Knowing where Heaven is exactly, as if it can defined by measurable boundaries, does not mean that anyone can go there and experience it nor does it mean that nobody can. Wherever Heaven is, it is not as far as one might imagine by looking up into the sky when Heaven can be a state of mind in which case Heaven is always nearby. The way there is neither secretive nor tortuous; in contrast, it is to Hell that the path is deceitful and twisted.
To experience a moment in Heaven, one must first be cognizant of the streams of energy directed toward Hell, then gather the will to stop that energy flow. These two steps are not difficult. All one needs to do is to extricate oneself for a while from social media, mass entertainment and consumption, news and politics, unhealthful obsessions and sinful indulgences, and deposit such things into a receptacle of worldly silliness so it can be put it away and forgotten about for as long as possible.
The uncluttered mind can then be aware of the spirit that has become weightless, having been freed from the burdens of worldly matters, enabling it to float upward toward Heaven, and bringing with it the mind's intellect to experience what could be possible as opposed to what is.
If more and more people are able to have a taste of Heaven, then more and more people would want to replicate Heaven on earth. This is a dream and only in a dream will earth and Heaven coincide. In reality, Heaven remains amorphously far reachable only by thought in conjunction with the spirit at its moment of purity.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Two Layers Of Love
Contrary to popular opinion, love is not blind. It, however, has two layers, neither of which man has or is able to possess.
Jesus, the Son of God, through incarnation [1], became a man Who was different from every other man. He was sinless and as such His love was different from every other man's. It was unconditional. No man is able to love unconditionally but He had done so because He is, in His other Person of the Holy Trinity, God.
Unconditional love is the love of Jesus for man. Obedient love is the love of Jesus for God. Obedient love is not only unconditional, but also absolute.
Both unconditional and obedient love may sound like blind love, which is defined here as irrational love but they are not. Irrational love is loving someone whose mind includes thoughts that are influenced by Satan. Among them are twisted rationalizations, crowd mentalities and secularized relativisms. Jesus never loved man blindly and certainly never accepted thoughts that were Satanic.
Jesus nonetheless loved man unconditionally. He saw sinners as they were, forgave them unconditionally for past wrongs, but asked them not to sin again. Not ever committing another sin in the future was not a condition precedent to Jesus' forgiveness. To sin again would be one's free choice. Jesus would forgive again, and again, unconditionally out of love, but not naively without knowledge of the Truth.
The love Jesus had for God was beyond unconditional. Jesus loved God obediently even in the face of mental torment, physical torture and crucifixion. In His vulnerable state of the flesh, His love of God was absolute and with full knowledge that God is perfection in pure justice and eternal in pure goodness.
As much as He would rather not suffer, Jesus did drink from the cup that was handed to Him, a cup filled with the sins of man for the salvation of man, the content of which no man but the Son of God has the requisite unconditional and absolute love for God in His Sacred Heart to absorb.
[1] The sole reason for Jesus' incarnation is to absorb from every man his Original Sin and Sin's myriad permutations and the sole reason for Jesus' death is to resurrect to forever destroy eternal death that was the consequence of eating the Forbidden Apple--a small detail the Serpent apparently omitted to tell Adam and Eve. As hated as lawyers can be, had they been already roaming around the Garden of Eden, they would have provided the fine print showing the reasons for not eating the Apple and the effects subsequent to ingestion.
Jesus, the Son of God, through incarnation [1], became a man Who was different from every other man. He was sinless and as such His love was different from every other man's. It was unconditional. No man is able to love unconditionally but He had done so because He is, in His other Person of the Holy Trinity, God.
Unconditional love is the love of Jesus for man. Obedient love is the love of Jesus for God. Obedient love is not only unconditional, but also absolute.
Both unconditional and obedient love may sound like blind love, which is defined here as irrational love but they are not. Irrational love is loving someone whose mind includes thoughts that are influenced by Satan. Among them are twisted rationalizations, crowd mentalities and secularized relativisms. Jesus never loved man blindly and certainly never accepted thoughts that were Satanic.
