***Our Greatest Challenge Today!

        Today is the Feast of St. James, Apostle. In Reading 1 from 2 Corinthians 4, Paul wrote, "We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed..." This is how we Christians feel today. How can we fight back? In the Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave." To fight evil and remain humble—how can this be possible? I see that it is possible only if we love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Since God is love, we must let love motivate whatever we do.

*Isaiah"s Prophecy Fulfilled Today

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus quoted Isaiah to show how his prophecy was fulfilled in the crowds around him. Sadly, it is fulfilled by the crowds of today also. Here is what Isaiah said: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them. 

**What Ultimately Matters

        We all believe in different things and live the way we want. As a result, the world, my own country, and even my own family are more polarized than ever. We are all given the free will by God to choose to do his will or not. Coming right to the point, I'd say that division is the work of the devil. Do whatever you want, but what ultimately matters is whether you'll end up in heaven or not. Remember my advice: never do anything that will later make you regret doing? It's still good advice.

***Jesus Always with Us!

          Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. The Gospel reading from John 20 tells that when Mary saw that the tomb was empty, she thought someone had taken the Lord and started to weep. Yes, Mary loved the Lord. How blessed we are to know that Jesus is always with us and no one can possibly take him away from us! Alleluia!

***Enjoying Loving God

       Our love for Christ is more beautiful than all our other loves. The Lord first loved us with the greatest possible selfless love. When we embrace this love, our hearts are transformed and our souls healed. And we fall in love with him with a love as pure as his. I know that one day I'll be seeing him, but right now I prefer just to believe in him and enjoy being loved by him and loving him back.

**Learning from the Lord

         Fr. Mark Goring again. I post his messages because they are what we need to hear. We need to zero in on the Lord.

**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.