***Joy of Being Made Perfect

         One great joy of getting to heaven I must mention. It is knowing that the Lord will make you perfect to be like him. 

Extra Joy in Heaven

        Of course, we'll experience the greatest joy when we get to heaven. Another joy would be meeting some of the friends and loved ones who had gone there before you. Then you'll probably feel sorry for those you knew, but didn't show up in heaven. I believe that this sorrow will be short-lived, for there isn't a thing you can do about it and you know that God is perfectly just. 

**Amazing God

        We tend to look down on anyone who appears to be meek and humble, but are easily attracted to and even admire those who are full of pride and showy. One amazing thing about Christ Jesus is that even though he is the meekest and humblest of all of us, he is able to win so many hearts and make us look up to him and even willing to die for him. Only God can accomplish that.

**Most Honorable and Rewarding Role

         In today's Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus told his disciples that he is the vine and they are the branches, and to bear fruit they must remain on the vine. He spoke much about the importance that they remain in him and he in them. Here the Lord is speaking about our being in union with him. It is only in union with him that we can accomplish his will freely. And there is nothing more honorable and rewarding than being called upon to do his will!

***Jesus Is the Light!

         In today's first reading from Acts 9, Saul (Paul) arrived in Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they sent him on his way to Tarsus. Following Christ can be dramatic and is always exciting. It is real living. To live without the Lord is basically drifting in darkness. And Christ is exactly the light we need to show us the way.

**To Take on God's Nature

          In this imperfect world, things never continue to turn out the way we would've liked, and we become unhappy or upset. This is human nature. Realistically, all our worrying and loss of peace do not helps things a bit. Since God is in charge, nothing happens without a good reason. If you believe that God takes care of you, then everything that happens to you has to be a blessing. This is hard for us to understand because we do not have the overall picture in our mind as he does. We should trust in God and praise and thank him for everything that happens to us. This goes against our nature, but it's best for us to please God the Father by taking on his nature so that we can be like him.
          I recall reading about St. Thérèse of Lisieux in her autobiography The Story of a Soul the following: “Another time I was working in the laundry, and the Sister opposite, while washing handkerchiefs, repeatedly splashed me with dirty water. My first impulse was to draw back and wipe my face, to show the offender I should be glad if she would behave more quietly; but the next minute I thought how foolish it was to refuse the treasures God offered me so generously, and I refrained from betraying my annoyance. On the contrary, I made such efforts to welcome the shower of dirty water, that at the end of half an hour I had taken quite a fancy to this novel kind of aspersion, and I resolved to come as often as I could to the happy spot where such treasures were freely bestowed.”

*****A Message to Listen Up To

        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. 

*****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.

***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.

***A Eucharistic Miracle

        The Holy Face of Jesus imprinted on a Eucharistic host.

*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.