***Best Way to Love God***

         Follow his will. So it comes down to knowing God's will. This means that we need to seek to attain the closest possible union with God in order to know his ways and thoughts. 

**Empty Wishing Without Christ**

        At this time of Christmas (holiday season to many), people wish each other joy and peace. Such good will will be just empty talk and not produce good results if we do not have Christ in our hearts. It is from Christ that we can truly receive peace and joy. So pray that all will come to know and receive him as our Savior before wishing anyone joy and peace.  

***Best Way to Exist***

        Never dwell on the past, for it's gone forever, nor dream about the future, for that's being self-centered and unrealistic. Instead, remain in Christ only and always, then you'll be safe and secure, set for all eternity!

**A Sane View of Life*

        We get stressed out in this world so easily whenever things don't turn out our way, for we are self-serving and have no faith in God. Meanwhile we ruin our own health and shorten our lives on earth. Know that these damages we do to ourselves are irreversible. So we are being both foolish and sinful. Fortunately, God can restore our insanity by freeing us from all our sins so that we can become selfless and carefree. With our soul healed, our physical health now matters a lot less. 

***To Love Enough

        There are ones we love very much in this life, but one day we'll have to say goodbye to them. To make the best of things, we should pray for their salvation so that we may see them forever in heaven. If you truly love God and them, God surely loves them even more and will hear your prayer. By the way, to not pray for someone's salvation shows that you really don't love that person enough.  

***Wisdom to Have***

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1, the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary to announce to her that she would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus, and he would be great and be called the Son of the Most High. Mary wondered how that could happen when she had no relations with a man. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her to make it happen. And Mary gladly accepted the Lord's will for her. On the other hand, earlier when the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the sanctuary at the temple to announce to him that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son to be named John, Zechariah asked the angel how he should know this, for he was an old man and his wife was already advanced in years. The angel said to him, "I was sent by God to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words"
          Both Mary and Zechariah responded: one tried to understand and the Lord was pleased, while the other doubted and was punished. The Lord knows every nuance of my thoughts and it's wise for us to trust in him 100% always.

*****Serious Advice***

        The Lord of Christ is the one to whom we must pay attention, respond, and be obedient! Otherwise, it'd be better that we never came into being.                          

***True Love Is . . .

pure and completely selfless. Our love for others in the world is never quite pure, while God's love for us is so pure that it's able to transform us to become like him. Compared to his love, our own love for others is not true love at all.

**How to Be with God*

        Communion experience. The Lord is the one for us to live in, to die in, and to remain in forever.

**Acknowledgement**

        When you call Jesus "My Lord and my God" from your very heart, you acknowledge that you now belong to him.

***Question I Still Want to Ask*

        The Lord God our Father has already paved the way for us to enter heaven thru his Son Jesus—are you to just say "No, thanks" and turn away? Are You?

**Unbelief vs. Faith

          Not believing in Christ is easy—you just live for yourself. You think you are in control, but you are really not at all. In fact, you can end up losing everything! To have faith in Christ is only somewhat hard when you are deciding whether to follow him or not. Once you've decided to follow him, your journey becomes a total joy. Now you can soar to new heights and end up inheriting all that the Father has prepared for you in heaven.   

***Going All the Way!***

         Christ is a real person. Because he is almighty, it is possible for us to attain the most intimate union with him. And following him becomes effortless and a joy. The Lord is to be experienced and enjoyed. The first requisite is that you be completely open to him; don't allow any uncertainty, doubt. or reservation to get in your way. It's total abandonment time—you make the plunge and never look back, and you'll be happy that you did it.

***Keeping Door to Heaven Open***

        Communion experience. I wish to surrender myself to Christ totally, but there may still be rebellious streaks in me I am not even aware of. I ask the Lord to take them away too. Now the door to heaven is wide open for me.

*****Know the Situation We're In (Warning!)**

        Today the Lord made me see clearly that in this universe that contains our earth, we are the only agitators rebelling against and betraying him, creating disorder and chaos in the process; while he is to be loved and obeyed with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Will we ever wake up to realize the pitiful state we're in? To sleep thru life is easy, but what we'll have to pay for that is too horrible to even think about!  

***Church Losing Her Tradition***

         It All began with Vatican II. Pray that the Lord will completely purify and restore his Holy Church.

***Recipe for Making Heaven Our Home

        Acknowledge that God is our Father in heaven and we are his beloved children, then be genuinely childlike to him.  

***Never Offend Christ the Lord!***

        You may not believe in him yet, but you must never look down on him, hurt him in any way, or try to deceive him, for he is the Almighty God, infinitely superior than all of us in every way. Besides, he loves us with the greatest possible love and deserves all our love. Reject him and you doom yourself. 

***What Should We Live For?***

         It's a good question. I could think of many answers, but picking the best one might be tough. Then it dawned on me that in union with God, I already possess the Lord and there's really nothing else to live for!

***God's Love Is . . .

our safest and most joyful refuge.         

***Heavenly Experience***

        When you remain completely in the Lord, you are so impressed by what you feel and experience that you become totally unconcerned about your own existence. This is being set free, a heavenly experience! 

***Right Way to Know God*

        If you really want to know God, love him as much as possible, become holy, and live only for him, then seek to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist first, and all that you desire will follow. 

*****How Close Do You Follow Christ?*

        Matthew 16:24, today's Communion antiphon: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, says the Lord. To all followers of Christ, on the list of all the people you follow, how do you rank him? First? Third? 10th? Last? Is he even on your list? You are a true follower only if your list has only his name on it!

***Greatest Human Tragedy**

        The Lord God has spoken to us since the time of Adam and Eve, Then 2000 years ago, Christ came and lovingly revealed the whole truth to us. As always, many of us don't believe in the God of Christ as if he never even existed, Mind you, the truth remains true forever. As unbelievers, they remain lost. 

