****Reflection After My Last Post*

        Here are some thoughts that came to me after my last post yesterday. That sermon certainly contains many strong sayings you don't hear nowadays from most pulpits. This may precisely be why the Church is in such a sad state today. We more or less believe that we're good enough for entering heaven and avoid looking at the reality of hell squarely. Being cautious is always better than being lax. My advice is not to think about your chances of being saved, but focus instead upon loving the Lord with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your might. Salvation is to be worked out and you can never love God enough! If you commit a mortal sin, get that absolved by a priest ASAP. And pray unceasingly from your heart for the world and yourself. God will take care of everything if we do our parts diligently. Believe me, it you remain in him and do all things thru him, you will live a fruitful life filled with joy. How earnestly you want to go straight to God after you die is also a factor here.

***A SERMON FOR ALL CATHOLICS***

        Here's a sermon every Catholic needs to hear, but it's not for the faint-hearted. Still, it's better to hear it than not. Good point: A person does not go to hell because he is so wicked; he just can't get into heaven because he is not good enough.

 

***God Can Always Save Us (But It's Up to Us)***

        Here's a great story as told by a priest you'll enjoy listening to. 

***Signs from Heaven***

         This video is significant, for God speaks to us through signs.

****Setting Faith on Fire!

        In today's Gospel reading from John 1, John the Baptist testified to Jesus, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." Jesus can baptize us with the Holy Spirit! I am no theologian, but I know from personal experience that by asking the Lord to baptize you in the Holy Spirit, he can set your faith on fire! Here's choosing to live a most exciting Christian life vs. living an ordinary lukewarm one.

***Solving Our Biggest Problem*

        From today's first reading from 1 John 2 & 3, I like the last verse most: No one who remains in God sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. Knowing God is the solution to this biggest problem of ours: sinning. Here are the three steps to take to succeed. (1) Realize that sin is our biggest problem. (2) Resolve that we want to stop sinning. (3) Then we open ourselves up to God to let him take complete control of our lives. This is all there is to it. 

***Beautiful Way to Start Off the New Year

        (Even though I've gotten over my COVID, I still have a lingering cough and that's been keeping me from attending Mass. I truly miss receiving the Lord.) In today's reading from 1 John 2, the Apostle wrote "Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well." Since God the Father has revealed his Son to us, we must now accept them both. For they are one. And we might as well include the Holy Spirit, since our God is the Most Holy Trinity. When we remain in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are promised eternal life, becoming inseparable from our God. 

***Review of 2023

         As 2023 ends, I look back to see if it's been a year better than the one before, and the answer is a resounding yes because I am now in the Lord more than ever. You might say that my satisfaction with the Lord has so far reached its highest level and is still rising. No void in my life whatsoever! Psalm 23 is now perfect for me. I wish all of you the best possible New Year in which you'll find your greatest fulfillment and receive the most blessings and joy from our God! Know that there is no limit to how much you can let the Father love you.

***Our Big Challenge*****

        We continue to hear readings from 1 John 2. I like these verses today: Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever. Everything's pretty clear here. We must love and obey the Father alone and not love the world at all! This is something we seem to have difficulty even in taking it seriously. It just shows how much we have entrenched ourselves in the world. There is only one way to turn us around: letting the love of God overwhelm us. Again, there's no better way than seeking to attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist.  

*****In God's Light or Not

        I like what John the Apostle wrote in 1 John 2 from today's reading 1. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Christ is our light. Here's how to know if you are in his light or not. If there are still people you don't care whether they make heaven or not, you are not in his light yet. When you are in his light, you love everyone, including your enemies, and work hard to save all for Christ.  

*Trust in God Sensibly

        God wants us to trust in him totally, but he also wants to to be prudent and sensible. For examplet, if you trust that he'll always shield you from evil, it doesn't follow that you would choose to go walking in a known unsafe neighborhood at right. We still need to remain alert and wise always. 

*****Living the True Life

        If we live on earth, die, and become absolutely nothing, that would make our whole existence meaningless. What would be the point of knowing how to think, reason, curious about things; wanting to help others; understanding good and evil; etc.? Literally, everything we do in life becomes pointless. Christians who know the Risen Christ know for certain that there is life eternal after death. This makes life completely worth living. As a matter of fact, that's the life I am living for now!

***Crucial Acknowledgment***

        Today is Feast of the Holy Innocents. Reading 1 comes from 1 John 1 & 2. These are the last three verses from 1: If we say, "We are without sin," we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he [Jesus Christ] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. So to acknowledge that we are sinners is the step we must take if we we ever hope to be saved. It's totally logical and rather obvious, but I don't know how many of us truly realize this. Anyway, humility is the key to entering heaven. And God will only exalt those who humble themselves.

***God's Unique, Powerful Joy***

        Today is the feast of Saint John, Apostle. I love this Apostle who referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Here's the entire reading 1, 1 John 1:1-4. "Beloved: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life—for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete." St. John had to write what he knew, for the joy of knowing Christ is impossible to suppress. This joy touches the soul and makes you selfless to want to share it with everyone else. You now know that you've been set free from sin and belong to the Lord.

****No God, No Success

        Any success achieved without God is ultimately a failure. When God is with you, all your failures are only parts of your ultimate success.

***"Never Look back"***

          This is Christ's command to his followers. When we are unhappy about how things are going, it's easy to look back and wonder if things would be better if we had chosen a different major in college or accepted a different job offer or married a different girl or done something else differently. But all this is a total waste of time, for what's gone is gone forever. The healthy, realistic outlook is to realize that we are finite things and we are prone to make mistakes. But mistakes are not sins and may even turn out to be blessings! No matter how bad things are, if we turn to God and follow him, he will make the best of our situation and set everything right for us. The bottom line is that we get to heaven. So say bye-bye to the past and follow the Lord onward.

***Blessed Golden Opportunity*

        Any time you feel helpless, it's the perfect time for you to abandon yourself totally to God! This is your blessed golden opportunity.

***Secret to Being Saved***

        Today is the feast of Saint Stephen, first martyr. The Gospel reading comes from Matthew 10. Jesus commissioned the Twelve and spoke of their coming persecutions. The last verse of the reading is "You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." This last part in boldface is what we Christians must remember no matter what we undergo. For our reward will be great!