***How to Be like Jesus

        Today is Palm Sunday. What inspires me the most about Jesus was his complete obedience to the Father. These verses before the Gospel from Philippians 2 make that clear: Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. When Jesus was accused by the chief priests and elders, he remained silent. After he was brought before Pontius Pilate the governor, Pilate asked him if he didn't hear the many things the chief priests and elders were testifying against him, he did not say one word. Obviously, obedience to the Father was his sole concern.

          We are to obey the Father too. If we know we are doing his will, we must carry it through no matter what others think or say. There is no need to explain nor justify what we do to anyone. Obey the Father in secret and we'll be like Jesus.

***My Testimony and Plea***

        We do have our happy moments in life, but they don't last. And we know we can never find true happiness in this world. You can make all the money, get all the material things, and earn all the admiration you want, and life will seem emptier than ever. True happiness is to be found in Christ alone who created us! He is the only one who understands us, who loves us, and who can cleanse my hearts and heal my souls. He is our one and only Savior! That is why in him, we can rest and find peace, freedom, and joy, now and forever! Abandon the sinking world and put yourself completely in his hands. Now, even if you die, you'll live with him in paradise.  

***How to Avoid Chastisement

        To avoid receiving any chastisement from God, we need to have a pure, clean heart. The first thing would be to repent and let God take away your sins. This step may be hard for those who would not ever consider humbling themselves to take, but it's absolutely necessary for their salvation. It is the part that requires you to make the effort. Once your heart is made clean, you must keep it clean by not falling into sin again. The next proper step to take would be to seek union with God.  Again, you need to humble yourself by surrendering yourself completely to him, but the effort is definitely worth it. For once you attain union with God, he even removes your tendency to sin. With struggling with sin gone, you now know that the Lord is carrying you all the way! (By the way, the Holy Eucharist is absolutely the greatest aid in helping you achieve union with God.)

***It's Chastisement Time!***

        Many lay Christians have recognized that the coronavirus is a chastisement from God. Of course, God is always calling us to turn away from sin to turn to him, but we grow increasingly deaf and stray away even further. This leaves the Lord with no choice but to shake us up a bit. Fr. Mark Goring is giving this warning today. He mentions a couple of examples showing how far we have walked away from the Lord. Let me just add several more. (1) We've legalized abortion and allowed the continuous termination of the unborn by the millions worldwide. (See my post "Magnitude of Abortion" giving the numbers in this country alone.) (2) The corruption within the Church, covering up the sex-abuse scandals and much more. (3) Our devious politicians who seek to gain power and control with no regard for the wellbeing of the country in the U.S. (4) The worldwide human-trafficking creating millions and millions of victims. While I don't expect any government officials to proclaim that God is chastising us, it is our duty as Christians to tell others about it for the sake of their souls. If we don't wake up, something worse will surely come. Just know that the days to Christ's Second Coming are numbered!

*Guiding Rule for Getting Things Done

        We all have many things to do in life. Some are necessary and others less so. We should do what's necessary, but not be anxious about it. During this coronavirus shutdown period, we cannot do all the things we normally do, but we can adapt by doing other things that can be equally fruitful. Following God's will without any anxiety should be our guiding rule in any circumstances. It is following his will that counts, not whether we get it done or not. 

*Christ Be Our Eternal Spring

        It is such a beautiful spring day. I took a walk outside the house, following the road down to the front of the property, as my house was set quite a way back from the city street. Spring here has the most delightful temperatures. Birds were singing and flowers blooming. The light green colors all around looked absolutely refreshing. My thoughts turned to the Lord. Why don't we in this spring of 2020 invite the Lord Jesus to enter us to be our eternal spring? Let him rejuvenate us to make us appear absolutely refreshing to him for all eternity!

*Danger of Being Close-Minded

          In today's Gospel reading from John 10, the Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy. You, a man, are making yourself God." Jesus answered them, "Can you say that the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

         The trouble with the Jews was that they already made up their mind that Jesus could not be God, so they disregard all his amazing works. That was making a close-minded condemnation of him. We should be open-minded always, especially when it comes to dealing with such an important issue as whether Jesus is God or not. I knew someone once who told me that he did not believe in Jesus because he called himself the Son of God and also the Son of Man. I believe that if he had wanted to believe, he could have easily found the explanation. We must be fair-minded always, even in dealing with the worst sinners.

