***The Coming Big Interview***

        Most of us in this life go through a number of interviews in order to land a job. The critical interview that really matters will take place after we depart from this world to face the Lord Jesus. He's the one who'll determine whether we go to heaven or not. It would be wise for us to prepare for that day as early as possible. As we age, we should become increasingly aware of the urgency to do so! If you are already looking forward to that day, you are most likely ready. If not, then you need to awaken now and start thinking before time runs out. 

***Best Way to Enrich Ourselves***

         A YouTube video showed how one person paid over $2,000 for an abandoned storage unit, hoping to find some "treasures" in it. Worldlings are always looking for ways to enrich themselves materially in whatever way they can. Then I realize that when I abandon myself to God, I don't have to scheme or toil, spend any money, nor get stressed to gain eternal life, something infinitely superior than anything you can find in the world!  I can't help rejoicing in that. May the whole world also realize that.

**Beautiful Prayer**

          In Luke 18, Jesus told the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. A Pharisee and a tax collector went up to the temple area to pray. The Pharisee took up his position and prayed, "O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income." But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus commented, "The latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Here we're given this most beautiful prayer we can pray unceasingly. Saying it puts us in our right place. When we are humble enough to ask God for mercy, he is overjoyed. As a result, he grants our request without hesitation and we experience peace.

*****Crucial Realization***

        Since we all sin against God, we definitely need to beg for his mercy on our souls!

**Serving God Like the Angles*

        Today is the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. The entrance antiphon after Psalm 103:20 reads: "Bless the Lord, all you his angels, mighty in power, fulfilling his word and heeding his voice." I feel it's so right for us, who are supposed to serve the Lord, to also do what the angels are doing, namely, acting at the Lord's behest and being obedient to his command.

***Love Prevails**

         Communion experience. I dared to touch the Lord only because of his great love.

***Complete Abandonment to God Is . . .***

not caring about your own will anymore, letting the Lord do whatever he wills with you! This is achieving ultimate freedom and fulfillment.

**Generations of Hardened Hearts**

         Today's Gospel reading from Luke 16 presents the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus the poor man. When Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, "Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them." He said, "Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." Then Abraham said, "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." Many of us today do not even listen to the Son of God! What will then happen to them? I shudder at the thought.

***Getting Along with Jesus a Delight*

         All of us human beings have our likes and dislikes, so it's safe to say we won't ever find someone we can get along with perfectly. I have been married to my wife decades and we still misunderstand each other often. Then there's Lord Jesus. He not only listens to us with infinite patience whenever we share our innermost feelings and thoughts with him, he also understands us perfectly, for he knows our hearts inside out. And he always speaks to us with love and kindness. As long as we remain obedient to him, we can get along with him perfectly!  And we find that we now get along with everyone else better too! 

**Being Raised to an Exalted State*

         Communion time thought. The Lord exalts the humble. So when we surrender our will to his, our spirit soars.

*****More Important than Ourselves*****

         Since Christ is our creator as well as our Savior, he is more important to us than ourselves! So when we become his totally, we are totally fulfilled by him! I see this clearly.

**Extreme Outcomes**

         Remain in Christ and you are saved and on your way to heaven. Rejecting Christ and you are lost and cut off from him forever. These diametric outcomes are extreme because God's love for us is extreme and to reject this great love is surely to be extreme too.

***Saints' Preference**

         I believe that all the great saints, living and deceased, would prefer or have preferred to remain unknown so that Christ alone may be the center of our attention and glorified.

**Unbeatable Feeling

         Communion experience. The Lord touched me way beyond the physical level; he healed and perfected my soul!

***The Christ Difference***

         If you are living without Christ, chances are you are not too happy with your life. But if you are quite happy, then know that this is as happy as you'll get, for you cannot possibly have a happier afterlife without knowing Christ first. On the other hand, with Christ you're lifted to a higher state of existence—you are now set free from the world and your sins, and destined to live your next life infinitely happier than your present one. 

