**Going Directly for God

        This posting segues from the previous one. We get so many little pieces of advice from so many sources on how to get close to God. If you put all of them down on paper, you'd have a long, long list of do's and don't's. Besides, many of such messages are hardly memorable. So what's the productive way to reach God? Once again, the answer is to surrender yourself to achieve union with God. Then you'll automatically know what you should do and what you should not do, with no need of memorizing anything. So, to reach God, go directly for him.

**Desire Nothing Short of God

        Today's response from Psalm 84: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God. Our dwelling place is really the Lord himself. We want to dwell in him! The second half of today's Communion antiphon from Psalm 107: The Lord satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things. Again, it's the Lord himself who satisfies our thirst and hunger. The Holy Eucharist does the job. When we seek union with God, it is to be one with God himself, not the gifts we receive from him. Don't "shortchange" yourself. Go for the Lord God, all of him. Once you have him, you receive all the gifts he has for you as well.   

**Neglect of Our Highest Calling

        We've ignored Christ and are no longer aware of his teaching that to be great, we must serve others (Matthew 20.26). It turns out that to be a lowly servant to others is in fact our highest calling, for he promised that he would exalt all those who humble themselves.

**Secret of Spiritual Growth

        To follow the Lord spiritually, you must get to know him, for it's impossible to grow spiritually if you do not know him. And it is impossible to know him if you do not get close to him. So the way to follow God best is to surrender ourselves to him to become one with him, then we'll know him inside out most intimately.  

*Lost Priorities

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus came to Gennesaret and people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak and be healed. Being human, we all want to be healed physically, but not so much spiritually. When you look at the world today, everyone wants to push their own agenda; they couldn't care less about the will of God. We always get the priorities wrong! No wonder the world is always in a mess.

***Simple and Direct way of Knowing God***

        I just saw a video telling you how to focus on Jesus by reading certain prayers. There are many suggested ways or methods out there. But you cannot beat going straight to the Lord; it's simple and direct. Your goal should be to attain union with God, beyond merely focusing on him. In union, you get all the support you need from the Lord himself, so much superior than reading books, attending conferences . . . in general, learning from someone else. So go heart to heart with God and not let anything stand between you and God, and he will reveal all his thoughts and ways to you. This is the endearing and most efficient way of knowing God. In a way, you don't have to do anything to know him. Like Mary the sister of Martha in Luke 10, just sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him speak.

***Church Going Astray

        More shocking news. When the Church is breaking up, something big is going to happen. Let's be extra vigilant, pray, and brace ourselves for possible chastisement from God.

**Greatest Possible Experience

        Communion experience. It is to enjoy the greatest possible friendship and intimacy we can have on earth. 

***To Attain Union with God...

you simply put down all your resistance to him. You go limp, that's it!

Journey to Salvation Summed Up

        Key realizations: (1) We are sinners. (2) We need to get our sins removed. (3) Christ is the Savior. Then we accept Christ as our Lord and follow him. 

*Our Best to Come

        The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in each other, for they are one as God. This perfect oneness or union has existed from the very beginning (if there ever was one). We become one with God, as we submit ourselves to the Lord completely—it is the union between the creator and his creatures. Due to our sinful nature, it is not perfect, but it's the best we can attain on earth. This union creates an intense longing for God in us, as we yearn to perfect our union with him in heaven. For all faithful Christians, the best is yet to come.

**God Fulfills Our Needs!

       We have all kinds of needs. If they are spiritual, the Lord would most readily fulfill them without fail. After all, our soul has to be his most urgent concern. If you truly wish to be saved from sin, he shall save you. If you truly desire to be holy, he shall turn you into a saint. Have no doubt!

**Warning on Losing Souls!

        Another timely short video from Fr. Goring. I am starting the video at 2:21 for the gist of the message.

***Prerequisite for Loving God

        We are constantly advised or encouraged by others to love God, to trust in him, etc. But if we do not open up to him, there can be no progress. Letting ourselves go in God is the prerequisite here! If I sound like a broken record, please forgive me, for it is the truth. We cannot make ourselves holy, period. If God can make us holy, then let him do it. Depend upon the Lord in all things, always!

**Going Beyond Confession

        It's not good enough to go to confession after you sin, again and again. It just gets tedious and discouraging. You want the Lord to take away your tendency to sin as well! And you can make this happen by letting him take over. You simply surrender yourself to him and he'll make you holy.

***Our Most Precious Soul

        The soul is our most essential, fundamental entity. It was realized by God, given to us, and became everlasting. Remain with God and we'll be everlastingly happy. Stray away from him and we'll be everlastingly miserable. Our mind and heart are here to help us discern and make that choice. We should treasure and safeguard our soul, as it is so loved by and so precious to God our Father and creator.

**About Being Perfect

        There are people who want everything to be done perfectly. Naturally, they are critical of others who are not so perfect by their standards. Of course, it would be nice that everyone or everything is perfect, but that's forgetting that only God is perfect. Such critical people can greatly benefit from realizing that they themselves are imperfect and should strive to perfect themselves first. It's most satisfying and exciting to discover that God can actually make you holier and more perfect. Besides, when you become more perfect, you become more tolerant of others who are not so perfect, and you enjoy more peace. So, perfect yourself first to be perfect. 

***Filled with the Holy Spirit?

        I am showing a Fr. Mark Goring video again. This one was uploaded to YouTube today. I like his messages because he is Spirit-filled and speaks to the point from his heart. Today he hit the nail on the head again. The tragedy is that we know or were at least told that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but we do not feel his presence and power because we have not surrendered ourselves totally to him yet. So the Holy Spirit is in us, but not yet completely of us, as we still belong at the least partially to the world.