Jesus nonetheless loved man unconditionally. He saw sinners as they were, forgave them unconditionally for past wrongs, but asked them not to sin again. Not ever committing another sin in the future was not a condition precedent to Jesus' forgiveness. To sin again would be one's free choice. Jesus would forgive again, and again, unconditionally out of love, but not naively without knowledge of the Truth.
The love Jesus had for God was beyond unconditional. Jesus loved God obediently even in the face of mental torment, physical torture and crucifixion. In His vulnerable state of the flesh, His love of God was absolute and with full knowledge that God is perfection in pure justice and eternal in pure goodness.
As much as He would rather not suffer, Jesus did drink from the cup that was handed to Him, a cup filled with the sins of man for the salvation of man, the content of which no man but the Son of God has the requisite unconditional and absolute love for God in His Sacred Heart to absorb.
[1] The sole reason for Jesus' incarnation is to absorb from every man his Original Sin and Sin's myriad permutations and the sole reason for Jesus' death is to resurrect to forever destroy eternal death that was the consequence of eating the Forbidden Apple--a small detail the Serpent apparently omitted to tell Adam and Eve. As hated as lawyers can be, had they been already roaming around the Garden of Eden, they would have provided the fine print showing the reasons for not eating the Apple and the effects subsequent to ingestion.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
An Unordinary Man
No one can return to the past to relive it but vignettes of it captured in one's memory are always fresh, as if the past were unfolding in the present. For almost everybody everywhere the recollections of memories, however inaccurate, take place, and they form a web of communication (aptly named the worldwide web when every piece of communication electronically transmitted no longer carries with it the expectation of privacy). This communication web is being spun continuously and so are the truths and the Truth [1].
Furthermore, the bases that form this web are based on science, not perfection [2]. For example, time is based on the rough observation of planetary movements using instruments with imprecise calibration having a certain margin of error, however small, and geographic location is based on gravity without regard to the shifting of the earth, however insignificant or infrequent, which defines it.
These conditions ought to explain why the Son of God never spoke of His own worldly past, His childhood, His teenage years or for that matter, anything He had Personally done previously. For example, Jesus never said that He was born in Bethlehem. For Him to say that, that means Bethlehem would never change its name or its location by the government or by an earthquake at some point. Jesus also never said He did this miracle and that miracle before He performed another and another. In other words, Jesus never told a story and therefore had no need to recollect the past because He knew the future and lived in the present. He did tell parables, however. His parables were not recollections of His Personal experiences. He used them to instruct, and when He referred to Scriptures of the past, they were written by prophets before His time. He did make a reference to His past (arguably His then-present) a limited number of times, confirming that He was the Son of Man [3], saying that He and the Father were one [4] and saying that He was the way to the Truth and God [5].
How difficult is it for an ordinary man not to talk about himself or his past except that he came from his father? Very, to the point of impossible, because for that to happen, he must not use the words "I" or "me" reserving them only for the rarest and most momentous occasions. Jesus was an unordinary man and He was able to do it. Nobody before, and nobody since.
Believe in this unordinary man, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the fallen. Pray with sincerity, gratitude, humility and love to His Mother and to Him. It is easier to reach His Sacred Heart through the intercession of His Blessed Virgin Mother, and it is only through Her Son, the Son of God that God can be reached [6].
[1] Truth with a capital "T" is eternal. It is God's Truth. Non-capitalized "truths" in the plural are human truths and are as temporary as human lives are temporary.
[2] Science is not perfect even though it is for the most part predictable, until it surprises everyone.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16:13-20
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A30-33&version=NIV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14:6
[6] Ibid.
Furthermore, the bases that form this web are based on science, not perfection [2]. For example, time is based on the rough observation of planetary movements using instruments with imprecise calibration having a certain margin of error, however small, and geographic location is based on gravity without regard to the shifting of the earth, however insignificant or infrequent, which defines it.
These conditions ought to explain why the Son of God never spoke of His own worldly past, His childhood, His teenage years or for that matter, anything He had Personally done previously. For example, Jesus never said that He was born in Bethlehem. For Him to say that, that means Bethlehem would never change its name or its location by the government or by an earthquake at some point. Jesus also never said He did this miracle and that miracle before He performed another and another. In other words, Jesus never told a story and therefore had no need to recollect the past because He knew the future and lived in the present. He did tell parables, however. His parables were not recollections of His Personal experiences. He used them to instruct, and when He referred to Scriptures of the past, they were written by prophets before His time. He did make a reference to His past (arguably His then-present) a limited number of times, confirming that He was the Son of Man [3], saying that He and the Father were one [4] and saying that He was the way to the Truth and God [5].
