Fr. Mark Goring's message today. Most timely and what we all need to hear. Paying attention to God is absolutely necessary. If you ignore God, you'll be ignored by him.
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Saturday, May 1, 2021
*****Letting the Lord Transform Us First
To battle for God, we need to let God change us fundamentally first. Otherwise, despite our good intentions, we won't do much good. I've watched a video showing how to recover from the loss of parishioners due to the pandemic. The first piece of advice offered was to make everyone extra welcome. Throughout the whole video, Christ was not mentioned once. If you do get everyone back, talk to them happily, and be extra friendly, you are not drawn any closer to the Lord. All fundamental changes can only come from above. Once we are transformed by God, we'll automatically have the Holy Spirit guiding us. Seek union with God first to serve him well. This is the formula for spiritual success.
A Valid View of Life
We are just passing through this world. Life is a test and the earth is our training place. The goal is to reach heaven. If we learn and do well, we'll pass at the end. If not, we'll fail and be left behind.
***Our State Never Any Clearer***
In today's Gospel from Acts 13, when the Jews saw the large crowds that had gathered to hear Paul preach the word of God, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse contradicted what he said. Later they even incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and his companion Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. It's clear that that the spiritual warfare had intensified ever since Jesus came to us and has been continuing to this day. Only the enemy has changed from the Jews to the globalists. Satan has never stopped fighting hard. But one day this will be all over with God coming out on top. It's all very dramatic and we are the ones caught in the middle who must choose sides. Our eternal destiny depends upon the choice we make now!
**Stick to Logical Thinking
The other day I lay down in my bed to put an eye drop in my right eye. As usuaI, I temporarily put the the bottle cap on top of the comforter to my left. Since the bed hadn't been made yet, the comforter was a pile of mess. After I applied the drop, I searched for the cap with my left hand, and it wasn't there. I got up to look for it and didn't spot it either. So I rubbed my hands over the entire comforter and again felt nothing. As a last resort, I took the comforter off the bed and started shaking it; still nothing fell out. I was mystified—perhaps it's really gone! In the back of my mind, I knew that'd be impossible—the cap had to be somewhere in the room. I am telling all this to show you that sometimes our experience can fool us into believing in something that's illogical. This is the way with Christ too. Following logic, we should be able to see that Jesus is truly our Lord and Savior, for the overall evidence is overwhelming. But our experience in life makes us question that. I do admit that here we have the factor of whether you are willing to submit yourself to Jesus or not when you realize that you are a sinner. But my main point is that once we are convinced that something is true, we should not ever look away to let ourselves be fooled. (By the way, I did find that bottle cap later. When I shook the comforter, it actually fell to the floor. But since it's a very light object, I didn't hear the sound of it hitting the floor. I didn't see it first because it'd rolled under the bed.)
***Attack on Christendom
All Catholics need to hear this talk by Michael J.Matt to get a clear overall picture of the spiritual war that's been waged against Christ and his Church by the world.
Friday, April 30, 2021
***The Illumination We Need
We came into the world, knowing nothing. The only things we had were a conscience and a free will. Then we discovered the "secrets" of many things and started gaining knowledge. The big mistake is that we now think we know or can know everything. Now, God is the creator of all things and his knowledge starting out was already infinite. And this deserves our utmost respect. To think that we don't need God will be sheer foolishness. To submit ourselves to the Lord completely is the only logical and sensible choice for us to make. This is the illumination we need if we wish to have life forever. We need to see things from heaven's side.
***Jesus Most Endearing
In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be." Jesus always speaks the truth from his heart. Here he spoke most endearingly. This is your and my Lord too, so rejoice!
**Are We Too Far Gone?
From today's Psalm 2, I read. these verses: "And now, O kings, give heed; take warning, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him; with trembling rejoice." Look at our world today. Not only the kings and rulers of the world and so many of us have no fear of the Lord, we all behave as if he doesn't even exist, and we don't even beg for his mercy! It's certainly a far cry from what God had expected us to be like.
***Seeking the True Joy
Many of us have hobbies such as woodworking, cooking, needlework, reading, etc. But as we age, we have to give up doing such things that have always given us pleasure. I have friends who have physically weakened to the point that they have to give up all their hobbies. My suggestion is that we can always get to know Jesus better if our mind is still clear. The joy of knowing the Lord transcends any enjoyment you can find in the world. Once you know him well, everything else normally enjoyable becomes "boring" by comparison. I am not exaggerating; it's a fact. People don't learn this because they encounter the other enjoyable things easily first. Now is the time to enjoy what truly delights your soul and spirit, not what merely pleases your senses. Incidentally, if you are not interested in knowing God well, but still wish to get to heaven, you are taking a big risk.
Thursday, April 29, 2021
*Imperfect but Innocent
We humans are full of imperfections. For example, someone say something harsh about me and I lose my peace, even just momentarily. And we have inappropriate fleeting thoughts at times. If you consider these imperfections as sins, then they are unintentional ones. I believe that the Lord fully understands our human nature and that we won't be perfect until we get to heaven. It's good to know that we can be imperfect and be innocent, and that we'll be like the Lord after we see him.
*In a Hurry to Go to Heaven?
If I know that I am heaven bound, do I want to go now or later? Of course, I look forward to being united with the Lord completely, but at the same time if I am going to be with him for all eternity anyway, what's the rush? Should the Lord ask me when I'd like to go, I'd probably say that I prefer to wait until some loved ones for whom I have been praying for decades have finally come to believe in you. That'd be a reasonable request, but I'll still let him have the final say.
**Learning from the True Guide
The colleges talk about providing you with a well-rounded education to help you thrive in this world. But the Lord God teaches you how to live in freedom now and forever. God, being the truth, can reveal all we need to know to live in this world and not be of it. He is the only guide who can truly set us free. The time to learn all that is now when we are still on earth.
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
**Teaching the Truth
This Fr. Corapi video just got posted. Again, he hit the nail on the head. This is real teaching. Would that all priests have the courage to teach the truth and not be concerned about offending people or not..
**God in a League of His Own
These thoughts relate to today's earlier post "True Beauty." We live in a physical world, so we seek beauty and pleasure in nature, architecture, music, etc. Thus we visit parks, castles, museums, and attend musicals, concerts, etc. But we fail to realize that we can experience beauty and joy plus peace in the Lord God! What he has to offer transcends everything our world offers. Every enjoyable thing you can find in the world simply pales in comparison with what you can experience in the Lord. For the former passes, while the latter lasts forever.
***Our Move Now***
Today's Gospel reading comes from John 12. I am going to put together some verses and part of one to show you that we must absolutely pay attention to these words of the Lord. Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. If anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day." What is made clear are the following: (1) Jesus and the Father are one. (2) Whoever rejects him gets himself condemned on the last day. We must clearly get these two points and decide what to do with ourselves. We are dealing with God!
***True Beauty***
I saw a video presenting the most beautiful village in France. It was beautiful in a quaint way. It has history and some interesting natural rock formation. In any case, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but there are definitely things we see or hear that we agree are beautiful. As I walked this morning, the Lord made me see that true beauty is to be felt in one's heart and soul—it is his peace. In heaven, what you see and hear will definitely be most beautiful, but the peace you experience in the Lord will surpass all that. Let me tell you that when you dwell in God, knowing that he loves and takes care of you, it is the most beautiful feeling this side of heaven.
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