***Know God's Mercy***

        Watch this video to know God's mercy. Obviously, it would be wise to settle the matter before your moment of death. The lesson: Never despair, for there is always hope in God.

 

**How to Convert Others**

        I recall one particular person whose example led me to Christianity. His name was Harry Burke, and though he is most likely no longer with us, his impact remains. He was a member of the Inter-Varsity team at the University of California, Berkeley, during my graduate school years. Like most graduate students, I was under immense stress and began questioning the deeper meaning of life. That was when I noticed Harry. He dressed simply and didn’t even own a watch, yet he always appeared genuinely cheerful and kind to everyone. At social gatherings, he naturally shared his faith. After about two years of observing his life, I finally accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. My experience taught me that the best way to win others to Christ is to first focus on your own transformation. When you live a life filled with Christlike love, you stand out. People notice, and they remember. In short: Embody Christ, and leave the results to the Lord.

***The Story of Jesus**

        It has to be the greatest true love story in history. We have a God, our heavenly Father, who loved us so much that he sacrificed his own Divine Son so that we might not die from sin, but have eternal life. No writer could have come up with such an incredible story! Since it did occur like a miracle, it must be  true and worthy of belief.

**Joyful Realization**

        Although I was not feeling too well physically this morning, I felt great joy when I realized that because I now belong to Christ the Lord, no evil can ever touch me anymore!

****This You Should Know*****

        In this earthly life, any pleasure we experience is never truly pure, though those who know the Lord intimately do taste heavenly joy at times. Once we are with him in heaven, our joy will be completely pure—described more accurately as ecstasy or bliss. This is exactly what our Lord wants all of us to experience for eternity!

**Three Markers of Faith**

        In today's first reading from 2 Timothy 1, Paul writes, "I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control." These are what we need to possess: a spirit of power, love, and self-control—they go together. We must measure ourselves against these three gifts.

**Only One Judge for Us**

        Since God is the only perfect, holy One, and we are all imperfect sinners, he alone should be our judge.

***Praying Slowly**

        I have found that when saying any fixed prayer—such as the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Rosary, or the Divine Mercy Chaplet—slowly, I get a lot more out of it. When you rush through a prayer, your heart is not really in it. Dwell on each word a little bit, and you feel that the Lord is truly listening to you. My last post was about patience being a sign of holiness, and it applies here too. By the way, when I learn a new piece on my piano, I do much better when I play slowly and pay attention to all the notes. It is easy to play fast after a while, learning it by rote. Then, when muscle memory fails, you are stuck. Playing slowly enables you to remember all the notes in your mind as well. 

**Patience: A Sign of Holiness**

        God is most wise for he is infinitely patient with all our faults, forever waiting for us to turn to and put our trust in him. Nowadays, people often get upset when things do not go their way. When that happens, they can no longer think clearly, and things get even worse. Impatience is caused by a lack of trust in God, turning people into fools. 

*****Why We Must Trust in Christ*****

        Life flows seamlessly into death; there are no barriers to cross or overcome. It happens when our time is up. Therefore, we must trust in Christ, putting ourselves totally in God's loving hands!

**No Fruitless Toil and Drifting Away**

        This verse from today's reading from Psalm 90 strikes me: "Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong. And most of them are fruitless toil, for they pass quickly and we drift away." This holds true for those who do not follow Christ. When we know him, we will bear fruit and walk the path to paradise.

**Ultimate Freedom**

       e.Without faith in God, life can feel absolutely meaningless. Believing in him brings hope. And when you believe that Jesus is truly our Savior, everything in the Gospels falls perfectly into place, ultimately the truth setting you free.

**Be Like God, but Don't Play Him**

        When we say someone "plays God," we really mean that the person thinks he or she is God. Of course, that is impossible, for God is infinite and utterly humble, while we are the very opposite. So, to play God basically is to be like the Devil.

**Pathetic Belief**

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, as in many other Gospel passages, we read that the chief priests, scribes, and elders sought to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the crowd. It is ironic and sad that they feared the people, but not the true God.

***Presence of the Spirit in Us***

        Galatians 4:6, today's Communion Antiphon, reads: "Since you are children of God, God has sent into your hearts the Spirit of his Son, the Spirit who cries out: Abba, Father." When you pray to God, do you just say "Father" or cry out "Abba, Father" from your very heart?

'*****Most Beautiful Message*****

       On this Solemnity oI the Most Holy Trinity, I am going to reproduce today's entire Gospel Reading from John 3 without comments:

          God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

**Know How Good You Actually Are**

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The First Reading from Exodus 34 reveals that the LORD came down in a cloud on Mount Sinai and stood with Moses. Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship and said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own." We also need God's pardon: All the great saints see themselves as most wretched sinners, yet so many of us today think that we are pretty good people and that the Lord will surely ignore their minor sins. He is indeed infinitely merciful, but this does not mean that his high standards can be lowered or we don't need to repent of our sins. The Lord God is precise and does not fudge on things. He is holy, and we, measured against him, are deplorably wretched. Know that if you think you are better than you actually are, you are not good enough.

**Know That You Are Not God**

        When God created us, he gave each of us certain abilities and talents besides our conscience and free will. So, we are definitely finite beings. To think that we are great in any way before the omnipotent Lord is both outlandish and laughable, but this is exactly how many people see themselves. To be humble is to be humble before our God and Creator. Sadly, the proud do not see that this is the key to inheriting eternal life.