In Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Of course, we are weak and cannot always perform as well as we'd like to, but it's our intention that matters. Back in Matthew 11, Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." So the Lord can lighten all our burdens. If we'll let him, we can be strong as we want! When we wish to serve him well, he will serve us well.
Friday, July 10, 2020
**Difficult Question Made Easy
The difficult question: "Should I believe in Christ?" Ask yourself this easy question first: "Do I want to go to heaven?" The two questions are different, yet the same.
*Why Catholics Are Weak
Catholics become weak when they do not take their faith seriously. When you recite the creed or pray the Our Father, do you really mean every word you say? Above all, how much does the Holy Eucharist mean to you? After you receive this Most Blessed Sacrament at Mass and leave the church afterwards, do you still think about your Lord? As long as Christ remains superficial in your life and you do not commit yourself to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul, you remain weak.
Thursday, July 9, 2020
***Archbishop Viganò's Prayer for USA
Here is the Prayer for the United States of America composed by His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. To download a pdf version of this prayer, go to taylormarshall.com/vigano.
Prayer for The United States of America by His Excellency
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
Almighty and Eternal God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords: graciously
turn your gaze to us who invoke You with confidence.
Bless us, citizens of the United States of America; grant peace and
prosperity to our Nation; illuminate those who govern us so that they may
commit themselves to the common good, in respect for Your holy Law.
Protect those who, defending the inviolable principles of the Natural Law
and Your Commandments, must face the repeated assaults of the Enemy
of the human race.
Keep in the hearts of Your children courage for the truth, love for virtue
and perseverance in the midst of trials.
Make our families grow in the example that Our Lord has given us, together
with His Most Holy Mother and Saint Joseph in the home of Nazareth;
give to our fathers and mothers the gift of Strength, to educate wisely the
children with which you have blessed them.
Give courage to those who, in spiritual combat, fight the good fight as
soldiers of Christ against the furious forces of the children of darkness.
Keep each one of us, O Lord, in your Most Sacred Heart, and above all
He whom Your Providence has placed at the head of our Nation.
Bless the President of the United States of America, so that aware of his
responsibility and his duties, he may be a knight of justice, a defender of
the oppressed, a firm bulwark against Your enemies, and a proud
supporter of the children of light.
Place the United States of America and the whole world under the mantle
of the Queen of Victories, our Unconquered Leader in battle, the
Immaculate Conception. It is thanks to her, and through your Mercy, that
the hymn of praise rises to you, O Lord, from the children whom you have
redeemed in the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
**Consequences of Rejecting Christ
Believe in Christ and you'll have eternal life. The flip side of this truth: "Reject him and you'll die in sin forever." In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus commissioned the Twelve to go to the towns and villages of Israel to proclaim the kingdom of heaven at hand. He told them, "Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town." Rejecting the Lord matters as much as believing in him!
**We Choose Either Death or Life
Romans 6.23: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. As sinners, we must choose if we want to die or live! Ignore it and everything will not be fine. In today's alleluia, Mark 1.15, Jesus proclaimed "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and Believe in the gospel." There's our answer.
**Seek Refuge in God Now
Read the Old Testament and you'll find that people turned away from God again and again, forgetting all he had done for them. It's the same today. This is why I strongly urge you to seek union with the Lord. You want to cement your relationship with him completely so that you'll never ever want to leave him. It's so important to do this when we are now being assaulted intensely by Satan and tested by God. Before the Second Coming, there'll be continuing trials and tribulations coming our way. Seek refuge in the Lord now to safeguard your soul.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
*Have I Gone to Extremes for Christ?
To those who say that I've gone to extremes believing in Christ: It's not me wanting to tell you about Christ; it is the Lord drawing me to him, wanting me to spread the good (fantastic) news to you for your sake. I am just his messenger. If it hadn't come from the Lord, then I would be crazy. I don't expect you to understand, since you don't know him yet. That's OK, for it's not about whether I get my way or not. Besides, it's a great blessing to be misunderstood for Christ's sake.
Foolish Earthlings
We are just passing through, stopping briefly on earth. So who gives us the right to consider that anything here is ours? We can't take anything with us either when we leave. So it's extremely foolish to let the world shackle us and weigh us down. We'd only be holding onto things that also pass for a short time and depriving the soul of its freedom to ascend to God.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
**How to "Control" God
Simple. You want God to be on your side, so you join him. You surrender yourself to him and he and you become one. Now, your wish is his wish which becomes his command.
**Settling Believing in God or Not
Business investors look at the benefit/cost ratio. If the number looks good, they put in their money. If I receive an offer that would benefit me in some way, I look at the reward/effort ratio. Would it be worth my effort to get that reward? Now, consider if we should believe in God or not. Here the benefit or reward is infinite because you get to go to heaven! Infinity over any number is still infinity. No other ratio can possibly beat that. So, I should believe in God at any cost or effort.
***Ultimate Humility
When God chose to come down to earth to go through agony, scourging, being mocked at, and finally crucifixion, experiencing it all as one of us, this is ultimate humility! Besides showing how much he loves us, he is showing us that the most exalted one is most humble. So be like him to be exalted by him.
*Heaven Makes Us Forgetful
Once you arrive at heaven, you'll be so joyful that all the pains you suffered on earth will be forgotten in an instant. A hundred million years of pain on earth is nothing compared to one second of joy in heaven. Our goal is to return to our creator so that we may fully enjoy his love again. Christ has shown us the way by his example. All we need to do is to follow in his footsteps.
***Boundless Mercy***
What is so wonderful about Christ is that you can always begin anew with him! You may be a habitual sinner, but as long as you repent you sins, no matter how great they are, you become clean again. There is no limit to how many times he will forgive you. His mercy knows no bounds. That's why he wants us to forgive others too. In him, there is always hope! This is something to appreciate. Otherwise, we don't stand a chance of being saved. Of course, the door will be shut when we die. What we need to do is to be smart and get inside that door before it closes!
Monday, July 6, 2020
***A Relationship Made in Heaven***
One greatest joy is to share everything about yourself with your Lord. Guess what, he in turn shares everything about himself with you. And you have a relationship that's completely open and honest, with you and the Lord becoming one and soulmates with each other! Can you imagine that now there are absolutely no barriers between you and the Lord anymore? Time to rejoice in the Lord forever!
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