*Power of God's Joy

        Once you finish school and land a great job, you don't care about all the hard studying you did and the tough exams you took. Once a couple find each other and fall in love, they don't mind their other problems much anymore. Once you have moved into a nice big new house, you no longer think about your small old dingy residence. It's also true that once you have become one with God, you forget all your miseries, sorrows, and sufferings. For no negative feeling can possibly pervade the joy of God.

***Simple Recipe for Returning to God*

        Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 1, the announcement of the birth of Jesus by the angel Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth. Here are Gabriel's last words to Mary: "The Holy Spirit will  come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary's final response to the angel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." As long as we know and believe that nothing will be impossible for God and abandon ourselves to God as Mary did, our journey home to the Father will be smooth and straight all the way. So let's get going!

**Greatest Glory of God

        Isaiah 40.5: The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. If you pay attention, you'll the see glory of God everywhere: in nature, in everything we see and hear on earth that is beautiful, inspiring, and uplifting. But the greatest glory revealed to us is the Lord himself, in how much he loves us, how he can free us from the bondage of sin, and how we can become like him and reunite with him in heaven.

**Jesus as Close as You Can Get

        Last night I dreamt that I was trapped in a dangerous situation and I called to Jesus for help. I woke up and felt his presence. After all, he dwells within me. It's just so good to know that he hears me and is with me always. 

Low Expectations of Life

        If you only wish to be happy in this life, then your expectations are way low. Besides, your wish will never come true.  

**Breakthroughs of Life

        Accepting and believing in Christ is the first breakthrough. You realize that God loves you and he has now saved you from sin. Surrendering to God to become one with him is the second breakthrough, often more difficult to achieve than the first. Then, once you have broken through, the experience is so exalted and beautiful that you wish you'd done it a lot sooner.       

*Ideal Mass

        Complete focus upon the Lord with great reverence, with nothing that breaks up the solemnity of the celebration.       

*Being Perfect & Being Holy

      Only God is perfect. When God asks us to be perfect, he wants us to aim for perfection. But one day, he will make us perfect in heaven. We can be holy though, because a holy person needn't be perfect; he only desires to be perfect. All saints with the exception of our Holy Mother were not perfect. Let God make us holy by letting him enter us to be one with us.

Preach and Let Go

        Jesus announced the good news to all and people were free to believe in him or not. Let us do the same. Spread the good news and let whoever hears it make up his or her own mind. Sometimes we worry too much about whether they heard us or not. In the final analysis, it's always between God and each of us.

Giving Our All to God

        Give God your heart. Even though the mind will follow the heart, while your are at it, give your mind to him as well. Anyhow, we need to give our whole being, our spirit and soul included, to the Lord.

*Becoming More Inpedpendent

        We have the Walkaway and Blexit movements going on in this country. They both attempt to teach voters to do their own thinking and come to their own decision to vote for the right party instead of being told by one party that they should always vote for them. We Catholics are used to follow spiritual guidance from the clergy. I think it'll be good for us to become more independent by learning what's going on within the Church, the good and the bad, as well as the teachings of the Church on our own. There is so much on the internet out there. Of course, you need be sure that the sources are legitimate and reliable. Then we can become better informed Catholics, more fit to fight the spiritual battle.

**How to Welcome the Lord (Perfect Obedience)*

        Christmas is approaching. Jesus is already here; all we need to do is to open our hearts wide to let him in to do whatever he wishes with us. This is perfect obedience.

*Faith Vanquishes Fear

        If you know that Christ has saved you and you are on your way to him in heaven, all your fears on earth should vanish.

***To Be in God!***

        It is so good and incredible that we can get to know God, our Father and creator, personally so well that we fall deeply in love with him, become his soulmates, hear his sweet voice speaking to us in our hearts, and long for him so much that we lose all fear of death. Surrender yourself to him completely and you'll know.

***Quitting the Catholic Church

        Recently, a well-known TV show host had announced that he was leaving the Catholic Church because of "institutionalized corruption." I have a lot to say about this, but here are just a few thoughts. (1) Since he was a cradled Catholic, I see the failure of the Church to teach him what the Church was all about, the significance of the Holy Eucharist, etc. Even today when we are facing major crises within the Church, business goes on as usual within most dioceses as if everything is all right. I understand God wants us to trust in him, but he wants us to go all out to fight the spiritual battle too. (2) The Catholic Church was established by Christ himself and he told us that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. Anyone who quits the Church is not placing his faith entirely in Christ. (3) Those with true faith will remain Catholic even if they are the only Catholics in the world who are not corrupt. Our government is corrupt, but no one gives up his citizenship or leave the country. (4) The Holy Eucharist is God's greatest gift to us. It's unthinkable that any true Catholic would ever want to give that up, literally excommunicating himself. Please pray hard for all Catholics now! 

