***Our Foremost Duty

        Today is the Feast of St. Mark, evangelist. Here are the first two verses, 15 and 16, of the Gospel reading from Mark 16: Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned." Proclaiming the Gospel to the whole world really should be one of our foremost obligations or missions if we consider ourselves to be disciples of Christ. The Gospel remains fresh and the world needs to hear it as longer as we are still sinners. We don't have to proclaim Christ like those street corner preachers, but we certainly can share about Christ with anyone when we get a chance. Then how many of us even mention his name as if he is real outside of church? This is the one who created us, loves us, and died for us! We cannot exist or survive without him! This is the one we should love with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength! In general, Catholics are too timid and not used to testifying for Christ. All the more we need to seek union with the Lord to let the Holy Spirit set our heart on fire, so that we may be emboldened to proclaim the Gospel as the Apostles did.

***Fears and Perfect Obedience

       Fear of God can be healthy or unhealthy. The healthy fear makes you afraid of being lost if you do not believe in God, while the unhealthy fear makes you afraid that God is going to take over if you surrender yourself to him. The healthy fear normally leads one to reconciliation with God, so it's the one to keep. And the unhealthy fear keeps you from growing closer to God, the fear you should not have. How intimate you are with the Lord is gauged by how comfortable you feel about him. Ideally, we should feel completely comfortable about our Lord, thus ready for whatever he wishes to do with us. This is perfect obedience. 

*Belonging to the Very Best

        We feel good if a university accepts us as a student, a company decides to hire us for a position, some well-known club invites us to be a member, etc. In other words, we feel good that we can belong to an organization or group. Of course, our application can get rejected too. Now, there is the very best we can belong to and will always accept us if we apply properly, and that is God's Family! It's the very best because in this family, you'll be loved, blessed, and protected forever!

Evangelization Effort

        I think we've all heard the saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." The horse has his own will too. This also holds true is evangelization. You can lead a person to Christ, but accepting the Lord now depends upon that person. Since nothing is impossible with God, we must always persevere in believing that the Lord will bring about the conversion.

*Joining Jesus and the Father

       Communion experience. Jesus and the Father are one. Receiving the Holy Eucharist unites me to Jesus and the Father. Now, there are three! The Lord desires to invite all of us to be one with him. (To find out about how God longs to be one with us, I again recommend reading the amazing book "He and I" by Gabrielle Bossis.) Rejecting any of God's invitations is a big deal (read the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22)! If you do feel invited to do whatever for the Lord, you may ask why, but "no" can never be the right answer. 

Positive Message From the Lord

       In today's Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus said to the Jews, "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." This message comes to us positively without ambiguity. It needs no clarification, amplification, or interpretation. If you do not accept it, you must declare that it's all rubbish first.  

How Not to Judge

        Pray for the salvation of all souls, including those of our enemies and all evildoers. This should help us follow Jesus' command "Do not judge."

Proof We Are Sinners

        If we are spiritually perfect and do not sin, there would be no need for God to come to save us. The fact that many of us have found out that we need Christ and are even willing to die for him proves that we know we are sinners who need salvation. Of course, there are others who have not woken to this reality yet.         

**Made for God!*

       Communion experience. I love the Lord because his love for me has made it possible. The Lord has made me for him! 

*God Most Personal*

        In John 10, Jesus declared to all, "A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and they know me." It strikes me that our God, the God of Christ, is most personal. You won't find another god like that anywhere else. Since there is only one true God, perhaps I should have stated that our God is more personal and caring than any other being. This is logical and as it should be, and I rejoice in it. 

**Athirst for God

        Today's Psalm 42 response: Athirst is my soul for the living God. Looking back, I see that I first thirsted for God because I felt the emptiness of life. Now that I have found him, I thirst for him still as he draws me. So it is that you would want even more of the one who can completely satisfy you. Such is the unique power or charm, if I may use the word, of God.

**Our Life-and-Death Choice*

        Today's entrance antiphon, Romans 6.9: Christ, having risen from the dead, dies now no more; death will no longer have dominion over him. Of course, being God and the creator of all life, Christ cannot possibly die. His let himself be killed on earth only because he was carrying out the Father's plan of salvation for us. As for us, we'll all die. After death, we'll either remain dead forever or be raised by Christ – the choice is ours to make here and now!

**Time to Become Like Him!

       Communion experience. It is incredible that the Lord should feed me with his own Flesh and Blood – absolutely overwhelming! Time to become like him.

*God Rewards in Secret

        The Lord God deserves all the attention, credit, and glory, so let's never take the limelight away from him. Then guess what? He rewards us by bringing us into his private limelight.

Let Sin Lead You to Holiness

        Every sin we commit provides the opportunity for us to grow holier. Loss of inner peace is our first reminder. The worst thing you can possibly do is to ignore your past sins and continue on sinning. Thus your soul gets defiled more and more. This is evading God, a game in which you'll lose for sure. This is also playing Russian roulette with your own soul – what if you die expectedly? Of course, the right thing to do is to repent as soon as possible your sin and have the Lord make you clean again. Don't stop, for it is also the time to surrender to God more to reduce your chance of sinning again. With practice, each sin you commit will lead you to greater holiness. By the way, with more inner peace, your physical health will benefit too.

Inspired by Peter and John

        In today's first reading from Acts 4, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to leaders of the people and elders, "There is no salvation through anyone other than Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified and God raised from the dead." In the Gospel reading from John 10, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd and I will lay down my life for my sheep." If Jesus was good enough for Peter and John, he is certainly good enough for me. 

**Best Possible News*

        Who wouldn't want to be set for life? Perhaps you think that the billionaires are set for life. If so, then you are being quite short-sighted. What is infinitely superior is to be set for life for all eternity, and you can be in that position by simply following Christ! Now, this has to be the best possible news of your life on earth.  

*To Those Who Judge Catholics

        Jesus prayed to the Father that those who follow him may always be one in him and the Father. In Matthew 16, Jesus said to Peter, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Sadly, the Reformation headed by Martin Luther in the 16th century led to the establishment of many Protestant churches, breaking up the Church Christ had established. Since Jesus said that the gates of the netherworld should not prevail against his church, the Catholic Church still standing today has to be that church. Unfortunately, there is still a sizable number of Protestants continually attacking the Catholic Church, believing that the Pope is the Antichrist. My question is, if that's true, when did it happen? Did it start with the Apostle Peter, the first Pope, or later? They also claim that the Catholic Church has gone stray, yet no one can tell me when and how that happened. Study the early fathers of the Church and you'll see that they believed in what Catholics believe in today. One foremost example is the belief that the Holy Eucharist is truly the Flesh and Blood of Christ. So, please find out what we truly believe in before drawing any conclusion. By the way, we do not worship Mary. Do not judge us, for we were Christians first before you split off 1,500 years later. If you believe that we are lost, then lovingly pray for us. If you judge us, then pray for yourself too. I pray that we'll always follow the Holy Spirit who wishes all Christians to be one. Last, to set your mind at ease, we Catholics are not going to hell, so don't worry about us.