*Bonding With God

        As I watched the priest consecrating the bread and wine during the liturgy of the Eucharist, I marveled at the selflessness and ingenuity of God. For bonding, some societies devise secret handshakes or conduct initiation, while other organizations go to the extreme of making blood pacts. But our Lord just simply gives us himself to consume under the guise of bread and wine so that we may become one with him. It has to be the most beautiful and intimate bonding on this earth.  

To Be Part of Jesus

        The Lord's words in today's Gospel reading from John 15 are powerful. Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned." Jesus was not talking about doing things for your own sake; to be fruitful is to do what glorifies God. How to be sure that you are one of his branches? Seek to attain union with him is the assured way to go.

Aging Blessing

        Aging gives us no choice but to become more and more dependent upon others. Disregard your pride and you'll see that it is a blessing. True, physically, you'll need others to help you; but spiritually, here's finally your chance to abandon yourself totally in God's hands. A great time to enjoy God to the fullest!  

God's Mercy at Work

        When we are young, we live as if we're going to live forever and God is seldom on our radar. As we age and our physical condition starts to weaken, we finally realize that death is imminent and begin to turn to God. I see this as God's mercy at work, preparing us to meet him. Would that we realize this earlier in life so that we could have lived a cleaner and more fruitful life. Anyway, happy ending is what matters now.

Approaching God Effectively

        Many who seek God take the wrong approach. They more or less challenge God to reveal himself to them. Suppose that God is real, the proper attitude would be to humble yourself and pray that he would take pity on you and let you know of his existence and/or presence. I believe this approach will get you quick results. Of course, when you start out without faith, you're likely to do the opposite. The smart approach is definitely the humble approach, for God loves to exalt those who humble themselves. 

Moment of Great Glory

        I am aware of my own existence and you are, of yours. Each one of us is a unique creature. Without God, we are all lost souls, drifting around and not knowing where we came from and where we are going. Then we find God and realized that he is our very creator, knowing every one of us through and through, loves us and awaits our return to him. Now we are no longer lost, but living with hope and purpose. We come to know who we truly are – this is the moment of great glory for us.

Mark of a Real Christian

        It is the joy of knowing Christ. A Christian without joy is one in name only, for he does not know the Lord well yet.  

God Makes Us Forgetful

        In today's first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas, to strengthen the spirits of their disciples and exhort them to persevere in the faith, reminded them that it would be necessary for them to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. In reality, we undergo hardships in life whether we follow Christ or not. The difference is that when we do it for the sake of Christ, it becomes a source of joy. Being intent on glorifying God makes us forget all the hardships. 

God Makes Us See Truth

        There are still people today who deny that Christ ever existed and claim that Christianity is a big religious hoax made up by a bunch of people. This is not just telling others that you ran into a Big Foot in the woods, it is saying that billions of people have been duped for two thousand years. If you have any common sense at all, you would see that deception on such a massive scale is well nigh impossible. My genuine personal experience is that when I follow Christ, he removes all my intentions to sin, including that of deceiving others. It follows that the Apostles, excluding Judas the betrayer, sincerely wanted to spread the good news of salvation with no deception. Those who make absurd claims about Christianity are clueless about the transformative power of God. 

*Most Exciting Life

        At this point, I am looking at my own faith in Christ. I felt the void in life, searched for God, found Christ, decided to put my faith in him and have lived with it ever since. It's not just Christ fulfilling my spiritual needs and I am all right now; it's so much more, as I get to know him more and more. Indeed, what I have received from him far exceeds my expections. The Lord turned out to be so beautiful that you couldn't help falling in love with him. His Holy Spirit made me realize without a doubt that he is God and made me want to become one with him. And you see clearly that the way to heaven is through him. I advise all to get to know him well to receive a most exciting life that leads to eternal happiness.

"For You Are My God"

          In my charismatic renewal days, I heard and learned the song "For You Are My God" by John Foley, SJ. For me, it is one of the most beautiful soul-stirring songs. The text based upon Psalm 16 of David accurately portrays my feeling toward God. It would be the perfect joyful song to play at my funeral. Here it is.

*Unique Beautiful Relationship

        Communion experience. To submit to Jesus is to simply rest in him, and you become one with the Lord when you have fully rested yourself in him. As one, whatever one feels, the other feels too. This most beautiful relationship is only possible with God.

*Most Amazing Personal God*

        Jesus died on the cross for all of us to save us, but he would have done the same, regardless of how many of us there were, are, or will be. So it is correct to say he died personally just for you or me. At Mass today, I saw that he personally instituted the Eucharist just so that I might have the opportunity to consume his flesh and blood. This Lord is our personal God, Father, Brother, consoler, redeemer, friend, servant, teacher, life guide, guardian, healer, soul purifier, deliverer of evil and many more – how blessed we are indeed!

Most Comforting Words

        In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." How comforting are the words of Jesus! How comforting it is to know that he shall take us to him to be with him! If we believe in him, how can we ever let our hearts be troubled? Jesus has a big point here.

**How to Know God Direct

        In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me. The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me." These are startling statements. Since I know Jesus and am in him, I now also know the Father and am in him. Know Jesus and you know God – there is absolutely no need to know God via another human being, especially if he or she claims to be a prophet.

*See How God Sees Us*

        All is relative and only God is absolute. We may think that we are surviving nicely in this world, but from God's point of view, we may be losing our soul fast. 

To Rejoice Always

        In Acts, we learned that the apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name Jesus. In today's reading from Acts 13, the Jews stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their territory. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and left, but were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. True followers of Christ do everything for his sake. They put their trust in him entirely and rejoice, no matter what the outcome may be. There is freedom and joy in serving God, following the Holy Spirit. In complete contrast are those who want things to turn out their way, experiencing neither freedom nor joy.

Response to Communion

          Communion experience. Our only logical response after receiving the Lord in Holy Communion is to let him make us holy.