*When Should Jesus Come Again?

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus told the crowd about the coming persecution, "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name." The existence of evil against God could not have been made any clearer. We now see persecutions of Christians and spiritual battles going all around the globe. For the good people, we wish God would come now to put and end to their suffering. On the other hand, for the evildoers, we pity them and hope that God would give them more time to come to repentance. I suppose that if you are with Christ, knowing that you are going to him, you would see that suffering for his sake is truly an honor and a joy and gladly allow more time for those who need salvation the most. In any case, it is the Lord who knows the best time to come again. 

**Falling Away from God

        If you think you know more than God and do not need him anymore, you become as foolish as you can be. Blind to the light of Christ, the world has become completely disordered and lost its way. It is pride again that has made us go astray.

*Anxiety and Sins of Impurity + Schism*

        Always a joy to hear Fr. Mark Goring speaking in the Holy Spirit.

***Seek Union with God Now!

        People do not even consider seeking union with God, not realizing that this is what the Lord desires most ardently. The time for us to start seeking it is right now! You do not become a saint first to be ready for union; you seek union first in order to become a saint. Rejecting seeking union with God is going against his will, for he loves and desires all of you!  

*Those Who've Cast God Aside

        We all know that we'll die one day, yet so many of us in this world are intent on gaining wealth, power, and fame by whatever means necessary; they have cast God aside and turned evil. We can only feel sorry for them for not realizing that if they reject God, they will be rejected by him in the end.

**Pleasing Offering to God

        Today's Gospel reading, Luke 21.1-4: When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood. The Lord looks at the heart and values the intention. For most of us who are not free to offer more than we like, consider offering ourselves to God. There is no external restraint here and the Lord will surely be most pleased with this intention.

**To Be Happy with Self

        One is happy with himself when he realizes that God truly loves him; he accepts this love and finally is at peace with himself. Now he is ready to let the Lord make him holy. If you do not like yourself, you still have your ego and are not truly free yet. 

*God Most Amazing*

        The sun is so familiar to us and we don't think much about it unless you are an astronomer or scientist. I watched History Channel's documentary The Secrets of the Sun and was amazed by its power and its uniqueness in the universe. I learned that it's been burning for billions of years and probably still has billions of more years to go. The distance between the sun and the earth is just right so that we get the right temperature for life to survive. The moon is just smaller and closer to the earth enough for a total eclipse to happen. In the past, solar storms had amazingly reached the earth in about 16 hours, covering 93 millions miles. In one Marian apparition, it was revealed that fire would fall from the sky one day–could it be a severe solar storm hitting the earth? The sun is amazing and powerful, but the Lord is its creator. At Fatima, he made the sun spin and fall from in the sky. Everything in the universe obeys the Lord except us. Let us be amazed by him and become obedient too.

Forgiving the Evildoers

        There are many evil people today who are easy for us to hate. Then I remember that Jesus even prayed for those who put him to death: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Luke 23.34). So I truly feel sorry for all the evildoers too, for they know not what they do and what they would face if they do not change their ways. We must be merciful as our Lord is merciful.

To Be Prepared Always

        Jesus wants us to be prepared always, for he will come at an hour we do not expect. Just in case he does not appear in our lifetime, we must also be ready for our own death. And since many today suffer dementia as they age, we ought be watchful for that too. If all this is too much, just trust and follow the Lord faithfully and he shall take care of you. 

***Food for Immortality

        Communion experience. Yesterday, as I received the Holy Eucharist, I realized that this was the true food that would make me immortal, for Jesus promised in John 6 that "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever."

***Most Important Statement

        Christ is our Savior because he is the only one who can free us from ourselves and everything else! (That is why I want to belong to him alone.)

New Freedom in Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 20, Jesus made it clear to the Sadducees that once we are in heaven, the family relationships we had on earth will no longer exist. We all become God's children, and like the angels we cannot die. It indicates to me that in heaven we'll experience a new freedom, becoming attached to God the Father alone. I surely look forward to that day.

How God Settle Things

        Hearing the phrase "forever and ever" can bring great joy to those who will be with the Lord or cause great fear in those who will be separated from him after they die. In today's reading from Psalm 9, verse 6 reads: You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; their name you blotted out forever and ever. With God, everything will be settled once and all for good. 

Smart Living

        Most people seek happiness in this life first and fail to find true peace and joy in the end. The smart ones secure their eternity through Christ first and experience freedom, peace, and joy in this life as well. The contrarian wins here. I am one who can testify to you that this is true.

***Requisites for Receiving the Eucharist

        To get the most out of receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, we must (1) be in a state of grace, (2) be open to him, and (3) desire union with him. This is the way to holiness. Missing (1), you would be offending the Lord. Missing (2), you would receive no benefit, wasting your and God's time. Missing (3), you would not become a saint. 

**Wondrous God

        Communion thoughts. Let us see that God accomplishes everything effortlessly and miraculously. During the liturgy of the Eucharist, the Lord so transformed the bread and wine into his own body and blood. Our God is a wondrous God.

Great Stumbling Block

        Many people do no believe in Jesus, but there is really no good reason for that. I believe they do not accept him because their pride is too great, for to accept him is to make him their Lord! This is the stumbling block.