*****Choose Life, Not Death*****

        March is marching to its end. Soon a quarter of 2023 will have passed. Every one of us is fast approaching his judgment day. Because of the car accident, I've been resting a lot at home. I know I'll be OK soon, but I do miss attending daily Mass. Nevertheless, it feels good to know that Christ is with me. The best thing that has ever happened to me is finding out that he is real, he loves me, and he gives all of himself to me so that I might have eternal life. But much of the world has turned against God and gone bonkers. Rejecting the One who created you, loves you the most and even died for you has to be the greatest injustice. Return to God the Father and you shall inherit everything of his. Reject him and you risk remaining lost forever. I can only pray and weep for you. All you need to do is repent and ask the Father to forgive you, and you are welcomed back to his home. Read the parable of the lost son in Luke 15. 

***No Christ, No Freedom***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. If the Son frees you, then you will truly be free." We think we are free when we have the freedom of speech, when we are not ruled by another country, or even when we can freely abort the unborn (God forbid)—yet the true, fundamental, most critical freedom we need is freedom from sin! When you don't have that, all the other freedoms don't matter much anymore. This is really saying that if you don't have eternal life, gaining everything else would be pointless. Hence, we need Christ, first and foremost.

**Pain and Sorrow in Next Life

         In this life, we dwell in a physical body. In our next life, we'll be spirits without a physical body. Not only any joy or suffering we experience will be so much greater, we will also feel them more acutely without the "distraction" of our body.

***Satisfying Prayer***

        As a result of the recent auto accident I blogged about, I still experience a soreness in my right shoulder and the back area below my neck. In the dark and quiet of the night, becoming acutely aware of it has made falling asleep more difficult. Getting up to do something to get my mind off it has helped. But if I was still sleepy, I just turned to the Lord to pray for his mercy on me and the world from my very heart until I fell asleep. It was surprisingly spontaneous and easy, and I felt most intimately connected to the Lord. It shows that how you pray and the surrounding circumstances all can make a difference. A good prayer experience is most satisfying. Again, a case of quality over quantity. 

***Powerful Sayings*

       In today's Gospel reading from John 8, we hear about the woman caught in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees brought her to Jesus. To test him so that they could have some charge to bring against him, they ask him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." The Lord surely knows how to penetrate our hearts with words. Anyone who still have a heard should feel the impact upon hearing such a commanding statement.
        They went away one by one, leaving the woman alone before Jesus. Then he asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." This last saying is another commanding one, but this time it consoles and guides the spirit. 
         Listen to the Lord and let his words change you forever. 

**Be like the Lord

        Today's verse before the Gospel, Ezekiel 33:11, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live. We would like to see the wicked man die, but that's not the Lord's way. So let's be like the Lord and work on converting the wicked. The Lord only knows how to love. If we love him, we must obey and do likewise. And our salvation will be assured.

**Opposite Ways of Living

         If you remain aware of God's holy presence, you realize that he is always calling or wishing to teach you something in everything that happens to you, and you respond to or learn from him each time. This is the very opposite of living the life of a lost soul.

**Fear of Death or Lack Thereof**

        Most people fear death. The worst fear might be experienced when you know you are dying and not knowing what you'll encounter after death. It's the fear of the unknown. Not so with the Christian who has already encountered the Lord in this life. Dying is leaving this tedious world and going home to the Father to experience his love to the fullest extent for all eternity! It's something the Christian anticipates with the greatest joy!

**Lesson in Humility

         The Lord has made me see that if I've been doing something always in a certain way and someone comes along and suggests that I should do it differently, and I feel that I don't need to be told that at all, such stubbornness shows that I still lack humility. A truly humble person would let nothing others say about him, good or bad, bother him. Another lesson learned. I think it'd be a good idea to always ask what Jesus would do if he were in my situation.

***Obedience and Love***

         If you love the Lord, you will obey him. If you obey him, you will love him. So loving God and obeying God though different, are one. Now you know how to be one with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is our giant ascent. 