***The Crucial Question***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” Today, we face the same question and must respond to the Lord, for how we answer will determine our eternal destiny.  

**Difficulty in Following Christ**

         Some of the teachings of the Lord Jesus seem almost humanly impossible for us to follow. Of course, we should never give up and decide to ignore them. So what shall we do? First of all, we must believe that God will never put anyone who loves him through a test he can't pass. And if we do face a difficult test situation, the Holy Spirit will surely show us how to respond. So stop worrying and trust in the Lord fully, then everything will work out well. It sounds cliché, but it's the truth.

**Clear Fact Today**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Herod the tetrarch was greatly perplexed about Jesus because he heard some saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead"; others, "Elijah has appeared"; still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen." That's understandable. Today, with billions of Christians worldwide, it should be crystal clear that Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior!

***Why Total Abandonment?***

        St. Augustine wrote in his autobiography Confessions this famous saying: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." So if your heart is restless, you have not rested in God yet! The Lord God can totally take care of us and we need to abandon ourselves totally in him.

**Unfinished Business*

         We'll always have unfinished business to deal with till our last day on earth. So try to complete what's important or necessary first and the rest when you have the time. Of course, if you die right now, you'll just have to let everything go. So it wouldn't make any sense to let unfinished business cause you to lose your peace. Once you're with the Lord in heaven, he may still assign tasks for you to perform. Then you'll simply see it as following his will and not as something to complete. And you'll always experience peace and joy. So why not see it that way starting right now on earth? If you know your are heaven bound, you might as well live as if you were already there?

*****OUR ONE & ONLY GOD*****

        We all like to be our own god, but there's only one true God who is our Lord, our Savior, our shepherd, our teacher, our counselor, our friend, our brother, our confidant, our soulmate, and also our servant—He is the God of Christ.

***How Does Your Soul Look?***

        I watched Charlie Kirk's memorial service on TV. His wife Erika who will succeed him as the CEO of Turning Point shared his one notable message from his journal: Every time you make a decision, it puts a mark on your soul. I totally agree that every thought, every intention, every word uttered, or every doing of yours can keep your soul spotless or tainted. How you want to appear finally to the Lord is all up to you.

***Doing God's Will Is . . .***

an absolute joy, for anytime you please him, he shares his joy with you! 

*****Mark of a True Christian*****

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light." Personally, I feel that the Lord wants us as his followers to shine like lit lamps for all to see. In other words, we must boldly live as Christians. Charlie Kirk had the courage to speak what he believed to be the truth fearlessly. His recent assassination has inspired millions worldwide to carry his torch. It's the Lord's doing. Now, not everyone can speak as well as Charlie, so it boils down to that we have the courage to follow God's will whatever that might be. And it finally boils down to that we have the courage (humility) to submit ourselves totally to the Lord God!

****Do You Know?

         What's truly exciting about following Christ is that if you are open to him, he can transform you without bounds to make you beautiful before him beyond words! 

**The Happy Ones*

         Many people are not happy with the state of life they are in. By contrast, happy are the ones who joyfully follow God's every will in whatever position they happen to be in. 

***Way to Happiness

         Communion time experience. Happy is the one who submits himself totally to the Lord to let  him enter and dwell in him.

***Accept Christ and Be Fulfilled***

         When we were born into the world, we did not witness our own birth. So when we learn later that the Lord God of Christ created us, we need to accept that! I can testify to you that when I followed up by submitting myself totally to Christ, I was completely fulfilled, knowing that Christ is the way and the truth and the life! 

**World in Turmoil**

         Today the people on the left hate and refuse to dialogue with anyone with whom they disagree. They don't even know why they are like that. Since they don't really believe in Christ, Satan must have gotten them. One leftist even believed that Charlie Kirk had wished to die as a martyr—what an absurd and sick thought! Wanting to be known as a martyr is the very opposite of being unafraid of martyrdom should that be in accordance with God's plan. Once Satan has gotten control of you, your conscience loses all its clarity. Sadly, this is exactly what's happening in our world. 