**Incredible Exaltation**

        Communion experience. The Lord made me from the dust; now he has made it possible for me to live forever in heaven. What a great exaltation!

***Salvation Secret*

        We cannot save ourselves at all, but if we remain in Christ, he'll do all the work. 

***Effective Preaching***

        Christ is to be preached from the heart. Any message preached from the head always sounds cold and casual. Let the Holy Spirit set your heart on fire first, then your messages will exude both power and passion.

***Honing Our Obedience***

        The word I heard from the Lord today was "obey." I do many things each day, never intending to hurt the Lord in any way, yet I sense that I don't always get the priorities right. For example, I like to watch the latest news a little bit on YouTube, then I end up watching some other interesting videos. As a result, blogging and doing other necessary chores get delayed. The Lord's voice is ever so gentle you can easily dismiss. Today I realized that I must obey all his small commands I hear. If he sees that we are trustworthy with all small commands, he knows that we'd be trustworthy with all his commends. In this way, we perfect our obedience.

***Remaining in Christ***

        Care only about what he cares about and let only what affects him affect you the same way.

***Focusing upon God Alone Is . . .***

to seek his will only, trust in him fully, love him to the max, and no longer mind yourself.

**Our Present Time Most Precious*

        Many people turn or return to God as they get old or in their final days, but the right time to do that is anytime you hear God calling. How much we receive from the Lord in our next life will depend upon how much we love him now, and certainly the more time we spend loving him, the greater will our reward be. So be sure to spend the time you have wisely, not squander any of it away.

***How to Get Lifted Up**

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Communion antiphon, Luke 1:52, reads "The Lord has cast down the mighty, and has lifted up the lowly." To be lowly is simple—you just forget about yourself and focus totally upon the mightiness of the Lord. And he'll lift you up high without fail!

***Signs the Spirit Dwells in You

        Once way back as a Catholic, I wondered how I'd know that the Holy Spirit actually dwelled in me as I'd been told. Now I know. You don't have to witness any miracle or speak in tongues to know that. Here are some of the signs showing that the Holy Spirit is actively working in you, in no particular order: You fall in love with the Lord or Christ, yearn for him, are fired up for spreading the gospel, are willing to suffer for him, seek humility, feel his presence at all times, love to pray or reveal everything in your heart to him, love to call God Father, don't judge but forgive everyone, loathe sinning, yearn to receive the Holy Eucharist, and surrender yourself to him with great joy.

***Time to Act Decisively*

        Lying down on my bed this morning, I was doing my daily eye drops on my right eye. Since I've been advised to wait at lease 5 minutes between drops, I turned on the classical radio station to see what's being played. It was the hour of film music. I must say that some of the composers had written some most beautiful memorable music. My days of being a music aficionado surfaced in my mind. I remembered how hooked I was on searching for new composers, new music, and new record labels. This went on continuously. One day I finally realized that I must free myself from this enslavement and I did it cold turkey. Afterwards I experienced great freedom. My thoughts are in life, there are times we need to act decisively to change or correct our course for our own good. To continue living and not paying any attention to where we're headed will surely not end well.

**Jesus Our Rest*

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Whether we labor for ourselves or God and feel burdened, we need to go to him to find rest. Mark my words, you'll only find true rest now and forever in him, for he is our creator and has made us that way. When we rest in him, all our problems become his and we experience true peace.

**Perfect Fit Experience.

        Communion experience. Uniting with the Lord can be likened to a jigsaw puzzle piece being snapped right into its place, forming a perfect fit.

***Most Divergent Ways***

      We can reject the greatest love of the God of Christ for us and get cut off from him forever or we can open ourselves wide to accept this love wholeheartedly and be made ready to enter heaven forever. There are no two paths more divergent. All it takes is a change of heart now to get on the better one.

**Feel More for God than Ourselves*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus told his disciples that it's not the will of their heavenly Father that one of the little ones be lost. So every soul is precious to God the Father. We feel sorry for ourselves after we commit a sin; we really should realize first that we grieve God greatly when we sin. Feeling this sorrow of his will definitely help us sin less and become holier over time.

***What's Good Enough

        This is not a new message, but is worth hearing again. Being a real nice person is not good enough; having all your sins taken away and becoming holy is crucial.

*****Feeling the Lord***

        I really feel Christ today. I feel his presence, his tremendous love for us and his great sorrow for our ungratefulness. His joy is always with me, yet the burden on my heart is heavy. Knowing that he understands me thoroughly, I feel drawn closer to him more than ever. The bittersweet feeling gets sweeter.

**Rejecting Salvation

         To be Saved by God is so simple—you only need to believe in Christ the Savior. But we foolishly think we are too smart for that—so pitiful! 

***Joy All the Way***

        The prophet Isaiah predicted that the Savior would come, and he indeed showed up two thousand years ago. It is time for us to rejoice and await his next coming. But if you seek union with him thru the Holy Eucharist, he'd come straight into your heart to dwell within you! More joy before entering heaven!

***Letting God Be Our Witness**

        In today's reading from Philippines 1, Paul writes, "God is my witness ..." What a powerful statement! God does see everything that's going on, exposed or hidden, and we must be aware of this so that we may live a life without blemish before him. 

***What Pleases God the Most***

        To serve and glorify God, you can sing in the church choir, compose hymns, help building a new church, volunteer in various ministries, pray extra hard, etc. But to please God the most, surrender yourself completely to him first.

*****Greatest Invitations of Our Existence*****

        At each Mass, the priest in consecrating the bread and wine repeats what Jesus said at the Last Supper to his disciples: "TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU" and "TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME." These are the two greatest invitations of our whole existence! And when we accept them with open hearts, we give our greatest responses of our whole existence, for we now have eternal life! 

