Best Trip Ever!

        I heard this morning that one person chose to go on a certain expensive trip because it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Then I thought that choosing to follow Jesus is also once in a lifetime in the sense that you get that opportunity only in your one lifetime. Since I choose to follow Jesus, my trip will be one-way and end in heaven, leaving me there to enjoy the Lord for all eternity! It's my prayer that all of us on earth will plan for this trip before going on any other trips.  

Wonderful Attitude

           This morning on Nation Public Radio, I heard about the sisters of Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, for the first time. They are topping the Billboard classical charts with their albums of sacred music. Mother Cecilia, prioress of the abbey and the group's music arranger, was being interviewed on air. She talked about how her exposure to sacred music lifted her spirit to God, and made her think on eternal things, up out of the petty things of life. "Eternal things" ~ I immediately wondered how much time do we spend thinking on eternal things in place of the petty things of life. At the end, Mother Cecilia impressed me by saying, "The CDs are something God has allowed to happen. It's a wonderful thing insofar as it brings souls closer to God, and in the meantime helps us pay our debt, but other than that, life just flows along at the priory just the same way it did before. And that's the way we love it; that's the way we want. No tours, no concerts, you know? Just simple monastic life." Elsewhere I also read that earlier last year when one of the albums topped the charts for weeks, the sisters couldn't care less. Mother Cecilia said, "These CDs are absolutely non-essential to our life of prayer. It we hadn't recorded, or if we don't record again, it really wouldn't have any bearing, any effect on our life." What a wonderful attitude ~ dwelling on what's eternal and being detached from all that's temporal! 

       I'd also like to add that Mother Cecilia was a gifted French horn player of the Columbus Symphony, Columbus, MO, before she joined the Benedictines of Mary order. When that happened, people thought she was throwing her life away, wasting her talents. I like her thoughts expressed here too: "The funny thing with God is, when you give him everything, he takes that offering seriously, and he does as he promises: He gives a hundredfold." Amen. 

Wonderful Christian Life

        We can take advantage of every life situation to get close to God. Each situation provides us with opportunities to love, obey, honor, and glorify God, storing up treasures in heaven, and to shine as light of the world, drawing others to Christ. What wonderful living! How blessed are we to be able to serve God and enter heaven later! To make the most of our Christian life, aim for total union with God. 

Obedience and Peace

        After over nine weeks, my cough still hasn't completely left me. My doctor finally prescribed an antibiotic for me to take. Knowing that I am in God's hands no matter what, I see no point in worrying or projecting what might happen to me, and I remain peaceful. Rebelling against God always robs one of inner peace. Obedience (trust in this case) and peace go hand in hand with each other.

The Adoption Process

        Jesus looms large, challenging us to decide if he is true God or not. Once we believe that he is, we are challenged to decide if we are willing to surrender to him completely or not. To me, these are invigorating challenges, tests to meet in the adoption process of becoming sons and daughters of God the Father.

God, Our Standard

        What's beautiful to us may repel God, and what's pleasing to God may not attract us. But we can be sure that what's beautiful to God must be the truly beautiful and what's ugly to him, the truly ugly.

How to Overcome Sin

        The best way to overcome sin is to surrender to Christ. As a matter of fact, it is the only way!

Why We Need God

        Today's Communion experience. After receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I knew that God is the only one who can make us holy.

A Useful Tip

        I was with someone who I felt was somewhat stuffy and snobbish and disagreed with his view on a certain matter, and I aired my contrary view. As a result, the disagreement got a little heated. Later I saw my mistake this way. Probably most of us have heard the saying "Hate the sin and not the sinner." Applying this in my case, I should have made the distinction between a person's attitude and the person. It's so easy to identify the view expressed by the person with the person. Keeping this in mind, I would have had a civilized discussion or exchange without getting emotional. This tip should also prove useful in any evangelization effort.  

Following God's Will Clarified

        It doesn't mean that we sit around and do nothing, waiting for some special sign from God. On the contrary, we remain alert and active, always acting sensibly, prayerfully, and without ego. This last italicized condition distinguishes "following God's will." 

