**God Is Fire

        God is fire because he illuminates my way, warms my heart, purifies it by burning up all its impurities and dross, and sets it aflame with holy zeal. 

**Do you Realize . . .*

that when you become the master of your own life, you only succeed in becoming your own slave? (No laughing matter.)  

*Who Is Your Center?

        How often do you think of God? Do you ever think about him? How often do you think of yourself? Do you care a lot more about yourself than about God? These questions help us realize how much we know God. The quickest way to know God is to surrender ourselves to him to let him be the center of our life. And he will set us free to enjoy fully our new freedom in him.

*Nation's Woe

        Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11, in speaking to the crowds about John the Baptist, Jesus said, "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" This reminds me of the fake news media in this country. They no longer report news objectively; they would twist facts, accentuate the negative, or spread outright lies to spin the public to hate someone they dislike, such as President Donald Trump right now. In general, double standard and hypocrisy exist in many of our nation's places. You have to be totally ignorant of God to not sense the fierce ongoing war between good and evil. 

Complacency, Our Enemy

        We must never remain complacent when our soul is Satan's target in his war waged against God. This is why the Lord wants us to remain alert and be vigilant at all times. Not doing anything bad is not good enough – we must do every little bit we can to help our Lord. Don't commit any sin of omission. And our reward will be great in heaven.

**Ideal Union With God

        We have Christ the Lord dwelling within our heart; we no longer exist independently. When people see us, they would see only the Lord. We glorify God alone, now completely free of ourselves.

**Universal and Personal

        This is our God, the God of Christ. He is universal because he loves every single one of us and wishes that all of us would enter heaven to live happily forever with him. He is personal because he would have died to redeem you even if you were the only one existing. He is so personal that he wishes to be your soulmate even now while you are on earth. 

*Most Urgent Prayer Now*

        "Lord, have mercy on us!"

**Foolish Humans

        Today is the Memorial of St. Lucy. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds: "Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." So we can say that the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest on earth. 1 Corinthians 1.25: The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. We humans forget that God who created us is infinitely greater, wiser, and stronger than us finite creatures. Any finite number compared to infinity is essentially zero. Unfortunately, there are many of us who think that they are smart enough not to need God anymore, unaware that they are exhibiting utter foolishness. Know that the smartness of the world is dumbness in the eyes of God.

***Flaring Spiritual Warfare

        Be clear about it, we are all engaged in the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. As a matter of fact, this warfare is all about battling for our souls. Unknowingly, you may already have been held hostage by Satan, but those who are fighting evil know that they are fighting for God. The polarization between good and evil has never been so clear. From here on, I can only see that the battle intensifies, as our last days diminish. Rampant sins are causing so much misery around the world. I won't be surprised that major disasters will hit and civil wars break out in the various prosperous countries. It was the Middle East first, possibly Europe next and America soon. If Christians are no longer listening to their God, it is a bad sign. The great joy I feel in the Lord is mixed with the great sorrow I feel for the world, but God is my refuge from whom I seek help and consolation.

Spirit-Filled Joy

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 tells us that Mary, pregnant with Jesus, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and when she greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the infant in her womb (John the Baptist) leaped for joy. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we would also feel great joy upon hearing the Lord speaking to us or merely at the thought of him. Therefore, rejoice if you have such joy, for the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

***The Tepid Church***

        Today the Church has become relatively tepid. The cause: no more abandoning ourselves in Christ. The remedy: seek union with God.  

Blind Generation

         I lament that so many people worship so many false gods nowadays: glamor of the celebrities, name-brand merchandise, luxury cars, smart technology, etc. – summarily, vanity and mammon. But they cannot save you. In fact, they will ruin your soul. How blind and foolish today's generation is!      

*We Don't Know

        Any of us may die tomorrow or Jesus may come tomorrow.        

**About Sinning*

        Sinning is a complete waste of time. So you get your way, do you really feel good about it? Even if you get some pleasure out of it, how long will that last? Anything you contemplate that will make you feel guilty or regret later is not worth doing. If you sin and hurt others, your sin can be serious. And if you sin and cause others to leave God, your sin is now deadly serious. Above all, know that however you sin, you hurt and sadden your heavenly Father the most.

**Habitual Sins

        I used to sleep late and get up late every morning for many years. Then I was able to change all that by going to bed early and rising early the next morning everyday. I used to sit with my legs crossed most of the time. Then I realized that I really shouldn't do that sitting in a church pew during Mass, and I was able to change that too. Now I actually feel better sitting anywhere without crossing my legs. The point I am getting at is that many of our sins are also habitual and you can change your habit to stop committing them again. 

**Fearless Living in Christ

        Christ our Savior has already come, making it clear that we can have life in him forever. Once we know that our soul is safe in him and our body will pass away anyway, there is truly nothing left for us to fear. Let the Lord remove all your sins first and then all your fears.

*A Big Deal*

        It strikes me that the fact that God can forgive our sins is a big deal. Because if you are stuck with sins, you simply won't be able to get into heaven! In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic for having faith in him. Anyhow, the sure way is to repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. Having God cleanse you spiritually is more amazing than having him heal you physically. For only he can do this, and it's a request with which he'll always gladly comply.