**To Be Free of Material Possessions

        Most of us in this country accumulate a lot of material things over our lifetime. I remember one family who belonged to my church two years ago. The couple had accumulated 300 boxes, some of which quite sizable, of Christmas decorations. Every year they started decorating their house about a month ahead of Christmas, and of course had to take down and pack away everything later in the new year. Looking at my own possessions, because my hobbies had been music and photography, I still have many CDs, LPs, music scores and books, a piano, photographic prints, matting and framing materials, a mat cutter, etc. I know that when I leave this world, it's be saying goodbye to them forever. This makes me see that we should start detaching ourselves from all our material possessions as we age. The only way to succeed here is to attach ourselves to the Lord God alone. Again, surrendering to him is the key, not trying to fight yourself and struggle on your own. Once more, it comes down to whether we let God truly be our Lord or not—something we must face.

***Call to Be Courageous

         Today's message from Fr. Mark Goring comes at the perfect time. Christians need to hear it and make a choice.          

***Keep Up Your Faith

          The world has got so evil and corrupt that they are crucifying our Lord again. After the first Crucifixion before his Resurrection, the disciples became so demoralized and didn't know what to do. But Resurrection changed all that. Now we should always be full of hope, knowing that the Lord is alive and with us. Therefore, continue praying and never give up. To lose hope is to fall into the Devil's trap. Our final victory is assured. Nothing is impossible for God if we have faith. Rejoice in the Lord always.

**Before We Depart

        As we get older, we start getting ready for meeting God. One of the things we sometimes forget is straightening out our relationships with all others on earth before we depart. If you haven't made peace with your fellow humans yet, how can you possibly expect that you'll get along with God?   

***God Most Beautiful

        It's only 11 days to Christmas and Christians are exchanging glad tidings with each other. I just received an email about a YouTube video on Christmas music. The singing was wonderful, but I couldn't help thinking that no matter how beautiful what we have created to glorify God might be, it still falls far short of the true beauty of the Lord himself, for we are finite and our capabilities are limited. To appreciate and enjoy the full beauty of the Lord, get to know him thoroughly first. Once you attain union with him, all other beauties fade away.

***Daring Prayer***

        Today's Gospel acclamation from Isaiah 61: The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me.... We say a lot of prayers, so why not also ask the Lord specifically to anoint you with the Holy Spirit? Again, I am no theologian, but my actual experience had been that great things happen to you when you desire anointing by the Spirit. This is what the Lord wants you to have, so it's yours for the asking! I can tell you that your spiritual life will then progress by leaps and bounds! It all comes down to when you let God do the work, he just does it for you, making your spiritual life most exciting.

**Our Journey of Faith

            From reading 2 from 1 Thessalonians 5, we have Paul writing "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thinks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Test everything; retain what is good. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it." We see that our journey must be one of faith. The Lord is not going to tell us specifically what's going to happen and what every little thing we need to do next. We must believe in him always and plunge ahead following his will as best we can, knowing that we will arrive at where he wants us to go. It is by faith that we live, being hopeful always and never becoming disheartened.

***Why We Need Christ!

        Going through hell on earth is infinitely better than experiencing true hell after death. You may live a most miserable life, but if you are with Christ, your suffering will end when you leave this world. On the other hand, if you are not with him and end up in hell, your suffering never ends—this is why hell after death is so horrible. This is why accepting and obeying Christ is so necessary before you die. Romans 6.23: The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ is our answer.

***Our Best News

        To be a saint, you need to abandon yourself completely to God. To be saved, you only need to believe in Christ and repent of your sins, something everyone can do. This is the best news of all. But if you go for Christ, why not go all the way and your life will be so much more rewarding now and also later?

