**Mercy vs. Sacrifice*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, Jesus said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Both can please God, but mercy is superior. To be merciful is to love others, while sacrifice can be self-centered. One is positive and the other negative. Love is always more powerful, as God is love. To be like him is the best way to please and console him. In these trying days, to show even greater mercy is difficult, but we must be like the Lord. Loving others for his sake is what will get you into heaven.

**Reward for Putting God First

        Do you know that if you devote yourself to saving as many souls as possible for Christ, all matters that normally would bother you no longer matter much? The Lord always rewards those intent on serving him with freedom and peace.

***Secret to Freedom Revealed

        In Matthew 16.25, Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This is a profound and challenging statement that compels us to think. What I see is that Jesus is revealing to us the secret to freedom! That is, forget ourselves completely and follow him, and we'll have eternal life! This is the breakthrough for us to know and remember.

***Christ Our Life Changer

        If you have no idea what's going to happen to you after you die, I pity you. Those who follow Christ know that they are going home to their loving Father in heaven. Heading toward an unknown might be exciting, but a wise person will never enter one to find out what it's all about first. Christ being the way and the truth and the life is the only one through whom we go to the Father (John 14.6). Without him, you waste your life away.

***Beyond Our Comprehension!

        God is infinite in every good way and nothing is impossible with him. His beauty, perfection, and love for us are beyond our comprehension. So is the joy we'll experience in heaven. On earth, God can make us whole and empower us with his Holy Spirit to become holy, again beyond our comprehension. God is always greater than what we can possibly expect, making living for him truly exciting.

**Deep Prayer Deepens Faith

        It is easy to pray saying the words. To talk to God from the depth of your heart takes effort. If you go deep into your heart and mean what you say, you will sense that the Lord is right there hearing everything you tell him and is moved. This is a most rewarding experience, for you know you have connected with and touched the Lord, and your faith deepens. God truly responds to any sincere and humble heart.

***You Are Beautiful

        Starting the day with Fr. Mark Goring again. If you are not happy with yourself, it's because you do no know how much God loves you yet. The big sin of evildoers is believing falsely that God does not love them!

***Most Precious Blood of Jesus***

        On July 11, I posted Padre Pio's powerful healing prayer. He mentions the most precious blood of Jesus. This blood is indeed most precious to me, for by shedding this blood, the Lord has saved me! It is most powerful, for when I let it cover me, I am cleansed, healed and made whole. It is most endearing to me because it turns me into a new creature pleasing to my Lord. It is beautiful because it is His blood. And I even get to drink it to become one with him when I receive him in the Holy Eucharist! It's more precious to me than my own blood. 

***Repent Please!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproached Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not repenting after seeing the many mighty deeds he did in those three towns. He said that on the day of judgment, it would be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and the land of Sodom than for them. For us, the mightiest deed has to be the Lord dying on the cross so that we might have eternal life. Let us repent so that we might be exalted to heaven and not go down to the nether world.

***How to Hear God's Voice

        Hear Fr. Mark Goring today. It all has to do with our heart, how much we are willing to submit ourselves to God. The Lord has so many graces, riches, and good things he wants to shower upon us, yet we do not even turn to him. How pitiful we are! Let the world go for just a moment, turn to him, look inward, and talk and pray to him from your very heart, and you'll hear his voice. God is before you like the bright shining sun, but you have your darkest eyewear on, living in fear. What Fr. Mark suggests we can easily accomplish, if you are willing. Those who have a stubborn, unwilling heart are the ones who needs humility the most. Only the humble will enter the kingdom of heaven!

*How We Should Live

        We can live our lives by (1) serving Christ and doing only good deeds, (2) serving ourselves only and not minding anything else, or (3) serving ourselves and doing evil to others. Even though this is a broad categorization, it makes it clear which way we should choose to live. I don't know of another better way.

***Call to Storm Heaven***

        Just read the news, not the fake news which glorifies evil, but the news from the many smaller independent sources, you'll see how evil has take over much of the world. It's time for the faithful to storm heaven in these dark days. The Lord listens to us, even if we are not in the majority. We need to pray hard and mean it. God is so much more powerful than the evil one. Start doing it right now, for every second counts!