Reality 1: We were made in the image of the holy God, but have fallen into sin. We'll be judged by him at the time of our death or at his Second coming; he'll measure us against his own sanctity. If we fall short, we'll be condemned forever. Reality 2: God so loved us that he gave his only own Son, Jesus, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). This is great news for us! So if we accept Reality 2, we needn't be concerned about Reality 1 anymore. I pray that if you're not following Jesus yet, you would take this message most seriously.
Monday, June 10, 2024
**The LORD Our Guard*
From today's Psalm 121, we heard read: The LORD will guard you from all evil; he will guard your life. The LORD will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever. The LORD loves me and knows all about me, so if I trust in him, of course he's going to guard me so that he'll never lose me.
**Christ the Fountainhead of Peace*
I looked forward to attending Mass this morning because I was going to receive Christ the Lord who would make me clean and whole for me to experience his wonderful peace.
Sunday, June 9, 2024
***Either All God or No God***
We are either for Christ or not for Christ. We live either a Christ-centered life or a self-centered one. We either love God or the world. It's either all God or no God. A person can preach Christ or share his testimony with others and his ego surfaces, then it's no longer all Christ. This is often not felt by all outright, but it's there. As we grow spiritually, we must learn to "promote" only the Lord and not ourselves. We decrease to let the Lord increase.
***The Everlasting Sin***
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, the scribes from Jerusalem believed that Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul and it's by the prince of demons that he drove out demons. Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." I personally believe that this unforgivable sin is believing that the Holy Spirit is an unclean spirit, which is basically saying that the Lord God is the Devil or vice versa. Ergo, anyone who worships Satan instead of God is guilty of that sin.
**Evildoers Are Foolish Losers*
Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread? When those who do evil draw near, they stumble and fall. Those who do evil always live in fear, for they dread that they would be caught and exposed. Of course, they stumble and fall sooner or later, unaware that nothing can be concealed from the all-knowing Lord. In a way, I pity the evildoers for playing a losing game at the start and fearing the Lord in a wrong way.
Saturday, June 8, 2024
***Going All Out for Jesus
If Jesus is to be our Lord, then we must live in him, turn to him for his guidance in everything, and do all things with him as one. It sounds impossible, but nothing is impossible for God if we abandon ourselves to him. All of us are perfect candidates for the Lord to make perfect.
*****What Is Worth Dying For*****
Anything that can make us live happily forever is worth dying for. You have to be a total idiot to disagree with me here. I can readily name some of these things: The Holy God, Christ our Savior, God's Love for us, the Holy Eucharist, keeping God's commandments, doing God's will . . . they all have to do with God. So I could have just said that the God of Christ alone is worth dying for.
***Assured Formula for Happiness*
Submit yourself to the Lord to let him make you holy and beautiful for him to behold and you'll be so happy with both him and yourself!
**Rejoice in Our Immaculate Mother**
Today we celebrate the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We rejoice that the Lord God loves us and should be happy that we also have a heavenly Mother who loves and always intercedes for us. Unite our hearts with her Immaculate Heart so that we may love the Lord as much as she loves him.
Friday, June 7, 2024
***Knowing God's Love*
We normally love someone or something because we know it would give us pleasure or satisfaction; this love is basically self-centered. We also feel sorry for someone in a sorry state and wish to help; this is a heartfelt love more like God's pure love for us. We do not feel God's love when we are too occupied with loving the world. Then there are times we are disappointed with the world and turn to God and finally come to know his most beautiful selfless love. So see unhappy times as blessings, for God is calling you to set you free from the world and make you heaven bound.
***Alleviating Christ's Suffering***
Again, it's Friday, the day of praying the Sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary. If we were present at the scene when Jesus was going thru his Passion, many of us would want to alleviate his sufferings in some way if possible. But he is still suffering greatly today due to the disobedience of many, and we can comfort him by being extra obedient to him.
Thursday, June 6, 2024
**Incredible Experience*
Communion experience. Still couldn't quite believe that receiving the Eucharist brought me into full union with my God/
****Know Yourself First****
How pure are your motives? I start to question myself because I realize that I like different people for different reasons. We tend to like people who are pleasing to us. Then I like one person others don't like too much, and realize that it's because I want to feel that I am more loving than others—not a pure motive. Pure love is blind! Now, if you'd look deep into your own heart with complete honesty, you can learn a lot about yourself. This can be an enlightening, satisfying, and even exhilarating experience! (I'd like to do this after Mass in solitude under the Lord's watchful eyes, for he can make me see things difficult for me to see on my own.) Understanding yourself is liberating and always a joy, and most of all it unites you close to God.
***The Two Greatest Commandments*
In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12, Jesus gave a scribe the two greatest commandments. The first is this: You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I see that the second commandment is a corollary to the first one, proving that you love the Lord.
***Essential Transformation
In today's first reading from 2 Timothy 2, Paul wrote, "If we have died with Christ, we shall also live with him." The principle here is that we need to die first before we can live again. There has to be a rebuilding, a rebirth to take place. This is the transformation by Christ needed to get us into heaven.
***Time for Action***
With evil all around us, what should Christians do? The Catholic Church has already been weakened by the infiltration of evil and as a result, the few bishops and priests who had the courage to speak out openly just got canceled one by one by their superiors or the Pope. Currently, I see only Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel whose's not Catholic as the only clergyman who speaks out fearlessly for Christ and against the various evils. We must defend God and attack evil both. For those of us who don't get the opportunity to speak out openly, we can alway pray extra hard. To just say "I trust in God" and not do anything is exactly what Satan wants from you. It's act-or-die time.
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