***Your Way or God's Way (Formula for Peace)

        If you do not know or follow the Lord God, you do not have inner peace. That is because you always want things turn out the way you want and that just does not happen. Once you know the Lord and follow him, you would always want things turn out his way. With yourself out of the way, you now enjoy peace.

**Empowering Your Prayer

        You can always say your prayer quickly without thinking much about it. But to make sure that the Lord hears you and will act, you must not rush, but say every word from your very heart and mean it. If you take God seriously, he will surely take you seriously.        

**From Death to Life*

        Today is Memorial of St. Ignatius. The first reading came from Ephesians 2. I totally agree with what Paul wrote that we used to be dead in our transgressions and sins, following the age of the world and living in the desires of our flesh. I still remember those day before I knew Christ. Then Christ changed everything. God brought me to life and saved me. Knowing his love and great mercy has made all the difference.

***Direct Way to God (Secret to Happiness)***

        Again, I encourage that you go directly to the Lord to know him. Surely, others also seeking him can help, but why slow down your own quest? If you want to know someone in the world and have all the contact information, wouldn't you contact that person directly? In the case of God our Father, he is waiting to hear from you, ever ready to fulfill all your needs and good desires. Look, if you are wide open to him, receive him in the Holy Eucharist with great reverence, you can even attain union with him! If you feel uncomfortable going to him directly, all the more you need to approach him that way. Any attention we give to the Lord, no matter how small, pleases him greatly. Imagine how much joy we can give him when we always turn to him for all things! Tell you, nothing can be happier and more satisfying than pleasing God our Father. Here's the great secret to happiness. 

**Solving the Puzzle of Life

        If life were a jigsaw puzzle, when you surrender yourself to God completely, it'll be like all thousands of its pieces now fall into place, forming the beautiful complete picture he wants you to see.

***Outstanding True Joy

        This is a world filled with false joy. Look at all the commercials and ads, and people trying to find joy by holding parties and various celebrations, taking vacations, attending concerts and shows, visiting bars and casinos, etc. If you have to seek joy outside of yourself, you won't find it, for you'll only experience fleeting happiness. If you have true joy in your heart, you don't need to seek happiness elsewhere anymore. That interior joy is the joy of knowing Christ, a heavenly gift only he can give. Seek him first and not any transitory happiness from the world.

***Today's Tragedy

         I am bringing it up again, only because it's so clear to me now. The world is following itself, whereas it should follow the true God of Christ exclusively. Even Christians are treating Christ more or less as an afterthought. Again, God's mercy is infinite, and we do not surprise him. Many will still be saved even if that means going thru purification in purgatory first. Pray that all will be saved. If we all pray that way for others and ourselves, it becomes totally attainable.

*Not Inconvenienced by Inconveniences

        My pair of reading glasses doesn't seem to work that well. Perhaps the focus of the lenses was off or my vision has changed. It's an inconvenience. Then life is plagued with inconveniences, and they'll be around as long as we are. Since my days on earth will soon be over, I don't let them bother me anymore. I think this is a good way to look at sufferings too. Heaven is going to change everything.

*****Our Only Choice*

        If we truly love God, the God of Christ, we must choose him over everything else. No matter how enjoyable everything else might be, they will always end up being a burden. By contrast, God frees us from sin, our biggest burden, and uplifts us. He should not only be our first choice, but also our only choice!

**Christian Joy

        I overheard a conversation. An older person was saying that her great joy nowadays is waiting for a relative of hers to come by on a regular basis to take her to eat at her favorite restaurant. That sounds rather sad coming from her who's a Christian, since any Christian who knows the Lord well should feel the greatest joy merely at the thought of him. 

***Last Supper Experience

        Communion experience. I was brought back to the Last Supper. The Lord entered me and was consumed totally by me—he's all mine now. How could I possibly not be humble anymore? 

**To Forgive or Not to Forgive

        In praying the Our Father, we ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We often find it most difficult to forgive some people who have hurt us or others badly. If we can't forgive others, we really shouldn't ask God to forgive us either. To not forgive someone is playing God, judging that person. Learning not to judge can help a lot. If you can really let go of it for God's sake and even pray for your enemy, you'll experience a new freedom and great joy that can change your life forever! Remember, God is always right. 

**Blessed and Chosen by God

         All Catholics, who have already been revealed the whole truth, should know that God has blessed them in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose them in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him (Ephesians 1:3-4 from today's first reading). Since we've been blessed and chosen, we can be confident that we'll be able to live up to what God has expected of us.

***The World Revealed

        The more you know Christ, you more you see the hypocrisy, falsity, and emptiness of the world. For the truth reveals all that's hidden.  

**Eliminating Wasteful Thinking

        As I came to know Christ the Lord more, I began to lose interest in a lot of things the world was interested in. Now I just know what I need to pay attention to or dismiss instantly. As a result, many things I no longer think about. I believe this is why I experience a lot of inner peace. Generally speaking, I no longer think about anything that is impure, worldly, trivial, or gossipy. The best part now is thinking about the Lord and his goodness. 

**Overcoming Sin

        In not falling into sin, we must be relentless. Again, the most effective way to overcome a sin is to seek refuge in the Lord. That is, the smart way to fight sin is to run away from it as far and fast as possible. A sinner is just not fit to fight his own sins on his own. Letting God do it for you is always the good rule to follow.

**Taking God's Blessings Seriously

        We ask God to bless us and others all the time. This is no making empty wishes. When you ask for blessings from the Lord, he's going to give you what's best for you bountifully. Things will happen in your heart and without you. You are now under his watch and care. When I bless you, I simply express my good wish. When God blesses you, your life can change! So take his blessings seriously and believe in him with all your heart.

**Foolish Cowards

        Christ has died for us to save us from eternal death. People reject him, yet they never say that they don't need salvation. The fact is we all know that we are sinners, and even think about going to heaven. What we ought to do is to welcome the Savior and submit ourselves to him with gratitude. If we ignore or reject him instead, then we are not only being foolish, but also cowardly.