**Spiritual Life in Essence*

         We empty ourselves and open up to God, and he does his work through us. We let it be all God's doing.

***Loving Our Neighbor a Challenge

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus said to a Pharisee, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." Indeed, God is love, and love is the answer to all our problems! In practice, loving our neighbor presents us with the greatest challenge today when evil is so prevalent that there aren't that many people you can fully trust anymore. So what are we to do? This much I know: If we love the Lord, he'll never subject us to any test we cannot pass. He knows each of us thoroughly and is merciful. So trust in him and follow him faithfully and you'll come thru fine.

**Banishing Sin Once and for All

        We need the Lord to forgive all our sins and then ask him to keep us pure so that we may not sin again. This second intention is no less important than the first one. 

**Reasons for Wanting to Go to Heaven*

         (1) To obey God, for he wishes us to go to heaven to live happily forever. (2) To glorify God, for he wishes us to be perfect and we'll finally become perfect in heaven.

**Sweet Experience

        Communion experience. The Lord is most sweet to the soul, sweeter than honey to the mouth. 

**Extreme Foolishness*

        God is our greatest defender against evil, but we need to trust in him first. People can pray for us, still it's up to us to make the decision to submit ourselves to him or not. To reject God who's totally on our side, go on our own, and risk being lost forever is being extremely foolish indeed. Beware! Pride can be deadly and is our worst enemy; it is also what Satan seizes upon the most to ruin our souls.

***Why Christ So Important?

        Straight and simple answer: He is critically important to us because he is the only one who can get us into heaven for certain.  

***Our Greatest Honor

         Being chosen by God to inherit his kingdom.

***Best Way to Know God***

         I have always advocated going to Christ directly if you want to know him speedily and well. You must establish a strong bond with him first for him to be able to fundamentally change you. A superficial relationship is a waste a time. As a Catholic. receiving him in the Eucharist is the way to attain ultimate union with him. It is in this most intimate relationship that you experience you own transformation and the joy of following him.

*****Our Greatest Humility*****

       It is to surrender ourselves completely to God, letting him do whatever he wishes with us. It is total abandonment in him. By the way, this also leads to union with God and spiritual freedom. And our greatest humility is followed by our greatest exaltation by the Lord. It can't get any more fantastic!

***Infinity No Longer Perplexing***

        I studied math and learned that infinity is a concept, unlike regular numbers you can easily work with. Our finite minds just have trouble conceiving infinity. Not anymore for me since I came to know the Lord God well, for he is the very embodiment of infinity! First of all, he has always existed and will exist forever; he is simply I AM as was revealed by the Scriptures. He is omnipotent, for nothing is impossible for him. When he wills, it's done. He transcends both space and time. I used to wonder ever since I was a kid if I would ever hit a wall or something if I kept on flying into space. Then if I did hit a wall, what would be on the other side of it? Anyway, after knowing my God, should it turn our that our universe is infinite, I would have no qualms about accepting that to be a reality.

***God Our Deliverer

        In today's first reading from Romans 7, Paul wrote, "Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body?" We need the Lord to deliver us not just from our bodies, but also from sin and the whole world. The Lord, being the truth, will deliver us from all our burdens and set us completely free one day, this I know for sure.

**Worse Dementia**

        Many older people suffer from dementia nowadays and their families and friends feel sorry for them. Then I thought of those whose minds are still clear and sound, but suffer from shall I say "spiritual dementia," for they still live for themselves and this world, having no awareness of their need for salvation and God . . . are they better off than those who have the regular dementia? I don't think so. For the latter might have already been saved before dementia started. Anyway, believe in Jesus our Lord and Savior to secure your eternity in advance; and dementia or no dementia, it doesn't matter anymore. Better yet, pray that the Lord will keep your mind sharp and clear all your life so that you may enjoy him every single moment while you're on earth . . . he may very well grant you that wish for loving him!

****The Ultimate End

        Communion experience. Christ is absolutely my end! By that I mean I have gone as far as I can to fulfill and satisfy myself. When I possess him, I lack nothing. He's the only one worth our giving up everything to love and treasure.

***Our Greatest Joy on Earth***

         It is knowing that Christ Jesus our most beloved loving Lord gave himself up so that we might have eternal life! Praise be to him forever!

**How Strong Our Faith?

        In today's first reading from Romans, Paul told the Christians at Rome that they now had been freed from sin and become slaves of God. Yes, to be "enslaved" by God actually sets them free! In the Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus told his disciples that he had come not to establish peace but division—another saying that's seemingly paradoxical. In both cases, faith in the Lord played a central role. For if we all have a strong faith, we'll be united in freedom and live in peace. 

***Be Worry Free

        We usually accept the fact that as humans we can't help worrying about various things, so we don't even believe that we can stop worrying. But the other fact is that if we totally trust in God, we can indeed be worry free. In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples to depend upon God and not worry about anything. The Lord wouldn't have said anything that's impossible for us to attain. No matter, we should always aim for complete abandonment in God, never limiting him in any way. 

**Two True Sayings**

        Psalms 130:3: If you, LORD, mark iniquities, who can stand? True. This could be the flip side: If you, LORD, impart blessings, who can lose? Also true.