**Becoming Wise and Undestanding**

        From today's Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 119), I read these verses: "Lord, I love your commands. Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers when your decrees are my meditation." My thoughts are: If you know the Lord, you know the whole truth. This makes you wise and understanding so that you don't have to feel inferior to anyone anymore.

***The Only One We Need to Know***

        In today's First Reading from 1 Corinthians 2, Paul writes, "When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." That last sentence impressed me. Jesus is truly the only one we need to know. He is our Lord, our God, and should be No. 1 in our lives. I really would like to be able to shout from the highest point on earth to let the whole world know that Jesus Christ is our God and Savior, who loves us with the greatest possible love and wishes to lead all of us back to heaven to be with him for all eternity. Yet, when I tell others about him with love and zeal, I am often seen to have lost my mind. They think that there should be a balance between believing in God and living one's own life. If I get too excited about Christ, then I have gone overboard. This is understandable. Encountering such misunderstanding makes me want to spread this good news even more!

***Pointed Sayings, But the World Goes Its Own Way**

        In today's Gospel reading, Jesus also said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" These are pointed sayings. Everyone sees the point, but alas, few seem to take it seriously.

**Do Not Obstruct God!***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed—and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." So, it is important that we always see clearly what God's will is before we say or do as human beings do. Seek to attain union with God so that we may think as he does. 

**Our Hearts See and Hear**

        This is today's Gospel acclamation, based on Ephesians 1:17-18: "May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call." The phrase "the eyes of our hearts" makes me see that our hearts can indeed help us distinguish truth from falsity, the good from the bad. The Lord always speaks to our hearts. Now I "see" that our hearts have both eyes and ears. 

**Your Interest May Turn into Hope**

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, King Herod feared John the Baptist, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When he heard him speak, he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. Today, many people feel that way about Jesus. They may come to follow the Lord one day, leaving them more blessed than those who show no interest in God at all.

**Do You Realize This?*

        Since the Lord God knows everything about us, he knows exactly what we think of him.

***How to Have God Choose You**

        Today is the Memorial of the Passion of John the Baptist. In the First Reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul writes, "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God." All this shows that the Lord loves the humble. Be humble, and he will choose you. The door to heaven is now open for you. 

**No Time to Waste**

        As we approach the end of life, we must become more like Christ and not remain the same old person each day. Best yet, let the Lord bring you into union with him through the Holy Eucharist, and then you will live the happiest life both now and forever.

**Reality**

        That there are righteous people in the world shows that God exists. By the same token, the fact that there are evildoers shows that Satan exists. Therefore, Good and evil, God and Satan, are all real.

***Another Healing Miracle

**Stay Awake so You Don't Get Locked Out**

        Today's Gospel reading is the Parable of the Ten Virgins from Matthew 25. The five foolish virgins were not ready and missed the bridegroom's arrival. When they showed up to attend the wedding feast, the door was already locked. They called out, "Lord, Lord, open the door for us!" He replied, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." This is something you never want to hear the Lord say to you; it's worse than "Woe to you!" The lesson is clear: We must stay awake, for we know neither the day nor the hour of his coming.

**A Prayer We May Need to Say**

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Augustine. The Gospel Acclamation, Luke 21:36, reads: "Be vigilant at all times and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." This is what Jesus said to his disciples. Indeed, we need to pray this, for the day to stand before the Lord will surely come for each of us. The question is: Are we ready? 

***Wrath of God Arriving!***

        The following is the latest urgent message from the Hermit of Assisi, a modern-day prophet.

***Most Loving and Uplifting Promise***

        If we love God, he will never forget us. Obey him and we are his forever! In John 14, at the Last Supper, Jesus says to his disciples, "In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." This is absolutely music to my ears—I cannot imagine hearing a promise that is more loving and uplifting!  

***STAY AWAKE & BE PREPARED**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 24, Jesus said to his disciples: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." We make sure no burglar can break into our home and we make sure our own health and wealth remain sound and safe, yet we don't look beyond this life—how myopic and foolish we can be! Is not our soul much more important than everything else about us?

***Our Highest Calling!***

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Monica. The First Reading consists of 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Paul starts out: "Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God... to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." Right here, I realize that when the Lord God calls us to follow Christ Jesus, it is a sanctifying grace calling us to be holy, so that we may be saved forever! It truly is the highest calling of our whole life.

