***Trust in God Only*

        We depend upon God. Of course, there are times we need to depend upon fellow humans too. But the ultimate trust we have must be in God alone, not anyone else. Then everything will work out right.

****Another Urgent Reminder****

        Christ has already paved the way for us to enter heaven and given us the road map (instructions) as well. All that remains for us to do is to get on that path to let the Lord lead us all the way. If you haven't started yet, what's making you hesitate? Know the window of time you have can expire at any time.

***Only One True Judge

        We get judged by a lot of people. They say all kinds of things about us, but if we don't let them affect us negatively, our souls remain intact. So they are not true judges at all. The only true judge we have is our Lord God. We only need to mind what he says about us. If we obey him, then nothing can harm us, for he is also our rock, our shield, and our refuge. 

****How Awake Are You?****

      I blogged this thought recently, but feel the urgency to do it again. We were born into this mostly secular, material world and have been conditioned from birth to believe that making a lot of money so that we can own a lot of material things is the goal of our life. Sometimes we do think of God, but that small inner voice we hear always gets drowned out fast. As a result, we no longer realize that we are losing our soul when in fact we are. This is absolutely tragic. Let me use an example to show you why we need to wake up to reality.
        Suppose you need to take and pass an entrance exam in order to be admitted to a university. Wouldn't you prepare yourself as well as possible to be sure that you'll pass it? But if you wrongly believe that you already know a lot and don't need to prepare thoroughly for it, you could miss the passing score by one point and be rejected by the university. Now, losing your soul is infinitely worse than being rejected by a university.

***Challenging Truth***

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all." Here is the secret (truth) revealed for us to be first and great. It is most challenging and we should appreciate it. The ball is again in our court.

***Enjoyment That Liberates You***

        I watched a video showing a famous pianist and his grandmother playing on one piano. She was also a renowned piano teacher in her days, but could only play with her right hand now. They play together most touchingly, and afterwards I heard her say how lovely it would be if one could continue listening to music when dead. She was right, but I did feel a tinge of sadness. For even though listening to music is a lot better than enjoying many other things in the world, it's still more or less self-centered. Not only it doesn't set you free in any way, it can even enslave you. I've seen musicians living exclusively for music where faith is God is absent. On the supreme level, we have enjoyment of the Lord. We experience that when we are in love with God. Here's an everlasting joy that truly uplifts your spirit and sets you free.

***Most Important Move to Make***

       Cleary, the earth is not our permanent home; we are just passing thru. So why do we live as if we're never going to die? Why do we accumulate so many material things knowing that we can't take a single thing with us when we leave? Why do we hold onto the passing world? The most important thing for us to do on earth should be to secure out next life, and that means following Christ and live for him now. It's a life-or-death move for us. 

**What I Feel Most Thankful For*

        After morning Mass, as I was walking toward my car in the parking lot to come home, I saw the clear blue sky on a perfect spring morning with just the right temperature, and I thanked the Lord for that. Then I realized that I was able to enjoy all that while feeling fine physically, and i thanked the Lord again. Finally, I saw that I needed to thank him most of all for the eternal life he has promised me.

***Letting God Delight in You

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 18: The Lord became my protector. He brought me out to a place of freedom; he saved me because he delighted in me. If you know that the Lord delights in you, then you should never do anything to make yourself ugly to him or destructive to your own soul! Instead, rejoice that he loves you. In case you are not happy with yourself because of your imperfections, the Lord can fix that easy to make you holy and beautiful!

***The Ego's Gotta Go

        Spotting others' imperfections is easy, while we barely notice our own shortcomings. Then when we do realize them, we feel hurt. This all has to do with the presence of pride or the lack of humility. The remedy is to accept our imperfections before the perfect Lord and ask him to make us truy humble. To be perfect, the ego must go!

****Biggest Case of Living in Denial

         Christ being the Truth, those who choose not to believe in him are living in denial! It's as bad as believing that they themselves don't exist!

***Willingness and Intention Count

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, a rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Since he had already observed all the commandments from his youth, Jesus said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. If this advice were given to us, would we be saddened? Most of us do live with other family members who depend on you, so selling what you have and give to the poor is practically impossible. Now, suppose you were alone and free to do whatever you want with your possessions, and you're willing to do what Jesus had suggested, then that should satisfy him. Final thought: Since no one can truly follow the Lord perfectly, every one of us is outwardly a hypocrite to some extent. But if our intention is always good, he will overlook that.

***Developing a Beautiful Relationship***

        Talk to God as often as possible and always pour your heart out to him each time you do. He will then reciprocate. A beautiful intimate relationship now begins.

***Jesus' Most Impressive Attribute*

        Jesus is Lord and God to us. He is holy and perfect; omnipotent and all-knowing. He is also our brother, best friend, and servant. What impresses me and makes me appreciate him the most is his selfless pure love for us. This is what we depend upon for our very existence and eternal salvation.

**Made Rich by God

        Communion experience. Jesus is all mine. I am now the "richest" person in the whole world! 

***So Good to Believe in Christ

        He loves me! He's always for me! He forgives my sins. He grants me eternal life! He understands me perfectly. And nothing is impossible with him! That's plenty good enough for me.

***God of Impossibility

         When we have the God of Christ, it would be impossible for us to go to hell, to ever feel lonely, to ever despair, to worry about things, to become impatient, to hate anyone, to judge others, to not love anyone, to think evil, to commit other sins, to be deceived by Satan, to be enslaved by the world . . . ad inf.

***The Great Union

        We are all different from each other, yet we can become one if we all attain union with our Lord, our greatest unifier.