**Time for Total Abandonment

        God can accomplish infinitely more than we can. Of course, we need to do our part. We need to pray, trust in him, and follow his will. Then we reach a point we just have to let the Lord take over completely, while we continue providing prayer support. This calls for greater trust and total abandonment in him. It's always exciting to see how God triumphs in the end.

**Only God Knows Us*

        I know many fellow beings, including my own family members who know me the best, yet no one knows all about me nor the true me. But God our Father and creator knows all about me, inside and out. At judgment time, we'll be totally exposed before all. But know that even now, we are totally exposed to God alone every moment. So only God truly knows us and we can now choose to be either his friends or his enemies.

*To Remain Unafraid

        Jesus always tells his disciples to not be afraid. If we always do God's will, then truly we do not need to be afraid of anything, for we'll always be doing the right thing as we head for heaven. 

*All Sinners Are Equal

        It's just eight days from Christmas. Today I see that we are all sinners, so we don't have the right to judge anyone. Before the Lord, we are all unclean, but he loves us all. We need to pray for ourselves first, then the others.

*Heavenly Experience*

        Communion experience. God came, entered me, filled all of me, and remained in me!

**Jesus Christ, Our God and Judge

        Jesus came and preached the best possible news to us. Those who were evil felt threatened and became hostile to him, but those who were good and open-hearted accepted him. It is the same today. Christ has made both enemies and friends, so he has brought us division. The people who wish to remain in darkness do not like to be exposed, while those wish to get out of darkness welcome his light. Jesus Christ is truly our God and judge.

**Mercy and Peace

        Communion thoughts. The Lord God is my true source of mercy and peace. When I place myself at his mercy, I receive peace from him.

**Capturing God*

        The only way to capture God is let yourself be captured by him first.

*Rejoicing in Order

        Today's entrance antiphon started with Philippians 4.5: Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. Jesus has come and saved us from our sins so that we can get to heaven to enjoy eternal life—how can we possibly not rejoice? Can you possibly think of any better news than this?  

When to Repent

        Don't put off repenting your sins and think that you'll have time to do it later. True, some people get to repent just before they die, but you might not get that moment. Besides, if you plan that way, the Lord would see your insincerity and it may not work for you. My wise advice: Repent now while you are still alive and your mind still clear.

Passing into Our Next Life

        The soul lives on forever and life is continuous. We can make our transition into our next life smooth, easy, and joyful or rough, difficult, and horrible. It all depends upon how much we let Christ into our life.

God Always with Us

        Look at one of your good friends. You see him, you hear him, and he sees you and hears you. You ask him for help and he often complies. But he cannot always be with you. Now look at God. Even if you don't see him, he sees you and knows all about you. He hears you instantly and you can hear from him too if you are open to him. You ask for his help and he always complies in the best way possible for you. The Lord God is our superior and most trustworthy friend. And he is with us always!

God's Challenging Promises

        I have not gone through the Gospels to see how many times Jesus had promised that we would never die or have life forever if we believed in him, kept his words, did the will of the Father, or ate the heavenly bread he gave us. He'd done it time and again. Can we possibly dismiss all these promises? I think not. You'll have to be so foolish as to think that are greater than he. The only sensible choice is to yield and believe in them. 

All Is Vanity Except . . .

        On December 6th, I posted "Is Life Fair?" after I learned that one sister in Christ had passed away unexpectedly. She was only 53. Today I attended the funeral Mass at her church. Life is short. This saying of Thomas à Kempis in his spiritual classic Imitation of Christ came to my mind: "All is vanity, except to love God and serve him alone." To make it possible to love and serve God alone in our short life, seek and attain union with him, for we cannot succeed on our own.

Boasting in the Lord

        Today's is the memorial of St. John of the Cross. Galatians 6.14, the entrance antopjon: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. We boast in Christ, in his death and Resurrection, in his love for us, in that he has made us anew, freed us from sin, saved us and given us life everlasting . . . not out of self-pride, but out of gratitude. Eternal love deserves eternal appreciation. 

**Way to God Made Straight!

        Before Jesus came on the scene, John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord, proclaiming "I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as Isaiah the prophet said." Are you aware that now that Jesus has already come, he has made our way to him perfectly straight?

The Same Generation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" Today's generation is just like this. They busily engage in activities in their own interest, not truly knowing what's best for them to do. They are deaf to the gospel of Christ, but always criticizing and judging others.

*Know You Are a Sinner?

        Here is a short video on a Jewish man who found Jesus. Before that happened, he never realized that he was a sinner. One must be aware of this reality before hoping to find God.

