Many Dwelling Places

[InLight247]

I like to think the analogy of concentric circles.]

You know what this made me think of…The Celestial Court, with God in the middle and then Mary then Archangels, etc. I had seen a photo of a painting done like this.

Interesting

I would imagine Mary, the Archangels and many beloved Saints stay the closest with the Lord. There is no doubt those who love the most stay the closest. When Jesus went through his Passion, all the disciples escaped except John who stayed with the Lord all the time. Those who love the most stay the closest.

There are many dwelling places in the Father’s house. Every place is good, but since we still can increase our love capacity while on earth, why not? The inner circle surely looks attractive.

 

[InLight247]

This Sunday’s readings are to do with the virtue of gratitude. After being healed, only one out of the ten lepers showed his gratitude. Jesus was emphasizing the importance of gratitude. Indeed, gratitude is vitally important.

Gratitude protects us from selfishness or taking things for granted. Gratitude is the antidote of depression. When we are lack of gratitude, it is easy to fall into self pity and bitterness. Gratitude softens our hearts, releases our anxiety. When we count our blessings and show our gratitude, we open our hearts for God’s new blessings.

Both Naaman and the Samaritan Leper showed their gratitude to God. Let’s cultivate the virtue of gratitude, lest should we become moral Lepers of ingratitude.

Have a blessed day!

 

[InLight247]

There is no Mass on Monday in my parish, so I always travel to another church for Mass. While I was on my way this morning, all of a sudden I remembered I just had my breakfast. In my estimation of the time for Communion, it’s probably only 50 to 55 minutes from my eating. I hesitated long at a stop sign, could not decide whether to proceed. But a car was coming from behind; therefore, I moved forward and got onto the highway.

“If the priest gave a longer homily, it could make up some time of the fasting I was short of.” I thought to myself on the way. I walked with an old gentleman from the parking lot to the church. While we were chatting, I brought up my concern. He said: “A few minutes short should be alright.”

I entered the pew and knelt, pouring out my concern to the Lord with teary eyes. “Lord, how much I long for receiving you and how much I don’t want to offend you.”

The pastor of that church was saying the Mass today. He usually gives very short homily; sometimes he doesn’t even say anything but remain silent after the Gospel reading for couple minutes. But today, he spent more time talking, and even the prayer of the faithful was longer also.

Thus I received the Communion with delight. When I stepped out of the church after Mass, the bright morning sun was sparkling to my face. “Lord, you are so good!” I whispered to God with my joy and gratitude.

 

[InLight247]

Luke 11:40-41

Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

You know how sometimes when you read the Scriptures, a verse is just jumping out on you. The above verses jumped out on me this morning.

Catholic Church greatly emphasizes on alms giving because Jesus said so. Alms giving are love in action. Love without work is not true love. Like St. James said, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?" Alms giving carry out concrete actions of caring so our brotherly love does not merely remain as lip services.

Alms giving is not only limited to the material aspect. A listening ear, a supporting shoulder, a set of embracing arms and intercessory prayer are all alms giving in the spiritual sense. Alms giving are to help people with physical, spiritual and emotional hungers.

No wonder Jesus said, *“give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you. *“ Like St. Luke recorded in the passage of the pardon of a sinful woman: “So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” Love God and love neighbors can cover many faults.

Let’s cherish all alms giving opportunities so “everything will be clean for you”. Amen.

 

[InLight247]

Gal 5:18-25
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

In today’s first Scripture reading, St. Paul list things for our examination of conscience.
I think when we do our daily examination, the first part of what St. Paul mentioned could be in the category of “what I have done”:
immorality,
impurity,
licentiousness,
idolatry,
sorcery,
hatreds,
rivalry,
jealousy,
outbursts of fury,
acts of selfishness,
dissensions,
factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts,
orgies.

And the second part could be in the category of “what I have failed to do” :
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
generosity,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control.

And we can add our own to the list for any specific area of improvement.
Peace.

 

[InLight247]

I have been praying for the family’s reconciliation ever since my church friend B informed me that her mother has been diagnosed for terminal cancer. I heard B’s mother would not talk to her father for long time, even they lived under the same roof. When the old lady’s life is at stake, what could be more important than a sincere reconciliation with her family?

B told me after today’s morning Mass that her mother was in hospice and our Pastor has anointed her with oil. Her father said “I love you,” to her mother, but her mother would not respond.

