**Our Decision Alone

        Christ the Lord is always present. Once you find him, he'll always be with you unless you decide to leave him. So it's all up to us. 

**How Not to Be Unmeritorious*

        All our thoughts, words, and deeds are measured by how much they draw others to the Lord. If they don't, they have no merit.

**Great Mass Experience*

         At Mass, I feel that I am being initiated into heaven. When I receive the Holy Eucharist, I know that the Lord is the one to whom I want to trust the care of my soul.

**How to Feel Free

        If you are willing to let the Lord see everything in your heart, then you'll feel the freedom and joy in him. To hide or run away from God is what robs us of peace. Only the Lord, being the truth, can set us free. 

****Only Great Tragedy in Life****

         It was in the news that a man in the Los Angeles area killed ten people and injured another ten at an event held at a dance studio last night. Allegedly, it's reported that he's upset because his wife was invited to the event and he was not. Whether this was the true cause or not, if he had surrendered to Christ first, this tragedy wouldn't have had happened. For anyone, Christian or not, it is tragic if he or she does not know the Lord well. I'll quote again what the French novelist Leon Bloy has famously said: “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is to not become a saint." How true it is!

***God Our Salvific Light

        Today's readings at Mass again remind us that we walk in darkness and the Lord is the light we need for our salvation. This is the very truth you won't find anywhere else. To be saved for sure, we need to realize that as sinners we indeed live in darkness and that Christ is the light that shows us clearly how we may be saved. Know that even in complete darkness, the Lord knows our hearts and souls inside out. We either live in God's light or remain in darkness for ever.

***Strengthening Your Union with God

        I just washed some dishes; I did it expressly for Christ and felt his closeness the whole time. So do all things expressly for him to experience his intimate presence. Let this further strengthen the union you attained with him through the Holy Eucharist.

**Are You Wasting Your Time?***

        The so many things we want to do, placed next to what God wants us to do, may all be nonsense. The smart thing is to do only what God wants us to do, that is, to be obedient to him. Our time on earth is so short that every second we don't mind God is every second lost. Then it'll be too late to know him, the one who loves us the most. 

****Pray for Oneself First*

        We praise God, we thank God, and we tell him that we love him. Then we pray for the world, for the Church, for our own country, family, friends, etc. But it's really more relevant to pray for ourselves first, because if everyone of us becomes perfect, the whole world becomes perfect. If the proverb Charity begins at home is correct, so can we say Holiness starts with oneself. If we are not strong ourselves, how can we help others? If we are not perfect, how can we change the world? We'll all answer to God each on our own, so perfect yourself by presenting yourself to God first, then pray for all other things.

**What People Say About You

        This is the short reading from Mark 3 today: Jesus came with his disciples into the house. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." When you follow Christ faithfully, your relatives or others may think that you are out of your mind. You are out of your mind only if you let what they say about you bother you. Live for and respond to the Lord alone and just pray for everyone else.

*****Best Move to Make*****

        Christ has offered himself up to God the Father to obtain our eternal redemption. It would be right and just for us to offer ourselves up to him, warts and all, just to show our gratitude. Of course, in doing so, we gain eternal life. And this has to be the best reward we can possibly get, one only God can give.  

**Mass Experience

        Attended morning Mass. Today is the memorial of St. Agnes. I was heartened to see that the church was quite packed and after Mass the confession line fairly long. Before Mass started, I just wished to bask in the Lord's radiance and holiness. 

***Surrendering Ourselves to God**

        To show that we truly love the Lord, we need to surrender ourselves to him fully. If you find this difficult to do, then ask yourself what disadvantages there might be in doing so. See if you can come up with something worth considering. I hope this can help you come to a decision. We can always start out with our willingness and ask the Lord to help us attain what we desire. This is one way to get the surrendering process going.

**Sin and Inner Peace*

        When we sin, deep down we know it, and we lose our inner peace. God has made us this way so that we know when we have sinned. There are those who carry their sins all their lives and finally have to confess them before they die so that they may die in peace. But what if you die suddenly, die in sleep, or suffer dementia first? We just can't take any chance with our soul. Best yet, the moment you lose your peace because of sin, get Christ to take all your sins away so you may remain clean and pure. This peace is a special gift from the Lord showing that you are in a state of grade before him and he is pleased with you. Therefore, treasure it and preserve it by all means.

***Submission Most Satisfying

        Communion experience. When you submit yourself to God completely, it's so satisfying! for you are now completely fulfilled. By the way, this experience can be quite overwhelming, but you'd know that it comes from the Holy Spirit and love it.

***The Sin That Sums up All Sins***

        We don't love God enough.

****Most Beautiful Response to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, Jesus appointed his twelve Apostles. We read from the Gospels how some of them dropped everything to follow him the moment he called them. This strikes as a most beautiful response to the Lord. He speaks and we obey immediately, as it should be. For he is the Lord and we are nothing without him! Only following him can do us good. The reason the world is such a horrible state today is precisely that we no longer obey the Lord!

*****Never Go to Hell!*****

        In John 21:18, Jesus said to Peter, "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. It is true in general that when we grow old, we become increasingly helpless and would need others to do many things for us. Now, in hell the souls are completely helpless; they are not in control of anything and suffer whatever they deserve for all eternity. At the same time, those in heaven experience the greatest freedom and joy everlastingly. So, think about your own future right now! Don't ever end up in hell! Do your utmost to keeps all others out of hell too. This is my message for the whole world. I am bringing it up squarely before all because not thinking about it amounts to committing suicide. God does not go away and we'll all ultimately face him. For both his and your sake, think about him right now. With God the Omniscient, we must be completely open and go all out to know him. Avoiding him is terribly wrong and a huge mistake. So please help me warn as many others as possible. God bless you.