*****Rock Solid Reality*****

        Every moment you live without acknowledging Christ as your Savior is a moment you risk losing you soul forever! 

**Freely Receive, Freely Give*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus sent out the Twelve to various towns and villages to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. He said to them, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." Indeed, all things we have come from the Lord as we own nothing. Therefore, we are to provide all things freely to those in need. 

***The Love that'll Judge Us***

        God loves us with a pure selfless love. Once we experience this love, we are inspired to love him and the world with the same love. And we'll be judged by how much this love we possess in us.

***To All Those Enslaved to Sin***

        The Devil loves to trick us into thinking that something that happens unexpectedly and gives us great pleasure must have come from God, even deep down you know that it's sinful. We are then thrown into a state of confusion and great turmoil. This should be a clear sign to you that it did not come from the Lord, but was perhaps allowed by him to test you. You should then turn to and seek refuge in him as soon as possible. In reality, it's easier said than done, and great tenacity is required to be set free again. Once free, you'll find yourself close to the Lord more than ever. 

***Time to Wake Up!*

        Today's entrance antiphon: Behold, the Lord will come with descending splendor to visit people with peace, and he will bestow on them eternal life. Look, all God wants is to save us from sin and give us eternal life! There can be no better news! But many of us still do not pay any attention—are you saying that you have no sin at all? 

***Best Attitude to Assume Before God***

        Be true and open, acknowledging your complete helplessness without him. Wonderful things will now happen.

*****Perfect Fulfillment*****

        Communion experience. Once you are with the Lord, you simply want to remain in him, not wanting to look ahead nor back at anything else anymore, for he is the perfect fulfillment. 

***On Forgiving Others and Selves**

        There is no one who's not worth forgiving. As long as we repent our sins, the Lord is ready to forgive us. Don't forget to forgive yourself too. No matter how sinful you are, you are worth being forgiven by the Lord, for his mercy is infinite. I know of someone who finds it impossible to forgive anyone who's done wrong, so he stops going to church because he wants to be honest with God and thinks that attending church would make him a hypocrite. What warped, dumb reasoning, as this is defying God and not believing that he can change us! The right attitude is to tell the Lord it's difficult but he's right, then ask for his help. Having the right intention is critical!

***Great Feeling*

  Knowing that I can totally entrust Christ with my soul!     

***There's Only One Lord***

        In toay's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Anytime we say "Lord Jesus," but do not follow God's will in all things, we are hypocrites.

**Course of Life

        We all live, die, and live or die again. The first death is just a quick transition. The second life or death will be final and forever. Make sure you end up with life.

**Valid Questions**

        God, having given all of himself to us, is ready for you to give all of yourself to him so that most wonderful things may happen. So why are you still hesitating? Are you more important than him?

*****WAKE UP!***

        If you do not believe in Jesus yet because heaven does not attract you enough, then consider the absolute horror of being punished in hell for all eternity! As these are our only two alternatives, make your choice now or never. (Not believing that heaven and hell exist is as bad as saying that we don't have day and night on earth.)

***We Are on Our Own!***

        These thoughts that came to me are nothing extraordinary, but they just hit me like a revelation! Here I go. I am I and you are you, we all know that. This is quite amazing when you think about it. Each of us is aware of our unique existence and is responsible for our actions before the Father our creator. No one else can do anything about it. Basically, we alone choose to be for or against the Father. What we'll reap in the end will depend entirely upon what we sow now.

***Sweetest Moment on Earth***

         It is the moment I receive Christ my Lord and my God in the Holy Eucharist.

*****Another UIgent Warning***

        We are so influenced and shaped by the secular world we live in that it's virtually impossible for us to correct ourselves to live a holy and blameless life. Why bother changing ourselves? Well, our eternal wellbeing is at stake. Our only hope is to have Christ our creator enter us to fundamentally transform us. That's why we need to grasp him while we can, or we'll be left behind in the abyss forever.

**Worldly Pleasure vs. Spiritual Joy*

         The former requires your effort to acquire it, is always transient, and can become tiresome once you have too much of it; whereas the latter the Lord generates in your innermost, lasts forever, and remains refreshing and exhilarating.

*****Sublime Experience*****

        I am on my journey to heaven. Receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist at daily Mass is like making a beautiful stop along the way to meet my beloved Lord to dine at the heavenly banquet he has prepared for me! It's an overwhelming experience that enraptures my whole being! That I should be so blessed is well-nigh incredible. 

*****Best "Home Sweet Home"*****

        Surrendering ourselves to God is like the prodigal son, realizing that he has sinned against his father, decides to return home, repent all his wrongdoings to him, and start out anew. It is an awakening, a change of heart, that makes the whole heaven rejoice—yes, it's heaven-shaking! (By the same token, unrepentant sinners are party poopers.) When heaven is your home, the return has to be the sweetest "home sweet home." Surrendering to God also completely restores our inner peace and you become worry-free—this is how God has made us! For me, it filled the entire void of my life. With the aid of the Holy Eucharist, you can even attain union with God! Now, it's no exaggeration to say that you've arrived in seventh heaven. 

***Acknowledging God As Our Father***

        In today's reading from Luke 10, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." So be childlike to become God's chosen one and he'll reveal all the hidden "secrets" to you. As a matter of fact, be childlike and he'll fill you with the Holy Spirit, making you anew and ready for heaven. To be childlike simply acknowledges that the Lord God is our Father, making us his heirs.

***Longing for Jesus*

         Communion experience. Yearning for the Lord goes beyond just seeing him; it desires to be in full union with him, not just on earth but in heaven! 

***Being Open to God

        Always leave your heart open to the Lord so that you may hear him speak to you anytime. An open heart is a humble heart that's welcomed by heaven. To be open to God is to be open to heaven. 

