*Judge Not, lest Ye Be Judged

        Those who judge others quickly are easily the ones who have trouble forgiving others. We should not judge others for the following reasons. (1) God has commanded us not to judge. (2) We can easily be wrong about others. In my own case, quite a few times I thought someone was not so nice and it turned out to be untrue. Not being God, we don't know everything. (3) Would you want others to judge you? (4) Ask yourself if you are truly a better person than the one you judge. God who is perfect does not even judge us as long as we are still alive in this world. (5) Remember that the last shall be first, so some of those you judge may even enter the kingdom of heaven before you do. 

**Courageous Speech*

         In the news is this courageous parent speaking up at a school board meeting in Carmel, New York. It shows how evil has also infiltrated our school system. Watch the video before it gets removed from YouTube. 

**How to Treat Evildoers

         Today I saw a photo posted online showing two public figures posing in a disgusting manner. There are now so many such sick and godless people out there that many people, including Christians, wish that they would die and/or go to hell. We must ask how Jesus would want us to treat them. I know the Lord must be weeping over them, for they know not what they do and he loves them all. I also know that he does not want us to judge them. So like him, we should pity them and pray for them, especially if you know that you are heaven bound. If we hate or judge them, we may get locked out of heaven ourselves. For to receive mercy from God, we must be merciful to others.

***How to Stop Sinning

         After we commit a sin and feel sorry about it, we can always repent and ask the Lord to forgive us (or go to confession if the sin is serious). Then he takes the sin away and we are clean again. But the tendency to sin still remains. To take care of that, you need to surrender to God completely. Once you attain union with him, he removes that as well. Now you live in great peace.

**Blessed the Clean of Heart

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Here's one of the Beatitudes he gave: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God." I say amen to that. One who has a clean heart is with the Lord, for he has nothing to hide, and he enjoys his constant companionship. Let the Lord purge you of all your sins so that you may enjoy living a happy and peaceful life in him.

*****Beautiful Ave Maria

         I have posted a number of recordings of Ave Maria in the right sidebar under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos.... Of course, Schubert and Bach/Gounod's Ave Maria are best known. But in recent years, William Gomez of El Salvador composed an Ave Maria that's magnificent. I also love the version by the Polish composer Lorenc which was played in the Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ film. You can find all these videos in my list. Today I am going to post another beautiful Ave Maria attributed to the 16th century Italian composer Giulio Caccini and the 20th century Russian composer Vladimir Vavilov. I listed both names because no one is sure who the original composer was. 
       I was deeply moved by the song. The melody is gorgeous and the images shown in the video made me realize how sorrowful Mary must have felt about the death of her son. Her sorrow must have been doubly intense and painful, as Jesus was not only her son, but also her Lord! Then I realize that Jesus is not only my friend and soulmate, but also my Lord and Savior, and my joy doubled! The video is long because the song was played I think three times over. But if you are drawn into it, you can meditate on it and time will go by quickly. May watching this video increase you love for both Christ and his (and our) mother.

**Christ Our Liberator!*

         As you might know, I like both music and photography. I enjoyed listening to various genres of music. Performed well, music can touch one's heart and perhaps even the soul. As I photograph, I look for images that resonate with me. So what I see often touches me deeply too. Then Christ, whom I do not hear nor see, captures my heart and soul totally—this is the amazing part. I know that there are people who live only for their music or the art they create. But only Christ is worth dying for! After you know him, all else just fade away. Now you remain free in him and live for him only, no longer attached to anything in the world.

**Jesus the True God

         Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. If Christ is truly our Lord God and Savior, then we must absolutely take him seriously, for our entire existence and survival now depends upon him. To ignore, dismiss, or reject him can no longer be an option. If you don't have him, you'll have absolutely no one else to go to, for there is not another one like him. I am being dead serious. Again, it's all or nothing with the Lord, a mark of the true God.

*Who Are Our Worst Enemies?

         In today's first reading from Tobit 12, one statement the angel Raphael said to Tobit and his son Tobiah struck me: "Those habitually of sin are their own worst enemies." So every time we sin, we simply convict ourselves.

*The Panicky Evildoer

         A good Christian has no fear of evil because God is with him; he always hopes for the best in the Lord and never panics. On the other hand, an evil person panics easily for fear of being exposed at any time. (At least he still has some conscience left, one reason we should never write anyone off completely.)