**Inching Closer to God

        Communion time thoughts. Being human, we may be willing to yield to God, but we always fall short. All the more we need to strengthen our spirit by yielding ourselves more to the Lord. A lifetime joyful process.

***Making Heaven Rejoice

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." God is completely open to us. If we can be completely open to him also, there'll be great rejoicing in heaven.

***Critically Important Realization

        Today's first reading comes from Esther C:12. It contains the verse "I have no protector other than you, Lord." Do we feel this way? Do we realize that our God, the one we now know to be the God of Christ, is the only one who can protect our soul from being lost forever? A most critically important realization indeed!

***Call to Holiness

        Bad news always seems to grab headlines and get better coverage than good news. Bad happenings shock people, while good ones just make you say okay. Evil attracts people easily, while holiness doesn't. My point is "Don't sin," for sin can affect a lot more people than you know. All the more we need to be holy and perfect, which is the Lord's calling.

***Be a "Good" Talker*

        Today we hear so many people talking all around and over us nonstop. Most of them, even if they are genuine, waste too many words on whatever they wish to convey. If the speaker are fake, then they definitely commit the sin of polluting the minds of others. Now, look at Christ our Lord. He is alway direct to the point. He never wastes words, He never talks around something just to sound good. He means what he says, always aiming at our hearts. Above all, love motivates all what his says. Be like him. 

***Do It When It's Possible!***

        Communion experience. I was speechless for the Lord's generous reception of me. I voluntarily submitted myself to him. The time to do this is now.  For if you wait until you see him, it'll be too late! There are things we must not postpone and here's one among others that are first on the list.

***Thinking Your Prayers

        When I think my thoughts, the Lord already knows what they are before I say anything to him. Very early this morning, while still half asleep, I hummed a tune with mouth closed, prompted by the Holy Spirit to seek relief from a burden I was carrying on my heart. No words were spoken, yet I knew that the Lord heard and understood me perfectly. Praying to such a Lord is a delight. You can think a prayer and it works just as well.

***Being Outstanding and Topnotch*

        To be saved is one thing; you believe in Christ and you are saved. To be holy is another matter because it involves surrendering yourself to him. If you wish to go straight to heaven after you die, then you must become holy. Seeking to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist is the way to go. All it needs is your total submission to him. To be a mediocre disciple is easy, but the Lord deserves that we become outstanding and topnotch, for he did command his disciples to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. A tall order for us, but God always makes things easy for us when we go along with him.

***Listening to God's Word

        This is today's first reading from Isaiah 55—Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. So we are to let the word of the Lord make us fertile and fruitful so that we may do his will, achieving the end for which he has intended. To reject the Lord's word is to thwart his intention and thereby a serious sin.

**God, Marvelous Creator

        February is coming to an end and spring still more than three weeks away. It's still quite cold outside. Yet as I drove home after Mass this morning, I saw some flowering trees already in full bloom and other deciduous ones showing off their new buds. God has created them without a brain, a heart, nor a conscience, yet they "know" that spring is near and it's time to grow afresh again. It makes me marvel at God's creative power and happy that he has created me. 

*Aging Grace

        The older we get, the less able we are to do things for ourselves. This is a good thing because now we just have to trust in God more.

**Logical, Sane Response

        Today's Communion antiphon from Matthew 25: Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me, says the Lord. Come, you blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. The Lord has always existed and we were created by him at some point after the founding of the world, and he has a great plan prepared for each of us. It seems clear that accepting him as our Lord and obeying him in all things is our only sane and logical response to him.

*****Big Secret of Following God*****

         Do not chase after the Lord; just relax and totally let him lead you. That is, you give the Lord total freedom to draw you to him. 

*Living a Good Disciplined Life

        A short inspiring talk by Deacon Issac Longworth. Most of us don't belong to the clergy, but we can also live a good disciplined life like Dn. Issac here.

***First Things First***

        Before you ask God to bless you, make sure that you deserve his blessings. Suppose you just don't follow some of the teachings of the Church, do you still think that he should bless you? Before you receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, if you still hate or won't forgive someone in your heart, do you think that you should even touch him in any way? I shouldn't think so. Hence, prior to asking God for any favor, always acknowledge and repent your sins first.

**Sweet Seconds*

        Every second spent with Christ the Lord is a sweet second. The worldwide life expectancy is now over 73. If you live to 73, you will have lived over 2.3 billion seconds, and that can be a lot of sweet seconds.

***Devil's Channel***

        Our ego is the channel the Devil uses to speak to us. To safeguard your soul, starve your ego until you become selfless and humble. And God will exalt you then. 

**A Blessing

        The more you sense God's awesome holiness, the more you realize how wretched a sinner you are. This is a blessing, for it's the Lord calling.