***Best Choice for Us to Make

        Today at Mass, I wanted the Lord to strike me, crush me, and zap me. This is not asking to be punished, but to want him to do whatever he wants with me. It is the key to being set free, the best choice for us to make for his glory and our salvation. 

**No Need to Be Somebody

        Today is the Memorial of St. Monica. In reading 1 from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes that God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, the weak of the world to shame the strong, and the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something. In our secular material world, you always find others who are more famous, more talented, more wealthy, and/or more powerful in every way than you. If you don't know Christ, that can easily make you want to be somebody yourself. But once you know him, you are so happy with the freedom and peace you experience that you no longer wish to be otherwise. Such is the difference the Lord can make.

****Our Huge Advantage*

         Let us remember that we are made in the image of God. This means that we can understand and know God and even become like him. Now we should see why God our Creator loves us so much. We have this huge advantage! Thru Christ we definitely know that we can return to our Father to live happily with him forever. We've got it made!

***Prayer to Bypass Purgatory

        I came across this prayer which purportedly was given by a deceased nun to her superior who was praying for her soul. She told her that by saying that prayer every night before going to bed, she paid all her debts and was excused from purgatory. It's a succinct beautiful prayer and I believe that if you say it sincerely from your heart, you can accomplish the same. Here it is.   
       
       Eternal Father, I offer you the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all its love, all its sufferings, and all its merits
To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. Glory be..
To purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all my life. Glory be...
To make up for the good I have neglected to do this day and during all my life. Glory be...

**Serious, Weighty Matter

        Communion experience. Today I feel the "weight" of the Lord. I don't mean that as a burden—I just feel that he is like an anchor, totally securing my existence. Yes, he is God and he is with me all the way, and this is serious. 

*We Need God Dearly

        We poor sinners are totally unworthy before God. The good news is that God our Father can make us worthy to dwell with him forever in heaven! Therefore, we need God. In fact, we should hold onto him for dear life, for without him, we'd be lost forever. Besides, for what he has done for us, we should feel obligated to love him if we have any heart. 

*Being Foolish or Wise

        In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." So what is Christ crucified to you? Was he foolish or most wise? The truth is that if you think that he is foolish, then you are being most foolish, but if you think that he is wise, then you are truly wise indeed.  

**Disposing Ourselves for God*

        My first thought today. God is greater and more magnificent than we can possibly imagine. Therefore, even when we do our utmost to love, worship, and adore him, we still fall short of what he deserves from us. And he knows that. So let's just rest in him and enjoy him to the fullest!

***St. Bridget's 12-Year Prayer

         Jesus has given St. Bridget of Sweden the 15 prayers for 1 year devotion to honor the 5,480 blows he received during his sacred passion and the 7 prayers for 12 years devotion to honor the 7 times he shed his precious blood for us. Those who fulfill either devotion will receive the many graces promised. It seems that the latter 7/12 devotion is more popular, as it's shorter and the 5 graces promised are most appealing. The one I like most is that the soul who practices it will go straight to heaven after death. Jesus also promised that if you die before the 12 years are up, he will accept you as having done its entirety. Since the prayers and meditations are too long to reproduce here, I encourage you to search for this beautiful devotion online. It may be just what you are looking for. God bless you.

**Exalted by the Lord

        Communion experience. When I received the body and blood of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I was humbled that he should stoop so low as to unite himself with me in such an intimate manner, and he greatly exalted me.

*To Make God Trust in You,

you trust in him first. Would you trust in your own children who do not trust in you?

**Most satisfying Feeling

        God and we make a perfect fit! When I submit myself totally to God, I know that everything will be all right and I am now totally fulfilled and satisfied. 

***Whom to Please?

        If you indulge in the pleasures of the world, you please Satan and will lose everything in the end. If you rejoice in the sufferings you receive in this world, you please God and will reap richly in heaven.

***Hearing God's Voice***

        You don't need to hear the Lord speaking to you audibly. In fact, the Devil can pretend that he is God and speak to you thus. Be still, preferably in union with the Lord, and you'll hear his voice in your heart. When you have peace, you'll know that it's from the Lord.  

**Communion Experienmce

        Psalms 139:14: I praise you, Lord, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works! As I received the Holy Eucharist, I knew I was receiving what's going to make my life most wonderful!

**Christ Our Last Resort

        Since Christ will be our final judge thru whom we must pass, I see him to be the one who will straighten everything out, resolve all injustices, restore order in the universe, and settle our final destinations. He is our only Savior and last resort for everything. 

**What to Secure Foremost

        We all face various problems in life. I've just repaired some holes in my irrigation drip lines in the yards—I could see the animal tooth marks on them. I still need to caulk some cracks that appeared in the window ledge of my stucco house. And the emblem on the front of my car got blow off during a car wash. I know others have faced or are facing much bigger problems. But there is one most important thing we should take care of foremost: the securing of our eternal life. There is no point in solving all our life problems without knowing where we'll go after we depart from this world. Once you are assured of your eternal destination, you'll see all your present problems in a new light and deal with them in ease. 

*****God's Greatest Offering*****

        At Mass, when Jesus offers his own body for us to eat and his own blood for us to drink in the Holy Eucharist, this is the greatest offering of love from God to us! It humbles us and exalts us at the same time. And it's also an invitation from the Lord to spend eternal life with him in heaven!