**Instances of Hypocrisy

        If you pray the Our Father and say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," but do not forgive your trespassers in your heart, you are being hypocritical. If you pray the Our Father to ask him not to lead you into temptation, but have no qualms about going to see an impure movie, you are a hypocrite. Also, if you ask the Father to deliver you from all evil, but still harboring evil thoughts, you are being hypocritical. We must mean what we say and say what we mean.

***Most Fundamental Petition

        To pray for the soul of someone is to pray for the salvation of that person, which means that he or she will have to repent and be reconciled to God. When all souls turn away from evil and to God, we shall have peace on earth. Therefore, I see praying for all the souls as the most fundamental prayer to change the world and to please God. Modeled after St. Gertrude's Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I have come up with this succinct prayer:    

        

          Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious blood of your Divine Son, Jesus, for the salvation of all the souls, both living and deceased.

Our Shortsightedness

        Today there are a lot of gurus on the internet warning us about the impending and possibly the biggest economic collapse in the history of our nation. They may be right or they may be wrong, but many are preparing for it. I thought of the inevitable Second Coming of Christ at which many will no doubt receive the biggest shock of their existence, yet not many even think about it much. Are we so enamored with this world and this life? 

*Selfless and Self-Giving Lord

        In Mathew 19.29, today's Communion antiphon, Jesus said, "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." Here Jesus again revealed the truth, letting us choose freely to believe in him or not. Obviously, he said it out of love for us and not for his own gain. Here's our most selfless Lord.

*Under God's Watchful Eyes

        In today's Gospel reading from John 1, Philip found Nathanael and told him that he had found the Messiah. He then took him to see Jesus. Nathanael believed when Jesus told him that he saw him under the fig tree even before Philip talked to him. I feel blessed that our Lord knows everything about us and me. Knowing that he watches over me, I've never felt so secure in my life. 

Problem-Solving Strategy

        Trust in God with all your problems. Virtually, you drop all your problems in God's lap. Now, he has them and will solve them for you.

***Most Urgent Warning***

        The world is in chaos. The Church is in chaos. If Christians cannot see the light clearly themselves, how can we expect the secular world to see it? This is no time for complacency. In fact, it is time to repent our sins most urgently and surrender ourselves completely to God. Right now, our physical body prevents our soul from leaving this world. Once our soul is free, it'll either rise to heaven or descend into hell. After receiving Holy Communion today, I asked the Lord to wash me clean with his Most Precious Blood. Be ready during these last days for his imminent Second Coming. Don't ever give me the chance to say "I told you so"!

**The Lord Means It

        In John 6.51, today's Communion antiphon, Jesus said: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. If the bread the Lord offered us at the Last Supper and at every Mass today were merely ordinary bread symbolizing his flesh, what he had said would have made no sense. 

***Dealing With Hell Now

        In the battle against Satan, it is a foregone conclusion that God will crush all evil in the end. For us, there will be either heaven or hell awaiting us. If we are smart, we shall ally with God right this moment. Fr. Mark Goring posted this relevant video today:

A Spiritual Certainty

        Communion experience. Let the Lord God enter to be one with you and great things will happen to your soul!