On Taking up the Cross

        Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." I believe that many do not wish to hear it because they do not wish to take up any cross. What they fail to see is that whether you follow Jesus or not, you will have your cross to bear. Jesus only showed us the way to lighten our load. You can deal with your cross on your own as most of the world is doing and fare worse, even ending up losing your soul. Perhaps denying yourself is the hard part to accept. Nevertheless, Christ himself is the supreme example of denying himself and taking up his Cross, following the will of the Father. To not follow this example is to distance ourselves far from him.  

How Should We Petition?

        Sometimes we pray unceasingly for a favor we need. Then we also learn that we only need to ask, confidently believing that God will answer us, and relax. Should we strike a balance between these two approaches? I think of St. Monica petitioning persistently for the conversion of her son Augustine, the prayer of total abandonment to God of St. Therese, and the Lord's own earnest request during his agony in the garden. So I believe that how we ask depends upon what we ask for and our own spiritual state. Let the Holy Spirit be our sole guide. What's essential is that the petition come from the heart with the greatest possible faith. 

God Is Hope

        It is Holy Saturday. After Jesus had been crucified, his disheartened disciples and followers scattered despite having seen all the wonders he had performed when he was alive. What hope was there now? Then Resurrection took place and everything changed. This is the greatest example showing that God never lets us down in the end, for he is our hope. Let us trust in him always in all things.

A Wake-Up Call

        In Luke 23, we read that as Jesus was carrying his cross on the way to be crucified, many women among the large crowd of people following Jesus mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that time people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" This was indeed a wake-up call given by Jesus out of love even as he is about to be killed. We must be aware foremost if we are offending the Lord. 

Christ's Great Sorrow

        If someone you love not only does not appreciate you, but turns around to inflict injury on you, you would feel hurt more by his ungratefulness than by the injury suffered. Today is Good Friday. As a man, there's no doubt that Christ experienced great agony for the suffering he went through, but his greater sorrow had to be over those he loved who rejected him and put him to death. May he be glorified for ever!

How We Truly Exist

        I see myself stripped down to the bare soul, with no physical body and not one thing around me, so it's just my soul and the Lord God. This is essentially how we should see ourselves, for the material world and everything else are not part of us. Now you can see clearly how good or bad you look to God. Yes, in the final analysis, it's just you and God. 

Road to Perishment

        As I reread the messages of Fatima warning us what would happen to the world if we are not penitent, seeing even so few Catholics pay attention to the requests and promises of Our Lady of Fatima, I see the world heading rapidly in the wrong direction. By ignoring God and thinking that we can manage all things by ourselves, we are well on the road to perishment.

God's Protection

        In prayer this morning at Mass, the Lord showed me that he would always protect those who love him spiritually, but not necessarily their possessions. This is good enough for me.

Tragedy of the World

        Our downfall is that we like to be in control of everything ~ the ego again. We even handle sin by ourselves, though sin is completely under God's jurisdiction. 

Created by God

        It just hit me that even if scientists can make something exactly like a human being, they still won't be able to give it a conscience. It just shows that God did create us.     

Only Obstacle to Freedom

        At Mass this morning, in an instant it was clear to me that what drags us down are ourselves ~ it's our ego that keeps us from soaring to God. If we are no longer self-concerned, we'll be carefree and free in the Lord. [Union with God makes you forget yourself and focus upon God only.]

God Has Created Us!

        God is love and his act of dying for our sins to redeem us is just incredible. It seems rather mysterious that I should feel it this way. Then intuitively I know that had there been no God and I somehow came into existence, I never would've been able to relate to such love. I know now that God exists and has made me this way so that I may love him.  

How to Feel Good

        When you know that Christ already dwells in you, let him be your only joy. Do not care about how good you look; care only about how good he looks in you to others. When he looks good, he will give you joy to make you feel good.  

Concerning God Again

        God is for going deep into, so dive into him with your all.

God Wins

        Communion feeling this morning. God has won me over. Before, I was stubborn, but now I'm in paradise.

Concerning God

        The right way: letting go in him. The wrong way: struggling before him.

Death Has Lost

        Yearning for the Lord works wonders ~ it banishes any fear of death. Basically, death has lost all its power over the Christian.

Greatest Achievement

        What is the greatest achievement of mankind? The fact is that everything we think we have achieved is done by God through us, for without him we wouldn't even exist. Then the greatest achievement that involves us has to be our salvation through the sacrifice of God's own Son ~ made possible by the greatest love there is.