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

        Every day we live, God measures us by how Christlike we are before the day of judgment. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to show us what we should be like, and no one goes to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6).

**Scribes & Pharisees vs. Today's Politicians*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus said to the scribes and the Pharisees, "Woe to you, hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing." These were harsh words! I thought of today's hypocritical and evil politicians. They don't appear beautiful on the outside at all. They absolutely show no joy, committing fraud and attacking anyone who disagrees with them. Compared to the scribes and the Pharisees, they are less smart and thus more pitiable.

****Perfecting God's Love in Us!****

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, 1 John 2:5, reads, "Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him." This is a big deal! Who doesn't want the God's love to be perfected in him? We now know that if we want it, we only need to keep the word of Christ.

***How God Loves Us***

        Never worry about anyone; be concerned solely with their souls. This is how God loves us.

*Hard Life vs. Comfortable Life*

        When life is too comfortable, it is easy to forget about God. On the other hand, when life is hard, people may complain and curse God, or they may turn to him for help. Between the two, I think a hard life is still a safer choice.

**What Love Requires of You**

        If you truly love God, you will want to be united with him completely. Of course, since God is the Lord, you must surrender yourself to him.

**Recognizing the Lord in Prayer**

        Everything comes from God, including us whom he created. Therefore, whenever we pray to God, we should recognize that he is the Lord and submit ourselves to do his will. I hope you see this connection too.

***Jesus Is God with Us***

        Today, as I prayed the first two Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary—the Resurrection and the Ascension—these thoughts came to me. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead is unquestionable. In the book and movie The Case for Christ, journalist Lee Strobel tries to disprove the Resurrection, only to find overwhelming, undeniable evidence of its truth after an exhaustive investigation. The Resurrection alone is enough proof that Christ is God. Furthermore, his Ascension into heaven does not mean he is now far away from us on earth. Because he is transcendent, he can be with us spiritually. In truth, the faithful and the Lord dwell in each other!

**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.

****One Big Union Advantage****

        As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God's ways higher than our ways, and his thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). But once we attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist, we come to know and understand his ways and thoughts.

***Beautiful Paradoxes**

       1. When we acknowledge before the Lord that we are weak, the Lord makes us strong.

        2. The more we humble ourselves, the more the Lord exalts us.

     3. The more we see ourselves to be wretched sinners, the more we are made clean.

       4. When we abandon ourselves to the Lord, he accomplishes what we want done for us.

        5. Leave everything to follow the Lord and receive a hundredfold more from him.

        6. Surrender ourselves to God and we become free.

        7. The more we believe like a little child, the more God reveals to us what is hidden from the learned.

**Caring About What God Cares About Most**

        We feel sorry for others who suffer from poor health or are depressed. Then I see that spiritual wellbeing is so much more important than any physical or mental condition. There is no gain if you enjoy good health and feel happy, but have not secured your soul yet. God desires to save our souls most, so we must go beyond just caring about others' physical and mental conditions.

**God's Reward Is Always Enough**

        In today's reading from Matthew 20, Jesus tells the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard to illustrate what the kingdom of heaven is like. In it, all the laborers receive the same daily wage from the landowner at the end of the day, no matter when they were hired to start working that day. Of course, the ones who worked more hours grumble about this, but the landowner dismisses them. This can be likened to us who come to submit ourselves to Jesus at different times in life and end up in heaven. Once there, there is no point in caring about when we turned to the Lord anymore.

**Our One Shepherd**

        In today's first reading from Ezekiel 34, the Lord wants Ezekiel to warn the shepherds of Israel thus: "Woe to you who have been pasturing yourselves! Should not shepherds, rather, pasture [my] sheep?" We, the people of the whole world, have only one shepherd, Jesus Christ. If we all let him shepherd us, we will have peace and heaven on earth for sure! For this, it is the duty of the faithful to pray unceasingly.

**My Triumph**

        The Lord being my rock and my refuge, I have already overcome sin and death. It is only a matter of time before I return to him, my forever home.

**Good to Know!**

        I am no philosopher or theologian, but I can tell you what life is all about. God has created us with free will, and we have inherited original sin. If we choose to obey God, we are restored to grace and saved. If we don't, we remain in sin and will be cast out by the Lord. All is fair, so be clear-headed!

