The Ego Exposed

        The best hiding place for us is God, but our ego knows how to hide itself! The ego makes us focus upon ourselves and lose our focus on God. If we did something good, we love to go over it in our mind. If we said something clever, we love to guess how others might have received it. The ego fools us into thinking that self-importance is OK and that we are quite good already. Don't fall for it! We need to hide ourselves completely in the Lord in order to expose the ugly ego. God and ego do not mix.

To Be at God's Disposal

        Some nervous people are again preparing for doomsday, this time December 21 based upon Mayan prophecy, less than six days away. Jesus wants us to be alert for his second coming, but no one except the Father knows the time and day. Actually, we only need to be alert to what the Lord wants us to do at any moment by putting ourselves completely at his disposal, then we'll be ready. To be at God's disposal ~ what an awesome, ideal post for us! 

Occupation by Jesus

        When one is fully occupied with Jesus, there is neither time left for him to think about sinning nor any space left in his mind for sinful thoughts to occupy anymore. Besides, sins are already repulsive and nauseating to him. Let the Lord occupy you fully and you become holy.  

Our Presentation to God

        Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." Then what better way is there to be with God than to give your heart to him? This thought came to me today when I was meditating on the 4th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple. Giving our heart to God seems to be an ideal way of making our "presentation" to God.

Perfect Balance

        As we grow older, our exterior appearance becomes less attractive to others, but we can balance it with an interior that's more beautiful for God to behold.

The Big Message

        Being in Advent, today's Gospel Acclamation at Mass, Luke 3.4,6 reads: "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. All flesh shall see the salvation of God." It struck me that "the salvation of God" is the big message that we really should pay attention to. We can be so busy doing shopping, decorating the house, planning the Christmas dinner...and the salvation of God couldn't be further from our mind. But this message is BIG! It is big because it is beautiful, relevant, special and of critical importance to us. We should think about it and thank God for it every day. 

How Good Are We?

        We seem to know how good we are as a person; after all, we should know ourselves. But should we, especially if we have a big ego? Often, others do not see us as the person we think we are. Of course, it could be their problem. At any rate, what we need to be concerned about is how God sees us ~ we need to see ourselves through the eyes of the Lord. To cut to the chase: how is God going to judge us on the last day? My good suggestion: Concentrate on loving God and don't even think about how good you are.      

Where Is God in You?

        Today's horrible news: Killing in a Connecticut school leaves 27 dead, 20 of whom were children. God is always present, so the question is: where is God in you? Without God in our hearts, we are doomed! Think of the continuous silent killing of over one million unborn babies each year in this country ~ is it less horrible? Mark my words, as long as we have that abortion-is-OK mentality, other killings will continue. Lord, have mercy on all those who offend you and all those they victimized. 

Acknowledging Our Need for God

        If we acknowledge that we absolutely need God for us to do anything, then we will become totally dependent upon him, we will not rush ahead doing anything on our own, we will know that we are following his will, and we will be courageous and have peace. This wonderful acknowledgement works wonders.

Holy Eucharist Essential to Union

        At the beginning, receiving the Holy Eucharist means mostly a physical union with the Lord. Gradually, as we let the Lord draw us deeper into him, it becomes more a spiritual union. Then one is in full union with God and receiving the Holy Eucharist reinforces that union. 

My Shortlist of Saints

         (1) St. Mary ~ If you love Jesus, how can you not love his mother? She is the greatest saint and our mother in heaven. I love her especially for her obedience to God.

            (2) St. John the Apostle ~ I love him because he knew that Jesus loved him.

            (3) St. Therese of Lisieux ~ I love her because of her total abandonment in God.

            (4) St. Gemma Galgani ~ I love her for her willingness to suffer for God.            

Patience Needed

        We must never rush into action. Let the Holy Spirit initiate all things. Therefore, patience is a virtue to acquire. When someone tells me a story, I have the fault of prematurely assuming that it's not worth listening to, before I had a chance to hear the rest. Impatience is insufficient love. This quote from St. Teresa of Avila is good: "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing dismay you. All things pass; God never changes. Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God lacks nothing: God alone suffices."

Fount of Our Joy

        The "J" in the name of Jesus has to be associated with joy. The following is a partial list of joys that accompany the Lord.

           (1) Hearing his word, his voice

           (2) Talking and writing about him               

           (3) Following him closely

           (4) Calling upon his holy name

           (5) Waiting for him to speak

           (6) Asking for his forgiveness

           (7) Enjoying him in silence

           (8) Receiving him in Holy Communion!        

