*Thought on Abortion

        The unborn baby is definitely not a part of the mother's body. God has designed for the baby to reside in the mother's womb for 9 months exclusively for the purpose of protecting and nurturing the infant before its birth. Therefore, to abort the unborn child is going directly against the will of God, let alone the commandment "Thou shalt not kill."

*How to Do Good

        Sometimes we feel inadequate at doing much good in this world, what with so many talented and capable people visibly doing so much. Let's think differently. God loves to help the weak, so we can rely upon him to do the work through us. Not only this trust pleases him, our intimate collaboration with him can also help us grow spiritually. Of course, we can always pray, asking the Lord to do good. We needn't know what he's going to do – we only need to believe that he's going to do it. Here, it's how sincerely we ask that counts, not necessarily how holy we are. 

*Melting Experience

        Communion experience. As Christ melted in my mouth, My spirit started to melt in him. It's a melting-into-each-other experience. Holy Communion is all about union.

**Special Class of Sinners*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus again brought up final judgment in explaining the parable of the weeds to his disciples. He said, at that time his angels will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers and throw them into the fiery furnace. Note that the Lord actually mentioned those who cause others to sin and those who just sin in general. I have blogged in the past that anyone whose sin causes others to sin commits a graver sin than one whose sin is known only to him and God. Therefore, we must be a good example to our children, relatives, friends, colleagues, boss at work, et al. Cease sinning and we'll not have to be concerned about this. Again, I advocate seeking union with God, for he is the one who can make us perfect.

*Amazing Lord

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The entrance antiphon from the 2nd letter of St. Paul to the Philippians reads: At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This came from one who once notoriously persecuted Christians, and the Lord called and converted him. What is most amazing to me is that Jesus conquers and reigns in our hearts by sheer love alone!

***Most Urgent Reminder!

      At this hour, there are 16 wildfires burning across California. I live in Central California. Yesterday I already noticed that the sunlight that came through the window of my living room appeared extra warm against the light-colored tiled floor, right off reminding me of flames. It looked somewhat eerie. And I thought of the fires of hell, which had to be more terrifying than eerie. The attacks we face from Satan and his followers in this world are nothing compared the eternal punishment the evildoers will suffer in hell. There will be final judgment, so I wish to wake everyone up: turn and latch onto Christ before it's too late, for eternal punishment is so horrible that you must avoid at any cost. Remember that if you risk your soul for Christ, you soul shall be saved!  

*Belonging to Jesus

        Communion experience. John 15.16: It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Jesus has chosen me, captivated me, captured me, and made me his.

**Facing Death

        We all die one day and we feel differently about death. Those who know they are in grave sin may face the greatest fear. Again, they could turn to God in their last moment and be saved. Therefore, dying suddenly or in sleep is not necessarily a blessing, for you are robbed of the chance to repent. Some people do not know what's going to happen after death and are more or less resigned to entering the unknown – this can be a very uneasy experience. Anyway, the best way to leave this world is to let Christ into your life as much as possible to the point that you become one with him. In deep love with the Lord, you long to be with him forever, thus banishing all fear of death. Death now is the gateway to total fulfillment and contentment.   

**Prophecies Meant for Us

        In today's reading from Matthew13, Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world. In the time of the Old Testament, I am sure that all the prophecies about the coming Messiah couldn't have impacted the people much, for they have not yet been fulfilled. The prophecies mean so much more to us now that we are able to see how Jesus' had come and fulfilled them all. (You can easily find dozens of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus concerning his coming and in his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.) Time to believe!

**A Sin Is a Sin

        We cannot say to God that we are a little bad now, but we are really good at other times, for the good doesn't cancel the bad. All our sins need to be absolved by God. Being more good than bad won't get us anywhere. Getting the Lord to forgive all our sins is the only way out.

Dream Realization

        I see wild, enthusiastic audiences at popular music festivals completely letting themselves go under the spell of the performers and/or music. The Woodstock Festival of 1969 amazingly attracted an audience of more than 400,000 and many attendees lost all their inhibitions by going naked and using drugs freely. My thought is how beautiful it would be if we can all abandon ourselves completely in the Lord God instead! That would indeed turn earth into heaven. 

*Alternative Viewpoint

        You may see yourself living in freedom on your own without God; but in fact, you are only living in a prison built by you to keep God out.