**What Having Faith Entails**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, a centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant who was lying at his home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully. As Jesus was getting ready to go and cure him, the centurion said to him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Because of his faith, Jesus healed the servant unseen. In Mark 11:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "All that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." So, after we ask for what we want from the Lord, we must not let it bother us anymore; he desires that we trust in him and remain in peace.

***God's Transformative Love***

        Normally, when we find something we greatly treasure, we like to keep it to ourselves. Christ is only one who can make us truly selfless, as the more joy we receive from him, the more we want to share it with all others! We may even reach the point of willing to lay down our lives for others! Such is the transformative power of God's love.

*****Getting into Heaven Easy*****

        Focus on serving the Lord every chance you see fit with the goal of saving as many souls as possible. And don't count your successes or failures, for they are in the Lord's hands. This is not asking too much, but it'll surely get you into heaven.

**We Are the Culprits*

        In Luke 12:51, 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." But any division is actually caused by those of us who do not accept him!

***Unique Gifts from the LORD***

        Disciples in union with the Lord experience spiritual freedom, profound peace, and inexplicable joy, and they are life-changing! Only Christ can provide these three; they are no other possible sources.

***Evil in This Life

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 25: To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame. It seems that in this life, we'll always have enemies, those who are not for God, attacking us. So we need to trust in God to defend us and keep us safe at all times.  

***True Pope?***

        Pope Francis has caused much controversy and confusion, fracturing the Church in the process. Many church officials and theologians have already accused him of being a heretic. Our Lady of Fatimas, Our Lady of Garabandal, and Our Lady of Akita all foretold of the days when bishops would be against bishops and cardinals against cardinals—those days are right now. Here is a video presenting a number of warning signs that seem to be related to the Pope. 

*****Be Concerned About God 1st

        When we sin against the Lord, we usually lose peace and feel bad about ourselves. But it's more appropriate to realize that we have hurt the Lord and feel sorry for him. Do whatever is necessary to console him first and he'll automatically heal us. Again, focus on God first always.

*****True Love*****

         We say "I love you" a lot to others, but this love is never pure like Christ's. His love for us is unconditionally selfless, willing to lay down his own life so that we may live forever! So if we love someone, but are not concerned about the salvation of that person's soul, there is no true love. We need to love the Lord first, then we can truly love others.

***Biggest Fools***

         They are the evildoers who reject Christ.

***Proof God Has Created Us******

        I've found that the Lord God is the only one who can fundamentally transform me (making me holy, that is). This proves that he is indeed my creator. 

***Minding God Alone (Wise Advice)***

        Never compare yourself with anyone else nor mind what others think of you. Care only about how clean you are before God and what he thinks of you. For everything will be settled between just you and God.

***To Be Most Thankful For***

        It was Thanksgiving day, the day before yesterday. There are many things to be thankful for, but Christians must be most grateful for God's love for us. Without his love, we wouldn't have all the nice things to be thankful for. Let me add that the God of Christ is our only God, Savior, life, bright beacon, truth, and hope.

***Another Reason We Need Christ***

        Admit it, our biggest problem is dealing with others without sufficient love. The only one who can fundamentally change us to become loving is Christ our creator. For this reason alone we need him!

**Lord, Have Mecy

        Communion experience. I felt like crying as I saw how horribly the world (myself included) had been offending him. Lord, have mercy on us all! 

***Prayer Not to Forget*

        We always want things to go our way instead of God's way. "Thy will be done" would make an excellent correction prayer.

***Only One to Live For***

        Christians should focus upon Christ only from whom all power and mercy flow. Any message preached not centered on him is invariably uninspiring. Christ is the only one who can stir our hearts and fill us with the Holy Spirit. Live for him only. 

***Only Way with God***

        First thought at Mass today: Worshipping the Lord God is of central importance; everything else we do must be subject to that. Both intuition and common sense tell us that with God it has to be all or nothing. Christ came and showed that it was to be so. Otherwise, what would be the point of believing in him?

***Most Grave Matter*****

        From today's reading 1 from Revelation 20, we heard that "The dead were judged according to their deeds." This had to be the final judgment, for the Lord does not judge us while we are still alive. So the time on earth is the only time we have to make sure that our deeds will be good enough for our names to appear in the book of life. Otherwise, we'll experience the second death that's eternal, according to the reading.

*****The Christian Truth*****

 

**Opposite Outcomes*

         For those who reject Jesus, going to heaven will be most difficult. But for those who follow Jesus, the opposite is true, that is, going to hell is now completely ruled out!

*****God's Rock Solid Assurance***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus spoke of the coming persecution. He said, "You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives." How good it is to know that the Lord will protect those who follow him so that their eternal lives will be secure!

**Prayer Advice

        Before asking for anything from the Lord, enter into as close a relationship as possible with him. 

**Basic Truth*

        To enter heaven, we need to be free from sin; and only Christ, our creator, can take away our sins. 

****Being Captured by LOVE

         Communion experience. The Lord cleansed me and peace reigned in my heart. The overwhelming crush of his love came on and seized me. How good it is to be captured by LOVE!

***God Is Forever***

         In Matthew 28:20, one of today's Communion antiphons, the resurrected Lord said to the eleven disciples, "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Such assurance, so good to hear! God is forever, one we can always trust! 

***Today's Joy

         Christ has redeemed me from sin thru his love and mercy. Now I am free and on my way to be with him for all eternity! This is an insuppressible joy!

***Joy of Abandonment***

        Communion experience. I remain completely passive, letting the Lord take charge, and my joy is complete.

**Enslavement or Freedom**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 18, Jesus admits before Pilate that he is a king, but his kingdom does not belong to this world. If we belong to this world, we become enslaved by it. But if we belong to Christ, we dwell in his kingdom and remain free from all evil influences. It's so very clear.

