***Ultimate Expression of Love***

         Jesus' laying down his own life for us

*****To All Whom God Loves*****

        Following the Solemnity of all Saints, we today commemorate All the Faithful Departed. As sinners, death is imminent for all of us. If we do not do anything about our sins, we are heading straight to hell. Now, Christ came to and died for us precisely to make it possible for us to change our course and go to heaven instead! He wishes that we would accept the Father's love for us and inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world! (Mathew 25:34) My loving advice to all: Prepare yourself now so that you may look forward to your day of departure from this world in peace and with joy.

**Letting Christ Heal Me*

        Communion experience. I let the Lord heal my entire psyche, my innermost.part, which only he can reach and touch.

***We Must Be Active Followers!

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount to the crowds. In the beatitudes, he said "blessed are the poor in spirit, they who mourn, the meek, they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me." Clearly, to follow Christ we must actively follow his example. To remain complacent, not getting involved with anything and only believing that he will take care of everything, just won't cut it!

***Our Best Day to Come***

        In reading 2 from 1 John 3, the author writes, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." How exciting it is to know that one day we'll be like God the Father! We should look forward to that day with great joy and anticipation!

**Forever Happy Later!

        Today Nov. 1 is the Solemnity of All Saints. The first part of the offertory antiphon from Wisdom 3: The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. This is God's assurance that we who follow Christ will not suffer after we die. How comforting it is to know!

**Fight with the Right Vision!

        As Christian warriors, we must see that we are fighting the Devil. As Paul wrote in todays' first reading from Ephesians 6, our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. We must see all events in this light and base all our actions on helping good to overcome evil. It's to win for God and not just to fight for our own security. Change your vision to become effective valiant warriors. 

**Toward Total Abandonment*

        As I age, I realize that I must depend upon the Lord for all things more and more. Our whole life should be a process of shifting our independence to total dependence upon God. The sooner we achieve this, the better off we are. It's letting go of the world and yourself and start clinging to Christ alone. It's total abandonment to God to become free and secure your eternal life.

**Freedom of Speech Matters

        Another straight talk from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

**Sobering Warning

           This is today's entire Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 13:

         Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." So if you think you already know Jesus, but slack off and do not remain watchful, you may end up last and get cast out of heaven.

**Thoughts on Prayers*

        God hears all our prayers. If we don't pray at all and continue sinning, we'll be chastised for sure. If we all pray for his will be done, we'll all be rewarded for sure. In reality, not everyone prays, so what we'll receive will be determined by how many of us pray and how fervently we pray. Nevertheless, pray hard and fervently always!

**Right Thing to Do*

        If everyone in the world believes in Christ, follows his example of loving others, and resolves to become holy, the world would have instant peace and be filled with joy. So even if the world were 99.99% evil in reality, you know the right thing to do.

***To Rest in Christ

         We wish that all who die would rest in peace. I want to be more specific: I want to die and rest in Christ, for only he can give us true peace now and for all eternity.

**God Is . . .

         When you hear "God" mentioned, what's the first word that comes to your mind? Most Christians probably would say "love." I'd say "life," for only God can create life and make it eternal.

***When Being Childlike Is Appropriate***

        Believing like a child works only when you believe in the true God of Christ!

***Appreciating Our Creation

        We are absolutely God's unique creation. He created inanimate objects such as rocks . . . then living things like trees. At the next level, we have insects, birds, and nonhuman animals. Finally, he created us in his image with souls. Unlike other animals, we look all different from each other. And we can become his sons and daughters to inherit his kingdom. Be aware of this fact and be thankful and rejoice in it. 

***Smart Move*

         Tell the Lord that you wish to receive all your reward from him in heaven. This makes him grant you eternal life.

***Absolute Truth***

        Christ remains the truth irrespective of whether you believe in him of not.