*Unique Lord

        It struck me that when Jesus asked his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him, and spelled out other stringent demands to all, he did it out of love for our good and not in any way to lord it over us. Unlike the lords, gurus, teachers, leaders, kings, heads of state . . . of the world, he had no ego, no ulterior motive, and no self-glorification. He simply reveals what we need to know for us to be saved.

Yearning for God

        Today my heart sees and my soul knows clearly that if everyone would understand, believe in, and follow Christ, we will have the most beautiful world to live in. But, alas, it's no use dreaming about it, only something to pray for. All this makes me yearn for and seek solace in the Lord even more – how much he loves us and how much we need him!

How God Has Made Us

        We can see that St. Augustine is right in saying that God has made us for himself so that our hearts are restless until they rest in him. If you think about it, you'll see the many different ways God has made us. One came to me today: God has made us so that we feel uneasy when we avoid him. This becomes obvious when you talk to people about God.

Spiritual Warfare Time

       In today's crazy, godless world, the spiritual warfare being waged against God is so fierce that we need to hold onto the Lord for dear life to be sure of survival. For Christians, this is not the time to lay back, remain neutral, or be just lukewarm. It's time to do as St. Paul advised in Ephesians 6: Put on the armor of God to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. Stand fast for the gospel of peace. Hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. It's time to fight hell like hell!

*Why Trust God?

        The reason we should trust God is that he sees the overall picture for all eternity, while we only see one thing happening at one time.

Too Big for Heaven?

        The gate that leads to life is narrow. Many cannot go in simply because their big inflated ego makes it impossible for them to get through it. Deflate the ego with humility and things should work out all right. 

No Quick Faith

        I believe that by the time you are aware that Jesus has arrived on Judgment Day, it is already too late to repent and ask for God's forgiveness, for faith would be absent. The time to believe is before you die or the Second Coming, whichever happens first. 

Humorous Observation

        At church this morning, the larger than normal attendance told me that parishioners were there for Saturday morning confession. I noticed that some people who usually sits elsewhere chose to sit in the last row closest to the confession room, hoping to get to confession first. What happened was that this made them almost last in going up to receive Communion. And by the time they came back, those who received Communion first had already lined up for confession. So it's a case of "the last will be last, and the first will be first" or perhaps "hoping to be first will be last, but planning to be first will be first." 

First and Primary Goal

        Today, we heard the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 at morning Mass. The lesson I learned from it was that, as Christians, we must be bold, forward-thinking, and diligent in bearing fruit for the Lord. And the best way to achieve that is by abandoning ourselves in God to get all the guidance, strength, and power we need. It seems that whatever we want to accomplish, this should be the way. Then why not make abandonment in God our first and primary goal and let all things flow thereupon? 

*Challenging Question

        Do you dare to say that Christ had come and died for nothing? To say so is to deny that God loves you and proclaim that Christ is not the Son of God! If you don't dare, then you should submit yourself to him right this moment to acknowledge that God so loves you that he gave his only Son, so that if you believe in him, you might not perish but might have eternal life.

God's Saving Grace

        Many of us after toiling and struggling to find security and happiness in this world will eventually realize that life is empty without God. Even though they have sinned much for many years, this awakening can bring them right back to reconciliation with God. Therefore, many will be saved in the end. Without such grace, not too many of us can make heaven. Better late than never for sure; but still, it's much better early than late, for you would live a happier life now and have a smoother transition to the next life later.

**On Fear of God*

        Those who are afraid of God are precisely the ones who need him to remove the cause of all their fears. Once removed, they will be extremely happy with themselves and God. Fear of God can be both proper and improper. It is proper if it makes you realize that you are a sinner and need God to save you. It becomes improper if you avoid facing it and end up not thinking about that you can lose your soul forever. Just know that God does not set up barriers between you and him; it is you who do not believe that he loves you.

To Be Like Christ

       Communion experience. Christ most holy, make me holy. Christ more perfect, make me perfect. Christ most pure, make me pure. Christ most loving, make me loving. Christ most merciful, make me merciful. Christ most humble, make me humble. Christ most beautiful, make me beautiful. Christ my most beloved, make me be like you.

**God Taking Over*

        Another advantage of being in union with God. You face a problem and feel depressed. If you are in union with the Lord, your problem becomes his problem as well. In fact, you can even see it as entirely his problem. Then you are freed and your depression can even turn into joy. It's the Lord doing everything for you! Praise him.   

**Solving Our Biggest Problem**

          The biggest problem with this generation is running away from God. Non-Christians may have a better excuse than Christians for doing so. We profess to follow Christ, but do not go all the way. The Lord leads, but sometimes we even go the opposite way. It's the rebel in us that should be subdued and banished, or we won't ever be free and have peace. All the more we need to surrender to God and become inseparably one with him. Then after experiencing the joy of union with him, you don't ever want to run away from him again. 

*Be Wise or Remain Foolish

          Today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25 was on the parable of the ten virgins. The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five of them wise. The wise ones prepared their lamps with enough oil, but the foolish ones fell asleep while waiting. At midnight, the bridegroom was coming and the wise virgins went out with their lamps to meet him, but the foolish ones had to go buy more oil for their lamps to make it. When they got back, the door to the wedding feast was already locked – they were shut out for not staying awake. 

          For each of us, there is a door to enter, and that door will be locked the moment we die. It would be extremely wise to enter that door now while we still can.

Hypocrisy in News Media

        Today's majority leftist news media no longer report news honestly; they manufacture or process news. They are good at ignoring what's positive and important and blow up what's negative and insignificant with the political goal of bringing down anyone they don't like. This is being both deceptive and unpatriotic. What I see reminds of what Jesus asked in Matthew 7: Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye. But it's even worse – the new media make up the splinter they purport to see in another's eye! And what about the commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor? Seeing how Jesus denunciated the scribes and Pharisees, it's clear that the assured way to incur the wrath of God is to be a hypocrite. When you pray for our country, don't forget those news media. 

Process of Finding God

        Looking back on how I found my God, I see the process more clearly and can advise those who are still seeking him. Once you have learned of Christ, you want to study him carefully to see if he is believable. When you are convinced intellectually that he might well be the true God and Savior, you need to let your heart take over and accept him as what he claimed himself to be, for God is to be studied and then tasted. You've done your homework and it's time to apply and test the knowledge you've acquired. Without the participation of the heart, you'd still remain an outsider.