful and loving. Therefore, holy sorrows (and holy joys) are Jesus' sorrows (and joys).

What Heart Is Made for

        It became clear to me during prayer after Mass that God had given us the heart for communicating with him. We don't need to say words and our brain can only think, not speak. With our heart, we link ourselves directly to the Lord's heart and prayer becomes heart-to-heart communication with him ~ it's now communion at the exalted level.

God Repays

         The Gospel reading from Luke 14 at Mass: On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 

      The lesson is clear. Love but do not expect repayment and you will be repaid by God. Again, it's the selfless way of building up treasures in heaven. Basically, the more we empty ourselves, the more God replenishes us.

Selfless Way to Freedom

        Today's first reading at Mass came from Philippians 2. The verse that stood out for me is 3a: "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory." In other words, we must be selfless. Jesus is totally selfless and he is free. Hence the secret of becoming free is to abandon ourselves in God. We cannot fly in space like the birds, but we can soar in Christ with total freedom. What a contrast to living selfishly with all our heavy burdens!

God Most Considerate

        I first read St. Teresa's Interior Castle some decades ago. Now I am about to reread it. The Introduction tells me that it took her only two months of writing time to complete the book, her last work. To quote from the Introduction: Interior Castle presents the saint's spiritual doctrine through the unifying outline of seven dwelling places among which there is a division into two sections. The first three groups of dwelling places speak of what is achievable through human efforts and the ordinary help of grace. The remaining four groups deal with the passive, or mystical, elements of the spiritual life.

        It is gratifying to learn that what I've learned from the Lord is a simplified version of her synthesis. I have posted that the two parts of the spiritual journey are marked by the point of self-surrender. In the first part, we struggle on our own most of the way and in the second, we remain passive with God doing the work for us. The Lord simplifies things for me so that with a simple mind, I can understand. The Lord is always most considerate.  

Safe in Savior

        If you live in a more affluent society today, you face the onslaught of temptations daily. One his own, no mortal being can remain secure and be unaffected. But there is Jesus, our Savior. In him, we are safe from all evil. In him, temptation cannot exist. In him, we find true peace.

Going All Out

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Mark 12, we heard Jesus giving the first of all the commandments: The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The Lord God has already given his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life ~ this is going all out to show his greatest love for us. The fitting thing for us to do is indeed to love him with all we've got ~ this is the exact direction and purpose we need for our life. Going all out for God assures that we are on the right path to dwelling in our heavenly home for all eternity.  

Taking the Lord Seriously

        We must take the Lord seriously over all other worldly concerns. I see so many calling themselves Christians, yet remaining far away from him. Coming back to the Lord can be so easy, yet they make it so hard. One day it'll be too late for them to get back in, for the door will be shut. This has happened to many before ~ are we to follow in their footsteps? Not taking the Lord seriously is not caring for yourself.   

Only the Truly Humble Can Love

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass was taken from Luke 14. Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. Noticing how those who had been invited were choosing the places of honor at the table, he told them a parable that was a lesson on humility. He ended the story with this saying: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." 

        In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I can easily see that anyone who is truly humble can love as Paul had specified. Humility is inseparable from love. 

Maintaining Connections

        Once we are in Christ, we are no longer of the world. The challenge now is to remain connected with others who are still very much in the world and do not understand our position. We need to be anchored to the Christ within us and try to remain humble, patient, and tolerant. Then because we still reside in the world, there is also the challenge to remain closely connected with the Lord amid all the distractions. It's absolutely necessary to spend time in solitude frequently with him to maintain that connection. 

Union Purpose Restated

        The primary purpose of seeking union with God is to give him glory by being holy. It is not to find freedom, peace, and joy for ourselves although they are often the by-products of our search.        

Christian in Any Circumstances

        Just read in the news: "When the US presidential election is over, estimates say it will end up costing $2.5 billion." Spending this much money just to get one man who is basically a politician and may not even be totally honest elected, it is insane if you see it this way. Why can't we dispense with all ads, including those dirty, attack TV ones, and just allow the two candidates to debate and/or give separate presentations over the media, talking about their respective visions, plans, and goals for the nation? They can travel around the country to campaign if they so choose. This way we get to see the candidates directly without being affected by the inaccurate and distorted depictions of them in ads, saving much money. 

        The talk of money got me thinking about our capitalistic society. The system means free enterprise, but it comes at a great cost. Under capitalism, the goal is to make money. For corporations and companies, it's profit, profit, profit. For the individuals, it's making money to own a house, buy cars and other material things for comfort, be able to put children through college, etc. ~ it is the American dream! Most high school students already start thinking about making a lot of money before they graduate. The love of money definitely keeps us away from thinking about God. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon. This is the big drawback of capitalism.  

       In Acts 4, we read that the community of believers was of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own ~ they had everything in common. There was no needy person among them, for money and wealth were distributed to each according to need. This seems to be an ideal society, but it will only work if all participants are of one heart and mind in the Lord. Anyway, though the system under which we live may be far from perfect, it's always right to be the most perfect Christian we can possibly be.

Communion Joy

        During the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, I saw the moment of consecration of the bread and the wine as one at which Jesus declared his love for us. After receiving him, joy, peace, and contentment filled my entire heart. They all came from within, proving that God dwells in the heart. I actually felt both the "heat" and the "weight" of the joy, perhaps caused by the sheer amount I experienced. 

God All-Knowing

        At Mass, the Lord made me see that for everything we do for his glory, we shall be rewarded, for nothing goes unnoticed by him. 

Reason for Rejoicing

        Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. The readings at Mass were so beautiful that they gave me extra joy. Reading 1 came from Revelation 7. In St. John's vision one of the elders revealed to him that those wearing white robes present were the ones who had survived the time of great stress, and had washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. This is a powerful image. Consider it a miracle that red blood can actually wash the robes and make them white. If you know that you are wearing such a white robe, rejoice!  

        Reading 2 came from 1 John 3. St. John wrote: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Again, if you know that you are already one of God's children, rejoice!

        The Gospel was the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5. The Beatitudes are beautiful in both words and content. When I heard them, I heard the powerful, loving voice of the Lord in my ears. After the last Beatitude, Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven." Anyway you look at it, you see reason for rejoicing.