**Suffering Has Its Purpose

         We can not avoid physical suffering in this life. I believe that God has a purpose for allowing anything to happen to us. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was struck dumb when he doubted what the angel Gabriel told him, that his wife Elizabeth in her advanced years would conceive a son. He didn't regain his power of speech until John was born. And Paul was struck blind by a bright light on his way to Damascus when Jesus called him. He regained his sight three days later when Ananias of Damascus laid his hands upon him and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul also mentioned his thorn in flesh the Lord gave him to keep him humble. We don't know what it was, but it could be a form of physical suffering too. My left shoulder joint due to a number of falls has suffered pain for years. I know that the Lord can heal me in an instant should he so wish. In the meantime, I know he has purposed it too. For us who follow the Lord, we know that offering our sufferings up to him glorifies him, and one day all our sufferings will turn into eternal joy in heaven.   

*True Freedom

           To be free, you can do whatever you want to do or do whatever God wants you to do? Which way is better? Most people would like to do what they want to do, but this "freedom" does not guarantee happiness, for it's self-centered and things do not always turn out the way you want. If you always follow God's will, then you are God-centered. With yourself out of the way, you remain free and happy as well. 

***Do you know that . . .

if you love and want to serve the Lord, but are weak in some way, the Lord will make you strong in some other way to fulfill your wish? 

***Making God Listen to Us

         The more we listen to God, the more he listens to us. Also, the more sincerely we pray from the heart, the more effective our prayers become. The Lord always looks at our hearts and loves hearing from and speaking to our hearts. 

**To Be Assured of Salvation

         To be assured of having eternal life, it's essential to believe that (1) Jesus is our Lord and Savior and (2) he is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Most helpful attitude: Believing in the Lord like a child.

All About Us

         It's undeniable that we have all strayed away from God, for we have sinned. So we need to return to him to become his obedient children as he had always wished. This explains why we are miserable on our own and shows how we can rightfully become free and happy.

***Union Privilege

        Each of us has our cross to carry. One great joy and satisfaction being in union with the Lord is that you can talk to him, consult him, share all your joys and sorrows with him, and enjoy any experience with him at any time; you are never alone and the Lord never gets tired of listening to you. Of course, you get to hear his sweet voice in voice in you heart too. Such is the privilege of being one with him. 😇😇😇

**Satan Within the Church

            One dark side revealed.

*More About Jim Caviesel

         Interesting video about Jim Caviesel, an actor who serves the Lord.

*Meeting Matthew Kelly

          Father Goring's instructive interview with Matthew Kelly. Hear his comment on his mystical experiences. Ley's realize that receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist is also a great mystical experience.

**What to Give Up

         Our daughter-in-law suggested to my wife and me to have a bag containing all the important things ready so that we'd be prepared to leave in case we have to evacuate our house. I had thought about this before because I live in an area with a lot of trees around and California gets lots of wild fires every summer. With just two cars to load what we can carry, I pretty much have to leave behind almost everything normally you would want to keep for a while. This is virtually as "bad" as when you leave the world. Nevertheless, this has been a good exercise, making me realize that there is a time to let all things go and the time to learn to say goodbye to them is now.

***Fighting a Winning Battle

          With Christians facing persecution, the Church in disarray, and evil seemingly having filtered the fabric of our entire society, the days look dark indeed. But let's know that Satan is loose only because God has permitted it. It is a given that the Lord will triumph totally in the end. Because Satan knows that his days are numbered, he is fighting extra hard out of desperation. So we should fight him and his minions without any fear, but with full confidence in our God. It's only a matter of time before the days will be brighter than ever. We may not be here then, but that shouldn't make any difference to us. Just know that we are fighting a winning battle.

**Living Right Is Terribly Important

         We were all born into this world and get to live our lives. We can choose to live a holy or an evil life or one anywhere in-between. Then when our time is up, we all die. So what does it matter how we live our lives? Answer: It matters a lot because we have a soul that live on forever after death. This life is only the infinitesimal beginning of our everlasting existence. You want to live it right in order not to screw up your whole eternity.

**Still in the Doldrums

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And who find it are few." Jesus gave us these warnings 2,000 years ago and we still are not taking it seriously enough. Time to snap out of the doldrums! 

Conscience Affects Peace

        The Lord has given each of us a conscience. The one who has a dull conscience can sin more and not get bothered too much. Then he won't have much inner peace either. Anyone with a sharp conscience sins a lot less, for he knows the pain of carrying a sin, so he enjoys peace in his heart almost always. It's a choice, but know that if you lack inner peace, it's God calling you to him.

*We Reap What We Sow

         Everything we do, the Lord knows, and we'll be either rewarded or punished. You can say that what goes out from us will always come back to us in some way or form. That is, there'll be consequences to whatever we do or don't do. It's good to remember Proverbs 22:8, "Those who sow iniquity reap calamity." 

*Antichrists Galore

         Because of the many prominent politicians who claim to be Catholic, but publicly go against the teachings of the Church and continue to receive the Holy Eucharist at Mass, the U.S. bishops are meeting, trying to come up with clear guidelines for the reception of Holy Communion. Actually, the guidelines are already there, but since the Church is now divided, the topic has become controversial. Some 60 Catholic Democratic congressmen have already called on the bishops not to weaponize the Holy Eucharist. Cleve choice of words indeed. One congressman who is all for contraception, abortion, divorce, and same sex marriage openly dared the Church to deny him Communion. This I know, when you say you are a Catholic and reject the teachings of the Church, you are a lying antichrist. 

*The Blaming-Others Generation

        Hebrew 4:12 is today's Gospel acclamation: The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the the heart. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." These two quotes are directly related. It's precisely not hearing the living word of God that has made us blind to our own faults. This is the generation that never see themselves blameless and always blame others. Naturally, if you think that you are perfect, you don't seek God anymore.