*Sign of Salvation

        Today's Communion antiphon, 2 Timothy 4.8: The Just Judge will bestow a crown of righteousness on those who eagerly await his coming. If you believe that Christ will come again and long for his appearance, it's a sign that you've been saved. 

***Greatest Tragedy We Can Make!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." Although we are not quite sure whom Jesus was referring to as "these little ones," we see how precious each soul is to the Father. What's important to him must be important to us. Therefore, we must make saving souls our top priority. The greatest tragedy for all is to run away from the Lord and end up being lost forever.

God Calling

        If you are tired of this world, it's God calling you to check him out.

***The Joy of Freedom!

      Do you know that if you are not happy, it's because God is not happy with you for being in his way? You are not allowing him to do what he enjoys doing with you: to make you perfect! Get out of his way and you'll feel this great joy of freedom.  

***Most Personal Lord

        Communion experience. As I went up to receive the Holy Eucharist, my heart leaped for joy. This was my personal Lord. He would have gone through everything he went through for you or me alone!

Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

        We are sinners and should not remain so. To rise above ourselves, we need God. Let Christ remove your sins and lift you up to where he is. How can we possibly not take advantage of this marvelous, incredible, and most beautiful opportunity? This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To Become a Joyful Person

        Whether you realize it or not, we are all spiritually thirsty and hungry and if that thirst and hunger are not satisfied, we become unhappy. Unfortunately, in our world full of attractions and distractions, we are prevented from seeing this truth clearly. If you realize this truth, it's God calling. Search for him with an open heart and you'll find him. Once your thirst is quenched and your hunger filled, you will be a joyful person.

*How a Christian Feels

        Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Isaiah 61.10 is the entrance antiphon: I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels. Isaiah describes perfectly how a Christian feels (or should feel).

***Our Glorious Attainment

        We seek union with God because by becoming one with the Lord, we come to know his will and become obedient to him. And we eagerly let him purify our heart. Once the heart is clean, the mind becomes clean too. With a clean heart and a clean mind, our soul now remains pure. What a glorious and joyous attainment!

**Let the Holy Sprit Revive You!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 3, John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing his followers in the Jordan river as they acknowledged their sins. Even many of the Pharisees and Sadducees showed up. John announced to all, "I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Of course, John was referring to Jesus. If you do not feel any zeal or fire in your faith, may I seriously suggest that you ask Jesus to come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit? For me, the Holy Spirit became real after I asked a whole prayer group to pray over me to be baptized in him. This happened over four decades ago and the effect has remained with me to this day!

Advent to Look Forward To

        In this season of Advent, we commemorate the coming of Christ into the world. The reality is that Christ has already come and can now even dwell within us when we open up to him. For the Catholics, receiving the Eucharist is having the Lord entering you physically to be one with you completely. What we should truly look forward to now is his Second Coming or meeting him after we depart from this world, whichever comes first.

**O Holy Night*

        As Christmas approaches, enjoy listening to this beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night."

Being Transparent to God

        God knows everything! So Anyone who tries to hide what he has done from others is making himself look bad and foolish before God. We are transparent to the Lord and we should act accordingly. Having nothing to hide is what he looks for (if that makes sense to you).

**Something to Do with God**

        Anyone who is happy with God is also happy with himself. And anyone who is afraid of facing God is also afraid of facing himself.

***Key Question We Face

        Before handing out Holy Communion, the priest says, "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper." Do you believe that Jesus can take away your sins? This is a key question. If you answer no, then you have to disbelieve that he is God and that he rose from the dead. Furthermore, you also have to declare that all the Gospels are a big hoax and that Christ was entirely false. If you are not prepared to or cannot say so and still do not believe in him, then you can only be considered a major dishonest coward! 

When You Meet the Lord . . .

        If you never knew Jesus, when you meet the Lord, he will see how selfless (or self-centered) a life you have lived. If you knew the Lord, he will see how much you have devoted yourself to serving him. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." If you are his disciple, are you laboring to help his harvest?

Is Life Fair?

        Just received notice that a sister in Christ who lived a hard life and was a brave pro-life warrior has suddenly passed away. Is life fair? If you look at just our brief life on earth, then it seems most unfair is some cases. But if you look at our overall life from birth through eternity, then life is absolutely fair, for God is absolutely just and knows exactly how to reward or punish each one of us. So trust in God totally and forget about this question. 

**Of the World or with God

         Surviving to safeguard our soul is not easy in our secular, godless world. There are so many carnal desires we want to satisfy and we can easily become insatiable. We experience sensual pleasures but never truly feel uplifted in any way. This is vey much like wallowing in the mud; it's fun, but afterwards you know you are all filthy. On the other hand, we can come to know God well enough to enjoy him. We then experience peace and contentment and get that exhilarating clean feeling. The is like taking a nice long hot shower and afterwards you feel relaxed and comfortable. But there is nothing in the world you can truly compare to the freedom and joy you also experience.
          Those of the world are trapped. They continue to seek the very pleasures that cannot satisfy them for satisfaction and become enslaved. The only way to break out of this vicious cycle is to go to God, for he is the only one who can free us from sins.