**God Alone Worthy of Appreciation

         I was watching a recorded piano recital played by the renowned and great Canadian virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin. At the end of playing one of the scheduled pieces, a fan walked up to the stage to give him a bouquet of red roses. This is a nice way to show your appreciation for someone who's giving you so much pleasure. I just couldn't help thinking about the need for us to show our appreciation for our Lord. He is not just another great human being; he is the one in whom you can fully trust with your heart and soul! He is the only one who deserves our full surrender. It's such a joy that we have him to whom we could go to get our eternal life taken care of. I shall appreciate and love him always.  

***Loving Our Holy Mother

         Yesterday was the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the birthday of our Mother. She is the Lord's most important and holiest creature participating in his plan of salvation for all mankind. She is totally with those who are for her Son. If you are one with the Lord, you are one with her too. If you go to her, she will always bring you to her Son. We all need a perfect mother to look after us and we have Mary whom our Lord gave us to be our Mother. Do the will of the Father hand in hand with your Mother and you shall succeed always.

*To Die and Hate Your Life

         In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life." I see that we must die to ourselves so that the Lord may take over. Otherwise, we stand in our own way and remain unfruitful our whole life. He who loves his own life has attached himself to the world. To hate one's life to is be detached from the world. We cannot love God and the world at the same time. The more you know the Lord, the uglier the world becomes to us. If you "hate" this world, you are close to God. Now, go all the way to become one with him. 

**Ripple Effect of Your Sin

          I have finished reading The Warning by Christine Watkins. The testimonies of the eleven people who had experienced the illumination of conscience already make up the most interesting part of the book. From these true stories, you learn that God knows every minute sin you've committed and that every sin has a ripple effect on others. Your sins can be forgiven by God, but the harm they've done to others cannot be erased. Knowing all this should make us think twice before we attempt to do anything. Attaining union with the Lord so that you become aware of his holy presence at all times will properly resolve this problem.

*How to Forget Our Own Ugliness

           Just focus upon the beauty of the Lord.         

**To Get Through All Things

           When we worry about things, that's because we don't trust in God. Of course, since God can and will take care of all things, we don't need to worry for him at all. So we really don't need to worry about anything. We only need to focus upon the Lord to get through all things.

*Putting Own House in Order First

         There are those who profess openly that they follow Christ and want to convert others to be like them, yet they are unhappy about themselves, about their own lives, and others, and they love to complain. This is a contradiction. One who truly trusts in the Lord is always happy and content, never lonely, and is willing to carry the cross the Lord has given them. We must put our own house in order first before we can effectively draw others to God.

***Please Pray the Rosary—Urgent!

          We have the most important presidential election in the entire history of this country coming up in less than two months. It virtually comes down to whether we choose to go with evil or with God. I strongly urge that you start praying the Holy Rosary everyday from now on. If do not know it yet, just go online to find out how to pray it—it's not complicated at all. I believe that praying the Rosary is our effective weapon in overcoming evil and saving our nation and our own souls because the Blessed Mother has personally told us so, many times.
          You may wish to join the four-week long The Spiritual Rosary Pilgrimage as presented by the following video. Personally, I recommend praying nonstop through October and beyond. 

To Avoid Ever Sinning

        To point out those who do evil so that others may be warned is proper and our duty, but to talk about others' shortcomings or faults idly is something else—very easy to do, but not pleasing to the Lord. It is in reality a form of judging, as it is not motivated by love. I sense this myself when I commit this sin. I must focus upon the Lord always and not do anything I wouldn't do right before him. The reality is that he is actually present with us at all times. 

**Beauty of Being Prepared*

         From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man will come with angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct." It is absolutely certain that this will happen. Don't think that because it's not happening yet, you don't have to pay any attention. When it happens, it'll be too late for you to change! This is the beauty of being prepared, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 14, Luke 12)

***Must Video for Catholics to Watch***

***Be Realistic with Life and Death

            Today's response from Deuteronomy 32: It is I who deal death and give life. What matters most to us are our life and our death. And the Lord is the one who brings both death and life. So if we place both our life and our death in his hands, we will have both a good life and a good death. If we don't, nothing good will happen to us. 

***Our Greatest Marvel . . .

that we have such a great, loving, holy Lord who cares for us and wishes us to exult with him for ever in heaven! Wake up and rejoice!

Learning from the Weeds

         I weeded a little outside this morning when it was still cool. I have quite a number of ornamental grasses around the house. And I often find weeds growing among them you can hardly tell unless you notice that their blades are slightly more flexible and darker in green. These weeds can be easily pulled out, as they are not deep-rooted as the grasses are. This brings to mind the evildoers in our midst. Outwardly, they can look very much like the rest of us, but they harbor a dark heart and are not rooted in God. They will be easily spotted and cast out by God if they do not change their ways.

***Fortunate Christians!

          Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. What a glorious event! Jesus' face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light, as reported in today's Gospel reading from Matthew 17. Christ no doubt is the Lord! I recall going to Mt. Tabor on my pilgrimage to the Holy Land many years ago. The road that lead to the top was quite rugged. At the top was the Church of the Transfiguration. A beautiful church, but I kinda wished that they had preserved the spot so that we could see exactly what the surroundings in which the Lord's Transfiguration took place were like. Nevertheless, one day soon I'll be seeing my Lord face to face. How fortunate we Christians are when we can be overwhelmed by the glory, sanctity, love, and mercy of our God at all times!

*Letting God Alone Judge Us

         I have started reading the book The Warning by Christine Watkins about the illumination of conscience that's expected to happen to everyone in the world, perhaps soon. At any rate, it is the Lord who can make everyone realize the state of their soul. We must stop judging others, take care of our own soul first and then help others to be saved. God is both merciful and just, thus everyone will be rewarded or punished in the end, receiving exactly what they deserve.

**We Are Blind Without God

          In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 15, Jesus said to the crowd, "Hear and understand. It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out the mouth is what defiles one." Then his disciples told him that the Pharisees had taken offense at what he had said. He said in reply, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." It is true that we must have the Lord in us to see everything right. Otherwise, we are just expressing our own opinions not rooted in the Lord. The evildoers of today are obviously blind and pitiful. Only those filled with the Lord see the truth and speak the truth, for their guide is the Lord. 

***Man's Tragic Ignorance

          To be aware that we need God, we must first be aware that we are sinners. Unfortunately, many sinners today do not realize this; they do what they feel like doing with no love whatsoever for others. One example is the senseless looting, burning, and killing that are being carried out by some extreme groups in some of our major cities. They have turned evil! This is the great tragedy of our times, practically assuring that God will send greater chastisements our way, and many will then perish. How I wish that everyone will realize that if all of us repent and submit ourselves to the Lord, we'll have peace in the world now and home in heaven later! The spiritual warfare is real. Accepting the gospel of the Lord is all we need to do to be saved. Sinners, you have only yourselves to feel sorry for. Wake up from your stupidity and know that God loves you!