**Simple Obedience Prayer

       Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, the angel Gabriel came to Nazareth to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary, informing her that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born through her. Mary's final response was: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." That last line shows Mary's perfect obedience to God. In fact, it begs for God's will be done. This is a prayer we can learn quickly to say at any time to get ourselves ready to do God's will. 

*The Remnant Church

        In Matthew 7.21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." How can you be sure that your name is written in heaven? If you are not quite sure, then it's probably not written there. If you truly love the Lord and are trying to do God's will in all things and not even concerned about whether your name is written in heaven or not, you certainly will enter the kingdom of heaven. How many of us belong to this group? Perhaps not the majority. The word "remnant church" comes to my mind. It is made up of "leftovers," those who remain within the Body of Christ after all the others have left or are only loosely tied to it now. 

How Jesus Frees Us

        Have you really thought about that Jesus can set us free? Well, he can free us from being self-centered and from our own ego; he can free us from feeling anxious and worrying; he can lighten all our burdens for us to carry easily and turn our sufferings into joy; he can remove all shackles that keep us from approaching him; he can remove all our sins and even our desire to sin; he can fill our heart with peace and joy; he removes our fear of death and makes us look forward to meeting him in heaven; and he can makes us live in bliss for all eternity. That last freedom alone is good enough for me.

**State of Mankind

        "The love of money is the root of all evils" – 1 Timothy 6.10. More fundamentally, it's our rebelliousness against God that has made our world so chaotic and disordered. On this tiny planet in this vast universe, billions of us all try to play God, concerned only about our own happiness on earth and not realizing that we'll soon pass away and face judgment. It's quite a pitiful sight. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to play God here so as to see that we are the only creatures who are capable of sinning and are messing up things in the universe. 

**Receiving Faith From God

        Faith is a gift from God. You can receive this most precious divine gift by opening up your heart to the Lord. How strong a faith you receive depends upon how much you open up your heart. Do you know that as you open wide your heart to God, the narrow entrance gate to heaven also opens wide for you? 

*Becoming Lovely

        God is love, so he loves us. Because of this tremendous love, he is most lovely and we fall in love with him. It is this love that can bring us inner peace and unite us to him as one. Surrender to God to let this love engulf you and you'll be lovely to him.

Mutual Relationship

         If we acknowledge Jesus before others, he will acknowledge us before the heavenly Father. If we deny him before others, he will deny us before the heavenly Father. (Matthew 10.32-33.) If we trust in the Lord, he will trust in us. If we glorify him, he will glorify us.

***How to Experience God

        I watched about 3/4 of Fr. Mark Goring's testimony on how he came to know God on YouTube. Some of his experiences were similar to mine, so I am prompted to reiterate what I have said in the past again, for I think the message is important. Knowing God is simple to understand. God has done all the preparatory work and is waiting for your move. He has even knocked on your door before, but you did not hear him. What is essential is that you must leave your heart open – the wider the better. If you seek God and expect him to hear from him, but if your heart is closed, he's not going to barge in. Of course, there are exceptions. In the case of St. Paul, even when was persecuting Christians, Jesus called him directly to be his Apostle to the Gentiles. Roy Schoeman whose testimony I recently posted is another case. But for most of us, the fast and sure way to know God is to open your heart and invite God to enter. The wider you open yourself, the sooner you'll experience him. This is to show that you are humble and sincere in seeking him. If you keep God out, he's going to keep you out, or said perhaps more accurately, you'll keep yourself out by your own choice.

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.