***Getting Me Ready

         Communion experience. The Lord was getting me ready to meet him in person!

*****Rejoicing in God***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." Of course, I rejoiced in hearing Jesus say "... where I am, there also will my servant be." I knew where I'd be and that the Father would honor me—the Lord made my day!

***Have God, Have Everything***

        When you have the Lord God, everything else fades away, for all such things no longer have any power over you. Imagine that you are now before the Lord and see all his glories and beauty, I don't believe that you would ever want to hang on to the materials goods to which you're enslaved. So start cutting your ties to the world right now to be sure that you will see God's glories and beauty one day.

*****Way to Holiness*****

        When I prayed this morning, I saw it as an act of obedience to God. Let's make everything we do an act of obedience to the Father.

****Going the Extra Mile for God

        A flat board placed across a gap can sag under loads, but if you make it slightly arched, it becomes a lot stronger. You see this done in architecture and construction. The point is that to counteract any tendency we want to overcome, we need to push back beyond the neutral position. This principle applies to living our spiritual life too. For example, if you wish to overcome temptation, not seeking it usually is not good enough—you need to actively seek to avoid any such occasion. Eradicating ego is another case. To succeed, become extra humble is necessary. In general, not sinning is laudable; but to be excellent, go all out to glorify the Lord. In Matthew 5:41, Jesus counseled, "Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles." For the Lord, we should at least double our effort. 

**Praying Anew*

        When we pray to God, it's easy to think about something else or rush through it. But if you mean business, you will want to take your time, focus upon the Lord alone, and mean every word you say from the bottom of your heart. Then you'll feel the Lord drawing you close to him. Prayer will now be an unforgettable heartwarming experience.

****God's Infinite Mercy*

        Find a place where you can be alone and review carefully your own life. Suppose God now lets you judge yourself to see whether you deserve to go to heaven or not. Even if you think that you might not make heaven, if you'll just repent of your sins and ask him to save you, he'll do just that unhesitatingly with joy, for his mercy is infinite. And this should be great news to all of us.

*****Most Precious Thing

        Communion experience. The Eucharist is the Lord, hence it's the most precious thing to me in every way. It's more important to me than my own life, soul, and existence!

*****How to Have Great Faith

        Also in today's Gospel reading, during the fourth watch of the night, the disciples in a boat on the sea saw Jesus walking toward them. Once Peter realized that it was Jesus, he said to him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" What Jesus said helps me to understand how to have greater faith. It's simply pray and trust with no more doubts or worries. And this can't be accomplished by trying hard in any way. Instead, you simply rest peacefully in the Lord. With practice, we can attain complete abandonment in God. In sum, to have great faith simply means you don't ever worry for the Lord anymore.

***Praying to the Father***

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 14, after dismissing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray. If the Lord needs to pray to the Father, how much more we'd need to pray to him! Seeking union with God thru the Holy Eucharist is one sure way of becoming aware of the Father's presence at all times so that we may succeed in praying unceasingly to him.

****Well-Meaning Warning***

        I arrived at the seminary early, about half an hour before morning Mass started. I sat in my car in the parking lot at the top of a hill. Normally, I say some of my prayers then. Today I looked thru the windshield and saw the whole distant view, a landscape of trees dotted with houses here and there, extending as far as I could see. It just looked so peaceful in the cool sunny morning. We should really be so content living a peaceful life and enjoying all the good things the Lord has given us. Yet people still seek fame, power, and wealth, trampling on others along the way. This is our biggest problem, making us the only creatures on earth that sin against God, soiling our own souls in the proocess. This makes a mockery of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross. A huge awakening is needed or we'll receive the greatest shock of our existence upon leaving this earth! 

***Basic Truth (Mankind's Biggest Problem)***

         When we disobey God (sin), we feel the burden and lose peace. When we surrender to God and let him be our Lord, we are set free. It comes down to choosing ourselves or God to follow. 

***All Delights and Sweetness***

        Today's Communion antiphon, Wisdom 16:20: You have given us, O Lord, bread from heaven, endowed with all delights and sweetness in every taste. I must say that our Lord is most delightful and sweet, and he makes us all delightful and sweet to him.

***God's Most Extraordinary Miracle

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 14, Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish enough to feed the crowds that followed him, consisting of five thousand men, not counting women and children. After they ate, there were still twelve wicker baskets full of fragments left over. To me, this miracle is absolutely extraordinary. You see, human scientists can only convert an existing amount of matter into an equal amount of something else. Here, the Lord practically created something out of nothing.

**Following God Anywhere Anytime*

        The Apostles followed the Lord when he was on earth. Since the Lord God is not restrained in any way by time nor physical distancing, we can follow him just as easily. After all, we are to follow him in spirit and with our heart.

***Going Home to the Father***

        If you go to your heavenly Father and tell him anything from your heart, focusing upon him alone, you'll get his undivided attention. He always treats you the way you treat him. This is how you can get to know your Father most intimately. With the aid of the Holy Eucharist, you can achieve full union with him. You are now home with the one who loves you the most, the one to whom you rightfully belong!

***Set Free from Sin

        Communion experience. I am saved! The biggest burden of my soul is gone—sin has lost all its power over me.

*****Most Important Reminder*

        Before you die, you'd better make sure that you have reconciled with the Lord God, for he's the one you must answer to after you die. Wise is the one who does it the moment he's aware of it.