From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, we hear the Gospel of the ten virgins. The five foolish ones were not prepared when the bridegroom arrived and were locked out of attending the wedding feast. When they knocked on the door to ask the Lord to open the door for them, he said in reply, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." Know that the door is now before his Second Coming. If you are wise, you would get ready to get inside the door right now, for you do not when it will close for you. With God, we should always be ready and prepared.
Sunday, November 8, 2020
***Most Comforting Words
In today's second reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul, in expressing hope for the dead, wrote, "We shall always be with the Lord."
***One Thing We Must Not Forget
No matter what we undergo, we must always yearn for the Lord and praise him!
Comforting Prayer
Today we need to fight evil and do good at the same time. The prayer before the first reading at Mass was what I needed to hear: Almighty and merciful God, graciously keep from us all adversity, so that, unhindered in mind and body alike, we may pursue in freedom of heart the things that are yours. Pray that the Lord will ward off evil so that we may spend more time doing good.
***Choosing Heave or Hell*
This post ties in with the post "Avoiding the Worst Oppression" I wrote yesterday. If you know you are heaven bound, you would become detached to all the things in the world. You enjoy the good things, but you know that things in heaven will be so much more enjoyable. You wouldn't mind the bad things that happen to you much anymore, as they will pass and be all forgotten after you get to heaven. Now, let's suppose that you know you are on the way to hell. You should realize that all things, good or bad, that happen to you on earth will no longer mean anything, as you'll be suffering terribly in hell for all eternity. Since you are not in heaven or hell yet, I hope these thoughts will help you see clearly which way you should choose to go.
***How to Know God
You can let ten thousand people tell you how to know God or you can go directly to the Lord on your own, open up to him and tell him that you desire to know him.
*Clarifying Faith
People who do not know Christ tend to think that we who love the Lord have gotten brainwashed somehow. This couldn't be further from the truth. Brainwashing is always forced on you externally by someone, whereas coming to believe in God happens internally voluntarily. Faith is now born, the mark of the Christian belief. There is no one more gentle than the Holy Spirit. Your brain gets illuminated, not washed. We are always free to change our mind at any time. The Lord loves us, but we can either accept or reject him.
**Suffering with Joy
The possibility that this country may be taken over by a party that would suppress religious freedom and cause more godlessness has placed a heavy burden on many of us. The battle between good and evil has never been so intense and clear. I am compelled to pray unceasingly to the Lord with a heavy heart. Then I realize that I am suffering along with Christ and decide to offer all my sufferings up to him. I remain hopeful in my Lord, as nothing is impossible with him. The joy is that I am now united with him more than ever.
Saturday, November 7, 2020
***Only Rule We Need to Follow*
I went into deep prayer in solitude and the Lord, the God of Christ, made me see clearly that he is the only one we need to reconcile with, trust in, and obey. There is nothing more and we'll have eternal life. It's so simple and beautiful.
**Clear Lesson from the Lord
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God." The fact that God knows our hearts shows that he is God and our creator. "Abomination" is a severe word. Here, regarding yourself to be more important than God is an abomination to God. Think of it, it's pretty much spiritual common sense. Obviously, remaining humble before the Lord will be most pleasing to him.
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