*Most Urgent Prayer Now*

        "Lord, have mercy on us!"

**Foolish Humans

        Today is the Memorial of St. Lucy. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds: "Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." So we can say that the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest on earth. 1 Corinthians 1.25: The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. We humans forget that God who created us is infinitely greater, wiser, and stronger than us finite creatures. Any finite number compared to infinity is essentially zero. Unfortunately, there are many of us who think that they are smart enough not to need God anymore, unaware that they are exhibiting utter foolishness. Know that the smartness of the world is dumbness in the eyes of God.

***Flaring Spiritual Warfare

        Be clear about it, we are all engaged in the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. As a matter of fact, this warfare is all about battling for our souls. Unknowingly, you may already have been held hostage by Satan, but those who are fighting evil know that they are fighting for God. The polarization between good and evil has never been so clear. From here on, I can only see that the battle intensifies, as our last days diminish. Rampant sins are causing so much misery around the world. I won't be surprised that major disasters will hit and civil wars break out in the various prosperous countries. It was the Middle East first, possibly Europe next and America soon. If Christians are no longer listening to their God, it is a bad sign. The great joy I feel in the Lord is mixed with the great sorrow I feel for the world, but God is my refuge from whom I seek help and consolation.

Spirit-Filled Joy

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 tells us that Mary, pregnant with Jesus, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and when she greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the infant in her womb (John the Baptist) leaped for joy. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we would also feel great joy upon hearing the Lord speaking to us or merely at the thought of him. Therefore, rejoice if you have such joy, for the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

***The Tepid Church***

        Today the Church has become relatively tepid. The cause: no more abandoning ourselves in Christ. The remedy: seek union with God.  

Blind Generation

         I lament that so many people worship so many false gods nowadays: glamor of the celebrities, name-brand merchandise, luxury cars, smart technology, etc. – summarily, vanity and mammon. But they cannot save you. In fact, they will ruin your soul. How blind and foolish today's generation is!      

*We Don't Know

        Any of us may die tomorrow or Jesus may come tomorrow.        

**About Sinning*

        Sinning is a complete waste of time. So you get your way, do you really feel good about it? Even if you get some pleasure out of it, how long will that last? Anything you contemplate that will make you feel guilty or regret later is not worth doing. If you sin and hurt others, your sin can be serious. And if you sin and cause others to leave God, your sin is now deadly serious. Above all, know that however you sin, you hurt and sadden your heavenly Father the most.

**Habitual Sins

        I used to sleep late and get up late every morning for many years. Then I was able to change all that by going to bed early and rising early the next morning everyday. I used to sit with my legs crossed most of the time. Then I realized that I really shouldn't do that sitting in a church pew during Mass, and I was able to change that too. Now I actually feel better sitting anywhere without crossing my legs. The point I am getting at is that many of our sins are also habitual and you can change your habit to stop committing them again. 

**Fearless Living in Christ

        Christ our Savior has already come, making it clear that we can have life in him forever. Once we know that our soul is safe in him and our body will pass away anyway, there is truly nothing left for us to fear. Let the Lord remove all your sins first and then all your fears.

*A Big Deal*

        It strikes me that the fact that God can forgive our sins is a big deal. Because if you are stuck with sins, you simply won't be able to get into heaven! In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic for having faith in him. Anyhow, the sure way is to repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. Having God cleanse you spiritually is more amazing than having him heal you physically. For only he can do this, and it's a request with which he'll always gladly comply.  

Sharing the Joy of the Holy Spirit

        When you are in union with God, your spirit is in union with the Holy Spirit, sharing the same joy.

***Real Presence in the Eucharist

        Communion experience. I received the greatest possible gift on earth, the Lord himself. By the way, a Eucharistic miracle just occurred in Buffalo, NY. This is not the first miracle of it kind. I personally saw one Host which once bled and is now preserved in Betania, Venezuela. You can google and find others preserved around the world. Unfortunately, the bishops in Buffalo for inexplicable reasons to me, instead of investigating the phenomenon and preserving it for the faithful to witness, ordered the Host to be disposed of. Fortunately, you can still see some of the images caught before it was disposed of on this part of Raymond Arroyo's latest World Over report. 

**Simple Obedience Prayer

       Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, the angel Gabriel came to Nazareth to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary, informing her that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born through her. Mary's final response was: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." That last line shows Mary's perfect obedience to God. In fact, it begs for God's will be done. This is a prayer we can learn quickly to say at any time to get ourselves ready to do God's will. 

*The Remnant Church

        In Matthew 7.21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." How can you be sure that your name is written in heaven? If you are not quite sure, then it's probably not written there. If you truly love the Lord and are trying to do God's will in all things and not even concerned about whether your name is written in heaven or not, you certainly will enter the kingdom of heaven. How many of us belong to this group? Perhaps not the majority. The word "remnant church" comes to my mind. It is made up of "leftovers," those who remain within the Body of Christ after all the others have left or are only loosely tied to it now. 

How Jesus Frees Us

        Have you really thought about that Jesus can set us free? Well, he can free us from being self-centered and from our own ego; he can free us from feeling anxious and worrying; he can lighten all our burdens for us to carry easily and turn our sufferings into joy; he can remove all shackles that keep us from approaching him; he can remove all our sins and even our desire to sin; he can fill our heart with peace and joy; he removes our fear of death and makes us look forward to meeting him in heaven; and he can makes us live in bliss for all eternity. That last freedom alone is good enough for me.

**State of Mankind

        "The love of money is the root of all evils" – 1 Timothy 6.10. More fundamentally, it's our rebelliousness against God that has made our world so chaotic and disordered. On this tiny planet in this vast universe, billions of us all try to play God, concerned only about our own happiness on earth and not realizing that we'll soon pass away and face judgment. It's quite a pitiful sight. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to play God here so as to see that we are the only creatures who are capable of sinning and are messing up things in the universe. 

**Receiving Faith From God

        Faith is a gift from God. You can receive this most precious divine gift by opening up your heart to the Lord. How strong a faith you receive depends upon how much you open up your heart. Do you know that as you open wide your heart to God, the narrow entrance gate to heaven also opens wide for you?