***Most Generous King***

        Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. My first thought was that I could ask of him for anything that's good for me from his inexhaustible riches and it's mine!

**Total Fulfillment*

        Communion experience. Psalm 23.1: The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. That is totally fulfilled!

***The Lord Most Sweet***

        Today's psalm response from Psalm 119: How Sweet to my taste is your promise. We normally see the Lord as one who is almighty, holy, splendid, magnanimous, etc., but he is also sweet. To me, his voice and his words spoken always with great love are all most sweet!

**Calling on the Lord*

        Communion experience. i called on the Lord, not to ask for help, but to express my gratitude and joy for having saved me.  

**We Are Sombody*

        Today is Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. God choosing to have his Son born through Mary, a human, shows how how highly he regards us. 

***In God's Eyes*

        1 Corinthians 3.19: The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. In the same vein, I dare say that "Relative to Christ, the absolute truth, we are all phonies."

***Double-Barreled Power*

        Communion experience. The Eucharist has the power to not only lead us to eternal life, but also make us holy.  

***All We Need to Do***

        The Lord has come and will come again, but we don't when that will be. So there is so point in thinking about it. All we need to is to be ready, which means that we obey the Lord in all things and be as holy as possible, no more and no less. 

***Living Outside the Box

        We accomplish many things in life, many of which are good and even amazing. But we do them shall I say in a horizontal space, never rising any higher spiritually. It's the humble Christians serving their Lord faithfully that rise above the box, so to speak, as they store up treasures in heaven.

***Incredible Union***

        Communion experience. By the Father's great mercy, the immense gap that separates a finite sinner from his infinite, holy creator is no more.

*****Christ Essential to Us*

        In John 14:6, Jesus declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Therefore, without him, we are lost and dead and doomed.

*****Critical to Be Open to God***

        From today's first reading from Revelation 3, we heard read: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. The Lord is always knocking at the door. In fact, anytime he comes to your mind, it's him wanting to speak to you, but he can't enter unless you open your heart. What a pity you shut him out your whole life and end up being shut out of heaven forever later!

*****Most Intimate Relationship***

        When you meet someone with the same interests, you can easily hit if off and enjoy each other's company. When I was studying math in college, I greatly enjoyed talking with other math majors about math. Since my other interests were piano music and photography, it's great fun talking about piano music with my teacher, and photography with other fellow photo enthusiasts. Now that Christ is my closest companion, do we talk with each other? Of course we do, but when you are in union with the Lord, you and he already know each other fully without any exchange of words or thoughts. The relationship is on the high spiritual level, the soul level. In all other relationships, there is much sharing, but no deep union. 

***Powerful Holiness***

        God's love is most powerful. Equally powerful is his holiness! When you bask in it, you become holy.

***Saving Faith Most Precious***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus healed a blind beggar because of his faith. Indeed, it's by our faith that God saves us. No faith, no salvation; so treasure your faith and allow it to grow until you totally abandon yourself to the Lord.

***Becoming Victorious in Christ

        Today's response to readings from Psalm 1 based on Revelation 2:17—Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life. My thought was that when we follow Christ, we become victors as we overcome sin and secure eternal life! It's time for rejoicing from that point on.

*****Communion Awakening**

        The Lord fully gave himself for my salvation! 

***Our Imminent Appearance Before Christ*

        Today's Gospel acclamation based upon what Jesus said in Luke 21:36— Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man. We'll all have to appear before the Lord one day—happy is the one who is ready and can't wait to meet his most beloved Savior and soulmate! 

*****Beware!***

        In this life, we experience both things that make us happy and things that make us unhappy. In our next life, we'll end up being either extremely happy or extremely unhappy for all eternity! But we do have the chance to predetermine all that while we're still alive now.  

***Powerful Payer Against Evil***

        The late Fr. Gabriele Amorth was Vatican's leading exorcist. Here's one of his powerful prayers that can benefit all of us.

***It Looks like a Miracle

        https://youtube.com/shorts/5wbG_M9rcPw?si=4sblX9FHaghY2Dh4

***Ultinate Fulfillment

        Communion experience. When you are in union with Christ, you are no longe concerned about life or death—you simply want to remain with the Lord. 

**Everything Is Possible For . . .

those who love God.

***True Intelligent Test***

        No matter how high your IQ is, if you don't see that God loves you and believing in Christ can lead you to eternal life, you are not smart at all!

*****A Warning and Reminder

         Everyday you put off accepting Christ, you put your soul at risk. You may pooh-pooh what I've just said, but I said it because I knew it to be the truth, not merely believing in it. When the Lord reveals something to you, you just know it's true, no proof needed! So this warning/reminder stemmed completely from God's immense love for all of us. 

***More Important Than Me***

        Communion experience. The Eucharist, the Lord himself, is the only thing that's more important to me than myself. For without Christ, I'll have neither life nor soul. 

***Warning to the Prideful***

        In Matthew 19:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." I am sure that this is even more true for one who is full of pride, for humility is a must for entering heaven.

*****BE PREPARED NOW*****

        In today's Gospel reading, Luke17:26-37, Jesus talked about the day of the Son of Man. You must read it yourself. The scenes described are unforgettable. Here are some samples. "For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be." "As it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed." "On that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left." If you believe in Jesus, you'd better prepare yourself for that day, whether it comes in your lifetime or not.

*****Love, Our Ultimate Goal*

        Since God is pure love, selfless love is the solution to all our problems, including being damned for our sinfulness. For us, the direct path is follow Christ with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, then we'll be able to love all others as he loves us.

**Our Life Aim

        Communion experience. I saw that getting ourselves ready for meeting Christ the Lord is truly our life aim. 

***We Are Called To . . .

enjoy Christ the Lord, not the world. 

*****Sign You're in Union with Christ***

         You know that the Lord dwells in you, as you feel his holy presence at all times.

