**Keep the Inside Clean First**

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus continues to denounce the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Here is the second half of the reading: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean." We also commit the sin of caring more about how we look on the outside than how clean we are on the inside. May we never hear the Lord say "woe to you" to us!

**How God Communicates with Us**

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, Hebrews 4:12, reads, "The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart." It is interesting that the author writes "reflections and thoughts of the heart," not "reflections and thoughts of the mind." The Lord always communicates with us through the heart, not the mind, with his word guiding our reflections and thoughts.

***Living in God's Infinite Space**

        When you surrender yourself to the Lord, he becomes your only master. With yourself out of the way, you enjoy full freedom. Now you can do whatever you want, because whatever you want to do is what he wants you to do. In the Lord's infinite space, you can now explore to your heart's content. All in all, living in the Lord is most exciting!

***An Urgent Message***

        Death for us is inevitable. I am only being realistic. I, who trust and follow Christ, "welcome" death, for it begins my eternal life. Non-believers face the unknown when they die. After death, they might even experience something infinitely worse. This I really don't want anyone to experience! Of course, I can only tell you what I believe to be true, and have no power to make you believe the same. You must open up to the Lord yourself to let him reveal the truth to you. When he does, you shall know it without a doubt!

**Jesus Loves Honesty**

        Today is the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. In the Gospel reading from John 1, Philip brought Nathanael [Bartholomew] to see Jesus. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." I remember when I first heard these words of Jesus, I thought how good it would be for the Lord to see that there was no duplicity in me. Since I was known to be an honest person as an adult, I felt good about it.

**Happy with My God**

        I like these two verses of today's Responsorial Psalm 145: "The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth." I am truly glad that my God is always just so that I can trust fully in his judgment. Naturally, such a judge must be holy in all his works. Absent these qualities, we would have total chaos for sure. He hears all who call upon him and listens to those with sincere hearts, befitting a fair, loving judge.

**How God Speaks to Us**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father." We see that we either receive knowledge from flesh and blood or from God. What comes from God usually happens unexpectedly and lands in our hearts, whereas all other knowledge comes via flesh and blood. Happy is the one who receives revelations from the Father directly!

**What We Fail to Realize**

        In today's Second Reading from Romans, Paul writes, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!" We are finite creatures whom God has wonderfully made, yet we fail to comprehend that the LORD is infinitely greater than we can possibly imagine. This realization alone should awaken us to take God very seriously! After all, we owe him our very existence.

**Our Perfect Prayer**

        The Lord's Prayer Jesus gave us is the perfect prayer for us. It delineates how we should relate to our heavenly Father. Praying it with all our hearts can make us perfect, as he is perfect.

**No unhappy Christians!**

        Christians should be the most joyful people in the world because God is their most loving Father, who assures them of eternal life if they follow his Divine Son, Jesus Christ, faithfully. An unhappy Christian is an oxymoron; such a person may simply not have fully grown in the faith yet.

**Practicing What We Preach?**

        Today is the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus denounces the scribes and the Pharisees. He accuses them of not practicing what they preach. For Christians, it is like not living up to what they believe in. In either case, pride is the culprit, and the Lord does not like hypocrites. In conclusion, he said to them, "The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

*****The Joy of Christ*****

        This is the heavenly joy you experience when you encounter Jesus or the Holy Spirit. It is a sweet joy that bubbles forth from your heart, making you fall totally in love with the Lord. It is indescribable; you must personally experience it. You have to experience everything good about the Lord yourself, for he is a most personal God. In case you missed this video entitled "Infectious Joy in Jesus," which I posted on 10/17/2010, here it is again. The joy of Christ truly liberates us!

***Ultimate Fulfillment***

        God's love for us is so great that we should remain in him always, listen to him, share everything in our hearts with him, and enjoy his holy presence. Being in loving union with the Lord completes our existence.

**The Story of Sr. Amapola**

        Sr. Amapola, a nun with the Mission of Divine Mercy in Texas, has allegedly received messages from Heaven for years. You can hear her story in this interview. We are in end times, and the Church has already fractured, fulfilling the prophecies of the Holy Mother. As a result, these messages have generated some controversy. Catholics are not obliged to believe in private revelations, even if they have been approved. Personally, I found some of the messages about the Lord revelatory and inspiring, drawing me even closer to him. Sr. Amapola also confirmed that the illumination of conscience, known as The Warning, will take place.

***Inspiring Commandments***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 22, Jesus said to a Pharisee, a scholar of the law, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." Because they set such a high standard, they are the most important. The Lord is truly inspiring!

**We Are God's from the Beginning**

        In today's First Reading from Ezekiel 37, the prophet experiences the Vision of Dry Bones. It reminded me that the Lord is eternal and holds absolute creative power. We are basically bones embedded in flesh and covered with skin, remaining lifeless until he puts spirit in us. With this understanding, we know that we belong to God and must never walk away from him!

**Responding to the Lord Is Serious**

        Today is the Memorial of St. Bernard. The Gospel Acclamation, Psalm 95:8, reads: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." The Lord is always speaking to us through various means. In the Gospel reading of the Parable of the Wedding Feast from Matthew 22, we learn that the king invites many guests, but they all refuse to come (all with hardened hearts). A second time he invites whomever his servants can find in the streets, and the hall is filled. Then the king sees a man not properly dressed in a wedding garment and has him bound and cast out into the darkness outside. So many are invited, but few are chosen. Even if you accept the invitation, you need to be properly prepared. Responding to the Lord's call is serious business—it is meeting the Lord God! 

***Two Great Gifts to Ask For**

        Psalm 51 is today's Responsorial Psalm. I learned from the reading that it is good to ask the Lord to create a clean, contrite, and humbled heart for us, and renew a steadfast, willing, and contrite spirit within us.