How God Has Made Us

        I attended Vigil Mass today.  I already know that God has made us so that our life is empty until we find him. After hearing the second reading from Revelation 5, I became aware that God has also created us to worship, honor, and glorify him.

**Giving God All Your Problems

        If you trust Jesus, give all your problems to him. Ask and trust him to take care of all your loved ones as well. His mercy can never reject you. When all your problems become his, he will surely take care of them. With God, never hold back; always go all the way. Throw yourself in his path the way the people spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road as they welcomed Jesus entering triumphantly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. It's submitting yourself with complete trust in God to be out of his way. 

***Living in the Light!

        This morning's entrance antiphon, 1 Peter 2.9: O chosen people, proclaim the mighty works of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Yes, Jesus is the light of the world. This is the light that makes us see all our sins, that we need to remove them to get into heaven. This is the light that shows clearly that God is our Father who truly loves us and to whom we can return to be with forever. This is the light that reveals the reality and meaning of our existence, how we should live and can become holy. In this light, there is absolutely no darkness; we see the truth that guides us all the way. To want to live any other way is to go right back into darkness.

*Only God Can Empower Us

        Communion experience. I felt my human limitations and saw that the only way to make more spiritual progress is to cease struggling on my own even more, for only God my creator can overcome my limitations to lift me to new heights. 

A Way to Preserve Peace

        God who loves me will never hurt me. Others in the world do intend to hurt me, but if I haven't done anything wrong, they cannot hurt me, for I only care about what God thinks of me. 

**Letting God Prove Himself

        In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to the Twelve at the Last Supper, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me." So Jesus is God, but many people today still "amazingly" do not get it. I know that Christ is our Lord and God. I cannot prove it to you in any way, but I knew it without the slightest doubt when he revealed himself to me in our heart. There has been no brainwashing, indoctrination, or coercion of any kind coming from the Lord, so it's been a most satisfying proof for me. If you ask the Lord to reveal himself to you, you'll get your own personal proof too.

Perfect Love

        Jesus laid down his life for us, showing God's greatest possible love for us. I call that the perfect love.

**God Awaiting Us

        Know that you are most precious to God and that he can make you holy and beautiful. Therefore, feel good about yourself and do not ever hesitate to go to God your Father to have a heart-to-heart or ask for any kind of help you need. 

*Christianity's Uniqueness

        In today's Gospel reading from John 3, the Apostle speaks of Jesus as the one who comes from heaven and is above all. We can proudly proclaim that Christianity was started on earth by God from heaven, the only religion (if I may call truth a religion just this time) not started by a man.

**Remaining Clean in the Lord

        The bishop of our diocese just released publicly a list of priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of abusing minors and young adults over the last seven decades. It is not a short list, including many who have already passed away. I am surprised to have spotted the names of two deceased priests I am familiar with. One I knew very well and had always respected, but his offense was relatively minor. I am sure that if he had repented, he should be with the Lord now. The other I knew not so well and his offenses were a lot more serious. Then I thought of ourselves. I can clearly remember the many times I offended the Lord since I was a young boy. Many of these sins you just don't want to tell anyone except a priest in a confession booth. It's like we all have a secret closet in which we store our sins. The great news is that our Lord Jesus Christ can clean out that closet in no time if we repent and ask for his forgiveness. In fact, when you become one with him, you won't ever need any secret closet anymore. 

**Getting Ready for Heaven

        We enjoy belonging to any group that share the same interest. It was fun when I once belonged to a car club and all members would meet and drive around together to various interesting spots. And I enjoy talking to fellow smartphone photographers now. I would love to share my joy in Christ with others in person, but this does not always happen in today's world. Anyway, I am thinking ahead that in heaven we'll have all the saints as our company. To get ourselves ready for a smooth transition to heaven, now would be the time to seek to attain union with God. Then we'll fit perfectly in with those already in heaven. 

Most Comfortable Position

        If you are most comfortable with God, you are in the most comfortable position of your life.

***Simple, Direct Path to God***

       We are often taught to know our faith, study the catechism, the Bible, learn more about the saints, etc. But if you want to develop a personal relationship with God, acquiring knowledge is pretty much barking up the wrong tree. We can progress spiritually so much faster and most efficiently if we start from God. Go straight and open up your heart to him and he will reveal himself to you and set your heart on fire! Officially, it's known as seeking union with God. You attain union and God becomes your soulmate!
       
         Fr. Mark Goring's vlog today on YouTube backs up my point:

A Simple, Logical Question

        Christ and the Father are one. As the Son, he came to us. If we do not even listen to him, how can we ever expect to understand God, let alone know him?

**Personal Relationship Needed

        Because we have the communion of saints, we can ask all the angels and saints to pray for our intentions. Holy Mother Mary is usually our first choice. But even if the whole heavenly court prays for you and you do not pray yourself, the Lord will not hear you. So we should start praying ourselves before enlisting others for help. What God desires is a personal relationship with him. Seeking union with God is seeking that most personal relationship that pleases him the most.  

*Logical and Sensible Reasoning

        If we were all holy and perfect, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come down from heaven to save us. But without a doubt we all know that we do sin. Therefore, we should be honest with ourselves and welcome the Lord into our hearts to let him save us.

Good Cardinal Rule

        We have only one Lord and one God, Jesus the Christ. Therefore, follow him and no one else. 

Amazing Grace

        Communion experience. I still remember the days I lived in my own prison away from God. Now I dwell within the Lord himself in complete freedom. In saving me, the Lord also liberated and transformed me.