Perfect Antidote

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 9 & 10. Jesus went around to the towns and villages, teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. This is still true today when you see people lost and lonely all around. And it is still true that Christ is the perfect antidote for the troubled and abandoned. 

Superior Learning

        Today is the Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, whose sermons were known to have greatly helped the conversion of St. Augustine. When we seek and get to know God, he fills us with wisdom and understanding far superior than anything we could possibly learn from the world, for he reveals the absolute truth to us as he has done to all the great saints. 

Stepping into Freedom

        Today is a first Friday and we had adoration of the Blesses Sacrament after Mass. I saw that if in his holy presence, we are bold enough to ask God to do whatever he wishes with us, then we'll have stepped into the realm of freedom. This is showing our trust in the Father, abandoning ourselves in him, and inviting him to be one with you. The Lord is now surely free to take care of all our things. 

Cup Always Full

        Some people see a half-filled glass as half empty. These are the ones who're usually not happy about their own lot and see others as being more fortunate than they are. Then we have others who see the same glass as half full ~ they are happier, appreciative of what they have and optimistic about the future. Finally, the fulfilled Christians know that their cup is always full to overflowing, as they receive grace upon grace from the Lord. 

We Are at Fault

        If everyone in this world is as holy as Jesus, we'll have a peaceful world filled with joy ~ no question about it. Even should tragedy befall us, we'd still be strong, filled with faith and hope, and praise the Father. As I have said before, it is our sin that messes up our own lives and the world, causing continuous, great miseries. We are at fault ~ this is important to realize so that we may look to God for mercy and salvation.

Direct Learning from God

        There must be tens of thousands of books out there giving spiritual advice. But the best, expedient way to learn is to surrender to God, letting him enter your heart to teach you directly.

A Free Relationship

        Our relationship with God is also a free one in the sense that God freely gives us his love with no strings attached and we are free to respond to him any way we choose. Amid God's free giving and our free responding, faith is born. 

A Jealous and Generous Relationship

        Before Mass began in church this morning, I saw my relationship with God to be a jealous and generous one. Jealous, because I enjoy the Lord so much that I want to possess him totally and not let anyone take him away from me. Generous, because I enjoy the Lord so much that I want everyone to possess him and experience the same joy.

Healing the Soul

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 15, we read that great crowds came to Jesus, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet and he cured them all. Today, such miracles are no longer so common, except for the healing of the soul. When we repent of our sin and ask for healing of the soul, the Lord instantly complies. We have his great mercy on our side.

More than Number One

        God is not to be number one in our lives ~ he is to be the only one in our lives.

Sharing the Good News

        Today's Communion antiphon, Matthew 10.27: What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light, says the Lord, what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. Therefore, we must make Jesus the Truth known, one way of another. We can tell others about him and/or live our lives as faithful disciples. Not to share the truth is like being the servant who dug a hole and buried his master's money in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Subsequently, all that he had was taken away from him. Good news is to be shared with all and not kept in secrecy.  

Highest State of Existence

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier. In the Gospel from Luke 10, Jesus praises the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for having revealed those things hidden from the wise and the learned to the childlike. It is the childlike to whom the Son wishes to reveal the Father. The highest state of our existence is then to be childlike first and seek oneness with the Lord to achieve perfect harmony with his will.

How God Has Made Us

        Quoting St. Augustine once more: God has made us so that our hearts are restless until they rest in him. It's also true that God has made us so that we are not completely free until our hearts surrender to him.

Living the Dream Life

        Is life a dream? The answer depends upon whether life is meaningful to you or not. Everything you see, hear, touch, and experience is real enough, but if you do not know where you came from and where you are going, then your life will be like a dream. To those who know Christ to be the eternal truth, life is no longer a puzzle. Everything that happens to them makes sense and they know where they are going more surely than they know that the sun will come up the next morning. The beautiful dream of their life has become a reality. Everything is now real, extended beyond this life.

Expecting the Unexpected

        The Gospel reading was taken from Matthew 24. Jesus said to his disciples that the coming of the Son of Man would be as it was in the days of Noah. People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. The flood came and carried them all away. He therefore told his disciples to stay awake and be prepared, for he would come at an hour they did not expect.

          It's critical that we be ready always, joyfully anticipating the coming of the Lord.