“Has she made a confession when Father gave her the rite?” I asked.
“No,” B replied.
“Don’t you think that’s the most important thing at this critical moment?”
But B said she would not know how to talk to her mother about this. She invited me to visit her mother, and hope in our conversation confession could be suggested.

That put me to immediate fervent prayers. Would I know what to say? Would the old lady even listen to a stranger?

When B met me in the hospice parking lot this afternoon, she told me she just inquired her mother if she had a confession the other day with the Pastor, and she said no. Then B asked if she would want one, and she said yes. Sometimes a person may just feel shy about initiating a confession. All she needed was to be asked. Incidentally at that particular moment the Vicar of our parish called to ask if the family cared for him to pay a visit. So Father was on his way.

That put me at ease. I just sat at the patient’s bed side and chatted. I made a comment: “I am glad Father T is coming. He is so nice. He is my confessor.” B’s brother mentioned he had not gone to confession for years because there was no need. I told him I made my confession at least once a month. His eyes were widened. “It’s not that we only go to confession for mortal sins, venial sins and imperfections all could be confessed. The grace received in confession was just abundant and great”, I said.

The old lady listened intently all the time. She was very conscious. Hopefully my small testimony could help the family view the Sacrament of reconciliation in a different perspective.

I left as soon as Father arrived. It was comforting to know B’s mother was in good hands after all.

 

[InLight247]

On the weekend of October 16, the Scripture readings are about persistence in prayer. I summarized the homilies from both our priests to share them with you.

I.
Jesus told us to pray always without being weary. I will give you a recent experience of mine as a parable of praying always.

In the recent Eucharistic Congress, the closest hotel I could get was five blocks away from the Convention Center. After the event was over, I was a little tired while walking to my hotel. Every time I felt weary, I sat down and rest for a while. Every time I thought I was lost, I asked directions to the police officers on the street. I did not care what people thought about me as long as I made sure I was on the right path and to reach my destination.

It is the same for our prayers. First, we must have a clear goal. Second, we have to be persistent, keep on going even we don’t want to. The third thing is to rest and recoup, to take a break, and stop once in a while to review our progress. Fourth is to ask for directions if we become off course, don’t let ego stand in the way. Fifth is not to be afraid how others may make fun of us. These are the common elements of today’s Gospel.

Let’s ask for faith, never lose heart. Let’s take heart and not be weary, because Jesus has given us the right path to follow.

II.
Moses, Aaron and Joshua understood they need God’s help to fight the battle. We also know God will answer our persistent prayers. The problem is we are less persistent. Jesus lamented when the son of man comes, would he find any faith on earth?
We know God will never abandon us, but he knows some of us will abandon him.
To follow God through thick and thin we could be worn down by difficulties of life.

There was a movie “A Man for All Seasons” talked about St. Thomas More who stood up against King Henry VIII. St. Thomas More refused to give up his faith. He was put in jail for fifteen months. His family and friends were allowed to visit only if they promised to convince him to give up his faith. Thomas More often looked at the nails on the Cross and watched through a window to observe a tree going through all seasons. That’s the vision for the Saint going through difficulties of all the seasons of faith.

It is possible for life’s difficulties to wear us down. Can we be like Thomas More to hold our faith for all seasons? Prayer is like everything else if we don’t get better, we will get worse. The devil draws us away little by little. Can we at least give ten minutes in the morning, five minutes in the mid day and another ten minutes in the evening to pray? Let’s begin to pray and not let any day go by without some heart felt prayers. Let’s be God’s friend for all seasons.

 

[InLight247]

They look but do not see – Matthew 13:13

Our parish retreat brochure has two sides. The front shows the retreat date, time, theme and brief introduction of the retreat director. The back side contains some related information along with the registration form. I put a pile of them on the table by the church entrance.

The Sunday before the retreat, I got a phone call as soon as I came home from the 9:15 morning Mass. “There is no retreat registration form,” said Carole, “Elaine wants to register but there is no form to be found.” Carole gets involved in many ministries in the parish. Even the retreat was not in her charge, people naturally sought for her help.

“*But there was a whole pile when I left the church a few minutes ago!*”
 “*There was none, both Elaine and I checked.*” Carole responded firmly.

Wow, is it possible that people get interested all of a sudden at the last moment and all the forms were gone? With doubt in mind, I drove back to church to make more copies. There were two more Masses to follow and registration forms must be available.

