*God All-Knowing

        Today is Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blesses Virgin Mary. In the second reading from Ephesians 1, Paul wrote, "Blesses be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him." In Jeremiah 1, the Lord said to the prophet, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you." There are many other verses from Scriptures I can quote. What is obvious is that God does not have to plan in advance – he already knows everything. Therefore, we can trust in him fully, knowing that all things will work out in the end.

Signs You're in Love With God

        You long for him and want to be in union with him, and you are eager to spread the good news of salvation to as many others as possible.

Our Only Hope

        Communion experience. Christ the Lord is the only one who can get us into heaven, for there is only one God.

*Taking the Fast Track

        As long as we focus upon how we can love God or what we should do to love him, our spiritual process will be slow and laborious. Forget about ourselves and focus 100% on the Lord instead to let him draw you to him fast. That is, always head straight for the Father to learn everything spiritual firsthand from him! If your heart is ready, you will hear his voice.

Spiritual Growth Indicator

        How much we yearn for the Lord indicates how much we have grown spiritually.

**Love Tests Us*

        We are all being tested by the love of God, which is his love for us. We'll be judged by how we respond to his love. In this way, God's love also acts as a sword that divides us. Those who pass the test will enjoy the beauty and glory of God forever, while those who fail will be sorry and forlorn of comfort for all eternity.

The Greatest Saint Is . . .

one who loves the Lord with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul, and all his strength, and does not let anyone notice that.

**Best Exchange There Is!

        Attain union with God, then all his thoughts and ways are yours and all your problems and burdens are now his. 

How We Are Set Free

        Jesus said that the truth would set us free. It sets us free by letting us know that God loves us, has redeemed us and cleared our way to eternal happiness in heaven with him, and no one except us can change that – we are set for eternity. 

Compelling Examples

        The Apostles Thomas and Paul are great examples that can help turning unbelievers into believers. Thomas doubted that Jesus had risen, but he got to touch his wounds personally when he appeared to him and Thomas proclaimed "My Lord and my God!" Paul on the other hand was a ruthless persecutor of all those who followed Jesus after his Resurrection, then the Lord called him and he turned 180 degrees around and became his apostle, spreading the good news to the gentiles until he was martyred. To me, these two examples validate the fact that Jesus is God and can change any of us.    

**Start Dancing With God*

        God is all powerful and know exactly what's best for us, but we are the weak ones, the guilty ones, full of pride, not willing to connect ourselves to him. It really takes two to tango to make things happen. So, start "dancing" with the Lord so that his power and knowledge may be ours too!

On Doing God's Will

        To do God's will, seek union with him first. Then you'll know his will when the Holy Spirit prompts you. Pray for a sign only when you are not sure about what his will is.

***How to Know God

        How well we know God depends entirely upon how much we surrender ourselves to him. To surrender to God is simply to give him complete freedom to enter your heart to do whatever he wishes. Naturally, he wants to be your most intimate friend, and you end up knowing him as your most intimate friend as well. 

Inescapable Meeting

        At Mass this morning, I knew that I would see Jesus again, whether at his Second Coming or after I die. Meeting him is unavoidable, since we were created through him and will have our eternal destiny determined by him. He is King of the Universe and rules over all in heaven and on earth. Only in him shall we find life forever.

*Disbelieve at Your Own Risk

        Yesterday I watched the film "The Case for Christ" on Netflix. It's based upon a true story of an atheist journalist who set out to prove that the Resurrection of Christ never happened. In the end, he found the evidence against him overwhelming and believed. There are still many out there today who do not even believe that Jesus ever existed. In any case, if one cannot prove that he is right, the logical and wise choice for him would be to believe, for Christ must be accepted fully or rejected. When you chooses not to believe, you are gambling with your soul! 

***Dream Relationship With God

         We may feel the peace of the Lord most of the time, but the test comes when someone misunderstands you or says something you feel uncalled for about you. Then you lose your cool. To remain objective and admit that we can be wrong is most difficult for mankind to deal with. 

       We know that God is always present with us, but we need to practice this awareness. If I am aware that he is watching me at all times, I know I would behave a lot better before others. Since Jesus and the Father are in each other, I believe that the even better practice is be aware that God actually dwells in us. Catholics are blessed to have the Lord truly present in the Holy Eucharist and receiving this Blessed Sacrament regularly greatly facilitates or strengthens our union with him. Now we have the Lord sitting on a throne in our hearts. Yes, we have been dethroned – the best thing that could possibly happen to us. Now, not only God is with us, we are in each other as one, doing all things together in perfect harmony. 

Highest Privilege

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is the highest, biggest, most special and rewarding privilege of my life on earth.

Matching God's Mercy

        We plead God to have mercy on us a lot, but we also need to do our part as recipients of his mercy. To expect 100% of his mercy, give 100% of yourself to him, and this means complete submission of ourselves to him. You reap what you sow.