*Be Prepared for Anything*

        I have planned on doing a few things for the coming months, then my wife had a new health issue and I realized that depending upon how it's going to turn out, I might have to scrap all my plans. I started thinking that I must be prepared for anything. Priorities must remain flexible, for all is in God's hands. If my plan doesn't work out, so be it. It's better to expect less and be surprised than expecting too much and be disappointed.
       The parable Jesus told at a dinner he was invited to in Luke 14 came to my mind. The Lord said to the invited guests and hosts, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, more up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table." The bottom line: we should always remain humble – contrary to what the world teaches.

**Endearing Yourself to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." We as followers of the Lord do not knock on his door enough; it's as if we don't want to bother him too much. Let's realize that his riches are inexhaustible and he wants so much to give them to us. Not taking advantage of this is somewhat rejecting his love. In fact, it endears us to the Lord to be greedy for his offerings!

*Under God's Protection

        This early morning in a dreamy state, I sensed that the Lord was absolutely the one for us to follow. As a child, we always feel good when there is a big brother or sister or some adult whom we can trust and who is strong enough to protect us. Well, our God the Father is unquestionably the strongest of all and loves us the most. Therefore, if we trust in him and put ourselves totally in his hands, we'll absolutely be secure and not have to worry about anything. In this way, we also form the strongest possible bond with the Lord. Do not doubt what I have just stated; put all your faith in him first. 

*God Revealing Us to Ourselves

       Often we do something or feel a certain way, not aware of what the true motivation or the reason was. For example, in my own experience I once did something that made me feel unhappy. I went before the Lord and opened up my heart. He then revealed the hidden cause and I felt exhilaratingly liberated! Our God is the only one who can expose what's hidden or buried in our innermost, revealing us to ourselves. Again, I am most grateful and rejoice that we have such an understanding, loving Lord.

*God Can Make Us Clean!

         The feeling that you are clean, that your sins have been forgiven or taken away by God is one of the best feelings you can have. To preserve that feeling is to stop sinning. God is the one who can make us new, thus saving us! This is how he has made us and we should rejoice for that.

**Going Far With God*

        You see your sins and imperfections and sincerely wish to overcome them. It is possible that you spend your whole lifetime focusing upon this and end up merely maintaining your status quo. The excellent way is to aspire to become holy, looking beyond your present state and asking the Lord directly to make you a saint. Doing this and not dwelling on your woeful state will lift you to a higher state. There is absolutely no limit as to how far you can advance. Go positive and be on the offensive! Yes, get all the help from God you can to make everything easy for you – this is showing that your trust in and love your heavenly Father.

**Most Personal Lord

        Our God, the God of Christ the Lord, turns out to be the most loving Father and personal friend you can ever possibly have. He is the one who fulfills and completes our existence.

One Everlasting Relationship

        All relationships we have with other humans on earth will end, but my relationship with God once established will last for forever.

Learning From History

        Look at the history of mankind. So many people have come and gone. Those who believed and obeyed God went to heaven and those who didn't went to hell. We who are living are still marching on. Make sure now that you'll get to go where you want to go as you leave here.

*Happy Living

        Will you be happy about how you have lived your life if you were to leave this world right now? Happy is the person who is not concerned about what kind of things he has done or how much he has accomplished, but has followed the will of God all his life. He is ready to leave the world to receive his reward from the Lord.

How to Preserve Peace

        Let no one "bother" you except Christ, or mind no one except Christ.

Spiritually Stuck

        To recognize that Christ is Lord and Savior and that he can free us if we submit ourselves to him is not that hard. The hard part is to do the submitting part to make it all happen. This is the struggle we face. We then let the whole thing slide, and we are stuck and remain stagnant.

Serious Urgent Issue:

to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior or not in your lifetime.

*Only God Is Relevant!

        This thought came to me when I was about to fall sleep last night. We are supposed to get detached from everything and get attached to God alone. In that case, how people think of or treat us becomes irrelevant.

*"About" Is Not Good Enough

        To know about Jesus does not make you a Christian; you remain an outsider. To know Jesus makes you a Christian, putting you on the journey to heaven. It is also true that if you merely preach about Jesus, you won't change many hearts. But if you preach Jesus, you'll have the power to convert souls. Another example to show the difference. I attended a Bible study once and we studied a lot about the peripheral things instead of focusing upon Christ. As a result, I was not drawn any closer to the Lord through this course. To involve the heart, we must always focus upon the Lord himself.

***Take the Fast Track

        Again, seeking  spiritual guidance directly from Jesus is taking the fast track. If you go to another human being for guidance, he could be getting his guidance from another human being who is doing the same, and so on. This won't be effective in getting you up to the next level. Going to a saint can help, then you might as well go directly to God to whom all the saints go. St. Therese had a spiritual director first, but after she lost him, she headed straight for Jesus always. Your goal is to attain union with the Lord directly. Do this and you can safely skip reading my blog.

*Being Intolerant of Others

        If you cannot change yourself for the better, don't try to change others for (what you think is) the better. Once you see your own shortcomings, others' may not bother you anymore and the world will be a more peaceful place. Unfortunately, without turning to God, everyone thinks that he or she is pretty perfect.

Become Fire!

Fr. Mark Goring's latest 1-minute video. Amen.