How difficult is it for an ordinary man not to talk about himself or his past except that he came from his father? Very, to the point of impossible, because for that to happen, he must not use the words "I" or "me" reserving them only for the rarest and most momentous occasions. Jesus was an unordinary man and He was able to do it. Nobody before, and nobody since.
Believe in this unordinary man, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Savior of the fallen. Pray with sincerity, gratitude, humility and love to His Mother and to Him. It is easier to reach His Sacred Heart through the intercession of His Blessed Virgin Mother, and it is only through Her Son, the Son of God that God can be reached [6].
[1] Truth with a capital "T" is eternal. It is God's Truth. Non-capitalized "truths" in the plural are human truths and are as temporary as human lives are temporary.
[2] Science is not perfect even though it is for the most part predictable, until it surprises everyone.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16:13-20
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A30-33&version=NIV
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+14:6
[6] Ibid.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Evening Prayers
"Kneel down, and say [1]:
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
"Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for evermore. Amen
"Come, O Holy Ghost! fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.
"Let us place ourselves in the presence of God. Humbly adore Him.
"Great God, the Lord of heaven and earth! I prostrate myself before Thee. With all the Angels and Saints I adore Thee. I acknowledge Thee to be my Creator and sovereign Lord, my first beginning and last end. I render to Thee the homage of my being and life. I submit myself to Thy holy Will, and I devote myself to Thy divine service, now and for ever.
"Then say the Our Father, and Hail Mary (thrice) in honor of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Lady, Apostles' Creed and the Confiteor." [2] [Italics original, links added.]
[1] As quoted. If they are said while walking, sitting or lying down, that ought to be acceptable I would think, but my thoughts and words carry no authority whatsoever and that is true throughout this entire blog.
[2] Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962, compiled from the Missale Romanum (Missouri: Angelus Press, 2004), Sixth Printing June 2014, p.61.
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
"Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity, now and for evermore. Amen
"Come, O Holy Ghost! fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.
"Let us place ourselves in the presence of God. Humbly adore Him.
"Great God, the Lord of heaven and earth! I prostrate myself before Thee. With all the Angels and Saints I adore Thee. I acknowledge Thee to be my Creator and sovereign Lord, my first beginning and last end. I render to Thee the homage of my being and life. I submit myself to Thy holy Will, and I devote myself to Thy divine service, now and for ever.
"Then say the Our Father, and Hail Mary (thrice) in honor of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Lady, Apostles' Creed and the Confiteor." [2] [Italics original, links added.]
[1] As quoted. If they are said while walking, sitting or lying down, that ought to be acceptable I would think, but my thoughts and words carry no authority whatsoever and that is true throughout this entire blog.
[2] Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962, compiled from the Missale Romanum (Missouri: Angelus Press, 2004), Sixth Printing June 2014, p.61.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Arab Winter
Twenty-one Coptic Christians [1] were killed by ISIL, reportedly as a revenge for '"Muslim women persecuted by Coptic crusaders in Egypt.'" [2] There is no evidence of any persecution of Muslim women by the Coptic Christian men who were killed but that does not mean that persecution of Muslim women in Egypt had never occurred. The killings, on the other hand, were recorded, as was the burning of a Jordanian pilot [3].
Why such barbaric killings are so clearly documented by the ISIL raises questions. Is ISIL trying to make more enemies, or does the group think that they can recruit more people who for one reason or another are dissatisfied with their status quo? Are they purposefully trying to be transparent and overt in their heinous acts in order to distinguish themselves from those whose heinous acts have been underhanded and covert? If ISIL is holding up a two-sided mirror to reflect their own evil, does that same mirror not also reflect evil on the other side? [4]
Perhaps the mirror should in addition reflect what certain media outlets and countries consider newsworthy and what they consider a sideshow. For instance, the leaders who flew to Paris to hold hands in a demonstration [5] after the killing of 12 people including Jewish cartoon satirists who were the target of the killings garnered much coverage but the execution of 21 Coptic Christians have not been at the center of attention and the deceased will not likely have too many flowers laid and candles lit commemorating them, let alone having a gathering of political notables in their memory.
