*Survival Rules

           Essential survival rules for the Christian in these troubled times. (1) Shut out all fake news. Stop listening to lies. (2) Do not look back on you past, especially if it's not a happy one. Let the past go forever! (3) Focus upon Christ only. Place all your hope in him alone. Truly let him be your Lord! In fact, if you follow rule 3 to the letter, you won't need any other rules.

*The Truth not Realized by All

        Today's Gospel acclamation: Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him. Those who prepare themselves to meet him are the ones who realize the truth that we are all  sinners and need salvation. Those who do not prepare themselves are the ones who do not realize this truth and are to be pitied. They are the evildoers and those who are simply asleep spiritually, for Satan has pulled the wool over their eyes.

*****Miraculous Transformation of Oneself*

          Let Jesus, ask him to, look at you; and you won't be the same person again! 

****Connect with God at Deepest Level

        Jesus commands us to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Of the three, heart, soul, and mind, the soul resides the deepest within us and is the closest to God. Therefore, when we call on the Lord, pray to him, or just converse with him, we must let everything come from our very soul! That is, we always connect with the Lord at the deepest level! And your spiritual life will be astoundingly rewarding!

**Working Hard as We Age

        Many people enjoy working hard, often on some favorite project, as they age. This is admirable and so much better than remaining idle most of the time. My only concern is that if all your work is self-centered, you may lose the time you need to secure the salvation of your soul. When we realize that our time on earth is limited, it's time to work more for the Lord and less for ourselves. As we get closer to meeting the Lord, we need to improve our relationship with him as much as possible. The wise would start to seek union with the Lord from the very outset.

****Good Enough to Believe in Jesus

        In John 20, after Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus and believed, Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." For us, we can say that we are blessed who have not seen nor heard him and have believed. All that matters is that he sees and hears us!

***My Greatest Blessing

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus said, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." God has given me so many blessings in this life: loved ones, caring friends, all kinds of good things that fulfill my needs, etc. But the greatest blessing of all is that Christ has revealed himself and then the Father and later the Holy Spirit to me so that I now know all of God most intimately. 

*****Secret to Peace*****

         If we will all submit ourselves to the God of Christ, our loving Father and our creator, Satan will fall and have no power over us whatsoever and there will be complete peace in this world. I am telling you the absolute truth here. Follow Christ alone and we save ourselves and the whole world. (If you have not paid much attention to Christ yet, you owe it to yourself before you die to look into how he can give you inner peace as well as eternal life.)

**Jesus Is Lord

        Today is the feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. In today's Reading 1 from Romans 10, Pauls starts out with "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." We must never hesitate to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and should proclaim it as much as possible. A Christian who does not confess that Jesus is Lord for whatever reason only shows that Jesus is not his or her Lord yet. Even if you can say it, you must live to prove that you mean it. Otherwise, you are still not genuinely a Christian. To acknowledge that Jesus is Lord is acknowledge that is foremost in your life.

***Begin Anew with Christ

          I have moved into my house for about 15 years or so and notice that some of fixtures and things have begun to show their age. I recall the various subcontractors I had to deal with, some were excellent and some not so good. The bad ones left me with bad memories. I know we all have had unpleasant experiences with others that can haunt us. Then I see Christ and know that he can and will liberate me from everything negative. The Lord is like a filter. When we go through him, all that is unclean, disordered, destructive, or distracting will be filtered out. He is our end and in him nothing that hurts, haunts, or enslaves us can possibly exist; we become liberated, new creatures in him! So let nothing disturb you now, but let Christ alone fill you with his peace. 

***My Greatest Blessing

        It's having Christ who is most loving, most merciful, most understanding, most beautiful, most holy and perfect as my Lord! There is not another being who can possibly satisfy and fulfill me as Christ does!        

***Amazing Graces

        Do you realize that we can connect with the Lord God our creator and savior instantly and at any time? What a wonderful grace! And that we can also repent minor sins directly to the Lord and more serious sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, and be forgiven and become all clean again? Another amazing grace! Thank you, thank you, and thank you, Father. 

****Highest Exaltation

         In Matthew 23, Jesus said, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Here's the proof. When you humble yourself before the Lord, realizing that you are nothing and you need him, you open yourself up and the Lord enters you fully to dwell in you—you and the Lord are now one. This has to be highest exaltation you can possibly get from the Lord in this life. Rejoice, rejoice, and rejoice!

***Jesus' Second Coming

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 13, Jesus told his disciples to be watchful and to be alert, for they did not know the time the Lord would come again. Jesus made it clear that he will come again, and this time to judge us. How do I know? Well, if there won't be any judgement, then we really don't need to be watchful at all. For those who have always been faithful to the Lord or are already in union with him, they are ready for anything. So this is really a warning to those who are not yet ready. Since those who do not believe that the Lord had come the first time will have no reason to believe that he will come a second time, there is no point in letting them know when the Lord will come again. Besides, keeping the time and day unknown will help separating the true believers from the true unbelievers.

**Our Goal in Life

        In today's second reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "God our Father will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." I see that our whole goal should be to become irreproachable on the day we face Christ. The way to achieve that goal is to become irreproachable now before that  day arrives unless you have the magic of becoming holy instantly. 

**Letting God Make You Beautiful

        Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Reading 1 comes from Isaiah 63 and 64. The last verse reads, "Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands." The image that we are the clay and the Father is the potter is a beautiful one. To acknowledge this is willing to let the the Lord mold and shape you to his heart's content so that you become most beautiful for him to behold. 

**Getting into Heaven Is Easy

        On our own, we can never be good enough to get into heaven. But if we let God help us, the problem is no more. As Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 19:26, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Besides, the Lord wishes and desires that we all get into heaven.

***Sober Warning and Advice

          This is today's Gospel reading, Luke 21:34-36. 

        Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."

        We may not carouse or even be drunk, but may very well be anxious about something. Since the day of the Lord's coming will catch us by surprise, to be vigilant at all times is truly the appropriate advice. It would indeed be horrible to have the Lord catch you in the midst of spreading fake news, cussing at someone, committing an impure act, or doing ballot stuffing. I personally see attaining and  remaining in union with the Lord as our best preparation, as you'll already have the Lord dwelling in you.