Refreshing Transformation

        When God transforms us, he reconditions us. We still have the same heart, the same soul; he simply "overhauls" them. Now, with a clean heart and a spotless soul, we experience deep peace in the heart and great freedom of the soul. There is nothing else more refreshing.

Another Challenge

        Obey God alone and never mind what everyone else is doing, what is popular out there, the latest fads, political correctness, what people say about you . . . .

Our Beautiful Challenge

        Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross. In the Gospel reading from Luke 7, John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" I am sure that John was aware that he was the one to prepare for the way of the coming Lord and make straight his paths (Isaiah 40.3), so I am a little surprised that at the time he was not sure that Jesus was the one yet. What I learn here is that when God assigns us to do something, we are never given the complete plan, the details, what awaits us next ... not even the reason – we are simply expected to cooperate with him. When Mary was told by the angel Gabriel that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, she only needed to accept the assignment, not knowing what her future holds. So here's our challenge: When the Lord asks us to do something, we need to do it without questioning, knowing only that it would glorify him. I truly see the beauty in accepting such a challenge. 

*Quick Guide to Living

        To love like Christ is to be like God. Abandoning yourself in God will make you one with him. To remain humble is to let God exalt you. Be open to God and he will fill you with his grace. Trust in God and you'll have inner peace. Letting God be Lord will set you free. Be weak in God to become strong. Vanish in God and he will surely notice you. Make God the center of your life to make life meaningful. If you want to go to heaven, start following him now.

On My Journey Home

        Communion experience. Here I was receiving the Lord one more time. It had been another day of enjoying him and storing up treasures in heaven, and now, one more opportunity to strengthen my union with him and moving one day closer to meeting him in person. 

Key to Union With God

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, the angle Gabriel came to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus to her. After she understood what God wanted to do with her, she said to the angel, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Indeed, it is the key to achieving union with God when you can say "May it be done to me according to your word" each time to the Lord.

Views of Death in Contrast

        Without knowing God, death is not a pleasant thought. You realize that life is fragile and that being old and frail can be likened to a candle whose flickering flame can go out anytime. The worst feeling is not knowing what will happen after death. Those who follow Christ know that he has conquered death for them. As they age, they know that they are getting closer to being with him in bliss for all eternity and their longing for their beloved one will finally be fulfilled. There is no greater contrast than that between these two differing views.  

Awesome God

        Today's Communion experience. I trembled but was filled with great joy at the same time. 

Linked to Heaven

        Communion experience. It was Jesus calling me to his table at which I was served the living bread of life. Jesus was as immediate to me as he was to the Apostles at the Last Supper. I have tasted heaven and am now linked to it. 

Process of Spiritual Awakening

        We first believe that Jesus does exist as a historical person; then we believe that he is God; next, we accept him as Lord and Savior; we come to know his love for us; we fall in love with him; we desire to be one with him; finally, we achieve union with him. This seems like a long process, but the speed of progress and the extent to which you can progress depend entirely upon you. In theory, the moment you abandon yourself completely to God, you are in union with him.

Changing Life's Goal

        We all basically strive to make enough money to survive in order to satisfy our physical and mental desires. In short, we have been enslaved by self-centered desires. Then Christ enters our life and makes us see that if we live for him for his glory by following his will, we would be free, and on top of that, have eternal life. If you think that this is too good to be true, you can always try it to find out.    

All About Life

        I see myself as someone traveling on my journey back to my creator and Father. On earth, I am just passing through, carrying no burdens. If you don't believe that there is a God, then you have no idea where you are going. In other words, you are lost. In this case, you might as well live a completely self-centered life, enjoying life as much as you can and not caring about others, while you are on earth. The fact that atheists are not living like that 100% yet shows that they still have a God-given conscience. 

Eager to Receive More

        Communion experience. Jesus said, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich." With this in mind, I eagerly desire to receive more from the Lord who is infinitely rich.

