**Must-Have Awareness

        This awareness a Christian must have—it's recognizing that there is a fierce spiritual war being waged between God and the Evil One, with both sides fighting for our souls. So we must choose sides and get involved. If you don't do anything and believe that everything will be OK, I can assure you that it won't work out that way for you. The only sane choice is to join the Lord and fight alongside him. Then our final triumph shall be assured.

***The Importance of Prayer***

        You may or may not be familiar with Church Militant, but my purpose of posting this video by Christins Niles who used to work for Church Militant is for you to hear what she says about the importance of prayer which many Christians may not be fully aware of. A family (or any Christian group) that doesn't pray together regularly is bound to fall apart in times like ours. Blessed are those families that always pray and stay together. Sadly, they are rare and few nowadays.

****Why the World Doesn't Hear God*

         Here is one reason. The folks of the world are easily impressed by what they can feel thru their physical senses. On the other hand, the Lord God, being most humble and meek, never does anything to show off his power and might. To hear his gentle voice clearly, you need to shut off your physical senses and enter your own innermost first, and this is what the worldlings have trouble with.  

***Enjoying God's Love

        Communion experience. I just bask myself in God's love, the most beautiful and powerful force in the whole universe.

*How God Has Changed Me*

        It's already November 22, the eve of this year's Thanksgiving. Soon 2023 will be over. Looking back, I see that I've received Christ in the Eucharist thousands of times. I've experienced the greatest change since I started attending daily Mass a decade and a half ago. This change has been continuous and gradual. I now experience the Lord's presence at all times. Sins have become totally repulsive to me. The world has lost its lure. The usual activities people engaged in have become boring and this increases my desire to go to the Lord. In short, I've become otherworldly. Naturally, this brings some disadvantages in associating with others, but it's a negligible price to pay relative to what you receive from the Lord. Serving and glorifying God is now my sole mission. I feel totally fulfilled and just want to praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is real and amazing beyond words!

***Failings Are Blessings!***

        Every time you fail God, don't know what to do, lose peace, or suffer pains, it's a chance for you run to the Lord to seek advice, guidance, and consolation. Open up and enter even deeper into him! Never ever let anything weaken your faith and your hope in the Lord. In fact, see all you failures as blessings, for it's thru them that you get to abandon yourself to the Lord even more and become stronger each time. (Personally, I've found that God send sufferings my way always to strengthen me. If you love him, you may suffer for a while, but the sky always turns blue again!)

**Acting on Your Beliefs*

        One can be a Christian, but that might not be obvious to others. Similarly, you can believe that you depend totally upon God, yet what you do might seemingly contradict your belief. Any truly belief is be lived and acted upon. Otherwise, we are just being lukewarm, not much above a hypocritical Pharisee or scribe. By the Way, to live as if you depend upon God totally in everything is a great way to live!

***Being Open to God

        Communion experience. I surrender myself to the Lord completely; now he can bestow all his graces and blessings upon me freely without encountering any hindrance. Real cool!

***Union with God Extolled***

         This is truly a happy state! You are one with the Lord, in tune with him. You share his joys and sorrows. In commune with him, your learn of his thoughts and ways. To be aware of his constant presence within you is absolutely tonic to the soul. Hearing him speak to your heart just makes your day. Then if you sin inadvertently, you lose all your peace; but that's easily remedied thru the sacrament of penance. Once you tasted union with God, you don't want to be in any other state anymore. Freedom, peace, and joy are now all yours. It's truly nirvana.

**Another Joy

      Christ knows all about me. Because of that, he is able to love me. And I rejoice in that!

*****Only One Savior*****

        Are you a lost soul? If you don't know, then you are lost. I am saved and I know that. Christ, being God, knows all about us and specializes in saving lost souls. Don't fool yourself thinking that you can find another savior—Buddha, Mohamed, and any other religious leader either have already been or will be judged by Christ, period. 

***Loving Without Prejudice

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 19, Jesus came to Jericho and chose to stay at the home of Zacchaeus, the local chief tax collector. When people saw this, they began to grumble, saying that he had gone to stay at the house of a sinner. But Jesus let it be known that he had come to seek and to save what was lost. We often look down on those who are poor, uncouth, ignorant, or less holy, but the Lord hates the sin and never the sinner. And this makes him our ideal Savior. Let us be like him to become worthy to be loved by him. 

*****Most Special Daughter of the Father*

        Today is the memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Communion antiphon: Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father. This is why Mary is so special and became the most favored daughter of the Father. It is proper that we venerate and love her, for Jesus had already given her to us to be our mother, knowing that she can lead us to him.

***Have Faith and Ask in Earnest

        In today's Gospel reading fro Luke 18, a blind beggar sitting by the roadside heard a crowd going by. After he found out that Jesus of Nazareth was going by, he shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be quiet, but he kept calling out all the the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God.
        When we want something from the Lord, we can ask for it quietly or shout it out loud—it doesn't matter, as long as we have faith and do it in earnest. Always remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:7—"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." The Lord awaits our move.

**Thoughts on Sinning

        We fail God when we sin. Every time I sin, I know that I have failed the test, so I asked the Lord not to test me to the point I would fail. Then I realize that as long as I love him, he will honor that, for love does strengthens us and makes us more impervious to sin.  

**What Christ to Me Is Like

        If I were a jigsaw puzzle, Jesus would be the exact missing piece I need to complete me.  

**Need for Prayer*

        As long as evils still exists among us, the Lord needs us to pray hard and unceasingly for our survival and his glory. 

***Focusing on Ourselves First***

        At Mass this morning I heard the prayer asking the Lord to shine light upon the POpe, the bishops, and the priests. It struck me that when we ask the Lord to favor us in some way, it's because we need to soften our hearts and be open and willing to change. So we need to pray for ourselves first. In fact, the Lord is always eager to bless and sanctify us. If we get out his way, we'll receive the favors we need.