As soon as I walked into the church, I saw the same pile motionlessly sit on the table. I immediately realized what has happened. This was a typical case of “they look but do not see”.

Big and bold letters of “Parish Retreat” was clearly printed on the front of the brochure. If they picked up a brochure and flipped it over, they would see the registration form printed on the back. However, both ladies did not see. The more interesting thing is both the front and back of the brochure were posted on the display board that stood right behind the brochures, and both side of the brochure has been laid on the table in parallel piles for weeks. Just on that morning I combined the two piles together and put the front page facing up.

When Carole saw me the next day at church, she said, “Elaine didn’t flip it over to look.”

“That’s OK.” I said. But she seemed very angry and kept on complaining.
“Really, it’s OK.” I said again. And I was wondering who Carole was mad at?
Every one has his own blind spot. Just like what Jesus said, “They look but do not see.” This incident reminds me to be careful of my own errors and to be tolerant for others’. And as long as it is not a critical matter, a smile should be enough to handle it.

 

[InLight247]

Eph 2:19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Latter part of today‘s first reading was talking about us, the followers of Christ. Paul emphasized the importance of “with Christ, through Christ and in Christ”. It is a good reminder of the daily walk on our faith journey, that we ought to always put God first, and make Jesus as the center of our lives. So with Christ, through Christ, and in Christ, we may be built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. And our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, may become a joyful dwelling place for the Beloved.

 

[InLight247]

Reading 1 on Oct. 20
Eph 3:2-12
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation,
as I have written briefly earlier.
When you read this
you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to human beings in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Of this I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace
that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the Church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him.

I am always amazed at our priest’s homily that he always has an unique insight.
This morning the emphasis was on the first reading of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Father concentrated on “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.”

The importance of the Church is obvious here. The principalities and angels did not know the manifold wisdom of God until they were revealed through the Church.

Father heard people mentioned to him, “I really love Christ but I just have problems with the Church.” The Church is the mystical body of Christ. How could one claim to love Christ but not love his Church? If we truly love Christ, we will love his Church, his mystical body, his bride.

This is a very profound point. We can all meditate on this.

 

[InLight247]

Eph 5:21-23
Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the Church,
he himself the savior of the Body.

Eph 6:1-2
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may go well with you
and that you may have a long life on earth.

St. Paul was teaching us about relationships in both yesterday’s and today’s first readings.

Relationships, isn’t that one of the most important things in life?
Our relationship with each other – as husband and wife, as parents and children, as friends, they all should be** in the Lord, for the Lord, and with the Lord.** St. Paul taught the couple to be subordinate to each other out of reverence for Christ, not just to be subordinate to each other, but out of reverence for Christ. He taught children to obey parents in the Lord, not just obey parents, but obey parents in the Lord.

Years ago I did not understand the difference between simply doing good and doing good out of the love of the Lord. I did not see the difference between treating one’s spouse nicely, obeying parents out of our own ethic value and out of the reverence for the Lord. Now, as a more mature Christian, with the realization of my own weak fallen human nature, I can see the profound difference between the two. With the keen sense of Christ’s indwelling in my inner most being, knowing Christ is my anchor, my guiding light and my morning star, I clearly know the meaning and strength in cultivating relationships** in the Lord, with the Lord and for the Lord.** And how blessed that is!

 

[InLight247]

Eph 2:19-22
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

In today’s first reading, St. Paul continues to talk about relationship – our relationship with God. Building upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone, we become members of the household of God, fellow citizens with the holy one.

I am astounded while dwelling on this amazing fact. Striving for holiness is a must, not an option; otherwise, how can one be a member of God’s household and a fellow citizen with the holy one?

 

[InLight247]

Speak, for your servant is listening - 1 Samuel 3:10

Sometimes after a phone conversation with certain people, I feel frustrated. The conversation is always the same mode – the other party keeps on talking without pause and I listen quietly without any chance of speaking. Almost one hour has passed. Finally the person gives a split second of silence. But before I can utter any word, a exclamation comes, “Oh, my Gosh, I cannot talk any more, let’s continue next time.” And the line is cut off. I was not inquired about my situation, neither allowed any response to what the person has said. A pile of things has been dumped on me and I felt to let out a fish bone stuck in my throat but couldn’t.

