Our Conscience, God's Gift

       [I haven't blogged the last 4 days because I left for Los Angles to visit my second son and his family. It was a good fruitful trip.] 

         Normally, we think, say, or do whatever comes to us, but there are times deep down we sense that what comes out is not from God, is in fact sinful. If our conscience is somewhat dull or even muddy, we just let it go and rather feel OK about it. But we will not enjoy inner peace. Knowing God well sharpens our conscience. By keeping it crystal clear, we can live a holy life enjoying inner peace.

Rely Upon the Lord Now

        In John 21, when Jesus signified by what kind of death Peter would glorify God, he said to him, "When you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do no want to go." It is true that when we grow old, we'll have to depend upon others to do various things for us. But the Lord is always present and will be the only one left at the end able to help us. The time to start relying upon him is now, not after we've grown old or when we are dying.

**Precious Childlike Joy

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus praised the Father for having hidden many things from the wise and the learned and having revealed them to the childlike. We can remember our childhood joy when we were free to play most of the time with not a thing to worry about, having our parents taking care of everything for us. If we become childlike to God, we shall experience such carefree joy. And that joy shall make us forget about wanting to sin again.

Way to Attain Union With God

        The Lord says in John 6.56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. This is proof to me that receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is the way to attain union with him.

Soul's Ultimate Achievement

        Letting God truly be your Lord (being in union with God).       

*Are We Bullheaded?

         It is Jesus who can make us see the truth, think right, see right, and act right. He is the exact guide and teacher mankind needs. And he'll even reward anyone with everlasting life who follows and learns from him. Yet, so few of us take him seriously. What's going on? Think about it.    

Key to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproached the towns that were not repentant, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and warned that they would suffer consequences on the day of judgment. Why is it so hard for so many to repent? To be saved, one must realize that (1) he is a sinner, (2) hell exists, and (3) God loves him and wishes to save him. Then it's time to repent. If one's mind is clear and heart willing, he can accomplish all these things in a few seconds. Putting off repenting is putting the soul at great risk. 

*Life Without Christ

      Your future is certain when you know Christ and follow him. Otherwise, your life is a cliffhanger, for you do now know how it's going to end. I could also say that life without Christ is like hanging off a cliff – you may fall off it if you are not careful. Maybe you think that you are being brave, but I'd rather choose to go with Christ to be wise.  

**This Holy Feeling*

        I do not mean it to be feeling that I am holy. I mean it to be aware that the Holy Lord dwells within me, that he loves me, and that I belong to him entirely. It is such an awesome and beautiful feeling.      

*Sin Not a Problem Anymore*

        Communion experience. I inherited the original sin through no fault of mine, and God took care of that by sending his Son to us to proclaim the good news of salvation. In Holy Communion, I was completely reconciled to the Lord, my original sin no longer a barrier.

**First Steps in a Spiritual Journey

        Accepting God's love for you is usually the first step you take in your journey of faith. Letting that love embrace you completely is the first step you take later when you decide to seek union with God.

*God in Contrast to the World

        God can quench all your thirst, fulfill your innermost desires, and fill the empty voids of your life. God can soothe your heart and heal your soul. You can never get tired of enjoying God. Replace "God" with "the world" in the statements above and none of them remains true anymore. God is someone you can never love enough, while the world is something you cannot possibly love.

**Riddle of Life Solved

            This morning the first thought that came to my mind was Luke 12.51 in which Jesus said to his Apostles, "Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." It so happened that the reading at Mass from Matthew 10 was on that same saying: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword." And later in Matthew 25, speaking about the final judgment, Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." The division finalized.

         So this is the reality of life. Having inherited the original sin from our ancestors, we all became sinners. Then God loved us so much that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. The division comes about when we do not all believe in the Son. The ball is in our court.

***Warning: Worse Persecution Ahead!

        My country, like many others around the world, has been declining morally for the last half a century or so. From the spiritual point of view, you can say that Satan has sneaked up upon us step by step until the society and quite a sizable minority have become practically godless. Overall the large majority, being civilized and more gentle, has remained rather silent, while the other side makes loud noises and resorts to attacking anyone who does not go along with them violently. Let's say that the spiritual warfare going on now is rather intense and fearsome. But I do see hope ahead, as the Lord God always crushes his enemies and protects his own people at critical times. When that happens, the godless ones will become even more vicious – so expect and be prepared for facing worse persecution ahead. This is the time to submit ourselves to the Lord to grow strong spiritually.

All Set for Eternity

        Communion experience. Jesus is forever. I now belong to eternity. And every moment is a celebration.

The Way We Should Live

        Once you have found that God is exactly what your soul needs to complete your existence, you experience so much joy and freedom that every worldly thing just becomes secondary, peripheral, or downright irrelevant. This is how you become detached to all things except God, the way it should be. Shouldn't we be attached to the one who lovingly created us the most? 

**Making God Nice to You

        In today's reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." This is fair enough and is line with what Jesus taught earlier, known to us now as the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." We can easily make that into "Do to God as you would have him do to you." Now you know exactly how to make God treat you nicely.

*Our Noblest Profession

        To be a servant is not a bad thing. In fact, to be a servant of God is best thing you can possibly do. A faithful servant of God is free from serving himself and is thus free. Besides, he is now a friend of Jesus. Moreover, God exalts all his humble servants and will reward them with eternal life. Therefore, serving God has to be our most satisfying and noblest profession.