           (9) Suffering for him
           (10) Dying for him

The World and Us

        The entrance antiphon at Mass, Galatians 6.14, reads: "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Here Paul showed his complete detachment from the world ~ a total severing between the two. This is understandable because after seeing the glory of Christ, the world would be about as attractive as a heap of dung. We face the same choice: the cross of Christ or the world.

This Numb Generation

        In today's Gospel reading at Mass from Matthew 11, Jesus let the crowd know that their generation was unresponding and "hard to please." He said, "John (the Baptist) came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" Their generation sounds just like ours ~ we look but don't see and hear but do not understand. Alas, our total immersion in this world has both blinded and deafened us, making us numb to the gospel truth.

God Alone Is Trustworthy

        Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross, priest and Doctor of the Church. He was also a great Spanish mystic and Carmelite friar. As a reformer of the Carmelite Order, for a period he was imprisoned and harshly treated by other Carmelite friars who opposed the reform ~ it was Christians against Christians. All the more we see that God alone is worthy to be trusted because he alone is holy.

Persist in Your Race

        A lot of things not really pleasant came up which I must attend to. It just shows that life never remains the same. St. Paul likened living for Christ to running a race. You're in it to finish and win an imperishable crown. Joy comes from the Lord, but tests too. Many saints (St. Teresa, St. John of the cross, St. Gemma, Blessed Mother Teresa, and others) all went through dark nights. What the Lord showed me is that we must absolutely persist even to the point of serving him mechanically if we do not feel his presence. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Psalm 23). Before you know, life will be over. And if you haven't run a good race, you are likely to look back with sadness.

Making a Beautiful Connection Is...

talking to God from the heart.

Listening to God Is...

always doing his will.        

Forsaking Happiness in This Life

        In Luke 14, Jesus taught, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table."

       We can apply this lesson to our expectations in life. To avoid disappointment, it's better not to expect happiness in this world because things can go bad at any time. But we can certainly expect great happiness in the next world if we remain faithful.       

Preparing for Eternal Union

        Since God is all love, for us to return to him for full union we must be all love too. Seeking union with him on earth is preparing ourselves for that eternal union.

What Abortion Does

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The miraculous image of the Holy Mother as appeared on Juan Diego's tilma shows a sash around her waist, indicating that she's pregnant with child. I thought of the evil of abortion today again. When a baby is conceived in the mother's womb, the Lord creates the soul for it at the same time. When the baby is aborted, the soul no longer has a body to dwell in. What a cruel, dirty act that directly thwarts the will of God for life! (In case you are not familiar with Our Lady of Guadalupe, I encourage you to find the beautiful story online and read it.)  

It's Still Gossiping

     The Holy Spirit has made it clear to me that speaking ill of anyone, even if only mildly, even if it is fact, and even if no name is mentioned, in an ordinary conversation is still gossiping and is displeasing to the Lord. There is no point in making that person look bad to others when God already knows all about him.

God's Holiness

        Communion experience. What a great way to start off a new day! Not with hot coffee, a big breakfast, or nice wake-up music, but with an encounter with the Most Holy One! As I received the Lord, I sensed God's awesome holiness, so dazzlingly pure and refreshing, which makes one not want to touch anything else anymore!      

On Finding Jesus

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus, wanting to let his disciples know that it's not the heavenly Father's will that any of the little ones be lost, said to them, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray." This is absolutely true and brings to my mind how one rejoices over Jesus after he searches all over and finds him to be the Lord and truth.  

Holiness to Be Thorough

        In Luke 16:10, Jesus said to his disciples, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones." As I continue reading the biography of St. Gemma Galgani, I am impressed by her holiness in every little situation. This should inspire us to be holy in performing all our little acts.

The Blessing Illusion

          In John 20:29, after Thomas finally saw the resurrected Lord and believed, Jesus said to him, "Blesses are those who have not seen and have believed" ~ so having seen is not necessarily a blessing.

        In Matthew 19:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" ~ so being rich is not necessarily a blessing either. 

         It is a fact that it's easy for one in prison or a foxhole to pray to God and for one who lives quite comfortably not to even think of God ~ so having an easy life is not necessarily a blessing either.

Jesus Is Joy!

        Before I received the Lord at Mass today, I saw Jesus as my joy. Sure enough, after I received the Holy Eucharist, great joy flooded my soul ~ jubilation time!

Wanting to Be in God's Presence

        The Gospel reading at Mass today from Luke 5 was about the healing of a paralytic. Some men brought on a stretcher a paralytic to where Jesus was teaching. Finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. Impressed by their faith, Jesus not only forgave the paralytic's sins, but also healed him.

