***Joy of Salvation***

        When we realize that we are sinners and have offended God, we feel sorry and repent our sins to God and ask him to forgive us, and he forgives us and we feel instantly relief and great joy, knowing that we have reconciled ourselves to God and saved from death—this is the joy of salvation! Every bona fide Christian should have experienced that.
         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 25, Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep. I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." First, we are like that, showing that we were made in the image of God. Secondly, when we realize that we can give God such great joy of our salvation, we should feel that joy too.

****What To Be Aware of Foremost

        Friday today I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. What Christ had gone thru for us has to be the most horrendous suffering one can ever endure. And we must always remember that. But one thing we must even be more aware of is that the Lord did all that out of love for us! This is the central foremost awareness we must have. Everything he does is for this love! This alone should be able to transform our lives and spirits if we have a heart. Love your Lord and you become free and set for eternity! By loving God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I am made anew and belong to the Lord forever!

*****Monumental Day!!!!!

        Today is the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is not a coincidence that on this day the U.S.Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade to outlaw abortion. It's been almost 48 years since abortion was legalized and way over 60 million unborn children have been murdered since. The Lord finally answers our prayers at a time that the world is more godless than ever. Hallelujah! But there is still work to be done to convert the pro-abortionists. The spiritual battle continues, but we now know that the Lord can wipe out any evil when the time is right. Here is more about this monumental court decision.

****We Are Wonderfully Made!

        Today is the the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. Psalm 139 of David is today's responsorial psalm. The response  is "I praise you, for I am wonderfully made." David also wrote: "Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works." We should also realize how wonderfully the Lord has made each of us. We must highly appreciate his work and thank him by submitting ourselves to him so that we may enjoy eternal happiness with him, which is his most ardent wish for us.

***How to Find Happiness

        People are trying to move from one state to another within the country and citizens of other countries are seeking to flee from one country to another. Is there an ideal country or place you can move to on this planet? The answer is clearly none. Some countries may be richer and/or freer than others, but all countries worship materialism and are corrupt to various degrees. The ideal country would be one that follows God and cares for all its people, loving them as Christ loves us. And there is not a single country like that. Thus the world remains godless and in chaos. So what can we do? We can convert ourselves to be liberated from the world. Believe and follow Christ and we'll have eternal life. Earth is not our home; we'll be through it in no time. Live for the real future. This is not an escape; it's in fact making the only wise, farsighted, and realistic move. Don't ever think that you can find happiness on a sinful earth!

****Christ Is Relevant

         If Jesus is someone who is completely irrelevant to you, then you should be able to look into or ignore him freely and not be affected either way the slightest. The fact that you feel uneasy about looking into him is already an indication that he is relevant. Not willing to look into him is not willing to look into yourself. Somehow, you sense that looking into Christ will expose all those parts of you which you wish to hide from him. 

***Letting God be our Lord

        In todays's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." It's so clear here. Don't judge others so that you don't play God. Let the Lord alone be our judge. That should make our life a lot easier. How stupid it'd be to go against God and make our life hard!

****Our Most Important Realization****

        I have gotten over my COVID, but still have a lingering cough and a CT scan to go through. As I was resting in the family room this morning, I saw the photos of my grandkids on the shelves, my own photos hanging on the walls, and many other things that meant something to me. And there are lots of other things around the house that have been useful or enjoyable to me. I also realized that if I leave the world, I'd leave every single thing and person I knew behind—it's goodby forever. The only person I am going to face and answer to would be Christ the Lord. And we must be ready for that one moment. This has to be the most important realization for all of us. 

*****Only Division That Matters******

         In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Now, we are all individuals with likes and dislikes and hold individual opinions and views, so we may agree or more often disagree about many things. But if we all love the Lord, all these differences can be overcome, for his love is so great that it can make you love even your enemies. But if we don't all believe or love the Lord, then our differences will result in division as great as that between heaven and hell! This is the only division that matters to us. It's because Christ is the Lord and God! Think about it. I am making the reality totally clear to all.

***Truly Loving God

        You know that God loves you. If you love God, do you also know that he knows that you love him? knowing this assures that you you truly love God.

***Avoid Living in Delusion

         In today's Gospel from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.... Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil." What I want to focus upon is that last sentence: "Sufficient for a day is its own evil." We need to be aware that we live in a sinful world and face evil everyday. The spiritual warfare fighting for our souls is raging on nonstop. Every moment, it's either you are with God or you are not. Our solution is to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first and not worry about anything else. To think that everything will be hunky-dory if you just mind my own business is to live in delusion.

***Living in Christ's Light

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." All I know is that when I see Christ as my Lord and Savior and follow him, I am completely filled with his light, making me see the whole truth and enjoying my spiritual freedom.

****Critically Important Message

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not Forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." You probably are familiar with these sayings, but do you take them seriously? Here the Lord is telling us how we can have him forgive our trespasses! It's really telling us how much we need to love so that we can get to heaven! So the message is absolutely important and critical for me to heed. 

****Only One in Our Way

        From today's Psalm 51, we have the response "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned" and the verses ". . . my sin is before me always: 'Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.'" So God alone is in our way, for we sin against the Lord only! This is a basic important fact to realize. The only way for God to be for us is we stop offending him. Another important truth we must reckon with. There is not another way. So be smart, obey the Lord and make all your problems with sin evaporate.

***Letting the Best Happen to You***

        If you truly trust in Christ, you know that you are in his hands and you don't need to worry about anything. This way you give the Lord complete freedom to do what he wishes with you, and, of course, he always wants to give you what's best for you. On the other hand, if you worry and project what might happen to you, then the Lord is not free to carry out his will, for he'll have to override yours first. In any case, our lack of trust won't help things a bit. To trust in God is to obey him!  

****What to and Not to Learn

         There is so much to learn, living in this world. What we need to learn most is the truth of Christ. Once you know it, your are ready to secure your eternity. All other things we learn are of secondary importance. We need to learn how to make a living for sure, but there are so many others things we shouldn't even touch, for they are evil and will enslave you and destroy you soul in the end. Stay away from them. Yes, this secular world is a dangerous place to live in. Securing our soul has to be our No. 1 priority.

*****God Most Real

        Allow me to use just common sense and simple reasoning to show you the conclusion I've arrived at. God is the creator of all things and life. If there were no God, there would absolutely be nothing in existence, no you nor me. So God is the most real being there is, in fact, the first and original reality. To acknowledge this fact is to live in reality. Otherwise, you live in falsity, remaining lost.

*****The Christian Joy

         The joy of being a Christian is substantial, making life absolutely worth living. I'll just mention the basic freedom, peace, and joy you experience from knowing Christ. Even suffering for his sake becomes a joy. When you attain union with God, that joy reaches a maximum. But wait, the present joy is nothing compared to the joy we'll experience in heaven! Up there, we become totally freely from sin, the worse cause of unhappiness here on earth. Without our present physical body, we'll be free from all physical burdens and able to soar in total freedom. Most of all, we'll be enjoying fully the glory of the Most Holy Trinity and communion with all the saints. We'll be more alive than ever, fully aware of the joy impossible for us to comprehend on earth. I for one certainly wouldn't want to miss all that.