Each life has its mirror and after it ends, the reflection will show every detailed Truth of its existence. Who has the courage to look into it before death? Who is then brave enough to then review the facts objectively and put them on the scale of pure justice? Who would be bold enough to accept the consequences of the final judgment without God's mercy? Before answering these questions, one must remember that God loves all creation which means that God also loves one's enemies. This was made abundantly clear by the Son of God in the flesh. [6]
Revenge only begets revenge and so continues the cycle of violence which sustains the joy of Satan. The euphemistically termed "Arab Spring" has changed seasons. It is now Arab Winter with cold-blooded killings on both sides of an imaginary enemy line drawn by Satan. May those who have died receive the mercy of God and those who continue to torture and kill and perpetrate wicked schemes to disrupt, gain power and resources have the strength to reject Satan and return to God.
[1] http://www.gotquestions.org/Coptic-Christianity.html
[2] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/02/isil-video-execution-egyptian-christian-hostages-libya-150215193050277.html
[3] http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/557385/Islamic-State-Jordan-Pilot-Death-Burned-Alive-Sedated
[4] Perhaps such public killings are nothing but a bait, challenging anyone who has the will to confront them on their turf which is every city, every street and every building. The outcome will result in the destruction of everything in sight so nobody wins. ISIL will attack and retreat, year in and year out, not to win any war, but to disrupt the ordinary lives of people and put fear in their hearts. There are those who have said that one cannot kill one's way out of this conflict. That is the truth. If killing is not an option, then being sitting ducks while terror reigns is the default. There is a very smart person on the other side of ISIL who knows this and will not take its bait. Unless the public is willing to accept mounting deaths and injuries in the conflict with ISIL year after year, ISIL has for now checkmated the opposition and has ironically forced it to appear Christ-like, to suffer, albeit unwillingly, rather than kill.
[5] http://www.rferl.org/content/paris-march-charlie-hebdo/26787263.html
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:43-48
Why such barbaric killings are so clearly documented by the ISIL raises questions. Is ISIL trying to make more enemies, or does the group think that they can recruit more people who for one reason or another are dissatisfied with their status quo? Are they purposefully trying to be transparent and overt in their heinous acts in order to distinguish themselves from those whose heinous acts have been underhanded and covert? If ISIL is holding up a two-sided mirror to reflect their own evil, does that same mirror not also reflect evil on the other side? [4]
Perhaps the mirror should in addition reflect what certain media outlets and countries consider newsworthy and what they consider a sideshow. For instance, the leaders who flew to Paris to hold hands in a demonstration [5] after the killing of 12 people including Jewish cartoon satirists who were the target of the killings garnered much coverage but the execution of 21 Coptic Christians have not been at the center of attention and the deceased will not likely have too many flowers laid and candles lit commemorating them, let alone having a gathering of political notables in their memory.
Each life has its mirror and after it ends, the reflection will show every detailed Truth of its existence. Who has the courage to look into it before death? Who is then brave enough to then review the facts objectively and put them on the scale of pure justice? Who would be bold enough to accept the consequences of the final judgment without God's mercy? Before answering these questions, one must remember that God loves all creation which means that God also loves one's enemies. This was made abundantly clear by the Son of God in the flesh. [6]
Revenge only begets revenge and so continues the cycle of violence which sustains the joy of Satan. The euphemistically termed "Arab Spring" has changed seasons. It is now Arab Winter with cold-blooded killings on both sides of an imaginary enemy line drawn by Satan. May those who have died receive the mercy of God and those who continue to torture and kill and perpetrate wicked schemes to disrupt, gain power and resources have the strength to reject Satan and return to God.