God's Holiness Should Rule

        Today is the First Sunday of Advent. At the beginning of Mass, I trembled because I sensed the awesome holiness of God. I am sure that Peter, James, and John felt it on Mt. Tabor when they witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. So, how do we dare to do anything without God's approval?

First Concern of Life

        Jesus' love for each of us is the same. The only variable is how each of us responds to his love. If we truly love Jesus, our foremost concern of life should be how we can love him more.

Unique Love

        God is unique, different from any creatures and created things, and he alone is to be worshiped and adored by us. Because of this, our love for him is also unique and not the same as our love for other creatures and things. This unique love we enjoy is to be prized.

Responding to God's Call

        Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. The Gospel from Matthew 4 read tells that Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw the two brothers Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea and said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. Today's Communion antiphon, John 1.41-42 ~ Andrew told his brother Simon: We have found the Messiah, the Christ. Then he brought him to Jesus.

        If we hear the Lord calling us personally, we must realize that it's going to be the beginning of a most intimate relationship, a most blessed journey. With God, there's no place for casual relationships.

God Satisfies

        Yesterday I felt completely satisfied because God had shown me the way to salvation, that he had prepared a place for me in heaven, and that I'd already been chosen to be one of his children. So I am all set for eternity. All this is not fictional as Jesus is not. If you think life is not worth living, banish such thought and turn to Jesus immediately to ask him to illuminate you.  

Our Greatest Gift Ever

        On this Thanksgiving Day, what do we Christians have to thank for? This is easy to answer. The greatest gift we have received from God is the Lord himself, as he gave himself on the Cross to save us. Again, he instituted the Holy Eucharist as a sacrament so that he might enter us in person to dwell within us! We can and should take full advantage of this divine gift by letting him transform us into new, holy creatures.

Wake-Up Moments

        Every time we are happy on earth, we should think of heaven where we can be infinitely happier. Every time we suffer some hardship on earth, we should think of hell where we can suffer infinitely worse.

On Converting Others

        Jesus conquers us with love. He is Lord, but serves us at the same time. We must do likewise in converting others.

We Are the Fools

        Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The Gospel reading from Luke 23 shows how great the mercy of God is. Two criminals were crucified alongside Jesus. Now one of them reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

        I can't help being greatly impressed by the Lord's mercy. Here a criminal expressed his fear of God, acknowledged that he's justly condemned, and asked Jesus to remember him in the last minute of his life, and Jesus saved him without the slightest hesitation. We are the ones, not God, making it hard for ourselves to be saved.

Being Fair to God

        Asking for God's mercy requires our surrendering to God. Think about it.

Bold Humility

        True humility is accompanied by boldness, made possible by God's love. Witness Jesus in action. Without boldness, we have only timidity.  

Levels of Achievement

        I met a billionaire who started out as a dishwasher. He is indeed a business genius greatly admired many in the world, but such achievement does not lift him above the world. On the other hand, union with God is an "achievement" on a higher level, so much higher that one is lifted to the level of the Divine. 

In God's Hands

        If you believe that it is God who is keeping your heart beating and alive, then you know that he is completely holding you in his hands. 

Levels of Humility

        Humility calls for hiding even facts. Suppose there are things that can make me look good. If I have ego, I will want to tell them. Without ego, I probably don't have the urge to bring them up. But if I have humility, I would want to make sure that I do not reveal them.

To Be Pure...

we need to keep all our thoughts and motives pure. This is only possible when God makes it possible. Hence we need to seek union with God.

Most Precious Moments

        The most precious moments of life are those moments when you are aware that you and God are one. You will treasure your life when every moment of your life is precious. 

Life's Purpose

        Life must have its purpose. For life to be meaningful, it has to be loving God. Loving God prepares us for returning to him in heaven, completing our journey. The greatest tragedy is to not complete our journey, leading to eternal separation from God. All the saints saw this clearly. Nothing new is said here, only the same thing said a little differently. 

True Charity

        To want to make more money so that you can give more money away sounds good, but the thinking is wrong. What matters is not how much you can give, but how willing you are to give whether you make any money or not.

A Sensible Decision

        God sustains everything in the universe, myself included. My soul will leave my body anytime he wills. Therefore, the sensible choice for me is to acknowledge that I depend upon him completely and to let him do whatever he wishes with me.

Jesus Consoles the Humble

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus said, "All those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humbled themselves will be exalted." We've all been humbled at one time or another. If we accept those humbling experiences, we should find great consolation in the Lord's saying. 

