You hear about all kinds of freedom . . . freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of choosing to keep or terminate the unborn, freedom of worship, etc. It seems that basically, people demand the freedom of being able to do whatever they wish to do, calling it their right. But all such freedoms are created by man and none of them can set you free. The only true freedom we ever need is the freedom given by God when we submit ourselves to him, for we are only free when we get to do God's will. Think about it.
Monday, September 4, 2017
**Know God to Know
Know God and you will know. Here "you will know" means you will know all you need to know, which is the will of God.
*Unique Lord
It struck me that when Jesus asked his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, and spelled out other stringent demands to all, he did it out of love for our good and not in any way to lord it over us. Unlike the lords, gurus, teachers, leaders, kings, heads of state . . . of the world, he had no ego, no ulterior motive, and no self-glorification. He simply reveals what we need to know for us to be saved.
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Yearning for God
Today my heart sees and my soul knows clearly that if everyone would understand, believe in, and follow Christ, we will have the most beautiful world to live in. But, alas, it's no use dreaming about it, only something to pray for. All this makes me yearn for and seek solace in the Lord even more – how much he loves us and how much we need him!
How God Has Made Us
We can see that St. Augustine is right in saying that God has made us for himself so that our hearts are restless until they rest in him. If you think about it, you'll see the many different ways God has made us. One came to me today: God has made us so that we feel uneasy when we avoid him. This becomes obvious when you talk to people about God.
Spiritual Warfare Time
In today's crazy, godless world, the spiritual warfare being waged against God is so fierce that we need to hold onto the Lord for dear life to be sure of survival. For Christians, this is not the time to lay back, remain neutral, or be just lukewarm. It's time to do as St. Paul advised in Ephesians 6: Put on the armor of God to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. Stand fast for the gospel of peace. Hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. It's time to fight hell like hell!
*Why Trust God?
The reason we should trust God is that he sees the overall picture for all eternity, while we only see one thing happening at one time.
Too Big for Heaven?
The gate that leads to life is narrow. Many cannot go in simply because their big inflated ego makes it impossible for them to get through it. Deflate the ego with humility and things should work out all right.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
No Quick Faith
I believe that by the time you are aware that Jesus has arrived on Judgment Day, it is already too late to repent and ask for God's forgiveness, for faith would be absent. The time to believe is before you die or the Second Coming, whichever happens first.
Humorous Observation
At church this morning, the larger than normal attendance told me that parishioners were there for Saturday morning confession. I noticed that some people who usually sits elsewhere chose to sit in the last row closest to the confession room, hoping to get to confession first. What happened was that this made them almost last in going up to receive Communion. And by the time they came back, those who received Communion first had already lined up for confession. So it's a case of "the last will be last, and the first will be first" or perhaps "hoping to be first will be last, but planning to be first will be first."
First and Primary Goal
Today, we heard the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 at morning Mass. The lesson I learned from it was that, as Christians, we must be bold, forward-thinking, and diligent in bearing fruit for the Lord. And the best way to achieve that is by abandoning ourselves in God to get all the guidance, strength, and power we need. It seems that whatever we want to accomplish, this should be the way. Then why not make abandonment in God our first and primary goal and let all things flow thereupon?
*Challenging Question
Do you dare to say that Christ had come and died for nothing? To say so is to deny that God loves you and proclaim that Christ is not the Son of God! If you don't dare, then you should submit yourself to him right this moment to acknowledge that God so loves you that he gave his only Son, so that if you believe in him, you might not perish but might have eternal life.
God's Saving Grace
Many of us after toiling and struggling to find security and happiness in this world will eventually realize that life is empty without God. Even though they have sinned much for many years, this awakening can bring them right back to reconciliation with God. Therefore, many will be saved in the end. Without such grace, not too many of us can make heaven. Better late than never for sure; but still, it's much better early than late, for you would live a happier life now and have a smoother transition to the next life later.
Friday, September 1, 2017
**On Fear of God*
Those who are afraid of God are precisely the ones who need him to remove the cause of all their fears. Once removed, they will be extremely happy with themselves and God. Fear of God can be both proper and improper. It is proper if it makes you realize that you are a sinner and need God to save you. It becomes improper if you avoid facing it and end up not thinking about that you can lose your soul forever. Just know that God does not set up barriers between you and him; it is you who do not believe that he loves you.
To Be Like Christ
Communion experience. Christ most holy, make me holy. Christ more perfect, make me perfect. Christ most pure, make me pure. Christ most loving, make me loving. Christ most merciful, make me merciful. Christ most humble, make me humble. Christ most beautiful, make me beautiful. Christ my most beloved, make me be like you.
**God Taking Over*
Another advantage of being in union with God. You face a problem and feel depressed. If you are in union with the Lord, your problem becomes his problem as well. In fact, you can even see it as entirely his problem. Then you are freed and your depression can even turn into joy. It's the Lord doing everything for you! Praise him.
**Solving Our Biggest Problem**
The biggest problem with this generation is running away from God. Non-Christians may have a better excuse than Christians for doing so. We profess to follow Christ, but do not go all the way. The Lord leads, but sometimes we even go the opposite way. It's the rebel in us that should be subdued and banished, or we won't ever be free and have peace. All the more we need to surrender to God and become inseparably one with him. Then after experiencing the joy of union with him, you don't ever want to run away from him again.
*Be Wise or Remain Foolish
Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25 was on the parable of the ten virgins. The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five of them wise. The wise ones prepared their lamps with enough oil, but the foolish ones fell asleep while waiting. At midnight, the bridegroom was coming and the wise virgins went out with their lamps to meet him, but the foolish ones had to go buy more oil for their lamps to make it. When they got back, the door to the wedding feast was already locked – they were shut out for not staying awake.
For each of us, there is a door to enter, and that door will be locked the moment we die. It would be extremely wise to enter that door now while we still can.
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