**The Lord Speaking!**

        I just posted "Handicap of the Rich," quoting Matthew 19:23. It turns out that this is the first verse of today's Gospel reading. I was also deeply moved by verse 29, in which Jesus declared to his disciples, "Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life."

**Sensible Conclusion**

        Today's Responsorial Psalm Response, from Deuteronomy 32:39, reads, "It is I [God] who bring both death and life." This is clearly true; therefore, it is only fitting and makes sense to put him in charge of everything between life and death too.

**Handicap of the Rich**

        In today's first reading from Ezekiel 28, the Lord God told the prophet what to say to the prince of Tyre. Verse 5 struck me: "Through your great wisdom in trading, you heaped up riches for yourself—your heart is haughty because of your riches." Today we see wealthy people who think they are superior because they can make money. Jesus is right in saying to his disciples that it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. When you serve mammon instead of God, you receive your full reward in this life.

**The Wisdom That Matters the Most**

        Jesus is our Lord and Savior. If we believe and follow him, we are saved from sin and gain eternal life. You have probably heard this so many times that it sounds trite now. But if you truly believe that this is true, you will have gained the wisdom that matters the most to your whole existence! 

***About God's Love***

        God's love for us is so great that it is better not to have been born than to knowingly reject it.

****KNOW GOD'S WONDERFUL MERCY****

        There were two criminals crucified at the same time as Jesus. One of them hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he turned to Jesus and said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." This shows God's wonderful mercy, and it reveals how one change of heart can make the greatest possible difference to our eternal existence. You have to be an absolute ignoramus to get yourself condemned! 

*****All for What? (This We Must Know)*****

        Today I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I thought of the mental agonies Jesus endured. His goal was to save all from eternal death, but people didn't believe in him and wanted to crucify him instead. Before it happened, they mocked and taunted him. As for the physical sufferings he underwent, there were the Scourging at the Pillar—the Shroud of Turin shows that he was whipped 120 times, leaving nearly 400 wound marks over his whole body, both front and back; the Crowning with Thorns—imagine the pain caused by forcing the thorns into his scalp; the Carrying of the Cross—he had to carry the cross himself and fell three times because of its weight; and last, the Crucifixion—the pain must have been so excruciating while hanging from the cross for about six hours before he expired. All for what? This is what every one of us needs to know if we truly have a heart!

**The Way to Perfection**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, a rich young man who observed all God's commandments asked Jesus what he still lacked. Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." We see that to follow Jesus is the way to perfection. If we cannot really sell what we have and give to the poor, we should at least be detached in heart from all our material possessions.

**Clear and Simple**

        We are either saved or lost. Obviously, we cannot save ourselves, just as we cannot lift ourselves up. But if we believe and follow Christ, we are saved. If we do not believe and reject him, we remain lost. That is all there is to it.

**Spirit-Filled Exchange**

         Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, Mary traveled to a town in the hill country of Judah to visit her cousin Elizebeth. When Mary, pregnant with Jesus, and Elizebeth, wth John the Baptist, greeted each other, this exchange took place. It was beautiful because both were filled with the Holy Spirit. Here it is below.

      Elizebeth cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever."

***Follow the Death Destroyer***

        Physical death, we shall all face; after that, we face either eternal life or eternal death. If we belong to Jesus Christ, eternal death will have been destroyed for us, leaving us only eternal life!

**A Warning to Christians**

        The secular influence of the world is so strong that it causes many Christians to become lukewarm or fall away entirely. They are now easy targets for Satan and risk losing their souls altogether. Christians need to seek union with God so that they can become virtually invulnerable to Satan. Even when the Lord allows Satan to attack them to test their faith, they emerge stronger than ever.

***How Well You Hear the Lord?***

        To fully hear the Lord speak to your heart, you need to attain full union with him through the Holy Eucharist. Consequently, some Christians hear the Lord only once in a while or not at all. How much you communicate with the Lord depends entirely on how close your relationship with him is. Personally, with the Lord God, I strive to give my all to get the most out of my relationship with him, thereby glorifying him to the fullest.

***Jesus' Passion Unforgettable***

        The Passion of Jesus was most excruciating, yet the Lord willingly went through it out of love for us. This is what makes it truly unforgettable!

