Where to Find Peace

        Communion experience. To rest completely in the Lord is to know peace.

**Direct Way to God

        The path that leads to Christ may be steep, but it's straight, for God does not throw curves at us (pun not intended). So the straight approach becomes the best way to get to know Jesus, which is you go straight to him, open up yourself and start talking to him heart to heart. Yes, follow him like the Apostles. Any other less direct approach is beating around the bush. Do it the right way and you are with him instantly.

God Became Man

        Today is the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The Gospel reading from Luke 6 tells us that the day before Jesus chose Twelve from his disciples to be named Apostles, he spent the night in prayer to God on the mountain. To me, Jesus fully showed his human nature. We did have God becoming man. 

Benefits of Knowing God

        When you hear the Lord speaking to your heart, the direct benefit is that he is teaching you, shaping you. A side benefit is that you know you are he are getting along fine.

***God Most Precious*

        Time marches on, awaiting no one. Besides, our time on earth is limited. God will be beyond our grasp after we die, so it's now or never. Now, you should see clearly how precious God is to us!

*Knowing God Is Sufficient*

        Once you know God intimately, you feel as if you already know everything. No, you do not feel superior to others, you only know that you now have sufficient knowledge that nothing else can be more essential or so exciting. Knowing God alone is sufficient for any of us. If not, you do not know him well yet. 

Soul-Touching Love

        Communion experience. The Lord touched my soul; he had reached the real me as only he as my creator could. 

***God Cannot Be Wrong!

        Jesus asks us to trust in him – he is only asking for what we should do and would be good for us. Everything he tells us is for our benefit. He wants to save us so that we might live with him for all eternity in heaven, so it's unthinkable that he should ever intend to harm us. If you do not believe in him, it's because you never really understood him correctly, for your sins kept you away from him. It's time we correct our wrongs and look at the Lord with contrite hearts.  

**Final Settling With God*

        Everything we do affects God and he is just, but also most thorough. We forget things; he doesn't. Our relationship with him will be exposed, examined, and judged and we'll be put in the right place where we belong – the final settlement of our existence.

*Urgent Call to Union With God

        Spiritually, we must not remain stagnant, for God and his sheep are being relentless assaulted by the evil one and his followers. Science is advancing. Technology is advancing. Materialism is advancing. Atheism, immorality, godlessness, all advancing. It behooves us to grow closer and be more faithful to the Lord every day. The call to seek union with him is more urgent than ever.

*Blessed Be the Childlike

        God has made our way to salvation extremely simple, yet we "remake" it so complicated as to lose our way completely. This is a great tragedy we've created for ourselves. Jesus said in Matthew 18.3: Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. If you are childlike in nature, rejoice, for you are a great candidate for entering God's kingdom. Know that to not be childlike in trusting God is to not accept God as your Father.

Slowly but Surely

        I went to morning Mass today, parked my car, and noticed that almost all the other parishioners walking toward the church walked rather slowly, for they were older folks. Surely they were going in the right direction toward heaven. Then I thought of those who were still young, could run fast, and loved to drive fast, but were not heading the right way, at least not yet. Here's a great contrast. Shall we say that old age can be a blessing to us?

Hope for Peace

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples that he had come not to establish peace on the earth, but rather division, even among the households. The Lord was letting us know that it was going to be spiritual warfare and people would either accept or reject the truth. We have the same situation today. Truth does not bend, so the only hope for peace is that we bend and accept the truth.

*Giving God the OK

        God can transform each one of us or bridge any differences among us, but we need to give him our permission first, for he respects the free will he has given us. Our future entirely depends upon if we say OK to God or not.

Initiating a Miracle

        God has created each of us as a unique being. The miracle is that even though we'll always have our individuality, we can will to surrender to him and become one with him. 

*Inspiring Holiness

        If you consider the vastness of the universe containing billions and billions of stars, you sense you own smallness and are humbled. Similarly, ponder upon the awesome holiness of God and you'll sense how wretched you are and be inspired to love him even more. 

Most Fundamental Prayer

        There are many things to pray for in our imperfect world because we are imperfect. While praying for specific things is fine, to get to the root of all our problems, the fundamental and most comprehensive prayer has to be praying for the conversion of all sinners. If we all become faithful followers of Christ, we would have peace in our hearts and the entire world. Pray for all your needs, but always pray for all the souls for the conversion of the world.

*Consider the Future Seriously*

        In today's Gospel from Luke 12, Jesus again taught his disciples to be vigilante and prepared, for he would come at an hour they do not expect. Today we do not think about the Lord much, and it follows that we do not think about life after death much either. Instead, we talk about mostly things of this life, what's happening with everyone, how we plan to invest with our money, where to buy good clothing, rising food prices, and other mundane things. The most people would do is to find a burial plot for themselves now, which is missing the whole point I am trying to make. I look ahead and realize that either the greatest shock of all or the greatest joy of all will happen to anyone after death. And we must now make choices and live this life to make sure we shall not encounter the unexpected. If you decide to prepare for it, you should come out fine. If not, then you will be shocked and crushed forever.