**Two Big Realizations

        The world has strayed far away from God. First, we need to realize that we are sinners and need salvation from the Lord. Next, we need to realize that Christ is the perfect example for us to emulate. We truly need someone to guide us in all things and there is no one but Christ who knows everything and has the greatest love for us. 

*Being a Bona Fide Christian

          Since God communicates with our heart and touches our soul, the life we live for him is always an interior one. We communicate with him and experience his joy secretly. Whatever we do for him is for him alone, to be known to him alone. So a bona fide Christian is one who lives for Christ only in secret. 

**Tough Conversions, but Not for God

         Smart, educated people are most difficult to convert. They think that they can find all answers themselves. I talked to a prominent doctor who was a Protestant at one time, but he was never able to bring himself to believe in Christ fully. He was always asking me questions and couldn't understand why someone like me would even want to be involved with serving at a local prison. Another person I talked to recently has no qualms about following the way of the world. I just sense that bringing up Christ is not going to make any impact at this point. You need to pray for people like him. This reminds me of in Mark 9 the time the disciples asked the Lord why they couldn't cast a demon out of one boy. Jesus said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."
       Fr. Goring's video today more or less ties in with I've just said above. Also, since the Miraculous Medal was mentioned, I can testify that wearing one and believing in its efficacy, you do receive abundant blessings from God as promised by Holy Mother. 

**How to Treat Your Body

        To survive on earth, we need our physical body. Therefore, it is proper to keep it healthy and functioning. But if we are obsessed about making our body attractive to others, then we have become vain. Know that the body is like our material possessions which we'll have to leave behind one day. So we should learn to become detached from it. Take care of your body to serve God well, but never "worship" it for your vainglory.

***Our Greatest Teacher and Mentor

        God is our greatest teacher and mentor, for he knows and understands everything. For your spiritual growth, you only need to consult him. Again, I advocate seeking union with him, for he'll help you every step of the way and once you attain union with him, you'll understand all his ways and thoughts. Now you grow to be like him and we can truly say "like father like son" or "like father like daughter." In our case, the father is the Father and that make it even more special! 

**The Lord Most Enjoyable

         Since Jesus remain holy and the same forever, he remain forever new and refreshing. By contrast, we sinners need to be renewed continuously by him to remain new. That's why I enjoy my union with him more than anything else in the whole universe.

*On Toward Eternity

        Will we only turn to God in our last moments when we know that we are dying? But that would be taking an awfully big chance, for we don't know when and how we're going to die. But since we know that we will die one day for sure, then definitely it'd be wise to turn to God before we die, the sooner the better. We can also see that our whole lifetime is but one big dying moment, as we march toward death the moment we were born. Indeed life is just our way to eternity.

*****Heaven Needs Our Prayers

        Here's another beautiful message from Mother Mary to the Medjugorje seer Mirjana. God is sending messages through more and more lay individuals. I think it's because there are now more trustworthy and faithful lay people than most of the clergy who no longer have the courage to preach the truth. The Holy Mother really needs our prayers. She told Mirjana that "Life is like a flower and is short, and all of us will soon meet God who will ask us about our life." And furthermore, "Be ready! I am calling you, through prayer, and the Holy Mass when my Son unites Himself with you in a special way, to try to be like Him; that, like Him, you may always be ready to carry out God's will and not seek the fulfillment of your own. Dear children! Do not forget that you are here on earth on the way to eternity and that your home is in heaven. Again I am warning you, pray for those whom my Son called, whose hands He blessed and whom He gave as a gift to you. Pray, pray, pray for your shepherds. Thank you." We can truly say that we are in our last days when God's judgment is near. 

**This Distant Generation*

          Jesus has made it so clear that we need to be prepared and ready for his coming. This means we must be prepared for anything that threatens my life and eternal life. What if you die right now? Are you ready? What if disaster strikes and shatters all your dreams? How would you handle that? Yet we don't even turn to God to deal with our sins, so how can we be prepared for his coming? Why is this generation so afraid to look at their own sins? God is ready, waiting, and willing to take away their sins anytime for the asking. It's not being aware of the need for salvation that's most alarming. Sadly, a great awakening is needed before they'll even consider getting themselves ready.

*****Built for Union with God*****

         God has made us so that we shall not have peace until we have reconciled ourselves completely to him. This truth becomes crystal clear once you attain union with him. It is good to know that we can have God and we can have peace. The Lord is our amazing hope!

**Stop Condemning Yourself

        Every time we sin and do not repent, we march a little closer toward hell. I am being blunt but realistic about it. Even if you just end up in purgatory, every little sin would increase your suffering for purification there. And little sins can add up fast over a lifetime. For example, if you habitually use the F word in your daily conversation with others, over years you can easily reach saying it tens of thousands of times. Always repent your sins right away and try not to sin again. This is the only way to halt your march toward hell. To go all out, seek to attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist and you can forget all about hell.

**The One I Need

         In life, this does't happen often, but sometimes you meet the exact person or find the precise thing you need and you are overjoyed. My Communion experience yesterday (at the Vigil Mass): I just felt and knew that Christ was the exact person I needed for my life, my existence. And that completed my joy.

***God's Most Special Creations

           From today's first reading from Wisdom 1, I read "For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it." So the Lord made us the image of his own nature! That explains why we can understand him and know him! And we will not experience death if we belong to him, having nothing to do with the devil. We are indeed most special to God.

***Mother Mary's Concern for Us

         Good and wise messages for us in these difficult times.

****Letting God Inspire You*

         We ask for favors from God continuously, but have you ever thought of asking him to inspire you? If you haven't yet, I urge you to do so. Of course, you need to be open to him. Ask him to inspire you in every way so that you would want to be like him. Ask him to inspire you to be humble to be exalted to new heights. Let him inspire you to become fearless and confidant in serving him. He can even inspire you to know all his thoughts and ways! Yes, let him inspire you to the max! This becomes truly living in union with him.

***Warning to the Stony-Hearted

        I see so many hearts that have turned into stone. God has done his utmost to save us—he has sacrificed his own Divine Son to suffer in our place so that we may have eternal life. Yet so many of us still ignore him, reject him, or even blaspheme him. This is absolutely being heartless. If God cannot change you, then nothing besides yourself will be able to. Don't ever believe that without God everything will be fine. You always reap what you sow. By the way, whether you believe or not, hell does exist. Rejecting the God of Christ who is the only one who can save you is the sure way to hell. I want to warn all, for hell has to be the most horrible destination for anyone. To each his own? That would be a sad remark to make. Let us hear "For all, God is our hope." 

**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.