The Entire Human History

        Here are the various stages. (1) God created Adam and Eve. (2) Adam and Eve disobeyed God, committing the original sin. (3) We inherited the original sin. (4) God the Father out of love sent his only Son Jesus into the world to let all know how they can have eternal life. (5) Some believe in this good news and others don't, with many in-between believing to various degrees. (6) Jesus alone who knows the heart will come again to judge and take us to heaven or leave us behind. 

          We are at stage 5 now.         

**Greatest Truth*

        Today is Good Friday. It was on this day that Jesus completed his mission on earth, to save us from sin. And the Resurrection that followed sealed our joy! This is the greatest truth relevant to our eternal existence, but how many of us realize it and take it seriously? This is the perfect day to meditate upon the Passion of Christ and thank the Lord for his love and mercy from our soul, and eternal salvation is assured.

**Of Critical Importance*

        God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not neglect to read and meditate upon the four Gospels. Examine the Lord closely and be amazed by everything about him. Dismissing him as merely someone who were on our earth briefly some 2,000 years ago would be a huge mistake! Assume that he is God and Savior and you'll see everything about him fitting beautifully together. This posting is prompted by my personal experience after participating in a small group discussion at my church. We look ahead at the readings for the Mass of the following Sunday. Believe me, knowing Christ truly makes the life-and-death difference to our life!

*Holiness Through Obedience

        It is easy to do what you feel like doing, especially when you see that there will be no harm done to anyone. But the Lord made me see that this is not good enough, that we need to do what he wants us to do. To follow our own is like giving in to temptation, while following the Lord is to be obedient. The fruit of obedience is holiness. Witness Jesus who was obedient even to death on a cross, and God the Father greatly exalted him. Last, being obedient becomes easy and joyous when you are one with the Lord, for now he empowers you in all that you do.

Double Standard?

        Communion thoughts. If someone dies for you in this life so that you might continue living the rest of your life, you would be most grateful to that person. Now, Jesus has died for you so that you might live on happily forever – how do you feel about it? 

*Powered by God

        John F. Kennedy at his presidential inauguration in 1961 is remembered for saying "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for you country." With God, we must shift the focus away from ourselves and onto God, for he is to be our empowerment. Therefore, we are not to tell ourselves we should do this or that for God, but to ask God what he wishes us to do and empower us to do it. This is abandonment in God!

Sharpened Conscience

        When you are in perfect union with God, committing the most minute sin makes you lose peace and following every will of God is a delight. This is just fine, for now deep down in your heart, you always have peace.

*Face of Jesus*

Selfless Act

        Serving God is different from any other act. When you serve God, you don't count the cost.

**Choosing the Right Fire*

        Let the fire of the Holy Spirit set your heart ablaze when you are still alive to avoid ever getting burned by the fire of hell after you die. (Never die with sins unforgiven!)

Weeping Time

        Today is Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion. Reading 2 came from Philippians 2. Paul writes: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. It is pitiful that the world remains as if in a coma, oblivious to what God had undergone for the sake of saving us! Even as Christians, many if us live more or less a self-centered life. The Lenten season is a good time to weep for the whole world, preparing ourselves to be awakened and rejuvenated by the joy of Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday. 

**Learning From Abraham

        In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham by asking him to offer up his only son Issac as a burnt offering. Abraham obeyed. He built an altar, put wood on it, and bound Issac and put him on top of the wood on the altar. After Abraham reached out for his knife and was about to slaughter Issac, the Lord stopped him for not withholding his son from him. Now, many of us have children who have abandoned their faith in God and we parents are praying hard for them. Abraham's example should teach us to offer up our children to God also and trust that the Lord will save all of them in the end.   

***Getting to the Soul

        Today's Communion experience. We physically and mentally feel things in this world. When I receive Christ, he affects me both physically and mentally. Then John 4.24: God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth. Therefore, the Lord affects our soul on the spiritual level, working in the background, as it were. When I believe and submit myself to the Lord, he heals my soul and draws me into union with him, and this is revealed to the heart first. Through physical and mental means, let the Lord get to your soul to make it whole and perfect.

The Enthusiastic Christian

        Communion thoughts. God wants to give us all the blessings we need for our spiritual growth. As receivers, we should be the like the receiver in a football game, grab the ball, hold onto it, and head straight for the goal to score. This is how enthusiastic we should be about God's gifts. 

Hardened-Heart Danger

        In today's Gospel reading from John 10, the Jews tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy, for their hearts were so hardened that even all the good miraculous works they witnessed meant nothing to them. A hardened heart is a foolish one, while an open heart, a wise one. Being open-hearted does not risk losing your heart; it simply lets you discern right from wrong. If what you observe is truly false, you can always reject it. On the other hand, a hardened heart is a closed, judgmental heart, already set to dismiss what might be the truth. It becomes a danger to one's own soul.  

*God's Love Revealed to All

        Reading the Psalms, I realize that the psalmists truly loved the Lord, for they knew that he loved and was merciful to them. I now see that the coming of Christ into the world revealed to us that God not only loved the Jews, but also all the non-Jews as well.

**Christ Our Ever-Shining Light

        Everything of the world fades away. Citing one example, the vast number of PhD theses written by past brilliant scholars are now all stored away practically forgotten in college libraries. Well-known historical figures no longer seem so prominent as they were once. Christ is the only light that shall shine forever brightly before us, being the light that can dispel all darkness and transform us also into beings of light.  

Self-Giving Time

        Communion experience. Today's Communion antiphon, Romans 8.32: God did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him? Yes, God has given us all things. Communion time is the perfect time to once again give ourselves to God with thanksgiving.