**How Hard Is Your Heart?**

         Today's Communion antiphon, Revelation 3:20—Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. Such a beautiful, sweet, and kind invitation! The Lord is ready and waiting, so how are you going to respond? 

**Aging Blessing*

         When you are young and physically fit, you pursue many activities in the world in hope that life would be worth living. Then you age and your physical condition deteriorates to the point you no longer can participate in all those activities, and you have no choice but to think about God more,. Now you start to grow spiritually and see that life can truly be worth living. This shift of focus or attention is a great blessing!  

**Being Fake and Being Genuine**

         When our thinking, reasoning, and emotions get tainted, we easily sin and remain in unrest. Now we are no longer genuine, for we must act as if we're not sinful. Those who don't sin or have repented and all their sins taken away don't have to pretend that they are someone else, so they remain genuine and live in peace.

**Our Brightest Hope**

         Sometimes if we don't watch our self-righteousness, it can overcome our sense of restraint and end up hurting someone. This is a sin. I know because I just did that to someone and felt terrible! I have apologized to that person, but confession is in order. Much more humility is needed, something we can never have enough. Recently, I blogged that we should always trust in the Lord and never let anything disturb our peace. This is correct, but as usual, it's easily said than done. Fortunately, we always have Christ present to perfect us and that's enough to cheer us up again.

**Happy with God*

         At Mass this Sunday morning, I rejoiced that I had such a holy God who can make me holy like him one day.

**Wise Advice**

         The Lord God is Lord and God, to be obeyed completely by us! Play any "game" with him and you'll always end up losing—this is a foregone conclusion. So wise up for the sake of your own soul.

**Most Worthwhile Exchange**

         Communion experience. When you give up everything for Christ's sake, you gain freedom and eternal life to boot.

**One Most Beautiful; One Ugliest**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 1, how the birth of Jesus came about was told. We know that the angl Gabriel appeared Mary and announced to her that she had found favor with God, and through the Holy Spirit she would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus who would be great and called Son of the Most High. Mary responded, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Anytime God asks us to do something and we say yes, it's such a beautiful thing! By the same token, anytime we ignore or say no to God, it has to be one of the ugliest things in the whole universe! We have caused disorder and lose our peace as a result.

***We Should Imitate Christ Because . . .

he is the perfect example of carrying out the will  of the Father.

**Be Righteous in God's Eyes**

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 1, God chose Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth to become the parents of John the Baptist because they were righteous in his eyes. We can never be really perfect, but we can surely be righteous. So, let being perfect be our goal and being righteous, our way. Intention and effort count. Obey the Lord always and we'll be favored by him now and made perfect one day. 

***Fulfulling God's Greatest Desire***

         Christmas Day is just a week away. We'll be celebrating the coming of the Messiah. The fact is that he has already come and is here with us. What we need to do has gone beyond making his paths straight—it's now making his dwelling in us as comfortable as possible. This requires our total trust in and complete obedience to him. It is fulfilling the Lord's greatest desire to lead us to the greatest possible happiness of our existence!

***Enormous Change for Us***

        Holding onto yourself is like trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps—you're not going to get anywhere. It's submitting yourself to Jesus Christ that sets you free. Now you experience his love, power, wonders, and enjoy his eternal peace. You were a defiled sinner, now your are made clean and heaven bound. The change is truly enormous! When you go along with the Lord, no way can you go wrong.

*****Rock Solid Truth and Reality*****

        Everything in our life will pass except our life in Christ that's everlasting! So rejoice in the Lord always!

***Only Connection We Need*

         Communion experience. I know I am now connected to the Lord God and heaven through Jesus. There's nothing else I need nor wish to connect to anymore. 

**Spiritual Dementia?**

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 21, Jesus told the parable of the Two Sons. The lesson was that whoever ultimately believes and obeys the Lord will enter his Kingdom. We know from John 3:16 that anyone who believes in Christ will not perish but have eternal life. It's so simple, but many just don' believe. This is like being given an admission ticket to heaven and you just don't want to take it. Spiritual dementia might be an appropriate name for it.

***Valid Question**

        In Mark 8 (also Matthew 16), Jesus asked, "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" I see people who pride themselves on getting along with everyone else (at least according to them). So you could also ask: "What profit is there for one to get along with the whole world, but not with God?"

***How We Need Christ!***

        Communion experience. We absolutely need Christ, for only he can take away our sins and make us perfect!

*****Following Christ Perfectly*****

        Today's Entrance Antiphon based upon Jeremiah 31:10 and Isaiah 35: 4—Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; declare it to the distant lands: Behold, our Savior will come; you need no longer fear. For us, Christ our Savior has already come, so we only need to trust in him and let nothing bother us anymore. We may appear cold externally, but I believe this is how the Lord wants us to follow him. When we don't let our will, feelings, and emotions get in the way, and remain unperturbed, we'll be able to see God's will clearly and carry it out confidently.