Alternative View

        If you do not believe in Jesus, rather than questioning yourself why you should believe in him, look into why you shouldn't believe in him, and you may realize that he is to be accepted, followed, worshipped, and loved with all your heart and all your soul.  

*Urgent Call to Arms

        Beyond just believing in the Lord, we must realize that we are to fight to win the spiritual warfare in which he is engaged. To be a good soldier, we cannot afford to remain complacent. The least we could do is to pray hard for ourselves and our enemies. To love the Lord with all our heart is to fight for him with all our spirit.

***Our Inside Track

        Everything we do God knows and therefore affects him. Whatever we do, whether we know it or not, is either for or against him. If we are not being honest with someone, we are not being honest with God, period. If we love someone, God feels loved by us, period. This is beautiful, for it makes living our life meaningful – we actually have the inside track in shaping our own life and our future the way we like! Once again, it's time to rejoice in the Lord.

God Offering His Love

        Communion time thought. When Jesus was ready to enter me, he was ready to offer me his most tender, humble love. 

*A U-Turn We Must Make

        As sinners, the big turning around we must make is to repent of our sins to God to get them removed so that we might be saved. Otherwise, we would remain lost forever. This is completely logical, almost common sense. I am bringing it up to remind everyone, for sin has made us forget that we shall face its consequences if we do not do anything about it now.

**Our First and Last

        Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. For us, he is all that. And he should be our first an last resort too, as he is our only true refuge.

Be Rich Soil for God's Word

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus explains the parable of the sower – the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word of the kingdom and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. How much we bear fruit for the Lord is directly proportional to how much we surrender ourselves to him to let him do the work through us.

Our Creator Acknowledged

        Coming home after Mass, I drove by a house what had a selling-fresh-eggs sign up front by the road. I thought of the perfect shape of an egg and was amazed that it was formed inside a chicken and came out so naturally. No matter how advanced our technology may be today, I don't believe we can easily reproduce a shell like that which is smooth and without a joint. This pointed clearly to the existence of God, the creator of all things and life. And we are special creatures with an everlasting soul, created in the image of our creator. We were made to understand good and evil, and have been shown the way to return to him in heaven. I should say that, thanks to our creator and Father, all things work out well for us.

*Growing Rich in God!

        Communion experience. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus said to his disciples, "To Anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." After receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I felt that he was going to continue pouring heavenly riches into me. Unlike earthly riches that are burdensome, heavenly riches free and uplift the spirit.

Our Critical Test

      Christ has come and is now our crucial test. If we accept him, we'll have eternal life. If we don't, we'd be lost and wandering forever.      

*Rejoicing in Tears*

        Today is the Feast of St. James, Apostle. The response to readings from Psalm 126 at Mass: Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. It is such a beautiful verse, for it expresses my feelings toward Jesus. My heart weeps whenever I see how sins cause my Lord great sorrow, but at the same time I also experience the joy of knowing that I am in intimate solidarity with him.

***Feeling Free in God*

        Communion experience. I feel so good knowing that my Lord and God knows all my desires, my wishes, my thoughts, my problems, my secrets, my strengths, my weaknesses . . . all about me inside out! So good feeling free in the Lord, knowing that he is purifying and healing my soul to his heart's content!

Preparing for Meeting God

        Our demise is imminent. As we age, we must get ready for that day, the day of return to our creator. If you already belong to Christ and follow him faithfully, you'll know exactly where you are going and how you'll be received. No big preparation will be needed. If not, look into Jesus, for there can be only one truth. All religions may point to God, but only Christianity leads you to him.

**Becoming Related to Christ

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, Jesus spoke about his true family. With his mother and his brothers waiting to speak to him, he said to the crowds, "Who is my mother? Who is my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
        Here we see Jesus speaking as God. He sees all of us as God's children and reveals to us how we can belong to his true family. 

New Life After Death

        Communion thought at Vigil Mass, Saturday. With so many earthlings so alive in the world, but dead to God, I rejoiced that it was the perfect time for me to die in Christ after receiving him so that I might start living a new life in him.

Our Conscience, God's Gift

       [I haven't blogged the last 4 days because I left for Los Angles to visit my second son and his family. It was a good fruitful trip.] 

         Normally, we think, say, or do whatever comes to us, but there are times deep down we sense that what comes out is not from God, is in fact sinful. If our conscience is somewhat dull or even muddy, we just let it go and rather feel OK about it. But we will not enjoy inner peace. Knowing God well sharpens our conscience. By keeping it crystal clear, we can live a holy life enjoying inner peace.

