**Key That Opens the Gate to Heaven**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus cleansed ten lepers and only one of them returned to thank him. Jesus said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." We cannot be saved without faith of any kind, and faith in Christ the Savior absolutely secures our salvation. This faith is the key that opens the gate to heaven for us. 

**Worth Dying For**

        Truth is for us to live for, but it's also worth dying for. Since Christ is the truth, he is worth dying for. 

****Most Righteous Goal****

        To want to be a saint is not for self-glory. In fact, it's being humbly obedient to God's No. 1 will for us—to get us into heaven! If you do not accept this love from him, you basically have no true love for others.

*****Smartest, Life-Changing, & Most Rewarding Move**

        It is the prodigal-son move: You realize that you are a sinner and need God's help, and you proceed to reconcile yourself with the Lord. This is a huge move that will make heaven rejoice!

**Ask for Mercy from God and . . .

you'll receive peace from him.

**How to Make God Bless You*

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 11: While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." You see how simple and easy it can be to get blessed by God!

**No Less Important than Prophets*

         A prophet is essentially someone who has been chosen by God to speak for him. For all of us who follow Christ, we have essentially been chosen by God to serve him in some way that suits us. If we assume our roles seriously, we are no less important than the prophets. 

**God Is Most Enjoyable When . . .**

you have your heart enkindled by the Holy Spirit.

**Christ Is Our Light**

        From today's reading 1 from Joel 1: The day of the Lord is coming, a day of darkness and of gloom. This is true for those who do not repent, but for all who have been born anew in Christ, it'll be a day of brightness and of great joy!

**Being he Happiest Person**

        Communion experience. An unhappy person is always seeking something to keep himself happy. Since I already have Christ, I don't lack anything anymore. So I really felt that I was the happiest person in the whole world.. 

***Inportant Questions to Ask Now**

        I got to church for Mass a little early this morning, so I decided o remain in my car to pray a little bit. When I closed my eyes, I felt as if I was traveling forward, seeing the sceneries passing by. It's like being in a dream state except that you are awake. This instantly reminded me of the reality that we were all traveling toward God, something we cannot stop. When we see him, will he exalt or humble us? welcome us turn us away? These are the important questions we need to ask ourselves now.

***Communion Experience

        The more I feel unworthy of receiving the Lord, the more I appreciate his invitation to receive him. His love is truly everlasting!

**Another Wake-Up Call**

        God's love and mercy are so great that you have to be totally out of your mind (to put it mildly) not to be saved through Christ! So wake up and start to live.

***Awesome, Amazing God**

        Today's entrance antiphon: Within your will, O Lord, all things are established, and there is none that can resist your will. For you have made all things, the heaven and the earth, and all that is held within the circle of heaven; you are the Lord of all. It's awesome that all things consist of not only inanimate objects, but also living beings like us who possess a conscience, a soul, free will, intellect, and wisdom. Even more amazing, the Lord God turns out to be pure love!

***Most Expedient Way to Know God***

        Imagine that you see Jesus, all the great saints and prophets, and the multitude of all the best speakers, authors, scholars, counselors . . . all before you. Whom would you choose to follow? I have no doubt we who seek the Lord would all run straight toward Christ, bypassing all the others. And this is the way it should be when we don't see them all. Go direct to the Lord and you'll be fulfilled the soonest.

***Ego to Be Silenced***

         Here's today's entire Gospel reading from Luke 10. Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." Here, Martha spoke from her ego. Just yesterday, I blogged about the ideal state in which we let the Lord initiate every thought and prompt every word we speak. It's so easy to want to speak out whenever we feel mistreated ever so slightly. We really should let it go if the Lord is not offended.

*****My Big Loving Tip*****

        Today's Responsorial Psalm response from Psalm 130.3: "If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?" If the Lord exalts or humbles you, there is nothing you can do about it. Should you offend him, do not repent, and get yourself condemned, there is also nothing you can do about it. So be smart: Do all you can to secure your eternal future now when you can. To end up with God or nothing is all up to you!

*****Power to Control Our Destiny*****

        Today is the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. In the first reading from Jonah 3, the LORD sent Jonah to Nineveh to announce, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed." The people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he did not carry out what he had threatened to do to them. We see that repentance and turning away from evil is most powerful—it brings us back to the LORD our most beloved heavenly Father, not to mention the profound peace and great joy we'll experience. Only a giant fool would choose to go his own way!