*With Mathematical Certainty

        For anything we do for the love of God, we will be rewarded by him. If we stand by the Lord through thick and thin, we will eat and drink at his table in the end. These are as certain as 2 + 2 = 4.

Is God in charge?

        If you believe that God is not in complete charge of all things, then there's no point in believing in him at all! If you believe that God is in complete charge of all things, then you have no choice but to trust and obey him in all things.

**Keep Heaven Rejoicing

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes, "There will be great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents." When you repent, you soul is saved. Heaven rejoices because the love of God has triumphed. So you must first repent to be saved. After that, you can make heaven rejoice once more. This time you surrender to God to be one with him. Heaven rejoices again, for you have fulfilled the Lord's most ardent desire.

**There'll Always Be Unresolved Problems

        I used to bring the Blessed Sacrament to the homebound in my parish who could not attend church for Mass. I got to talk to them about their faith, family, etc., and found out that they all had problems within their family. My own family is the same. I realize now that life is facing all kinds of problems and we'll certainly be leaving this world with many of them still unresolved. Therefore, concentrate on surrendering yourself to God to become holy—this you can actually achieve in your lifetime! Do this and let the unresolved problems go. For we are meant to live for God alone.

**Best Use of Life*

        See life as a learning process, during which we let the Lord God teach us to be perfect.

*No Unknowns with God

        Without the Lord, heading into the future is heading into the unknown. Not what I would want to do. Call me chicken if you like, but I'll be a smart one. With Christ, even though I do not know all the details, I know that heading into the future will be a most delightful adventure leading to my eternal home with God.                   

**Letting No One Bother You

        If you are bothered when people do not understand you, you still have too much pride. When they are the ones who are closest to you, it becomes even more difficult to remain calm. Know that what others think about you doesn't matter. They don't understand you because they are not all-knowing like God. Only what God thinks about you matters. Since God always understands us, we only need to be concerned about not sinning. Therefore, never mind the others and focus upon being holy yourself. Then no one, not even God, can bother you anymore.

Conscience as Spiritual Indicator

       When you totally let God be your God, you'll develop a super sharp conscience. On the other hand, if you play God yourself, you'll end up with a dull, muddy conscience. Therefore, your conscience is a good indicator of your spiritual condition.

***Our Greatest Blessing

        Knowing that we are sinners and finding Christ to be our Savior.        

Heaven and Earth Bridged

        Communion experience. The Most Holy unites with a most wretched sinner, and heaven and earth are now bridged.

***Our Greatest Loss:

not possessing Christ. Life is precious precisely because it provides a window for us to possess him.

*Proven Sinners

        When we experience great joy after we repent of our sins and know that we are forgiven by God, it is ample evidence that we are sinners and sin enslaves us and God can liberate us from sin.

*Feeling Extra Sorry for Ourselves

        Following my last post "Brood of Vipers Within the Church," I started to think that all sins offend the Lord, but if his own people, believers, sin against him, how much more they must hurt him! We are all more affected by those close to us than by strangers. Therefore, as Christians, while we feel sorry for others who offend the Lord, we should feel extra sorry for our own transgressions.

**No More Unfinished Business*

        In life, there are always things for us to do. When we die, we'll just have to let the many unfinished things go. But it would be nice to know that we have done all we need to have done when we depart from this world, so that we can leave in peace. This is possible if we always do what God wants us to do, not what we want to do. When the Lord calls, we know that we've accomplished everything we need to have done for him.

*Compelling Mercy

        Communion experience. Before we received the Lord, we all recited "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under our roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." I didn't feel I was worthy, but the Lord entered anyway and healed my soul. 

***Looking at Yourself First!

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus asked his disciples, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?" We all have this blind spot—we just don't see our own faults first. Just wonder how many of us still examine our own conscience daily. Holiness must start with each one of us. Seeking union with God is precisely trying to perfect ourselves first.

***Taking Care of Your Eternity

        We can only do so much to keep our body healthy, as it unavoidably ages and deteriorates toward death. As far as our mental health is concerned, it is affected by both our spiritual outlook and our physical health. When we develop some form of dementia, we become quite helpless. But the great news is that we can attain maximum spiritual health by becoming holy and one with God. I'd say, let the body and mind go and take care of you spirit foremost and you won't have anything to worry about for all eternity!

**Sin Stinks*

        We sin because we want to feel good selfishly. It is absolutely foolish to feel good temporarily and lose your inner peace for having offended God. Know that when you lose that peace, you lose God. So think twice before you sin. Better yet, don't even give sin a chance. Again, be one with the Lord to remain holy.