**The Fear of Death Measures . . .

one's faith in the Lord God and freedom from the world.  

****See Life Clearly

        I drove to Mass this morning. To get on the main road, I stopped before making the left turn to be sure that there were no oncoming cars as the view was blocked by a high point in the road. When I thought it was clear and started turning, a fast dark car with headlights off showed up over the high point. If it had gone any faster and I reacted slower, we could've had a close encounter. So we really have to be alert and careful when we drive. I know many people prefer to drive a heavier vehicle for security reasons. And when driving on a multi-lane road, many don't use the center lanes to avoid a possible head-on collision. We all want to make sure that our lives on earth are safe. Then I thought how infinitely more important our afterlife is! So be wise and farsighted. Life on earth is just our temporary beginning; eternal life is what we really need to focus upon! Being myopic is not always better than being blind.

*****Taking Advantage of Divine Mercy

        We are entirely at God's mercy. We live because he is sustaining us. We will die the moment his time for us is up. Fortunately, he is also our most loving Father. If we obey him always, we'll end up in heaven for sure. We urgently need to let all know of his mercy. Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily often for the salvation of the whole world.

****Our-Gravest-Moment Warning**

        We live each instant and each moment keeps changing. Soon we'll be at the moment of appearing before the Lord. This is the gravest and most crucial moment we must be ready for, for what happens after that will be fixed forever!   

**Total Submission

        Communion experience. I must submit myself to the Lord on all three levels, the physical (my body), the mental (my mind), and the spiritual (my soul). 

**Perfuming the Souls

        I adore the Holiness of the the Lord, for it imparts a fragrance to our souls. 

**First and Foremost Wisdom*

        From today's reading 1 from Wisdom 6, "To you, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin." It made me see that "to not sin" is our first and foremost wisdom! A holy person is indeed a spiritual genius.

**In Tune with the Lord

        This is today's entrance song from Psalm 88: Let my prayer come into your presence. Incline your ear to my cry for help, O Lord. This was exactly how I felt like praying to the Lord. Later, the response to Psalm 82: Rise up, O God, bring judgments to the earth. This was exactly what I wish the Lord would do. Finally, the Gospel acclamation from Luke 17: Has none but the foreigner returned to give thanks to God? This was what Jesus said to the Samaritan, one of the ten lepers whom he had cleansed earlier. We have so forgotten the Lord that we do not thank him for anything anymore. 

***How We Respond to God Matters**

        God is always calling us to return to him, for he wants us to have the greatest possible happiness. If we respond readily and follow him all the way, we can go straight to heaven after we die. If we are less perfect, we end up in purgatory before entering heaven. Then, depending upon your spiritual state, purification can be severe and long. This isn't my first choice for sure. Last, there are those with hardened hearts who just do not respond, but the Lord still loves them the same. Now the only way to get their attention is to have something shocking happen to them. It's still a grace, but I don't wish anyone to be foolish enough to advance to that stage, for that may be their last call and the experience can be traumatic. Be wise. Know that what's best for God is always best for you too.

**Old Age Thoughts*

         Old people's one big problem is loneliness. If they are still able physically, they try to do as many fun things as possible. If not, then they have no choice but to depend upon others to take care of them. You could say that they now just wait for death. This is a rather sad situation. One thing about attaining union with Christ is that you'll never ever feel lonely again, for you sense his constance presence within you in a most intimate way. I also see that as I age, I get the great opportunity to abandon myself to the Lord even more! And I rejoice that before long, I'll be seeing my beloved Lord face to face. 

**Ther God of Christ Is . . .

not our last hope; he is our only hope. 

**Natural Law

         The more you give yourself up to God, the more you experience freedom.

**It's All Relative

        The more you are awake to God, the deeper the world seems to be asleep. 

***Faith Being Tested***

       On Oct. 13, 1973, the Blessed Virgin Mary gave Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Akita, Japan, a message in which she said "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres . . . churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord." It was also reported that on June 18, 1965, Our Lady told Conchita Gonzalez of Garabandal, Spain, that many cardinals, bishops, and priests were following the road to perdition, and with them, they were taking many more souls. At the time, many people rejected this message as being implausible. Of course, now we see that both the Akita and Garabandal messages contain a prophetic truth. We are now living in a time of great confusion. That the good Bishop Strickland of Texas just got removed from ministry by Pope Francis was truly shocking. We should believe in the Lord more than ever and follow the good bishops and cardinals only. The purification and restoration of the Church will surely come. Meanwhile, our faith faces its greatest challenge.

***EXCITING FAITH***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, the Apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." What's so exciting is that there is no limit to how great our faith can be! 🔔🔔🔔 When all doubts vanish, faith becomes infinite.

***An Awareness to Be Aware Of*

          Let me just quote half of today's reading from Psalm 139. 

        O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain. 

          The LORD is fully aware of us. Let us live in full awareness of this awareness of his and rejoice that he watches over us to keep us on the path to eternal freedom and joy! 

**Getting the Most Out of Prayer

        When you pray, if you just say the words and hope that the Lord will hear you, your prayer might not even reach him. On the other hand, it you pray from your heart, meaning every word you say and believing without a doubt that you will received what you ask for, you can be sure that the Lord will respond most favorably. (In Mark 11:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." God will take you seriously only if you take him seriously.

***Sweetened by God

        Communion experience. A sweetness permeates my entire heart and soul.