So St. Francis’ prayer comes to my mind:

*Oh, Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love.
*

How sublime that is! Though I am willing to console, to understand and to love, I still seek to be consoled, to be understood and be loved. When others are repeatedly self centered and turn a conversation into a monologue, I feel uncomfortable. This fact makes me realize how far I am from reaching the goal of holiness.

This also reminds me of my own prayers. How often I concluded my prayer with an “Amen” and did not stop to listen? Didn’t I frequently turn the dialogue with God into a monologue? Although God loves us unconditionally and always accepts our naggings, he certainly loves a heart to heart dialogue. He intends to convey his wisdom if only we could listen. When we just talk and not listen, wouldn’t God feel the same way as I felt?

 

[InLight247]

Gospel reading on 10/31/10

Luke 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

This is a familiar story, a life changing story after the encounter with the Lord.

Just the other night I was sharing with my Small Church Community when we studied this Sunday’s Scriptures, particularly on this Gospel passage. A question was asked: “How did you start to follow Jesus?”

My memory flew back to decades ago when I was a little girl. My father who adopted me was retired with little money. My mother was a staying at home house wife. Even at a young age, I knew our financial situation was difficult.

We lived in a village on a mountain top by a sea harbor. Father was baptized as a Protestant. I have followed him to the Protestant services couple times and obtained some vague idea about Jesus. When a job at the village’s convenience store opened up, my mother applied for it. I remembered how I prayed for Jesus’ help. We needed the income badly. And mother did get that job which improved our living.

From that point on, it was a choice of mine to become a Christian. I ended up being baptized as a Catholic in the summer of my college freshman year. But long before then, I was a believer of Christ at heart out of thanksgiving for the answered prayer when I hardly knew him.

Encounter with Christ is always life changing. In today’s Gospel, Zacchaeus took a risk to climb a tree to see Jesus. He was despised because of his job as a tax collector. He could make a fool of himself by climbing the sycamore tree. There was no provision that Jesus would stop at or even pass by that tree. But Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” Zacchaeus’ risk was paid off. The encounter with Jesus gave Zacchaeus a changed heart. He proclaimed to help the poor and pay back four times to whom he has cheated.

Jesus also took a risk of being ridiculed. People grumbled, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Jesus knew his mission and professed his mission statement: ” For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Everything Jesus did was to bring people back to the Father’s house. Christ’s mission should become our mission. We must be willing to follow Christ to risk being criticized, ridiculed, or gossiped.

As the people called by Jesus, we all need to take our own risk to follow him. At this point of my journey, what risk do I need to take in order to develop a deeper relationship with Christ and become a better disciple?

 

[InLight247]

All Saints Day followed by all Souls Day once again affirms the communion of saints the Catholic Church believes. Knowing the fact that all Saints in heaven are praying for us brings me much comfort. When we pray for the holy souls in Purgatory, they too will turn around to pray for us.

Such communion is powerful and also the work of love. We are abundantly blessed in both giving and receiving prayers. So, let us pray.

 

[InLight247]

The flight from San Francisco to Dallas was delayed for more than an hour. This cut the connecting time of the flight to North Carolina really tight. My seat was on the back which would delay the get off time from the airplane. Would I be able to go home that night? There was no use to be anxious. The only thing I could do was to pray.

When we approached Dallas, the stewardess announced in the intercom our landing gate and all the departure gates for connection flights. I was to land at D26 and leave at B24. According to the terminal chart, I have to get on air train to catch my flight. There was 15 minutes for me to achieve that. Again, I turned to God as well as several of my Saint friends in heaven for help.

As soon as the seat belt sign was off, before anybody stood up, I dashed to the front on the narrow isle. Some other passengers followed me. I ran to the escalator, jumped on the air train and hoping to make it. One gentleman on the train was also to catch the same flight. When we got off the train, he said if he ran to the gate first, he would try to ask them to wait for me. I got there just right after him. The flight was still on the ground, but the clerk at the service counter refused to call to the staff on the aircraft since the door has been closed. No matter how both of us pleaded, she said no. So we stood there five minutes then unbelievably and helplessly watched the airplane backed out and left.

AA again refused to pay our hotel for the night. They said the delay of the first flight was caused by weather. Weather? It was slightly raining in San Francisco, and this could be used for not paying our hotel accommodation!

My fellow traveler obviously was very upset. Indeed this was outrageous! However, I amazingly found myself peaceful inside. Since I have prayed and run hard, I did all I could. I was not able to change the ridiculous reality. There was no way to get home that night. So I might as well go with the flow in serenity and not be upset.