       What impressed me was the faith expressed in eagerly wanting to be in the Lord's presence. Today we can express the same desire by attending Mass or Eucharistic Adoration. Best yet, seek union with the Lord and you'll know his presence within you at all times!

A Short Exhortation

        Enter deep into Christ to discover and enjoy his breathtaking beauty.

Finding Our Own Spirituality

        We are all called to be holy. But since we are also individuals with different personalities and talents, God's plans for us are all different too. He draws us to him via various avenues. There are many saints we can learn about and it's good to find one whose life experiences and spirituality appeal to you, then you can follow his or her ways. I've already mentioned St. Therese of Lisieux as my model because I admire her total abandonment to God and love her simple Little Way. 

Loss of Inner Peace

        The loss of inner peace stems from our disobedience to God. Obey the Lord and inner peace is restored ~ a simple and direct cure. Besides being love, God is also the source of our joy and peace.       

Everything in Its Right Place

        I'll always remember many years ago in a music composition course I took, the professor said that Beethoven's symphonies are great because every note is in its right place. Not long ago, I needed a black cord for a small crucifix to wear around my neck, but I could only find a reel of white nylon cord around the house. So I took about 30 inches of it and started coloring it with a black permanent marker on top of a large rectangular sheet of white paper to keep the ink from staining the desktop. It took a while and I got it done ~ the dried cord came out perfect. Later I noticed that the pen strokes left on that piece of background paper formed a beautiful abstract image ~ there's something cosmic about it, reminding me of a galaxy perhaps. What I like about it is that every line and every dot seem to be in the right place. [When an art gallery curator asked me to submit a work for a group show as a former founding member of the gallery, I submitted that image.] 

         I now look at my own life in Jesus and also see that everything under his watch and care is happening at the right time, that is, falling in the right place. This indicates that my life in the Lord is going to be perfect too.  

Loneliness and Self-Pity Banished

        Speaking of fringe benefits of being employed by the Lord (see my last post), I can mention two probably many millions of people in the world now desperately need. (1) When God becomes your Lord and friend and begins to use you to serve him, loneliness vanishes. No human companionship can possibly compare with his. (2) You know that God loves you and will lighten any burden that's too much for you to bear alone, so you don't ever feel sorry for yourself anymore. Both loneliness and self-pity are exiled forever.     

Being Employed by God

        Recently, an event triggered some old memories which I thought would be interesting to share with the family members involved. I did not get a chance and at the same time the Lord made me see that there's really no point in looking back or reminiscing about the past because I belong to him now. As my own man, I can do whatever I feel like doing. As a follower and servant of Christ, I am now his "employee" and must do whatever he wants me to do. May I add that since the pay, the rewards and fringe benefits are out of this world (pun intended), I am more than happy to follow his orders.

A Bold Exhortation to All

        When we were born, we were pure, innocent babies. Then we grew up in our morally corrupt societies and became morally corrupt beings. Life is short. How much time do you have left? In the time you still have, I exhort you to turn to God, ask for the forgiveness of all your sins, and start seeking union with him so that you may be transformed into a saint ~ yes, a saint. Make this bold move and you'll lose nothing and gain all of God! Love him with all your heart and live the greatest life the rest of the way until you are welcomed into the kingdom of your heavenly Father. This has to be the most sane, logical, wise, and profitable decision you'll ever make!   

Communion of Saints

        During today's Mass, I also felt that I knew the Blessed Mother and all the other saints in heaven intimately. It is the love of God that breaks down all the barriers and unites all those who love him into one family, one body. Before them, I am comfortable in being who I really am ~ nothing for me to pretend or hide anymore.  And I know that they will intercede for me whenever I ask for their help. We are all in spiritual communion with God.   

God Is Good!

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  At Mass, I felt being so blessed by God ~ there's the most satisfying, wholesome feeling in living in the Lord. The Gospel from Luke 1 was read and we heard the account of the Annunciation. Mary's final response to the angel Gabriel ~ "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word" ~ showed precisely how we should respond to the Lord each time. During Communion I felt in my untroubled heart great gratitude for the unbelievable amount of grace he had poured upon me. God is good! 

Most Sensible Act

        The first commandment Jesus gave us is to love God first. If we truly love God, we shall love all our neighbors too. And if someone we love offends God, the pain we feel is doubled because the Lord is hurt and the offender's soul could be in jeopardy. To love God and avoid offending him, all we need do is surrender to his love. This surrendering brings us home, back to where we came from ~ it is reconciliation, reunion, restoration of order and harmony, fulfilling God's will. There is absolutely nothing more sensible for us to do than surrendering to Love.