Rely Upon the Lord Now

        In John 21, when Jesus signified by what kind of death Peter would glorify God, he said to him, "When you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do no want to go." It is true that when we grow old, we'll have to depend upon others to do various things for us. But the Lord is always present and will be the only one left at the end able to help us. The time to start relying upon him is now, not after we've grown old or when we are dying.

**Precious Childlike Joy

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus praised the Father for having hidden many things from the wise and the learned and having revealed them to the childlike. We can remember our childhood joy when we were free to play most of the time with not a thing to worry about, having our parents taking care of everything for us. If we become childlike to God, we shall experience such carefree joy. And that joy shall make us forget about wanting to sin again.

Way to Attain Union With God

        The Lord says in John 6.56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. This is proof to me that receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is the way to attain union with him.

Soul's Ultimate Achievement

        Letting God truly be your Lord (being in union with God).       

*Are We Bullheaded?

         It is Jesus who can make us see the truth, think right, see right, and act right. He is the exact guide and teacher mankind needs. And he'll even reward anyone with everlasting life who follows and learns from him. Yet, so few of us take him seriously. What's going on? Think about it.    

Key to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproached the towns that were not repentant, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and warned that they would suffer consequences on the day of judgment. Why is it so hard for so many to repent? To be saved, one must realize that (1) he is a sinner, (2) hell exists, and (3) God loves him and wishes to save him. Then it's time to repent. If one's mind is clear and heart willing, he can accomplish all these things in a few seconds. Putting off repenting is putting the soul at great risk. 

*Life Without Christ

      Your future is certain when you know Christ and follow him. Otherwise, your life is a cliffhanger, for you do now know how it's going to end. I could also say that life without Christ is like hanging off a cliff – you may fall off it if you are not careful. Maybe you think that you are being brave, but I'd rather choose to go with Christ to be wise.  

**This Holy Feeling*

        I do not mean it to be feeling that I am holy. I mean it to be aware that the Holy Lord dwells within me, that he loves me, and that I belong to him entirely. It is such an awesome and beautiful feeling.      

*Sin Not a Problem Anymore*

        Communion experience. I inherited the original sin through no fault of mine, and God took care of that by sending his Son to us to proclaim the good news of salvation. In Holy Communion, I was completely reconciled to the Lord, my original sin no longer a barrier.

**First Steps in a Spiritual Journey

        Accepting God's love for you is usually the first step you take in your journey of faith. Letting that love embrace you completely is the first step you take later when you decide to seek union with God.

*God in Contrast to the World

        God can quench all your thirst, fulfill your innermost desires, and fill the empty voids of your life. God can soothe your heart and heal your soul. You can never get tired of enjoying God. Replace "God" with "the world" in the statements above and none of them remains true anymore. God is someone you can never love enough, while the world is something you cannot possibly love.

**Riddle of Life Solved

            This morning the first thought that came to my mind was Luke 12.51 in which Jesus said to his Apostles, "Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." It so happened that the reading at Mass from Matthew 10 was on that same saying: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword." And later in Matthew 25, speaking about the final judgment, Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." The division finalized.

         So this is the reality of life. Having inherited the original sin from our ancestors, we all became sinners. Then God loved us so much that he gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. The division comes about when we do not all believe in the Son. The ball is in our court.

***Warning: Worse Persecution Ahead!

        My country, like many others around the world, has been declining morally for the last half a century or so. From the spiritual point of view, you can say that Satan has sneaked up upon us step by step until the society and quite a sizable minority have become practically godless. Overall the large majority, being civilized and more gentle, has remained rather silent, while the other side makes loud noises and resorts to attacking anyone who does not go along with them violently. Let's say that the spiritual warfare going on now is rather intense and fearsome. But I do see hope ahead, as the Lord God always crushes his enemies and protects his own people at critical times. When that happens, the godless ones will become even more vicious – so expect and be prepared for facing worse persecution ahead. This is the time to submit ourselves to the Lord to grow strong spiritually.

All Set for Eternity

        Communion experience. Jesus is forever. I now belong to eternity. And every moment is a celebration.

