Are You Limiting God?

        Nothing is impossible with the Lord God, so know that he can transform you into a saint if you so desire.

*Only Sure Way to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus tells us how we must build our house on a solid foundation so that it will not collapse when the rain falls, the floods come, and the winds blow and buffet it, by listening to his words and acting on them. Of all the battles, the battle for the soul is the one that matters the most to us. And Christ is the only rock we can set our house on to safeguard our souls – there is no alternative.

Sufficient Reason for Belief

        From the Old Testament, we know that God is eternal. From the New Testament, we know that God is love. These two facts are more than sufficient for us to believe and worship the God of Christ.

**For Rapid Spiritual Progress*

        Do not let tradition, customs, or conventional ways bind your spirit in any way. Be free in the Lord Jesus Christ, letting him show you everything to reach union with him.  

***Make Your Choice

        We cannot always be what we want to be, but we can always be what God wants us to be. Think about it.

***Power of Genuine Love

        Communion experience. The Lord is now all mine! I've never been so possessive, yet I want everyone to possess him. Is there something odd here? No, it's because of his powerful love for all of us!

*Smartest Move With the Heart*

        The heart is the innermost part of us, the center of our total personality. Give your heart totally to God and you will enjoy peace and freedom.

Confidence in Jesus

        In today's Gospel's reading from Matthew 15, Jesus healed many people: he made the lame walk, the blind see, the deformed whole, and the mute speak. Then he multiplied seven loaves of bread and a few fish more than enough to feed over four thousand people. For me, this is certainly the Lord who can also take away all my sins just as easily.  

*All I Need to Know

        Today's entrance antiphon from Habakkuk 2: The Lord will come and he will not delay. He will illumine what is hidden in darkness and reveal himself to all the nations. I personally am completely satisfied with what Jesus has revealed to us that to know him is to know God the Father and that we can have eternal life if we believe and follow him. 

On Taking up the Cross

        Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Naturally, anyone who does not go after Jesus is not obligated to deny himself. Nevertheless, he still has crosses created by other sinners and himself. But for those who are in union with the Lord, they only need to deal with the crosses created by others because they no longer go against God's will, and all crosses become light and even joyous to carry.

***What You Should Know & Focus On

        I feel the weight in my heart when I see how evil has infiltrated governments, societies, companies, organizations, businesses, news media, entertainment industry, academic institutions, and yes, even churches, all around the world. Corruption is widespread. I lament the fact that the public is generally not aware of the fierce spiritual warfare the evil one is waging against God to snatch souls away from him, and that many Christians no longer show zeal in following Christ. So I am happy to have found Fr. Mark Goring's short video "Demon Over Patient's Bed." He puts the points across better than I ever can. There are many other good talks by Fr. Mark online you can check out.

We Are in the Know

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus said, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." So the Father and the Son know each other, and the Son reveals the Father to his chosen ones. As a result, we also get to know the Son. It is through Jesus that we get to know both God the Father and God the Son.

*Joy of Belonging

        Communion experience. The Lord makes me his – how can I not possibly rejoice that I now belong to him entirely?

**In God's Great Intimacy

        Today is the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier. The Communion antiphon (Matthew 10.27) reads: What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the rooftops, says the Lord. I feel particularly the intimacy with the Lord – he speaks to our hearts quietly in private and what we hear is so endearing and compelling that it would be impossible for us not to want to proclaim what we hear aloud to the world. This is the fire the Holy Spirit ignites in us. The Lord now live within us.

***The Gaze of Christ

        If I keep looking at you, you would certainly feel uncomfortable. But if you let Christ gaze at you all he wants and you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Wellbeing of the Church

        This is determined by how much her children obey Christ their Lord. Seek union with the Lord is the best way to get to know him intimately. Once you attain union, obedience becomes a nonissue.         

How God Blesses the Faithful

        Communion experience. I attended Vigil Mass today. The Lord made me see that if we believe in him with all our heart, he would bless us by letting wonder things happen interiorly to us. 

Not Ready to Die Yet

       Most people are not ready to die yet. If you are a Christian and do not wish to die yet because you still want to take care some unfinished business or see some event happen in your lifetime, you don't have a good reason. For death is God calling you. If you do not wish to die yet because you are afraid, that is an honest good reason. Now is the time to make amends for all the sins you have committed against God and get ready to face the Lord in peace.