***Best Way to Know God***

        The Apostles followed only the Lord when he was on earth with them. Since the Lord transcends time and space, we can do the same. After all, he is the one we want to know and love above all else, so it makes perfect sense for us to always go directly to him, as he is instantly accessible. To seek the Lord indirectly any other way is much less productive. It is seeking God by our own effort rather than letting him help us reach our goal effortlessly.

***To Forgive Is Divine***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus told the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant to Peter, illustrating the importance of asking the Lord to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, which is part of the Lord's Prayer he gave us. It is clear, although not always easy to follow; but follow we must if we ever want to be assured of getting into heaven. 

***The One True God***

        There are many gods, but there can be only one true God. This is common sense. That he has to be the God of Jesus Christ—who personally revealed the whole truth to us—is practically common sense too. The fact that he turns out to be pure love seals the deal.

***How to See the LORD Clearly**

        In today's First Reading from Ezekiel 12, the LORD told the prophet, "They [the house of Israel] have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house." Today we have the same problem. Many people do not see the truth before their eyes. Even those who claim to know the LORD still see him through veiled eyes. To truly see the LORD clearly, we must totally submit ourselves to him first to allow him to reveal himself to us! 

***About Our Lord***

        The more we trust in our Lord, the more secure we feel! He is completely for us—only a fool would reject his love.

**The Secret to Be Great in Heaven**

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." We adults are so used to displaying our maturity and showing that we can take care of ourselves that we see humility as a weakness. But before the Lord, our status is nonexistent without his love. That he considers us to be his little children is already a great exaltation. We need to be like little children to trust and obey our Father completely.

**Jesus Entering His Glory**

        Today I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. When I meditated on the last mystery, the Crucifixion, I saw that Christ entered his ultimate glory.

**Loving God at All Times**

        Here are the most common traditional Western marriage vows: "I, [Name], take you, [Name], to be my wedded [wife/husband], to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." This is how we should love and cherish God, except that the last part, "till death do us part," does not apply.

***How You Know the Truth***

        I now believe without a doubt that Christ Jesus is my Lord, my God, and my Savior. I do not believe this because others told me it was true, nor did I talk myself into it. The Lord himself revealed it to me. When the Lord shows you something directly, you just know it is true, and the peace that follows confirms it. In many near-death experiences, even atheists and non-Christians report knowing instantly that the figure who appeared to them was Jesus. When St. Paul fiercely persecuted the early followers of Christ, Jesus appeared and revealed himself, causing Paul to submit totally. A faithful Christian observes all things and recognizes, "It is the Lord!"

**A Growing-Old Grace**

        As people grow old, see that their time on earth is fast expiring, and finally realize the importance of believing in Christ and that everything else is insignificant—this is a tremendous breakthrough and a true grace from God! 

***Set for Eternity***

        This is what Jesus says to his disciples in today's Gospel reading from John 12—his words are loving, endearing, and most personal: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me." To become productive, one must die first. We cannot become new if we do not shed the old. If we love the world, we are not free to go to God. All in all, follow Christ, and we are set free and ready for eternity!

***Freedom and Happiness Assured***

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, John 8:12, reads, "Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life, says the Lord." To walk in the light of Christ is to be free from sin, and this makes a tremendous difference to your outlook and spirit—you are now a new creature, assured of eternal happiness!

**Most Cheerful Giver**

        Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. In the first reading from 2 Corinthians 9, Paul writes, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." This is pure common sense: "We reap what we sow." The most cheerful giver is one who gives all of himself to God, for God has already given all of himself to us!

***State of the Church***

         The Blessed Mother, Akita, Japan, prophesied that because of apostasy in the Church, we would have cardinals opposing cardinals and bishops against bishops. This is happening right now. The Church is already fractured, with the progressives splitting from the traditionalists. My feeling is that the Church must hold onto her original traditions and teachings, and never modify or try to "modernize" them one iota to "please" the world. Only the devil would do that. Also, since all the problems of the world are caused by people abandoning God, the Church should focus solely upon letting the Lord make all her members holy!

        I also lament the fact that today no one preaches like Jesus did anymore. The Lord always went straight to the truth, was consistent, and never tried to please his listeners. He spoke succinctly, using no big words and talking at a level people could understand.

       Finally, I believe in Jesus' promise to Peter that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against his church, and what Mary has revealed to us—that her Immaculate Heart will triumph in the end. The day will come when the Lord God will set things right.