***Be Imprisoned and Free***

        Today's first reading came from Philemon 7. Paul wrote this letter during an imprisonment, possibly in Rome. My thought: When we let the love of God imprison us, we are set free! 

***Unavoidable Realities to Face***

         (1) We are all sinners. (2) We need God to remove our sins in order to get into heaven. (3) We all shall die and leave this world. (4) Last, we'll be judged by Christ to see if we are clean enough to enter heaven.

**Experiencing the Holy Spirit*

        When you are in union with Christ, you are in tune with God the Holy Spirit and feel his power guiding you. You experience the Spirit live! 

***Greatest Gift and Blessing***

        Realizing that Christ is the truth and God

**Pure Foolery

        Since we are finite creatures, we cannot realize how omnipotent, wise, loving, and great God truly is. If we think that we know it all and don't need God, that would be pure foolery.

**The Renewal

        Communion experience. The Lord cleanses and heals our souls and makes us holy and whole again.

**Our Only Power Source

         We can pray as hard as we want, but power comes only from God. Pray hard to let him make us holy and fruitful. Without him, we are nothing.

**Christian Duty**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus explained the right attitude a servant should have to his disciples. He said to them, "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" Yes, serving God is our duty, not to show that we are being extra good. We merely do what we should and not think about receiving any rewards. God remains the Lord and we, his lowly (but beloved) servants.

***The Death That Gives Birth*

        Communion experience. To die in Christ is to begin living the new eternal life. 

***Perfect Combination***

         Today's entrance  antiphon from 1 Samuel 2: I shall raise up for myself a faithful priest who will act in accord with my heart and mind, says the Lord. It struck me that obedience to God is truly a beautiful thing! In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus said to his Apostles, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Here I was struck by the beauty of having a great faith. Obedience and faith do make a perfect combination that can lead us straight to eternal freedom!

**Communion Wish

        To vanish from the world and dwell in Christ alone 

***The Right or Wrong Approach***

       When you want to know and love God, you can focus upon Jesus or yourself. Usually, when we see that God is not that close to us, we start thinking how we can get closer to him. This is never that helpful because you still think that you can do it on your own. The right approach is to do the very opposite—you focus upon the Lord and forget all about yourself. Remain open to let him inspire you and draw you to him. This is relying upon the Lord and not yourself. This is how we should live the Christian life. Any message telling you that you can do it won't work, but if you trust that God can do it, then it'll be done for you. 

**Sinning Depicted

         This was what I saw mentally this morning. Every time we commit a sin, we grow a thorn that pokes out, making us look ugly and hurtful to others. When we repent and beg Christ's forgiveness, he plucks it out. We hurt a little and are healed, looking wholesome again.

***Smart Move*

        Communion time thoughts. Things happen unexpected all the time, so we are not in control at all! Realizing this, if you were smart, you would completely submit yourself to God. 

***Going All the Way with God (Most Exciting Living)***

        The LORD is infinitely good and powerful, so feel free to ask him to make you holy and great in his eyes. Do not limit him nor yourself! The more you trust in him, the more power you receive, and the better and happier you become. Only with God can you go all the way, for his mercy is unlimited and his riches inexhaustible. This way you gain all he has for you, and you'll be overwhelmed!

***Reverencing the Lord Always***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 2, Jesus cleansed the temple by driving out all those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers, for making his Father's house a marketplace. This makes me realize that we must reverence our churches as our Father's houses, especially if the Holy Eucharist is present in the tabernacle. In such cases, irreverent talking, unrestrained laughing, indecent dressing . . . would all be inappropriate. Last, if we regard ourselves yo be temples of the Holy Spirit, we should keep ourselves pure, blameless, and pleasing to God.

***Best Evidence for God's Existence

        Though we do not see God in person, the fact that Christ has come, told us all about the kingdom of God, died for us so that we might have eternal life and then rose from the dead is ample evidence that God exists and loves us. To believe in Christ is to believe in God, as he is God.  

***Christian Requisite*

       To be open to God and clean of heart always. 

*****Future of the Church?*****

        This is a disturbing video and it seems like we are heading in that direction. We need to beg for and trust in God's mercy!

***Our Biggest No-No***

         There is just one thing we must not do—it is sinning against God, the God of Christ. Remember this and persevere, and you'll be happy forever one day.

*****Great Communion Joy!

        I have akready said that the Eucharist, being God's most humble miracle, is his greatest miracle. To me, the transformation of the bread and the into the real body and blood of our Lord without any visible sign is absolute astounding! It's so earthshaking that should the earth know how great this miracle is, it would shake in its orbit. And if I can truly comprehend its greatness, my soul would leap out of my body for sheer joy!

***How We Impact Heaven***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus addressed the parable of the lost sheep to the Pharisees and scribes. "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." We are like that man in the parable, and God who created us in his image is like us. The parable reveals how precious we are to God. So the question is "Do we want to bring joy or to bring sorrow to heaven?" Of course, our decision will greatly affect our own destiny too. 

*****Important Message for the Rich***

        In Matthew 19, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Now, one of gates into Jerusalem was named "The Eye of the Needle," and was quite small, since camels heavily loaded with goods would have to be unloaded to pass thru. If that were the eye of a needle Jesus had in mind, that would mean it's definitely possible for anyone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, but he would have to unload all his possessions first. Anyway, all of us who are not poor should take this message seriously. If in practice we cannot unload all we have, we must at least become detached to it.

***Power of the Heart

         By choosing to submit yourself to Christ and follow his will, you are set free and become heaven bound—all done with a change of heart. 

**Exciting Following Christ*

         Communion experience. There's no limit to how deep you can enter union with the Lord, that is, no limit to how much you can love him. This is what makes following Christ exciting!

