***Our Top Priority

        Christ is supposed to be our Lord and the most important and influential person in our lives, yet we Catholics hardly mention him outside our church or at any nonspiritual gatherings. This is not the way it should be. Protestants are used to giving testimonies, so it's easier for them to bring up Christ. Many prominent Catholics do talk about Christ with zeal, but not surprisingly many of them were converts from Protestantism. Anyway, a Christian needs to submit himself to Christ to the point he feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to do what Christ has instructed his apostles to do: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." So we must testify for the Lord.

***Our Body Is Not Ours

         You know you are getting old when you find it hard to get up from the floor and your joints start to hurt after doing your normal work a little too much. You get out of breath easily and walk slower in order not to fall. You notice the wrinkles on your hands and the pronounced blue veins around your ankles. Your bruises turns purple and it takes a longer time to recover from any physical injury. I am experiencing all these things and the Lord made me see that we were given our physical body for living on this physical earth only. When our short life ends, we just drop our body and it'll be gone from us forever. What we need to attach ourselves to and preserve is our soul, which lasts for all eternity. This is a great realization that liberates the spirit.

**God Makes All the Difference

        Here is one of the many videos showing the awesome and terrible power of the volcanic eruption at La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, which has intensified since it began three weeks ago. If I were an atheist, I would probably say that the whole thing is Mother Nature at work. Since I believe in God, the eruption scenes make me want to abandon myself to him more than ever. For without God, I would absolutely be helpless, but with him I'd be secure forever.

****Time to Go All Out

        We are in end times. Most people have abandoned God, including many of his own children who belonged to his Church. We who still hold onto the faith are the remnant. The Lord now depends upon us more than ever. It is because of our prayers that he's giving all more time. We are truly in a position to help him save the World! This is the perfect time for us to go all out for God. 

Mankind Stuck in a Rut

        Matthew 22.14: "Many are invited, but few are chosen." Today God is calling us through numerous messengers, but few pay serious attention to them. So it's "All are being called, but few will listen." Spiritually, mankind has not at all progressed.

*Looking for God

        You may not be aware that we are all looking for God. Then along the way, we run into something that makes us feel good and we hold onto it and it becomes our god. Some of these gods are money, power, fame, music, art, material possessions, worldly pleasures. Then there are some who have found the God of Christ to be their true God. They are the only ones who know they have found the right God and are now set for all eternity.

***Preempting the Lord

        This video again gives us messages coming from Mary, our Queen and Mother. There is nothing new, again pleading with us to believe in her Son, our Lord. God, out of love, always warns us in advance, never forces us to go against our will. Once more, I'd like to point out that in all the numerous messages coming to us, the Lord has never asked us to start a war, to go kill our enemies, or to apply force to get anything done. Instead he has always asked us to convert ourselves first. In Jonah 3, the Lord send Jonah to Nineveh to warn the people in the city that forty days more and Nineveh should be destroyed. People believed God, proclaimed a fast, and all put on sackcloth. When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he changed his mind about destroying the city. So the Lord only wants us to do what he asks of us; if we obey, he will take care of our problem. It is true that if we all convert, we'll have peace and make the Lord reconsider chastising us. Yes, we can preempt the Lord.

***Apostasy Before Apocalypse?

        The video may shock some of you, but I do believe what this priest has proclaimed. The fact that Pachamama was worshipped in the Vatican is revolting to me.

***Joy Comes from Knowing God***

        John 10:27 is today's Gospel acclamation: "My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me." For us, following the Lord always precedes knowing him well. We may be serving the Lord in many ways while we still do not know him that well yet. This is laudable, but may not be so rewarding. It is knowing the Lord that brings joy to following him! Surrender yourself to the Lord a little more each day to attain full union with him and you'll experience the greatest joy in following him.

****Beautiful Form of Prayer

        From today's Psalm 62, we read "Trust in him at all times, O my people! Pour out your hearts before him; God is our refuge!" Pouring out our hearts to God is most pleasing to him, for he is our most beloved Father. It shows that we hide nothing from God and love to let him know all about us. It is truly a beautiful form of prayer that endears us to him. With the aid of the Holy Eucharist, this puts us on the path to direct union with God.

**Our Choice to Make

       We know that when we do good works for the glory of God, we store up treasure in heaven. In today's first reading from Romans 1, Paul warns that those who judge others, do not esteem God's kindness, and remain impenitent are storing up wrath for the day of judgment. And God will repay everyone according to his works. What a contrast—storing up treasure vs. storing up wrath! The choice should be obvious.

***Today's Sad Reality

         God is absolutely real and wants us to return to him, and evil surrounds us and dwells in our hearts. Yet we are unaware of, or do not see or wish to see this. It's the saddest reality today.

**Our Omniscient Lord

        The Lord God is all-knowing. Being aware of this fact has made me feel secure and want to become holy and trust in him as well. It has also stopped me from worrying and judging others. Last, prayers are made so much easier.

*****Through Christ . . .

we are saved, we can enter heaven, we are able to remain alive on earth, we get to enjoy all the good things in life, we can directly reach our creator and Father, we become one with him and all others who love him, we learn what pure love is, we become selfless, we are liberated, ad infinitum—all good or great things!

****Most Wonderful Grace

         I feel that the Lord is preparing me for meeting him. This is such a wonderful grace. I know I can never reach him on my own. But once you have abandoned yourself to him, he just does all the work for you. This is his infinite mercy—he takes total care of you.

**What God is to me

        Besides the fact that God is my creator and savior, he is an anchor to keep me from drifting away, a ballast to hold me steady, a refuge to provide me protection, and a beacon to light my way. Above all, he's the sanctuary in which I find heavenly peace and joy. He is all I need.

**To Believe in Jesus or Not

        If you don't believe in Christ, you'll never know God. So what not try believing in and be open to him? Then when he reveals himself to you, you'll know that he is real. Talking common sense here. Of course, if you've already made up your mind not to look into Christ, then there's nothing anyone can do about it. Personally, I wouldn't want to be in such a state ever, for it's the most miserable state one can be in, not knowing the truth.

**Childlike Faith Leads to Liberation

        To have a childlike faith in God is a beautiful thing. Since the God of Christ is the true God, it works out beautifully. In fact, the older we get, the more childlike we should become. Let this lead you to total abandonment in God. Now the soul is completely liberated, and God and you become one, attaining your highest state of existence on earth.