**How to Feel Good About Yourself

        As human beings, we are imperfect and we know it. First of all, when you have bad thoughts, say bad things, and do bad deeds, you lose peace. Then you can get angry, worry, become impatient, feel inadequate, and so on. In sum, you just don't feel good about yourself as a person. Here comes Jesus, and you get to know him and seek and attain union with him. And he completely changes your outlook on life and how you feel about yourself. You are now liberated from sin and feel that the Lord has made you anew. Finally, you are happy in him and about yourself as a person, for you know he loves and treasures you and can make you holy and whole. Alleluia!

*****Jesus Has to Be Our God*****

        Can anything be more important than God? Of course, not! Without him, all of us wouldn't even be here. Today's verse before the Gospel from Psalm 95: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus said to the Jews, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." Again, he said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." Do you hear his voice? No normal sane human would make such audacious statements; only God can. If you don't hear him, you have hardened your hearts. The only way out is to prove that Jesus was an insane human. If you can't, then you have no choice but to acknowledge that he is your God!

*How God Sets Us Free

        In today's reading from John 8, Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the the truth will set you free." I can testify to you that what he said is true. To remain in his word is to be in him. When you follow and surrender to him, you become one with him and is in him. The Lord is the truth. In union with the Lord, you know him most intimately and are with the truth all the way. You are now set free.

Be Ready for the Lord

     The fact that the coronavirus is now worldwide is God's clear call to all to repent and return to him, for we have strayed far away. Confession and the Holy Mass go hand in hand. For we need to confess our sins first to be clean enough to receive the Lord at the altar. Sadly, the virus has now prevented many churches from offering Mass and hearing confession. This is hard for those who are not in a state of grace. Always confess your sins regularly before something unexpected like this happens. What if Christ comes next unexpectedly to judge us? Will you have time to get ready? I don't think so, if you are not ready now. 

The Best or the Worst to Come

        For the faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come. But for those who reject him and will not repent, the worst is surely to come to them. The Lord always wants the best for us, but sadly, some of us are foolish enough to choose the worst for themselves.

God Be with Us

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus also said to the Pharisees, "I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me." It is clear that we need the Lord to be with us for us to do his will. Seek to attain union with God and you'll have him with you forever.

"To Die in Our Sins"

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do no belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." To hear "you will die in your sins" from the Lord should send shudders down our spine. To avoid this ever happening to us, let us detach ourselves from the world and believe in him.

***Secret to Knowing God Fast***

        What holds us back from knowing the Lord is our stupid pride. You cannot know him well if you do not communicate with him openly from your heart! The way to know him fast is to share all your thoughts, your feelings, your problems, miseries, guilts, hangups, longings—you name it, from your heart, holding back nothing. Guess what: When you share everything in your heart with the Lord, he shares everything in his heart with you!  

***Most Refreshing, Exhilarating Act

        Whether you see the coronavirus as a chastisement or not, it is clear that it is a call to repentance. Do not miss this precious opportunity God has given us. A good Christian repents the moment he has sinned without delay. This simple act keeps his soul clean and readies him for death (to meet the Lord)! There is no other act more refreshing and exhilarating than repenting our sins from the heart to God, our Father, our creator, our judge, and our Savior.  For you are made clean and fit for heaven!

**Looking at Death

        Many have died from the current coronavirus. Should we feel sorry for them? If we truly trust in the Lord, we would feel sorry only for those who did not make heaven. After all, the Lord cares about our soul the most, and we should care foremost about how he feels. Feeling sad about someone who has died because you are going to miss that person is basically being self-centered. If you are quite sure that the soul is headed for heaven, you should rejoice instead! God knows exactly what he is doing and is always just, so we can confidently put ourselves entirely in his hands. Only his ways and his will matter.       

**What We Should and Should not Do

           Today's Gospel comes from John 8. It's about the woman caught in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees brought her to Jesus. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus said to the, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." In response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more."

          I've set in bold face the sayings of the Lord for us to remember. As sinners, we should not judge other sinners, and we should stop sinning to avoid being condemned by God.