Own Ways in the Way

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11 at morning Mass, Jesus told the crowds what their generation was like. Today's generation is not much different. People are full of biased opinions, readily judging others. Those who run for public offices and their supporters are prime examples. Then there are some people I know personally who are basically good people, but very strong in holding onto their own beliefs. In one case, a man does not want to bother anyone, even though clearly he needs help because of failing health. He turns down any help from others who are genuinely concerned about him. Perhaps it's his pride? a stubborn trait? The point I want to make is that you may have your own ways as long as you are not dealing with God. With the Lord, we must soften our hearts and give in if we expect to be saved, for no one other than the humble will be able to stand the Lord.

*Beauty of Faith

       If you believe in the Lord with your whole heart, everything about him, about you, and about everything else will make perfect sense to you, for there is no contradiction in God.

*Looking Forward

        Communion experience. Jesus cleansed my whole interior and I was ready to go to him. Great Feeling. Nothing in the past is worth dwelling on, for the past is gone forever. Only God is worth looking forward to, for he will always be both my present and our future.

On Obeying Jesus

        At the wedding at Cana which Jesus and his mother attended, when the wine ran out, Mary asked the servers to do whatever Jesus tells them, and water turned into the finest wine. Obviously, Mary knew who her Son is. It is in obeying Christ that we come to witness his miraculous powers. And it is in obeying him that we become truly Christians and whole beings before God.

Mary Our Beloved Mother

        We all need a mother. Whether you are male or female, it is natural for us to call upon our mother when we are distressed. Mary is our mother in heaven. She intercedes for all of us who call upon her and leads them to her Son. It was through the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe (whose Feast is coming up on December 13) that Mexico was converted to Catholicism. My love for Christ can't help spilling over to loving his mother and now my mother.

"Impossible God"

        At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel told Mary that nothing would be impossible for God. Of course, that does not mean that we ask for anything and it is done for us, but it does give us hope always, knowing that we have a God who can do anything and happens to love us. 

How God Calls Us

       In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, through her. Mary didn't expect all this and naturally, was troubled and puzzled at first. This is how God calls us too. First, there is an element of surprise, then in time we understand what the Lord wants from us. Our role is to do what Mary said to the angel at the end, "May it be done to me according to your word." Know that God calls us when we have found favor with him.

God Beyond Understanding

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the second reading from Ephesians 1, Paul writes: Blesses be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. Wow! This is the way God the Father has blessed and chosen us! It's so much more than what we could have expected. Rejoice that we have a God who surpasses all understanding.

Making Our Life Meaningful

        Communion experience. Today is the Memorial of St. Ambrose. (Bishop Ambrose was the one who influenced Augustine and baptized him into the Church before Augustine became a saint.) The Lord showed me that continuing letting the Holy Spirit make us as perfect as he is until the day we die is what makes our life meaningful, for this is properly responding to his love for us. 😊

Responding to God's Love

        Communion experience. 1 John 4.19: "We love because God first loved us." It follows that God also first chose me, found me, and called me. Now I must respond to his love with joy.

Bonding With God

        People create strong bonds among them when they go through some adventure or harrowing experience together, even though they might not have known each other well at the beginning. Therefore, always ask the Lord to go through all the trials and tribulations of life with you for him to become your best and most intimate companion.

Most Understanding Lord

        Since Jesus totally understands our hearts, he is the only one qualified to judge us. He does not judge us based upon what we do, but upon our motivation, our intention. Once our wife meant to stop at a traffic stop sign, but since there's an obstacle blocking her view on the right, before she came to a complete stop, she decided to coast forward a little bit to get a clear view and then stop. It so happened that a cop parked across the street saw all this. He construed that she did not intend to stop the first time and stopped only after she saw him, so he ticketed her with a traffic fine. Here is a case of not understanding the intention and rushing to the wrong conclusion. Once I actually forgot about the time of Sunday Mass and missed it. This was not good, but I also knew that the Lord completely understood that I did not do it on purpose and so would not judge against me. More recently, in drinking the chalice at Mass with others waiting behind me, I did not take the time to handle the deep cup with enough care so that as a result, some consecrated wine dripped to the floor. I felt so terrible that I asked the Lord to punish me in whatever way he wished. Then I realized that he knew that I would never do such a thing intentionally and that he respected my conscience and would forgive my involuntary carelessness. So what seemed horrible was in a way the very opposite of hypocrisy, which is choosing to look good deliberately before others. I rejoice that we have such an understanding Lord. 