***Key to getting accepted by God the Father***

        Mt 10:32, today's Communion antiphon: Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father, says the Lord. Here's how to get accepted by the heavenly Father—critically important for us to know!

****Critical How We Receive the Word of God****

         In today's Gospel's reading from Luke 8, Jesus told the Parable of the Sower to a large crowd. It went like this: "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." Later he explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples: "The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." We can see that our entire future is dependent upon how we receive the word of God.

***Want to Know God? Easy***

         When you want something in this world, you must work for it, be it a college degree, the skill to play the piano, growing your own vegetables, or anything else. But if you want to know God, no work is required—you simply relax and be open to let him do whatever he wishes with you.

*****Pursue Nothing and Be Fulfilled*****

         We all pursue something in life. The lowest bunch are those who pursue evil to satisfy their wayward desires. Many pursue money or fame, and others, knowledge. Still others, a hobby of some sort. Once I had a friend over who happened to collect tin boxes. He liked the two he saw in my house so much that I emptied all the contents—cookies, candies, whatever—for him to take home. Many painters and musicians virtually live for the art they pursue. In the case of one pianist I knew, music was the only thing that kept her going. I can positively say that none of the things most people pursue in this secular world can possibly replace Christ, the real McCoy! To pursue something that's somewhat rewarding in this brief life but doesn't get you any closer to entering heaven is, frankly, folly. Wake up, the Lord God is already pursuing every one of us when he sent his only Son to us to redeem us from sin so that we might live forever. All we need to do is to remain open and be receptive to him—we don't have to pursue anything and all that our soul desires will be fulfilled to the brim!

****Awed by God Our Creator***

         This was actually my first thought today. I got up this morning and saw that it's another beautiful day. Fall was just four days away. I was amazed that the earth had been spinning so regularly on its own axis causing day and night, and at the same time orbiting around the sun giving us the seasons year after year. All this has been going on for perhaps many billions of years already, and we don't even feel any movement. Our God and creator is truly awesome!

*****Instant Attainment!*****

         The more you remain humble, selfless, and surrender yourself to God, the greater is your spiritual progress. In theory and reality, abandon yourself to God to the max and you attain union with him instantly! (Time to live your most exciting life.)

***Exclusive Gifts for His Followers***

         Christ can set us free from sin, grant us that profound peace, and fill us with pure joy. These three special blessings all come from above which the world cannot give. They are special gifts given exclusively by the Holy Spirit to all those who follow the Lord all the way.

**Smart Way to Get Forgiven*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus pardoned a sinful woman because of her faith in him. Jesus forgave her sins when she showed her great love for him. So love the Lord genuinely and you are forgiven—it can't be simpler! 

**Lukewarm Christians**

         The world is in horrible shape and we can trace all that to our unbelief in the God of Christ! That's right, you heard me. Let's just look at the Christians. When they try to help others out of kindness, many of them don't even bring Christ up as if he doesn't even exist. All of them know the first and greatest commandment about loving the Lord our God, but alas, following it seems to be a separate matter altogether.

**Respecting the Free Will

         The Lord God respects our free will, so should we. Therefore, we simply go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature, as instructed by the risen Lord to his disciples, as best as we can and leave the rest to God. This also also teach us not to judge others.

***Holy Communion Beautifully Defined***

        1 Corinthians 10:16, today's Communion antiphon: The chalice of blessing that we bless, is a communion in the Blood of Christ; and the bread that we break is a sharing in the Body of the Lord.

***This Vile Generation

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus told the crowds what the people of their generation were like. He said to them, "John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' I'd say that today our generation is also full of hypocrites: If they don't like you, they'd say only bad things about you, never the truth. You can spot them right away and they are to be pitied.  

