*****To Be Ready for That Most Important Day***

        People, Christians included, who do not have Christ at the very center of their lives do not seek guidance from him. As a result, they react and act like any non-believer and end up not being able to resolve their problems properly or in a righteous way. This is very sad, for how will they handle themselves when they face the Lord on the day of judgment, the most important day of their existence? Will they know exactly how they should act and what they should say to pass the test? Not being used to listening to the Lord and following his will can now be absolutely disastrous to their eternal future.

***Sinning on the Next Level*

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." Essentially, I see that sining by yourself is one thing, but if your sin causes others to sin also, your sin is now a lot more serious! In this case, you actually take others with you on the road to perdition. So think twice before you sin. Better yet, don't ever consider sinning.

**What We Must Not Delay*

         Sirach 5:7a from today's first reading: Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day. Now that Christ has already come to us, all the more we should not delay believing in the LORD. The longer you put it off, the more you put your salvation at risk.

***How Real is Jesus to You? (Becoming the Happiest Person)***

         Going way back, I did feel that the Holy Spirit first prompted me to accept Christ as my Savior. But my faith pretty much emanated from my intellectual conviction absent any deep personal relationship with the Lord. When I first heard about Mother Teresa volunteering to go to India to serve the poor and the dying, I couldn't believe that anyone would want to do something like that, missing all the fun in life! In fact, I personally dreaded that God might call me to be a missionary in Africa! Later I came across Thomas à Kempis' spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ and found his devotion to Christ stunning—I was unable to read on, for I realized I fell way short of loving the Lord. I was also impressed by the strong faith of a couple I knew well. At the funeral of their son who died tragically, both parents showed more joy than sorrow, for they believed that he was with Christ now. Anyway, today I am a different person altogether. Through receiving the Holy Eucharist, Christ is more real to me than anyone or anything else. It's easier to believe that the sun may not rise tomorrow morning than believing that the Lord is not real. Jesus is now my best friend and soulmate whose holy presence I feel at all times. When Christ becomes really real to you, you are the happiest person in the whole world!

***In Solidarity with God***

        I like to pray the Divine Mercy early in the morning before I get out of bed. This is when I can concentrate on praying without falling asleep again and everything is still quiet all around. Since the Lord's greatest desire is to save us, when I pray for his mercy on us from my very heart, I am in total solidarity with him, and this is such a great feeling! 

***Most Destructive Enemy***

        Sin against God and you start messing up your present life and ruining your eternal one. Sin is our worst enemy. Always know what you should do and what you shouldn't do to remain wise!

***God's Right Choices*

        God chooses us to serve him, not because we are perfect, but because we are the right ones. Rejoice if he has already called you! 

***Secret to Happiness*

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, Jesus said to the Twelve, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." If you always want to be first in serving yourself, you keep feeding your ego and one day it'll get so puffed-up and take complete control of you, possibly ruining your soul forever. On the other hand, if you only want to serve all others for God's sake, you'll enjoy freedom and peace and become first in his eyes. It's choosing to feel good for a little while or be truly happy for all eternity.

**A Wonderful State**

         You feel wonderful when you are in union with the Lord, seeing all things eye to eye and completely in tune with him, and you sense all his thoughts in peace. 

**For the Good of All

        Always pray for someone's good and good things will come to you.

***Hard to Not Believe***

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 11:27. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who is coming into the world." It hit me that to believe that Jesus is the Messiah is a lot easier than to believe that he is not. I challenge you to prove that he is not our savior!

***Great Sins of Omission***

         We shouldn't speak ill of anyone, but if the LORD is offended, his followers cannot remain silent. It's not to judge others, but to defend the LORD. Evil has already infiltrated the Church, causing many scandals. Here are three sins of omission committed by the church hierarchy. (1) Abortion is one of the most grave sins. According to World Health Organization, about 70 million abortions are performed worldwide every year—a staggering figure! In this country the pro-life laity has been the main force in protesting against abortion, while the majority of Church leaders remain relatively quiet. In fact, many Catholics are pro-abortion and they rarely get corrected by the clergy. (2) According to a latest survey, 70% of Catholics do not believe that Christ is really present in the Holy Eucharist. This is pretty shocking! You really can't be a true Catholic if you don't believe in this central doctrine of the Church. Yet the Church doesn't seem to be in any big hurry to solve this crisis. (3) This issue is also related to the Holy Eucharist. On both Easter and Christmas day, droves of submarine Catholics showed up for Mass. It looks like many of them do receive the Eucharist. Perhaps no one ever told them that to receive this most holy sacrament, you must be in a state of grace. Looking back, I don't recall ever hearing this warning given in advance for the sake of not offending the Lord at those Masses. Pray that the Holy Church will become as pure as the LORD himself. 

*****Only One Catch*

        Communion time thoughts. The Lord could calm a storm at sea (Matthew 8. Mark 4, and Luke 8) because the storm couldn't say no to him. So if we are totally open to the Lord to allow him to do whatever he wishes for us, he can easily calm our interior and more! 

**Prayer Priorities*

        To me, the Church is the body of Christ and it's mission to lead the world to the truth. Unfortunately, it has gone astray with many of the hierarchy becoming antichrist. So my most urgent prayer is that the Lord will purify the Catholic Church and restore it to its greatest glory. Then I would pray next for the conversion of the entire world so that the Lord may be glorified by all his children. By the way, we commonly also pray for all those who are suffering from poor health. But the wellbeing of the soul is infinitely more important than that of the body—what's a few more years of good health on earth compared to eternal happiness? So I always pray for the soul first before the body. 

**A Most Pathetic State**

        Communion time thoughts. In both Mark 2 and Luke 5, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Yet so many of us sinners do not welcome Jesus—how come? Don't they understand Jesus' mission? I think so. I believe that the reason is that they just don't want to let go of what they falsely believe to be their own freedom, while the reality is that they are being slaves to sin! An awakening to this truth is needed: We can never become truly free so long as we don't let Christ take away all our sins from us!

***New Prayer Approach***

        Today is the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle. In the entrance antiphon, Luke 22:32, Jesus says to Simon Peter, "I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers." It strikes me that the Lord actually prayed to the Father for Peter! Normally, we pray to God; now we can actually ask Christ to pray for us, for our loved ones, for the whole world, etc.! Amen. If he does pray for us, the Father will surely comply! So lets ask Christ to pray for what we pray for and we may be amply rewarded!

***A Real Good Feeling!*

         Many things make us feel good, and here's one that makes us feel good interiorly. This is when you are about to say something and realize that it would displease the Lord and you stop short. You now feel really good because you have triumphed over yourself (and the evil one). Pleasing God always brings true joy! (Now watch you thoughts and deeds too,)

***Showing Love Again***

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus said to the crowd and his disciples, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it." That was a big statement. Jesus was either someone who's totally out of his mind and didn't know what he's talking about or he knew the truth and told it out of pure love. And I know that Christ is nothing but love.