***Be Out of God's Way First

        If you have not surrendered yourself to the Lord completely yet and ask him to help you grow spiritually, he won't be able to accomplish what you ask for freely. Surrender and get yourself out of his way before asking him for help, then you'll make rapid progress. (In theory, you can become a saint instantly.)

*God's Solid Promise

        Communion experience. I receive the Lord and know without a doubt that my soul is now safe. This is no magic. It is based upon his ironclad promise that whoever believes in him and eats his flesh and drinks his blood will have eternal life. (John 3.16 & John 6.54.)

**Guardian of My Soul

        Communion experience. Jesus is the only one who can touch, cleanse, heal, and save my soul. I entrust my soul entirely to him for safekeeping.

***No Longer Lost

        We are here in this world, wondering where we came from, why we are here, and where we'll be going. So we need directions. On our own, we are definitely lost. Should we follow some other fellow being? But we are all in the same boat! Our clearcut dream answer: Christ the Lord. Being our creator, he is greater than us, and happens to love us—the perfect fulfillment. Following him is more satisfying than anything else we can possibly experience, for he solves all our mysteries for all eternity!  

**Jesus' Sole Intention

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." Do you know Jesus' intention yet? His sole purpose is do us good by saving us from our sins so that we might enjoy eternal life in heaven! There's zero malice, only pure love! If you still ignore or reject him, I am sorry that I would see you as a quite thickheaded person.

**Only Concrete Way of Knowing God

        Abandon yourself completely to God to become one with him.

Joy Outweighing Sorrow

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus explained why his disciples did not fast: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from therm, and then they will fast." We are happy because the Lord is always with us. At the same time, we are sorry because the world continues to sin against him. So we experience both joy and sorrow at the same time. By offering up our sorrows to the Lord, the joy outweighs the sorrow always.

*To Be Alert Always

        Jesus said to his disciples, "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the Lord will come." (Mark 13.33.) While waiting for his coming, we must also be watchful and alert to discern and do his will at all times.

*More Important Concern than Money

        Under the current threat that the coronavirus might become pandemic, stock prices have plunged daily. Many investors are worried or even panic. So they are all getting out of the market. This is understandable. But more difficult for me to understand is why so few are concerned about where their souls are heading right now. This is so much more important than whether you make or loose money in this life—there is no comparison! As Jesus asked in yesterday's Gospel reading from Luke 9: "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"

*Denying God?

        If you haven't surrendered yourself to the Lord God yet, then you are still denying him. God is our most fundamental reality and facing up to reality is always the best policy.

*Letting God Be Our Lord

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." If you believe that Jesus was of sound mind, then he must have spoken as the Lord God. Essentially, he's saying that he should be the Lord of our life. I'd like to add that the more we let him be our Lord and God, the easier it becomes to take up our cross. When we are able to completely submit ourselves to him, he becomes the one to bear all our crosses. Following Christ is the only way to true freedom. 

*Clear- or Muddy-Headed

        To me, a clear-headed person is one who knows that he is a sinner, that he needs to have his sins removed in order in be saved, and that Jesus Christ is exactly the Savior he needs to believe in and follow. Otherwise, he is muddy-headed.  

***Ash-Wednesday Wake-Up Reminder

        We shall all die; but we don't really die, since our soul lives on forever. And how we live on earth will determine how our soul shall live for all eternity. 

**Extraordinary Union!

        Communion experience. What a momentous, memorable occasion! We have a most wretched sinner uniting with the Most Holy One!

*Humility, Key to Sainthood

        In today's Gospel reading of Matthew 6.1-6, 16-18, Jesus teaches that when we give alms, pray, and fast, we should do it all in secret for only the Father to see. In essence, we must not be egotistic, for to be so is to be hypocritical. It becomes clear to me that if we can completely shed our ego, we are well on the way to becoming saints.

*Thankful for God's Mercy

        Today is Ash Wednesday. I thought about the mercy of God. Psalm 30.3: If you, LORD, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand? Without mercy, we could be struck dead the moment we sin. But God takes our sinful nature into account and is infinitely merciful. Even if we sin all our lives and repent just before we die, we are saved. (Of course, I am not advocating that you go ahead sin and delay repenting until the last moment, for you cannot fool God.) So, on this Ash Wednesday, I thank my God for his great mercy.

**Avoiding the Lord?

        Christ is ever present, waiting to receive us. Yet many who wish to know him better do not readily approach him. Instead, they choose to learn more about him via reading books or listening to others speak about him. Is it because they are not ready to expose themselves to the Lord yet? If you do not go straight to him directly with an open heart, how are you ever going to know him personally?

***Intimacy Most Desired

        Communion experience. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes on Mount Tabor. That must have been an awesome experience. Later, the disciples saw Jesus being taken up to heaven—what an inspiring sight it must have been! But I would rather receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist than witness anything as beautiful and amazing as the Transfiguration or the Ascension—that's because in receiving the Holy Eucharist, I get to experience great intimacy with the Lord.