**True Faith Without Doubt**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew14, Peter was in his boat on the sea and saw Jesus walking on the water toward him, and he wanted to do that too. Jesus said, "Come." Then he got out of the boat and began to walk toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" We see that faith with any doubt is no faith at all. This is what makes faith so precious and powerful.

**Where to Look for the LORD**

        In today's First Reading from 1 Kings 19, at Horeb, the mountain of God, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the LORD said to him, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks—but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. So, when you look for the LORD, listen for his whispering voice in your heart. It is in your innermost self where you will find and encounter the LORD.

***That Key Step to Salvation***

        John 3:16 is probably the best-known verse to most of us. You even see it on billboards sometimes. Here it is: "For 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." In other words, believe in Jesus as your Savior and follow him, and you are saved. Of course, not everyone who believes in him becomes holy and spotless afterwards, but as long as you repent and have the Lord take away your sins each time, you should be okay. Also, your circumstances may not permit you to become a Catholic and receive the Holy Eucharist, which also promises eternal life. In that case, the Lord will understand too. So know John 3:16 and take that first step.

**Sad State of the World**

        In this secular world, many people are doing the work of the evil one, whether knowingly or not. They live mainly for themselves and do not care about others. They are blind to the fact that their time on earth is short. They do not know—or care to know—that the living God loves them. This is a truly sad state!

**It All Comes Down to Faith**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 17, after Jesus healed a boy with a demon, the disciples approached him in private and said, "Why could we not drive it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." We already know that if we have faith, nothing will be impossible for us. The problem is how to put that into practice.  Again, it comes down to believing that the Lord will show us the way.

***The Living Light**

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, based on 2 Timothy 1:10, reads: "Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel." We already know that Jesus is the life and the light. Now I see that he can be appropriately called "the living light." 

**Pure Joy**

        Once you attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist and sense his holy presence at all times, receiving him in this most holy sacrament simply adds pure joy to your spirit.

*****The Unavoidable One*****

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew16, there are some memorable sayings by Jesus. (1) "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (2) "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" (3) "For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct." All these sayings affect us directly, and we must deal with them. Jesus is the only one we cannot avoid and cannot afford to ignore!

***Wise Move**

        Deuteronomy 32:39c, today's Responsorial Psalm response, reads, "It is I [God] who deal death and give life." Indeed, God alone gave us life and determines the time of our death. It would be wise to let him take complete charge of us.

**Something to Beware**

        In Matthew 5:37, Jesus, in teaching his disciples about oaths, said, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." I love this saying—how refreshing! Today, you hear things from so many people, especially public figures, that are premeditated, convoluted, evasive, or confusing—not straight truth. According to Jesus, they've all been influenced by the evil one. So beware.

***The Divine Secret***

        There is no limit to how much we can love God, but being finite, our strength limits us. So, switch gears to let God love us. All we need to do is to relax and remain completely open—this we can surely accomplish. In doing so, we achieve our objective. (The secret: Let God do it.)

*Our Perpetual Prayer*

        The world has remained evil from creation to this day, so we must never stop praying for the world until the end of the age.

*Letting Sin Lead You to God*

        You should see that sin is a big, fundamental problem for you. If you don't, you just prove my point. If you do, what are you going to do about it? If you see that Christ is the one to look into, cheer up, because he is calling you.

**One Barrier to Entering Heaven**

        One great example we can learn from the Lord Jesus is that he accepted all his sufferings willingly. To follow him, he has let us know that we must deny ourselves and take up our own cross. So, refusing to suffer is a barrier to entering heaven.

**Temporarily on Earth**

        Jesus came down from heaven to earth and lived among us for thirty-three years to bring the good news of salvation and eternal life. I have never been to heaven, but I now feel I already belong there, and I am only here on earth temporarily.

***Too Important to Ignore!***

        Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. From the book of the prophet, we read, "As the visions during the night continued, I saw: one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed." Daniel was written between 167 and 164 BC. In the Second Letter of Peter, the Apostle confirms this: "Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, 'This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain." So Jesus is no ordinary person; he is the Son of God. We are compelled to realize this for our own sake—he is too important to ignore!

**Do You Realize . . .**

our feee will can also block the Lord, not just Satan?