No Judging of Others

        The saying "The Last will be first and the first will be last" of Jesus should teach us not to judge others.

Genuine Love for God...

remains constant whether life is sweet or goes sour.

Living Blindly

        In our consumerist societies today, people buy what they want now and not worry about whether they can afford it or not. Then they run out of money and end up in deep water. With this same mentality, people seek worldly pleasures first without worrying about any possible consequences. This time the soul can end up in deep water.

Self-Deception

       We are nothing, but all our material aids that make our life comfortable, convenient, and conceited have deluded us into believing that we are important. 

To Have or Not to Have God

        Travel thought. If I shut God out of my heart, he becomes easily nonexistent. If I treasure him in my heart, then he is with me always no matter where I go in this universe. To not have God is to doom myself for all eternity. To have God is to never be alone again. The difference is tremendous!  

Waiting for God

          Timeout is over and I am back to blogging. Today is already November 27, but I shall date each entry as of the day the thoughts first came to me.    

       Communion experience. I wanted the love of God to consume me, Jesus to possessive me, and the Holy Spirit to slay me. I felt that to die in Christ would be pure bliss! He is not taking me yet, but for complete union with my most beloved, what's waiting for a few more days or years?    

Timeout

        Within the next month or more, I won't be able to blog much because a life event requires my time and attention. If the Holy Spirit does place thoughts in my heart, I shall write them down first and post them later whenever possible. All is in God's good hands. May he bless us all! And may we praise and adore him forever!

Our Second Childhood

        We all remember the carefree days when we were young and dependent entirely upon our parents ~ we played most of the time, not worrying much about anything else. Then we grew older and realized that life was not always easy with its ups and downs, and all kinds of problems. How many of you can truly say that you've had more happy times than rough ones as adults? But this is the perfect time to regain that old (young) joy by realizing that we are and will always be the children of God the Father! He asks us to be childlike in believing and obeying him so that he can again make us worry-free, rejoicing in our existence. 

Christ Essential

       On driving back from morning Mass, I noticed that the foliage of some of the trees had already changed to the colors of fall. Shortly next, winter will be here. Time marches on and we along with everything else are passing. The important question is "passing to where?" Do we pass into nothingness or arrive at some eternal destination? For those who know Christ, everything is made clear. There are God and Satan, good and evil, love and hatred, salvation and damnation, heaven and hell. Without this dichotomy, life cannot have meaning ~ everything becomes vague, uncertain, unknown, and ultimately empty.

Jesus Worthy to Be Trusted

        I remember that many years ago when I took a course in using the computer with Windows, I was struck by what the instructor said ~ he told the class that Windows was capable of performing so many more tasks he didn't even know. I suppose you have to talk to the designers to find out all its capabilities. Even though I know so little about the computer, I trust in using it for various purposes, such as blogging I am doing now. By contrast, people are not ready to believe in God until they know everything about him. Naturally, this is impossible even if you have all the time in the world. The fact that Jesus had come and revealed God's love to us by performing miracles, dying on the Cross, and ascending into heaven should be more than sufficient for us to trust in him.

Union with God a Must

        After Communion. Jesus wants us to be perfect and desires to be one with us; therefore, union with God is the least we can do. To be one with God is the most we can give of ourselves; therefore, union with God is the most we can do. Being both, union with God is what we must do.

Jesus' Other Cross

        When we who live in the world are no longer of the world, we feel uncomfortable among any worldly crowd. This can be a heavy cross to carry. Now, Christ from heaven came down to live in an ungodly world ~ imagine how much he must have had to endure. But because of his great love for us, he completely overcame that cross. 

How We Live Matters

        In all three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." This is the same as saying that whoever lives for himself will not inherit eternal life, but whoever lives for God will.

Secret of the Greatest Commandment

        Today I realize that when Jesus gave us the greatest commandment: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, he gave us the formula to attain freedom, peace, and deep joy!      

Mary and the Holy Spirit

        Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. Two thoughts came to my mind during Mass. (1) God chose Mary to bear his Son our Savior, so how could any Christian neglect or even dismiss her? From the Cross, Jesus made her John's mother and John, her son ~ surely she is good enough for all of us. (2) It was the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary who made it possible for her to conceive Jesus. Surely we can call upon this same Holy Spirit to make it possible for us to accommodate Jesus fully in our hearts.