Jesus Our Sign

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus told the people who gathered in the crowd that he was the greatest sign to their generation. Indeed, if we do not believe him to be our God and Savor, we won't find another in his place. 

**Heart-to-Heart With God

        God is all over the universe at the same time. Therefore, when you pray, enter your own heart and speak to him there in your heart. You want to be in greatest possible intimacy with your Father, so make it heart-to-heart in your heart!

God Desires Our Surrender

        In today's Gospel from Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray: the Our Father. Do you realize that when you say this prayer, to really mean what you say you must surrender yourself to God?

Planning for Remaining Years

        Life is short, so some people would cram in as many enjoyable activities as possible, while others might turn to God exclusively in their remaining time. I think the sensible, balanced plan is to establish priorities. Serving God must not be put off, while all other things can be attended to at the proper, appointed time.

Learning From the Turkeys

        This morning as I drove to my church for Mass on a countryish road, a surprise awaited me. Right as I was about to hit a peak in the road, I saw on the other side three wild turkeys in my lane. If I had driven a bit faster and/or the birds were just a few yards closer, I would not have been able to stop in time to avoid a collision. Both the turkeys and my car would have been damaged for sure. And I would have missed Mass too. By the way, these three were just separated from the rest of the flock which I spotted in the front yard of the house to the left. What I learned was that life is full of surprises which could turn nasty, and I must expect and not be surprised by them. (These turkeys with spread tails were quite beautiful – I was glad that none of them got hurt this morning.) 

Stern Reality to Face

         Do you know that you are not perfect and have sinned in words, thoughts, and deeds? Do you know that you would have trouble entering heaven as you are? Do you want to go to heaven? If your answer is yes to all three questions, then you must turn to Christ for salvation, for there are no clear alternatives out there. Dismissing Christ is equivalent to believing that he had come and died for nothing and that he was basically a phony.

***In Complete Sync

        Communion experience. Even if you have attained union with God, you still won't be content until you get to heaven and attain complete spiritual union with him. This is how God has made us. Attaining union with him on earth is just the first stage. Because God is so beautiful, you won't be satisfied until he is completely yours. In the same way, God loves us so much that he won't be satisfied until we are completely his. In heaven, both God and you will be completely happy together.

Intention Plays the Part

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus foretold the judgment of the nations to his disciples. On that day, those who showed love for others in need are blessed by the Father and will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (wow!), while those who didn't will be sent off into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angles (ouch!). Of course, since none of us can love perfectly in this world, how do we know that we'll pass the test? It won't be like taking a test to make sure that we score higher than some preset passing mark. I believe here's where our intention plays the big part. Our intention should always be to love for the sake of God. Just follow it and not be concerned about how well we'll succeed.

Love Is God

        In today's first reading from Leviticus 19, the Lord instructed Moses to tell the whole Israelite community that they should love their neighbor as themselves. God was, is, and will always be love. Christ came and confirmed that for us. It is love that can overcome all problems, achieve peace in our world as well as in our hearts, and lead us back to our creator in heaven. Love is our weapon to vanquish evil and the secret to eternal life. All because love is the true God.      

Reasons for Rejoicing

        Think about it. We have God our loving Father awaiting us in heaven, Jesus our Lord and brother guiding us through this life, and Mary the mother of Christ and our mother praying for us incessantly. How can we not rejoice?!