****Don't Be Traitors

        When we sin and do not repent, we offend Christ our Lord and Savior. Of course, he's hurt by our action, but most of all he feels sorry for us, for we now are headed in the direction of losing our soul. Christ has died for us, so he truly loves us more than he cares about himself. Let's not betray our only Savior. 

**Liberation Through Death*

        Today I see that death is liberation. It is thru death that we enter total freedom in God. We have gone thru our trial and passed our test on earth. Now we are finally fit for heaven forever! We are back to the home intended for us to really experience the magnitude of the Father's love for us! Joy now reaches its apex. Death is to be welcomed!

**Total Dependence on God

        Communion experience. I acknowledged my total dependence upon the Lord and knew that he's going to give me all the support I need to get thru this life on earth. I could now die in peace. 

***Best Way to Live***

        I've more or less talked about this at various times in the past. Let me just sum it up in one sentence here: Live for God alone and be not concerned about anything else. That's right.

****No God, No Freedom*

        0ur Father, being our creator, knows all about us. The smart thing for us to do is to share everything we have on our mind with him from our heart. Cry out to him if you feel like doing so. This removes all the barriers between you and God the Father—you are now free! When you don't have God, you simply remain your own prisoner.

**God's Transforming Power

        Communion experience. Trusting in God's power of transforming us, I knew I wouldn't be the same old sinner again.

***Do Not Limit God

        An afterthought to the last post. The blind men believed that Jesus could heal them and he did heal them according to their faith. So whenever we ask the Lord to heal us or someone else, we should ask for a miraculous healing first, for the Lord is almighty and he loves us. As a matter of fact, whatever we ask from him, always ask for the most from him and it might turn out to be the best for us too. This I know: The Lord is most happy when we trust in him the most. 

****Obeying God First and Always*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, two blind men believed that Jesus could heal them and he opened their eyes according to their faith. Then he warned therm sternly to tell no one about it. But they went away and spread word of him thru all the land. Of course, if something good happens to you, you want to share your joy with every one else. But here, the men should have rejoiced in God's mercy first and less in their own freedom. Besides, they should've heeded Jesus' warning. We are human, but we must obey God and not always follow our own inclination. Sure, we feel bad that Christ got crucified for our sake, but rather than wishing that he didn't have had to suffer, our right reaction should be to thank him and be willing to suffer along with him. 

**Suffering in Peace

        If we all believe in God and faithfully follow his will, we'll have peace on earth. But there'll still be sufferings, for natural disasters can strike, we can get sick, and accidents invariably happen. You could say that it's a good thing that we won't be living on earth forever. I do see our time now as an opportunity for us to learn how to suffer. If we accept our sufferings patiently and offer them up to God, we not only atone for my own sins and those of the world, but also get to unite ourselves to Christ in his suffering. This surely is an excellent way to prepare ourselves for entering heaven.

***On Our Own Without the Lord

        When we simply do all things, usually fun things, and not't think of God at all, we just while away our time. As Catholics, we should do all things in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is not hard. It's just being aware that we do everything in his presence and should do it for his sake and glory. In John 15.5, Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." Sure, we can do a lot of things on our own, but we won't be bearing any good fruit, if at all. 

**Heart to Provide Sixth Sense

        We experience the world thru our five physical senses. To experience God, we need to have our heart provide the sixth sense, for you can not know God without involving the heart. Let us treasure our heart and put it to good use.        

***Different Ways to Success***

        To succeed materially, you go after something you want and never quit to make yourself rich. To succeed spiritually, you do the exact opposite—you let yourself go in God to allow him to do all the work to make you holy. Of course, what God can achieve is always far greater than what we can.

***Fulfilled to the Max

        Communion experience. I belong to Christ totally and he is all mine. You can't possibly get fulfilled more.

***Most Beautiful Name***

        At Mass, we call on the Lamb of God to have mercy on us and grant us peace. This Lamb of God sacrificed for God the Father for our sake. He is most humble and also most exalted. What a beautiful name! How blessed we are to have him to follow as our Lord!

***Relationship with God Says It All

        If your relationship with God is right on, you would feel good about everything. But if you try to avoid or hide from God, you'll never be able to feel good about yourself! This is how God has made us.

***Formula for Entering Kingdom of Heaven***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Here revealed is the simple formula for entering the Kingdom of heaven. We do the will of the Father and our future is taken care of for all eternity, and we don't have a thing to worry about anymore. Truly believing in God requires being obedient to him. So let's make everything we do an act of submission to God. 

**The Lord God Most Reliable

        Winter hasn't officially begun yet, but the local weather has dramatically changed. When I went to St. Joseph's Chapel for Mass this morning, it was darker than usual and raining, with strong winds howling. Normally, from inside the chapel, the stained-glass windows appear bright and colorful, but this morning their all looked dark as if the light outside had been switched off. Anyway, with weather changing for the worse, I know that my Lord and God will always remain the same and be trustworthy. This is a great comfort to me.

*Wise Petition

        Communion experience. I just asked the Lord to displace all my pride with simple humility, for I knew that this would please him and give me more peace.