**Mercy vs. Sacrifice*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, Jesus said, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." Both can please God, but mercy is superior. To be merciful is to love others, while sacrifice can be self-centered. One is positive and the other negative. Love is always more powerful, as God is love. To be like him is the best way to please and console him. In these trying days, to show even greater mercy is difficult, but we must be like the Lord. Loving others for his sake is what will get you into heaven.

**Reward for Putting God First

        Do you know that if you devote yourself to saving as many souls as possible for Christ, all matters that normally would bother you no longer matter much? The Lord always rewards those intent on serving him with freedom and peace.

***Secret to Freedom Revealed

        In Matthew 16.25, Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." This is a profound and challenging statement that compels us to think. What I see is that Jesus is revealing to us the secret to freedom! That is, forget ourselves completely and follow him, and we'll have eternal life! This is the breakthrough for us to know and remember.

***Christ Our Life Changer

        If you have no idea what's going to happen to you after you die, I pity you. Those who follow Christ know that they are going home to their loving Father in heaven. Heading toward an unknown might be exciting, but a wise person will never enter one to find out what it's all about first. Christ being the way and the truth and the life is the only one through whom we go to the Father (John 14.6). Without him, you waste your life away.

***Beyond Our Comprehension!

        God is infinite in every good way and nothing is impossible with him. His beauty, perfection, and love for us are beyond our comprehension. So is the joy we'll experience in heaven. On earth, God can make us whole and empower us with his Holy Spirit to become holy, again beyond our comprehension. God is always greater than what we can possibly expect, making living for him truly exciting.

**Deep Prayer Deepens Faith

        It is easy to pray saying the words. To talk to God from the depth of your heart takes effort. If you go deep into your heart and mean what you say, you will sense that the Lord is right there hearing everything you tell him and is moved. This is a most rewarding experience, for you know you have connected with and touched the Lord, and your faith deepens. God truly responds to any sincere and humble heart.

***You Are Beautiful

        Starting the day with Fr. Mark Goring again. If you are not happy with yourself, it's because you do no know how much God loves you yet. The big sin of evildoers is believing falsely that God does not love them!

***Most Precious Blood of Jesus***

        On July 11, I posted Padre Pio's powerful healing prayer. He mentions the most precious blood of Jesus. This blood is indeed most precious to me, for by shedding this blood, the Lord has saved me! It is most powerful, for when I let it cover me, I am cleansed, healed and made whole. It is most endearing to me because it turns me into a new creature pleasing to my Lord. It is beautiful because it is His blood. And I even get to drink it to become one with him when I receive him in the Holy Eucharist! It's more precious to me than my own blood. 

***Repent Please!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus reproached Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not repenting after seeing the many mighty deeds he did in those three towns. He said that on the day of judgment, it would be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon and the land of Sodom than for them. For us, the mightiest deed has to be the Lord dying on the cross so that we might have eternal life. Let us repent so that we might be exalted to heaven and not go down to the nether world.

***How to Hear God's Voice

        Hear Fr. Mark Goring today. It all has to do with our heart, how much we are willing to submit ourselves to God. The Lord has so many graces, riches, and good things he wants to shower upon us, yet we do not even turn to him. How pitiful we are! Let the world go for just a moment, turn to him, look inward, and talk and pray to him from your very heart, and you'll hear his voice. God is before you like the bright shining sun, but you have your darkest eyewear on, living in fear. What Fr. Mark suggests we can easily accomplish, if you are willing. Those who have a stubborn, unwilling heart are the ones who needs humility the most. Only the humble will enter the kingdom of heaven!

*How We Should Live

        We can live our lives by (1) serving Christ and doing only good deeds, (2) serving ourselves only and not minding anything else, or (3) serving ourselves and doing evil to others. Even though this is a broad categorization, it makes it clear which way we should choose to live. I don't know of another better way.

***Call to Storm Heaven***

        Just read the news, not the fake news which glorifies evil, but the news from the many smaller independent sources, you'll see how evil has take over much of the world. It's time for the faithful to storm heaven in these dark days. The Lord listens to us, even if we are not in the majority. We need to pray hard and mean it. God is so much more powerful than the evil one. Start doing it right now, for every second counts!

**A Simple Law

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13 on the parable of the sower, Jesus said, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Does this sound fair? In reality, this law works in our material world well. And it works spiritually too. It has to do with the mindset. If you want to become holy, God will help you and you grow holier and holier. One the other hand, if you don't believe in God and reject all his graces, you end up losing even your own soul. It's all simple and logical. It's the haves vs. the have-nots. The former understands everything, while the latter knows nothing.

