**God's Selfless Love

        Today is Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel reading from Matthew 25 was on the judgement of the nations. Jesus identified the hungry, the thirsty, strangers, the naked, the ill, and those in prison as the least of his brothers. And he made it clear that whatever we did for one of his least brothers, we did for him, and whatever we did not do for one of his least bothers, we did not do for him. Any of us could very well be one of his least brothers. It follows that  any one of us is as important to him as himself. Jesus truly loves us as himself!

One Shepherd, Many Foes

        Psalm 23 was today's responsorial psalm at Mass. Its first verse is well-known: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. We have only one shepherd, our God. And we surely need him, for we have innumerable foes.

Another Good Chance

        Every time you ask God for something, it is a chance to offer him your heart once more.

**Telling Sign

        The more you turn away from Jesus Christ, the more you need him! If he makes you feel uncomfortable, then he matters to you. That's because he is God and has created you.

Our Most Important Mission

       It glorifies God to harvest souls for him, for he loves all of them to death! To perform our mission well behooves us to be holy ourselves. Therefore, seek union with God foremost so that we may become effective channels through which the Lord can draw all to himself. There is nothing more satisfying or fulfilling than serving him faithfully.

**Life Seen As a Test*

        We came into the world, not knowing how we got here – it is clear to me that God must have created us. How else would that have been possible? He also gave each of us a free will, a conscience, and a heart, and we were ready to be tested throughout our life. How we make choices ultimately determines our eternal destiny. Fair enough.

*Sharing the Joy of Christ

        If you experience the joy of Christ, let it be seen by all. Sharing it with others can potentially save souls. I am thinking about some of the friends and others I knew who had shockingly committed suicide. If I had shared my joy with them, I possibly could have made a difference. It's a balancing act because we can't always pop up and tell them about Christ if the timing is not right. Still, it's better to err on the bold side than being too cautious. You should not worry about offending your subject if the Lord does provide an opening. And always follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit, never your own inclination.

**Worthy to Be Loved by God!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 20, some Sadducees questioned Jesus about the resurrection. I am quoting one verse from his answer to them, for it struck me. He said, "God is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." So we are all alive to him – meaning that he notices and knows each one of us. We are not just nobody; in fact, we are at the apex of his creation, worth sacrificing himself to save us. How can we possibly reject ourselves or reject him? Indeed, we should thank him and love him with all our heart by seeking union with him so that we may experience the only perfect out-of-the-world relationship of our existence on earth!

In a Sorry Spiritual State

        This is a materialistic world. Children born into it learn to be materialistic fast. On this Black Friday after Thanksgiving, people got up early and headed excitedly for shopping malls to hunt for bargains. God is at a disadvantage. It can be considered a miracle that one would think of God before him- or herself. I watched a short BBC video titled "What do people say before they die?" Interestingly, most of the interviewed did not talk about death, not knowing what would happen afterwards. Instead they looked back and wished they had done certain things or asked for some little thing to be done to fulfill their last wish. Again, God was hardly mentioned. Even though God had come into the world and proclaimed loud and clear the good news of salvation, and we should be full of hope and look forward to returning to him with joy, he has rarely been placed in the forefront of our mind. What we can count on is that the Lord knows that we are weak and that he is infinitely merciful.

Genuine Thanksgiving

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17 on this Thanksgiving Day, ten lepers met Jesus. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" Jesus saw them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned to Jesus, fell at his feet and thanked him. What a beautiful gesture! Jesus then said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." That was his reward for thanking God in humility! In Luke 18, we find the Pharisee in the parable speaking to God, "O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes ...." Jesus made it clear that this Pharisees went home unjustified, for he had exalted himself. Again, humility makes you genuine and win the heart of God.

One Great Feeling

        After taking a shower, you feel good because your whole body is clean. After you repent and have God take away all your sins, you feel great because now your whole soul is clean. This has to be one of the best feelings you can possibly have, since it comes from the Lord, removing all barriers between you and him.

What We Must Mind

        We must mind our business by not judging others, comparing ourselves with others, mentally censoring their behavior, or gossiping about them. The thing we must mind is their salvation.

Critical to Defend

        In our violence-prone society, many people take self-defense lessons to protect themselves. This is all good. But my thoughts are that in our sin-ridden societies, learning how to defend our souls is even more urgent, as our body will perish one day, but the soul lives on forever.

**Faith at Work

        The tactics for fighting temptation I just posted is consistent with how we should approach God. It goes back to always placing our trust in him to let him shield us and do the work on the front line for us. If faith can save our soul, surely it can get us out of any jam. The Lord loves to help the weak. Acknowledge truly that you are helpless without him and he will help you with all his might. It's plain faith-at-work. 

Fighting Temptation

        Know that the evil one wants you to believe that you are strong enough to fight temptation head-on so that he may lure you even deeper into it. Your soul is at stake! So the smart winning tactics is to run away from temptation straight into your Father's arms without delay, the moment you sense it. We ask the Lord not to lead us into temptation in the prayer he taught us. Now we can switch to asking him to protect us from temptation.  

*Zeroing in on Christ

        The title points to the way to eternal happiness. Since Christ is our God and Savior, it is logical and evident that he is whom we need to focus upon the most and love the most. If we obey and live for him alone, we shall experience freedom and peace now and everlasting joy later. This is my testimony to you. Of course, this presents a test to see if we would choose ourselves over him or not. Face it, we cannot escape the Lord in any way and whatever happens to us hinges entirely upon his mercy! Seek union with him now to smooth your way to eternity.

*Silly of Us

        We tightly hold onto things that pass or pass away, yet we forget that we ourselves also last only a brief time on this earth. Putting it mildly, how silly can we be?

At the Soul Level

        Communion thought. Jesus our Lord is not just to be consumed physically by us; he is to be absorbed by us into our very soul!