*Getting Hell Right

        Some things we must get right in this life, for if we get them wrong, we won't be able to correct ourselves anymore. Hell is one of those things. If for whatever reason you end up in hell after you die, you just can't change that anymore. So don't ever say "The hell with hell!" It matters as much to you as God. Get to know and love the God of Christ and you won't have anything to worry about, for you will be with him forever!

**No Time to Waste

        In Matthew 7:7 (or Luke 11:9), Jesus said to his disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." May I suggest that we speed things up by going straight to the Lord, open ourselves up wide, and let him see everything we desire in our hearts. He is most ready to help, so let's not waste any time. Learn to rely upon him every moment of our brief life on earth.

***God's Pure Love*

         Our love for others is never that pure. We love for selfish reasons. For example, a man loves a girl partially, if not wholly, because she is attractive to him. If she is not, he'll probably not even look at her, let alone love her. Again, if we like someone as a friend, it's because he or she is fun to be with or can benefit us in some way. Otherwise, we most likely would not bother to know that person. I do admit there are times we feel called to help someone we don't even know in need, but to help someone who is our enemy, that is an entirely different matter. Now, God loves all of us, even if we rebel against him. That love is absolutely unconditional and pure. Only by accepting his love for us ourselves can we possibly love others with a pure love also.

***So Close or So Far Apart, a Choice***

         You can have two people who believe in and love the Lord Jesus and become one in him. All it take is for one of the two to turn away from the Lord and now they can't be further apart. We can let God unite us or set us apart. The choice is so hard for some, yet so easy for others. And that's the way it is.

*An Instructive Dream

        I had this dream early in the morning today. I was in an environment filled with all kinds of noises, including humans chatting incessantly. Then all of a sudden, a loud pure tone came through and stopped everything, and there was peace and quiet. To me, the cacophony of noises symbolizes all the outright lies, biased views, and fake news that are being spewed out by so many godless politicians, entertainers, and mainstream news media nonstop. The pure tone symbolizes the voice of the Lord. And if we choose to hear him alone, we can shut out all the other crap.  

**War or Peace

         If we all obey the God of Christ worldwide, we'll have instant peace, for his second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. If we all rebel against the God of Christ, we'll be embroiled in a fierce spiritual war till the day we die or his Second Coming, whichever comes first. These are statements of truth Christ has already made amply clear.

*Identifying Evildoers

         The Evil One cannot stand the Lord and his people. He attacks them out of sheer hatred. You cannot reason with him, for he does not listen to you. Well, today's many evildoers behave just like that. You can only pity and pray for them.

*****How We Came to Be

         I read today's first reading from Revelation 4 and learned that we came to be and were created because of God's will. This is something we should think about and cherish. We are not some casual, random creatures; we are truly special because God willed us into being! We bear a most special relationship to him. He knows us and we should get to know him intimately too! We already know through Christ that he loves us to death. To reject him is to reject our own existence!

*****Our Tender Lord

          In today's reading from Revelation 3, we also hear our humble Lord speaking most tenderly from his heart: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. It anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me." If you hear him and still don't let him in, you don't have a heart.

**Expecting the Unexpected

        In today's first reading from Revelation 3, the Lord said: "If you are not watchful, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come upon you." If you don't pay any attention to his warning, you are playing a dangerous game with the Lord. He can come when you least expect him and catch you totally unprepared and cast you into darkness. But those whose name is already in the book of life will eagerly await the Lord's coming at any moment, for their joy will be complete.

***What We Want God to Do for Us

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, a blind beggar, realizing that Jesus was passing by, kept calling out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came  near, Jesus asked him, "what do you want me to do for you?" He replied,"Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight. We can also shout to Jesus, "Son of God, have pity on me!" We may not have a physical impairment, but we can certainly tell him what we want him to do for us. Personally, I would replied to the Lord thus, "Lord, please answer all my prayers." I believe that he will do just that.

***Going Separate Ways*

         Inspired by today's reading from Psalm 1, the just the Lord will watch over and they will prosper, but the wicked the Lord will dismiss and they will vanish. (Luke 13.27: "I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!")

***Our Wonderful Gift from God!

          From today's first reading from Revelation 2, I learned these two things. First, no matter what we endure and suffer, we must never grow weary. Following the Lord is always exciting. Knowing that victory is assured in the end for each of us who follow him, how can we possibly grow weary?
         The next thing I learned was that repentance is a beautiful thing; it brings up back to God. It wipes us clean and we get to start anew. This is absolutely a most wonderful gift by which we can get back to God's grace instantly at any time, for he is always ready to forgive us when we repent. There is nothing on earth better than this precious gift! How can we possibly consider God, the God of Christ, to not be easily accessible?

*Mass Experience in Troubled Times

        I attended Sunday Mass at 5 p.m. yesterday because when I contacted my church early Saturday, Saturday Vigil Mass and the two Sunday morning Masses were already filled, as attendance at each Mass is now limited to just 100 people. Everyone sat with a mask on, sitting at least 6 feet apart, with kneelers all up and taped in place. Not many parishioners talked to each other after Mass. It's all very surreal. But I stilled received my Lord. He is my greatest and only consolation amidst the turmoil in these evil days. I petitioned the Lord to protect his people and crush all evil. Since he is merciful, he shall wipe out evil and save as many souls as possible.

**Saying "I Trust in God" Not Enough

           In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus told the parable of the talents. We can learn from this parable that we must remain faithful in all small matters and be fruitful. That is, we must not miss every chance that comes our way to spread the gospel of Christ. We cannot be like the servant who received the one talent and buried it in the ground, instead of using it to make a profit. It's not good enough to say "I trust in the Lord" and not diligently work to be fruitful. 

***Start Enjoying Freedom Now

        We must be fully aware that we may leave this world at any time. I am not being pessimistic, I am being realistic! This should teach us not to get ourselves tied down by the things of the world. Start enjoying freedom from the world now and you'll likely enjoy freedom for all eternity. If you do not free yourself from the world, you'll likely never have freedom.

*****To Be Receptive to God

         I woke up before 5 a.m. this morning and it's still pitch dark outside. I felt I was in the most comfortable sleeping position with my arms and head and every other part of my body in the right spot, totally relaxed. Then I thought that this is the way we should feel before the Lord so that we may be completely receptive to him. There should not be any barriers between us and God. We remain wide open and he is totally free to enter to dwell in us. This is the ideal state of our soul, to be in union with the Holy God, our Lord, our Father, our Brother, our Friend, and our Most Beloved.

**Praying for Justice

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, the Lord told the parable of the persistent widow. In it a dishonest judge finally gave in to a widow who kept bothering him to render a just decision for her against her adversary. Jesus then said, "Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily." This is exactly what we need to hear and believe in when our nation is on the verge having a presidential election being stolen by an evil party. I would like to invite you to join me in urgent prayer that all that's in darkness will be exposed and that truth and justice will prevail.