*Love Makes Us Worthy

        Communion thoughts. God alone is worthy to be loved, for he is love. Because of him, all of us became worthy to be loved. 

*Taking God Seriously

        Following Jesus is serious business, for we are dealing with God. Too many people speak freely in church without restraint, especially right after Mass. True, we are not in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican where silence is maintained, but a church is a church, a sanctuary of God. Attending Mass may be likened to joining the Lord at the Last Supper where all focus was upon the Lord. God will take us seriously as we take him seriously.

Model Response to God

        Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, after the angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced the birth of Jesus through her, she said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." The surely is a model response to God to all of us.

**God Badly Misconceived

        If you don't want to face God because you know you have offended him, you have the right kind of fear. But if you are afraid that God will lord it over you should you accept him as your Lord, you've got it all wrong, for this fear is baseless and unjustifiable. We address God as Lord out of reverence and awe. If God had wanted to domineer over us, why did he give each of us the free will in the first place? All God desires is to love and serve us. It'd be extremely foolish and unfair to conceive God otherwise.        

Jesus Forever Refreshing

        I felt great joy on my way to Mass this morning, for I was going to unite with Christ, receiving him again into my home, my heart, my whole being. It felt like I was going to see him for the very first time, for he is forever refreshing, wanting to renew us constantly. It is so good to have him and that's an understatement!

***Unbelievable Lord!

        Communion experience. This is the Lord who's going to cleanse my soul inside out to prepare me for entering heaven! It's always we say yes and he does the work. He is great because he serves us – unbelievable! 😇

*God Most Helpful

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus reiterated to one of the scribes the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." You wonder how you can possibly do that – it just seems hard. Where is the incentive? What's in it for me? The wonderful thing is that like anything the Lord asks of you, if you say yes and really mean it, he will help you accomplish it without expending much of your own effort and with you being rewarded with peace, joy, and freedom in the process!  

*Sinners' Predicament

        Sin is detrimental to our soul as cancer is to our physical body, but it's a lot more serious on a different level. Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." In a way, all sinners are teetering on the edge of a precipice. Overloaded with sins, they can easily fall off the cliff. What Christ can do is to not only remove the burden of your sins, but also pull you away from the cliff into a safety zone. There you await until the time to be transported to heaven arrives.

*What God Thinks Matters!

        After watching how the politicians vote on various issues in Congress, it's easy to see that they mostly vote to win for their party and/or to benefit themselves, not thinking about what's best for the people, let alone what God thinks. This is a tragic situation. Ordinary citizens do the same, planning everything by and for themselves ~ never mind what God thinks. God is just about the remotest thought from their mind. Of course, the reality is that only what God thinks matters; but we have replaced God with ourselves. It's way past wake-up time!

**How to Change Ourselves

        Being aware that we must change is only the beginning. To effect any change, we must know how to do it. The best, proper, and, as a matter of fact, the only effective way to make things happen is to let God do the work. As our creator he certainly can perfect us, provided that we submit ourselves to him. Again, humility works wonders. 

**How to Hear God

        Today's first reading came from Jeremiah 7. The people of those days did not obey God, nor pay heed. They walked in the hardness of their hearts and turned their backs to the Lord. History sure repeats itself to this day. God is always calling us, but we must soften my hearts to hear his voice. The only way to discover, to know, to win over God is to approach him with open humility. To "demand" God to reveal himself to you is the dead wrong approach. Have pride and you are out!

No Time for Judging Others

        We should never look down on other sinners, for we do not know if we were in their shoes, living their lives and facing their problems, we would have done better and been holier than they. We are all sinners before God, so how can I possibly think that I am a better sinner than someone when I can't even read anyone's mind or heart? And who am I to judge anyone whom God loves? Our business is to follow God with full attention on him alone.

Viewing Our Sins

        We are born sinners. Everyone is 100% responsible for his own sins; blaming others won't get you off the hook. Of course, if your sin causes others to sin also, then it becomes doubly serious. Anyway, since God hates only the sin and not the sinner, you should do so likewise. Therefore, do not debase yourself after you have sinned, but realize that you have offended the Lord and ask him for forgiveness, and he'll make you pristine again. 

*Exalting the Humble

        Communion thoughts. Before we receive the Holy Eucharist, when we say, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed," we humble ourselves. Then we receive the Holy Sacrament and we are instantly exalted by God! 

**Only Logical Goal!

      Since Christ wants us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is, we should seek to be like him. The only means of achieving this is to let God do the work. To receive this help is to be open and submissive to him, which clearly points to attaining union with God as our goal. Imitating him from a distance is not good enough – we must become one with him!

*Lesson on Forgiving Others

        The parable of the unforgiving servant from Matthew 18 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. Jesus' message was that we must always forgive others. We already know that God will forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. From this parable, we learn that once God has forgiven us, we'd better be forgiving like him. That is, if we expect to be forgiven by God, we should stop judging others – it's all about following his example. To not want to be like him is downright rebellion. 

*False Freedom

        You think that you are free when you take full control of your life, doing whatever you wish. It turns out that you won't have a say at judgment time.

*Great Way to Live

        When you live for Christ, you give all your burden for him to carry. Now you follow him with ease and in joy!