*****Most Urgent*****

        Loving God is most urgent, for we have only a brief moment on earth to prepare for all eternity! 

*****Happy in the LORD

        Today I am so happy with my Lord. He has fulfilled me and I am so satisfied with him that I wish to be totally overwhelmed by him.  

***Faith at Work***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, an official came forward, knelt down before Jesus, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and she will live." Later Jesus arrived at the official's house and raised the little girl from her "sleep." Another woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured. In either case, it's faith at work, verifying what Jesus said in Mark:24: "All that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." So, have courage and believe."

***How to Be Happy

        Today I feel really happy that the God of Christ is my God. I feel that sinning against him is the worst thing I could do to him, and to repent my sins and be forgiven by him is the happiest thing that could happen to me. To obey the Lord always and you are the happiest person always.

***Need to Be on Fire!

        Just being awake is not good enough; we need to be hot on fire. The Lord God doesn't like us to remain just lukewarm (Revelation 3:15-16). We really should mind his business first, in fact, only. We serve ourselves most of the time and only serve him when we have some time left over or have to. This falls far short of fulfilling the greatest and first commandment Jesus gave us: You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37) To make this happen, we must desire it. Otherwise, we remain lukewarm. 

**Must-Have for Entering Heaven

        You can be the most intelligent person in the whole world, but without humility you won't make heaven. For to get into heaven, you need to be humble enough to surrender yourself to the God of Christ first.

**Only the Lord Can

        Communion experience. Only the Lord can take away my sins and save my soul. Only he can draw me into union with him and keep me holy. Only he can make me heaven bound.

****Christ Our Ultimate Model

         I have said that we should only mind what God thinks about us, not what others think. In practice, this is not always easy, especially when the others are our own family. It helps to take their intention into consideration. If they mean well, then accept what they say. If not, then it becomes hard to do so. I can only look to Christ the Lord for guidance and inspiration. In Luke 6, he said to his disciples, "To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back." Indeed, Jesus himself demonstrated what he taught here. He was accused, mocked, laughed at, scourged, and ordered to carry his cross all the way to his own crucifixion, yet he never retaliated in any way. Instead he prayed for those who persecuted him. So the answer is clear: we must remain calm and not take whatever is said about or done to us personally. Rejoice that you are following his example. This is difficult but entirely possible with the Lord's help. And you'll enjoy his peace too.

**Need for Christ to Free Us

        The secular world is replete with attractions and it's so easy to become mired in them your whole lifetime. That's why we need to know Christ first so that we may discern what's good for us and what's not. Even so, there'll still be a constant battle to fight. Hence I recommend that you seek to attain union with God foremost. Catholics should take full advantage of the Holy Eucharist available to them. Once you taste the Lord and his joy, all worldly attractions simply fade away. You are now free and truly happy.

*****Moment Special Moments*****

        Communion experience. The moment God created each of us was a most special moment for each of us. When I receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, I am reunited with my creator and it's an equally most special moment! 

***Best Way to Live

        Since I am here on earth only temporarily and don't know what tomorrow will be like, I am just going to live one day at a time in Christ my Lord. 

**Common Sense View of Life

        Life is all about how much you obey God, that is, how much you let him be your Lord. If you disobey him totally, he won't be able to help you in any way. On the other hand, if you are completely obedient to God, you'll have eternal life for sure. If you obey him only part of the time, you may still be saved, for his mercy is great, but I wouldn't bet on it.

*Circle Completed

        Communion experience. I still can't believe that I am receiving the Lord himself into me. I feel as if I've completed a circle, and I don't have to go around anymore.  

**Being Heartless

        Christ died on the cross to redeem us from sin. He went to the extreme to show that he loved us. All we need to do is believe in him and we are saved. If we don't even respond to him, then we are indeed heartless.

***God Our Ultimate Transformer

        From personal experience, I can tell everyone that the God of Christ is the only one who can actually change us fundamentally. After all, he created us in the first place. If you feel enslaved, burdened, depressed . . . he can change all that, depending upon how much you'll let him. Abandon yourself totally to him and you'll have freedom, peace, and joy in this life, not to mention eternal life later in heaven!

***One to Go To***

        If there is someone you want to go to, whom would you choose? For me, Christ is the only choice, for there is absolutely no one else who can even come close to matching him. Years of following him have convinced me that he is both God and our Savior. He is unique and the best and only choice hands down. And I know that a multitude of others have also come to the same conclusion.

**Best Thing to Look Forward To

        We'll all be returning to God to be judged by him. So are you preparing for that day? What kind of meeting would you like it to be like? I want to be fully ready so that it'll be a day of greatest joy for me to begin spending eternity with our most loving Father. This is absolutely the best thing I can possibly look forward to.

***What God Expects of Us

         (1) We be holy. (2) We trust in his plan for us and focus upon bearing fruit for his glory. This will be different for each of us. (3) We respond to God's will alone and never compare ourselves with others. That's all.