**My Resurrection*

        Communion experience. The Lord has already raised me from the dead spiritually, while I believe in a future bodily resurrection, according to the Church's teaching.

**To Love God Is . . .**

to love everyone and everything as he loves.

**Serious Awareness***

        If living for God is building up treasures in heaven, then living just for yourself is squandering away everything you have and ultimately losing your own soul.

**Fools & Hypocrites Abound**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 28, it happened earlier that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." Later, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.' And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." We see that the chief priests and the elders not only did not believe, but they even tried to hide the truth with falsehoods, on the same level as today's "fake news" and crooked politicians. How utterly foolish and hypocritical one can be!

***Time to Go Home to the Father!***

        When you fully surrender to Christ, you receive complete peace and feel free. You finally realize that the Lord loves you and that you belong to him!

**Easter Sorrow**

        I attended morning Mass at my church, and it was absolutely packed. I did not arrive early enough and had to park my car around 1,000 feet away from the church entrance. My joy in the Lord was tempered with sorrow for those who only show up for Mass at Easter and Christmas. The only way to improve this situation is for us to be more like Christ ourselves.

***Easter Joy to All!***

        Today is Easter Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead. It is the Lord's resurrection followed by his ascension into heaven that makes it possible for us to die and have life in heaven with him for all eternity—this should give us the greatest possible joy! He is truly the life and light of the world!

***Perfect Time to Let Love Reign***

        On this Good Friday of the Lord's Passion, we commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of God's only Begotten Son for the sake of saving us from sin. It shows the greatest love possible. If you know that you are a sinner, all the readings at today's Mass are worth going over. The first three verses of Reading I from Isaiah 52 already hit me pretty hard. Isaiah amazingly prophesied the coming of Christ in the 8th century BC. The Gospel reading consists of John 18 and 19, two entire chapters. This is the perfect time to read about Christ and let God's love move you. Do it with an open heart and you'll never be the same person again. 

**To Be Saved for Sure**

        There are ex-Catholics who no longer attend Mass regularly but still do some good work for the Church occasionally. Perhaps out of guilt, they still try to earn some merits, hoping that the Lord will still save them. It that is their intent, it won't work, for salvation is not based upon good works outweighing bad ones. You can do multiple good deeds, but if you are still unrepentant of one serious sin, you cannot be saved. All sins must be forgiven! The good thief who was crucified next to Christ was saved when he asked the Lord to remember him when he came into his kingdom. To be saved, you must want to be saved from your very heart. Hoping to be saved is taking a losing chance.

**Faith the Lord Deserves from Us**

        With the world in chaos and evil infiltrating our societies, governments, and churches, I will still trust in Christ with faith unshakable, knowing that in the end, the Lord will put everything in order and banish evil forever. Here are the first three verses of Psalm 27 to uplift our spirits: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, these my enemies and foes themselves stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear; though war be waged against me, even then do I trust.

***True Fact**

        True freedom, true peace, and true joy can only come from knowing Jesus Christ, the true God. How much you experience these gifts depends entirely upon how deep your union is with the Lord.

**Having Faith in God is Beautiful**

        Believing in the true God of Christ is indeed beautiful, for you are completely transformed into a new creature, living in Christ and free from the world, and know that you will soon be with him in paradise for all eternity. 

*****Infinite Faith in an Infinite God*****

        I'd like to start this month with another video by Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. Listening to him preach is incredibly satisfying because he focuses directly on Christ. Many other homilies lack power because they center more on us—on how we can follow the Lord better. Truly, having unshakable faith in Christ can banish our worries, fill our hearts with peace, and solve all our problems. Does it sound too good to be true? Not if your have great faith!

***Perfection Formula***

        The secret is to surrender yourself to God, by surrendering yourself to his love. In practice, you just let him love you!

**The Prayer We Need**

        Also, in today's Gospel reading, Jesus said to Peter, "Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later." Peter said to him, "Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you." Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times." We also promise to follow the Lord, yet we continue sinning against him. Pray hard that he will perfect us and not test us to the point of failing him.  

**How Christ Suffered for Our Sake**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 13, while reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. Later, Satan entered Judas and he left at once. Then Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, 'Where I go you cannot come.'" The disciples were not sure what was happening, but the Lord had been carrying out the Father's plan all along. It is hard for me to imagine the agony he had to endure through all those years he was with us.

**Taking God Seriously**

        Today, many of us Catholics love the Lord, but not seriously enough due to a lack of total reverence. While Christ is our dearest friend and even our soulmate, we must not forget that he is, first and foremost, our Lord and our God. The best way to take him seriously is to obey him in all things—something we often fall short of doing.

**Rejoicing in Our Savior**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, lived. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. Imagine how happy and grateful Lazarus must have felt with his Savior. Now we who love the Lord have also been saved by the same Lord for all eternity. Let us rejoice in and be grateful to him as well.