When the illumination of conscience happens, you'll see the state of your soul as God sees it and you may be shocked. It is easy to think that you are a pretty good person and that you'll most likely be OK with God, as there are so many truly bad people out there. But this is seeing yourself as you see it. The reality is that God knows every little sin of which you may not even be aware! So you should go to him and ask him to reveal the state of your soul to you so that you'll be ready when the illumination of conscience takes place or when you die and go before his judgment. On the other hand, you should realize how much God loves and treasures you and that if you believe and trust in him wholeheartedly, you need not fear anything anymore, for you're going to live forever with him in heaven. This totally takes care the state of your soul, and how God sees you is no longer a concern.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
**Goal of the Christian
The main goal of all of us who follow Christ should be to attain union with him so that we may get to know him thoroughly so that we may become like him.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
*As Long as We Get to Heaven
Today's Gospel reading is from Matthew 20. It recorded Jesus telling the parable of the workers in the vineyard. A landowner hired laborers to work in his vineyard at various times throughout the day. Some started working about nine in the morning and others started as late as five in the afternoon. In the evening, all laborers received the same daily wage. The ones who had worked longer hours grumbled about this to the owner. The lesson was that God does not cheat anyone. He fulfills his promises, but he can be extra generous when he wants to. And he is free to reward us however he wishes. I'd like to present the Lord's case like this. Let's say that I faithfully serve the Lord my whole life, die, and go to heaven. An evildoer repents just before he dies and is saved. He also shows up in heaven. Should I complain to God that he's not being fair? Of course, not. Whatever makes God happy should make me happy. Besides, once God has rewarded us fully, nothing else matters. Whether you get to heaven first or last, you should be happy.
***Faith Leads to God
Today's Psalm 145 response: The Lord is near to all who call upon him. Faith in the Lord is believing in one you have not seen nor heard to be the truth. The amazing part is that once you hold this belief, the Lord reveals to you in your heart that he is indeed the truth. So when you put your faith in the true God, he will reveal himself to you. This is completely logical and has to be true, as it is the contrapositive to the true statement "If he don't hear God saying anything to your heart, you must not believe in him at all." (Logic. It A implies B, then not B implies not A.)
***Our Dream Existence
The first reading comes from Isaiah 55. In it, the Lord says: My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. About this, we can be sure. Therefore, we need to know the Lord to know his ways and his thoughts. And there is no better way than surrendering ourselves to him to attain union with him. As one, we and the Lord become soulmates, understanding each other perfectly in all things. This is our dream existence!
**When Does God Calls Us?
God calls us to turn to him at all times. He is calling us when we feel discouraged, when we feel oppressed, when we feel hopeless, when we are sad, when we are frustrated, when we are persecuted, when we feel misunderstood, when we feel alone, when we feel lost, when we feel the emptiness or life, when we feel burdened, when we long for peace, when we are sick of hearing the bad news around the world, when we see so much evil going on around us, when we feel sorry for all kinds of victims in the world, when we are saddened by the continuous killing of the unborn, when we are shocked by the ongoing sex trafficking, when we realized that evil has infiltrated our Church, when we see so many hypocritical, corrupt, and lying politicians showing only hatred for others with no love for their country, and when we start to hate the godless ourselves. If we don't turn to God now, then we are no better than all the others who have rejected God.
Saturday, September 19, 2020
**Three Days of Darkness*
The Three Days of Darkness will seem to be God's last warning to us. We'll probably have the Illumination of the Conscience first. No matter, just love the Lord now with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Seek to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist would be ideal.
*Vatican Corruption
Matthew 10.26: Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known, says the Lord.
**The Righteous Have God's Ear
Friday, September 18, 2020
**Change Yourself, Not God
God cannot be faulted. He is perfect, holy, full of love, and understands everything. If you are unhappy, it's time to look at yourself. It's the Lord calling you to go to him for help. You must reconcile yourself to him first so that he may make you anew. Then you'll see things clearly as he sees them. Let him be your guide and refuge from now on and you'll experience peace and joy and gain eternal life to boot!
***God's Beautiful Words
God is beautiful in every way, his words included. They bring hope, encouragement, consolation, and joy to our soul and spirit. Keep them and he comes right to you to be one with you. If you think God is remote or unreachable, that's because you have a hardened heart.
**God Our Soul Healer
Left on our own, we become spiritually ill and disordered. If we will only open wide our hearts to let the Lord in, his holy presence within us alone will heal our souls. The best time to do this is when we receive him in the Holy Eucharist, instituted by the Lord for us to attain union with him.
***Glad We Have God
In this mixed-up, lost, chaotic, evil world, I am so happy that we have an all-knowing, compassionate Lord who will judge everyone with perfect justice and put everything in perfect order in the end. Let's pray, hope, and remain patient, for God will always deliver those who trust in him.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
**Living a Most Rewarding Life
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, a Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. A sinful woman in the city learned about this. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she came and stood behind Jesus at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. Since she showed great love for the Lord, he forgave all her sins. What I learn here is that every little thing we do motivated by our love for the Lord he knows, and he will reward us for it. We only need to serve him faithfully without fail and we'll live a most rewarding life now and forever.
**Secret of Finding Rest in Christ
Today's Gospel acclamation, Matthew 11.28: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Do you know that when you labor and toil in life, Jesus can help you? Do whatever you must do for his sake and you'll find it easy. It is exactly when we do all things for our own sake that we get stressed out. See yourself as an employee working for the Lord and you'll receive power, strength, and peace on earth, let alone the great reward you'll receive in heaven!
**Eye Witness Report of the Resurrection
In today's second reading from 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote: I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the Apostles. Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. There are many other writings showing that Christ did rise from the dead, but listening to what Paul said here alone is enough to believe that the Resurrection of the Lord indeed took place.
**Superior Advantages of Knowing God
If you are self-centered and aware of yourself only, you'll never get to know God. But if you are aware of God's holy presence and center your attention upon him always, he will reveal all the truths, his thoughts, his ways, and his wisdom to you to set you free and make you wise in all matters.
***The Greatest Losers
Our greatest achievement is not being able to get to Mars and beyond, not figuring out ways of eliminating all life-threatening diseases, not producing enough food to wipe out world hunger, etc. All mentioned above would take vast amounts of money, research, time, and effort to achieve with no guarantee of success. The greatest achievement for each of us is get to heaven! It takes only faith in Christ and success is assured. Such great news, but so few pay serious attention, for their ego has made them see only themselves. Those who lose eternal life have to be the greatest of all losers for sure!