**Heaven Assured

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, Jesus said, "Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother." Do every will of the Father and you become a member of God's family. It goes without saying that your future home will be in heaven.

*If I Were a Plant . . .

and follow Christ, he will turn me into a beautiful tree that blooms and yields sweet fruit. If I follow Satan, he would turn me into an ugly, stinky weed. At harvest time, the Lord will have all the angel gather up all the weeds and throw them into the furnace of fire (Matthew 13).

***Jesus Our Last Chance

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, some of the scribes and Pharisees wished to see a sign from Jesus. He said to them,  "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here." If we do not repent at the preaching of the one who will be our finally judge or even wish to listen to him, then we are indeed doomed. 

Another Good Message for the Soul

**A Sin We Don't Realize

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus told the parable of the weeds in the field to the crowds. Later, he explained the parable to his disciples. I'll quote what the Lord said, for I believe that's what's going to happen at his Second Coming. "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." It is interesting that the Lord did not group those who cause others to sin with the evildoers. It is clear that causing others to sin has to be a grave sin. Most of us do not intend to do any evil, but neither do we pay attention to whether what we do might cause others to sin. If our bad behavior causes others to imitate us, the we have sinned. If our poor example as a Christian turn others away from Christ, we have sinned. So, we must not only reject evil, but also become holy. Aim for holiness and you can forget about evil.  

*The Ball Is in Our Court

        Do you think that the Lord God of Christ is for you or against you? Ask yourself if your are a sinner or not. If you know that you are, then he is against your sins and not you, for he still loves you and wants to save you. If you don't believe that you are a sinner, then all he can do is pitying you. The bottom line, God is always for us and we are free to go with or against him. 

***Facing Reality

        I walked outside my house early this morning. I saw the familiar trees and plants; some were doing well and some not so well. The cracks in the asphalt-surfaced road seemed to have widened every year. I realized that my life on earth would soon be over. This sounds sad, but it is reality and I do not dread it. Holding onto this life and not willing to leave the world is sad. Pretending and hoping that you will not die is being foolish. Again, Fr. Mark Goring's short sermon today tells us the reality we should be aware of and believe.

*As Long as Your Soul Is Safe . . .

        We can get so hung up on getting something we want or want done that we lose our peace. The Lord God wants us to leave everything to him and not be anxious about anything. As long as you soul is secure, nothing else matters. In Matthew 10, Jesus said, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." Again in Luke 14, he said, "When you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, move up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companion at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he one who humbles himself will be exalted." So be humble enough to abandon yourself to God, and he will exalt you.

**Mercy vs. Sacrifice*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, Jesus said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Both can please God, but mercy is superior. To be merciful is to love others, while sacrifice can be self-centered. One is positive and the other negative. Love is always more powerful, as God is love. To be like him is the best way to please and console him. In these trying days, to show even greater mercy is difficult, but we must be like the Lord. Loving others for his sake is what will get you into heaven.

**Reward for Putting God First

        Do you know that if you devote yourself to saving as many souls as possible for Christ, all matters that normally would bother you no longer matter much? The Lord always rewards those intent on serving him with freedom and peace.

***Secret to Freedom Revealed

        In Matthew 16.25, Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This is a profound and challenging statement that compels us to think. What I see is that Jesus is revealing to us the secret to freedom! That is, forget ourselves completely and follow him, and we'll have eternal life! This is the breakthrough for us to know and remember.

***Christ Our Life Changer

        If you have no idea what's going to happen to you after you die, I pity you. Those who follow Christ know that they are going home to their loving Father in heaven. Heading toward an unknown might be exciting, but a wise person will never enter one to find out what it's all about first. Christ being the way and the truth and the life is the only one through whom we go to the Father (John 14.6). Without him, you waste your life away.

***Beyond Our Comprehension!

        God is infinite in every good way and nothing is impossible with him. His beauty, perfection, and love for us are beyond our comprehension. So is the joy we'll experience in heaven. On earth, God can make us whole and empower us with his Holy Spirit to become holy, again beyond our comprehension. God is always greater than what we can possibly expect, making living for him truly exciting.

**Deep Prayer Deepens Faith

        It is easy to pray saying the words. To talk to God from the depth of your heart takes effort. If you go deep into your heart and mean what you say, you will sense that the Lord is right there hearing everything you tell him and is moved. This is a most rewarding experience, for you know you have connected with and touched the Lord, and your faith deepens. God truly responds to any sincere and humble heart.

***You Are Beautiful

        Starting the day with Fr. Mark Goring again. If you are not happy with yourself, it's because you do no know how much God loves you yet. The big sin of evildoers is believing falsely that God does not love them!

***Most Precious Blood of Jesus***

        On July 11, I posted Padre Pio's powerful healing prayer. He mentions the most precious blood of Jesus. This blood is indeed most precious to me, for by shedding this blood, the Lord has saved me! It is most powerful, for when I let it cover me, I am cleansed, healed and made whole. It is most endearing to me because it turns me into a new creature pleasing to my Lord. It is beautiful because it is His blood. And I even get to drink it to become one with him when I receive him in the Holy Eucharist! It's more precious to me than my own blood. 

***Repent Please!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproached Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not repenting after seeing the many mighty deeds he did in those three towns. He said that on the day of judgment, it would be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and the land of Sodom than for them. For us, the mightiest deed has to be the Lord dying on the cross so that we might have eternal life. Let us repent so that we might be exalted to heaven and not go down to the nether world.

***How to Hear God's Voice

        Hear Fr. Mark Goring today. It all has to do with our heart, how much we are willing to submit ourselves to God. The Lord has so many graces, riches, and good things he wants to shower upon us, yet we do not even turn to him. How pitiful we are! Let the world go for just a moment, turn to him, look inward, and talk and pray to him from your very heart, and you'll hear his voice. God is before you like the bright shining sun, but you have your darkest eyewear on, living in fear. What Fr. Mark suggests we can easily accomplish, if you are willing. Those who have a stubborn, unwilling heart are the ones who needs humility the most. Only the humble will enter the kingdom of heaven!