****Most Exciting Learning Process*

        Learning or learning about something new can be fun and/or exciting. Examples are learning to swim, learning about a country and its culture, reading about how to save big money, etc. But the most exciting and satisfying learning experience is learning God's ways and thoughts, for you can end up becoming like God!

**Meaningless Living*

        There are many dramas you can watch on TV. The Koreans ones are particularly popular because the story or plot is always well written, easily drawing you in. The stories might not be true, but they do portray real lives. Most of us are like those characters in those shows—we seek happiness, but we also deal with problems at home, at work, among friends and lovers. It does seem to me that going thru life like that without involving God is ultimately meaningless, even if the ending turns out to be happy. With God involved, you would seek his will, do things according to his plan, and discover how he resolves all the problems for you, etc., and living becomes meaningful. Of course, this is not to be expected from a secular industry. They have succeeded in entertaining us, but we remain as worldly as ever. We need to experience the real God of Christ in our lives!

***Most Precious Food***

        Communion experience. This precious food from heaven I receive does not guarantee good health or longevity for me in this world, but it absolutely assurers me that I'll live forever with my Most Loving Father for all eternity after I leave here. This is plenty good enough for me! 

**Pure Giving & Serving Valued by God

        This is today's Gospel reading from Luke 14. On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." So we should give and serve without expecting to be repaid in any way. We work for the Lord alone and will be repaid by him alone.

**No Time to Waste*

        Whether you are young or old, there is no time to waste. Our lifetime is limited and every moment counts. You live it either with or without God. 

*****When Life Becomes a Tragedy*****

        Again, here's the quotation by Léon Bloy, the French Catholic writer: "The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint." Let me say that the saying remains true if I were to replace the last part "is not to become a saint" with "is not to believe in Christ," "is not to seek union with God," "is not to abandon yourself totally in God," or "is not to love your God with all your heart, with all you mind, and with all your soul." 

*****About Christ the LORD

        It's so easy for us to dismiss Christ when we don't really know him yet. But once you know him well, you never want to leave him ever, for he is that beautiful! Advice: never rush to conclusions about Christ!

***Fighting Our Worst Enemy***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus denunciated the scribes and Pharisees for exalting themselves instead of serving others. The ego was at play here. Our ego is our worst enemy, blocking us from ever becoming truly humble. Do you know that when we lose our ego, Satan loses all his power over us? To becoming egoless, just don't do anything that would make others think highly of you.

*****Inner Peace Attainable!

        The world is in chaos for not embracing Christ the Lord. Will it ever become completely peaceful? I doubt it. Then I realize that we can still attain perfect inner peace when we attain union with the Lord thru the Holy Eucharist! This is absolutely uplifting and heartwarming. Rejoice that in Christ there is always hope for our salvation!

***What We Basically Lack**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. The lesson he wanted to teach them was given in this saying: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Here's the secret to being exalted by God, but alas, not enough of us get and practice that! It shows that we basically lack the humility of obeying the Lord fully.

**What Best to Look Forward To

        What do you look forward to when another day begins? Getting your paycheck? Attending a friend's party? Just relaxing at home? Test driving the car you've always wanted? They are all OK, but the most appropriate, edifying, and rewarding thing we look forward to everyday should be "serving God."    

***Being Good Not Good Enough

        Being a good Christian will most likely get you into heaven, but being a perfect Christian really should be our aim, for the Lord deserves the very best from us! We can never love him enough.

**Faith over Means**

        I've learned that faith is what make things happen, not the means you use to obtain what you want from God. A couple of examples to show what I mean. Once I blest my son when he suffered a severe virus attack, putting him in a dire condition, with a cotton ball soaked with the tears of Mother Mary which I saw flowing from her eyes on an icon at a certain monastery, and my son miraculously recovered shortly afterwards even though later I found out that the tears were not genuine. Second case, I am thinking of sending a donation to a religious organization asking them to help praying for certain individuals for whom I've been praying for a long time. Then what if they don't really honor that? I do hear the Lord assuring me that as long as I do believe in him, he will honor my wish.

***Eucharistic Experience***

        We have Eucharistic adoration at our church today, so I spent an hour there with the Lord. Here's what I experienced. (1) I yearned for the Lord and even union with him in this life couldn't totally satisfy me. I just knew that there's a higher perfect union awaiting me in heaven, and that's keeping me going. (2) You don't always have to speak to the Lord. Just simply being with him is a very satisfying form of prayer. You sit or kneel at his feet, enjoying his presence and being attentive to him. (3) I was still overwhelmed by the fact that the Lord I worship and adore doesn't mind entering me daily through the Holy Eucharist. It's like I am nobody and I am really somebody at the same time. In sum, the Lord is awesome.

****Time to Be Alert!****

        The Irish Saint Malachy, a bishop of the 12th century, prophesied about 112 future popes since his time, and our present Pope Francis turns out to be #112. Here's the saint's prediction on his last pope: "In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End." In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said to Peter, "I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." I am not a prophet, but considering the states of the world and the Church today and the facts stated above, and using common sense, I can see that big things have to be imminent. How soon, I don't know. Nevertheless, they are likely to happen when we least expect them. We are in or near end times!

***Best Choice

        Communion experience. If I were given the chance to become the richest person in the world, to become the most famous idol of the world, to become the healthiest and longest-living person in the world, or to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I would choose the last without any hesitation. 

***Only One True God***

        Only total reconciliation with the God of Christ will bring us peace.

        Only the love of the God of Christ can heal us, body and soul.

        Only the God of Christ can deliver us from sin. 

        Only the God of Christ cans lead us to heaven. 

        For he is the only true God.

***Savoring the Lord*****

        Communion experience. After receiving the Holy Eucharist, I truly savor tasting the Lord while the consecrated host remains on my tongue. Personally, I don't kneel yet because the Lord, having not yet occupied me fully, is only with me, and he shouldn't bow to anyone. I start to kneel only after I have totally consumed the Eucharist. (I'd like to mention again the time I really appreciated the Holy Eucharist and the Lord rewarded me by not completely melting away until after over twenty-two minutes.)