The Way We Should Live

        Once you have found that God is exactly what your soul needs to complete your existence, you experience so much joy and freedom that every worldly thing just becomes secondary, peripheral, or downright irrelevant. This is how you become detached to all things except God, the way it should be. Shouldn't we be attached to the one who lovingly created us the most? 

**Making God Nice to You

        In today's reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." This is fair enough and is line with what Jesus taught earlier, known to us now as the Golden Rule: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." We can easily make that into "Do to God as you would have him do to you." Now you know exactly how to make God treat you nicely.

*Our Noblest Profession

        To be a servant is not a bad thing. In fact, to be a servant of God is best thing you can possibly do. A faithful servant of God is free from serving himself and is thus free. Besides, he is now a friend of Jesus. Moreover, God exalts all his humble servants and will reward them with eternal life. Therefore, serving God has to be our most satisfying and noblest profession.  

*God Exalts the Humble

        To be humble is to acknowledge that God alone is great. Then you become great in his eyes. Humility moves the Lord. That's why when you surrender yourself to him, he makes you one with him.

**Life-Changing Experience

        Communion experience. I was not receiving the bread as the Lord's body symbolically; I truly received his body! All communicants must let this fact sink in so that their lives might be transformed forever!

Making God Personal

        Just knowing Jesus is not good enough; you must bring him down to the most personal level. He is the one who has died for you to save you, shouldn't you at the least get to know him as well as possible? He's the one who can take complete care of you if you'd let him – shouldn't you get to know him most intimately? I would recommend that you seek union with him – this is possible, for it is exactly what he desires from us, you.   

How to Live Happily

        All the things you have experienced in the past are water under the bridge. Happy and free is the one who can let the past go, live the present for God alone, and know that his future will be bright.

*How to Evangelize the World

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus sent his Apostles to proclaim the kingdom of heaven at hand. I am sure they simply proclaimed what they'd heard from the Lord, their personal experiences. I still feel this is the way to spread the good news. Theology, debates, abstract teaching have never worked effectively. To evangelize the world, we need to know the Lord, experience him, and live him, then we'll be ready to convert others through giving testimonies and by example. 

***Soul in Danger

        The world is full of attractions and distractions to keep you away from paying any attention to God. If you are aware of this, you should see through all the fun, pleasure, excitement, glamor, and razzle-dazzle you encounter to see if you are being drawn away from God or not. Unless you already know the Lord to some degree, your soul is in constant danger of being ruined by Satan. I am dead serious in saying this, for I am aware that we are the very ones God and the evil forces are fighting for. It is absolutely critical that we know that God loves us, then we'll be saved.

Onboard With Jesus

        Communion experience. When you are one with Christ, you know his thinking, his thoughts, and his wishes and desires. I prayed fervently that all evils would be crushed and all souls saved. 

Reason for Rejecting Christ

        People have looked into Jesus and still do not believe in him, not because they have found him to have done something bad or wrong, but because they, enslaved in sin, are afraid of being exposed by the light. 

*How I Came to know God

        No one ever forced me to believe. No one ever indoctrinated me. No one ever brainwashed me. I was free to make own decisions at all times. I didn't talk to anyone during my search, only read books both for and against God on my own. I remained objective, sincere, and came to believe in him. Gradually I opened myself up more and more and God started to speak to me in my heart. And finally, I came to know him most intimately (with the aid of receiving the Holy Eucharist). It all came about naturally and I now believe in him without a tinge of doubt. It's all God's doing. Bless him.    

#WalkAway Caution

        The current #WalkAway campaign is having huge crowds of people leaving liberalism and more specifically, the Democratic Party. Brandon Straka, founder of the movement, posted his first video just a little over a month ago and already over 5 million people have watched it on Facebook and YouTube. All kinds of people are now posting their own #WalkAway stories. Some walk away from everything. What I want to caution is that, do all the walking away you want but never walk away from God. Here is the link to Straka's six-minute video on YouTube in case your haven't seen it and are interested in watching.  

Snagged in Search for God

        There are many things we do not understand about God. Let's face it, as creatures, we cannot possibly understand more than what God has allowed us to know. Sometimes we notice what seems to be a minor contradiction in the Bible or just have a lot of questions about God, and we simply stop looking for him. This is no good reason when you can find overwhelming evidence that God did come to us, die for our sins, and rise from the dead. Don't let tripping over a small fallen branch stop you from exploring the whole forest.

