Believe While There's Time!

        People believe in the existence of God, yet they have no idea what kind of God they would accept. For me, Christ is the true God from both the subjective and objective points of view. You can believe in some god, but only the true God can reveal himself to you within your heart. Love, peace, freedom, deep joy and your own transformation are all solid signs that that you have the truth. 

          Another mental image came to me this morning. Living our life is like walking along a precipice. If you slip, you can fall off it and plunge toward the bottom. If you do not know Christ, you may or may not survive, depending upon your circumstances and how good a person you are. If you know and believe in Christ, you can be sure you will be safe with him no matter what happens.     

Becoming Great

        Communion experience. Receive the Lord with humility and love, and you become great in his eyes.

Fantastic Trip

        Abandon yourself in God and the Lord transports your spirit to be with him. 

Greatest Correction We Need

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John, asked Jesus to command that her two sons sit, one at his right and the other at his left, in his Kingdom. That was typical of being a human mother, looking after her sons. When the other ten apostles heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Again, so typical of being selfcenteredly human. Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave." This is the greatest correction we all need.

Greatest Foresight

        Today's response from Psalm 126: Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. Everything we do affects God: we either please or offend him, and nothing goes unnoticed by him. We store up treasures either on earth or in heaven. Jesus knows that where our treasure is, there also will our heart be (Matthew 6.21). To see that we reap what we sow matters more than ever. 

*Greatest Possible Honor

        Today is the Feast of Saint James, Apostle. As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their fishing nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their  father and followed him. Do you know that the greatest honor is not being named a Nobel laureate, selected as the MVP during a championship game, awarded with an Oscar in the entertainment field, or any other honor the world can bestow on you?  The greatest honor we can ever possibly receive, not necessarily noticed by the world, is being chosen by Christ to follow him now and live with him forever in heaven later!

Great Stillness

        Communion experience. I felt great stillness in God, who is my beginning, my present, and my end forever.

**Sinner's Fear

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, some of the scribes and Pharisees demanded to see a sign from Jesus. Any unfaithful generation would not believe until it sees some kind of proof. People in general easily accept what the new media put out or what their friends tell them, but when it comes to hearing about Jesus, they readily shut their mind. How come? I would say it's because deep down they know that they are sinners and, naturally, any mention of God would make any sinner feel uneasy.

**Union With God Examined*

        Union with God is essentially union in will with God. It is extraordinary because it involves the Holy God and a sinner. Yet, it is quite natural, for it's the union between the creator and his creature, between a loving Father and his beloved child. It's definitely God's will to want to be one with us. When we become obedient, union is achieved.      

Personal Holiness Necessary

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus told three parables to the crowds. In explaining the parable of the weeds to his disciples, he said that at the end of the age he would send his angles to collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers to be thrown into the fiery furnace. It's interesting that he grouped those who cause others to sin with those who do evil. Watch out! We may not think that we are evil in any way, but if we do something that causes others to sin (like being a bad example), then we are just as bad as the evildoers. In fact, it can be worse. For example, I post something inappropriate online and result in turning myriads of people away from God. Only personal holiness can safeguard our soul.

**How to Know God

        Let this be God's doing again. You simply remain 100% open to let Christ in for him to make his presence known to you.        

Considerations for Oldsters

        When you are young, you plan for your own future for survival in the world – that's understandable, for you do not automatically know that you were created by a loving God. But as you grow older and see that death is imminent, it would be wise to plan for how you should live for the remainder of your life on earth. You can try to do as many things as possible for your personal enjoyment or concentrate upon serving God in the best way possible. These two choices needn't be mutually exclusive, for serving God can often incorporate doing enjoyable things. Besides, when you are intent on serving the Lord, everything you do becomes a joy.

God Worth Living For

        Communion time thoughts. (1) Life is worth living only because God loves us. He is the only one worth living for. (2) God can heal the whole world and make it perfect, but man wouldn't listen to any of that. (3) When God fills the void of our life, we become perfectly content. Certainly, the God who has created you can heal and change you if you let him.

***Great Christian Open Secret

        Today's Communion antiphon, based upon 2 Corinthians 5.14,15: The Love of God impels us, so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised. This is the great Christian open secret: By living for Christ and not for ourselves, we become free! The key to opening the door to freedom is surrendering to God. You have no peace only because you are still fighting him – elementary!

**Joyfully Following Jesus*

        Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. I am presenting the entire Gospel reading, John 20.1-2, 11-18, for it is so moving and beautiful. You can sense that it's an account of exactly what happened. 

On the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him." 

Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?"
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
"Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her,
"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he told her.

        Do you ever miss Jesus when you do no see him? Do you ever feel that your Lord has been taken away from you? Of course, we now know that nothing can possibly take away his love for us. It's a joy to know that Jesus' Father is our Father and his God, our God. How more close-knit can we be? And more joy: we are also going to the Father and God as Christ had done!

Sign of Union With God

        One predictable sign that you are in union with God is the absolute certainty that God is real and dwells in you.

Mercy Over Sacrifice

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12 (and in Matthew 9 too), Jesus quoted "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" from Hosea in response to the Pharisees' question. I think I see why God prefers mercy over sacrifice from us. Let's say that you have two sons trying to please you. The first son knows that he is unworthy of your love and does things to "punish" himself in some way, hoping to win you back, while the second one, also feeling unworthy but goes on joyfully doing good deeds to help others. I think you would be more pleased by the second son and even feel sorry for the first one, for self-sacrifice is still self-centered – an act with no joy in it – while helping your neighbor is following the second greatest commandment of God.

***Going All Out With God

        People tell you to move a step closer to God, good advice – but I tell you to run to God and jump right into his lap, hold onto him tight and shout as loud as you can "I love you"! After all, your heavenly Father loves you more than you can possibly imagine, so you can totally let yourself go, letting him satisfy your deepest longings for all eternity! You'll be one smartest and most blessed person in the world when you take full advantage of all his promises and generous offers! Yes, he becomes all yours at the wish of your heart! We should live for nothing but the God of Christ! (Note. what I have recommended above may seem to be extreme, but it is in fact what God deserves and we should do. Think about it.)