"Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Monday, December 5, 2022

***Key to Winning God

        When we kneel or prostrate ourselves before God, we show our submission to him. When he sees that, he is free to give us all the help and blessings we need. This is the secret of winning the Lord. No submission and you cut him off from you for good.  

***Salvation's Choice*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed but determined to see Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "As for you, your sins are forgiven." And he healed the man too. We see that to have your sins forgiven, you must have faith first. This seems quite obvious. So anyone who feels the burden of sin should consider putting his faith in Jesus to have his sins forgiven by him. This is the only way to become sin free, for Jesus is our only Savior. It all comes down to choosing Jesus or sin. 

**Happy Realization!

        Today I realize again that God has come, is with me now, and will meet me again in person. I am no longer lost, for I know exactly where I'll be going after my time here is over! This makes all the difference to me.  

Sunday, December 4, 2022

***How God Treats Me*****

        Communion time thoughts. The heavenly Father loves me with warts and all. Christ the Son died for and saved me. The Holy Spirit illuminates and consoles me. This is how the God of the Most Holy Trinity treats me.

**Our Operating Levels

        In Living, we can operate at the mind level or at the heart level. Sometimes you hear a homily at church that's too intellectual and it leaves you cold. While anyone who shares personal experiences from the heart usually makes a better impression. We operate at the mind level a lot in socializing with others, as we talk about mostly superficial, worldly things. To operate at the heart level is to be more genuine, the way we'd be when talking to God. Since the Lord is always present, it'd be better for us to operate at the heart level whenever possible.  

**Most Fundamental Prayer Intent

        At Mass today, I heard the prayers of the faithful read. They are good prayers, very much like the ones we pray on our own. Then it struck me that the most fundamental prayer that should take care most of these prayers is praying for the conversion of sinners. If we all convert, then the world will become the best possible place for us to live in for the time being. So I urge you to pray for the conversion of all sinners first. For that is also God's foremost intent for us. Go with God always.

**Crowning Moments of Life

         (1) Realizing that you are a sinner, searching for a savior and finding Christ. (2) Falling in love with the Savior, desiring union with him and attaining it through receiving the Holy Eucharist.

**Awakened to Beautiful Reality

        At Mass this Sunday, it dawned on me that if God were not infinitely merciful, we'd all be doomed! But because we have a God who is all love, we now can confidently secure our place in heaven in advance.   

***Most Important Reminder***

        The Lord God is readily available and totally accessible to us. He's forever waiting for us to wake up and turn to him so that he might turn us into holy saints, ready for entering heaven. Union with God is easily attainable thru receiving the Holy Eucharist if you'll let the Lord do the work. All I've said is no hyperbole. It is all true and worth every bit of our attention.

****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. 

Saturday, December 3, 2022

**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.

Friday, December 2, 2022

**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.