**Genuine Giving*

        If you give someone a nice gift so that the person might like you, then it's like bribing the person and you have the wrong motivation. But if you give solely to make the receiver happy, then even if the person doesn't like and rejects the gift, you wouldn't mind. This is giving with the right motivation. Genuine giving is giving without expecting any reward, and God will reward you. It follows that genuine love is not affected how we are treated by others. Look at Jesus. Some of us love him, some of us don't care about him, and some even hate him, but he loves us all just the same.

*A Life After Death Experience

        I posted Fr. Jose Maniyangat's testimony of his life after death experience some years ago and found out that the link to that YouTube video no longer worked. Anyway, you can now read the whole story on the website of his healing ministry here.

**What God Has Done

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 15.16: It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. When I think about it, the Lord has always been around, and I chose him only after he had chosen me and revealed himself to me. Of course, he also loved us first. So this is the Lord who has created us, sustained us every instant, died in our place to save us, chosen us, and been watching over us, listening to and answering our prayer requests, healing and guarding our soul, teaching and feeding us spiritually, giving us hope, inspiring us to do great things, and calling us to become one with him. When we have this Lord, we are set for all eternity. 

The Soul Lives On!

        This is the problem – we do not die and become nothing, for the soul lives on forever! Therefore, it is imperative that we live our life right so that we may have the right afterlife.  

Extreme Conceptions About God

       There are those who follow the God they believe in and would wipe out all those who do not share their beliefs with a vengeance. And there are those who follow the God they believe in and would willingly lay down their own lives for their friends, following the example of their God. There is only one God and who do you think got it right?

**God Is to Be . . .

worshipped, adored, praised, glorified, loved, accepted, treasured, appreciated, thanked, trusted, imitated, obeyed, served by us, held onto, embraced with all our heart, experienced, tasted, entered deep into, one with, and enjoyed forever.         

*The Perfect One for Us

        The perfect one for us to rest our spirit in is Christ the Lord, who alone can make us perfect. And we receive perfect peace when we attain complete union with him.

*Day of Mourning*

        Today is the Day of Prayer for the Protection of Unborn Children. Evil had infiltrated the human hearts in this country and is still continuing seeking the ruin of souls. The darkest day of this country has to be the day our Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973. On this day, the green light was given to those who don't mind killing the unborn for whatever reason, resulting in creating the greatest holocaust in the history of mankind. We need to weep for the unborn, the abortionists, and ourselves. But for those of us who are with Christ, there is great hope, for no evil can possibly defeat God. And there's also the joy of Christ's Resurrection, sustaining and rejuvenating us. Just as God will surely vanquish evil, his joy will wide away all our sorrows. We agonize with the Lord for a short while now, but will rejoice with him later forever.

***Stark Contrast Between Two Marches

        The March for Life and Women's March just took place in Washington, D.C. One group clearly knew its righteous goal, while the other seemed confused and lost. Here's a video put out by TPF Student Action. The contrast is pathetic.

Joy of Reconciliation

        Communion experience. It was complete reconciliation with the Lord > great joy!

*Living for Jesus

        When we truly live for Jesus, we do everything for him and through him, which is the same as letting him do everything for you, which is doing everything with him as one. It is letting him motivate you in all the things you do. Enter deep into the Lord and you'll know his motivations.

*Be Great Christians

        A pianist who dazzles his audience with his technique but does not bring out the intention of the composer cannot be a great pianist. Similarly, a speaker who impresses others with his eloquence but does not make the central message clear cannot be a greater speaker. Hopefully, when we live as Christians, people will see the Christ in us and not just us.

***Something We Must Do

        Confessing our sins to the Lord goes beyond getting ourselves forgiven. It shows that we trust in God's mercy, that we are humble enough to submit ourselves to him, that we want to to please him, our Father, and that we comply with his wish for us to enter heaven. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. On the other hand, not confessing your sins is heading straight toward eternal darkness.

**Perfect Match

        Communion experience. I focused on the Lord and saw that he is infinite, merciful, and filled with love for me. I focused on myself and saw a sinner, needing salvation and to be loved. So God and I are a perfect match to become one for all eternity. A breakthrough in seeing. 

**Being Truly cool

        People today think that they are cool by dressing, decorating, and carrying themselves differently from others. But this outward coolness only reflects one's inner insecurity. The truly cool person is one who leaves all things to God and remains unruffled (cool) interiorly always. 

***Vanquishing Sin the Smart Way

        The smart way to fight temptation is to run away from it. The smart way to kill your ego is to starve it. Similarly, the smart way to overcome any sin is to ignore it and head straight for the Lord. Seek union with him and you'll be shielded from all evil. How nice it is that you would rest in God while he removes even all your tendencies to sin! God to be loved is to be enjoyed too.

God All-Knowing?

        From today's first reading from Hebrews 4: No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account. Because God knows everything going on with us, we need to render an account to him at the end. Of course, you are free to believe that God does not know everything that's going on with you, so there is no need to render a thorough account or even any account to him. In that case, you have a God you can easily fool or you are just making a big fool of yourself.

How to Enjoy More Peace

       If you think about or view someone and lose peace, you are judging that person. Therefore, do not judge and you'll enjoy more peace.