**Realizing My Need for God

        Today's Communion experience. The Lord has done all he can and I am a sinner. I need him! 

***Don't Blame God

        In today's Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus said to the people, "I will not reject anyone who comes to me" and "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life." So if we don't get eternal life later on, it's because we have rejected Christ and his promise. We have only ourselves to blame.

**God Sees Everything

        In today's first reading from Acts 8, we read that Saul was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment. We know that later the Lord called and converted him. This is clear evidence to me that the Lord sees exactly what's going on and what he needs to do to correct things.

***Peace & Eternal Life from Christ

         Jesus always wishes us peace, both external and internal. I see him as the only one who can grant us true peace. If we become like him, we'll have peace. This is our challenge! Anyway, if we follow him, we'll be with him and inevitably end up in heaven forever.

***A Little Testimony

        Looking back on my younger days when I did not know Christ that well yet, I was always looking forward to my next vacation, the next party to attend, the next exciting movie to see, etc., for these were the fun things in life when I was bored with school or at my job. They were really my escapes when I didn't know what life was truly about. Knowing Christ well changed all that. I now try living to please him alone every moment. The old fun is gone, but what I have gained are invaluable—peace, contentment, and excitement about living. I am now more alive than ever and consider all time wasted if I don't live for Christ the Lord. 

**Get Along with God First

        It seems that the majority of the troubles we have are troubles with other people. You always hear someone talking about someone else. Well, that's because we still have our own trouble with God. If you have a perfect relationship with the Lord, then you won't see others as giving you trouble anymore.

*****What We Must Never Abandon*****

        God is everything to us. If you abandon God, you abandon everything and you'll have nothing left. I can also say that if you abandon eternal life, you'll have nothing left anymore. God never abandons us, so never abandon him and you'll have everything! 

**Beginning of Spiritual Death*

        An unrepentant, hardened heart. 

**Not Knowing What We Do (Another Tragedy)

        Seeing how tragically human lives and properties are being destroyed in the ongoing Ukraine war, I lament the fact that even though we humans know that we are going to die, we keep on doing stupid things. If we don't submit ourselves to God, there'll be no more help available to us. Wake up and wise up!

***Huge Human Tragedy

         Here I go again. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is so close, so accessible, so loving and easy to please, and is ever ready to lead us to heaven, yet people just don't care. How devastatingly tragic!

**Every Breath a Blessing*

        That's because every breath we take reminds us that we are living and God is sustaining us every moment right now. We exist because he loves us.

**Incredible Experience Always

        Communion experience. The Lord gave up his own Body and poured out his own blood for us and for the forgiveness of sins—it's still incredible that he should love us this much.

***How the Holy Spirit Acts

         The Holy Spirit acts like the electricity. You don't see the electrons flow, but when they do, you can see the lamp all lit up. Similarly, we don't see how the Holy Spirit acts, but when he does, you are transformed or set afire spiritually.

****Why God Needs Our Prayers

         God can do all things by himself. He can vanquish evil instantly if he so wishes. It is for our sake that he needs our prayers. You see, we are totally involved in the war Satan is waging against the Lord, battling for our souls. So we must choose sides. To get the needed strength to fight for God, we need to yield ourselves to him thru prayer. In this way, he also earns our trust.

*****Our Greatest Joy*****

        In yesterday's Gospel reading at Mass, the Lord said to his disciples, "It is I. Do not be afraid." (See my post Christ Makes Us Fearless.) In today's Gospel reading from John 21, when the risen Jesus revealed himself to his disciples for the third time, this time at the Sea of Tiberias, John first recognized Jesus and said to Peter, "It is the Lord." It is exiting to hear the Lord say "It is I" to us and equally exciting for us to recognize him and say "It is the Lord." Knowing Christ is pure joy! It is a joy you can't let go and can't get enough of it. The love of Christ is our greatest love, and so is his joy our greatest joy.

***Handling Unpleasantries

        When people tell me things that are boring, trivial, or inconsequential, especially when I am trying to focus my mind upon the Lord, it can be rather annoying. The Lord showed me this morning that I should treat it as a form of suffering, accept it, and offer it up to him. I am grateful that he made me see it this way so that I may always have my peace. This is how I should handle anything that's unpleasant from now on. 

**Prayer Our Survival Tool

        Prayer is a great weapon. Use it wisely and we can shield ourselves from all evil. Thru prayer we can receive God's mercy, gain entrance into heaven, and save the world. It's our direct personal link to God, and nothing can stop us from receiving God's power thru it.

***World's Huge Tragedy

        In looking at the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, we see soldiers taking aim at their enemies and wiping them all out with the push of a button, fast and mercilessly. We who are so precious and meant so much to the Father see no value in human life anymore. If I feel sad, how infinitely more must our heavenly Father feels. I guess I shouldn't be shocked when our society thinks nothing of killing a baby in the mother's womb. God died for us so that we may live, but we kill others so that we may live or simply for our convenience. I still pray for God's mercy on all of us, but I don't think we'll be able to avoid any chastisement coming unless we all convert.