Eager to Learn

        Once when I was still a young man, I dreamed of becoming a great pianist. So I thought how great it would be if I possessed the talents of all the great pianists of the world. Of course, that was pure foolish and self-centered fantasizing. During Communion today, I had the great desire to learn from the Lord. Then I thought why not ask all the great saints in heaven to teach me too. This time, I was sincere, with no ego involved, and definitely not fantasizing. 

Endearing God

        Today at morning Mass, I realized that it's the Incarnation of Jesus that had made God truly endearing to us. God is not just Lord and God, he became our most beloved, our friend, our brother, and even our servant; even his mother became our mother ~ all made possible by love.   

Glorious Living

        Believe and trust in God with all your heart and God will fill you with his love to overflowing and perform wondrous deeds through you. This is glorious living when you live for God's great glory!

A Beautiful Way to Go Home

        Here's a beautiful Ave Maria supposedly to have been written by the Polish film-score composer Michal Lorenc and sung by the Polish soprano Olga Szyrowa, although I could not find any information on Google to substantiate these claims. The clip, very moving, came from the movie The Passion of the Christ. Christ died for us out of love for us ~ it's our turn to die for him for loving us. What a beautiful way to go home to our heavenly Father!

The Perception of Distance

        As human beings with physical senses living in a physical world, we sense how far anything is from us by its actual location in terms of measured distance or whether we can hear or see it. Wrongly, we tend to perceive God and heaven the same way. The spiritual world is not a physical world ~ the moment we die, we are there! And we don't need to travel any distance to go to God either ~ he is ever present and already dwells in those who love him.

A Wonderful Gift

        The big bang theory describes how the universe began in a rapid expansion about 14 billion years ago, but some major problems still remained. Now the big bang theory modified by the inflation theory seems to have solved these problems. Inflation refers to the expansion of space lasting just an instant right after the big bang. Afterwards the universe continues to expand at a slower rate. All this is rather mind-boggling, and I become aware that God has given us this wonderful sense of wonderment. With this unique gift, we are able to enjoy these amazing perceptions of the universe and our even more amazing God.   

Food That Sanctifies Us

        Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist I have just received is not only something from heaven, but also nothing short of being the body of the Lord! And this is the food that raises us to holiness.   

Recipe for Peace

        Do everything to please God alone to the exclusion of all else, then you'll have peace.

All About Surrender

        The word "surrender" is usually associated with unpleasant circumstances ~ for example, we surrender the city to the enemy, the thief surrenders the stolen goods to the police, one surrenders himself to a life of imprisonment, you surrender your office to someone. But there is one exception: when you surrender yourself to God, you gain unrestricted freedom (and eternal life to boot)!

The Authentic God

        Read through all the Gospels and you see that Jesus always spoke and acted with authority. Many attempted to trip him up with questions and he always had the right answer. Of course, there are many others in the world who speak with authority, but they do it only as experts on a particular subject or in a certain area, never as the all-knowing God himself! ~ this is the huge difference.

Mercy and Justice

        God's mercy is great. Jesus went through his Passion, died on the cross, but he never complained or condemned anyone. On the contrary, he prayed for those who put him to death. Everyone, including the ones who hammered the nails through his hands and feet, can be forgiven if they only repented and believed. Jesus asked us not to judge anyone as he never did while on earth, always leaving open the door to salvation. But there will be a final judgment, for mercy with no justice served is not true mercy.

Passion to be Welcomed

        Remembering how Jesus rebuked Peter for wishing that he's not going to suffer greatly and be killed? We must realize that Jesus, in carrying out the will of the Father, welcomed the cross; gladly suffered and died for us out of love. [How I wish that all nonbelievers see this.] To feel sorry for him is not what God wants from us. Instead, we should praise God, thank him for what he has done for us, and rejoice that we are so loved by God.

Best Unity of All!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11 at morning Mass, Jesus drove out a demon that was mute. The crowds were amazed and some of them said that he drove out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Jesus said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?" It is true that every nation, government, political party, organization of any kind, or family divided will remain weak and eventually disintegrate. A person alone can also be divided if he is unhappy about life and dislikes himself, and will fall in time. Only unity can produce strength and stability. And this leads me to see that the best (and most profitable) unity we can have is union with God! Such unity will make us so strong that no evil can touch us in this life. Since it's a unity not of this world, it will extend into our next life for all eternity too.

In Christ Is Freedom

        Why do we have fears, worries, get anxious, or feel self-conscious? Answer: because we are still attached to ourselves, still think we are somebody, don't fully trust in God yet, and care about what others think. Galatians 2.19, 20 provide the clue to the solution we need: I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me. When Christ displaces us in us, nothing can affect us negatively anymore. The wicked will only make us feel sorry for them and we'll be able to forgive our enemies. No longer shall we be concerned about our own image; we simply do what the Lord wants us to do and let what follows follow. With God taking over our lives, we are set free.

Importance of Humility

        Without humility, one cannot have inner peace, love others truly, and be holy.

Saving the World

        Transformation of the world must start with the transformation of each one of us. And our transformation starts with following Christ, becoming humble, loving, and holy as he is. We may not witness notable success in our lifetime or even lose our life in the process, but we must take this path as it's the only right way.

The Resurrection Effect

        The Resurrection of Christ still fills the Christian today with hope that vanquishes all despair and with joy that dissolves all sadness.  

Joy of a Healed Soul

        As always, before we receive Communion at Mass, the priest says: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. And we all say: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. This morning, I felt great joy in asking the Lord to heal my soul because a healed soul is close to God, enjoying still greater intimacy with him.