**Price/Reward Ratio Considered*

        When you follow Christ and become divorced from the world, there's a price to pay. But relative to the reward you'll be receiving, it's practically nothing. 

***Requisite for Discipleship

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the crowds, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." The Lord spoke as the Lord God here, measuring our discipleship by how wholeheartedly we follow him. It's perfectly logical and makes sense that we should follow him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

**Making Our Love Great**

        We show our love for others by helping them financially and/or materially; while Christ, whose love for us is most pure, wishes to save our souls foremost. So if we love others but are not concerned about their souls, then our love is not great enough. 

*****You Ain't See Nothing Until . . .*

you know Christ. As we grow up in this world, we see and learn new things every day. We can see the whole world and earn high degrees in various fields at colleges and universities. Our knowledge and vision are constantly expanding and this can be exciting. Then one day we run into Jesus Christ and discover the reality and truth, and our understanding and perception change completely. We now see the world to be utter lost and boring, heading into self-destruction. Only God and heavenly things are now meaningful and exciting. This is enlightenment and progress, as we are set free from sin and become new creatures in Christ. Existence now is fantastic and life totally fulfilled.

***Perfecting the Union***

        Communion experience. When you receives the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, you absorb him physically totally. If spiritual union doesn't follow, you have received him in vain—it's the spiritual part that completes the union, making it perfect. That is, we receive him physically in order to achieve spiritual union with him.

**What's Your Excuse?**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus told the parable of the great feast. A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. Today Jesus invites all of us to dine in the kingdom of God, but many reject his invitation, giving various excuses. Could it be that they want to play God themselves? If you really believe that Jesus' intention is bad or that he is false, I can respect that. But if you are not being honest with yourself, then I can't really respect you.  

***Power of God's Peace*

        Communion experience. When you receive the peace only the Lord can give that surpasses all understanding, you are ready to go to him, dropping your worries and concerns about all things. Basically, you are ready to comply with whatever he wants you to do at any time.

***Loving God***

        At morning Mass today, I felt so grateful to the Lord for having loved and saved me that I willingly surrendered all of myself to him. When you let God make you feel good, you gladly want to make him feel good to feel even better. Loving God becomes natural and a joy.

***Goal of the Christian**

         He is to forget all about himself and focus upon glorifying Christ alone. He is then set free and heading straight to heaven! 

***Most Precious Special Gift

         Communion experience. Historically, humans have sought the elixir of life, hoping to live forever; but do you really want to live in a sinful world like ours forever? The Holy Eucharist is in an entirely different class, for it can actually bring us into union with God so that we end up enjoying heaven for all eternity!

***Instant Perfection

        We are measured by how much we are like the Lord. So if we can love others like how he loves all of us, we become perfect.

**Compensating Physical Weakness**

        Today's offertory antiphon came from Psalm 103; Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits. And he shall renew your youth like the eagle's. The last saying made me realize that God can renew us spiritually! It is most appropriate that as we age and grow weaker physically, we can always ask the Lord to help us grow stronger in him spiritually!

***Great Simple Secret***

        Today's Gospel acclamation based upon John 14: Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our our dwelling with him. Here's the secret of making the Lord God come to dwell within us! Wow!

***God's Special Mercy

        Only God our Father is perfect, whereas we can never be. Fortunately for us, as long as all our intentions stem from love and we do our best to carry out his will, it is good enough for him.  

**Reminder

        We want God to wipe out all evil, yet we want God to save everyone, for he loves us all. So pray for all evildoers, not hate them. 

***Ultimate Expression of Love***

         Jesus' laying down his own life for us

*****To All Whom God Loves*****

        Following the Solemnity of all Saints, we today commemorate All the Faithful Departed. As sinners, death is imminent for all of us. If we do not do anything about our sins, we are heading straight to hell. Now, Christ came to and died for us precisely to make it possible for us to change our course and go to heaven instead! He wishes that we would accept the Father's love for us and inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world! (Mathew 25:34) My loving advice to all: Prepare yourself now so that you may look forward to your day of departure from this world in peace and with joy.

**Letting Christ Heal Me*

        Communion experience. I let the Lord heal my entire psyche, my innermost.part, which only he can reach and touch.

***We Must Be Active Followers!

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount to the crowds. In the beatitudes, he said "blessed are the poor in spirit, they who mourn, the meek, they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me." Clearly, to follow Christ we must actively follow his example. To remain complacent, not getting involved with anything and only believing that he will take care of everything, just won't cut it!

***Our Best Day to Come***

        In reading 2 from 1 John 3, the author writes, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." How exciting it is to know that one day we'll be like God the Father! We should look forward to that day with great joy and anticipation!

**Forever Happy Later!

        Today Nov. 1 is the Solemnity of All Saints. The first part of the offertory antiphon from Wisdom 3: The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. This is God's assurance that we who follow Christ will not suffer after we die. How comforting it is to know!

**Fight with the Right Vision!

        As Christian warriors, we must see that we are fighting the Devil. As Paul wrote in todays' first reading from Ephesians 6, our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. We must see all events in this light and base all our actions on helping good to overcome evil. It's to win for God and not just to fight for our own security. Change your vision to become effective valiant warriors. 

**Toward Total Abandonment*

        As I age, I realize that I must depend upon the Lord for all things more and more. Our whole life should be a process of shifting our independence to total dependence upon God. The sooner we achieve this, the better off we are. It's letting go of the world and yourself and start clinging to Christ alone. It's total abandonment to God to become free and secure your eternal life.

**Freedom of Speech Matters

        Another straight talk from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

**Sobering Warning

           This is today's entire Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 13:

         Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." So if you think you already know Jesus, but slack off and do not remain watchful, you may end up last and get cast out of heaven.

