***Key to getting accepted by God the Father***

        Mt 10:32, today's Communion antiphon: Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father, says the Lord. Here's how to get accepted by the heavenly Father—critically important for us to know!

****Critical How We Receive the Word of God****

         In today's Gospel's reading from Luke 8, Jesus told the Parable of the Sower to a large crowd. It went like this: "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." Later he explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples: "The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." We can see that our entire future is dependent upon how we receive the word of God.

***Want to Know God? Easy***

         When you want something in this world, you must work for it, be it a college degree, the skill to play the piano, growing your own vegetables, or anything else. But if you want to know God, no work is required—you simply relax and be open to let him do whatever he wishes with you.

*****Pursue Nothing and Be Fulfilled*****

         We all pursue something in life. The lowest bunch are those who pursue evil to satisfy their wayward desires. Many pursue money or fame, and others, knowledge. Still others, a hobby of some sort. Once I had a friend over who happened to collect tin boxes. He liked the two he saw in my house so much that I emptied all the contents—cookies, candies, whatever—for him to take home. Many painters and musicians virtually live for the art they pursue. In the case of one pianist I knew, music was the only thing that kept her going. I can positively say that none of the things most people pursue in this secular world can possibly replace Christ, the real McCoy! To pursue something that's somewhat rewarding in this brief life but doesn't get you any closer to entering heaven is, frankly, folly. Wake up, the Lord God is already pursuing every one of us when he sent his only Son to us to redeem us from sin so that we might live forever. All we need to do is to remain open and be receptive to him—we don't have to pursue anything and all that our soul desires will be fulfilled to the brim!

****Awed by God Our Creator***

         This was actually my first thought today. I got up this morning and saw that it's another beautiful day. Fall was just four days away. I was amazed that the earth had been spinning so regularly on its own axis causing day and night, and at the same time orbiting around the sun giving us the seasons year after year. All this has been going on for perhaps many billions of years already, and we don't even feel any movement. Our God and creator is truly awesome!

*****Instant Attainment!*****

         The more you remain humble, selfless, and surrender yourself to God, the greater is your spiritual progress. In theory and reality, abandon yourself to God to the max and you attain union with him instantly! (Time to live your most exciting life.)

***Exclusive Gifts for His Followers***

         Christ can set us free from sin, grant us that profound peace, and fill us with pure joy. These three special blessings all come from above which the world cannot give. They are special gifts given exclusively by the Holy Spirit to all those who follow the Lord all the way.

**Smart Way to Get Forgiven*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus pardoned a sinful woman because of her faith in him. Jesus forgave her sins when she showed her great love for him. So love the Lord genuinely and you are forgiven—it can't be simpler! 

**Lukewarm Christians**

         The world is in horrible shape and we can trace all that to our unbelief in the God of Christ! That's right, you heard me. Let's just look at the Christians. When they try to help others out of kindness, many of them don't even bring Christ up as if he doesn't even exist. All of them know the first and greatest commandment about loving the Lord our God, but alas, following it seems to be a separate matter altogether.

**Respecting the Free Will

         The Lord God respects our free will, so should we. Therefore, we simply go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature, as instructed by the risen Lord to his disciples, as best as we can and leave the rest to God. This also also teach us not to judge others.

***Holy Communion Beautifully Defined***

        1 Corinthians 10:16, today's Communion antiphon: The chalice of blessing that we bless, is a communion in the Blood of Christ; and the bread that we break is a sharing in the Body of the Lord.

***This Vile Generation

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus told the crowds what the people of their generation were like. He said to them, "John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' I'd say that today our generation is also full of hypocrites: If they don't like you, they'd say only bad things about you, never the truth. You can spot them right away and they are to be pitied.  

**Only Christ Can Unburden Us**

         Last night I had trouble falling asleep, as a bunch of computer problems was on my mind. You see, after I transferred much of the data from my ten-year-old laptop to a new one, I found out that some of the files had contents missing. And I would still need the old computer, for one program would only work on it's operating system. Meanwhile, there's a separate monitor I use in conjunction with either laptop. So how to power and link them all together with the proper cable connectors became a challenge. It finally dawned to me that I should turn to Christ to put the problem in his hands—my job is simply to trust in him. I did that and my burden was gone, knowing that the issue would be solved in due time! I fell soundly asleep shortly afterwards—I should have realized that a lot sooner.

**Jesus' Command to Arise**

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Now, we have not died yet, but if we were spiritually dead and pay attention, we should hear the Lord commanding us to "arise" also. And if we respond favorably, we become spiritually alive.

**Living Out Your Belief*

         The Lord God is all holy and almighty, so all things that are good for us are possible with him, for he loves us. Accordingly, we should live to show that we truly hold this belief.

***Eucharist, Our Most Endearing Gift***

         Communion experience. The time it takes for the consecrated host to dissolve in your mouth varies. Once I saw a picture of a host that had bled profusely and I was so overcome emotionally that at the next Mass, the host did not dissolve completely until twenty-two plus minutes later. I certainly got to savor the sweetness of Lord. On the contrary, this morning the host almost dissolved immediately on my tongue after I received it. I loved that too, for it showed that the Lord and I were eager to reunite again. 

**We Must Decrease**

        Again, we must live to glorify God alone and never ourselves, so focus only on him. When you think of doing something to glorify God, check your motivation, for it might be what YOU want to do and not God's will. Once at my previous church, I suggested a good book for the library collection, the priest liked it and ordered me to get a copy. Then the person in charge of he collection got upset, thinking that I was interfering with her ministry. Here's a case of being self-centered. Our motivation is pure only when we have no more ego and and seek only God's will. In John 3, when the disciples of John the Baptist asked him about Jesus, he said, "He must increase; I must decrease." So let's decrease to nothing so that we may feel the full presence of the Lord at all times. 

***Mary Is the Solution***

        A video about Maria. She can be our greatest help in making us love her Son. Loving Mary can not be separated from loving Jesus.