***Feeling the Disciples' Joy**

        Today's Gospel reading came from John 20. It started with verses 19 and 20: On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. At this point, the Holy Spirit also filled me with unspeakable joy! Alleluia.

**Heard from Peter**

        Today's Reading 2 came from 1 Peter 1. When I heard the last two verses, 8 and 9, read, I felt as if Peter was speaking directly to me, and I was deeply moved. Here they are: "Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now, yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Amen.

**An Elementary Truth**

        Christ has already died for us. If we are now willing to die for him, we are saved and gain eternal life in heaven. 

***How to Receive Complete Forgiveness***

        With Divine Mercy Sunday approaching, it is a blessing to know we can receive this extraordinary grace from God.

***Perfect Resolution***

        Whatever the Lord wills, it is done! So we need to get the Lord to will what we will and we shall have our way. But to achieve that, we must will what he wills first. The perfect resolution is reached when we attain union with the Lord, for now his and our wills are the same.

****Revere the Lord, Please****

        It seems that as Christians, we always fall short of loving God. I believe that the cause is the lack of reverence for the Lord; people are too casual in their approach. They fail to realize that the Lord is ever-present and sustaining every moment of our existence. We must remember that he is Love and our mighty creator, deserving our utmost respect and reverence. In other words, we must take him most seriously. If we have already been too much influenced by the world, a significant change ln our lives will be needed before it is too late.

**Why Not Rely upon God?**

         We are finite and weak, but we have a loving Lord who is infinitely strong. Why don't we go all out to trust in and rely upon him totally? This is how we can become super strong and also holy and free of ourselves.

****It Is the Lord!****

        In today's Gospel reading from John 21, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. Peter with six other disciples went fishing and caught nothing the whole night. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was he. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." So he said to them, "Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something." So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net with the fish.

        The moment you recognize that it is the Lord ought to be one of the most exhilarating moments for any of his followers. You don't have to actually see him—you only need to see that it's his doing or that he has a hand in what you see. Come to think of it, since the Lord is ever present, every moment should be an "it-is-the-Lord" moment. Realizing this can help us live a truly intimate life in Christ!

**Easter Joy Brings Peace**

         The Resurrection of Christ revived all his followers, and the Church was born. Today, we live in the assurance of eternal salvation, and peace ensues. 

***Our Only Savior***

        From today's Reading 1 from Acts 4, verse 12a reads: "There is no salvation through anyone else [other than Jesus]." I totally agree here. There is no one else who can claim that. Resurrection alone shows that Christ is indeed the author of life and God. Of course, as our creator, he can save us.

****First Everlasting Joy****

        Christ's Resurrection makes it possible for us to rejoice in God forever!

***My Loving Warning***

        Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior and follow him, and you are saved forever. The more you delay, the higher your risk of losing him forever—as sudden death can occur without warning.

*****Easy to Please!*****

        The Lord Jesus is wide open to us. In Matthew 7, he says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." The Lord is so easy to please! He is overjoyed if you just cast a glance in his direction. So ,tell him that you love him often. Repent your sins without delay from you heart. Thank him for everything. Pray to him as your most personal friend and talk to him as your soulmate unceasingly. Yes, let him know you want to be like him . . . imagine how happy you can make him feel!

**Time to Choose Sides**

         Christ stands as the absolute truth. In the end, we'll be separated by him into two groups which can in appropriately named Sheep and Goats (cf. Matthew 25:31-33). He'll place all those who are with him in Sheep and those not with him in Goats, for he has said that whoever is not with me is against me. All the sheep will be saved for eternity and the goats, cast out forever. As long as evil exists, this division remains. If you are smart, you will start preparing now. Not doing anything plays right into Satan's hands.

**Out of Darkness into Light**

        Today's Communion Antiphon based on 1 Peter 2:9 reads: "O chosen people, proclaim the mighty works of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, alleluia." The Lord has certainly called me—I was blind to the truth and now see it so clearly. (When I received the Lord in the Holy Sacrament, I knew I was receiving exactly what the Apostles and all the great saints had received.)

**Trusting in God All the Way**

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24, the resurrected Lord appears to his disciples in Jerusalem. He tells them that everything written about him in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled—specifically that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. We can be sure that the Lord always knows what is coming and how everything will finally end. Therefore, trust in him all the way and not worry about a thing!

****Christ Exists Forever!**

         From today's First Reading, Acts 3:15 reads: "The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses." Obviously, it is impossible for the creator of life to die, for he is the beginning of all things.

**How You Feel Without Ego**

        When you no longer have an ego and people hurt you, you only feel sorry for them, not for yourself anymore. I believe this is how Jesus feels, for he is most humble and meek, and full of love.