***World without the Word***

       Today's alleluia at Mass: The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower. All who come to him will have life forever. Christ is constantly sowing the word of God. It falls on us, but we do not accept it. So we remain apart from him and yield nothing. And we'll end up worse than being nothing! This is the sad state of the world. Hardened hearts are to be most pitied.

**Suffering Leads to Glory

        Paul wrote in today's second reading from Romans 8: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. Through this saying, the Lord made me see that we as sinners must undergo suffering in order to be able to know God's glory. It's like we must go through fire to be purified. If there are no sufferings, we are already in heaven. Suffering makes heaven all the more sweet. Revelation 21.4: God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. I can't wait. 

*Responding to God's Words

        In Matthew 24.35, Jesus said: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." In that case, we must believe in and follow every word he has said and is saying to us now.

Different, but Unified as One

        God has made us all differently. He wants all of us to be holy, but holy in our own individual way. Let him make the best of us so that we might become like him. Again, we still remain ourselves, each a disciple of his, but now united as one in him. 

**Church Burning!

        Two church fires, one in Florida and one in California. The first Florida church burning is definitely premeditated. The second is still being investigated. Watch the first 15 minutes or so to learn about the Florida incident. You can witness a small miracle there. It's time to consecrate yourself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary if you have done so yet. Pray the Rosary daily.

***Pity the Evildoers!

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." Pity the evildoers who are already getting themselves condemned when God has not even judged them yet!

Truth That Should be Obvious

        We cannot save ourselves until we have reconciled ourselves to God.  

***Padre Pio's Healing Prayer

        Beautiful, Powerful words. 

        Below is the full text of the prayer:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me. I thank you for sending your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the world to save and to set me free. I trust in your power and grace that sustain and restore me. Loving Father, touch me now with your healing hands, for I believe that your will is for me to be well in mind, body, soul and spirit. Cover me with the most precious blood of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. Cast anything that should not be in me. Root out any unhealthy and abnormal cells. Open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild and replenish any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection by the power of Jesus’ precious blood. Let the fire of your healing love pass through my entire body to heal and make new any diseased areas so that my body will function the way you created it to function. Touch also my mind and my emotion, even the deepest recesses of my heart. Saturate my entire being with your presence, love, joy and peace and draw me ever closer to you every moment of my life. And Father, fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to do your works so that my life will bring glory and honour to your holy name. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

**Difference Awareness-of-God Makes

        If you are only aware of living this life, you will end up doing many wrong things, since you don't have truth guiding you. On the other hand, if you are fully aware that there is life after death, that heaven and hell are real, and that God can save you, you will live this life doing all the right things to stay on the path that will take you straight to God and heaven. 

***Unavoidable Moment of Obedience

         While on earth, we can choose to obey or disobey God. After we die and go before the Lord, we'll absolutely have no say but obey when he tells us where to go: heaven, purgatory, or hell. Be smart and learn to obey him on earth.  

**Letting Nothing Upset You

         Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow nor be afraid. This challenges us, but deep down we know he is right. Why should we let anything upset us? How foolish of us to want everything to happen the way we want! Who are we? This is rebellion against God, causing the world to be in such a sorry state. Overall, God is in total control. We are living through a tiny chunk of time and shall be gone. While here, he just wants us to trust in him, experience inner peace, and secure our own soul. Anything more is from the evil one.

***Be Holier than Others

        One should never think that he is holier than others, but he may desire to be the holiest person in the world, not out of pride, but out of his desire to humble himself before the Lord. We often see others' faults easily, but not our own serious sins. Our first order of business should be to perfect ourselves as much as we can and not ever compare ourselves with others. Some of the great saints saw themselves as the most wretched sinner before the Lord, and they were exalted by him.  

**Learning to Fight the Spiritual War

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus talked about coming persecutions. I am going to quote some of the things the Lord said to the Apostles that impressed me: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves." To be simple as doves is to remain pure and to be shrewd as serpents is to be smart enough not to fall into the traps of the Devil."

          "Men will hand you over to courts and scourge you in synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." When you depend upon God to the utmost, he will always come through for you. The Lord can and is to be relied upon to the max, for he is infinite.

          "You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." Never forget this. Be strong and tough in the Lord to endure whatever comes our way. Never give up and always hope in him. Our best awaits us.!

