***My View of Mary***

        As a former Protestant, changing my view of Mary was not easy. After I became a Catholic, I finally fell head over heels in love with Jesus, and through him, with Mary too. Jesus and his Mother are inseparable. Since our earthly parents are never perfect, we all yearn for an ideal father and an ideal mother in our hearts. The Lord God, who is the Father of Jesus, is, of course, also our perfect Father. When Christ on the cross gave his mother to be our mother, our yearning was fulfilled. Since Jesus is divine, God would never have him born through an ordinary, sinful woman. Therefore, I believe in the Church's doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, declaring that she was conceived without sin. That appropriately made her the greatest saint of all. I believe that she is the woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet as depicted in Revelation 12. The miraculous Our Lady of Guadalupe image preserved in Mexico shows exactly that. In 1917, Mary, during her apparitions at Fatima, promised that in the end, her Immaculate Heart would triumph over evil. Today, the Lord is using her to battle evil around the world through many appearances. To me now, she is the most beautiful mother there is. I see her helping me do God's will every time. When you love her, you always end up loving Jesus more.

***Chastisement Warning**

        Here is a new inspirational video posted by Jerome Chong. While reading some of the messages Mary gave to the Italian visionary, Rosario Toscano, I caught these beautiful words: "Sufferings are thorns, but if offered to Jesus, they are roses."

**Only the Lord Can Convert us**

        I came across this video with the headline, "Convince Me to Become a Christian." We can witness for Christ, but only he can change a person's heart. For it to happen, that person must first turn to the Lord. All of us are merely messengers. I have testified to many about Christ, but until they turn to him themselves, they will remain unchanged.

**Only Ourselves to Blame**

        Jesus came and gave us the good news of salvation. He loves us always, never wishing to condemn any of us. So if we get condemned in the end, we have only ourselves to blame. We must bear the consequences of how we respond to him.

*********OUR GREATEST MIRACLE*********

        To me, it is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is most impressive and awesome in loving us, and is also the only one who can make us holy and heaven-bound! What more can I say?

**Know Your Future**

        While we are still alive on earth, we know what life is like. We also know for sure that we shall die one day. If death is an unknown to you, then you've a big problem. Since I already belong to Christ, I know that death will begin my eternal life with the Lord in heaven. This completely eradicates the fear of death. You can make the choice now to avoid facing any shock death might bring.

**Our Duty**

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus is not honored in his native place and his own house. This happens to us too. Know that we are to serve and honor God alone, not to seek approval from others.

**A Truth**

        Today's Entrance Antiphon, Philippians 2:10-11, reads: "At the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." If Saint Paul, who once was the most feared persecutor of those who followed Christ, finally came around to see this truth, who are we to refute it?

**The Biggest Fools**

        If being righteous for the sake of loving God, who can lead us to eternal life, is being extremely wise, then the evildoers have to be the biggest fools!

***Be Ready for Final Judgment Now***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." Therefore, do not live as if tomorrow will always be fine, for the day of final judgment will surely arrive. Now is the time to remain vigilant and be ready!

***The Essentiality of Christ***

        With Christ, we have salvation and march toward eternal life. Without him, we are earthbound and remain lost forever. The outcome could not possibly be more consequential.

***We Can Live Forever!***

        Today is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In the Gospel reading from John 11, before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die." If this truth is not enough for you, you will remain empty for all eternity.

***One Benefit of Union with God**

        When we attain union with God, we develop a keen conscience and see what is good and what is evil exactly as God sees them—truly a great deterrent to our tendency to sin. 

***A Most Beautiful State***

        The law of diminishing returns is an economic principle stating that as investment in a particular area increases, the rate of return from that investment, after a certain point, begins to decrease. It works in daily life too. For example, studying longer causes fatigue and provides fewer and fewer benefits. But when surrendering ourselves to God, this law breaks down. For the more we let go in God, the more peace we receive. It is a truly beautiful state!

***A Necessary Question**

        Jesus has cleared our path to eternal salvation; we need only to believe and follow him. Why, then, do we drag our feet and complicate the journey for ourselves and for the Lord?

**Simple Secret**

        Today's Acclamation before the Gospel reads, "The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever." This makes it clear that if we accept and nurture all that Jesus says to us, we will have life eternal!

***Calling for More Prayers & Forgiveness**

        Vandalism has just occurred at the Marian shrine in Medjugorje, a place I have personally visited. The beloved statue of Our Lady on Apparition Hill was covered in black spray paint across its face, chest, and dress. The pedestal was defaced with a graffiti phrase that is too offensive to repeat here. A nearby statue at the Blue Cross prayer site was similarly defaced. Security cameras also captured a man setting fire to the outdoor altar at St. James Church. Of course, I feel sorry for the Lord and the Holy Mother, but most of all, I pity the misguided vandal or vandals for having offended God and condemned themselves. 

**A Reminder and Warning**

        In today's First Reading from Jeremiah 13, the LORD shows the prophet that the wicked people who refuse to obey his words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and who follow strange gods to serve and adore them, shall be like a rotted loincloth which is good for nothing. The phrase "good for nothing" would be horrible for any Christian to hear. Jesus wants us to bear fruit that lasts, so if we are not productive, we fit into that category.