In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes, "There will be great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents." When you repent, you soul is saved. Heaven rejoices because the love of God has triumphed. So you must first repent to be saved. After that, you can make heaven rejoice once more. This time you surrender to God to be one with him. Heaven rejoices again, for you have fulfilled the Lord's most ardent desire.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
**There'll Always Be Unresolved Problems
I used to bring the Blessed Sacrament to the homebound in my parish who could not attend church for Mass. I got to talk to them about their faith, family, etc., and found out that they all had problems within their family. My own family is the same. I realize now that life is facing all kinds of problems and we'll certainly be leaving this world with many of them still unresolved. Therefore, concentrate on surrendering yourself to God to become holy—this you can actually achieve in your lifetime! Do this and let the unresolved problems go. For we are meant to live for God alone.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
**Best Use of Life*
See life as a learning process, during which we let the Lord God teach us to be perfect.
*No Unknowns with God
Without the Lord, heading into the future is heading into the unknown. Not what I would want to do. Call me chicken if you like, but I'll be a smart one. With Christ, even though I do not know all the details, I know that heading into the future will be a most delightful adventure leading to my eternal home with God.
**Letting No One Bother You
If you are bothered when people do not understand you, you still have too much pride. When they are the ones who are closest to you, it becomes even more difficult to remain calm. Know that what others think about you doesn't matter. They don't understand you because they are not all-knowing like God. Only what God thinks about you matters. Since God always understands us, we only need to be concerned about not sinning. Therefore, never mind the others and focus upon being holy yourself. Then no one, not even God, can bother you anymore.
Conscience as Spiritual Indicator
When you totally let God be your God, you'll develop a super sharp conscience. On the other hand, if you play God yourself, you'll end up with a dull, muddy conscience. Therefore, your conscience is a good indicator of your spiritual condition.
Heaven and Earth Bridged
Communion experience. The Most Holy unites with a most wretched sinner, and heaven and earth are now bridged.
***Our Greatest Loss:
not possessing Christ. Life is precious precisely because it provides a window for us to possess him.
*Proven Sinners
When we experience great joy after we repent of our sins and know that we are forgiven by God, it is ample evidence that we are sinners and sin enslaves us and God can liberate us from sin.
*Feeling Extra Sorry for Ourselves
Following my last post "Brood of Vipers Within the Church," I started to think that all sins offend the Lord, but if his own people, believers, sin against him, how much more they must hurt him! We are all more affected by those close to us than by strangers. Therefore, as Christians, while we feel sorry for others who offend the Lord, we should feel extra sorry for our own transgressions.
Friday, September 13, 2019
**No More Unfinished Business*
In life, there are always things for us to do. When we die, we'll just have to let the many unfinished things go. But it would be nice to know that we have done all we need to have done when we depart from this world, so that we can leave in peace. This is possible if we always do what God wants us to do, not what we want to do. When the Lord calls, we know that we've accomplished everything we need to have done for him.
*Compelling Mercy
Communion experience. Before we received the Lord, we all recited "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under our roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." I didn't feel I was worthy, but the Lord entered anyway and healed my soul.
***Looking at Yourself First!
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus asked his disciples, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?" We all have this blind spot—we just don't see our own faults first. Just wonder how many of us still examine our own conscience daily. Holiness must start with each one of us. Seeking union with God is precisely trying to perfect ourselves first.
***Taking Care of Your Eternity
We can only do so much to keep our body healthy, as it unavoidably ages and deteriorates toward death. As far as our mental health is concerned, it is affected by both our spiritual outlook and our physical health. When we develop some form of dementia, we become quite helpless. But the great news is that we can attain maximum spiritual health by becoming holy and one with God. I'd say, let the body and mind go and take care of you spirit foremost and you won't have anything to worry about for all eternity!
Thursday, September 12, 2019
**Sin Stinks*
We sin because we want to feel good selfishly. It is absolutely foolish to feel good temporarily and lose your inner peace for having offended God. Know that when you lose that peace, you lose God. So think twice before you sin. Better yet, don't even give sin a chance. Again, be one with the Lord to remain holy.
*Focus of Mass
Jesus must be #1 in our life, so we must seek him with all our heart. The focus must be 100% upon the Lord when we worship him at Mass. Anything we see, hear, or do that directs our attention away from him is out of place. We are not at Mass to be entertained, amused, or informed about extraneous things. We must let God draw us closer to him, especially after receiving him in the Holy Eucharist.
**How God Deals with Us
In the last two verses of today's reading from Luke 6, Jesus gives us the rule of life. He said, "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." In other words, God will deal with us the way we deal with others. If we become like God, then we won't have any problem. Therefore, seek union with him.
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