Most Intimate One

        Who knows you the most? Who understands you the most? Who is most patient with you? Who loves you the most? If your answer to all the above questions is "God," then you should make him the most intimate one you know.

Required to Receive God's Mercy

       God is totally fair and just. To receive his mercy, you must be completely honest with him first. Only a fool will consider hiding anything from him.

***Fake News & Abortion

      What's the link between between these two subjects? In Matthew 18, Jesus said, "Whoever causes one of these little children who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they come."

        If Jesus value little children so much, surely terminating them before they were born has to be a most grave sin, and the pro-abortion lot will have their woe coming if they do not repent. Fake media surely cause others to sin by feeding them untruths, and will receive the woe coming from God. One important rule to follow: Never cause sin. 

*God's Unique Authority

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus healed a woman with a severe hemorrhage and revived an official's daughter everyone thought had died. We pray to God directly or in the name of Christ for others to be healed, but Jesus healed others directly by command. In fact, he always taught others and performed miracles with great authority – there is not another person like him in mankind's entire history. He is unique as God alone is unique.  

Time to Get Personal

        God has already come down to earth to die for you in person for the sake of saving you. Now it's time for you to get personal with him if you truly have a heart.

Secret of Spiritual Freedom

        Build a wall around you to keep God out and you become your own prisoner. Tear the wall down and seek union with the Lord and you'll be living in complete spiritual freedom. 

***Hypocrisy and Ego

        Hypocrisy is the result of having an ego. The prime examples are the Pharisees and scribes as singled out by Christ in his days. Today, we have our politicians, just as bad or even worse. There are also eloquent Christian preachers and ministers who attract large followings. The fact that some of them still have a big ego shows up when they profit greatly from their work or, in the case of Catholic priests, refuse to submit themselves to their superiors. When I see that, all their preaching just seems to be so much hot air. Ego and humility cannot coexist. Hypocrisy comes from the lack of humility. Any religion that does not teach you to be humble cannot be genuine. Broadly speaking, if we do not follow Christ, we remain hypocrites!

***Warning! Chasm Ahead***

        Today the Lord placed Luke 12.51-51 in my heart. Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter against her mother-in-law." Jesus is the one by whom we'll be judged – either we are with him or we are against him, for he is the truth. This division remains to this day. It is temporary in this life, but if we do not heed him, it becomes an eternal chasm between you and God. Do not let this happen to you! Do not let it happen! Do not let it happen!

***A Huge Thing!

        Communion revelation. Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit and the Spirit is ours. When we follow Jesus, his Father becomes our Father. And Jesus enters us in Holy Communion and we are one with him. It's such a humbling and glorious experience to know that the Triune God dwells with us and in us and that we are set for eternity! 

***God Most Incredible

       Communion revelation. It's not just anyone entering me; it's the Lord, my creator the infinite God, entering me, a finite mortal, filling me with himself and making me immortal! It's hard to get over this! Like St. Thomas overwhelmed, all I could say was "My Lord and my God." No words could express how incredible my God is.

***Secret of Following God

        You take your spiritual journey by yourself and the road is bumpy. Then you take it through the roof by surrendering yourself to God altogether, and your journey becomes smooth and easy. Not only you let God lead the way, you now let him carry you too!

**Jesus Misunderstood*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, the disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why they and the Pharisees fasted much, but his disciples did not. Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?" Indeed, when Jesus is with us, how can we not be joyful? That Jesus is a joy is most misunderstood by many. They think that the Lord would take away all their joys on earth if they submit themselves to him. On the contrary, the joy of knowing him not only delights the senses, but also satisfies the heart and soul. All other joys pass, while the joy of Jesus lasts forever! 

*To Become Free

        Communion experience. We become free when we are freed from sin. Jesus can take away not only our sins, but also our tendency to sin (as we enter deeper into union with him). In other words, only Jesus can truly set us free.

My Greatest Pity

        I feel sorry for people who encounter hardships in life, but I have the greatest pity for those who do not know Jesus, our Savior. My unceasing prayer is that every single soul on earth shall be saved by God for his glory.

*A Must-Ask Question*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, people brought to Jesus a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven." To show that he had authority to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He rose and went home. This question rose in my mind: Are my sins forgiven? This is a key question each of us must ask because it deals with a business we must finish before we die or face possibly dire consequences.

