***The House Where We Belong

         Today is the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. When Jesus was twelve years old, the holy family went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. As they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him. Not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Since Jesus' Father is also our Father, we must be in that house too.

****Dishonesty Galore*

        We get a lot of fake news nowadays. Looking at You/Tube videos on news and other topics, you can see many of them are fake or grossly exaggerated to attract viewership in order to make more money. Usually, the thumbnail image is staged or doctored with a clickbait title or description, and the narration AI-powered. So always use your discernment and don't trust in anything that's been manipulated. The world is full of scammers and we need to remain vigilant. We need salvation more than ever!  

***God's Message*****

        Every time you do something and lose peace, it's the Lord God telling you that you did not seek his will. 

**Gate to Freedom**

         From John 14:6, we know that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. In John 10:9, Jesus said, "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved ...." I can also positively state that Jesus is the gate through which we gain complete freedom of the spirit.

*****Antithesis of God's Love*****

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 2. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph to ask him to take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there, for King Herod was going to search for the child to destroy him. You see, when Herod first heard that the magi from the east had arrived in Jerusalem to look for the newborn king of the Jews to do him homage, he was greatly troubled. He assembled all the chief priests and the scribes of the people and found out that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Then he called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the child's birth. Finally, he ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under. Herod committed this evil because he felt threatened by the emergence of another king. Now, look at today's proabortionists. They decide to kill their own unborn just for convenience sake! They may not be as ruthless as Herod, but there are just as heartless.

**Central Question

        Today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs. In  the first reading from 1 John, the Apostle talks about God as light. He writes that if we walk in that light, we have fellowship with one another and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Are we walking in light or in darkness? This is the central question.

***Loving Advice

        God is love. Every word Jesus says and every deed he performs are motivated by love, for he is God. If we don't like what we hear or see from him, that is because we are still too proud of ourselves. Be humble and all things will end well.

***Most Wonderful Experience**

        Communion experience. I rested in the Lord and my mind became so clear that I saw the whole truth. 

**Learning from a Dream**

         This morning I had a dream a short while after 5 a.m. I was at a restaurant that served all kinds of fancy dishes. They used fancy cooking utensils, all kinds of ingenious food processing apparatus, and exquisite dinnerware. For some reason, all items were discarded after use. So I started to save as many of them as possible, thinking that I'd surely have an amazing one-of-a-kind collection. I found a large table outside already with some of the used items placed on it. I temporarily placed my items in a separate pile on it and went inside the restaurant to tell my wife who I knew was eating there to tell her about my exciting undertaking. I then quickly went back out to continue looking for more things. Then I saw the table and all the things on it were gone—they'd been taken to the trash! I couldn't believed it and actually cried, mourning my loss. I thought I'd already become detached from the things of the world, but apparently I wasn't quite there yet. I believe that the Lord God sent me this dream to help me attach myself to him alone even more.

***Great Joy**

        Communion experience—I feel great joy, knowing that Christ is my Lord and my God forever.

**Stark Contrast**

         A day in union with Christ is like a day in heaven! It's not a stretch to say that a day without Christ is like a day in hell.

**Becoming Fearless

         When a Christian is willing to do all things for Christ's sake, he loses all fears, including the fear of death, for he now has eternal life!

**Christian Readiness

        Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, first martyr. As he was being stoned to death, he called out "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," echoing today's Psalm 31 response, "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit," which was what Jesus said just before he breathed his last on the cross, with the exception that he addressed God as Father, not Lord. All Christians should be ready to commend their spirits to God at any time. 

***One More Scene Change***

         Communion experience. Being in union with God is practically being in heaven already; it needs only one more scene change. 

***Inseparable Acts***

        Jesus' coming to us is inseparable from his dying on the cross for us. For he came to die in our place so that we might be saved from sin. These two acts constitute the greatest single act of love by God.

***Christmas Wishes***

    Merry Christmas to all of you whom the Lord God loves dearly!  Our heavenly Father is ever ready to embrace us with his everlasting love. May our hearts open wide to him so that we may be made aware of his holy presence at all times. 

***Easier than You Think***

        Communion experience. The Lord cleanses and sweetens our souls. To keep them clean and endearing to him, we need to continue dwelling in him. This state is easier to maintain than you think, for the deeper is your union with him, the more effortless your part becomes. In essence, when you let the Lord take over, he completely carries you!

***Huge Deal to Us

        We celebrate the birth of Christ now at Christmas time, but we really should rejoice at all times for the fact that he has already come and died for us, thus making our path to heaven straight and a joy to follow. Otherwise, many of us as sinners would've been doomed. And this is a huge deal, not something to be disregarded!