***Amazing God

          This is a very interesting video. I knew the story, but here it's presented again in more detail. What I learned from watching it are that God is amazing and that when we trust in him (as Tom Zimmer in this video did), our life becomes amazing too. 

        Announcement: Five hours ago, I had the feeling that this video would be taken down by YouTube. Sure enough, it happened. This is censorship at its worst! I checked on LifeSite News website, it hasn't been updated yet. I'll update this post again once it's available. Pray for Google who owns YouTube.  

*****No. 1 Prayer Goal*****

        Whenever you pray, reciting traditional prayers or speaking spontaneously from your heart, the No. 1 prayer goal that's unspoken but must be understood and present is that you are there to be obedient to the Lord. Very important, for the Christian life is all about doing God's will.

***Huge Difference!

        Let the Devil possess you and you are enslaved by him forever. Let Christ possess you and you are set free for all eternity. Our choice. 

**Be Realistic and Wise

        We all shall face the LORD sooner or later, so why not face him right now to get ready? This way we'll be fully prepared, eliminating any future shocks. It is being realistic and wise. Procrastinators usually lose. 

***Looking at the Big Picture

        Many things big and little happen to us in life, robbing us of peace. When that happens and if you are already a Christian, I want you to look at the big picture. You already have the Lord, and that should be more than sufficient for you. This world is no longer your permanent home; you are just passing through. If the going gets a little rough, so what? In fact, letting go of all things in this life is what smoothes you way to your next life in heaven. 

***Let Nothing Shock You*

        God we must take most seriously, for he is forever present and the one whom we depend upon for life. The greatness of his glory, holiness, love, and mercy are beyond our comprehension. Know that heaven is more joyful than we can possibly imagine. By the same token, hell is definitely a lot more horrible than we can visualize. Never think that all your little sins are OK. When the illumination of conscience happens, you'll be rudely shocked. To enter heaven is hard if you don't have faith in Christ the Savior, but it becomes super easy if you accept and believe in him. Take the God of Christ seriously and you'll always be amazed and surprised, never shocked.  

***We Are God's Children!

        Near the end of the Mass this morning, the Lord made me see that we are all his children. Now, children are kids. As kids, we need to love our Father, get to know him, and ask him to teach us everything. We are not just some creatures that somehow showed up on earth and are left alone. We came from God and are meant to return to him.

**Wake-Up Questions*

         It is unavoidable that we'll face God when we leave this world, and it's a given that we shall leave this world in a relatively short time. Then why are so many of us live as if we are never going to die and God doesn't even exist? Why are we burying our heads in the sand?

**God's Great Mercy and Love

        Communion experience. I see all my imperfections and feel totally unworthy to receive the Lord, only deserving his pity; yet he doesn't mind, always giving me the chance to become more perfect.    

**Do We Betray the Lord?

        In today's Gospel reading from John 13, Jesus announced Judas's betrayal. This prompts me to ask myself if I have betrayed my Lord. I might not intentionally betray him, but anytime I am not 100% faithful, I see that as a betrayal. Our perfect Lord deserves our perfect trustworthiness, and this is only possible if we become like the Lord in every way. This points to seeking union with him as our only way.

***The Hard, Harder, and Hardest***

        To repent our sins may be hard, but it's even harder to be humble. We repent our sins mainly for our own sake. To be humble is more for God's sake. That's why surrendering totally to God is the hardest, for it calls for the humbling of all of one's self. Anyhow, the farther you go, the greater your reward will be. 

**Made in the God's Own Image**

        Again on this Tuesday, I pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. When many of us realize that God the Father loves us so much that he willingly sacrificed his only Son for our sake, we are filled with gratitude and even moved to tears. To me, this clearly shows that we were made in the image of God!

Vision from Purgatory (God's Infinite Mercy)

***Christ the Only One

        Communion experience. In this crazy, disordered world of today, Christ is the only one who can keep us sane and our souls safe. 

****Mutual Exaltation

        In Mathew 23, Jesus said to the crowds and his disciples, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Do you realize that when we humble ourselves, we actually exalt the Lord? So whenever you want to exalt the Lord or to be exalted by him, just humble yourself. 

***Spiritual Progress*

        Repenting our sins is a major step in our spiritual life. The next big step to take is realizing how much we fall short of loving the Lord. Then we may very well decide to seek union with God through the Holy Eucharist. This is how we make our journeying toward the Lord increasingly beautiful.

*****Living Perfectly for God*

        Today the Lord also made me see that if we do anything for his sake, it's a very beautiful thing. That's all he expects from us and the best we could do for him. Yes, do everything for his sake and for his glory. It shows that you love him. This is obedience. The Lord is easy to please!

***Letting the Lord Touch Our Soul*****

        It was good that I was good enough to attend daily Mass again. Praise my Lord and my God. And I was also happy that I found my favorite rosary I thought was lost for a while. It's a wooden one I bought from the Carmelite Sisters at the concentration camp memorial site in Dachau, Germany. The first insight I received from the Lord at Mass this morning was that "we all need to let God touch our soul." This will be enough for the Lord to start transforming us to live a new life in him. To let that happen, we need to be completely open to the Lord and desire to possess him, to attain union with him, to abandon ourselves to him, or to belong to him totally.