*****Do You Realize That . . .

the more you surrender yourself to God, the freer you feel and become? This is how he has made us! 

**Another Good Question

         You claim that you believe in God, the God of Christ, but can he depend upon you to do the work for him? In other words, can he trust in you to always do what he wants you to do? 

**Another Cause for Joy

        Revelation 2.10: "Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." This is the reward the faithful shall receive from the Lord. It alone is enough to keep us rejoicing unceasingly! 

*****In Solitude with God (True Freedom)***

        We don't have an oxymoron here, for the Lord is ever present and we cannot possibly exclude him. As a matter of fact, we should always welcome and embrace his holy presence. I enjoy it so much that my solitude with him turns into an exquisitely beautiful experience, knowing that I've been liberated from the world and now belong to him alone—this is true freedom! 

**Most Consoling Words

         After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples to commission them to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that he had commanded them. His last words to them were "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." They were absolutely consoling to all of us.

*****Some Absolutely Serious Words*****

        If you don't believe in or accept Christ as your Savior, it's not something you can easily brush aside. For you must be able to prove that he never existed or he is a phony or he just came and died for nothing! Otherwise, you become one most foolish, insensitive, and ungrateful person in existence. You are foolish because you put yourself on the road to self-destruction. (In Matthew 10, Jesus said, Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.)

***No Christ, No True Joy*****

        I know the Lord well enough to declare unequivocally that one can never be truly happy without knowing the God of Christ. Any happiness you find sans Christ is pseudo and short-lived, while the joy of Christ is experienced by the soul and everlasting. You won't know this until you have tasted the Lord yourself. 

***Only Two Possible Outcomes***

        In Matthew 25:29, Jesus says, "To everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Let me use myself as an example to show you that this totally makes sense. When I first asked the Lord to take away my ego, he responded decisively in a couple of weeks. I didn't expect that and was amazed. I opened up more, giving him more freedom to change me. More results and more amazement until I finally felt in love with the Lord and surrendered to him. Now I am in full union with him. The other part is the going-downhill part. You simply let yourself go in the opposite direction, falling further and further away from God and end up losing your very soul. 

*****God Gives the Best*****

        Communion experience. The Lord God goes way beyond keeping me alive on earth; he raises me to the highest possible level of existence. I now belong to him forever and is heaven bound! You can't possibly top that.

***Secret of Inner Peace***

        In Matthew, Jesus gave so many good teachings to his disciples. For example, he told them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. He also taught them to stop judging others, and told Peter to forgive any brother who sins against him not just as many as seven times, but seventy-seven times. Come to think of it, if we can truly do what Jesus has taught us here, it would not be possible for us not to experience peace! This is how the infinitely merciful Lord is able to endure the innumerable offenses we commit against him.

****Improving Our Prayer Life

        When we attend daily Mass, we ask for the Lord to have mercy on us, but we need to do it a lot more. Also, we normall don't praise God enough unless you are a charismatic. In particular, realizing how much we depend upon the Lord just to remain alive, we really should thank him every chance we get. So, to stay in intimate commune with the Lord, praise him, beg for his mercy, and thank him for all things unceasingly.

***What God Will Do for Us!***

        Communion experience. I was not worthy to receive the Lord, but he made me "worthy" to receive him. And I became immortal!

*****Mighty Precious Deed of God

        When Jesus changes the bread and wine into his body and blood for us to consume during Mass as he did at the Last Supper, this to me is one of his mightiest deeds. It is the greatest self-giving performed with humility without any fanfare. It is an open invitation for us to attain union with him to become like him. Truly a gift from heaven as precious as the gift of our life, for whoever receives it will have eternal life.  

***Cause for Joy!

        Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. In reading 2 from 1 Corinthians 15, Pauls writes, "Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ; then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." For all I know, Christ has already paved the way for me to have eternal life in heaven after this life. And this is a big deal—definitely a cause for great joy!

**Causes of Shedding Tears

        Sometimes I cry for all of us who offend the Lord continuously, causing him to suffer nonstop. Then there are times I am moved to tears because of the unspeakable joy I receive from him. Today it's realizing how great his love and mercy are that makes me want to shed tears. 

***Taking the High Road*

        Many Catholics do not strictly adhere to all the teachings of the Church or the counsels and commands of Christ, for some of them are just too hard to follow. But obey we must, even if we feel differently. The correct attitude is to admit that the Lord is always right and we need him to help us to become perfect. Then even if we don't quite succeed, he will forgive us. To disobey him outright instead is to ask for condemnation. 

***Ave Maria by Gomez, Kang***

        Many composers have written "Ave Maria" in honor of the Blessed Mother. I have listed a number of them under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos . . . in the right sidebar of the blog page. Schubert's "Ave Maria" is probably best known and a classic, but today the magnificent version by William Gomez rivals that one. My favorite recording has been the one sung by Elina Garanca which you'll find in the sidebar list. Today I came across this version by a Korean mezzo soprano. She may not be as famous as Garanca, but her voice is just sublime and sings most beautifully. I think you'll be moved by her performance.

***Perfecting Relationship***

        Communion experience. I let love draw me deep into my beloved Lord, perfecting my relationship with him.