***The Only Trustworthy One

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, people were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. Then Jesus said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." You see, the world is pretty much godless, so we cannot trust in it al all. On the contrary, God is the absolute truth, so we can and should trust in him like a child. It's so good that we have such a God!

**Fear of God*

         In today's first reading from Sirach 17, we heard that God created man in his own image and put the fear of him in him. This is a healthy fear, for the LORD wants us to remain blameless so that we may return to him in heaven. The evildoers get it all wrong; they, remaining in darkness, fear that the LORD would expose them, not realizing that LORD specializes in seeing everything in the dark.

***Call to Believe in Christ Our Savior

         Believe in Jesus and you'll be saved from sin and have eternal life—I am sure that many (if not most) of us have heard this. It is truly a unique message that we mustn't dismiss quickly, for there are no similar messages so specifically spelled out like that. We all know that we are sinners. And Christ undeniably existed, rose from the dead, and is the holy God. To me, either he is our Savior or we don't have one. In our evil world, the fact that many do not believe in him only shows that he is the truth. Believe, so you don't deceive yourself.

*****To Be Ready for That Most Important Day***

        People, Christians included, who do not have Christ at the very center of their lives do not seek guidance from him. As a result, they react and act like any non-believer and end up not being able to resolve their problems properly or in a righteous way. This is very sad, for how will they handle themselves when they face the Lord on the day of judgment, the most important day of their existence? Will they know exactly how they should act and what they should say to pass the test? Not being used to listening to the Lord and following his will can now be absolutely disastrous to their eternal future.

***Sinning on the Next Level*

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." Essentially, I see that sining by yourself is one thing, but if your sin causes others to sin also, your sin is now a lot more serious! In this case, you actually take others with you on the road to perdition. So think twice before you sin. Better yet, don't ever consider sinning.

**What We Must Not Delay*

         Sirach 5:7a from today's first reading: Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day. Now that Christ has already come to us, all the more we should not delay believing in the LORD. The longer you put it off, the more you put your salvation at risk.

***How Real is Jesus to You? (Becoming the Happiest Person)***

         Going way back, I did feel that the Holy Spirit first prompted me to accept Christ as my Savior. But my faith pretty much emanated from my intellectual conviction absent any deep personal relationship with the Lord. When I first heard about Mother Teresa volunteering to go to India to serve the poor and the dying, I couldn't believe that anyone would want to do something like that, missing all the fun in life! In fact, I personally dreaded that God might call me to be a missionary in Africa! Later I came across Thomas à Kempis' spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ and found his devotion to Christ stunning—I was unable to read on, for I realized I fell way short of loving the Lord. I was also impressed by the strong faith of a couple I knew well. At the funeral of their son who died tragically, both parents showed more joy than sorrow, for they believed that he was with Christ now. Anyway, today I am a different person altogether. Through receiving the Holy Eucharist, Christ is more real to me than anyone or anything else. It's easier to believe that the sun may not rise tomorrow morning than believing that the Lord is not real. Jesus is now my best friend and soulmate whose holy presence I feel at all times. When Christ becomes really real to you, you are the happiest person in the whole world!

***In Solidarity with God***

        I like to pray the Divine Mercy early in the morning before I get out of bed. This is when I can concentrate on praying without falling asleep again and everything is still quiet all around. Since the Lord's greatest desire is to save us, when I pray for his mercy on us from my very heart, I am in total solidarity with him, and this is such a great feeling! 

***Most Destructive Enemy***

        Sin against God and you start messing up your present life and ruining your eternal one. Sin is our worst enemy. Always know what you should do and what you shouldn't do to remain wise!

***God's Right Choices*

        God chooses us to serve him, not because we are perfect, but because we are the right ones. Rejoice if he has already called you!