**Living a Privileged Life

        At Mass this morning, I saw the beautiful statue of Mother Mary in the chapel and I knew that she's constantly praying for me. No doubt that Jesus always listens to her and I felt it's such a privilege that she should pray for me. Later, just before I received Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I realized that the Lord had died for me to save me, I felt tremendously privileged! As Father Stephen wrapped up the Mass, he invoked God to bless all of us. Receiving blessing from the Lord God, another privilege! With so many great privileges, how can I possibly not prosper? 

***Powerful Joy

        When we encounter anything unpleasant in life, it's easy for us to wish that we had done things differently. For example, if someone is giving you trouble, you wish you had not bothered to know that person in the first place. Then you realize that you have Christ and are heaven bound, all you troubles on earth now fade away. Such is the power of the joy of Christ!

**Letting God Liberate You

        If it makes it any easier, surrendering yourself to God is simply remaining passive and resting yourself in God or letting yourself go in God. You experience the greatest liberation upon giving yourself to God, because he now carries you!

**Jesus Knows the Future*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus explained the parable of the weeds in the field to his disciples. He said, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One. The harvest is the end of age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." What Jesus said was very clear—he knew exactly what's going to happen at the end of age. It can't be something he just made up to fool us. Indeed, whoever has ears ought to hear.

**To Be Empowered by God

        When you are always sincere in doing anything for the Lord and truly mean what you say when you ask for favors from him, he'll know that you are trustworthy. Now is the time to be ready to receive power from the Lord.

***What the World Still Doesn't Know

         God not only can give us eternal life, he can also solve all our problems! 

*Experiencing Total Freedom*

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me thru the Holy Eucharist and I was drawn into his infinite space, experiencing total freedom. The truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

**True Communication with God

        I have some wax buildup in my right ear, so my hearing is temporarily somewhat muffled. I came to realize that God actually speaks to us and even makes us see things via our heart. This kind of communication is crucial to our spiritual life, mattering much more than being able to see and hear physically things around us.  

**The Lord's Expectations of Us

         Jesus said to his disciple, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." He didn't say "be holy." Since you can be holy and still be imperfect, he expects much from us. Of course, he deserves the very best from us. If we truly take this commandment seriously, he'll make us as perfect as we wish without much effort on our part—that's right.

***Most Appropriate Response to God*

        Communion experience. I received the Lord and the only response I could come up was begging for his mercy on the whole world and me. I felt that's the appropriate first response before any others.

****Learning About the LORD (from Abraham)

       In today's reading 1 from Genesis 18, Abraham intercedes for Sodom. The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was so great and their sin so grave that the LORD was going to look into it. Abraham said to the LORD, "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?" The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Abraham spoke up again, asking the same question, but reducing the number of innocent people by five to forty-five. The LORD answered again, "I will not destroy it, it I find forty-five there." Abraham persisted, asking and reducing the number of innocent people to forty, thirty, twenty, and finally 10. The LORD gave the same favorable answer each time.
         We learn the following from this reading. (1) We need not hesitate asking the LORD any questions we have from the heart. (2) Persistence on our part brings greater success. (3) Specifically, we see God's great mercy at work here. By being holy ourselves, we can save innumerable other souls.

***Valuing Our Soul

        According to Maria Simma, Padre Pio has said God values every soul far more than the entire universe. Yes, God values every soul so much that he even died on the cross to save us. Since it concerns our soul, shouldn't we at the least show that we care about it too? If not, we are ungrateful and make God's work so much harder. To not value what God values is in truth downright rebellion.

**No Chance-Taking with God

        I drove home from gym this morning. I usually turn left from the big busy street I am on onto a smaller one. With the absence of traffic lights, I must wait for a break in the oncoming cars in the left lanes. With these cars moving around 60 mph, I must make it quick or wait for a long time. I took a chance and made it quick, but realized that the risk of having an accident was also higher. Then I realized that with God, we must never take a chance. We must absolutely do everything right, even if a lot of patience is required, so that nothing can go wrong. In other words, we should take God most seriously and listen to his every word. For the risk here is not just the death of our body, but also our soul. 

***Wise Advice***

        If you think that you know better than God, you are not smart at all (putting it mildly). God is infinite and the creator of all things, so no one can possibly outsmart him. The Lord knows all things; he doesn't even have to think! He knew you before you were born and knows what's ahead for you. If you try to outsmart him in any way, you'll end up losing even more. The only way to win all the way is to submit yourself to him and follow him. This is being truly smart and you'll receive the greatest satisfaction to boot!

***To Face Sins or Not*****

        There can only be two reasons for Catholics not going to confession. (1) They have no sins to confess. (2) They are afraid to face their sins. This in itself is a serious sin. Sins are to be dealt with and removed by God. If you cannot face them, how can you face God? This puts one in quite a predicament.

***Another Amazing Eucharistic Miracle

        I have blogged about Eucharistic miracles in the past. Here's a new video that's worth watching.

***Must-Face Reality

        God created all of us, so we really belong to him who knows everything about us. Whatever we do affects him (and ultimately us too). If we obey him, we'll have harmony in the universe. If we rebel, we create disorder. As simple as that. And it's impossible for us not to have anything to do with God. There's absolutely no possible hiding nor escape. For one day we'll have to face him to give an account of ourselves.

**Sorrow Turns into Joy

        Today is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. The Gospel reading from John 20 is beautifully moving. After Mary found the tomb empty early Sunday morning, she thought that someone had carried Jesus away and wept. Later Jesus appeared to her and said to her, "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." Imagine her joy! We can rejoice too when we realize that Jesus' Father is our Father and his God is our God. If you love the Lord, he'll always turn your sorrow into joy.