Speeding up Spiritual Union

        Today is the Memorial of St. Ambrose, bishop and doctor of the Church. After receiving Holy Communion at Mass, I realized that it is truly the food that feeds the soul. Earlier almost two years ago, I first saw receiving the Holy Eucharist as a physical union with the Lord that "triggers" the spiritual union to follow. This is still true, but today the Lord made me see that the Holy Eucharist also expedites the spiritual union as much as we wish! When we are ready to be God's, he is ready to be ours.     

Thought Checking

        WWJD to many stands for What Would Jesus Do. It is a good question to ask if you are not sure about what to do in a situation. I think it is also good to ask yourself when a questionable thought enters your mind: What Would Jesus Say? It's WWJS to keep our thoughts pure.

The Biggest Miracle

        It is Jesus coming down to earth to give his own life so that all of us (now numbering over seven billion) may have eternal life.

All We Need to Know

       God is all-knowing. To me it means that a clear, overall plan for all things is in existence always. From Scripture reading, we could safely say that God knew the plan of salvation before the world began and that he knew each one of us before we were born. I don't believe that every little thing is rigidly predetermined because God still has to deal with our free will. As we sin, rebel, repent, return to him, start praying harder...God must accommodate all these variations in his overall scheme. 

        We are not all-knowing, but we have the good fortune that the Lord has already revealed to us all we need to know, that is, the good news that he so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Inappropriate Thought

        Any thought that makes us want to be noticed by others does not come from the Lord. Entertaining such thoughts prevents us from ever experiencing inner peace.

St. Gemma Galgani

        For me, reading the writings of past saints and servants of God has been most inspiring and rewarding spiritually. One of the very earliest books I read was St. Therese's The Story of a Soul which affected me a great deal. Over the years, I've read more of her writings as well as many other books about her ~ I consider her to be my spiritual director. Yesterday I discovered St. Gemma Galgani whom I didn't know on www.mysticsofthechurch.com, a site maintained by Glenn Dallaire of Connecticut. I became immediately attracted to her extraordinary love for Jesus, so I am going to read up on her. (Late last night I was pleasantly surprised to be informed by a fellow parishioner that the relic at the altar of our church is St. Gemma's.) 

How God Responds to Us

        When we look for some kind of response or sign from God, we usually look externally. The better way is to search deep within your inner heart and you'll often find messages which the Lord has already quietly placed there for you. 

God Needs a Chance

        Why do so many Catholics say that nothing is impossible with God, yet ruling out the possibility that they can become saints? Do they think that they are not good enough material, that is, God did not do a good enough job in making them? Or do they think that God does not wish them to become so holy? Search the heart and find the true reason. And if that reason is self-planted or unjustified, then ask the Lord to remove it so you can be on your way to becoming a saint for his great glory. All the Lord needs is to be given a chance to show you how truly he can work miracles in you.

Most Exciting Journey

        At morning Mass today, the Lord made me see the following:

        (1) When a soul no longer minds suffering for Christ's sake, he or she is free.

      (2) Following Christ every step of the way to the summit is the most exciting and rewarding journey you can ever make.  

Living in the Kingdom of God

        (1) FAITH: One of the most dramatic early cures that took place at Lourdes was that of Justin Bouhort who was not yet two years old. He was on the point of death when his mother said a prayer and plunged him into the icy water at the grotto for what seemed like a terribly long time, while the shocked onlookers screamed in protest. The child recovered within days. He lived long enough to attend Bernadette's canonization in Rome on December 8, 1933. What's so beautiful was the mother's faith, so abandoned to God that it seemed even reckless. Of course, the Lord did not let her down. Such spontaneous faith, not contrived, works miracles.

         (2) OBEDIENCE: This was exemplified by St. John of the Cross. When one obeys God, all else, great sufferings included, no longer matter. Pleasing God became St. John's sole wish and what heavenly joy it was!

     (3) ABANDONMENT: Abandonment in God leads to total freedom of the spirit. Nothing in the world can now perturb the peace and tranquility the soul experiences in the Lord. St. Therese of Lisieux comes to my mind.   

All God Asks of Us

        I like to picture myself as an empty receptacle completely open before the Lord, ready for him to deposit whatever he wished to give me in it. Again, it illustrates a passive state of our total dependence upon him. This is all God asks of us ~ obedience and trust ~ all for our eternal happiness.