***Baptism of Jesus Christ

        I love the first Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary, Baptism of the Lord. Here is a cool new video to watch:

**Living for Christ

        This is to do everything for his sake, under his guidance and relying totally upon his power. It's the Lord doing all his work through you. You are getting ready to serve him in heaven. It's living in his love. 

**Think like God Foremost

        In Matthew 16, when Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, the scribes, and be killed, Peter rebuked him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
        Peter spoke out of good will like a normal person, yet Satan was behind it. Imagine how much worse a situation an evildoer who knowingly serves Satan would be in. We must not only be good, but also think as God does. Again, attaining union with the Lord is the way to go.

*One More Reason We Need God

        We are finite. We may have strong faith, but when we are tested, we may still experience anxiety, fear, uncertainty, insecurity, etc. Not so with the infinite God who knows exactly what he's doing. Realizing our imperfections and limitations, all the more we need an all-perfect and omnipotent God to rely upon.

**Sin and Inner Peace

        If you don't have your sins removed, you'll never experience God's peace. That's how God has made us. Carry on as if you were OK, and you only fool yourself. God loves the genuine you, not the fake one. 

***To Jesus Through Mary

        To those who hesitate to face the Lord God directly for whatever reason, I suggest that you approach Mary our Holy Mother first. We all need a truly loving mother and she is it. A mother good enough for Christ is surely good enough for us. She is instantly available to guide you, assist you, and protect you. Once you get in touch with her, she will always lead you to her divine Son, for that is her mission. She is our best ally.

***The Reality of Christ

        This morning my wife got up at 5 a.m. because she had to leave for another city to take care some things. I got up an hour later and it was still dark outside. With no one around, the house was completely silent. Sitting alone in my bedroom, I could almost hear my own blood circulating through my body. I instantly sensed the presence and reality of Christ. He is the unavoidable and indispensable one to all of us, always watching over me. And he is also the one to ensure that I'll be clean and blameless when I return to him.  

***Top Choice for Us

        I am interested in music and photography, so I consider myself an artistic person. To be an accomplished artist, craftsman, computer person, etc., you need to work hard to learn and practice as much as possible. Then I thought of becoming a saint. All you need to do is surrender yourself to God and let him do all the work. It's a lot more exhilarating and enjoyable. This should be everyone's top choice, for the benefits you'll receive will be phenomenal and out of this world. 

**We Are Key Players

        In bringing order to the universe, do you know that we are the key players? We can end the war between God and Satan. We can be in total harmony with God and let him restore peace and order in the universe and in our hearts. Or we can remain rebellious, creating chaos, and end up destroying our own souls.

**Glad God Looks into the Heart

        Today's first reading comes from 1 Samuel 16 in which the Lord sent Samuel to Bethlehem to choose a new king for Israel. He instructed him not to judge from the appearance, for God does not see as man sees—the Lord looks into the heart. I rejoice that our God can see everything in our hearts. This is such a great consolation, for if no one knows what's in my heart, I'd absolutely be lost! Because the Lord knows everything, he keeps me on the right track on my return journey to him and sets me free spiritually on earth. 😇

**Thanking God Always

        1 Thessalonians 5.18: In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. We might thank God when something good happens to us, but we really ought to thank him at all times in all circumstances. That he has laid all the groundwork for us to enter heaven is more than sufficient for us to rejoice and be thankful forever. Let nothing on earth divert us from our straight path to the loving Lord.

*A Hunch

         Christ came into the world to save us from sin. I sense that the fact that he had no problem with becoming one of us first is because we were made in his image. 

**Illuminated by Christ

        Communion experience. In John 8:12, Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." After I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I felt him as a light illuminating, cleansing, and healing my whole inner being. He always renews us thoroughly and from the inside out. 

**Sin Is Most Ugly

        First thought at church before Mass started: "This world would be so beautiful if no one sins anymore!" 

****Blunt Reality

        Time moves on. We are heading into the future, but we can also see it as the future coming to us—it's the same. What's approaching us successively are aging, death, and "heaven or hell." Since I believe that God exists, that we do have an everlasting soul, and that good and evil are real, there will have to be heaven and hell. This leaved us with just two possible final destinations and they are mutually exclusive. Of course, if you do not share my belief, you are free to dismiss everything I've said. But be aware that should you turn out to be wrong, the consequences can be disastrous.

***Obedience Test

        Christ teaches us to love our enemies, never judge, and always forgive. So what should we do with evildoers? Should we hate them? wish that they go to hell? eradicate them by force? If you answer one yes, then you are doing exactly what the Devil wants you to do! Christ would want you to just love them and pray for their salvation and conversion, for he loves all of us equally. The evildoers are the victims of the Evil One, and we must do our utmost to save them so that we may comfort and glorify the Lord even if it entails going against the grain.

****Holy Thoughts*

        To have holy thoughts always, we must let the Lord motivate all our thoughts. Thus we need to give our heart and mind over to him. As obedience to the Lord leads to our freedom, holy thoughts leads to our sanctity. 

**Hate the Sin, Not Yourself

       After one has sinned, repented, and been forgiven by God, it's still easy to start disliking oneself, especially if the sin committed had been a repeated offense. Is this how we should feel about ourselves? The answer is no. First of all, if you truly love God, you'll see how inadequate you are alright, but you'll never be unhappy with yourself, for you know that you are dearly loved by him. Once you have repented and been forgiven by God, you are made anew! Should you commit the same sin again, all the more you need to move forward and submit yourself to him even more. A good follower of the Lord never looks back—this applies here too. So hate your past sins, but be happy with yourself always.