***Knowing Your Freedom in God!***

         In John 8.32, Jesus said, "The truth will set you free." How true that is! Once I know the Lord, I know that I am free. It's not just the feeling or something I heard—I just know it in my heart. When God lets you know something, you truly know what you know! This is a wonder of God those who do not know him cannot comprehend.

***Another Wake-Up Call*

        If you can realize for a split second that the Lord has a truly merciful soft heart filled with pure love for you, you will be so overwhelmed and filled with grief for yourself and want to prostrate yourself before him to ask for forgiveness and love him with all your heart, all you mind, and all your soul! But if you close your heart always, you sentence yourself to living a miserable life forever. This I can tell you.

*Law of Reciprocity

        In Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Of course, we are weak and cannot always perform as well as we'd like to, but it's our intention that matters. Back in Matthew 11, Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." So the Lord can lighten all our burdens. If we'll let him, we can be strong as we want! When we wish to serve him well, he will serve us well. 

**Difficult Question Made Easy

        The difficult question: "Should I believe in Christ?" Ask yourself this easy question first: "Do I want to go to heaven?" The two questions are different, yet the same.

*Why Catholics Are Weak

        Catholics become weak when they do not take their faith seriously. When you recite the creed or pray the Our Father, do you really mean every word you say? Above all, how much does the Holy Eucharist mean to you? After you receive this Most Blessed Sacrament at Mass and leave the church afterwards, do you still think about your Lord? As long as Christ remains superficial in your life and you do not commit yourself to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul, you remain weak.

**Fight for Christ or Perish!

        Let Keith Nester inspire you!

***Archbishop Viganò's Prayer for USA

        Here is the Prayer for the United States of America composed by His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò. To download a pdf version of this prayer, go to taylormarshall.com/vigano.

Prayer for The United States of America  by His Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò 

Almighty and Eternal God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords: graciously turn your gaze to us who invoke You with confidence. 

Bless us, citizens of the United States of America; grant peace and prosperity to our Nation; illuminate those who govern us so that they may commit themselves to the common good, in respect for Your holy Law. 

Protect those who, defending the inviolable principles of the Natural Law and Your Commandments, must face the repeated assaults of the Enemy of the human race. 

Keep in the hearts of Your children courage for the truth, love for virtue and perseverance in the midst of trials. 

Make our families grow in the example that Our Lord has given us, together with His Most Holy Mother and Saint Joseph in the home of Nazareth; give to our fathers and mothers the gift of Strength, to educate wisely the children with which you have blessed them. 

Give courage to those who, in spiritual combat, fight the good fight as soldiers of Christ against the furious forces of the children of darkness. 

Keep each one of us, O Lord, in your Most Sacred Heart, and above all He whom Your Providence has placed at the head of our Nation. 

Bless the President of the United States of America, so that aware of his responsibility and his duties, he may be a knight of justice, a defender of the oppressed, a firm bulwark against Your enemies, and a proud supporter of the children of light. 

Place the United States of America and the whole world under the mantle of the Queen of Victories, our Unconquered Leader in battle, the Immaculate Conception. It is thanks to her, and through your Mercy, that the hymn of praise rises to you, O Lord, from the children whom you have redeemed in the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

**Consequences of Rejecting Christ

        Believe in Christ and you'll have eternal life. The flip side of this truth: "Reject him and you'll die in sin forever." In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus commissioned the Twelve to go to the towns and villages of Israel to proclaim the kingdom of heaven at hand. He told them, "Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town." Rejecting the Lord matters as much as believing in him! 

**We Choose Either Death or Life

        Romans 6.23: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. As sinners, we must choose if we want to die or live! Ignore it and everything will not be fine. In today's alleluia, Mark 1.15, Jesus proclaimed "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and Believe in the gospel." There's our answer.

**Seek Refuge in God Now

        Read the Old Testament and you'll find that people turned away from God again and again, forgetting all he had done for them. It's the same today. This is why I strongly urge you to seek union with the Lord. You want to cement your relationship with him completely so that you'll never ever want to leave him. It's so important to do this when we are now being assaulted intensely by Satan and tested by God. Before the Second Coming, there'll be continuing trials and tribulations coming our way. Seek refuge in the Lord now to safeguard your soul. 

*Have I Gone to Extremes for Christ?