**Only Christ Can Unburden Us**

         Last night I had trouble falling asleep, as a bunch of computer problems was on my mind. You see, after I transferred much of the data from my ten-year-old laptop to a new one, I found out that some of the files had contents missing. And I would still need the old computer, for one program would only work on it's operating system. Meanwhile, there's a separate monitor I use in conjunction with either laptop. So how to power and link them all together with the proper cable connectors became a challenge. It finally dawned to me that I should turn to Christ to put the problem in his hands—my job is simply to trust in him. I did that and my burden was gone, knowing that the issue would be solved in due time! I fell soundly asleep shortly afterwards—I should have realized that a lot sooner.

**Jesus' Command to Arise**

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Now, we have not died yet, but if we were spiritually dead and pay attention, we should hear the Lord commanding us to "arise" also. And if we respond favorably, we become spiritually alive.

**Living Out Your Belief*

         The Lord God is all holy and almighty, so all things that are good for us are possible with him, for he loves us. Accordingly, we should live to show that we truly hold this belief.

***Eucharist, Our Most Endearing Gift***

         Communion experience. The time it takes for the consecrated host to dissolve in your mouth varies. Once I saw a picture of a host that had bled profusely and I was so overcome emotionally that at the next Mass, the host did not dissolve completely until twenty-two plus minutes later. I certainly got to savor the sweetness of Lord. On the contrary, this morning the host almost dissolved immediately on my tongue after I received it. I loved that too, for it showed that the Lord and I were eager to reunite again. 

**We Must Decrease**

        Again, we must live to glorify God alone and never ourselves, so focus only on him. When you think of doing something to glorify God, check your motivation, for it might be what YOU want to do and not God's will. Once at my previous church, I suggested a good book for the library collection, the priest liked it and ordered me to get a copy. Then the person in charge of he collection got upset, thinking that I was interfering with her ministry. Here's a case of being self-centered. Our motivation is pure only when we have no more ego and and seek only God's will. In John 3, when the disciples of John the Baptist asked him about Jesus, he said, "He must increase; I must decrease." So let's decrease to nothing so that we may feel the full presence of the Lord at all times. 

***Mary Is the Solution***

        A video about Maria. She can be our greatest help in making us love her Son. Loving Mary can not be separated from loving Jesus.

***Best Feeling in the World***

        Communion experience today. You feel it after receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist and abandoning yourself to him, the one-two punch. You know that this is how the Lord has made you. It's the best you can ever feel on earth!  

*****Our True God and Savior*****

        To believe that there is a God is not enough, you ned to know who that God is first. And that won't be good enough either, for you must also believe in and follow your God. Now, Christ is our Lord and God, our only door to freedom and salvation. To know him thoroughly, just remain open to him. To follow him effortlessly, just surrender yourself to him. I am telling you all this with absolute assurance. If you don't believe me,  I challenge you to follow these instructions to see if I am wrong.

***Being Trustworthy to the Lord

         In Luke 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones." So let's be trustworthy in every little thing we do for the Lord, then we'll be faithful and holy! 

**Clear-Cut Obligation*

         We are either for Christ or not. If we are, then we must do everything for his glory. This is so clear-cut and logical. To deny this, you'll have to prove that Christ is either all false or never existed, which no one so far has been able to do.

***To Follow Christ Thoroughly***

         We are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Then we should also repent to God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Being halfhearted or lukewarm just won't do us any good. The fact is that we should be absolutely thorough in everything we do for the sake of the Lord if we ever hope to go straight to heaven after we die. (Purgatory is no fun place.)

**Settling in Christ

         Communion experience. Christ will have all the answers to all my questions, so I just trust and rest in him now.

