***Keeping the Lord Company (No Lack of Trust)

        People tell me that if I trust in the Lord, I should just pray to him and not worry about anything anymore, since he will take care of all things. This is correct in theory, but in reality it's not always so simple. If you already know the Lord to the point that you are right aware that he is with you, you can't help thinking of him and feeling the sorrows we have caused and are still causing him and the terrible sufferings we have inflicted and are still inflicting upon him. You do not worry, but do grieve and suffer along with the Lord. It'd be impossible to leave him alone. In no way does this show that you don't trust in him enough.

**Greater than You Think

        That's our Lord God. His power of creation and his wisdom are infinite. His love and mercy for us are beyond our comprehension. Heaven is more beautiful than we can possibly imagine. His proximity to us is closer than we think. He is greater than we can think in every way. I am just so happy that I have such a great God to worship and trust in.

**Forgiving Others

        Someone on Facebook just posted a picture of Pope John Paul II (now Saint John Paul II) showing him forgiving the man who shot him. The poster also supplied the following text: Keep in mind that forgiveness is not for others. It is for you. Forgiving is not forgetting; it is remembering without anger. It frees up your power and heals your body, mind, and spirit. Forgiveness open up a pathway to a new place of peace where you can persist despite what happened to you. Then I also saw Fr. Larry Richards posting the same picture on Pinterest with these words: "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil" (St. John Paul II). "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). Forgive others and show them mercy and you will know God's mercy! When you become an instrument of mercy, you will have the peace you seek. Forgive and be at peace. Amen.

Realistic Assessment of Our State

       We are all on a spiritual journey. As of any moment, we have those who are heaven bound, those who appear doomed, and the rest teetering between these two extremes. Of course, the Lord does not condemn us until after we die, and things can change at any time. But what I have described is a realistic picture of all of us. Being aware of it can help us do the right thing while living. It is right to always do the best thing for ourselves spiritually.

***Back to the Basics

         (1) Prayer turns you to God. How much you enjoy praying shows how much you love him. (2) Faith in Christ can sustain us through our entire life on earth, for it opens the door to receiving power from the Lord. (3) Submission to God as your Lord is the key to experiencing the greatest freedom! This explains why we are unhappy without God. (Believing that God will enslave you has to be one great untruth.) (4) Spiritual Priority—there is only one—serving and pleasing the Lord God alone. Putting anything else ahead of it is to court disaster.

***Knowing God in Stillness

        To know God, you need to be still. So you need to enter solitude first. Whenever I wake up from sleep late at night or early before dawn and it's all dark and quiet all around, I feel the presence of God in stillness. I also felt it years back at the chapel where I attended daily Mass. After I received the Holy Eucharist and Mass ended, I remained alone in peace, experiencing and enjoying the Lord's companionship in stillness. Of course, I am now aware of. his dwelling within me at all times, but in stillness, that awareness becomes most acute. It's a pity that people do not seek solitude and hardly reman still nowadays, so they never know God. 

Divine Guidance

        The Lord Jesus me made me see that how he treats us is exactly how we should treat others. Be like him is all we need to remember.

Another End Times Warning

          Our souls are at stake. We must choose sides, as our time on earth is limited.  

***Do You Know . . .

that when you follow God's will to benefit others spiritually, you become his first beneficiary?

***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.