**To Judge Is to Play God**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye." It is true that we see others' faults easily, but rarely our own. We should simply perfect ourselves and pray for others, leaving all judgment to the Lord.

**Soul Over Body**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." This should make it clear to all that the soul matters much more than the body, for it lasts forever. If you have not yet realized this, you are in greater need of God's mercy than ever.

**Trusting in Jesus' Mercy**

        Praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet is all about trusting in Jesus completely. Therefore, I put all of myself—my soul first and foremost—my loved ones, my Church, my country, and the whole world with its inhabitants into his holy, merciful hands. Now, all I need to do is to follow him in peace.

**Living a Pointless Life**

        We enjoy cooking or eating good food, listening to nice music, pursuing hobbies, watching TV shows, attending parties, traveling around the world, and so on; however, none of these activities gets us any closer to heaven. This is not being brave or fearless; it is simply being ignorant and foolish.

**Happy Father's Day to Our Heavenly Father**

        Today is Father's Day. The only father who deserves all our love, all our reverence, all our praise, and all our gratitude is our Father in heaven. As for all of us who are fathers on earth, our happiest day will be when we meet him meets him and hear him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. [...] Come, share your master’s joy" (Matthew 25:21). May we please our heavenly Father by remaining obedient to him.

**Dependance on God**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus says to his disciples, "Do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." Such common-sense wisdom should make sense to us all. The challenge is whether our faith in the Lord is strong enough for us to want to follow him.

**Be Proud of Christ!**

        What Jesus said in Luke 9:26 comes to my mind: "Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Matthew 5:15 follows: "Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house." Since Christ is our brightest light, we are to proudly hold him up for all to see!

**"Spoiled" by Christ**

        Once you have tasted the Lord, all the pleasures of the world tastes insipid.

**Way of Receiving Power**

        When we willingly take up our cross and follow Christ, we receive great power.

**Why I Remain a Catholic**

        I started out as an agnostic, then I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior after college and became a Presbyterian. I got curious about Catholicism and started studying it on my own for over a year, and became convinced that the Catholic Church was the original church which Jesus built upon Peter. You can read the whole conversion story which started this blog in 2009. Because he Church is the original one, it has always been the prime target of Satan. Today, evil has infiltrated the Church at various levels. But Jesus promised Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against his Church, so the Lord's triumph over Satan in the end is certain. 

         I will never cease being a Catholic. I don't consider Catholicism to be one of the many religions, since it alone holds the whole truth. If you read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, you can learn all about it.

         Here's what think of all the other major religions, although I am not an expert on them. If you ask a Buddhist monk who God is, he won't be able to answer you. Besides, Buddhist monks don't know how to deliver anyone from a demon. Muslims do not accept Jesus as God, and some extremist groups have no qualms about killing Christians. It's the lack of love that makes Islam unacceptable to me. As for Hinduism, they believe in a plethora of gods and deities, which is totally confusing to me. I an going to stick to Christ, who is all love and has clearly shown us how we can return to God in heaven.

****When We Die****

        Here is what we shall see when we die, according to Saint Teresa of Avila.

**Good Rule to Follow**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples to do all good and righteous deeds in secret so that only the Father sees them. When you let go of your ego, I assure you that you will find great peace. And the Lord promises that the Father will reward you.

**That Most Secure Feeling**

         When the Lord is absolutely real to you, it can only mean that he is with you. You will also have that most secure feeling, knowing that he is present with you at all times! By contrast, anyone who lives among the billions of people in this world without Christ is basically all alone.

**Test of How Much We Love God**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father." I see how our success in loving our enemies truly tests how much we love and obey the Lord. Do you fail, still work on that, or pass?

**We Hurt Only God**

        Verse 6a from today's Psalm 51 reads: "Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight." We see that when we sin, we hurt only the Lord. The line from Mother Teresa's Do It Anyway poem comes to mind again: "In the final analysis, it is between you and God."

***The Superior Way to Live**

        Having a deep knowledge of classical music and the visual arts, I notice that many musicians and artists live solely for their craft. If you take that away, they have nothing left. The most they can achieve is a reasonably happy but brief life on earth. The same can be said for anyone living without Christ. Without him, their situation is tragic. On the other hand, when you live for Christ, you need no earthly crutches; you are set for all eternity.

**Getting the Priority Right**

        A lot of people say, "I am going to do this, and I trust in God." Fewer say, "I trust in God, and I am waiting to see if he wants me to do this." I think you can already see which group gets the priority right.

**Mary's Main Message for Us**

        Mother Mary has appeared so many times to us in the last century or so, and we might wonder why in most cases the message has been urging us to return to God. I believe it's because time is running short, as more shocking events, warnings, and potential chastisements are approaching. Now is the time for decision.