***Never Say "Go to Hell"***

         The big news yesterday was the assassination of Charlie Kirk when he was speaking at Utah Valley University. As you know, Charlie was a patriot and an unapologetic advocate for his Christian faith, his values, and his country. He's now viewed as a martyr. I have no doubt that he is with the Lord now, so pray for his family. They are still looking for the assassin. Here are my thoughts. I know it'd be easy to wish ill of the perpetrator. Then in today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they were going to love their enemies and not to judge others. In fact, in the last verse, Jesus said, "The measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." Let's also look at it this way. God wishes to save all of us from sin so that we may have eternal life. Essentially, he cares about the soul of each of us. If you love someone but don't care about their salvation, you have no real love there. Therefore, a Christian should never say "Go to hell" to anyone. Jesus wants us to pray for all evildoers, never hate them, for to hate is to judge. 

***Unsurpassable Experience*

         Communion experience. There can no other experience on earth that's sweeter and more rewarding!

***God Our Father Easy to Please***

         Our heavenly Father has so many good things (eternal life, just to mention one) he wants to give us that if we gladly accept them all, that would greatly please him, for this is being obedient to him! In turn, we'll experience great joy too, for the Father always shares his joy with those children who obey him. A win-win situation.

**We Must Not Complain*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Plain to his disciples and a large number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. He said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man." Now, we may not be poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted by others on account of Christ, but if we were, we must not complain, knowing that we'll be greatly blessed by God.

**Painful, yet Rewarding*

         Today is the day for praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. As you know, the five mysteries are (1) Agony in the Garden, (2) The Scourging, (3) Crowning with Thorns, (4) Carrying of the Cross, and (5) Crucifixion. Praying these mysteries is most difficult, for meditating upon the Passion of Christ is just too painful. Yet, praying them is at the same time most rewarding, for it makes you truly want to follow the Lord.

***Must for Getting to Know God***

         To get to know God intimately, you must enter your innermost from time to time to let him reveal to you the state of your soul plus how you can purify it further. Go deep and listen with all your heart, no words needed. For me, the best time for practicing this is after a weekday morning Mass. Usually, the attendance is smaller and people empty the church quickly. (Not thinking about God at all is squandering away all your precious time on earth.)

***Follow Christ Only*

         Our No. 1 calling is to be like Christ, and our No. 1 mission is to save souls, for it's Christ's No. 1 mission.

***Another Holy Rule***

        Pity, not hate, the evildoers. So pray for them.

*****Numbing of the Conscience***

         When Russia invaded Ukraine, I saw a case of a world leader invading another country not because his own country was being invaded or the other country was a great evil which needed to be wiped out. Instead I saw the action to be more a power trip. This has so far caused hundreds of thousands of military and civilian deaths, and both sides are still not eager to seek peace. For the sake of not losing face? (This reminds me of how King Herod went ahead and ordered the beheading of John the Baptist.) What has happened to our God-given conscience? We have a generation that goes against anything that's good for all in the name of personal freedom. This is how far we've fallen way from God. 

*****Belief in Jesus Matters!*****

        Today is the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So Happy Birthday, Holy Mother! The Gospel reading from Matthew 1 tells us that the birth of Jesus fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
           Now, those who believe in and follow Jesus and those do not believe in nor follow him are on two separate paths leading to opposite ends. The difference cannot possibly be greater, as one leads to eternal life and the other to an existence infinitely worse than nonexistence! 

**Facilitating Our Departure**

         When we leave this world, it'll be a oneway trip, for we won't ever come back to live on earth again. It'll be bye-bye to everything you have forever! You'll also leave your loved ones behind, but you may see some or all of them again, depending upon God's will. Knowing this reality, it'd be wise to get youself detached from everything right now to make your departure smooth and easy. Jesus said in Luke 9, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." Of course, if you don't care about entering the kingdom of God, then by all means cling to the world as much as you want before your departure.

**Feeling Free

         Communion experience. My life is complete and I am ready to move on—the Lord can truly set us free.

**Tragic Neglect*

         Many people in the world are very shrewd in planning their earthly life, but totally unconcerned about their spiritual life. 

!!!!!Most Important Announcement!!!!!

         Most of us know that Jesus died on a cross, but do you know why he died? The fact is that he died willingly out of love in our place to save us from sin so that we might have eternal life in heaven! If you don't know the reason or know the reason but don't care, you miss the greatest truth on which your entire existence hinges! It's all up to you now.

