Humility Opens Doors

        To find God, we need to remain humble first. To hear God speak, we need to have quiet and peace both within and without us, for a disturbed soul shuts out the voice of God. Again, humility is required to submit ourselves to get in tune with him. Only the humble will find and hear God.

Gift of the Holy Eucharist

        Poets, songwriters, artists ... have all used their imagination to create beautiful works. We can also imagine how beautiful God is, but the Holy Eucharist which I receive daily over time has revealed to me that God is absolutely real.

Test Questions

        Suppose you belong to a team that serves God in some way. After serving together, would you be happier if you are the only person praised for your work or the only person not being praised for the work? What answer is best to please the Lord?

Awesome Lessons

        Communion experience. I saw the changing of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ during consecration even greater and more astounding than the transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor. After I received Holy Communion, the Lord made me see that surrendering to him pleases him more than saying all the written prayers there are.  

Purgatory not Good Enough

        Settling for purgatory first after death is not good enough for us if we want to make God number one in our life. It is not good enough for him either because he deserves the very best from us.

Our World Portrayed

        The big news today is the birth of the royal baby from William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, overshadowing the story of the Pope's arrival in Brazil for the World Youth Day Festival. This is expected for a world that has pretty much gone secular. Interests in popular events far exceed spiritual concerns. The behavior of the five foolish virgins in Jesus' parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25) perfectly portrays our world today. What happened to them at the end will happen to our world too.

Seeing from the Right Perspective

        In the news today, NASA has released photos of the Earth and Moon taken by a spacecraft orbiting Saturn ~ nearly a billion miles away. You see one tiny bright spot and a "short" distance away an even tinier one in the vast dark space. First image that came to my mind was two human neighbors on that tiny spot fighting each other for they just couldn't get along. Lord, have pity on us.

Making God Number One

        If God is to be number one in our lives, then we must trust in him completely. This means we trust in his justice completely. Then after we pray for our loved ones, we no longer worry about how God is going to answer our prayers. And we don't worry about any other outcomes either. All this may sound cold, but it is doing our best the right way.

Love That Melts the Heart

        I just saw on EWTN the welcome ceremony at the airport for the arrival of the Holy Father in Brazil for World Youth Day. He was greeted by the president of Brazil and a children's choir, among many others. The joy all around was palpable. I couldn't help thinking how much joy the disciples of Jesus must have felt when they personally saw the Lord teaching, healing, and performing all the great works of mercy. My heart sensed that the sweet love of God can truly melt one's heart so that one feels nothing but joy. How I wish that we all experience this!  

Jesus Restores Peace

        Communion experience. I felt Jesus to be my center. After receiving him in the Holy Eucharist, inner peace was completely restored. 

Same Father, Same God

        Today is the Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene. The Gospel reading was taken from John 20. The Resurrected Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb. Before he departed, his last words to her were: "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and you God.'" How good it is to hear that Jesus' Father is our Father and his God is our God! This is what communion of the saints is all about ~ a Christian is never alone.

Perfect Feeling and Knowing

        Communion experience. Before receiving the Holy Eucharist, I felt that I was the luckiest person in the whole world. After receiving the Lord, I knew that he's the one worth dying for.

Being Perfect in Christ

        In Reading 2 from Colossians 1 at Mass, Paul proclaims Christ to them so that he may present everyone perfect in Christ. This echoes Jesus' command for us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Come to think of it, there is no way to become perfect except in Christ, for he alone is perfect and has the power to make us perfect.  

All in Light of Love

        In Matthew 9 and again 12, Jesus quoted Hosea 6.6: I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I believe that the Lord wants us to love first and consider everything else in light of love. I also believe that we are to detach ourselves from all things of the world, but not necessarily to renounce them unless we are called to do so in light of love. I believe that we are to enjoy God foremost and all else in light of love. Last, we are to suffer for God in light of love. 

In the Name of the Lord

        Paul in Colossians 3.17 advises: Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord. To me, it means do everything for the glory of God or from a practical point of view, do everything to draw others to Christ. Nowadays we do so many things, individually or as a group, in public or private, without taking this into consideration due to the lack of faith in God. We end up doing what we think we should do and not bearing any fruit for the Lord. The change must start with each one of us in the name of the Lord.  

On Facing Death

        Death is imminent for all of us. We can shrink back, be afraid, and try to hold onto this life, but this is being weak in faith and unrealistic. The healthy, proper attitude is to welcome death and look forward to meeting our most beloved Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Luke 9.62: Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God. This saying applies here too. Death is not a dead end (pun not intended). Prepare yourself right and death becomes you gateway to freedom and eternal bliss. Following Jesus means willing to go through anything after him, and he did die. 

No More Knowing Each Other

        My elderly neighbor across the street has 26 grandchildren, so he has trouble keeping straight who's who. Our heavenly Father will have no such problem with us. I don't even need a name. He knows me and I know my sonship. As Jesus said in John 10, he knows his sheep and they know him. No words need to be exchanged. Then when you reach union with God, he and you become one and knowing becomes irrelevant.

A Small Heaven

        Communion experience. Heaven is where God dwells. When the Lord entered me in the Holy Eucharist, I felt that he's going to transform his dwelling in me into a small heaven. So I have Jesus in heaven in me ~ I was overjoyed!