A Choice for Us

        As long as we sin, we'll never feel quite right. Either we remain feeling so till death or let Jesus replace that feeling with joy and freedom.

Simple Fact

        God by his nature is completely pure. We by our nature are prone to sin, so we need to rely upon God to make us pure. Then we'll be ready to return to God our Father.

For Simplicity

        Most written prayers are too wordy. Many novena prayers are good examples. Whoever composed them wrote with great devotion, but what you get to read are long, compound sentences stringing together too many ideas. Trying to follow them gets in the way of fully grasping what they say. My personal preference is for succinctness. Similarly, there are innumerous ways out there designed to make you holy, but all you need to do is to seek union with God ~ then all else will follow. In union, God will show you how to love. Focusing upon Christ alone is the same thing. God is simple with us. Adopting the various approaches to fostering our spiritual growth only complicates our progress.

Living for God Only

        What others know about you does not matter; only what God knows counts. Live and be aware of this and you'll be free.

Holding Onto Jesus

        Communion experience. Jesus is my anchor, my rock, and my salvation ~ I must not lose him. Then I realize that he will never leave me. And I don't even need to try to hold onto him ~ I only need to remain passive and be completely open to him.

Keeping Safe

        Both God and the evil one pull us stongly, but we are absolutely safe if we abandon ourselves completely in God.

Simple Logic

        Since God can take away my sins, it follows that he must know all about me and what's in my heart.

With Love All the Way

        To follow Jesus is to follow love. Let love lead you and nothing stop you.

Complete Fulfillment

        Communion experience. The Lord of heaven and earth entered me! What more could I ask for? I just wanted to "die" in him forever!

Our Life Goal

        Today's Gospel acclamation, 1 John 2.5: Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him. I just want to say that it's so beautiful: to perfect the love of God in us. Indeed, the goal of life for us is to be able to love others as Jesus loves us.

When to Accept Christ

        An unbeliever should not wait, expecting that somehow God will let him know without a doubt that he exists and is calling him, for that moment will never come for almost all of us (I have in mind exceptions such as the call of St. Paul by Jesus). Faith is required. If you cannot possibly dismiss Jesus completely from you heart, the time is ripe for accepting him. Once you take the leap of faith, your doubts and uncertainties will diminish over time. They will totally vanish when you attain union with the Lord. Faith is absolutely the key.

Jesus, a Stumbling Block?

        In Luke 12, Jesus said, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Jesus is still a stumbling block to many today. Why? If he is not truly God, then it wouldn't matter whether you accept him or not. It's precisely because he is God that you find him hard to accept. Ironic, eh? I choose to believe in him because he is so extraordinary, for I do not want an ordinary god.     

Our Only Hope

        Communion experience. Christ is our only hope to deliver us from this life to eternal freedom. All other avenues are dead ends.

We Matter to Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, we learn from Jesus' parables that there will be great joy in heaven and rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents. This is important for us to know. It shows how much God and the whole heaven love us and are rooting for us. Wouldn't it be great that we repent and aim to become saints? If we do not and continue to sin, imagine how much sorrow we shall cause in heaven!   

Welcome Your Problems

        We face all kinds of problems in life, but think how wonderful it is that they give us the chance to consult the Lord about them! Getting the Lord involved intimately with us in everything ~ that's the idea. This is walking with God as his obedient children.

To Love Through Knowing

        If you truly love someone, you want to truly know the person. It's easy to be concerned about the person's welfare, pray for the person, or offer help in some way. To want to know and understand the person is to show your great love for him or her. Each of us probably knows people who love you, but how many of them do make an effort to get to know you well? For those of us who seek union with God, it's because we want to know him, as we love him.

All Desires Satisfied

      Communion experience. Loving and living in Jesus satisfies all my desires.

Learning to Love 2

        To love meaningfully, you must have the Lord in your heart. Seek union with him for rapid progress. Love God first and he'll make you love others.