Unsure Path vs. Sure Way to Heaven

        Let's be sensible and realistic. We are all going to die. In our limited time on earth, we are so immersed in things of the world and just don't think about God much. Then near the end of our life, if nothing unexpected happens, we finally realize that we have to leave all the things we've worked so hard for behind, and begin to turn to God, maybe. The smart way to realize this in advance and live for God and not ourselves. Then you'll enjoy living a joyful life not being weighed down by anything – a life without fear of death. It's taking the uneasy, risky path or the enlightened, sure way to heaven. 

**Privilege of union With God*

        Came across this video on YouTube featuring the great Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa accompanied by his great bassist Guto Wirtti. The two play differently, but together as one they play perfectly as if they read each other's minds. We don't need to know music to live as one with God with total understanding of each other – a special privilege we can all enjoy when we abandon ourselves in the Lord. Yes, make God your soulmate!

  

Bad Things, Good Blessings

        Tragedies and misfortunes can be blessings, for they might be the only way for God to get your attention. Any happening that draws you close to God is to rejoice about. 

**Our Stubbornness and Close-mindedness

        Before the time of Christ, we had people who believed in one God and people who didn't. When Christ was on earth, again we had those who believed in him and others who didn't. After Christ had come, we now clearly know that if we believe in him, we'll have eternal life; still the same division exists. Of course, that are also those who do not know about him yet. Anyway, God knows exactly how to judge each of us fairly. It's sad that we can be so self-centered and stubborn, preferring locking ourselves up in our own space, rather than opening up to God. If Christ is truly not our Lord and Savior, then Christianity has to be the biggest hoax in the entire history of mankind, fooling so many of us to die for him rather than giving up the faith. And you would have trouble explaining why even many more now experience freedom, peace, and joy in him. I believe we are divided, only because we are facing the true God.

**Safe and Free in Christ!

        I abandon myself to God and my soul rests safely in his mercy. The Lord has set me free so that nothing can imprison my spirit anymore.

**Knowing God Is Easy

        Communion experience. I let the Lord enter to heal my soul, mind, and body. The thought came to me that knowing God is easy. As long as you open yourself to him, not offering any resistance, he will enter to let you know of his presence. Of course, this would take some courage. We live in a physical world we can see, but we are also living in a spiritual world we cannot see. There are all kinds of spirits who would readily manifest themselves to you if you invite them to come, but the holy God is the one most immediate to us. Getting in touch with any unknown spirit can get you into trouble, but open yourself to the loving God who created and knows you best and he will make you holy and ready for returning to him in heaven.

*Compelling God

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 8.12: I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus is challenging us again – should we believe in him or not? This is how Jesus causes division, as we are compelled to choose to be with him or not by our free will. There is not another one like Christ, as there is only one God.

**Most Common False Belief

        We fear God because we think that we would lose our freedom if we enter God, not realizing that we've been enslaved by the world. Once you have completely crossed over to God's side, you find unlimited freedom in the Lord and that all your previous fears were absolutely groundless. You see, God never wants to control us – remember that he gave us the free will in the first place. He never intends to lord it over us – remember how he came as our greatest servant? And he never wants to instill fear in us – remember how he loved us so much that he died in our place. It's pure foolishness on our part to stay away from our God. I had those old fears before too, but now I feel I may very well be the freest person in the whole world!

**Most Tragic Reality

        Today's Response to Psalm 23 at Mass: Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for the Lord is at my side. The world is darker than ever. The more you have God with you, the more you feel sorry for the evildoers in the world. I want to shout out: What are you doing? Why are you hurting your God who loves you? Don't you know that you are condemning your own soul to eternal death? If they don't listen to Christ, I doubt they would pay any attention to me. I can only offer up my sorrow to the Lord. They have the dazzling brightest hope ever before them and they don't even know it. When one no longer cares about his own soul, it is a sign that the devil has already taken hold in that soul.

**Disgusting Cold Truth*

          The current pro-life movie "Unplanned," based upon the true story of Abby Johnson who was a clinic director of Planned Parenthood and one day turned into an anti-abortion activist, is doing quite well. See it if you can. Here is the latest pro-life video by An0maly worth watching. You can hear Abby Johnson speak in the last third of the video.   

**We Condemn Ourselves!

      First part of today's entrance antiphon, Psalm 43 1: Give me justice, O God, and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless. From the deceitful and cunning rescue me. This is how I feel about my own country right now. In today's Gospel reading from John 8, the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, asking him whether she should be stoned according to the law of Moses. They did this to test Jesus, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. This made me think of the leftists today in this nation who are trying so hard to come up with some false charge against our duly elected President.

        The wonderful, astounding thing about Jesus was that he did not condemn the woman in the end at all. He simply asked her not to sin anymore. Yes, God does not condemn us. If we get condemned in the end, it would be due to our own doing, not the lack of God's mercy! A world which keeps rejecting God is one heading toward self-destruction.

**How to Serve God Right*

      Never consider how much you have done for God; care only about how faithful you are in following his every will.

***Falling Short of God's Expectations

        Many love God, but few are willing to go all the way. It's as if we want God to come close to us, but not too close. There's that last barrier to keep God at a distance. Most of the prayers we hear, read, or come across reflect this. We pray for God's mercy, favors, etc., which is right and just. And we pray that we will be more forgiving, loving, etc., which is also proper. But I have never heard us openly expressing our desire to surrender ourselves completely to God to allow him to do whatever he wishes with us. This is falling short of total abandonment to God and is our great shortcoming. 

*Why Truth Causes Division

        In today's Gospel reading from John 7, some in the crowd believed that Jesus was the Prophet, while others said that he was the Christ. Still others did not believe that the Christ could have come from Galilee. So a division occurred in the crowd. Of course, the chief priests and the Pharisees did not believe in Jesus at all and were intent on arresting him. Simply put, truth always causes division because the world is in sin.

**Fighting Evil

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 18: The waves of death rose about me; the pains of the netherworld surrounded me. In my anguish I called to the Lord . . . . This is how I feel now when I hear about the insane, out-of-control, crazy liberals demanding the killing of our own children (see my post of yesterday "Today's Radical Evil"). Today's response to Psalm 7 provides the answer: O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge. We seek refuge in God not to escape from evil, but to find more courage and strength to fight it. 

Reciprocal Treatment

        If we are proud of Jesus, he will be proud of us. If are are ashamed of Jesus, he will be ashamed of us.

*Today's Radical Evil*

        How should we react when we face evil? For example, we now have crazy, insane radicals who want the mother to have the right to order her child killed even after birth! It's hard to believe that evil has taken hold of so many of us today. One extreme thought is to round them up and kill them all, but we know that would make us as evil as they. So the clear action to take is go the other extreme as Christ did when he came to save sinners. Since only God has the power to turn evil into good, we must pray extra hard asking the Lord to crush evil and at the same time make us holier than ever so that we might be more effective in fighting evil.

*Glorious Final Hours

        In today's Gospel reading from John 7, some of the Jews tried to arrest Jesus, but no one laid a hand upon him because his hour had not yet come. We all have our hours for various things to happen in our lives, and only God knows them. We who follow the Lord faithfully know that we can move on with confidence without fear. When our final hours arrive, glory will be ours.