**Departure Blues

         In today's reading 1 from Acts 20, Paul continued to speak to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus, admonishing, encouraging, and edifying them, as he was going to depart from them. When he had finished speaking, he knelt down and prayed with them all. They wept loudly, for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship. 

        Such is life on earth. When we leave this world, we'll be departing from all those whom we've loved or known. Our concern should be if we'll ever see them again in heaven. Once in heaven, we'll have our most beloved Father with us forever, no more departing! This is what we should look forward to always.

***Jesus = Eternal Life***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 17, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ."

**A Joyful, Exciting Adventure

        Today is the Memorial of St. Philip Neri. In reading1 from Acts 20, Paul addressed the presbyters of the Church at Ephesus, "Now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me." This is how we should live the Christian life, letting the Holy Spirit prompt and compel us, not knowing fully what will happen. Following Christ is an adventure. We don't see the immediate detail, but we know that we are doing the right thing and heading in the right direction. It is downright exciting and comforting. Paul also knew that none of those to whom he was speaking would ever see his face again. Is this something sad? Not if you follow the Lord exclusively. The joy of seeing anyone again in heaven will surely far exceed any sorrow of separation you feel on earth. God alone is more than sufficient for all of us! 

*A Lesson in Prayer

        When we pray for someone to come back to God, it doesn't seem to happen and we get disheartened. It has to be that God wants us to give up worrying and place our whole trust in him. In Mark 11, Jesus said to his disciples "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." Trust, not worry, is what the Lord wants from us and it is through trust that our prayers are answered!

**Our Likely Response to God*

        God says to us: "My children, I created you out of love. You disobeyed me, but I still love you just the same. Obey me from now on and return to me, for I am ready to have you back to enjoy eternity with me in paradise."

        We respond (not sure about addressing God as Father): "Well, I'll have to think about it." (No thank you or goodbye.)                                  

**The Brown Scapular*

        I wear both the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal because I believe that I would receive the spiritual benefits the Blessed Mother had promised through St. Simon Stock and St. Catherine Labouré, respectively. The biggest promise for wearing the Brown Scapular is this one: "Whosoever dies wearing it shall not suffer eternal fire." This is an unbeatable promise. As for the Miraculous Medal, those who wear it with confidence will receive great graces. I can testify personally that the Lord has been pouring graces on me nonstop since I wore it. Mind you, wearing the Scapular or the Medal is not being superstitious. It is simply an act showing that you do trust in God's promises. I am posting an older Fr. Mark Goring video to let him explain the Brown Scapular to you. Of course, you can find all about the Scapular and the Medal online.

***No Higher Exaltation on Earth!

        In today's Gospel from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me." In union with Jesus, you will know that Jesus is with you. And since the Father is with him, the Father is with you too. And the Holy Spirit too. Jesus said in Matthew 23, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Now you humble yourself to let God be your Lord totally and he exalts you to be in union with the glorious Holy Trinity! 

**Best Reason for Us to Die

        Today is Memorial Day in USA. We honor all those who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. They are heroes for sacrificing themselves for their (and our) country. Then I thought of those who got killed while committing a crime, not dying for any good cause. Many others simply died of old age. At the other extreme, Christians got martyred for their faith. We all die for various reasons. If we just live for God alone, then no matter how we die, we'd be glorifying God. This is the best reason for us to leave this world.

**Unstoppable Journey

        A lot of things can happen in life. We may lose our job, our home, loved ones, etc., but life must go on, right? Then I see that life in Christ is a continuous journey to where he is forever. What we encounter along the way are simply distractions, tests, or lessons. As nothing can possibly take us away from the Lord, nothing can possibly stop or derail our journey to him. And this is a beautiful awareness and feeling. Lord Jesus, I am coming! Viva Cristo Rey!

**We Are the Apostles Now!

        Before Jesus was taken up into heaven, he commanded the eleven Apostles to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature, and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28, Mark 16). Now two thousand years later, the command should still be in effect, as not every creature and nations have become disciples of Christ. We are now the Apostles and should make proclaiming the gospel our first order of business!

***What God Deserves

        For a Lord like Jesus who loves us so much that he even died for us, he absolutely deserves all our love and gratitude. The best way to show that is to submit ourselves to him to let him make us holy and perfect.

*Everything According to God's Plan

        Today's Gospel reading are the first 11 verses of John 17. Jesus was fulfilling all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He now knew that his hour had come to accomplish the work the Father had given him to do, giving eternal life to the ones he had given him. And he would be leaving the world and going to the Father. All this is most amazing. You can be sure that his Second Coming will be fulfilled in due time.

**God Always Blesses Us

        Today's reading 2 comes from 1 Peter 4. Peter wrote: "If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name." So if we are insulted for being Christians, we know that the Holy Spirit rests upon us. And if we are made to suffer as Christians, we glorify God. No matter what, we get blessed.

***Another Union Advantage

        It's hard for many Catholics not being able to attend Mass to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. This Most Holy Sacrament is essential in helping us complete our union with God on earth. But if you have already attained union with the Lord, you know that you already belong to him and that he shall keep you forever. Therefore, even though you cannot receive him physically for the time being, you receive great consolation knowing that he is already in you and with you. This is another union advantage. The one you yearn for the most is already one with you.

**The Earth Our Prison

        I have already mentioned the Aerial America series on the Smithsonian Channel. Today I watched the state of Illinois from the air. Of course, Chicago being the most prominent city of the state, was featured. The narration began with the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, touched upon the past corruption of the city officials, told how notorious gangsters Al Capone and John Dillinger operated, etc. Anyway, as I saw the earth from above, it was clear that we are all bound to the earth. We can move around the earth, but cannot get off it very far. Even if we go to another planet, we still cannot escape gravity. I see my brief existence on earth as a period of imprisonment for my sins. All the more I long for God to set me free after this life. Most fortunately, Christ has already promised me to do just that! For this, I rejoice greatly in him.

*Grief Becoming Joy

        In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy." The Lord was talking about his impending crucifixion and resurrection. I can't help seeing that we are going through the same experience now. Christians are weeping and mourning over the persecution of Christ and his followers, while the world is rejoicing over that. But our grief will ultimately turn into great joy when we meet Christ in person! History does have a way of repeating itself.

**Our Only Hope for Unity

        The world is polarized. You have the rich vs. the poor, conservatives vs. liberals, globalists vs. nationalists, socialism vs. capitalism, pro-abortionists vs. pro-lifers, etc. At the most fundamental level, it comes down to God vs. Satan, i.e., good vs. evil. Believing in the God of Christ is the only way for us to become unified. It's all up to us. All up to us.

***Smart Spiritual Living

        Union with God is the best way to stop sinning, for in union the Lord completely shields you and removes your tendency to sin. The way to fight sin is to stop it at the earliest possible stage. Nick it in the bud! The smart, way of beating Satan is to turn away from him, not out of fear, but to thwart him. You want to have nothing to do with him. Disregard him, ignore him, and focus upon the Lord Jesus instead. With Satan, treat him as a nobody and he becomes a nobody to you. On the other hand, with God, treat him as everything and he becomes everything to you!