**The One Who Holds Our Destinies**

        That Christ rose from the dead is no surprise, for he is the life and the creator of all life. We can expect him to judge whether we deserve eternal life. Our destinies are entirely in his hands. This is great joy and consolation for those living in his light, but woe and discomfort for those dwelling in darkness.

**A Conjecture

        We learned from Genesis that God created us in his image. I believe that he also modeled the Earth after heaven for our sake. In numerous NDE stories, people report that they saw beautiful skies, meadows, trees, and flowers in heaven. This makes sense, because when we get to heaven, it won't seem like a strange place to us at all. I also speculate that the Earth and the sun were created specifically for us because no other planet in this immense universe seems to have the right conditions for our survival.

**Sharpening Our Focus**

         I have visited most places where Mother Mary has appeared, seen the miracle of the sun three times, and encountered other amazing events. These things are all good if they draw us closer to God, but there is the danger that we become more interested in them than we are in Christ. I was once somewhat of a miracle chaser. Today, we hear about the various miracles happening as well as the messages from innumerable alleged prophets all around the world. This has caused much confusion. So, my present (mature) feeling is that we only need to focus on and approach Christ alone, and ignore all the current miracles and prophecies. Once you have him and have secured your eternity, you are ready for anything.

***The Fountain of Life*

        Today's Responsorial Psalm reads, "With you is the fountain of life, O Lord." In fact, I see the Lord as the fountain of life because he is the life, has given me life, and has assured me of eternal life. I can say that with him dwelling within me, I am bubbling with life. (By the way, I have mentioned on this blog that when I got baptized in the Holy Spirit in the 1970s, my upper body bubbled exuberantly and nonstop for three and a half months—I was on cloud nine the whole time!)

*****The Only Thing That Matters Is . . .*****

whether we love the God of Christ.

**God's Most Admirable Virtue**

        The Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary are (1) the Annunciation, (2) the Visitation, (3) the Nativity, (4) the Presentation in the Temple, and (5) the Finding in the Temple. They show that God did momentous things, but he always accomplishes them humbly. The central Mystery here is, of course, the Nativity. There cannot be anything more momentous than God the Son entering this world to become one of us, yet he was born in virtual poverty. At the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to tell her that God had chosen her to bear a Son to be named Jesus. She would conceive by the Holy Spirit. Mary willingly consented. At the Visitation, when Mary greeted her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was already pregnant with John the Baptist, the baby leapt with joy in her womb. At the Presentation, Jesus was offered to God. The righteous and devout Simeon recognized that the infant Jesus was the Messiah. When Joseph and Mary found their lost 12-year-old son in the Temple in Jerusalem, he was listening to and questioning the teachers. To be humble like God is what we need to imitate from him the most. 

**Faith, Hope, and Love**

        In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul identifies faith, hope, and love as the three fundamental virtues, with love being the greatest. We can tie these three together by recognizing that as long as we have faith in God's love, hope will always remain.

***Declaring My Faith***

        I am finite and imperfect, whereas God is infinite and perfect. Because his love for me is absolute, he can do no wrong. In fact, by placing my complete trust in his Son, our Savior, I am saved forever. He revealed this truth to me the moment I opened up to him completely.

***Joyful News***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning and saw it open and empty. She thought someone had taken the Lord from the tomb and began to weep. Then Jesus appeared and said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She recognized him and said to him, "Rabbouni," which means "Teacher" in Hebrew. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" I have blogged about this before, but I can't help doing it again because it is such a joy to know that Jesus' Father is our Father, and his God is our God!

**Resonding to God's Love**

        Today is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. In the First Reading from Song of Songs 3, the Bride describes how she sought the One whom her soul loves. Indeed, Jesus gives us the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." We see that loving God only with our heart is not enough. He created our soul, and it is the soul that is most precious to him and loved by him. Therefore, we must respond to him at the soul level. This will please the Lord, and we will surely be saved.

***Precursor to Paradise**

        This world is entirely inhabited by sinners, with evil infiltrating every level of our society—including our homes and even the Lord's own Church. Indeed, one must be ensnared by the devil to love such a world. Confronted by this reality, my thoughts turned toward heaven, where we will experience nothing but God's absolute love. No evil will ever touch us again as we dwell in perfect, eternal union with the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Mother, and all the great saints. I now see that for the faithful Christian, passing through this tiresome earthly life is simply a necessary precursor to paradise. Our time on earth is merely a brief moment at the very beginning of our journey to heaven.

**A Short on the Shroud of Turin Exhibit**

         https://youtube.com/shorts/o0V_LiV51Do?si=XK-6qj-lz8s8Miwy

**To Become Intimately Related to Christ**

        Here is today's entire Gospel reading from Matthew 12: "While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.' But he said in reply to the one who told him, 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.'" Conclusion: Conclusion: When we do the will of our heavenly Father, we are instantly brought into an intimate relationship with Christ.

**How Is Your Faith in Christ?**

        How strong is your faith in Christ? Do you ever doubt? The Lord tests everyone from time to time, but know that he will never test those who love him beyond what they can bear. Once you pass the test, your faith becomes stronger than ever. Consider every test a blessing.

**You Cannot Love God and the World**

       According to Jesus, the first and greatest commandment is, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Yet, it seems that many Christians are still far more interested in the things of the world. It is a blessing that the Lord's mercy is infinite, but we should always strive to love God more by becoming more obedient to him. 

***From Mohammad to Jesus***

        A week ago, I posted a short entitled A Muslim Woman Finds the Truth. Here is the complete version of that story, produced by EWTN. 

***Final Judgment and a Grave Sin***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus explained the Parables of the Weeds to his disciples. He said, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear." Two things are worth noting. First, at the end of the age, Christ will deal with the evildoers and the righteous once and for all. Second, if we also cause others to sin, our sin is particularly grave!

**Prompted by the Spirit**

       In today's Second Reading from Romans 8, Paul writes: "The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will." When we struggle to express our yearning for God, the Spirit within us prompts these inexpressible groanings, yet the Lord understands us perfectly. Any prayer inspired by the Spirit is always effective.