**God Most Wonderful

        In Nazareth, Jesus' native place, he did not perform many mighty deeds because the local people lacked faith in him. Similarly, we do not experience God's wonders if we do not expect much from him. I can tell you that if we put all our faith in the Lord, that is, he becomes totally real to us, we shall never cease to experience his wonders! 

***Responding to God Alone

        In Matthew 7.21, Jesus said to his disciples that only those who do the will of his Father in heaven would enter the kingdom of heaven. To do the will of the Father always is to respond to him alone, making his voice the foremost one in our life. We neither look up to nor down on whatever good counsel we hear from others; we only want to be sure that we do the will of the Lord. This is a fundamental rule to which we must adhere. Last, I must mention that the way to knowing the will of the Father is to know Jesus well, for they are one. 

*Knowing How to Get to Heaven

         Here's an insight I received after taking Holy Communion. It's something pretty obvious. I call it an insight only because it came to me clearly and rather acutely this time. 

           The Lord God knows everything about me, everything. So if I live the best possible life, remaining pure, obeying him always, and doing everything for his glory, I shall surely be rewarded with seeing him in heaven and more. It is all logical, and true. (To be lost is easy; to be saved is not hard if you know God.)

**More Precious than My Soul

        Communion experience. I receive the Holy Eucharist. I realize that it is more precious than anything else, for it's the Lord. In fact, it is even more precious than my own soul, for without the Lord, I would not be able to save my soul.

Our freedom, Peace, and Joy

        We follow Christ and experience freedom, peace, and great joy. These are the gifts which can only come from him. So not only he is the way and the truth and the light (John 14.6), it is equally valid to say that he is our freedom and our peace and our joy.

*Made Ready for Heaven

        Communion experience. Ah, the joy of having your soul healed by the Lord! Now you are made ready for heaven.

**For Fast Spiritual Advancement

        I still remember the time I first came across Thomas à Kempis' spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ. I felt uncomfortable reading it, for spiritually I wasn't there yet! But it's all different now. After knowing Christ the Lord in person so well, who turned out to be the most awe-inspiring being there ever could or would be, nothing "intimidates" me anymore. For to know God is to know all you need to know, and to possess God is to possess everything. 

***God in Action

        The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is the God in action. He draws you to him, makes you fall in love and want to be one with God. He speaks to and creates joy in your heart. And, of course, the Holy Spirit sanctifies you and keeps you holy. Yes, he warms your soul and sets your heart afire for God with love. With him dwelling in you, your life becomes most rewarding and exciting. 

**Know God to Know Truth

        "God loves you"—I am sure you have heard this said many times already. But how do you know that it's true, for you do not really feel it? You can rationalize, pointing out the many good things that have happened to you, but you still would like to see some kind of proof. Well, do you ever think that the reason might be that you are not open to God? If the sun is shining brightly outside and you keep your eyes closed inside the house, of course you wouldn't see that it exists. With God, if your heart is wide open and receptive to him, you shall know that he loves you as sure as the sun exists. When God reveals something to you, you'll know that it's true, for God is the truth.

Perfect Match-Up

        Communion experience. I am imperfect. The Lord is exactly whom I need to make me perfect. 

**Prayer Simplified and Refined

        At Mass this morning, I heard "May God give us guidance" said in the Prayer of the Faithful. I thought that if we were not open to God, this would be a wasted prayer. It would be better to pray "May we be open to God's guidance." Best yet, since God always knows what we need, we only need to pray "May we always be open to God." If we are wide open to God, offering no resistance whatsoever to whatever he wants to give us, surely he'll give us exactly what we need. 

**Following the Coolest Person*

        Anyone with a big ego is like a hot air balloon. He is all puffed up looking big, but is only a bag of hot air. The cool person to me is the one who is humble without any ego. Looking at all the humble persons, I must say that Jesus has to be the coolest one. He is God, yet he became a slave to us. Philippians 2.6-8: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Even though he has all the power, he never ever uses it to showed off. He is the Lord, yet he never forces us to follow him. He simply reveals the truth to us, allowing us to make the decision. How cool that is! This is one big reason I follow and adore him.

**Help Yourself First!

        It's easy to pray for others. In public or at Mass, we pray for the world, our government, our church, our friends, etc. O yes, we also pray for God's blessings on us, but never that we open ourselves up to him or yield to him. Even in private, we rarely do that. Here, ignoring yourself is really being self-centered. In Matthew 7.3, Jesus taught his disciples not to judge others and asked, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" Before praying for others, we should also notice our own shortcomings and imperfections. Since we are most important to God, we should be most important to ourselves too. To change the world, we need to change ourselves first, for the imperfect cannot help the imperfect. Therefore, pray for yourself first for the sake of God and others! When we become perfect, the world becomes perfect. 

*Battle with Ego*

        The ego is our worst enemy. If you do not conquer it, it can even make you lose your soul. (As a note, I'll just mention again that the way to kill the ego effectively is to starve it, with God's help.)

*My Only Lord!

        Communion experience. My soul feels triumphant, victorious, for by the power of Christ, I have conquered my sins and conquered myself. Only the Lord is my lord now. 

**Union with God a Must

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus said to his disciples that what comes out from within a man, from his heart, is what defiles him. As examples, he mentioned evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, Blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. The fact is that God can thoroughly cleanse our heart and keep us holy. That's why seeking union with God is not just a choice, but a must for us. It's getting defiled without God or staying clean with God.

Choice We Make on Earth

        We have many successful business entrepreneurs who have become billionaires today. They are ambitious and they work hard. By their own choice, they have succeeded in their own way in this world. We can also make a choice. Since we are all going to God after our limited time on earth, the wisest choice for me is clearly to follow Christ to store up riches in heaven while on earth. Then our eternity will be secured. This is being foresightful and smart, not to mention the peace and freedom that will accompany you on your way. 

**A Test on Forgiving Others*

        Forgiving others is difficult for most of us, especially if the person who has hurt us is also evil. Nevertheless, God understands that as finite beings, our mercy is also finite. We may wish to forgive an "enemy," yet our feelings may still remain negative. Here is a test for you. If God comes to you to ask for your permission to forgive that enemy of yours, would you say yes or no to the Lord? If you can say and answer yes, you pass the test. (BTW, had you said no, you would have been condemned by God for judging others.)