***To follow Jesus, No Problem**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the crowds on discipleship. He said to them, "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" and "Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." In other words, we must love the Lord first and most, and be detached to all our possessions. It sounds hard, but you can accomplish all that effortlessly with his help. This has been my experience. First, you must get started or nothing will happen. When I first openly asked the Lord to change me in a certain way, he actually made that happen and I was surprised and excited. Then I asked for more and he delivered again. It went on like that until I was completely sold, realizing that the Lord can truly transform me easy if I abandon myself to him. So if you don't make it hard for the Lord, he can turn you into a perfect disciple!

***Beautiful Message

        Only August  24, I blogged Encountering the Lord Head-On about crying to the Lord. Here's a video message related to that. (Try ignoring any mispronounced words by the AI voice.)

****Being Nice Is Not Good Enough****

        Some people are known to be nice and are well liked by others, for they know how to get along and please everyone. If you were like that, it'd be easy to think that you're probably going to heaven. Well, nice people and people that are good enough to get into heaven belong to different categories. The latter must be Christlike. The Lord's most outstanding traits are holiness, humility, and mercy. So to be like him, you must be sin-free, egoless, and forgiving, which you can achieve all through him. Simply being nice can make you miss all three marks and end up somewhere outside heaven.

***The Lord My Fortress*

         Today's Communion experience. My spirit was raised to the level beyond the touch of any evil.

*****Our Bestest News*****

 Follow Jesus and he'll ultimately lead you to ETERNAL JOY!        

***Our Private Battle (a Warning)

         Here's one summary of the life of all those who have heard abut Christ. They fight themselves over whether to let God be their Lord or be lords themselves. The battle can go on their whole lifetime. Bless those who are humble enough to surrender to Christ and follow him, for they will have life eternal in heaven. But pity those who hold onto their pride and do not abandon themselves entirely to Christ, for they risk being cast out by the Lord in the end. All are on earth now and the split begins when they depart from here.

***On Communion Experience**

         You adore the Lord. After you receive him in the Holy Eucharist, he now dwells in you. Adoration becomes more internal. The experience humbles and sanctifies you. More peace and joy ensue.

**Communion Experience

         To receive the Lord is to surrender to him so as to let his love make you whole. 

**Rejoicing in the One Forever New**

         In this world, everything eventually perishes, but Christ remains the same forever—I could say that he remains new forever. This makes following him exciting and satisfying. He's the one to rejoice in always!

***All or Nothing with God*

        If you pray for God's protection against evil or anything, you must be willing to put yourself in his hands. If you pretty much think that you can take care of yourself, then any request for protection just can't be serious. It's like telling God that you love him but don't come too close. With the Lord God, it has to be all or nothing, for you can't possibly trust in any god who doesn't demand total obedience.

***What a Christian Looks Forward To

        The spirit within us basically seeks freedom. Follow Christ and that is achieved. You now see the day you leave this world as your day of liberation! For you now will be free with your Savior forever!

***Holy Rule*

         Never do anything to make people see or think that you are good; do only whatever the Holy Spirit prompts you to do.

***Know Our Place***

         No matter how smart we are, we can never create life, for God is the sole source of life! It's he who keeps us alive! Even if we can duplicate a human body (which we can't), it will remain lifeless. Because we have life, we have a conscience. Now, this would be even more impossible for us to create. So we need to remain humble and submit ourselves totally to the Lord God who's our sole creator and Lord. By the way, he created us out of pure love, in case you are not aware.

***Reason to Rejoice!***

         How good it is that we have a Lord who can read and loves to speak to our hearts!

***** How to Live Forever*****

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus called Simon, James, and John, and they left everything and followed him. What an ideal and beautiful act! This is precisely the way to be set free from sin and go to heaven!    

