***Urgent Call to Repentance***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus opened the eyes of one born blind. The pastor's message was that God can open our eyes to see the truth, but we often choose to remain blind. We hear the good news, but we just close our hearts to it—how sad that our pride has hardened our hearts, causing the Lord great sorrow! It is time for us to repent, for we are crucifying him all over again!

***Ultimate Fulfillment Is . . .***

 living in the will of Christ, feeling exactly what he feels at all times.

**Positive Outlook*

        I see people dwelling on the past, wasting their limited, precious time on earth, whereas we should be focused on Christ the LORD full-time, praying and serving him, while waiting for the joyful day of joining him in heaven!

**Endless Love**

        I was impressed by the phrase "endless live" in a video I watched recently—it perfectly describes God's love for us. We must never cease to love others at every opportunity for his sake. This is how we progress spiritually toward living the eternal life. If we remain stagnant, we are, in reality, falling behind the Lord.

***We Are Out of Control Too!

        We lament the fact that in today's society, our children are often out of control, not realizing that as children of God the Father, we ourselves are often way out of control!

**We Must Take Sides

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to the crowds, "Whoever is not with me is against me." Therefore, we cannot remain neutral—unless you have never heard of Christ. We must take a stand, for we cannot ignore the Lord God!

***The LORD is the One

        Common experience. The Lord is eternal and remains the same forever. He loves me with an everlasting love and is most trustworthy. He is now my rock and my stronghold . . . how can I not feel elated!

**Ego, Begone!**

        I've been asking the Lord to completely eradicate my ego. Early this morning I had a dream in which I was with a group of friends and had the chance to show off a little bit; however, I decided against the whole idea. I actually felt good about that. Now I am happy that if I could do that subconsciously, I ought to be able to do even better consciously. Praise the Lord for that!

***Our Great Delight***

        Communion time thought. Pleasing the Lord is always a delight, and that delight is great when you allow him to perfect you.

***A Reminder and Warning***

        In today's Gopspel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus says to Peter, "Unless each of you forgives your brother and sister, the Father will not forgive you." Sadly, many people today do not take this critically important statement seriously. When you no longer fear God, you may end up facing exactly what you fear the most! 

**Spiritual Sweetness**

        Communion experience. The heavenly, divine sweetness of the Lord engulfed my soul.

***Christ Our Model to Imitate*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 4, Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place." Later, when they disliked what they heard, they were filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built to hurl him down headlong. Ultimately, he was even crucified. This should teach us never to complain if people reject or persecute us for the sake of the Lord.

**God's Eternal Outlook**

        Communion experience. The Lord, being eternal, aims at solving all our problems for eternity. Eternal life for us is his top priority, and we should be grateful to him for that.

*****Secret of Soaring to God Effortlessly*****

        Go passive and surrender yourself completely to God, and he will lift you all the way to his bosom. (This can be accomplished in instantly.)

**Living Not by Bread Alone**

        Also in today's Gospel reading from John 4, Jesus said to his disciples, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." Likewise, we should live by doing God's work; this is what sustains us.

**Sign You Are on Way to Eternal Life**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 4, Jesus, at Jacob's well in Sychar, saw a Samaritan woman come to draw water. He said to her, "Give me a drink." The woman responded, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water... whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." If you feel that Christ has completely quenched your thirst, you are on your way to eternal life.

**Sign You Are with God**

        The first part of today's offertory antiphon from Psalm 19 reads, "The judgments of the Lord are right; they gladden the heart, and are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." If you feel that way about the Lord's judgments and welcome them, you are already with him.

***Call to Believe***

        Many prominent scientists and notable individuals have studied the Shroud of Turin for decades, concluding that no human could have created the image and that the man on the cloth was a crucified person whose suffering matches the biblical description of Jesus. Recently, scientists have found the DNA on the Shroud to be unexplainable. Yet, some still think it might be just an anomaly. It seems some people never come to believe, no matter how overwhelming the evidence may be. For me, the moment I saw the image on the Shroud many years ago, I just knew that it was the Lord, and I believed!