**Our Fundamental Problem*

        Our most fundamental problem is that we sin against God. If we do not solve this problem, then we are doomed. Follow Christ and the problem is fundamentally solved. Think about it! 

**Pitying the Liars

        Last Saturday, I blogged about how the Lord wants us to be honest and genuine always under the post How to Behave Ourselves. To be fake is to be evil. Satan spreads lies by telling people to lie. I look at the world and see that politicians and fake news media lie conspicuously nonstop. They feel no shame whatsoever. I pity all liars, for they know not that they are losing their souls. Smart people do not lie. The smartest ones are those who put all their faith in God. The Lord is infinitely patient, but to push him without limit is just about the dumbest thing you can possibly do.     

***Perfecting Our Existence

       The God of Christ is precisely whom we need to perfect our existence. He can take away our sins. Then he can fill us with the Holy Spirit. Finally, we and God can become one. I use the auxiliary verb "can" because each stage requires our full cooperation. Of course, we can expedite the whole process by surrendering ourselves completely to God right from the beginning, but this doesn't happen to most of us chronic sinners. Once you attain union with the Lord, you know that your existence is perfected. Physically, you are still here on earth; but spiritually, you are now with God. When you dwell in the truth, all truths become known to you.

***Words of Eternal Life

        Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In reading 1 from Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminded the people that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Bread sustains only our physical life. To have life for all eternity, we need to live by every word that comes from the Lord. What Jesus said in today's Gospel reading from John 6 is especially important: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me an I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." After hearing these words, if you take eternal life seriously, you'd never take receiving the Holy Eucharist lightly anymore.

***Christ Completely Alters Outlook

        If you do not know Christ or your faith is feeble in Christ, you have nothing much to look forward to. So you naturally try to hold onto yourself and what you can find in the world that gives you some comfort or happiness. Soon, life is almost over and you don't know what awaits you. To me your whole life is rather bleak. By contrast, one who has allowed Christ to make his faith strong knows that the Lord is caring for him, guarding him, and leading him to eternal life. He still enjoys the good things of life, but never become attached to them, knowing that he'll experience far greater joy after he leaves this world. He is free, for he knows where he is now and what his future will be like. This is living the fulfilled, confident life full of bright hope. 

***How to Dispose of the Evil One*

        Know that the Evil One is already doomed. One day he'll be stripped of all power. Meanwhile, the correct and effective way to disable him is to love and obey God. If we had done so all along, the world wouldn't be so godless as it's today. So love and obey Christ in all things and you effectively shut the Evil One out—you put him out of business, you could say. You now fully belong to the loving Father and nothing can possibly take you away from him. What a blessed and glorious state! Rejoicing in the God never stops.

**How to Behave Ourselves

        Today is the memorial of St. Anthony of Padua. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not swear at all. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No. Anything more is from the Evil One." To me, Jesus is telling us to always remain cool and be honest with him and with all others. In short, be genuine always. To be fake is to be evil. Today, to see much of what's coming from the Evil One, you only need to watch or listen to what most news media report daily. 

**Giving Our Heart to God

          I had wanted to blog about giving our heart to God, then I found that Fr. Mark Goring says the same thing in his video this morning. So I'll give my message first and you can hear his afterwards.

        If we can fill our heart with genuine love, we'll have peace in the world. To have such a loving heart, we need to give our heart to the Lord, for only he can fundamentally transform our heart. It is all simple and logical, but how many of us are willing to do it? One out of a million? One out of a thousand? one out of ten? I don't know. Nevertheless, we should start with ourselves and pray that everyone will follow suit.

***Another Eucharistic Miracle

**How Christians Are Measured*

    .    If we Christians do good works, attend Bible studies, read good books, etc., but are not drawn closer to Christ, then we have not accomplished anything. If our church preaches to us, plan activities for us, etc., and we are not drawn any closer to Christ, then our church has failed. As Christians, we are measured primarily by how well we know the Lord. Therefore, make attaining union with him your primary goal. Then all good things will flow from your oneness with God.

***Being Upbeat in God!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples that "whoever is angry with his brother is liable to judgment" and "whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna." In other words, every sin of ours is subject to God's judgment. This is in line with his commandment that we be perfect. But let's not get discouraged because for every good deed we do, he's going to reward us too. Furthermore, if we repent of our sins, they are wiped away. Best of all, if we abandon ourselves completely in Christ, becoming perfect is within our reach!

***Eternal Survival at Stake!

        Yesterday I blogged about Our Lady of Kibeho. Not all the visionaries believed in God before they were called by God, yet they believed when they were called. The Lord has the power to convert us if we are open to him. There are many of us who do not quite believe in Christ yet. Perhaps they will wholeheartedly if he shows up to then. Then chances are this is not going to happen, for he usually only speaks to our hearts. Anyway, if you cannot totally disregard him or say that he never existed or resurrected or was God, then you have no choice but to believe in him right this moment. Putting it off is being extremely foolish. Can you delay the sunrise? You are not dealing with some trifle in life; you are dealing with your own eternal survival!