Fulfilled and Completed

        Communion experience. More than joy, I felt fulfillment in the Lord and being completed by him.

*To Know Yourself

        To know your ego is to know yourself.

*In God's Hands

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, As Jesus drew near to the city Nain, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearer halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. I know that my own life is completely in the Lord's good hands too.

**Most Important Call

        Normally, we don't see any rain until November here, so it was a big surprise when I came out of my church this morning after Mass that the skies had turned grey and a relatively heavy rain was pouring down from above. The earlier sunny vision had turned gloomy, and I thought of the the metal door that lead to the outside deck area at home which I couldn't close, due to expansion caused by the heat. Then I thought if Jesus were to ask me to go to him right then, I would let the gloomy weather and the door that wouldn't close go and happily comply with the Lord without hesitation.

**Receiving the Greatest Gift

        Communion experience. I was still on earth, yet I was receiving the bread of heaven that came down from heaven!

A Simple Question

        You know you are a sinner and God died for you to save your soul—how can you not trust in him?

*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.