**Primary Duty of a Christian*

         John the Baptist was called by God to go before Christ to prepare his way. We must realize that we who follow Christ have all been called by God to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). To sit by and not do that is neglecting our primary duty of life, a great sin of omission. The more diligently we work to glorify God, the greater will our reward be in heaven. Life on earth is our time of sowing, then in heaven we reap what we sowed for all eternity.

***Wonderfully Made Are We**

         Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. Psalm 139:14a, the responsorial psalm response, reads: I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. To be a happy person, you must realize this and appreciate how wonderfully the Lord has made you! You are no junk; in fact he even died in your place in order you might have eternal life! If this were too hard for you to believe, then you either don't realize that you are wonderfully made or you are full of false humility. True humility is believing whatever the Lord tells you.

***Mark of True God

         Christ is true God because he attempts to subdue us only with the most tender selfless love.

***MY LORD & MY GOD***

        As the Apostle Thomas finally saw Jesus and realized that he was his Lord and his God, I know that he is also my Lord and my God. So I let Jesus my Lord lead and guide me in all things with total trust, not questioning any of his intentions. I also acknowledge the fact that I depend totally upon Jesus my God, for without him I wouldn't even exist. It's believing in and submitting yourself to him completely, knowing that before long you'll be with him in heaven for all eternity!

***Connecting with Heaven***

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. I find Christ to be the only one I can entrust fully with my soul and feel the greatest comfort in abiding in his love. Receiving him in the Holy Eucharist at Communion time is nothing short of partaking of a banquet in heaven!

***Only Way to True Happiness***

        Since only Christ can take away our sins, only he can fundamentally change us to make us fundamentally happy. We can only make others (or ourselves) momentarily happy without involving Christ. Therefore, to make others truly happy, we must aim at leading them to know and believe in Christ.  

***Christ Desperatelty Needed!*****

         This is a world filled with people who hate all other kinds of people. No matter who you are, what you believe in, there are people out there who don't like you. Basically, we have too many unhappy souls who "love" to judge others, but are blind to their own faults. This is why we so desperately need Christ to come into our lives to correct and transform us with his pure love! He is our only hope and Savior!

***God Can Make Us Wise!*****

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." That last sentence is the key: We must learn to see the truth with our heart! Tragically, we are so occupied with following our own desires that it hardly occurs to us that our omnipotent God can not only save us from sin, but also make us wise in this life. By the way, learning from the Lord is always a delight and an excellent way of getting to know him dearly.

**Simple Awareness

         Only God can grant us peace, while Evil causes only tumult and unrest in our hearts. Know this and live wisely.

***Time to Remind All Again*

         We are all passing thru this world on our way to face Christ, our Lord and only judge. You either look forward to that day or avoid thinking about it. The only way to get thru it successfully is to straighten out your relationship with him now before that day.

***Important Rule to Follow***

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." The Lord is asking us not to judge anyone, and let's accept it as a basic commandment. Of course, to be humble will take care of that. 

***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.