American Airline’s staff helped book Comfort Inn for the night and told me the hotel bus would pick me up in 20 minutes. I stood under the “courtesy pick up” sign for long time, all other hotel buses came and went, but there was no sign of the Comfort Inn bus. When the bus of Holiday Inn Express Suite came to pick up the only other passenger on the street, the driver asked me where I was going. “Comfort Inn” I told him. “North or South?” he asked. I didn’t even know. The AA staff did not say. “Why don’t you come with us? Our rate is only 9 dollars more than Comfort Inn and you get a suite, a much better deal.” So I hopped on.

On the way to the hotel, I was thinking all these might be a disguised blessing. I could rest one night before continuing my travel. I didn’t have to drive home alone in the darkness after midnight. It might be safer.

I always know the philosophy of “doing my best and leave God with the rest” and “don’t allow other’s mistake to take away our own peace”. But there used to be a bigger gap between my knowing and doing. Though my heart is still not always calm, at least now I am able to keep the waves of my heart minimal.

The personal growth is the result of my deepened relationship with the Lord. When the trust is more profound, worry and complaint are bound to be reduced. All is well as long as the Lord is with me. By God’s grace, I have learned to pray, to praise, and to give thanks always. Wherever I walk with my Lord, I will not be bored and no time will be wasted either. And indeed, the Lord is with me always.

 

[InLight247]

John 2:13-22

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

Jesus was angry in today’s Gospel. He even physically whipped the merchants out of the temple area and overturned tables. Jesus was angry because God’s house, the most sacred place was not respected. This is the only place in Bible Jesus got so upset and showed his anger with action.

That tells us how important it is to show respect when we are in God’s house. Not only we should genuflect to the tabernacle, we ought to have a pious attitude in our hearts when we are physically in the church.

Moreover, we must keep our thoughts, words, and behaviors pure and clean all the time. Since our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, how important it is to show respect to the indwelling Spirit by governing ourselves in every area no matter where we are.

 

[InLight247]

Titus 3:1-7
Beloved:
Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities,
to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise.
They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate,
exercising all graciousness toward everyone.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded,
slaves to various desires and pleasures,
living in malice and envy,
hateful ourselves and hating one another.

But when the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

St. Paul pointed out our eternal life is achieved by God’s mercy and our continued response to God’s grace. In today’s daily Mass, Father said we are not saved by faith alone, neither by our own good work. After being baptized and becoming God’s children, we must be sanctified and renovated daily and remain in God’s grace.

Indeed we must make efforts to be sanctified. Attending daily Mass, reading Bible, praying and receiving Sacraments all help us to remain in God’s grace and deepen our relationship with the Lord. That’s how we walk toward the eternal life.

 

[JCnMe]

I just want to say Bless your heart for keeping this up for all to read…you are indeed In Light 24/7-let it shine for all to see…have a wonderful day-

 

[InLight247]

I just want to say Bless your heart for keeping this up for all to read…you are indeed In Light 24/7-let it shine for all to see…have a wonderful day-

JCnMe,

Thank you for your encouragement. Your kindness reminds me of something happened before. Let me share my reflection.

I remember last year when I was physically ill, I received a card with unfamiliar hand writing on the envelope. It was from Terry. Terry and Monica is a Protestant couple who take turns to bring their aged Catholic mother to Mass every Saturday. Monica has back problems, therefore, it is Terry who usually accompanies his mother in law to Mass. They always sit on the front row and I sit right behind them. That ‘s how we got to know each other.

Due to my sickness at the time, I stopped going Mass in Saturday evening by myself and only attended Sunday morning Mass with my husband. Once I chatted with Terry about my problem and he was concerned. He asked if there was anything else he could help other than praying. After our conversation, I did not show up for long time. Then I received the card from their family. Actually we just sat in the same area in Saturday Mass. We were not close friends. But Terry showed his sincere care. I was really moved.

That reminded me of another incident. There was a period of time I was extremely busy and skipped several Sunday night Bible study. One day I was praying before Mass and Jim walked over to ask me why I haven’t showed up lately. “We miss your participation.” I started to attend the Bible study again that very evening. Busyness was no longer my excuse. It’s amazing how a small gesture of kindness can bring immediate positive effect.

The Bible says: “Each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.” Pay attention to other’s need and show small kindness is something we all can and should do.

Thanks again for your kind encouragement. I really appreciate it.