*Appreciating God for Giving Us Life

         I have acquired a print of Mary with Baby Jesus and one of the Crucified Christ. Originally I thought I would hang one in the living room and the other one in my study. The more I looked at them, the more I realized that they should go together to show fully why he came to us. Now they hang next to each other in the living room so that when I look at them, I see immediately that he came into our world to die for us in order that we may have life forever.

*How Is Your Conscience?

          God has given each of us a conscience to know right from wrong or good from evil, so we have the obligation to do our best to keep it clear and sharp. Without God's guidance, the conscience can easily get muddy or dull. But with God, the Holy Spirit can help you keep it super sensitive or sharp, and it becomes a great joy. It's a fact that those who have a poor conscience live with an unrestful heart, while those who possess a good conscience live in peace. A clear conscience is a must for being holy.

**Only God's Understanding Matters

          We often feel hurt when people misunderstand our action, especially when our intention is good. Then people are not God; they are fallible and may even be malicious. Since God is the only one who understands us perfectly, we only need to care about what he think of us. A hundred years of being misunderstood on earth now is nothing compared to being understood by God now and for all eternity later on. 

**Making God Remember You

        Do you know that when you pray for others, you are one of the beneficiaries too? The more you give for God, the more he fills you up. He always rewards those who are selfless. The more you forget yourself, the more he remembers you. 

**Flexible Praying

         Sometimes we pray for one thing single-mindedly, but we can be flexible and pray for the opposite outcome too. Here's one example to show you what I mean. I have suffered a shoulder pain for years due to repeated falls. The recovery has always been slow and incomplete. The pain now is tolerable. If the Lord wishes me to remain thus for whatever reason, that''d be OK with me, for he'll give me the strength and patience necessary to endure it. But at the same time, I am free to pray for its healing too, knowing that he can heal me in an instant. If that doesn't happen, it'll be OK with me too. The bottom line, "Thy will be done." So pray for whatever you need from God, but be flexible and happy with whatever he sends your way.

***Our Best Ally

        The most perfect existence for us on earth is to be of one heart and of one mind with the Lord God. This is entirely possible because it is what he desires, unless we don't care about it. We need to know that nothing is impossible for God and appreciate the fact that he can help us not only live perfectly on earth, but also get into heaven later! 

**To Belong to the Lord's Family

           In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds, someone told him that his mother and his brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with him. He said in replay, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my  mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and my mother." Jesus was speaking about his true family. Now we know how to belong to his family!

**A Generation That Rejects Suffering

         I see our generation as a spoiled generation. We complain it's too warm or too cold even when riding in a car for a short time. We get bored when we don't find anything entertaining around us. That is, we get unhappy anytime we don't get what we want. It is a self-centered generation that does not accept any suffering or even inconvenience, thus distancing itself from the Lord God who suffered for all of us for our salvation and advised us to take up our cross and follow him. Apparently, this generation life cares more about life on earth than life eternal.  

**Christ the Source of All Our Needs

         Christ is ready to give us eternal life, for he wants us to have the very best. It follows that he's ready to give us all the rest we need too. Accept and believe in him and you are set for living forever! Truth is always simple, but we always make accepting it complicated for ourselves.

**How to Achieve Freedom in God

        Before the Lord, we need to decrease to nothing. You see, God loves to become one with us and has made our path to him straight and smooth. But if our pride or ego is too big, we simply won't be able to squeeze through that narrow entrance to enter him. So we need to become a humble nobody first in order to succeed. Now, once in his infinite space, you get to enjoy your full freedom.

**Our Test for Entering Heaven

          Suppose you are given a long list of possible wishes and one of them is to get to heaven, and you are only allowed to choose one wish. I believe that anyone with some sense would choose to get to heaven. Then the heart is likely to overrule the head and you continue to live a life leading you further away from God. To remedy this, we need to give God our heart first, and this is precisely the stumbling block for many of us. Letting God have your heart will easily pave your way to be with God. This is the big challenge we face and the test we need to pass. It's all up to us. 

*Making Good News Good for You

       The God of Christ is ready to embrace you and carry you in his bosom all the way to heaven, but you need to seek him first. A closed heart will never know him, while an open one will find the truth and one day know everything. So make your most momentous move today without delay. The good news is made good only when you desire to hear and take advantage of it.   

**God Can Shape Us Perfectly

        I  attended Sunday Mass this morning. I felt as if I were a piece of twisted, deformed metal, and now I was going to the Lord to receive him in the Holy Eucharist and he's going to straighten me out completely. This is what he loves to do and is his specialty. He can shape us perfectly as long as we are willing to put ourselves in his mighty hands.  

**Ungodly Surrender to Satan*

        In the past, Christians died for their faith rather than offending God. Today we have bishops silencing priests who dare to preach the truth for fear of offending Satan. This is a fact, even if you don't see it that way. Those who remain faithfully in Christ the Lord have absolutely no need to fear Satan, knowing that he is only annoying like a mosquito at times—this was how St. Teresa of Avila described it. Focus upon serving the Lord alone and dismiss Satan entirely. Let God deal with the Devil.

*God's Accomplishments vs. Ours

         I was reading what's printed on a snack bag telling how this snack was made by someone who afters years of research and experimenting finally succeeded in making it so tasty. Human beings have accomplished many things. Today's hi tech inventions can be quite ingenious. Yet I find God's simple acts of love much more amazing. Our greatest achievements are not what we can accomplish on our own, but what we can do for his sake via his power. For whatever we do for our own sake, we don't deserve patting ourselves on the back.

**Illumination of Conscience Thoughts

        There is much talk and anticipation about the prophesied Illumination of Conscience. It seems that this warning could take place any moment now. I've posted about this since April, 2020. Do a search on this blog and you can read all those posts. Personally, I welcome its coming and am excited about witnessing God's power and glory, yet at the same time I pray that it will happen when the greatest number of people will be ready for it. After all, God wishes to save as many souls as possible. Then this may be just a moot concern, as God knows the proper timing best. Of course, if we all heed the warnings from heaven virtually begging us to convert and return to God, this act of mercy need not even happen. In any case, the best policy or strategy for us to be ready ourselves for whatever event God sends our way at whatever time. 

*****Time Is Running Out

         I'd like to post this video because the messages begging us to get back to God are truly urgent, as time goes by quickly. For many of us, we just can't afford to remain as usual anymore. The worst thing would be not taking all warnings from heaven seriously now and getting caught when we are not ready later. Then we'll lose our peace forever.

****How to Relieve the Lord's Suffering

         Today Friday is the day to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Jesus went thru so much suffering for us and is suffering still for our continuing infidelity. I ask myself how we can share or alleviate his suffering. His answer to me is clear: we only need to keep his word and obey him always, and that''ll be enough to make him happy. Lord, you've done so much for us, yet you ask so little from us and even want to help us do our part. I thank you, praise you, and declare my love for you forever!