**How Self-Giving Are We?*

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 21: When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said [to his disciples], "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." As God has already given his only Begotten Son for us, the question is "How much are we willing to give ourselves for him?"

**Message for Pope Leo XIV"

        Here's a message from Laura, a convert from Buddhism, to Pope Leo XIV. She delivers it honestly with courage and love. It's worth sharing.

**Happy Suffering

        If you are willing to suffer for Christ's sake, then you are a happy person. For now you are no longer perturbed by anything that doesn't go your way. 

**Existence Cmplete*

        Communion experience: Receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist completes my existence. I began with the Lord when he created me and I now end in him by returning to be in union with him.

***Compelling Truth**

        Jesus is either God or not God. If he is, we must take him most seriously, that is, believe and follow him totally. If not, you can do whatever you want with him. Because he is so compelling, I know that he is truly my God.

***Jesus Christ Our King***

        Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:26). If you think you can live without him, you have to be an idiot! I assume that you know that you have a soul and are a sinner, so my first question to you is "How are you going to save your own soul from sin?" 

***A Decision to Make***

         Whenever we sin, we sadden the Lord, for we have placed another obstacle in our path to heaven. Then if we repent all our sins, we bring great joy to the Lord, heaven rejoices, and our path to go there is now clear. The Lord patiently awaits. We must decide which way to go before facing eternity! Do you hear me?      

***Formula for Salvation**

         Communion time insight: Our sure way of being saved is to let Christ love us. We do that, and we'll be made holy, able to love all others as ourselves, and on our way to heaven. This is all God wants from us.

***Life-Changing Living***

         When you abandon yourself totally to God, you put yourself in his hands and experience a deep peace unaffected by worry or anxiety. You know that even if you die, you'll be happier than ever with the Father in heaven for all eternity! 

***Great Time to Beocme Saints**

         Here's a video that talks about this generation being most evil, I don't doubt it. So it's more critical than ever that we choose to fight along God against the Evil One. It's the perfect time for us to become saints.

**Jesus on the Periphery**

        If normally you just lead your own life and Jesus is never the first person you turn to for consultation or guidance, but always the last one you go to when you really need help, then he's only living on your periphery. And you are definitely not living in his house either. 

***Rating My Church***

        I am a Catholic because I am convinced that the Catholic Church is the original church built by Christ upon Peter, the first Pope. When Simon Peter first told Jesus that he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (See Matthew 16:16-19.) So how is the Church with over 2.4 billion Catholics today doing? Well, as in any big institution you'll find some good people and some not so good. Within the Church, we have great saints as well as corrupt traitors. Satan, in rebelling against the Lord, has made priesthood one of his prime targets. My rating of the current state of the Church is lukewarm+ at best.
        These three issues have figured in prominently in my evaluation. (1) Abortion: Way over a million unborn babies still get aborted in this country alone. This most serious offense against the Lord must end! The Church has remained relatively quiet on this issue. You rarely hear the clergy speaking out boldly against this evil. It's the laity that's doing much work on its own. (2) The Holy Eucharist: Surveys have shown that the majority of Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of Christ in this most holy sacrament. This is an absolute crisis! We need to initiate a worldwide campaign to educate all Catholics and there's no time to waste! Yet the Church doesn't seem to sense any urgency. To wish the Lord to safeguard us, it behooves us to do our utmost to "safeguard" him, not that he can't take care of himself. (3) Union with God: The Holy Eucharist is available to us, the Lord's invitation to seek union with him is there, and above all, he commanded us to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect; yet we are not specifically encouraged to seek to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist so that we may all become saints! Have the Church ruled out this possibility? Wouldn't that be limiting God's omnipotent power? To believe that we can't become saints is false humility. The fact is that wanting to be a saint is being obedient to the Lord and being truly humble! Abandoning ourselves totally in God is all it takes. In Luke 12:49, Jesus said to his disciples, "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!"  

***Awaiting That "Perfect" Day***

        Communion experience: I am full of blemishes, but I know that the Lord will make me perfect one day! 

**No Ordinary God**

        Today's First Reading Antiphon from 2 Maccabees 7: The creator of the universe will give you back both breath and life. Let us realize that Christ is that amazing creator and our Savior who deserves our utmost awe, respect, and gratitude!  

**God-Centered or Self-Centered Living**

        Those who do not know Christ always have to look for something they enjoy doing to keep going. Watching a TV drama is one example. On the contrary, those who know Christ well experience so much joy in him that all the things the world enjoys become rather boring and meaningless in comparoson. As a matter of fact, they never need to seek out anything in the world to keep going. 
       Also, I've noticed that many older folks, realizing that their time on earth is limited, decide to live it up by enjoying as many things in the world as possible. This may seem to be a sensible decision, but spiritually it may not be wise, for the intention is all self-centered. The closer we get to meeting the Lord, the more we really should live a God-centered life. We must never stop growing spiritually so that we may store up as much treasure in heaven as possible. To be rich in heaven is being God-centered.

****Being Most Unrealistic**

        Avoiding Christ is worse than avoiding the fact that you do exist. You now become the most absurd unrealistic person—for without Christ, you wouldn't have existed at all!

****Union with God and and Beyond****

        Communion experience: Attaining union with Christ the LORD through receiving the Holy Eucharist is reaching a mighty high point in our spiritual journey on earth. Further rapid, limitless spiritual growth now lies ahead, promising making following Christ more exhilarating than ever! 

**Equal Before the Lord*

        In Jesus' days, the Pharisees and the scribes look down on all the tax collectors and other sinners, forgetting that they themselves are sinners too. They became hypocrites, which displeased Jesus a great deal. It is important to realize that we are all sinners before the Lord, no better or worse than anyone else. We are to measure ourselves against the Lord only, for we only aim to be holy like him.