**The Renewal

        Communion experience. The Lord cleanses and heals our souls and makes us holy and whole again.

**Our Only Power Source

         We can pray as hard as we want, but power comes only from God. Pray hard to let him make us holy and fruitful. Without him, we are nothing.

**Christian Duty**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus explained the right attitude a servant should have to his disciples. He said to them, "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" Yes, serving God is our duty, not to show that we are being extra good. We merely do what we should and not think about receiving any rewards. God remains the Lord and we, his lowly (but beloved) servants.

***The Death That Gives Birth*

        Communion experience. To die in Christ is to begin living the new eternal life. 

***Perfect Combination***

         Today's entrance  antiphon from 1 Samuel 2: I shall raise up for myself a faithful priest who will act in accord with my heart and mind, says the Lord. It struck me that obedience to God is truly a beautiful thing! In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus said to his Apostles, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Here I was struck by the beauty of having a great faith. Obedience and faith do make a perfect combination that can lead us straight to eternal freedom!

**Communion Wish

        To vanish from the world and dwell in Christ alone 

***The Right or Wrong Approach***

       When you want to know and love God, you can focus upon Jesus or yourself. Usually, when we see that God is not that close to us, we start thinking how we can get closer to him. This is never that helpful because you still think that you can do it on your own. The right approach is to do the very opposite—you focus upon the Lord and forget all about yourself. Remain open to let him inspire you and draw you to him. This is relying upon the Lord and not yourself. This is how we should live the Christian life. Any message telling you that you can do it won't work, but if you trust that God can do it, then it'll be done for you. 

**Sinning Depicted

         This was what I saw mentally this morning. Every time we commit a sin, we grow a thorn that pokes out, making us look ugly and hurtful to others. When we repent and beg Christ's forgiveness, he plucks it out. We hurt a little and are healed, looking wholesome again.

***Smart Move*

        Communion time thoughts. Things happen unexpected all the time, so we are not in control at all! Realizing this, if you were smart, you would completely submit yourself to God. 

***Going All the Way with God (Most Exciting Living)***

        The LORD is infinitely good and powerful, so feel free to ask him to make you holy and great in his eyes. Do not limit him nor yourself! The more you trust in him, the more power you receive, and the better and happier you become. Only with God can you go all the way, for his mercy is unlimited and his riches inexhaustible. This way you gain all he has for you, and you'll be overwhelmed!

***Reverencing the Lord Always***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 2, Jesus cleansed the temple by driving out all those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers, for making his Father's house a marketplace. This makes me realize that we must reverence our churches as our Father's houses, especially if the Holy Eucharist is present in the tabernacle. In such cases, irreverent talking, unrestrained laughing, indecent dressing . . . would all be inappropriate. Last, if we regard ourselves yo be temples of the Holy Spirit, we should keep ourselves pure, blameless, and pleasing to God.

***Best Evidence for God's Existence

        Though we do not see God in person, the fact that Christ has come, told us all about the kingdom of God, died for us so that we might have eternal life and then rose from the dead is ample evidence that God exists and loves us. To believe in Christ is to believe in God, as he is God.  

***Christian Requisite*

       To be open to God and clean of heart always. 

*****Future of the Church?*****

        This is a disturbing video and it seems like we are heading in that direction. We need to beg for and trust in God's mercy!

***Our Biggest No-No***

         There is just one thing we must not do—it is sinning against God, the God of Christ. Remember this and persevere, and you'll be happy forever one day.

*****Great Communion Joy!

        I have akready said that the Eucharist, being God's most humble miracle, is his greatest miracle. To me, the transformation of the bread and the into the real body and blood of our Lord without any visible sign is absolute astounding! It's so earthshaking that should the earth know how great this miracle is, it would shake in its orbit. And if I can truly comprehend its greatness, my soul would leap out of my body for sheer joy!

***How We Impact Heaven***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus addressed the parable of the lost sheep to the Pharisees and scribes. "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." We are like that man in the parable, and God who created us in his image is like us. The parable reveals how precious we are to God. So the question is "Do we want to bring joy or to bring sorrow to heaven?" Of course, our decision will greatly affect our own destiny too. 

*****Important Message for the Rich***

        In Matthew 19, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Now, one of gates into Jerusalem was named "The Eye of the Needle," and was quite small, since camels heavily loaded with goods would have to be unloaded to pass thru. If that were the eye of a needle Jesus had in mind, that would mean it's definitely possible for anyone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, but he would have to unload all his possessions first. Anyway, all of us who are not poor should take this message seriously. If in practice we cannot unload all we have, we must at least become detached to it.