**God Is Always Right!

          Today's Gospel reading from John 11 is about the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, sent word to Jesus to say that Lazarus was ill. When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God." He remained for two days in the place where he was. Then he went with his disciples to Lazarus' village Bethany. He said to them, Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe." When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." He went to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus ordered them to untie him and let him go. 

         The lesson here is that the Lord always knows what's going on and what to do. He is always right, we must believe.

**Power of the Holy Spirit

        In today's second reading from Romans 8, Paul writes, "If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you." When you are in union with the Lord, the Holy Spirit dwells within you. Imagine that this is the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead! With such a powerful Lord dwelling in you, you should be awed and never ever be afraid again!

*Wishing Is Not Enough

        It's easy to wish someone well. But if you really mean it, you should back it up by praying for that person, especially for his or her soul! You don't love someone enough if you don't care about that person's soul,

*Making Life Meaningful

        To me, not knowing God would make life completely meaningless—you don't know why you are here and where you are going. We just appear on earth, die, and become nothing? I always felt that emptiness before I found Christ. I believe that God has made us this way so that we might look for him. Putting my faith in Christ had turned out to be the breakthrough I needed to turn my life around. The Lord enlightened me and liberated me, and I felt completely fulfilled. And he has further filled me with the Holy Spirit to overflowing. Life has become more exciting and exhilarating than ever! Now that you know how the Lord has made us, don't miss the chance to make your life meaningful.

***Punishment or Blessing

        Pity the wicked who do not see the coronavirus as a chastisement from God. Bless the righteous who see it as a call to seek refuge in him.

**Does God love You?

        You've heard said that God loves you. What does that mean? Things still don't always go your way. Life is hard and bad things still happen to you. No one seems to care about you; you don't even get kisses or hugs. Let's pause and look at the situation. First of all, we are living in a most sinful world, including ourselves sinning continuously. It should be obvious that our brief existence on earth can never be perfect. To not be relieved from all the sufferings and hardships by God now does not mean that he does not love us. He had already come, suffered and died on the cross for us to be saved from sin. And if we believe in him, we'll have eternal life! If you still think that he does not love you enough, then you must have a very hard heart indeed.

Why Are You Are Still Here?

     In today's Gospel reading from John 7, Jesus went up to the feast of Tabernacles in Judea. He traveled not openly, for the Jews there were trying to kill him. When he started to teach openly in the temple area, they tried to arrest him. But no one laid a hand upon him because his hour had not yet come. 

          I am not leaving the world right now because I know that my hour is not here yet. The Lord has a plan for each one of us. It is good to know why we are still here and what he wants us to do. Otherwise, we are likely to waste much valuable time on earth. We reap later what we sow now on earth. Become one with the Lord so that you may know his plan for you.

*Lamenting the World

        I feel sorry for the world, for so many of its inhabitants live for themselves without any consideration for the welfare of their neighbors. They are marching away from the Lord, the truth, toward their own destruction. They are wasting away their time on earth. But God is merciful, and there will be more chastisements and warnings coming if they continue their ways. All the more we need to pray for the world.

*Be Smart and Careless

        We feel hurt emotionally or get upset because we remain uptight and take everything very personally. To cure this, we need to truly abandon ourselves in the Lord. Once we are totally in the Lord, we would only care about how he treats (loves) us and what he thinks of us, and are no longer bothered by what happens to or around us. Otherwise, we are simply being foolish to let all those things take away our peace.

**Peace of God, a Treasure

        Philippians 4 mentions the the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. This is the sweet endearing gift that you receive when you are totally obedient to the Lord. When you lose it, you know you have sinned against the Lord and feel awful. So this is the peace you would want to preserve in your heart at any cost. It's a treasure indeed.

**Our Perfect Example

        Jesus is the perfect example for us to follow if you want to be perfect. His main purpose of coming into the world is to give us the good news of salvation, but he also wants to show us how to live to become holy and free. *Attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist to make following him a breeze.

**Only One Way to Go*

         In Luke 9.62, Jesus said to anyone who wishes to follow him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." Here is the perfect rule to follow to make getting to heaven easier. We must attach ourselves to the Lord alone and nothing else. The past is gone forever. Wanting to get to heaven is precisely the ardent wish of our heavenly Father. If you know in your heart that you are going there, you will live a life in freedom. 

        I am posting Fr. Mark Goring's video of yesterday to reinforce what I have said:

***Where Is God?

        What? You do not know where God is? He is in heaven alright, but he is also everywhere and can even dwell within us when we attain union with him. No matter where he is, he is instantly accessible. Speak to him from your heart and he hears you. Open up your heart wide and you'll hear him. So start right now telling him that you love him!

***What We Can Have***

        At this time when so many in the world are suffering losses of various kinds, we need to be thankful for what we still have and not focus upon what we've lost. We shall all die and should never regard anything to be ours, including ourselves. If you already have Christ, you have everything! If you want even more, you don't have the Lord completely yet and you remain unhappy. Think about it, nothing can be yours except Christ. Rejoice! Rejoice!

**Hearing God's Call

        God is always calling us. It's easier to hear and turn to him when times are bad. If you don't even hear him then, you probably won't ever turn to him. Those who hear and believe in him when times are good are the wise ones who are ready for whatever times coming they way.

**The World Without Truth

        We are influenced by the world so much, as it's headed in the wrong direction. We think we can take care of ourselves and don't even think about God anymore. What I love about believing in Christ is that I know that he is the truth and as truth, he is absolutely trustworthy. So I know where I am headed. The majority of the people in the world may live perhaps a seemingly interesting life, but ultimately it's an empty one—much like many of the movies produced nowadays for our entertainment, which may be superficially interesting but ultimately aimless. Without knowing the truth, we know not what we do.

*The Good Yes-Person

        We all look down on any yes-yes-person. But when the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary to tell her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive in her womb and bear a son who would be great and called the Son of the Most High, Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." In any case, if you always say yes to the Lord God, you'll be exalted by him and be great in his eye. 

**The Wise and Prudent Man

        Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. I just followed Fr. Mark Goring celebrating Mass on YouTube and received spiritual Communion. His new video A Real Man today is good for all to watch. I am sharing it with you here.