**Flexible Praying

         Sometimes we pray for one thing single-mindedly, but we can be flexible and pray for the opposite outcome too. Here's one example to show you what I mean. I have suffered a shoulder pain for years due to repeated falls. The recovery has always been slow and incomplete. The pain now is tolerable. If the Lord wishes me to remain thus for whatever reason, that''d be OK with me, for he'll give me the strength and patience necessary to endure it. But at the same time, I am free to pray for its healing too, knowing that he can heal me in an instant. If that doesn't happen, it'll be OK with me too. The bottom line, "Thy will be done." So pray for whatever you need from God, but be flexible and happy with whatever he sends your way.

***Our Best Ally

        The most perfect existence for us on earth is to be of one heart and of one mind with the Lord God. This is entirely possible because it is what he desires, unless we don't care about it. We need to know that nothing is impossible for God and appreciate the fact that he can help us not only live perfectly on earth, but also get into heaven later! 

**To Belong to the Lord's Family

           In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds, someone told him that his mother and his brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with him. He said in replay, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my  mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and my mother." Jesus was speaking about his true family. Now we know how to belong to his family!

**A Generation That Rejects Suffering

         I see our generation as a spoiled generation. We complain it's too warm or too cold even when riding in a car for a short time. We get bored when we don't find anything entertaining around us. That is, we get unhappy anytime we don't get what we want. It is a self-centered generation that does not accept any suffering or even inconvenience, thus distancing itself from the Lord God who suffered for all of us for our salvation and advised us to take up our cross and follow him. Apparently, this generation life cares more about life on earth than life eternal.  

**Christ the Source of All Our Needs

         Christ is ready to give us eternal life, for he wants us to have the very best. It follows that he's ready to give us all the rest we need too. Accept and believe in him and you are set for living forever! Truth is always simple, but we always make accepting it complicated for ourselves.

**How to Achieve Freedom in God

        Before the Lord, we need to decrease to nothing. You see, God loves to become one with us and has made our path to him straight and smooth. But if our pride or ego is too big, we simply won't be able to squeeze through that narrow entrance to enter him. So we need to become a humble nobody first in order to succeed. Now, once in his infinite space, you get to enjoy your full freedom.

**Our Test for Entering Heaven

          Suppose you are given a long list of possible wishes and one of them is to get to heaven, and you are only allowed to choose one wish. I believe that anyone with some sense would choose to get to heaven. Then the heart is likely to overrule the head and you continue to live a life leading you further away from God. To remedy this, we need to give God our heart first, and this is precisely the stumbling block for many of us. Letting God have your heart will easily pave your way to be with God. This is the big challenge we face and the test we need to pass. It's all up to us. 

*Making Good News Good for You

       The God of Christ is ready to embrace you and carry you in his bosom all the way to heaven, but you need to seek him first. A closed heart will never know him, while an open one will find the truth and one day know everything. So make your most momentous move today without delay. The good news is made good only when you desire to hear and take advantage of it.   

**God Can Shape Us Perfectly

        I  attended Sunday Mass this morning. I felt as if I were a piece of twisted, deformed metal, and now I was going to the Lord to receive him in the Holy Eucharist and he's going to straighten me out completely. This is what he loves to do and is his specialty. He can shape us perfectly as long as we are willing to put ourselves in his mighty hands.  

**Ungodly Surrender to Satan*

        In the past, Christians died for their faith rather than offending God. Today we have bishops silencing priests who dare to preach the truth for fear of offending Satan. This is a fact, even if you don't see it that way. Those who remain faithfully in Christ the Lord have absolutely no need to fear Satan, knowing that he is only annoying like a mosquito at times—this was how St. Teresa of Avila described it. Focus upon serving the Lord alone and dismiss Satan entirely. Let God deal with the Devil.