To Know God Is Wisdom

        You can have a genius IQ, great intelligence, and a superior knowledge base but do not know God, then all you have means nothing. The wise one believes in and follows God, irrespective of everything else. At the end, he is the one to receive the reward from God. Clearly, to be wise is better than being brilliant anytime. 

Keeping the Soul Alive

        In our busy life, all the more we need to take breaks to spend time privately with God. A soul not connected to God is a dying soul.

*Letting God Do the Work

        We must trust in God to do all things for us. Going back into history, who would have known that Communism would collapse one day? It did happen (the Blessed Mother actually predicted the birth of Communism and its eventual collapse when she appeared at Fatima in 1917). Something like turning a whole country around away from corruption and hypocrisy seems like an almost impossible task, but if we pray hard and remain faithful, God will deliver what we ask for in time. Therefore, rely upon the Lord to accomplish all things for us, large and small. 

*Dance With God

        It takes two to tango, as the saying goes. God already loves you. To make beautiful things happen, you must love him back. 

***To Know Jesus

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, at the request of two demoniacs, Jesus drove the demons out of them and sent the demons into a herd of swine some distance away. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. When they came to the town, they reported everything. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, but when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. People keep Jesus away because they do not truly know him and therefore are afraid of him. For anyone who wishes to know him, he must get to know him first with an open mind. Then the beautiful day will come when he can't help but fall in love with the Lord.

**Challenge for All Christians*

        It is easy to live mainly for ourselves and, if there's any time left, do something for the sake of God. This is a disorder. The proper, orderly way to live is to make serving God your top priority and all else secondary. The key to making this happen is surrendering yourself to God. How much you can reverse this situation depends upon how completely you surrender yourself. If God is unavoidable, then so is surrendering to him.  

**Being Imperfect Is OK

        We want to be perfect for God, but we fall short constantly. Do not let this bother you, for the very reason you wish to be perfect is because you are imperfect and you love God. And to God, intention is what matters the most. Trust in him all along and you'll definitely become less and less imperfect. 

***Beyond Believing

        Once you have believed in the Lord, you must proceed to get to know him as well as possible. This is opening yourself up to him until it becomes completely comfortable for him to dwell within your heart. Now, blessed once more are those who have believed and achieved union with the Lord.     

Most Beautiful Faith

        Today is the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. From John 29, we heard read that after Thomas saw the mark of the nails in Jesus hands and put his finger into the nailmarks and put his hand into his side, he believed that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead. Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. The most beautiful faith is to believe without question like a child. This makes blessed living!

Belonging to God

        Communion experience. Jesus is the Lord of my life, the Lord of my soul, the Lord of my heart, the Lord of my whole being. I belong to him.

*To Be Truly Trustworthy

        In Luke 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones." The converse may be false, for a person trustworthy in great matters may not care about very small matters. To be perfect, we must be trustworthy in all matters.  

**Christians' Shortcoming

        To possess the Lord, you need look for him so that you may hear his call, and then have the humility to yield to him once you've heard his voice – a two-step process. The trouble with most of the Christians today is that they have not yet completed the second step, for they still carry on their daily living as usual, not even making any eye contact with him, so to speak; whereas they should be aware of his holy loving presence at all times.

**How to Follow God Rightly*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, a disciple of Jesus who would follow him said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." In Luke 9, another would-be follower said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home. Jesus said to him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." Wow, but I think you get his point. We are to be detached from everything of the world, follow him, and never look back. The Lord absolutely deserves our undivided devotion. He was revealing to us the sure way of entering his kingdom. He should be our foremost (and only) choice to follow.

*Our Lonely Existence

        We came into this world all by ourselves and we'll leave this world by ourselves. When we face the Lord, we'll be on our own again. The only one we can truly rely upon would be God our creator, so start leaning upon him now. 

**More Than You Can Expect*

        Stop, think, and realize that heaven is absolutely within your reach. In fact, it is the ardent desire of our creator and Father that we all enter heaven to dwell in his house for all eternity. Again, to make it happen you don't need to strive hard on your own; simply follow Jesus the Christ and he'll do all the lifting. Now, turn your life into a great joy!

Having Faith in God

        Jesus said, "You cannot make a single hair white or black" (Matthew 5.36). Nor can we make our faith ten times stronger. We must let God do the work. To have faith in God is not to tell ourselves to believe in him more. It is being fully aware that the Lord already knows our needs and we only need to trust in him once and not to worry about it anymore.