**Listen to God, Not Yourself*

        Anyone who does not know the true God always asks, "What shall I do now?" But for the one who knows the true God of Christ well, his question now is for the Lord: "What do you wish me to do now?" And he waits with anticipation in peace.

****Christ the Truth Is It.

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus spoke to his disciples with authority: "Everyone who listens to my words and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to my words but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." Without the truth, we are all lost, and I've found Christ to be the exact truth I need to complete my existence. 

***Tragic State of the Church

        Taylor Marshall presents this short video by Mel Gibson which I believe was made in 2021. It's even more relevant today.

 

***Ultimate Quest for the Catholic

         When we first decide to believe in Jesus, that's a moment of seeing the light. And we may just believe in him for the rest of our lives without making much progress spiritually. In that case, what's missing is fire, the fervor as kindled by the Holy Spirit. Without it we simply remain lukewarm. And it's this fire that precisely makes following Christ exciting! Attaining union with God thru the Holy Eucharist should be the ultimate quest for every Catholic, for in seeking this union you give all of yourself to Christ the Lord and become all fired up for him.  

***Rule to Gain Spiritual Freedom

         If the Golden Rule is the rule to achieve world peace, then here's the rule to gain spiritual freedom: Let the Lord God be your Lord and yourself be his servant. There is nothing more honorable or rewarding than serving God humbly. The harmony between God and you are now restored; you are now spiritually free.

***God-Given Golden Rule

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." This is also saying "Do not do to others whatever you would not have them do to you." It's commonly known as the Golden Rule, and golden it is indeed; for if we all follow it, we'll have peace in the world. Attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist first and you'll automatically follow it without thinking.

***Blessed Carlo Acutis***

        Carlo Acutis was born in 1991 and died in 2006 at the age of 15. In 2020, he was beatified by Pope Francis. You can read his whole story on Wikipedia. He truly loved the Lord with a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. There are numerous inspiring videos about him on YouTube. Here are two short ones for you to watch in case you don't know anything about him yet.   

**God No Longer Surprising

         The Lord God is great, holy, most glorious, infinitely loving and merciful . . . truly amazing in all respects. But if you already know him well, all these outstanding characteristics no longer surprise you. Now you can focus exclusively on submitting yourself to the Lord in peace and humbleness. 

***Becoming like Christ***

        Communion experience. Once Christ becomes your Lord, all your problems, sufferings, pains, and concerns fade away. You now know that you are free and secure in him forever!

***Huge Difference***

         You want to be like God—that's being super wise.
         You want to be God—that's being super foolish.         

***To Jesus First*

        I've noticed that when Christiana face a problem, they usually tried to solve it like most other people. They turn to the Lord for help and guidance only when they can't handle the problem themselves anymore. But if Christ is really No.1 in your life, shouldn't you always turn to him first for anything? I believe this way you'll most likely have your problem solved sooner. By the way, never rule out asking for a miracle, for if you persist enough, it could very well happen.

**Most Secure Treasure

         Any worldly treasure you own risk being robbed, lost, or stolen, but the most precious of all treasures, Christ our Lord, is a treasure that will always be yours so long as you don't give him up.

**The World Deafens Us

       The Lord God is ready to speak to us at any time, but we need to open wide our hearts to hear his gentle voice. Unfortunately, we are so used to hearing the constant extraneous ungodly noises that we don't seek solitude anymore. Thus, we never get to know God and perish in the end. What a great pity!

***Amazing Consistency

        I have always believed that the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus, but there are always skeptics who doubt its authenticity despite the many amazing findings by experts in various fields. There have been over a hundred Eucharistic miracles involving a bleeding host and those that had been tested for blood type all showed that Jesus has AB blood. Now, the blood on the Shroud tested also showed that it's of AB type. This is surprising or not surprising, depending on your faith. 

**Spiritual Myopia?

        People always ask old seniors about their secrets to longevity, yet very few openly ask about how to have life everlasting! Anyhow, we should be interested in life everlasting a lot more than living a few more years in this life.

*****Moment to Die For*****

        Communion experience. The Lord God descended from heaven just to enter me to be with me! This is a moment to die for! In fact, after I received him, I was ready to go to him! 

***Best Move for Our Hearts***

        At each Mass, we lift up our hearts to the Lord. It struck me that it'd be better to give our hearts to the Lord once and for all, then we'll surely be with him always. 

**Tragic Unawareness*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus asked his disciples to store up treasures in heaven, for where one's treasure is, there also will his heart be. We waste a lot time storing up treasures on earth, for we seek immediate gratification and fail to look beyond this brief life—what a tragic myopic view! The awareness of God's presence can easily cure that. Again, union with God is the answer.