Joy From God

        Sorrow pierced the heart of the Blessed Mother repeatedly in her earthly life, but do you know that God can also pierce our hearts with his love, giving us great joy? This is the same love that can bring peace to our world and save us from hell. Seek union with God to receive such joy.

Faith in Action

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, some men brought on a stretcher a paralytic in an attempt to see Jesus. Not finding a 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. Jesus saw their faith and not only forgave their sins, but also healed the paralytic. It shows that we need to put our trust in the Lord, be determined, and put in the effort to seek what we want, that is, really go after the Lord, and we will be richly rewarded. God will not help those who sit around with weak faith and no action.

Picture of a Sinner

      A person steeped in sin is like a pig wallowing in the mud.

To Be Ready for Death

        I just came across the short YouTube video entitled In Memory of Zoltan Kocsis – RIP and realized that he had passed away. He was a Hungarian piano virtuoso some of whose recorded CDs I own. A quick check on Wikipedia revealed that he died last month at the age of 64. I knew he was younger than I and had not expected that he would be gone so soon before me. This got me thinking that we are all marching toward death. It is healthy to be aware of this reality always so that we might plan living our brief lives properly. Of course, any planning for a noneternal period would be inadequate. Jesus has asked us to stay alert and ready for his Second Coming and this information must absolutely be taken into account in our planning so that we can truly be ready for death and everything else.

To Be Free From Possessions

        I see people as they age finally realize that their attachment to material possessions has turned into a burden, so they start to dispossess them one by one. This is moving in the right direction, but getting rid of your things and still feeling attached to them won't entirely free you. It's more important that you feel detached to them even if you still have them ~ this is enjoying everything in the proper free manner. If you can live completely satisfied without your material possessions, then you are truly free in this world. (Letting God replace all your possessions is the secret here, for only he can truly satisfy us.)

Remaining Cool

        We live in this imperfect, sinful world, encountering frustrations, setbacks, unexpected turn of events ... constantly, and it's easy to get stressed out. The realistic outlook is to realize that such happenings will not go away and it's how we deal with them that matters. To me, to remain cool is to not let anything bother you, for life is dealing with a whole series of unfinished businesses until the day you die. How to remain cool? Know that all things that happen to you are allowed by God for a purpose, so there are no accidents. See it this way and you'll see the good that comes out of the experience each time. Let the Lord take up your burden; you are simply following his will, being detached yourself. This is what total abandonment is all about ~ letting God be in charge of all things, for nothing can happen without his knowledge.     

*Taking Communion Seriously

        Communion experience. When I received Christ in the Holy Eucharist, he entered me to claim me as one of the sheep the Father had chosen to give him, and he was to reside in me. What an honor, blessing, and joy! This is serious business. Sadly, I have seen Catholics no sooner receive the Blessed Sacrament than they walk out the church. One should never receive the Holy Eucharist out of sheer obligation. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11.27: "Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord." Catholics beware. 

Thanks to the World

        Because of the chaotic and disordered condition of the secular world I live in, I was driven to seek refuge in God more and more, culminating in seeking union with him. 

Harvesting for God

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier. In today's Gospel from Matthew 9, at the sight of the crowds, Jesus' heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." How can we help with harvesting? First, to make your task easy, get to know the Lord like the disciples of his time who followed him everywhere. Then spread the good news every chance you get. It could be just making a phone call or performing some small chore to show the love of God for us. The task doesn't need to be taxing; only diligence is required. You'll fine laboring for the Lord to be a great joy.

Ego Involvement

        If you feel inclined to do something that shows off your ego, that prompting can only have come from the evil one and not the Holy Spirit. Let only God bestow any glory on you. All glories that affect you ego are false ones, for they are bestowed on you by Satan. Do not contradict the Lord and you'll have peace. Safeguard the sanctity of your soul and dismiss your ego entirely.

