To Become a Joyful Person

        Whether you realize it or not, we are all spiritually thirsty and hungry and if that thirst and hunger are not satisfied, we become unhappy. Unfortunately, in our world full of attractions and distractions, we are prevented from seeing this truth clearly. If you realize this truth, it's God calling. Search for him with an open heart and you'll find him. Once your thirst is quenched and your hunger filled, you will be a joyful person.

*How a Christian Feels

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Isaiah 61.10 is the entrance antiphon: I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels. Isaiah describes perfectly how a Christian feels (or should feel).

***Our Glorious Attainment

        We seek union with God because by becoming one with the Lord, we come to know his will and become obedient to him. And we eagerly let him purify our heart. Once the heart is clean, the mind becomes clean too. With a clean heart and a clean mind, our soul now remains pure. What a glorious and joyous attainment!

**Let the Holy Sprit Revive You!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 3, John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing his followers in the Jordan river as they acknowledged their sins. Even many of the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up. John announced to all, "I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Of course, John was referring to Jesus. If you do not feel any zeal or fire in your faith, may I seriously suggest that you ask Jesus to come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit? For me, the Holy Spirit became real after I asked a whole prayer group to pray over me to be baptized in him. This happened over four decades ago and the effect has remained with me to this day!

Advent to Look Forward To

        In this season of Advent, we commemorate the coming of Christ into the world. The reality is that Christ has already come and can now even dwell within us when we open up to him. For the Catholics, receiving the Eucharist is having the Lord entering you physically to be one with you completely. What we should truly look forward to now is his Second Coming or meeting him after we depart from this world, whichever comes first.

**O Holy Night*

        As Christmas approaches, enjoy listening to this beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night."

Being Transparent to God

        God knows everything! So Anyone who tries to hide what he has done from others is making himself look bad and foolish before God. We are transparent to the Lord and we should act accordingly. Having nothing to hide is what he looks for (if that makes sense to you).

**Something to Do with God**

        Anyone who is happy with God is also happy with himself. And anyone who is afraid of facing God is also afraid of facing himself.

***Key Question We Face

        Before handing out Holy Communion, the priest says, "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper." Do you believe that Jesus can take away your sins? This is a key question. If you answer no, then you have to disbelieve that he is God and that he rose from the dead. Furthermore, you also have to declare that all the Gospels are a big hoax and that Christ was entirely false. If you are not prepared to or cannot say so and still do not believe in him, then you can only be considered a major dishonest coward! 

When You Meet the Lord . . .

        If you never knew Jesus, when you meet the Lord, he will see how selfless (or self-centered) a life you have lived. If you knew the Lord, he will see how much you have devoted yourself to serving him. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." If you are his disciple, are you laboring to help his harvest?

Is Life Fair?

        Just received notice that a sister in Christ who lived a hard life and was a brave pro-life warrior has suddenly passed away. Is life fair? If you look at just our brief life on earth, then it seems most unfair is some cases. But if you look at our overall life from birth through eternity, then life is absolutely fair, for God is absolutely just and knows exactly how to reward or punish each one of us. So trust in God totally and forget about this question. 

**Of the World or with God

         Surviving to safeguard our soul is not easy in our secular, godless world. There are so many carnal desires we want to satisfy and we can easily become insatiable. We experience sensual pleasures but never truly feel uplifted in any way. This is vey much like wallowing in the mud; it's fun, but afterwards you know you are all filthy. On the other hand, we can come to know God well enough to enjoy him. We then experience peace and contentment and get that exhilarating clean feeling. The is like taking a nice long hot shower and afterwards you feel relaxed and comfortable. But there is nothing in the world you can truly compare to the freedom and joy you also experience.
          Those of the world are trapped. They continue to seek the very pleasures that cannot satisfy them for satisfaction and become enslaved. The only way to break out of this vicious cycle is to go to God, for he is the only one who can free us from sins.

*It's All Up to You.

        Only you can initiate union with God and once in union, only you can break that bond, for the Lord will never abandon you and the Devil is powerless against him. 

**Faith Essential*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, two blind men followed Jesus, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord, they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. Faith is what enables miracles to happen. Without it, you don't see God as you remain in darkness. In today's world, I am afraid that when the Lord comes, he'll find little faith. Even believers place him pretty much on the periphery. God's mercy is infinite, but it cannot help you if you lack faith. Faith is our essential link to God and a strong faith makes us one with him, forming the most beautiful union this side of heaven.  

Taste God's Peace Now

        We've been listening to readings from Isaiah at Mass. If the Lord had foretold that peace would reign in the end, I can tell you that we can already experience this peace in our hearts when we have Christ the Lord dwelling within us. It is his presence that produces inner peace. When we have inner peace, external peace follows.

*Playing Hide-and-Seek with God

        We love to play hide-and-seek with God, even when we know we are lost. God is always trying to find us in order to bring us home. Those who give up playing and show themselves to God will be homebound, but those who keep on hiding all their life will be dead when God finds them. this is a game you want to lose if you play. As Jesus said: Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

***The Fire of Christ

        The Holy Spirit is the fire of Christ. Let the Lord Spirit fill you to the brim so that he may set your love for Christ in your heart aflame forever!

**Everything You Need*

        When you possess God, you are perfectly content. You no longer worry; you experience deep peace and lack nothing. Your cup runneth over.