Finding a Shepherd

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, when Jesus saw the vast crowd following him, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. My last post can relate to this. Choosing to follow our own passion is choosing to remain lost without a shepherd to guide us, while choosing to follow God's will is choosing to follow Christ as our shepherd, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14.6).  

Choosing Your Path

        In essence there are just two paths to take in life: follow your own passion or follow the will of God. The general advice your get today is that if you feel like doing something, then go for it. This may be exciting, but your path will not be smooth because you may have veered from God's plan for you. In the end, you are not any closer to God. On the other hand, if you follow God's will, never rushing ahead on your own, you lose all anxieties of life and enjoy peace. It may seem that you are not going anywhere, but you are with God every step of the way. These two different paths are exciting in their own way, but they lead to completely different ends.  

Telling God Everything

        We all have secrets we don't want to reveal because they can shame or embarrass us. Even in confession, it's easy to tone down what truly bothers us. Perhaps one would air more to a paid psychiatrist to get his money's worth. At any rate, we should feel free to tell every hidden thing to God. In a way, this is easier than sharing it with another human being because God already knows everything about us. He specifically wants us to tell him to show that there is no barrier between him and us. In telling, God often gives us insights unbeknown to us previously. The greatest benefit is that once we see things clearly, he takes away our heart-felt trouble! Way back I declared God to be the greatest psychiatrist in the whole universe ~ he who creates us knows us best. Feeling free to share everything with God is a sign of good relationship with him ~ the beginning of union with God.             

Best Advice on Living

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus began sending the Twelve out two by two. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick ~ no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. It's clear that Jesus wanted the Apostles to live simply and put all trust in him. I can't imagine that he would advise us differently today. "Travel light" definitely applies to living the spiritual life, and it's made possible by full trust in God.   

Best Selection Process

       Today there are many shows popular in the entertainment media featuring competitions in cooking, home decorating, etc. On BBC I saw the first episode on how 12 young British designers competed to win the opportunity of working alongside Philippe Starck, the celebrated French design guru, for six months at his agency in Paris. Over many weeks, Starck would whittle the twelve down to just one student. Right off the bat, two candidates failed their first challenge and got eliminated. I could see the shock and disappointment in their face. They were first selected among the hundreds of applicants, traveled all the way to Paris, full of hope, and now with their dream dashed, had to go home and face the people who congratulated and hoped for them. I sympathize with their predicament.

         I can't help thinking about how Jesus selects us for the opportunity of living in heaven with him for all eternity. First of all, he includes everyone so that there's no competition, no whittling down. Next, he does not judge and has already given us the chance of being selected. We don't get eliminated at our first failures. In fact, we can't get eliminated unless we voluntarily give up. Seize this opportunity and we'll never experience shock or disappointment and our dream will come true to boot.  

God Is Lord!

        Lying in bed this morning, I felt my heart beating in rhythm and marvel at that. The human body is like a well-built machine and no machine can run without an operator. Here we have God keeping us alive. I became aware that my breathing, pulsation of the heart, the abilities to feel and to think... all depend upon God. How can we not acknowledge that he is our Lord? 

A Look at Sin

        Sin acts like a boomerang ~ any sin committed will return to haunt you, causing regret. You can harden and choose to ignore it, but this is like sweeping things under the rug ~ you won't have your peace back. Sinning hurts God foremost, yourself, and others too. To sin to gain some momentary pleasure or satisfaction at the expense of others, risking losing your soul in the process ~ this is definitely not cool, to put it mildly. In conclusion, sin is not worth committing. Therefore, let's welcome the coming of Christ into our world, imparting the good news of saving us from sin once and for all. He is the only one who can wipe our spiritual record clean.     

Journey Nonpareil

        To know God through Christ is to reach the end of the ultimate journey. It is truly going home to our Father. Jesus has made it so clear and certain that there can not be another path as straight and direct. Blessed are those who have heard God's call and followed Christ.