**A Central Truth**

         Colossians 1:13-14 from today's first reading: God delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This statement by the Apostle Paul is important for all of us, whether Christians or not, to understand, for it's a statement of truth, not to be dismissed!

**Loving God Full-Time

        We usually turn to God for help only when our hearts are troubled. This falls far short of fulfilling the greatest commandment "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" given to us by Jesus. Turning to God to praise and thank him even when everything is fine is just as important. Loving God is not a seasonal thing; it should be a full-time job.

**Jesus, Cause of Unease**

        People are in various stages of wakefulness when they hear Christ mentioned. It seems that the name makes many feel uneasy because they know that they are sinners. You tell some of them about the Lord and they just go on as if they didn't even hear you. In the worse case, they accuse you of judging them! I believe that all of us are situated somewhere between not believing in Christ at all and believing in him wholeheartedly, and we could move either direction. Note that Christ is not like any other subject which you can talk about freely and no one puts up any guard. Perhaps people do sense that he might truly be the Lord who can read our hearts and will come to judge us. Last, I can testify that if you believe in Christ with all your heart, you'll experience the great possible ease and comfort.

**Christ Readies Us

         Communion experience. You are now all Christ's ... you are home! It would make a perfect last moment on earth.

***A Most Beautiful Thing***

         We all remember the time when we were kids, we just played, did all kinds of fun things, were excited about making new discoveries and learning new things ... while feeling carefree the whole time because our parents took care of everything for us. Now we have our heavenly Father who can take even better care of us, and if we trust in him we can become even more carefree! If you don't believe me, let me ask you if have ever tried it. If you had, then how far did you go? The first thing I sensed this morning at Mass was that trusting in Christ like a little child is absolutely a most beautiful thing, for it does make you feel carefree again!

**Obvious Conclusion**

         The Lord God is omnipotent and loves us with the greatest love; therefore, he can and will totally fulfill us, perfect us, and save us for all eternity if we let him.

***All God's Doing***

         We are never somebody until God makes us somebody. That is, we are lowly until God exalts us.

**Christian Perspective on Living**

        In today's first reading from 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul reminded the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord would come like a thief at night. Therefore, they must not sleep, but stay alert and sober. I am thinking that if we knew the exact day of the Lord's coming, most likely we'd slack off and not get ready until he's about to show up. This wouldn't be good for us! The proper way is to live every day as if it's our last day on earth, then it won't matter when the Lord is going to come. We focus upon loving and serving the Lord every moment in peace and with joy, knowing that the very best is to come.  

**Down to Two Choices*

        We either let God divide or unite us. The first choice will result in the separation of those who are against him from those for him. This division will be permanent and heart-wrenching for many. On the other end, the second choice will result in the union among those who follow the Lord. This union will also be permanent and so strong that no other force can possibly break it up. To each his own. But I do pray with all my heart that that we'll all be united as one flock under one shepherd, Christ the Lord. 

***Living the Proper Way*

        The past is gone forever, so don't waste time thinking about it. The future is not here yet, so don't waste time dreaming about it. The present is right where you are, so live in it, loving the Lord with all your heart. Soon your best future will be your present forever as things cannot possibly get any better. Get excited now!

**Best Outcome vs. Worst Outcome**

        Listen to the God of Christ, obey him, and we are saved forever. Ignore him, and we are lost forever. Basically, if you have Christ, you hare everything. If not, you have nothing.       

***God's Perfect Plan***

         We are all alive now, but we'll all die one day. Then if we belong to Christ, we'll have life eternal in heaven after we die. This is God's perfect plan for us—making us "perfect" now to be fit for heaven!

***Making God Like You***

         The Lord God always loves us. But if you are a hypocrite or evildoer, he doesn't like that at all. So if you are good enough to make him like you, you are really in! Whether anyone else likes you or not doesn't matter as long as the Lord is pleased with you. But don't stop there, for there is so much, much more you can get out of loving God. Make him ecstatic and you'll be ecstatic too, for the Lord always shares his joy with his faithful servants.