***Getting Blessed to the Max

         Matthew 5.10, today's Gospel acclamation: Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. To me, when God blesses you, he is going to reward you. And the greatest possible reward has to be eternal life with God in heaven. So I go straight to the Lord to secure that by believing in him, keeping his word, and receiving the Holy Eucharist (my triple guarantee) and I get blessed to the max! 

*Be Something or Nothing

             Today is the Memorial of the Passion of St. John the Baptist. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God." So, brothers and sisters, if you want Satan to notice you, just think that you are somebody. But if you only wish God to notice you, then become nothing. We have a clear choice here.

**Feeling Sad About Others Dying

         People feel sad when they hear that someone young in their 20s, 30s, or even 40s, has passed away because they feel that the deceased is going to miss the many good things of life. But this is how we see it, not how God sees it. If we are quite sure that the soul of the deceased has gone to heaven, we should indeed rejoice. But if we are not sure, knowing that God is absolutely fair and just, then there is nothing for us to be concerned about. We can always pray for the soul in case it has entered purgatory. Now, if we are quite sure that a soul has gone to hell, then we can feel sad, again more for the loss to the Lord than for the deceased. Not knowing what happens to the soul and feeling sad only reflects our own attachment to the world. With God, we become attached to him alone and see true reality. 

**Responsible for Our Own Banishment

           Today's Gospel reading from Matthew tells the parable of the ten virgins. The five foolish ones who were not prepared for the bridegroom's arrival didn't make it to the wedding feast on time. When they knocked on the locked door and said, "Lord, Lord, open the door for us!" he replied, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." So every day we put off accepting the Lord, we risk being locked out of the Kingdom of heaven. This is true whether he comes in your lifetime or after you die. You have only yourself to blame for your banishment.  

***Preparing for Standing Before the Lord***

          Luke 21.36, today's alleluia verse: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man, says the Lord. The day to stand before the Lord will come for each of us. I cannot think of a better way to prepare for that day than achieving union with him now on earth. You become one with him every moment of this life, abandoning yourself to him completely, and are ready to accept whatever he wishes to do with you with joy. Yes, you might say you beat the Lord to it, but I have no doubt that he'd be pleased that you are being astute spiritually. 

**Supreme Wisdom

            Realizing that if we all follow Christ our Lord fully, we'll have peace on earth now and eternal life afterwards; and if we rebel against him, we'll reman in turmoil now and perish for all eternity later.  

**The Foolish Shall Perish

         Today is the Memorial of St. Augustine. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." You see, people want to see God perform miracles so that they might believe, but fail to see his great invisible power that can save them from perishment if they would believe in him. It is their self-centeredness that has blinded them, expecting God to submit to them and not the other way around. The foolish will perish, while the humble will live on.

**How to Be Prepared

         Today is the Memorial of St. Monica. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 24, Jesus said to his disciples, "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. So you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Once we realize this, the best way for us to be prepared is to focus only upon serving Christ from now on. There is no other way.

**What Causes You to Weep

         I came across this over a year old Fr. Mark Goring video. I am posting it because he has a beautiful message for us.

***Making Your Faith Great

         When I first accepted Christ as my Savior, he was not that real to me, for I did not experience his presence. Only once in a while, I sensed his presence for a brief moment. Others with a much greater faith impressed me. Then later after I got baptized in the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement,  I was a changed person—Christ and the Holy Spirit became real to me. Now, finally, the Lord is more real to me than anyone else, for when he speaks to me in my heart, all doubts vanish. This is how faith comes about. Know the Lord and let him make your faith great. This is why I advocate seeking union with God through the Holy Eucharist to make all the difference to your faith.

*No Choice but to Be Humble

        The Hubble telescope in space has been taking photos of the universe for 30 years. The images are truly amazing. Of course, since the universe is so immense, the images captured could be billions of years old already. Seeing these images willingly makes me want to surrender myself to the Lord who created the whole universe. I wouldn't be surprised that the universe is infinite, for God is infinite. There are numerous videos showing such images. I have chosen a fairly recent short one for you to watch.

***Key to Union with God

        There are numerous beautiful spiritual writings, sayings, and prayers you can read, but if your heart is not involved, reading them would all be in vain. To enjoy the Lord, turn you heart directly to him, for his beauty is beyond words. Gazing at or meditating upon the Lord with all your heart is so much more satisfying and rewarding than reading someone else's beautiful words about him. Your own open heart is the key to union with God. 

***Important for Catholics to Know

        This video came out a week ago. It's an important informative video for all Catholics and pro-lifers to watch before the Presidential election comes up in November.

**Pity the Hypocrites

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean." To cleanse our inside, we need the Lord, for only he can cleanse my heart and soul. If our inside is clean, our outside will be clean too. Hypocrites are to be pitied, for they don't realize that they cannot fool God nor us. Today's hypocritical politicians can be easily spotted. They are self-deceiving fools.

***Hell to Avoid at Any Cost!

        Early this morning I had a horrible, vivid dream. I am traveling with my younger son. We fly for some 17 hours to a remote foreign destination. When it's time for us to return home, we go to the city center to look for the place to get transportation to take us to the airport, but we have trouble finding it. We walk and look and somehow get separated. And I do not have a cell phone with me. I am not sure whether I should stay put for him to come back perhaps or go look for him. I decide to go look for him. Then I get further and further lost, having no idea where to go next. I am going to miss the flight for sure and do not know what my son is going to do. Now I must go find out where the airline company office is, go there and buy a ticket home on another flight, possibly on another day. I just hope that when I get home, my son is back too. The feeling I had was so horrible that I suddenly woke up. And the Lord right away made see that in my dream predicament, I at least had the hope of getting out of it; but once one lands in hell, there is absolutely no such hope. I believe this is the message the Lord wants me to post today.

**Christ Our Liberator

         When we truly know Christ, we are liberated! Those who do not know him or know him well enough yet spend all their time dealing with their own imperfections and end up imposing unnecessary miseries on themselves. They can be good people, but without Christ, they do not see the light of the Lord and have no defense against the attacks of the devil. We must all follow what Jesus commissioned the Eleven to do before his Ascension: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature." (Mark 16.15)

*No Looking Back for Christians

          There is no point in attaching ourselves to anything in the world, including our possessions, our accomplishments, our memories, and even our good times. All that's left behind will be gone instantly or in time. As Christians, our focus should always be on the Lord without ever looking back. In heaven, we shall live our new life enjoying every present moment.

**Believing in Our Own Prayers

         When we pray, we must pray from our very heart and believe that the Lord not only hears us, but also will respond to our petitions. That is, we also believe in our own prayers. We are not just nobody; we are his most beloved children!