*****Jesus Only God

        A fit video to end this month of blogging. 

****The One We Absolutely Need****

        Today I see that the Lord God as the only one for me to depend upon, for he's not only trustworthy, but also will be around forever. Other good human beings I can depend upon, but their help is always limited and temporary. We need the God of Christ for us to exist on forever, and I rejoice that I have him! 

***The Unavoidable Reality*

         We are all on a oneway trip. Our destination will depend upon how we behave in this world. The Lord God sees the motivation behind everything we do, for we are completely exposed before him. If you think otherwise, then you're burying you head in the sand, looking foolish and pitiable.  

**It's What God Thinks

         Take someone who always gets to do what he wants to do. For example, he decides to befriend only those whom he likes and cut off anyone he dislikes. Now look at another person who has every intention to do God's will, but because his faith is still not that strong, he can't accomplish that every time. We could say that the first person is a success and second a failure, but I am sure that Lord God would think the very opposite.

****All That Comes from God****

        Today is the Solemnity of the Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, when Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father." There are times we receive insights from God too. For me, they are thoughts triggered by something I see, hear, or read. One thing about such revelations, you experience the Lord's great intimacy and just know that they are true. The joy of the Lord is triggered the same way. When it happens, you are completely overwhelmed to the soul.

***Purpose of the Holy Eucharist***

         Receiving the Holy Eucharist at Mass is not to be taken lightly, for it's receiving the body and blood of the almighty holy God, our creator and Savior. It's an awesome privilege and we must be in a state of grace to receive this heavenly gift. Even more importantly, we must desire that the Lord make us holy and anew. The main purpose of the Eucharist is to help us attain union with him so that we may become as perfect as possible. It is only right and just that we honor the Lord who has honored us by giving us such a precious gift.

***Praying with Abandonment***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, a leper approached Jesus, did him homage, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Normally, when we ask for a favor from the Lord, we pray hard and persist. Here a leper simply said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." This is refreshing and a "relaxing" way of asking, showing abandonment to God's will, and it worked well. I am going to try praying that way.

**Best Goal of Life

        What's the most proper goal of life? It shouldn't be to become rich, famous, most powerful, healthy . . . for they all make you self-centered. So the best goal for us is to become holy for God's sake. This is the only way to experience freedom, peace, and joy now and forever. (You'd better believe it.)

***Grace of Growing Old

         Growing old affects us differently. For some, they want to enjoy as many pleasures of the world as they can in the time they have left. For others, they feel so lonely and depressed that they lose interest is doing anything. These are extreme examples. I personally feel that I am at the point the Lord God can call me to go at any time now, so I just abandon myself totally to him every moment I am alive. This gives me great peace and I consider it to be a grace from God. It's important that we have something we truly look forward to in life, and that something for me is to be happy with Christ for all eternity!

***Marian Apparitions

         A good video by Michael Matt. I highly recommend watching his presentations. You can always find them on his website remnant-tv.com.

**Listen to God, Not Yourself*

        Anyone who does not know the true God always asks, "What shall I do now?" But for the one who knows the true God of Christ well, his question now is for the Lord: "What do you wish me to do now?" And he waits with anticipation in peace.

****Christ the Truth Is It.

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus spoke to his disciples with authority: "Everyone who listens to my words and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to my words but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." Without the truth, we are all lost, and I've found Christ to be the exact truth I need to complete my existence. 

***Tragic State of the Church

        Taylor Marshall presents this short video by Mel Gibson which I believe was made in 2021. It's even more relevant today.

 

***Ultimate Quest for the Catholic

         When we first decide to believe in Jesus, that's a moment of seeing the light. And we may just believe in him for the rest of our lives without making much progress spiritually. In that case, what's missing is fire, the fervor as kindled by the Holy Spirit. Without it we simply remain lukewarm. And it's this fire that precisely makes following Christ exciting! Attaining union with God thru the Holy Eucharist should be the ultimate quest for every Catholic, for in seeking this union you give all of yourself to Christ the Lord and become all fired up for him.  

***Rule to Gain Spiritual Freedom

         If the Golden Rule is the rule to achieve world peace, then here's the rule to gain spiritual freedom: Let the Lord God be your Lord and yourself be his servant. There is nothing more honorable or rewarding than serving God humbly. The harmony between God and you are now restored; you are now spiritually free.

***God-Given Golden Rule

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." This is also saying "Do not do to others whatever you would not have them do to you." It's commonly known as the Golden Rule, and golden it is indeed; for if we all follow it, we'll have peace in the world. Attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist first and you'll automatically follow it without thinking.

***Blessed Carlo Acutis***

        Carlo Acutis was born in 1991 and died in 2006 at the age of 15. In 2020, he was beatified by Pope Francis. You can read his whole story on Wikipedia. He truly loved the Lord with a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. There are numerous inspiring videos about him on YouTube. Here are two short ones for you to watch in case you don't know anything about him yet.   

**God No Longer Surprising

         The Lord God is great, holy, most glorious, infinitely loving and merciful . . . truly amazing in all respects. But if you already know him well, all these outstanding characteristics no longer surprise you. Now you can focus exclusively on submitting yourself to the Lord in peace and humbleness.