***Our Foremost Christian Duty***

        It is to love the Lord by being holy ourselves and spreading the gospel with the goal of saving as many souls as possible.

***How Our Joy Progresses***

        First, we experience the joy having our soul purified and healed by the Lord. Then we progress to the joy of being in union with him spiritually. Finally, we arrive at the joy of being with the Lord in person for all eternity. 

***RICH BEYOND MEASURE***

        Today's Entrance Antiphon, Ps 16:5-6, Reads: O Lord, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. For me the measuring lines have fallen on pleasant sites; fair to me indeed is my inheritance. The Responsorial Psalm Response from Ps 2: I will give you all the nations for an inheritance. Last, the Communion Antiphon, Mt 19:29, reads: Everyone who has given up home, brothers, or sisters, father or mother, wife or children or property for my sake will receive many times as much and inherit everlasting life. All three quotes talk about inheritance. If we let the Lord of Christ be our Lord, we will inherit all that he has for us and everlasting life! Do you hear me?

***Denying Ourselves Our First Step***

        Today the Church celebrates The Epiphany of the Lord. I have just one message to share. This saying of Jesus to his disciples appears in all three Synoptic Gospels: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." We see that the first order of business is to deny ourselves, which clearly goes against our grain. Then I realized that the Lord is right; obviously, we can't follow him and ourselves at the same time. So denying ourselves is the beginning of setting ourselves free, and the motivation to follow Christ is the driving force that can help us succeed. It's basically letting the Lord rightly be our Lord. This morning after I got up from bed, I found that my Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal were all tangled up. I had to take both off my neck to untangle them and it took me almost a full five minutes! Every unusual happening is a message from God. I believe that his message for me was that if I do not deny myself, life will always end up a tangled mess.

**Great Feeling**

         Communion experience. Seeing that the Lord has offered all of himself for me, I was greatly moved by his humility, making me want to be humble like him. That was a great feeling!

**One Great Sorrow**

         It's seeing so many of us not seeing Christ as our Savior, a true case of "They know not what they do."  How they need God's mercy!

**Heaven Bound Formula*

         Today is also the Optional Memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus. Start doing everything in the name of Jesus according to God's will before the day of your judgment and you'll be heaven bound.

*****Bold Move We Can Make*****

         In today's Gospel's reading from John 1, John the Baptist testified to Jesus: "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." I say, ask Jesus to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. If you really mean it and and are open, you will experience the greatest change in your life, like being hit by a tidal wave! Freedom, peace, and joy will inundate you. This is my personal testimony to you. If you feel you are not quite ready for that, pray for guidance from the Lord. We are or have been prodigal sons or daughters. There'll be no true rest until we return to our Father in heaven.

***Exalted by the Lord***

        From 1 John 3: 6, we heard read "No one who remains in him [Christ] sins." Choosing to remain in the Lord puts us in a special class. I am in no way saying that we are superior to others; I am only saying that Christ has made us superior in him. And we now become even more humble and grateful to him.

***One to Hold Onto***

        We must hold onto Christ at all times, not just when we need him. He is ever present, sustaining and longing to fellowship with us, his love for us forever burning. Ignoring him is throwing our destiny to the wind! Stick with the him and he'll keep us safe and happy forever.