**God Awaiting Us

        Know that you are most precious to God and that he can make you holy and beautiful. Therefore, feel good about yourself and do not ever hesitate to go to God your Father to have a heart-to-heart or ask for any kind of help you need. 

*Christianity's Uniqueness

        In today's Gospel reading from John 3, the Apostle speaks of Jesus as the one who comes from heaven and is above all. We can proudly proclaim that Christianity was started on earth by God from heaven, the only religion (if I may call truth a religion just this time) not started by a man.

**Remaining Clean in the Lord

        The bishop of our diocese just released publicly a list of priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of abusing minors and young adults over the last seven decades. It is not a short list, including many who have already passed away. I am surprised to have spotted the names of two deceased priests I am familiar with. One I knew very well and had always respected, but his offense was relatively minor. I am sure that if he had repented, he should be with the Lord now. The other I knew not so well and his offenses were a lot more serious. Then I thought of ourselves. I can clearly remember the many times I offended the Lord since I was a young boy. Many of these sins you just don't want to tell anyone except a priest in a confession booth. It's like we all have a secret closet in which we store our sins. The great news is that our Lord Jesus Christ can clean out that closet in no time if we repent and ask for his forgiveness. In fact, when you become one with him, you won't ever need any secret closet anymore. 

**Getting Ready for Heaven

        We enjoy belonging to any group that share the same interest. It was fun when I once belonged to a car club and all members would meet and drive around together to various interesting spots. And I enjoy talking to fellow smartphone photographers now. I would love to share my joy in Christ with others in person, but this does not always happen in today's world. Anyway, I am thinking ahead that in heaven we'll have all the saints as our company. To get ourselves ready for a smooth transition to heaven, now would be the time to seek to attain union with God. Then we'll fit perfectly in with those already in heaven. 

Most Comfortable Position

        If you are most comfortable with God, you are in the most comfortable position of your life.

***Simple, Direct Path to God***

       We are often taught to know our faith, study the catechism, the Bible, learn more about the saints, etc. But if you want to develop a personal relationship with God, acquiring knowledge is pretty much barking up the wrong tree. We can progress spiritually so much faster and most efficiently if we start from God. Go straight and open up your heart to him and he will reveal himself to you and set your heart on fire! Officially, it's known as seeking union with God. You attain union and God becomes your soulmate!
       
         Fr. Mark Goring's vlog today on YouTube backs up my point:

A Simple, Logical Question

        Christ and the Father are one. As the Son, he came to us. If we do not even listen to him, how can we ever expect to understand God, let alone know him?

**Personal Relationship Needed

        Because we have the communion of saints, we can ask all the angels and saints to pray for our intentions. Holy Mother Mary is usually our first choice. But even if the whole heavenly court prays for you and you do not pray yourself, the Lord will not hear you. So we should start praying ourselves before enlisting others for help. What God desires is a personal relationship with him. Seeking union with God is seeking that most personal relationship that pleases him the most.  

*Logical and Sensible Reasoning

        If we were all holy and perfect, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come down from heaven to save us. But without a doubt we all know that we do sin. Therefore, we should be honest with ourselves and welcome the Lord into our hearts to let him save us.

Good Cardinal Rule

        We have only one Lord and one God, Jesus the Christ. Therefore, follow him and no one else.