**Thoughts on Prayers*

        God hears all our prayers. If we don't pray at all and continue sinning, we'll be chastised for sure. If we all pray for his will be done, we'll all be rewarded for sure. In reality, not everyone prays, so what we'll receive will be determined by how many of us pray and how fervently we pray. Nevertheless, pray hard and fervently always!

**Right Thing to Do*

        If everyone in the world believes in Christ, follows his example of loving others, and resolves to become holy, the world would have instant peace and be filled with joy. So even if the world were 99.99% evil in reality, you know the right thing to do.

***To Rest in Christ

         We wish that all who die would rest in peace. I want to be more specific: I want to die and rest in Christ, for only he can give us true peace now and for all eternity.

**God Is . . .

         When you hear "God" mentioned, what's the first word that comes to your mind? Most Christians probably would say "love." I'd say "life," for only God can create life and make it eternal.

***When Being Childlike Is Appropriate***

        Believing like a child works only when you believe in the true God of Christ!

***Appreciating Our Creation

        We are absolutely God's unique creation. He created inanimate objects such as rocks . . . then living things like trees. At the next level, we have insects, birds, and nonhuman animals. Finally, he created us in his image with souls. Unlike other animals, we look all different from each other. And we can become his sons and daughters to inherit his kingdom. Be aware of this fact and be thankful and rejoice in it. 

***Smart Move*

         Tell the Lord that you wish to receive all your reward from him in heaven. This makes him grant you eternal life.

***Absolute Truth***

        Christ remains the truth irrespective of whether you believe in him of not. 

***To Attain Union with God Is . . .

to reach the highest level of spiritual freedom on earth.

**More than My Lord and My God**

        Jesus is my Lord and my God.  But he is so close to me that I feel that he is also my life and my soul!

*Sense of Humor Changed

        Recently, I heard some jokes that really made people laugh. Since they made fun of others, I didn't feel that they were funny at all. I then realized that the Lord had changed my sense of humor.

**Sad Reality

        Recently, I heard about some oldsters in pretty bad physical shape still talking about buying a new house or getting one more dog. When we are young, we focus upon acquiring many things. As we age, we either begin to wake up to our need for God or remain as oblivious as ever.

***Being Heartless*

        Jesus died for us purely out of love. If we don't even care, then we are heartless indeed. 

**When We Become Free

        We are not free as long as we still live in our physical body. We become free only after we leave our body and return to the Father in heaven. 

***Living Without Christ***

         In John 15:5, Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." We do all kinds of things for our own sake, divorced from Christ. To come right to the point, that's all for nothing.

**Salvation Is Up to Us.

         Surely God can save us, but we must allow him to do so. Otherwise, nothing will happen.

***How to Know God

        To know God, we must loosen up first. That is, we remain open, should he choose to communicate with us. The big mistake is to expect God to come to us when we don't even try to meet him halfway. The worst position is to play God, then you won't ever know him. Humility is what he loves. (Note: For the next three weeks or so, I won't be able to blog daily. I do expect to catch up before this month ends. May God bless all of you who read herein. Ask for his blessings yourselves too. If you sincerely believe that he is blessing you, you'll know or feel it.)

***Prayer Joy*

        The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) Christ has given us is the perfect prayer for us as God's sinful children. If we mean and follow everything in that prayer from the heart, we can become holy! Today when I prayed it before Mass began, I was filed with great joy. 

***Be like Christ***

         God wants us to become like him so that we may return to him in heaven. We are called to be holy, period. So make that your top goal. (If you haven't read Thomas Kempis' The Imitation of Christ yet, read it to help you reach that goal.)

***Believe First Always***

        Today's Communion antiphon, Jesus' saying in Matthew 18:3—"Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Again, this is a very clear statement. We are far from entering the Kingdom of Heaven because we are far from being childlike when it comes to believing in God. The wise would start out believing. Should you find that he is false or doesn't exist, you can always disbelieve then. If you start out not believing, surely you'll never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Know that the Lord has a soft spot for the humble: If you are humble enough to believe in him, he'll humble himself to welcome you with open arms.

***Our Glory

        The cross was the glory of Christ, and Christ is our glory. That makes the cross our glory too.

***Lord Our Only Guide***

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the first person who made me realize the beauty of loving God. I am most grateful to her. The entrance antiphon reads "The Lord alone was her guide." Indeed, we need the Lord to guide us in everything. Should we are to follow someone else, that has to come the Lord first. Following ourselves is the worst way of living, inevitably leading to the loss of inner peace in this life and even beyond.

*****All God's Doing*****

        Even though I do not see Christ, he is more real to me than anyone else I see. This has made it possible for me to feel his holy presence at all times. It has to be his doing and I rejoice in that.

*****Fast Track to Knowing God*****

        To know and learn from God, we commonly seek help from someone else. It might be reading a book that person has written or listening to a talk of his. If you attend a big conference, you still learn from a lot of other people. Chances are all of them are seeking to know the Lord themselves. Of course, if you learn from a saint, you can benefit a lot, for he or she is most likely a lot more advanced spiritually. Then since saints learn most from the Lord directly, and the Lord is instantly accessible to all of us at all times, it makes sense that we go directly to the Lord too? In fact, this is the best, most efficient and quickest way to achieve your goal! Should you wish to attain union with God, this is the only way!. It's not incorrect to say that by comparison, all other indirect approaches more or less amount to beating around the bush.

***Tragic Ignorance***

        Most of us hope to do something big to make ourselves rich, famous, and influential to satisfy our ego, not realizing that doing a tiny small thing to please our heavenly Father is infinitely more satisfying both now and later after we leave this world! 

**All Our Sins Are Known to God**

        I'd like to post what Jesus said to his disciples from today's Gospel reading from Mark 9: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" No sin can be hidden from God. Should there be a book for each of us kept in heaven, every sin of ours would be recorded in it. If you are smart, you would have Christ take away all your sins now to get them all check off in that book.