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn

         Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. If you are not familiar with the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, look it up and you'll find it amazing and beautiful. The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was found imprinted on the cloak of Juan Diego of Mexico to whom Mary appeared in 1531. In Revelation 11, the Apostle John saw the following in his vision: "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." In the Our Lady of Guadalupe image, we see her clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet. And the black ribbon around her waist shows that she is expecting a child. 
         In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, Mary visited her relative Elizabeth who's pregnant with John the Baptist. When Elizabeth heard Mary' greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does his happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." It is important to learn that the unborn infant can also experience joy, and therefore, sorrow and pain too. It is absolutely sacrilegious for pro-abortionists to think that the infant unborn is a merely a blob in the mother's womb with no life at all.

***Our Journey*

        When you are one with the Lord, you experience his agony along with him, and that places a heavy burden on your heart. Yet knowing that he is with you, you never lose hope. Suffering is always a part of following the Lord who also gives you unspeakable joy. As Ascension followed the Lord's Passion, we will also see his glory after our agony expires. Our world has gotten so godless that I believe that the illumination of conscience, our mini-judgment, as prophesied could happen anytime now. Pray for the mercy of God on all unceasingly. Remember that we are only passing through this world and our permanent home is to be with our Father in heaven. 

**The Just and the Wicked

         From today's reading from Psalm 1, we learn that the wicked are chaff which the wind drives away; for the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes. We know that the wicked won't be able to stand the Lord, while the just are blessed by him always. God is in full control of everything, but we who are finite easily forget this and start to worry when times get tough. Christians who know that they are returning to their Father in heaven live in freedom and with great joy. Similarly, those who know that God is in full charge pray hard, but do not worry, in troubled times. Final victory belongs to the just and faithful, not to the wicked whose way will vanish altogether.

Sign of End Times

        The total lack of repentance. We see evildoers continuing to lie and deceive unabatedly even after truth has exposed their frauds, scandals and other misdeeds.         

*Maximizing Your Happiness

          If you appreciate that God loves you so much that he even died for you on the cross so that you might have eternal life, you would appreciate that he has created you and be happy with yourself. So if you are not happy with yourself, you do not know God yet. To become happiest, seek to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist.

**Requisite to Entering Kingdom of Heaven

         In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Does this mean that a basically good person may not make it to the kingdom of heaven? I see at least two instances in which this can happen. (1) You don't obey God in all things. For example, you find it difficult to forgive someone. Whereas you should go to God to seek help, you decide that you are just not going to forgive that person. This is deliberately going against the Lord. (2) You believe that you are a good enough person and that it's OK to commit some small sins now and then. This lack of humility can also keep you out of the kingdom of heaven. The bottom line, we need to do the will of our Father in heaven as best we can.

***Distinctive Union Benefits***

     Since this blog is all about attaining union with God through the Holy Eucharist which the Lord ardently desires, I'd like to pause and again list the three distinctive benefits you receive in the state of union.

1. God becomes more real than someone you see, hear, and touch.
2. God takes away your tendency to sin.
3. Your fear of death vanishes.

     There are many other more general graces which I won't get into here. 

***Evildoers Are Biggest Losers

         In Mark 8:36, Jesus asked, "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" This is the question all evildoers need to hear. First of all, evildoers are pretty obvious to all. Even if they are not at first, they get exposed eventually. Of course, they can never hide from the Lord. Secondly, they may enjoy doing their deeds for their own gain, but they cannot possibly have inner peace. Thirdly, being evil puts them on the path to hell. You can't help feeling sorry for them for not knowing that the Lord God loves them and they only need to repent their sins to get on the path to heaven! An unawakened evildoer has to be the biggest loser. 

**Christ, the One We Need*

       Without or with not much of Christ in your life, you try to find happiness on your own. Since we live in an imperfect, sinful world, you encounter obstacles, setbacks, and even make enemies along the way. Then the sorry experiences and hurts you feel start to affect you mentally, making you hate the world and even yourself; you feel like giving up altogether. All I want to say is that you will not find happiness on your own. Then you let Christ into you life and everything changes. Living becomes meaningful. You are now free from the world, as serving him gives you so much joy and satisfaction. Yes, you know exactly where you are going and look forward to that day. The Lord guides you through every moment of your life. And there is much more. The God of Christ is exactly what we sinners need.