"Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Monday, March 18, 2024

***True Rest*

        Communion experience. In Christ I found my true rest, a peace only he can provide! 

****Be Merciful like God****

         Today's Gospel reading from John 8 tells the story of the woman caught in adultery. To test Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?'' He said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'' In response, they went away one by one. This is such a good answer for us to keep in mind: Do not ever condemn anyone unless you are sinless! (This is why judging is a sin.) We know that only God is holy and perfect, yet even he, being merciful, does not ever wish to condemn us. To be like him, we must be merciful like him.

**God's Mercy for All*

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 56: Have mercy on me, O God, for people assail me; they fight me all day long and oppress me. Here the psalmist asks God to have mercy on him rather than to take pity on his enemies. This makes sense, for if God grants him mercy, he'd surely protect him from his enemies. Nevertheless, every single one of us needs God's mercy whether you are the assailer or the victim..

Sunday, March 17, 2024

**Joy Brings Sorrow

        The more we are overjoyed with Christ, the more we pity those who do not believe in him.

***Be like a Mirror***

         This morning I got out of bed and saw a perfect round circle of sunlight on my bedroom wall. I realized that it was caused by the low morning sunlight, coming thru the window, hitting the mirror, and getting reflected onto the opposite wall. It was quite remarkable. You usually think of sunlight producing dark shadows, not bright reflections. My inspired thought was that we should be like that mirror reflecting the light of Christ perfectly for all to see. 

Saturday, March 16, 2024

**Cause of Profound Peace*

        Communion experience. I felt profound peace because the mystery of my existence has been completely solved.

**Our Role Before the Lord*

       We'll all be measured against Jesus Christ and be judged by him, for he is the perfect one. So imitate him and submit yourself to his mercy.

Friday, March 15, 2024

**Most Apt Saying

         Can you possibly think of anything that's better than enjoying peace and bliss for all eternity? I don't think so. Therefore, it's perfectly correct to say that for all faithful Christians, the best is yet to come.

***Most Pleasing Virtue*

        Being able to accept suffering joyfully and offering it up to the Lord is a great virtue. It makes you Christlike and is most pleasing to the Lord. Besides, it will gain merit for heaven for you.

***Do Not Limit God*

        If you believe that nothing is impossible for God, then ask for the impossible! Do not limit yourself nor the Lord! Timid faith is lack of faith. Naturally, asking for the the impossible doesn't mean asking for the unreasonable. So be reasonable and ask for anything that's good from your very heart and the Lord will always consider it. Never rule out miracles. If you intention is good, the Lord doesn't get bothered.

***Heavenly Experience

        Communion experience. I just visited heaven and the Lord filled my cup to overflowing. There's nothing adequate I can say.

*****Defending the LORD*****

        The Lord defends us who love him. So we need to defend him when he's under attack. The best and only way to accomplish that is to surrender ourselves to him even more, doing the very opposite of those who attack him.

**Meeting Our Hours*

         In today's Gospel reading from John 7, we learned that the Jews were trying to kill Jesus. As he was teaching in the temple area of Jerusalem, they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him because his hour had not yet come. This got me thinking that we all have our hours to meet as we follow the Lord on our journey. We should welcome every one of them as we move closer to uniting with our Lord in heaven.

***Feeling the Holy Spirit's Presence***

        The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form as a dove after he'd been baptized by John the Baptist. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire, which parted and came to rest on each of those present. For us, this Spirit of truth is invisible, but we can definitely feel his presence within us. Here are some telling signs: You feel a great zeal for the Lord as if your heart is on fire; Christ is now your primary source of joy; you love and pity all humanity, praying unceasingly for its salvation; your focus is exclusively on pleasing the Lord, not yourself; you look forward to going to him . . .  

Thursday, March 14, 2024

*****Most Beautiful, Powerful Force

        Communion experience. You experience the most beautiful, powerful force in the whole universe. The peace you feel is a peace you can easily die in.

***What You'll Find in Christ

         ONLY LOVE

***Being Genuinely Good***

        Do all things to please the Lord God; otherwise, doing whatever to please someone or yourself purely for your own sake is being phony. 

*****Only Thing We Need to Do*****

         Follow and obey Christ (and not think about anything else)—so simple!