**Illumination Preparation*

         The Illumination of Conscience has been prophesied to be imminent. Harriet Hammons, a Catholic author who underwent the "Warning" in March, 1998, relates: "After having prayed for months to see myself as God The Father sees me, Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, revealed to me the areas that needed healing and forgiveness. This is not to conclude I will be exempt from the worldwide Warning when it occurs. This was in answer to prayer for this grace to be given me at this time, so I could be more thoroughly prepared spiritually to help others when this time comes." Catholics are not obligated to believe in any private revelation, but I do find Hammons' message to be quite compelling and helpful. If you have 27 minutes to spare, the video is worth watching. (Just a side note: As the name Harriet Hammons is not unique, I found that the picture of her you see at the beginning of the video showed the wrong Harriet Hammons.)

****The LORD Listens to US!****

        In today's first readings from Exodus 32, we see that Moses reasoned with the LORD, aired his views, even reminding him of his past kindness and promises and imploring him to withhold his wrath and not to punish his own stiff-necked people who had begun to worship a golden calf. The LORD listened to Moses and relented in inflicting punishment on his people. Now, the LORD is the personal Father to every one of us. As long as we are genuine and speak from our hearts, we are free to question him, influence him, persuading him to our way of thinking—for he loves us and welcomes any trust and intimacy we show him. We are truly dearest to him. I can go so far as to say that as long as we do not intend to sin against him, we can do no wrong to this most merciful Father of ours in heaven.

**The Christian Outlook*

        "Bad" things happen to all of us. I just blogged about my unexpected accident the day before yesterday. Right now, I am praying for a friend who has cancer on the tongue and may have to have part of it removed. Another friend is getting ready to rush his father to a hospital right now. Worse things can happen to all of us anytime in this life. But knowing that better times are ahead can make a big difference to our outlook. True disciples of Christ know that they'll enjoy eternal bliss with their Lord in heaven one day. This alone makes all sufferings in this life tolerable or even a joy if you know you're enduring them for his sake. True Christians like their Lord fight evil and never complain about anything, for they know best days are awaiting them.

**What Really Matters

        We all sin, what matters is if our sins get forgiven by God or not before we die. Bad thing happen to all of us, what matters is if we let then overcome us or not. We all want to go to heaven, what matters if we are willing to die to get there. We all want God to reward us, what matters is if you want to be rewarded in this life or the next. We perform good deeds, what matter is if we do them for ourselves or for God. Whatever we do, it's our motivation that counts. We get tired of living and wish to go to God right now, what matters is if you are sure that you are heaven bound. I can continue on ad inf. But one thing truly matters, that is whether you believe in and know Christ or not. If you do, all the above-mentioned concerns will be taken care of; you now only need to love and follow him alone.      

**Dealing with Accidents*

        I am blogging late because an accident occurred to my wife and me this morning unexpectedly, ruining both of our cars. My wife was OK, but the impact did make me feel woozy for a moment. To be sure, I went to emergency to get checked out. Three hours later, I finally learned that I was all right too. My upper back and both shoulder feel a little sore, but they should recover in a few days. I am not sure that I'll make Mass the rest of this week, so I'll probably have less to blog. Anyway, accidents do happen to all of us; they have nothing to do with the kind of person we are. How you react to the accident matters more. If you get upset and start cussing, that would be the wrong attitude. If you thank God for however things turn out, knowing that there's a reason for it and try to learn a lesson from it, you have the right attitude.

***Prayer and Holiness

        One big benefit we receive, often overlooked, is that when we pray much from the heart for others, we actually become holier ourselves. A great prayer life is not just a sign of holiness, it actually is a causes of your holiness.

**Christian Love

        To love must not be laborious. It must come spontaneously from the heart of anyone who loves the Lord. Love thus unceasingly and you'll enjoy peace.. 

***Supreme Joy of the Lord God

        On the way driving home after Mass, I turned on the radio to hear what's playing on the only local classical music station. I haven't done this for years. What I heard was George Enescu's popular Rumanian Rhapsody No. 1. The music was tuneful, although not as inspiring or uplifting as the music written by such great composers as Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert. Then I realized that the best classical compositions that used to move me almost to tears at times no longer have the same grip on me. You see, music is external and the sound enters you through your senses to create joy. By contrast, once you know the Lord God, having him dwelling within you, his joy simply bursts forth from your very heart. This is a joy that not only transforms your heart, but also heals your soul; whereas the joy of music can only stimulate you from without. Next to the joy of the Lord God, all other joys simply pale.