**Don't Forget the Enemies**

        This morning I expressed my love for God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, and all the holy angels and saints in heaven. I felt the Lord was waiting for me to say something more, so I also added all of his and our enemies who still might have a chance to be saved.

***Fantastic Good News***

        Human life is so fragile that a single accident or disease can totally disable or kill us, and we have no control over that. On the other hand, even though one unrepented serious sin can land us in hell for all eternity, we can completely prevent this by believing in and following Christ. This is truly fantastic news to us!

**"Outsmarting" the Lord**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman came to Jesus and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. The lesson here: The Lord tests us. If we always keep our faith, we "win" each time.

**God, the Sun**

        This morning I woke up and watched the sunlight streaming through the window, hitting the white bedroom wall, and making it glow with warmth. I realized how the Lord created the sun to keep us alive on Earth. Then I understood that the Lord himself is the sun that can keep us alive spiritually forever.

**Patience Pays Off**

        Patience as a virtue is also a great strategy for accomplishing many goals in life. Impatient people rush and make mistakes because they lose their peace and no longer think clearly. To achieve maximum success, we must wait for the right time to make the right move. Realizing the following can help: There will always be unfinished business until the day we die, so do what is necessary when you can. What's unnecessary can wait. Basically, impatience stems from a lack of trust in God. Let his infinite patience be our inspiration.

**Beautiful Union**

        In union with God, his joys are your joys, and his sorrows, your sorrows.

**It Is Up to Us**

        Jesus always keeps his promises to us, if we do not betray him.

***One Best Feeling:***

        "knowing that you belong to Christ"

***Treasure Moments***

        In deep silence . . . that is when I hear my beloved Lord best.

***Self-Degradation***

        When we offend God, he remains as holy as ever, while we succeed in degrading ourselves.

****How to have an ultimately Better Life****

        As an older individual, I see firsthand how many seniors face incredibly difficult lives. Many struggle with severe health issues, including high blood pressure, heart failure, terminal cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease. Others endure the pain of major surgeries—like shoulder, hip, or knee replacements—or suffer from the lingering effects of accidental falls and dementia. Beyond physical illness, many also face loneliness and financial anxiety over the cost of their care. This leads to a crucial question: After this life ends, would you want to experience an even worse existence? The answer should be a resounding "no!" If you agree, then place your faith in Jesus Christ today to receive eternal life in heaven. Otherwise, the life to come may be far more miserable than this one.

***Doubt Is Our Enemy*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 14, during the fourth watch of the night, Jesus walked on the sea toward his disciples, who were already in a boat a few miles offshore. When the disciples saw him, they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said. At once Jesus spoke to them: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened; beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand, caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" We see that doubt is our enemy. In following the Lord, we must trust in him and never doubt in the slightest. This is how we can make great spiritual progress.

***The Wise and the Foolish**

        The wise see everything that happens to them as a blessing, learning from it to become more Christlike, whereas the foolish ignore that they need the Lord and choose to live their own way, leading to self-destruction.

***The Lord Fulfilling His Promise***

        I usually share my Communion experience here. If you have not read any over the last three months, that is because I suffered a fall last April 26 and had to remain home since then. I do expect to be able to resume attending Mass to receive the Lord again in a month or two. That will sure be one of the happiest days of my life. Even though I am not receiving this Most Holy Sacrament for the time being, I feel his holy presence every single moment—the Lord is fulfilling his final promise to his disciples: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

**No Time to Squander**

        After supper, I watched some news on YouTube. As you know, there are so many other videos on various interesting subjects. I was tempted to watch one (I don't even remember what), but I hesitated. While it's not harmful, neither was it spiritually beneficial. That was a gentle prod from the Spirit. So I skipped watching it and felt peaceful. We do what we feel like doing most of the time, but there are times we question if we should go ahead and do something or not; this is the time to make the right decision. We are living on borrowed time; every moment we have is God's—Christians really don't have any time to kill. So we ought to spend every moment serving and honoring God. Then our rewards will be great in heaven.

**Physical vs. Spiritual Death**

        Today's Gospel Acclamation, Matthew 4:4b, reads, "One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." This is true because of a simple fact: If we have no bread to eat, we die physically, which happens to everyone eventually. But if we have no word coming from God to nourish us, we face spiritual death forever!