        To those who say that I've gone to extremes believing in Christ: It's not me wanting to tell you about Christ; it is the Lord drawing me to him, wanting me to spread the good (fantastic) news to you for your sake. I am just his messenger. If it hadn't come from the Lord, then I would be crazy. I don't expect you to understand, since you don't know him yet. That's OK, for it's not about whether I get my way or not. Besides, it's a great blessing to be misunderstood for Christ's sake. 

Foolish Earthlings

        We are just passing through, stopping briefly on earth. So who gives us the right to consider that anything here is ours? We can't take anything with us either when we leave. So it's extremely foolish to let the world shackle us and weigh us down. We'd only be holding onto things that also pass for a short time and depriving the soul of its freedom to ascend to God.

***Fatima Prophecy

        You must be warned about this.

Yourself Comes First

        If you want to save souls, don't forget to start with your own first.

**How to "Control" God

        Simple. You want God to be on your side, so you join him. You surrender yourself to him and he and you become one. Now, your wish is his wish which becomes his command.

**Settling Believing in God or Not

        Business investors look at the benefit/cost ratio. If the number looks good, they put in their money. If I receive an offer that would benefit me in some way, I look at the reward/effort ratio. Would it be worth my effort to get that reward? Now, consider if we should believe in God or not. Here the benefit or reward is infinite because you get to go to heaven! Infinity over any number is still infinity. No other ratio can possibly beat that. So, I should believe in God at any cost or effort. 

***Ultimate Humility

        When God chose to come down to earth to go through agony, scourging, being mocked at, and finally crucifixion, experiencing it all as one of us, this is ultimate humility! Besides showing how much he loves us, he is showing us that the most exalted one is most humble. So be like him to be exalted by him.

*Heaven Makes Us Forgetful

        Once you arrive at heaven, you'll be so joyful that all the pains you suffered on earth will be forgotten in an instant. A hundred million years of pain on earth is nothing compared to one second of joy in heaven. Our goal is to return to our creator so that we may fully enjoy his love again. Christ has shown us the way by his example. All we need to do is to follow in his footsteps.

***Boundless Mercy***

        What is so wonderful about Christ is that you can always begin anew with him! You may be a habitual sinner, but as long as you repent you sins, no matter how great they are, you become clean again. There is no limit to how many times he will forgive you. His mercy knows no bounds. That's why he wants us to forgive others too. In him, there is always hope! This is something to appreciate. Otherwise, we don't stand a chance of being saved. Of course, the door will be shut when we die. What we need to do is to be smart and get inside that door before it closes!

***A Relationship Made in Heaven***

        One greatest joy is to share everything about yourself with your Lord. Guess what, he in turn shares everything about himself with you. And you have a relationship that's completely open and honest, with you and the Lord becoming one and soulmates with each other! Can you imagine that now there are absolutely no barriers between you and the Lord anymore? Time to rejoice in the Lord forever!

***Trying to Understand Faith

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, a woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured.

         I am still trying to understand faith more. If I cut my finger, it would be nice that I pray to the Lord for healing and it's healed instantly. In reality, it doesn't happen like that. First of all, I know that the finger will heal in a few days and the pain I feel is not bad at all, and I really don't want to bother the Lord for that. In other words, my strong desire to be healed is absent. Should I be suffering as much as the woman with hemorrhages, I probably would strongly desire that the Lord heal me and he very likely will do just that. So faith comes forth from our heart's desire in a natural way. I'd like to mention again the time my son could have died from a virus attack. While he was in critical condition in ICU, I walked up to him and said without hesitation "Be healed in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," while making the sign of the cross on his forehead. Three days later, he recovered and was sent home. So I think the secret is to trust in the Lord with all your heart and pray when you are called to pray. You cannot force yourself nor the Lord.

***The Father We Need

        Without a father, none of us would be here. A father can guard us, guide us, support us, and inspire us. Unfortunately, not all of us have a good earthly father. As a result, their children go astray and become lost souls. But the great news is that we have a Father in heaven who is perfect and most loving, someone in whom you can totally abandon yourself. Obey him and you'll go to him to enjoy eternal bliss when you leave this world! This has to be the best news ever! So follow Christ to know the Father who knows and will always give you what's best for you. The riddle of life is no more!

***Hatred of God the Father

        You need to know this today!

*What Makes You Wise and Learned

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus blessed the Father for having revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to the littles ons, but not to the wise and the learned. Of course, the wise and the learned of the world are not not truly wise and learned if they do not know or understand the kingdom of God. It is believing in the Lord that makes you truly wise and learned, for you now know the truth.