*Why Not Accept Jesus?

        I just listened to KingFace, a popular black conservative, giving a talk at the recent Blexit meeting held in Atlanta, GA. He told the audience that he recently accepted Jesus into his heart and got a big cheer from them. He asked himself "why not let Jesus into my life?" I think that this is a good question for unbelievers to consider. Instead of wondering why they should accept Jesus, why not think about why they shouldn't let him into their lives? Asking this way, they might see the light.

**Effective and Ineffective Praying*

        If we pray to God "May we love you more," "May we trust in you," "May we serve you faithfully," or for anything else this way, we are being timid as we still center upon ourselves. The right approach is to open up boldly to God—abandoning or surrendering ourselves to him. Then what we pray for will come to fruition, as we now rely upon God entirely.

*Being Good Not Good Enough

        That's because to get into heaven, you must repent for having been bad first.

*Only Approved Marian Apparition in America

**Knowing My God*

        Communion experience. As I went up the aisle to received Holy Communion, I knew I was going to receive my most beloved, my loving creator, the Holy One who died for my sins, is now dwelling within me, and will take me to him in a little while. 

***Heart for God

        Our intellect can help us understand God, but only our heart can capture God. Offer your heart to the Lord and he is yours. The heart is our direct link to God. Be one with him and you'll hear him speaking to your heart.

**Call to Action!*

        At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." We can know God! He has revealed himself to us completely, so it's our move now! I'd like to say this again and again so that the whole world might hear me and know.

*No Comparing Yourself with Anyone

         I've advised "Never compare yourself to anyone." It should always be between you and God, not between you and anyone else. This means that you don't compare holiness with others either. A true holy person loves God. If someone is holier, he rejoices for the Lord. If someone is not as holy as he, he remains humble and would pray for that person. It's always charity, never judgment. 

*Reverence Needed

        As disciples of Christ, you don't want to become robotic. I love St. Thérèse's Little Way. Following it, we should do every little thing with love for God. Today I realize that prayer is one of these things. You hear so many written prayers and readings said robotically, even at Mass. What we need to do is to not rush, but to mean truly what we say. I confess that I have rushed through prayers to save time myself. I think if we show great reverence, everything will come out right.

*How God Made Me Anew*

        Thinking back many decades, I see that I used to be a very different person. I was a spoiled child and a shy, moody adult. I wanted to excel in many things, but felt inadequate and inferior to others. The ego was big, for I wanted to be somebody. Trying to "improve" myself always became a struggle. I never felt free, peaceful, or any joy. Life was empty and meaningless. But Christ changed all that. The journey took a while, as the Lord lead me through the various stages; but there were breakthroughs as well. To make a long story short, I am now free, peaceful, and feel great joy. There is nothing I shall want, and the Lord is more than sufficient for me. I can't be happier. Yes, God is more precious to me than myself and everything else. 

***Why Go Directly to God

        If you want to know the Lord, then go directly to him. He is forever present and instantly accessible. In fact, he is ready to embrace you as his beloved child at anytime! Do not waste precious time by going through other human beings, even if they are saints. They can help, but it's not the same as getting help directly from the Lord himself. All it takes is an open, humble heart. God is accessible to all. He is as close to you as he was to the Apostles and the saints, and as he was to Adam and Eve. To not go to him directly and share everything with him is to avoid him.

***The Sacrament for Union***

        Communion experience. The Lord made me see clearly that he is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Let's just say that consuming this Most Blessed Sacrament is the same as eating his flesh and drinking his blood. This may sound uncomfortable to some or many, but it completely fulfills my longing for intimacy with him. God understands our nature thoroughly. In fact, it's out of longing to be one with us that he instituted this sacrament in the first place!

*Sign of Salvation

        Today's Communion antiphon, 2 Timothy 4.8: The Just Judge will bestow a crown of righteousness on those who eagerly await his coming. If you believe that Christ will come again and long for his appearance, it's a sign that you've been saved. 

***Greatest Tragedy We Can Make!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." Although we are not quite sure whom Jesus was referring to as "these little ones," we see how precious each soul is to the Father. What's important to him must be important to us. Therefore, we must make saving souls our top priority. The greatest tragedy for all is to run away from the Lord and end up being lost forever.

God Calling

        If you are tired of this world, it's God calling you to check him out.

***The Joy of Freedom!

      Do you know that if you are not happy, it's because God is not happy with you for being in his way? You are not allowing him to do what he enjoys doing with you: to make you perfect! Get out of his way and you'll feel this great joy of freedom.  

***Most Personal Lord

        Communion experience. As I went up to receive the Holy Eucharist, my heart leaped for joy. This was my personal Lord. He would have gone through everything he went through for you or me alone!