A short inspiring talk by Deacon Issac Longworth. Most of us don't belong to the clergy, but we can also live a good disciplined life like Dn. Issac here.
Sunday, February 26, 2023
***First Things First***
Before you ask God to bless you, make sure that you deserve his blessings. Suppose you just don't follow some of the teachings of the Church, do you still think that he should bless you? Before you receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, if you still hate or won't forgive someone in your heart, do you think that you should even touch him in any way? I shouldn't think so. Hence, prior to asking God for any favor, always acknowledge and repent your sins first.
Saturday, February 25, 2023
**Sweet Seconds*
Every second spent with Christ the Lord is a sweet second. The worldwide life expectancy is now over 73. If you live to 73, you will have lived over 2.3 billion seconds, and that can be a lot of sweet seconds.
***Devil's Channel***
Our ego is the channel the Devil uses to speak to us. To safeguard your soul, starve your ego until you become selfless and humble. And God will exalt you then.
**A Blessing
The more you sense God's awesome holiness, the more you realize how wretched a sinner you are. This is a blessing, for it's the Lord calling.
***Our Most Serious Problem***
It's with our sin, for sin can destroy our souls. And Christ is the only one who can free us from sin. That's why we need to surrender ourselves to him. This is how we can be saved! The absolute simple truth.
*****Forever witn God
With God, everything is forever. He will always love us. If we love him, we need to love him forever. He wants to save us to be with him forever. And we can be truly happy only if we can be happy forever. Everything works out beautifully if we stick with our God, the God of Christ.
***Why Christ Keeps Calling Us***
You'll hear Jesus calling you at all times if you tune in to him. His only reason: He wants you to get to heaven to be with him forever! The absolute truth.
You'll hear Jesus calling you at all times if you tune in to him. His only reason: He wants you to get to heaven to be with him forever! The absolute truth.
You'll hear Jesus calling you at all times if you tune in to him. His only reason: He wants you to get to heaven to be with him forever! The absolute truth.
***Most Beautiful Act***
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. We really should follow the Lord's call instantly as Levi did. If we do not leave everything behind when he calls us, we'll have to do it when we leave this world. Then, not only there'll be no merit for us, it can even count against us. Submit ourselves to the Lord, develop a sharp conscience, and obey him the moment he calls—this is what we need to accomplish in this life. Instance obedience is a most beautiful act on our part for the Lord.
**Speeding up Spiritual Growth
This was what we heard rom today's first reading from Isaiah 58: If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight, and the LORD's holy day honorable; if you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice—then you shall delight in the LORD.... It dawned on me that if the sabbath is such a special day for the LORD, we can also make it special by trying to be extra holy on that day. This can help speeding up our spiritual progress.
***Cherishing the LORD*
I yearn for the Lord. Even though I don't see him, I hear him speaking to my heart. This is an intimacy I deeply treasure. Hearing his voice just makes my day and draws me deep into him. The Lord is to be cherished and enjoyed thoroughly!
Friday, February 24, 2023
***Simple Ideal Life Plan
Believe in Christ to secure you eternal life first. Always remember that you are heaven-bound. Then follow Christ faithfully. Peace and joy will accompany you the whole time.
***Hope for the Church
The Church is supposed to save the world by proclaiming the gospel to everyone. But the Church today is so divided and causing so much confusion among the faithful that we now need to pray for her salvation. We are truly in some kind of end times. But have no fear, God is testing us. Remain firm in your faith and become holier than ever, and the Lord will purify his Church and restore her to a state more glorious than ever.
**Power of Love and Mercy
Communion experience. Jesus was so overwhelming that I had no choice but to accept everything he had wanted to give me.
*Sin Offends God
When we sin against others, we really sin against God who is most holy and the one who truly loves us and will judge us. Sin truly matters to him. Of course, it matters to us too, but sadly, we are not always aware of that. Nevertheless, we sin only against God and only he can take away our sins. If you are smart, you would want to submit yourself to him now.
***Making Following God Easy
During Lent now, we are reminded to deny ourselves and follow the LORD. This is living to please God alone and not others nor ourselves. Amazingly, this is how we get to experience joy and freedom. It also proves that we are our own stumbling blocks to following God.
**Enjoy God Foremost
Living in the world, we can enjoy the LORD as well as all the good things in life. I've found that with things of the world, I feel best if I don't overload myself with them. For example, if I overeat something that tastes good, I just don't feel that good anymore. And if I watch TV a little too long, even though what I watch is something good and interesting, it just doesn't make me feel any better. So it's best not to let things of the world tie us down to any extent. We should know when enough is enough. With the Lord God, it's just the opposite. We can let him "overload" us as much as he wishes and we'll feel all the more uplifted and upbeat.
**The LORD with Us
I walked into the chapel for Mass this morning and all lights were out; only the candles on the altar stands were burning. I wasn't sure what happened. My thoughts were as long as I know the LORD, it doesn't matter whether I am in darkness or not, for he is my light. Whether I see him or not, he's already in my heart. (All the lights did come back on later.)
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