***Reap Your Reward in Heaven, Not Now***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples to do all things that are good and righteous in secret, not for people to see. In other words, we must be ego-free and never seek to glorify ourselves. Here the Lord is revealing to us the secret to living a life in peace. The Lord knows what we do already and his love alone is more than enough for our salvation. What anyone else thinks of us can only distract us from God. As a matter of fact, feeding the ego to feel good is exactly what the Devil wishes us to experience!

****Easiest One to Get Along With**

         In our world today, there are so many unhappy people hating others. There are also those who try to steal our personal information, to scam us, and do other bad things to us. Even our loved ones sometimes say unkind things to us. (And we in turn do the same to them.) This morning while waiting for Mass to begin, it dawned on me that the one we can really get along with great always is Jesus, for he's always loving and kind, never condemns us, and always looks at my intentions, not our failures—he just understands us perfectly. So I know I can live in perfect harmony with him! The gives me great joy. Now, whatever I experience in this life doesn't matter anymore as long as I am at peace with my most beloved Lord.

***Ready for Life Eternal*

         Communion experience. Jesus has ended my quest for the truth; my life and joy are now complete.

***Secure in God's Love***

         Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy trinity. I feel absolutely secure in the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! 😇😇😇

**Holy Goal

         Communion time thought. I must be at least a little bit but preferably a lot holier after receiving the Lord again. 

***To Be Far-Sighted and Wise

         At morning Mass today, when the time arrived for all to proceed toward the altar to receive the Holy Eucharist, I saw the female of a couple got up to join the line, while the male didn't. Anyway, this poignant scene came to my mind. In Matthew 24 (and also Luke 17), Jesus told his disciples what would happen on the day of his coming: "Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left." It's goodbye forever for one of the two! Let's definitely secure our eternal future first, so that we may live a carefree righteous life on earth.

*Dealing with Worldly Pleasures*

        All pleasures of the world can enslave us. The greater the pleasure, the greater its power to snare the soul. The more you experience the joy of the Lord, the more boring these worldly pleasures become. Then when you are obligated to experience some such pleasure (not a sinful one, of course), you can still "enjoy" them in a detached manner.

***Great New Feeling***

         In today's first reading from 2 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote: "Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." It's true that we become new and remain new as Christ renews and refreshes us continuously. Feeling new always, we are excited about ourselves and exult in the Lord. 

**Secure Walk with the Lord*

         Today's entrance antiphon based upon Psalm 27:1-2—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. I can say that anyone who follows and trusts in the Lord every step of the way for sure does not stumble nor fall.

**Chasing Emptiness

         I an coming right to the point again. Doing anything without involving Christ is a waste of time and energy and you'll regret that one day.

***Way to Remain Humble

         In order not to judge anyone, see yourself as the worst sinner of all. So focus upon improving your own sanctity and live for the Lord alone.

***Lopsided Love***

        In praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we say "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Saying this prayer acknowledges that God's love for us is so powerful that it can save all of us. It's a lopsided love impossible for us to match, but should we accept it with all our heart, it'll be good enough for the merciful Lord. 

***Faith in God Is Beautiful . . .

because you know that what God knows is all true.         

**Work and Diligence Essential

         In today's Gospel reading from Mathew 5, Jesus taught his disciples many things. For example, he said to them, "Whoever is angry with his brothers will be liable to judgment." It seems that to be saved, it's rather like to graduate from a school: there is a certain amount of work you are required to do to succeed. At school, if you play too much and don't work hard enough, you won't make it. Similarly, if you get angry a lot and don't try to become holier, you won'e make it either. Play it safe by surrendering yourself completely to the Lord and you are being absolutely wise!

***Why Be Holy*

        The primary reason is that we should love and obey the Lord God. And here's the most wonderful side benefit: When we are holy, we not only enjoy living a free, peaceful, joyous life, we are also ready to receive the Holy Eucharist to attain union with God, getting to enjoy him to the fullest extent.

**God's Mercy for All*

         When the Lord grants mercy on me, he's going to consider what my heart really desires. Now, I truly wish that he'd save all of us by converting the whole world. So when I pray "Have mercy on me, Lord." he knows that I am also praying for the whole world, including my own family.

***Counting on Christ***

         This is what I received from the Lord today. Whatever he tells us, we can trust completely. In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out the twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to proclaim that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He asked them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons, and they received that power! We may not receive such specific instructions from the Lord, but we can surely count on his promise that whoever believes in him will have eternal life!

***What We Must Not Delay

         When we are in sin, we cause the Lord great sorrow, for he truly loves us. It's our duty for the sake of both God and ourselves to remain holy at all times. The moment you commit a sin, repent of it to let Christ remove it pronto. Delay this process can put you soul at risk, especially if the sin is serious. When we please God, the whole heaven rejoices and we receive great joy ourselves in return.