***Epic Pro-Life Speech***

         Here's Sr. Deirdre Byrne speaking the truth from her heart.

***Getting Blessed to the Max

         Matthew 5.10, today's Gospel acclamation: Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. To me, when God blesses you, he is going to reward you. And the greatest possible reward has to be eternal life with God in heaven. So I go straight to the Lord to secure that by believing in him, keeping his word, and receiving the Holy Eucharist (my triple guarantee) and I get blessed to the max! 

*Be Something or Nothing

             Today is the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, 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." So, brothers and sisters, if you want Satan to notice you, just think that you are somebody. But if you only wish God to notice you, then become nothing. We have a clear choice here.

**Feeling Sad About Others Dying

         People feel sad when they hear that someone young in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s, has passed away because they feel that the deceased is going to miss the many good things of life. But this is how we see it, not how God sees it. If we are quite sure that the soul of the deceased has gone to heaven, we should indeed rejoice. But if we are not sure, knowing that God is absolutely fair and just, then there is nothing for us to be concerned about. We can always pray for the soul in case it has entered purgatory. Now, if we are quite sure that a soul has gone to hell, then we can feel sad, again more for the loss to the Lord than for the deceased. Not knowing what happens to the soul and feeling sad only reflects our own attachment to the world. With God, we become attached to him alone and see true reality. 

**Responsible for Our Own Banishment

           Today's Gospel reading from Matthew tells the parable of the ten virgins. The five foolish ones who were not prepared for the bridegroom's arrival didn't make it to the wedding feast on time. When they knocked on the locked door and said, "Lord, Lord, open the door for us!" he replied, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." So every day we put off accepting the Lord, we risk being locked out of the Kingdom of heaven. This is true whether he comes in your lifetime or after you die. You have only yourself to blame for your banishment.  

***Preparing for Standing Before the Lord***

          Luke 21.36, today's alleluia verse: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man, says the Lord. The day to stand before the Lord will come for each of us. I cannot think of a better way to prepare for that day than achieving union with him now on earth. You become one with him every moment of this life, abandoning yourself to him completely, and are ready to accept whatever he wishes to do with you with joy. Yes, you might say you beat the Lord to it, but I have no doubt that he'd be pleased that you are being astute spiritually. 

**Supreme Wisdom

            Realizing that if we all follow Christ our Lord fully, we'll have peace on earth now and eternal life afterwards; and if we rebel against him, we'll reman in turmoil now and perish for all eternity later.  

**The Foolish Shall Perish

         Today is the Memorial of St. Augustine. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." You see, people want to see God perform miracles so that they might believe, but fail to see his great invisible power that can save them from perishment if they would believe in him. It is their self-centeredness that has blinded them, expecting God to submit to them and not the other way around. The foolish will perish, while the humble will live on.

**How to Be Prepared

         Today is the Memorial of St. Monica. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 24, Jesus said to his disciples, "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. So you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Once we realize this, the best way for us to be prepared is to focus only upon serving Christ from now on. There is no other way.

**What Causes You to Weep

         I came across this over a year old Fr. Mark Goring video. I am posting it because he has a beautiful message for us.