***Making Light of Mortal Sins

          I watched a YouTube video titled 15 Mortal Sins Catholics Are Frequently Missing in Their Confessions. I'll just mention a few on the list, such as using contraception, masturbating, wearing immodest clothing, and not keeping Sunday as a day of rest, which most Catholics no longer consider to be serious sins. But a mortal sin once is a mortal sin always! It's us who have fallen further away from God. Even priests today no longer touch on these subjects openly, for it seems that not offending people matters more than not offending God. We are in or near end times.

**Two Big Realizations

        The world has strayed far away from God. First, we need to realize that we are sinners and need salvation from the Lord. Next, we need to realize that Christ is the perfect example for us to emulate. We truly need someone to guide us in all things and there is no one but Christ who knows everything and has the greatest love for us. 

*Being a Bona Fide Christian

          Since God communicates with our heart and touches our soul, the life we live for him is always an interior one. We communicate with him and experience his joy secretly. Whatever we do for him is for him alone, to be known to him alone. So a bona fide Christian is one who lives for Christ only in secret. 

**Tough Conversions, but Not for God

         Smart, educated people are most difficult to convert. They think that they can find all answers themselves. I talked to a prominent doctor who was a Protestant at one time, but he was never able to bring himself to believe in Christ fully. He was always asking me questions and couldn't understand why someone like me would even want to be involved with serving at a local prison. Another person I talked to recently has no qualms about following the way of the world. I just sense that bringing up Christ is not going to make any impact at this point. You need to pray for people like him. This reminds me of in Mark 9 the time the disciples asked the Lord why they couldn't cast a demon out of one boy. Jesus said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."
       Fr. Goring's video today more or less ties in with I've just said above. Also, since the Miraculous Medal was mentioned, I can testify that wearing one and believing in its efficacy, you do receive abundant blessings from God as promised by Holy Mother. 

**How to Treat Your Body

        To survive on earth, we need our physical body. Therefore, it is proper to keep it healthy and functioning. But if we are obsessed about making our body attractive to others, then we have become vain. Know that the body is like our material possessions which we'll have to leave behind one day. So we should learn to become detached from it. Take care of your body to serve God well, but never "worship" it for your vainglory.

***Our Greatest Teacher and Mentor

        God is our greatest teacher and mentor, for he knows and understands everything. For your spiritual growth, you only need to consult him. Again, I advocate seeking union with him, for he'll help you every step of the way and once you attain union with him, you'll understand all his ways and thoughts. Now you grow to be like him and we can truly say "like father like son" or "like father like daughter." In our case, the father is the Father and that make it even more special! 

**The Lord Most Enjoyable

         Since Jesus remain holy and the same forever, he remain forever new and refreshing. By contrast, we sinners need to be renewed continuously by him to remain new. That's why I enjoy my union with him more than anything else in the whole universe.

*On Toward Eternity

        Will we only turn to God in our last moments when we know that we are dying? But that would be taking an awfully big chance, for we don't know when and how we're going to die. But since we know that we will die one day for sure, then definitely it'd be wise to turn to God before we die, the sooner the better. We can also see that our whole lifetime is but one big dying moment, as we march toward death the moment we were born. Indeed life is just our way to eternity.

*****Heaven Needs Our Prayers

        Here's another beautiful message from Mother Mary to the Medjugorje seer Mirjana. God is sending messages through more and more lay individuals. I think it's because there are now more trustworthy and faithful lay people than most of the clergy who no longer have the courage to preach the truth. The Holy Mother really needs our prayers. She told Mirjana that "Life is like a flower and is short, and all of us will soon meet God who will ask us about our life." And furthermore, "Be ready! I am calling you, through prayer, and the Holy Mass when my Son unites Himself with you in a special way, to try to be like Him; that, like Him, you may always be ready to carry out God's will and not seek the fulfillment of your own. Dear children! Do not forget that you are here on earth on the way to eternity and that your home is in heaven. Again I am warning you, pray for those whom my Son called, whose hands He blessed and whom He gave as a gift to you. Pray, pray, pray for your shepherds. Thank you." We can truly say that we are in our last days when God's judgment is near. 

**This Distant Generation*

          Jesus has made it so clear that we need to be prepared and ready for his coming. This means we must be prepared for anything that threatens my life and eternal life. What if you die right now? Are you ready? What if disaster strikes and shatters all your dreams? How would you handle that? Yet we don't even turn to God to deal with our sins, so how can we be prepared for his coming? Why is this generation so afraid to look at their own sins? God is ready, waiting, and willing to take away their sins anytime for the asking. It's not being aware of the need for salvation that's most alarming. Sadly, a great awakening is needed before they'll even consider getting themselves ready.