[1] http://www.gotquestions.org/Coptic-Christianity.html
[2] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/02/isil-video-execution-egyptian-christian-hostages-libya-150215193050277.html
[3] http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/557385/Islamic-State-Jordan-Pilot-Death-Burned-Alive-Sedated
[4] Perhaps such public killings are nothing but a bait, challenging anyone who has the will to confront them on their turf which is every city, every street and every building. The outcome will result in the destruction of everything in sight so nobody wins. ISIL will attack and retreat, year in and year out, not to win any war, but to disrupt the ordinary lives of people and put fear in their hearts. There are those who have said that one cannot kill one's way out of this conflict. That is the truth. If killing is not an option, then being sitting ducks while terror reigns is the default. There is a very smart person on the other side of ISIL who knows this and will not take its bait. Unless the public is willing to accept mounting deaths and injuries in the conflict with ISIL year after year, ISIL has for now checkmated the opposition and has ironically forced it to appear Christ-like, to suffer, albeit unwillingly, rather than kill.
[5] http://www.rferl.org/content/paris-march-charlie-hebdo/26787263.html
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:43-48
Lent 2015
Last Christmas is not quite yet a distant memory and the Lenten season is almost here. This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday which officially marks the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40-day period during "which Catholics pray, fast, contemplate, and engage in acts of spiritual self-discipline." [1] The number of Catholics who actually engage in acts of spiritual self-discipline specific to this period is probably small based on the fact that most Catholics do not even attend Mass weekly. Those who do and still can find new acts of spiritual self-discipline to engage in, Lent after Lent, are probably on the road to sainthood since a virtuous practice adopted in a Lenten season ought to become permanent in life. If that is not the case, what is the point of doing it for 40 days? On second thought, being good for 40 consecutive days out of the year is better than 40 hours. Forty consecutive days should give one enough time to be aware of oneself, to allow for some distance to view the situation and give it the proper perspective. Realistically, however, regressing to a not-so-virtuous habit after 40 days of Lent is naturally something one looks forward to with eagerness, going back to for example, indulgence in pornography [2], unwholesome sex, drugs and alcohol, and doing so with a vengeance, having voluntarily starved oneself for 40 days. Life then becomes secularly sinful once more, celebrating Easter with easter bunnies and easter eggs with no reference to Christ's Resurrection, like Christmas with parties and gifts with no reference to the birth of a Savior.
[1] http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/why-do-catholics-practice-fasting-and-abstinence-during-lent
[2] http://cbmw.org/men/leadership/porn-and-future-marriage/
[1] http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/why-do-catholics-practice-fasting-and-abstinence-during-lent
[2] http://cbmw.org/men/leadership/porn-and-future-marriage/
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Valentine's Day 2015
It is good that the world has a day dedicated to love. Like anything else that is pure and good in the world, love has been contaminated. Valentine's day is not about love that is pure and wholesome but about monetization of love, merchandising, polyamory, recreational sex of all kinds including bondage and sadomasochism. Is that so terrible? Not as terrible as abuse of power, sexual abuse, rape, betrayal and murder, for instance, but sinister nonetheless.
To complete the circle of love, Valentine's day should also remind people of sexually transmitted infections, jealous love, spurned lovers and all that goes around, comes around.
If Valentine's day is a day about love, why is it also not a Holy Day of Obligation? Is the Catholic church so sterile and devoid of love that the thought of reserving a special day to remind people of the love of God and of the ways they can love God in return has never entered its consciousness? It can rationalize that every day is a day of love, but then every day is also a day of sin, which makes every day a day of repentance. Daily occurrences are not special. Even miracles are taken for granted. A special day to remind all the love of God is missing, and is sorely needed. God is love, but where is the love for God?
To complete the circle of love, Valentine's day should also remind people of sexually transmitted infections, jealous love, spurned lovers and all that goes around, comes around.
If Valentine's day is a day about love, why is it also not a Holy Day of Obligation? Is the Catholic church so sterile and devoid of love that the thought of reserving a special day to remind people of the love of God and of the ways they can love God in return has never entered its consciousness? It can rationalize that every day is a day of love, but then every day is also a day of sin, which makes every day a day of repentance. Daily occurrences are not special. Even miracles are taken for granted. A special day to remind all the love of God is missing, and is sorely needed. God is love, but where is the love for God?
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