**Connecting with God Most Intimately**

        Isaiah 26;9a from today's First Reading reads, "My soul yearns for you at night, yes, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn." Now I realize that my yearning for the Lord comes from the soul, far beyond the heart level.

***Knowing You've Been Chosen*

        Jesus says in John 15:16, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain." So, if you feel compelled to do everything to glorify the Lord, know that he has surely chosen you—rejoice! 

**Superior Way to Know God**

        Today's Gospel Acclamation features Jesus' exclamation to the Father in Matthew 11:25: "Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike." Being childlike is better than being wise and learned because you no longer doubt or question the Lord.

**Logical Conclusions**

        Today's Psalm 94:9-10 reads: "Shall he [the LORD] who shaped the ear not hear? or he who formed the eye not see? Shall he who instructs nations not chastise, he who teaches men knowledge?" Since the LORD gave us the ear and the eye, he totally hears and sees us. Since he also gave us the brain and the conscience, he has the right to chastise us. 

**Start of a Good Day**

        I prayed the Glorious Mysteries of the Holy Rosary this morning. As I reached the final mystery—the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven—it struck me that heaven is not an imagined place far away. Mother Mary is already there, and pretty soon, I'll be joining her! This brought me real peace and joy.

**Divided World**

        There are many people who find it hard to surrender themselves to Christ. Some do not feel the need to do so, while others refuse to give up control of their lives. On the other hand, for those of us who have chosen to follow Christ and are experiencing freedom, peace, and great joy, it is hard to understand how others remain unaware of the truth that can completely fulfill their existence. Christ is so near to us, yet He can seem so far away to others.

***Necessary Humility**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproaches Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, three unrepentant towns. He warns them that it will be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom on the day of judgment than for them. For the Christian, repentance must come before everything else. If you are not sorry for having offended God, you cannot enter heaven.

**A Muslim Woman Finds the Truth**

       https://youtube.com/shorts/5OUXs6wZEeE?si=aZv8fc_vm_nQFCvp

***Final Settlement***

        For all of us, nothing is settled until we have settled with God through Christ.

**How We Live Matters!**

        In this life, we usually do what we like to do, not giving it much thought. The reality is that we'll be passing into another life after we die, and what we do in this life will shape our next one! As one who follows Christ, I already know that everything I do now will be overseen by the Lord to determine my eternity. So how we live now absolutely matters. Living casually is being reckless.

**Mercy, Not Sacrifice**

        In today's First Reading from Isaiah 1, the Lord made it clear to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah that he did not care for the number of their sacrifices, had had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings, and found no pleasure in the blood of calves, lambs, and goats. First of all, making such sacrifices without involving yourself—such as through fasting—is no true sacrifice. In Matthew, twice Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." So, to make sacrifice without reforming your life is hypocritical.

**Ultimate, Satisfying Reality*

        All the things we encounter in this world, ourselves included, are real, but they are never stable, for they change or fade away. Once you have settled in Christ the Lord, you dwell in him who is stable forever—he is the ultimate, satisfying reality for us.

**A Good Realization**

        When you realize that you are ready to go to God in peace, letting go of everything in your life becomes easy. Unfortunately, that realization usually occurs only near the end of life. Happy and blessed are those who realize this early on. Christ died at thirty-three; perhaps that is a good age by which to aim for such spiritual readiness.

*Same Crowds Today*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, the disciples of Jesus ask him why he speaks to the crowds in parables. He replies, "This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see, and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them." This describes many people I see around me today. They are exposed to the good news, but their hearts remain unmoved.

***How Pride Grows*

        We all come into this world as infants, helpless and not even knowing how to survive on our own. As we grow, we learn more and more about everything, based upon what past generations have discovered and learned. One thing we often fall short of learning is what is right and what is wrong. Then, one day we do something sinful and say to ourselves it's all right, since it's just a little thing. This is the moment  we think we know more than God and become ignorant fools! We forget that God knows everything and that we started out not knowing a thing.

**Are You Fooling Youself?**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." Anyway, the Lord knows everything. Whatever you think, say, and  do, he sees and knows. Basically, you do everything in broad daylight right before him. To think that nobody knows what you are up to is truly fooling yourself. There are no smart evildoers.

**Division in the World**

        The world offers many interesting things. When you are young and innocent, you are curious about everything. Then as you grow into an adult, you learn the ways of the world, and your interest remains mostly on a secular level. But those who feel the call of the Lord discover the true beauty of Christ's sacrifice and love for them. Their interest then rises to a higher spiritual level, which naturally creates a divide—even within families.

**Best Thing You Can Do for Yourself**

        God is love. To let yourself go in the Lord is like diving into an ocean of love where you will be transformed and protected forever! This is absolutely the best possible thing you can do for yourself and, ultimately, for God.