*****Our First Order of Business*****

        We need to take care of our own sins before minding other people's sins. So, to know God should be our first order of business. If we don't know God, we'll surely do things blindly wrong most of the time! Many people don't see this because they lack humility. 

***Our Dearest Lord!

          I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy this morning. As I was saying the prayer that began each decade: Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world, I realized that Christ the Dearly Beloved Son of God the Father is our Dearly Beloved Lord, in fact, our Dearest Lord. Dearest because no one else can be dearer than Christ to us. That we have such a Beloved Lord is indeed something to rejoice about! We who love Him will be well taken of by Him for all eternity. 

***Fear of God

        We need to fear God enough so that we do not ever offend him. This is the good fear. On the other hand, if we think that God can no longer forgive us for a sin we have committed against him, this would be an extremely bad fear we must never entertain, for that can only come from the devil.

*In Gratitude to the Lord

        Communion joy today. Experiencing the joy of union with my Lord, I couldn't help asking him "Who am I that you should care for so much?" I felt so grateful that I asked him to give me whatever he wished to give me.  

***Joy of Surrendering to God

        Life is all about whether we surrender ourselves to God to let him be our Lord or rebel against him so that we can (foolishly) be our own lord. The fact that when we give our heart to Christ alone to become completely submissive to him and experience the great joy of freedom shows clearly which way is the right way. 

**Submitting to God's Holiness

        The holiness of God is most dazzling and awesome! We need to be aware of it in order to realize our sinful state. Then we can submit ourselves to it and let it dispel all the darkness around us and flush out all the impurities within us.

***What God Is to Me

        At Mass this morning, I was thinking about how much God meant to me. I was formed by him in the beginning, shall end my life in him, and then live on forever with him. So he is both my creator and my savior, sustaining my being always. He is my all and everything—my beloved Lord, best teacher and friend, my guide and advisor, and healer of my soul and spirit. He is also my soulmate, closer to me than my own soul! We belong to each other and are inseparable as one. My security in him is completely assured. 

**A Small Step to God

         This morning the Lord made me see that we are so very close to having life with him for all eternity—we only need to believe and trust in Christ fully, and we'll be ready to leave this world in peace. So we can have all of God and inherit everything he has for us or end up with absolutely nothing that would be of comfort to us. The choice should be a no-brainer. 

***Pushing God to the Limit

         God's most urgent call to us is to convert ourselves first. If we do that, we'll overcame sin and be saved for all eternity. Then we'll automatically want to spread the good news to all others. Yet much of the world does not heed this call and continues to ignore its own salvation. Perhaps the warning like the illumination of conscience will wake many up to God. We are really pushing the Lord to the limit, being so insolent and rebellious. Alas, if we reject God's infinite mercy, nothing will be able to save us. Perhaps this is the unforgivable sin?

***Only Way of Truly Living

         To know God well, we need to become like him. Then we can become his soulmates and get to know him thoroughly. Obviously, the Lord is already perfect, so we are the ones to be transformed by him to become like him. If we cooperate, it's a done deal, for everything is possible for him if we don't get in his way! It's that simple, and most exciting, I can assure you. This to me is truly living. To live any other way is not knowing what you are doing.

*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.