Happy Progression

        I am artistic in nature and have found myself to be able to express myself through taking photographs. The images I capture identify me as the photographer well; as a matter of fact, you could say that they are me. So I feel good about that and am satisfied with my work. There is somewhat a parallel in following Christ. Abandon yourself in the Holy Spirit and you come to know and understand yourself well. As you become one with God, what you do is exactly what God wants you to do. And you are joyful and happy that you fulfill the will of God always.

*Greatest Gift Offer Ever!

        Do you know that through Christ, God wants to bestow eternal life on us? How foolish would it be for us to ignore this offer! Let us prepare ourselves for receiving this fantastic, most precious and desirable, and once-in-a-lifetime offer in the remaining time of our fleeting life. Better late than never. In this case, better would be infinitely better and never would be infinitely worse.

Refill Time

        Arriving at church for Mass this morning, I wanted to empty myself completely for the Holy Spirit to fill me again. Then all in me would be from God, with God, and for God. 

Resting in God

        Communion experience. I was in complete harmony with my beloved Lord and my heart felt a great stillness. St. Augustine's saying came to my mind again: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."

*Secret of Spiritual Growth

        The speakers you hear in church, on TV, at conferences, during retreats, and contemporary writers on spirituality advise, encourage, or inspire you to grow holier, to love God more, but none exactly tells you how to do it. Good intention, but ineffective messaging. The secret is to let God do the work for you. This means that you open up to God to let him in first. Then you ask him directly to transform you. In short, the formula for success: Surrender to God, attain union with him, and all you desire is yours. 

Fidel Castro's Death

        The Cuban leader passed away recently and Cuban Americans continue to celebrate his death. It is understandable that they are happy that the one who had oppressed them is now gone. But we also need to realize that God hates only the sin, never the sinner. If we acknowledge that God is the judge of all, we must also mourn the death of anyone sinful whoever he might be. After all, praying for the salvation of all souls, living or deceased, is the duty of all Christians.

Pure Love

        When we say we love someone or something in the world, that love is not selfless, as it always involves our receiving some form of gratification. Whereas the love of God for us is pure because it is unconditional ~ the Lord just wants to help and save us. Our love for God can be pure too, for when we truly love him, we happily let him do whatever he wants with us. 

Soul in Safety

        Communion experience on this Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. When you are in Christ, you soul is absolutely safe and you can let everything else go.

Obedience Benefits

        When we obey God always, he takes care of all our foibles and tendencies to sin, preparing us for our journey back to him. Great joy for all!

Going to Extremes

        God goes to extremes in loving us.  So, as his children, we must also go to extremes in obeying him. "Like Father, like son," right? With God, it should be all or nothing. Otherwise, life loses its meaning.

Tug-of-War Life

        Life is a game of tug-of-war between you and God with you trying to tug away from him constantly. Once you realize that you cannot win and stop struggling, war ceases and peace prevails. Wise advice: Always let God win. 

Secret of Freedom

        Willingly give yourself and all you have for the sake of God and you soul will be burden free, ready to soar to God.

Letting-Go Time

        Communion experience. What a perfect time to hand myself and everything else over to God!

Same Union, Different Roles

        We are all different beings, each living in his own unique life situation. When we all become one with God, we shall all experience the intimacy of God, but continue to lead our lives differently. Each of us is called to serve God in a unique role. Let us trust in the same Lord and let him shape and lead each of us the way he knows best. All in God and all for God.

To Be Childlike Again

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit that the Father had hidden things from the wise and the learned and had revealed them to the childlike. I still remember that more than once as a child, I felt carefree and happy because I realized that the adult members of my family were taking care of everything for me. We would feel carefree and happy too if we know that God is taking care of us. To reach this realization, you must start trusting in God first. Then the more you experience the wonders of God, the more you become carefree. When you become completely childlike in your trust, he will have revealed all you need to know to you.