**Blessed and Happy Is the One . . .

who is ready to leave this world to meet his Lord.

**Spending Time with the Lord

         If you are a Catholic and wish to know the Lord better, just pour your heart out to him. The best time to do that is right after Mass after you had received the Holy Eucharist earlier. You need to find a church where you can remain after Mass and that's quiet enough for prayer. Go sit or kneel as close to the tabernacle as possible. The chapel I go to for daily Mass is ideal. A small space that's peaceful and comfortable. Attendance is small, so after a few minutes, most attendees will have left, often leaving me as the only one there. I spend up to around 40 minutes with the Lord. This is how I make my spiritual progress. 

***Common Sense Conclusion***

        God is omnipotent and we are 100% dependent upon him. Without his sustainment, we won't be able to exist at all. If you have any common sense, you would see this truth. It follows that we should obey God as our Lord and Savior always. That's all.

**A Very Sad Observance

         The worst part of hell is not that the punishment is horrible, but that the suffering lasts for all eternity. I do pray that all souls will be saved. The very sad thing is that living people in general don't think much about hell and all that. They take out insurance on their house, their car, their life, etc., leaving their next life completely unprotected. God's mercy is appropriately infinite to cover such cases if need be. 

***All God Has Created Are Miracles

       When we're to enter this world and when we'll depart from it are not under our control or volition. While here, we get used to seeing and experiencing the things that are already here, but don't you realize that they are all miracles created by God? Yourself with all the wonderful parts is a miracle! When my two sons were born, they were miracles to me. Now we consider things extraordinary or phenomena we can't explain to be miracles. But they are just like all the other things with which we are familiar. God could create a lot more miracles for us to see and get used to, should he so choose. Anyway, the most amazing "miracle" to me is the Lord himself. If you see that, everything else is not that miraculous anymore. Once you know the Lord, you are no longer thrown off by any extraordinary thing that happens. Take the Resurrection of Christ. Since he is the creator of all life, of course, it's no surprise.   

**Making God's Blessings Work

        Before dismissing us at Mass, the last thing the priest does is asking almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to bless us. We must not take this blessing lightly. If we believe, we are surely to receive tremendous blessings from God. If we just regard it as a routinely said thing and don't think much of it, then nothing's going to happen to us. So treat all God's blessings as you own prayers—believe in them, and you'll indeed be blessed.

*Conversion Is for the Lord

        Try to convert someone on our own and it's not always easy. Well, the Lord is really the only one who can change our hearts. So I'd recommend entering deep into him to implore his help first. This is also a great way for us to show our unyielding trust in the Lord and to unite with him even more intimately. 

***Astounding Humility*

        The Lord comes to us at Communion time, offering himself to us in the Holy Eucharist. This humility is astounding! Then it dawned on me that he's also ready to offer all of himself to us at any time! You desire him with all you heart and he is yours. He will say no to you only when you want to do something that would harm your soul. Be humble so that you may become like him. Then you'll always listen to him and get his full support.

**God's Plan Revealed

        Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross. In the first reading from Isaiah 45, in verses 456C-8, 18, and 21C-22, the Lord makes it absolutely clear thru the prophet that he is the LORD, and there is no other. In the reading from Psalm 85, we hear that the Lord will bring forth a Savior and we'll all have truth and justice. Then finally, in the Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus makes it clear who he is by declaring that he has made the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers clean, the deaf hear, and the dead rise, and proclaimed the good news to the poor. These three readings sequentially present a quick picture God's plan for us. Since all the events had evolved logically over time, we can confidently believe in their authenticity.

*Eternity to the Christian

        The the faithful Christian, eternity is everlasting life. 

***Avoid Making This Mistake!*****

        We usually start out resisting the God of Christ. But if you change your heart and decide to pursue him with persistence, the day will arrive when you find him to be totally irresistible. You now know that he and you do belong to each other and you can live happily with him ever after. This is no fairy tale ending, as there are tons of people who can testify this truth to you, and I am one of them. Resisting Christ has to be the worst mistake we can possibly make.

**Do Not Ruin Your Life

        We are capable of doing good, but we are also prone to sin. Doing good usually requires some effort, while sinning is a lot easier, especially in today's world with so many temptations and so many people all doing it. The only way to safeguard our souls is to listen to the words of Jesus and act on them as he'd advised in Matthew 7. This would be like building your house on rock so that it will not collapse when the rain falls, the floods come, and the winds blow and buffet it. A faith firmly rooted in the Lord is our best protection. Again, I advocate attaining union thru the Holy Eucharist to achieve the goal. Always go all the way with the Lord—this is the best policy in my book.

*****Most Exciting Journey Ever!!!!!

         I have traveled and seen various exciting parts of the world and gone on pilgrimages that brought me closer to God, but none of these journeys can even come close to the journey I am on now, that of seeking union with the Lord thru the Holy Eucharist. On this journey, my travel just consists of attending Mass, praying, and blogging, all done between the church and my home. Compared to all the other journeys, the encounter with the Lord is more private, more intimate, and filled with great joy. It's more exciting than anything else I've ever experienced, for the Lord truly touches my soul! Anyway, with the Lord, you just have to plunge right into him and let him carry you everywhere he wants you to go, and you'll discover that he is good, loving, most beautiful, most personal and understanding, and the most exciting person to know. 

***Fulfilled and Content to the Hilt*

        Communion experience. Receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord forms the most intimate bond with him that's most fulfilling and satisfying. I wouldn't switch places with anyone else under any circumstances. No wonder that the Eucharist is known as the Most Blessed Sacrament.

***To All Proabortionists:***

         Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 is about Mary, already pregnant with Jesus, visiting her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist six months earlier. Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." We see that the infant, still in the mother's womb, responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit! How dare the proabortionists say that they have to right to terminate the life of any unborn child for whatever reason? Do they not also see that God wishes that the unborn remain in the mother's womb for nine months so that it receives all the nurturing it needs before birth?
       By the way, I just remember that you can see the scene of Mary visiting Elizabeth in this video I posted on March 30, 2014. If you wish to watch it, just click here. 

**See Reality Clearly

        The sins of the world have muddied our vision. Think clearly and you'll see that God is in charge, is taking complete care of us who believe in and follow him, and will certainly lead them to final victory. 

**On Liking and Disliking Myself*

        I like myself, for l was wonderfully made by God. The part I dislike is my sinful nature, then Christ is taking complete care of that now. I only need to be patient for a little while longer before I become perfect in my Father's house.

*Joy Realized**

         This is the joy that I can communicate with my Lord and God so easily at any time. I merely think what I have to say and he knows everything already. Our Father loves to hear from us and listens too.