Motivation Behind Helping

        If you help someone and the person does not show any appreciation, and you get annoyed or upset, then you only helped to please yourself. But if you help anyone for love of God, then, appreciation or no appreciation, you remain in peace, for you only expect to receive your reward in heaven. Anyhow, it's best not to think about your reward now at all and let God surprise you later.

Most Difficult for Mankind

        To change ourselves for the better as a person has to be one of the most difficult things for us to do. Even though we know our faults and sins and wish to change, it's no easy task. Otherwise, the world, the nations, our societies, and all families would be in much better shape. It is the ego, the pride, that grips us. I believe that in general, men are more wont to be their own master than women. The Lord God is the only one who can fundamentally change us – after all he is our creator. But we still need to yield our heart to him first. Again, humility is a must to get the ball rolling. 

*Making God Beautiful

        God remains beautiful as always. Naturally, those who do not wish to look his way do not get to see any of his beauty, but for those who love the Lord, the more they get to know him, the more beautiful he appears to them. Thus, in a way you can say that God can be as beautiful as we make him to be. 

*Rude Awakening Needed

        Today we commemorate 9/11. Now 16 years later, violent attacks continue around the globe. Jesus has never condoned violence. Godlessness pervades our world today. We run away from God by avoiding looking at our own sins. How tragic it is that we forget that our death is inevitable and our judgment inescapable, while squandering away each day until time suddenly runs out! 

Quenching the Soul

        Communion experience. Through the great gift of the Holy Eucharist, we achieve the greatest intimacy with God, our union with Love. The antiphon from Psalm 42: Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God. The Body and Blood of the Lord quenched my thirst.

Coming to the Point

        No academic knowledge, theology, laws, rules, committees . . . can solve our problems if our hearts remain the same. Therefore, go after God to get our hearts transformed first. Otherwise, we'd be just beating around the bush. 

Minding Others' Business

        From today's 1st reading from Ezekiel 33, the Lord said to the prophet, "If I tell the wicked, 'O wicked one, you shall surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death." It seems that we should mind our business only when it comes to judging others, but not when it comes to warning others with the intention of saving them. In either case, the motivation must be love. It goes back to the second greatest commandment given by Jesus: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," something we easily forget or ignore.

*Sensible Choice

        God has created us with a soul that will last forever. And we are merely passing through a world that is transitory. Let's be sensible and attach ourselves to the eternal God and not to the passing world on our journey. 

*Go Direct to God Again

        I see people suffering, experiencing pains and sorrows. Is telling them "Trust in God" an easy way of offering help? This advice like "God bless you" does sound perfunctory. Besides, most people in suffering are too numb and weak to turn to God fully, plus that the advice could be perceived as being too simplistic for dealing with their complex problems. The reality is that God can truly help when you put your faith in him. The advice is right-on. How Can God help if you are not completely open to him? The Gospels show that God did not perform miracles where there was no faith. If God is all-knowing, powerful, and loving, then you need to put this advice into practice. Of course, time heals, but without faith it could take a long, long time.

**God Indispensable

        We exist only because God exists. We are holy only because God is holy. We are loving only because God is loving. We have hope only because God is our hope. We are willing to die for God only because he has died for us. We can have eternal life only because he loves us. This is certain: it would be better for us not to exist than to exist without him.

**Direct Approach to God Best

        You can listen to a lot of sermons, read a lot of good books on spirituality, attend spiritual conferences, go on pilgrimages and retreats, watch DVDs, participate in prayer groups, etc., but if you want to be able to fill the void of your life completely, satisfy your spiritual hunger for God totally, to be inspired to the maximum, challenged to serve God with all your heart, the best way is to read the Gospels, take Holy Communion most seriously, and go directly to the Lord – that's going straight to the top, the head, the source of all power, your Father, your creator – to tell and share with him everything and keep your heart wide open for him to heal you, speak to you, and teach you. 

***Critically Important Question!

        When we apply for a job, we fill our resume with everything we've done that we can think of to impress our potential employer. God needs workers too. Now is just like back then when Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few." When you face the Lord on that day of appointment with him, he is going to ask you "What have you done for me?" – will you have a good list prepared to impress him?

*Getting Inside God

        I just heard on TV the orchestra version of the timeless aria "Sheep May Safely Graze" from Bach's Cantata No. 208. Beautiful music and things can draw us to God, but if you want to get inside him, there is only one way: seek union with him. Surrendering yourself to him will start you on this most satisfying, exciting journey.

Love Overwhelming

        Communion experience. The love of God was so compelling that my only appropriate response was to offer him my heart. Giving for God is always a joy; giving to God directly is extra joyful.

What to Do With God

        God is not to be tested, questioned, or even thought about much; he is more to be trusted, leaned upon, and enjoyed.

It All Starts in This Life

          Another picture I envision. We all live on the edge of a precipice. We know that we could fall off the precipice into the abyss below at anytime. It it happens, it's going to be oneway for ever. But many are sleeping, so they don't think about it. Then there are those who are not at all concerned, for they have always been awake and have tied themselves to Christ securely with his cord for now and ever. 

All Children of God

        If you see that God is our creator and Father and that we all came from the same ancestors, then in the overall picture, we are indeed all brothers and sisters in God's family. And this is the way God sees us. It should help us appreciate and value each other more. 

God Is Cool!

        Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Jesus came into the world humbly and quietly without any fanfare. By contrast, leaders, government heads, popular personalties of the world expect the red-carpet treatment, welcome ceremonies, banquets, etc., with much hoopla on their visits. If our God were egotistic and pompous like that, I don't believe he'll ever be able to win any hearts. Unfortunately, the world is full of people like that, and this is why we have so much chaos and unrest. How refreshing and fitting the way the Lord arrived in our world was. He has won my heart.