**Do You Know?

        You can avoid Christ by trying not to even think about him, but do you know that you can also let him embrace you, set you free, give you inner peace, fill you with joy now and forever? And, by the way, there is no limit as to how deep you can enter his space and enjoy his love. It's all up to you.

***Most Excellent Way to Be With God

        To be Christ-centered is to be with him and to include him in everything we do, that is, we become inseparable from him. This is the way to live the Christian life. We can figure out how to get close to him, how to love him, how to serve him better or how to grow spiritually on our own, but this is not the smart way to go. The smart way is go straight to him, open yourself up to him, and give yourself over to him entirely, then he will teach you and do the work for you. I don't mean that you don't do a thing anymore; the main thing you do now is to go all out to be with him and to know him. And with you, he'll help you do all other things.  

Faith and Trust, Our Business

        In Mark 11.24, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." Therefore, we should pray hard, never doubting the outcome. Similarly, when we show our love for our neighbor, we are not concerned about how that person might react. Putting it "coldly," our job is to trust in the Lord single-mindedly and not care about anything else.

Surprise vs. Shock

        For those who love the Lord, things will turn out better than they could ever have expected in the end. On the other hand, for those who hate the Lord, things will turn out worse than they could ever have expected in the end. It's most enjoyable surprise or horrific shock.

*Only Love Matters

         Matthew 16.25: Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it, says the Lord. It is clear that anyone who lives a completely self-centered life will not be able to save his eternal life. It all comes down to how much you love.

*God's Loving Gaze

        Let the Lord gaze upon your heart to melt it, then you'll be a changed person forever. Such is the power of his sweet love.

Death No Longer a Concern

        Communion thoughts. Once we have become one with the Lord through receiving the Holy Eucharist, our old self ceases to exist, for we now have and live a new life in Christ. And we are no longer concerned about our future physical death. 

Grateful for Seeing Faults

        Today I feel grateful (and happy) that the Lord has made me see my own faults clearly – positive sign that I can become a better person.

***Abandonment to God***

        Yesterday I turned on EWTN and caught a priest commenting on the Pharisees who believed that Jesus drove out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons. The speaker was most eloquent. In fact, he had so much to say that after listening to him talking nonstop for 5 minutes or so, I lost my interest. I see the prime goal for all Christians is to be drawn into Christ to become like him. Therefore, we must focus upon the Lord, zeroing in on him to capture him in order to become one with him. But he already wants us, so to capture him becomes in reality to let him capture us, which means that we must open and abandon ourselves to him. This is the direct and fast way to possess God. Otherwise, all our effort amounts to beating around the bush. Relating to Christianity or Christ, there are so many publications and blogs out there. They deal with topics that are interesting, educational, or useful in some way. Many conferences and retreats have their own themes to follow. Speakers are often dynamic and uplifting, motivating you to love God even more. Unfortunately, I have not heard anyone telling us to abandon or surrender ourselves completely to God first. Perhaps it's because the speaker hasn't totally abandoned himself to God yet. Then I see that even if you do not know how to swim, you can still advise people that swimming is good exercise and knowing how to swim can save lives. I think another reason people do not talk about total abandonment to God is that they think it's for the saints only. This is making a big mistake, for it amounts to telling God that he cannot make you a saint, meaning in effect that you don't believe that nothing is impossible with him anymore. To think that way is to stifle the Holy Spirit. Know that God can even turn a pebble into a saint and that most great saints were like us or worse before they became saints. Challenge our infinite loving God, for he is more than competent to meet our challenges. Better yet, go before him and declare from your very heart: "Lord, I am all yours."

***Magnitude of Abortion

        On November 28, 2016, I posted "Abortion Horrendous." I have just updated and amplified it into a video which you can now watch on YouTube. You can also go on YouTube directly by typing in "Magnitude of Abortion." If you are with me, please spread this video to as many as possible. God bless you.