Today's entrance antiphon from Matthew 25:34: Come, you blessed by my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is what Christ will say to those who have been chosen to inherit eternal life at his judgment of all the nations. When you choose to follow Christ, it shows that the Father has chosen you! This has to be the most satisfying reward you can possibly receive in your whole existence! You have now become one of the Father's special favorite creatures!
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
**Forget About Heaven & Hell*
Do you think that the Christians have a better chance of entering heaven than non-Christians? The answer should be yes, then we recall that in Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Also, Christians are held to higher standards than non-Christians. In Luke 12:48, Jesus said to his disciples that more would be demanded of the person entrusted with more. So it's best not to presume that you are saved if you're not that holy yet. For the Catholic, it's' important that you don't have a single stain of mortal sin on you soul. Seeing how godless the whole world is today, I wouldn't be shocked that overall more people enter hell than heave. Anyway, focus exclusively on loving God and keeping your soul pure and you needn't dwell upon heaven and hell much anymore.
**At Peace with God
Today's Communion experience. I received the Lord and every molecule (or atom) of mine was at peaee with him.
***Believing Without Seeing***
Finally, I was well enough to resume attending daily Mass. In today's Gospel reading from John 20, the risen Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene. He told her to go to his brothers to tell them that he's going to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. Mary went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and reported what he had told her. I can't say that I have seen the Lord, but I know the Lord as if I've seen him many times already as I feel palpably his holy presence at all times. And pretty soon I will be seeing him. Alleluia!
Monday, April 1, 2024
*****What the Church Needs to Do Pronto
On Easter Sunday, the church was extra packed at all Masses. Many Catholics who didn't attend Mass regularly showed up—they were not really Catholics anymore. I have no idea as to how many of them received Communion. As you know, if you receive the Lord not in a state of grace, you commit another mortal sin. Possibly, some of those lapsed Catholics might not even realize that. Anyway, I believe it's super important for the sake of not offending Christ our Lord to let all know of the requirements for receiving the Holy Eucharist at the beginning of each Mass even if there were only one person present who needs to be informed. Since surveys have shown that a great percentage of Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, this is a crisis so urgent that we must solve without delay. To me, this is even more fundamental than stopping abortion or human trafficking. Without this belief, there would be no Church! And this should also be mentioned as one of the requirements for receiving the Lord. If we do nothing to stop people offending our Lord, we'll have to answer to him for this grave negligence!
Sunday, March 31, 2024
***Soul All Taken Care Of
Communion experience. My soul is now completely in Christ''s loving hands—this is real freedom!
***Living in Reality***
Not living in Christ is evading reality, since you basically live in the unknown. Only by living in Christ do you face reality; you now understand fully your status and know of your destiny for all eternity. What a vast difference!
***Joy of Receiving Eucharist Again
Happy Easter to all! Because of my bad cold, I didn't attend Mass for a couple of weeks until today Easter Sunday. The joy of receiving the Eucharist was great. I felt that my joy tripled as I received the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three in one.
Saturday, March 30, 2024
****How Are You Doing as a Christian?
To say that you are a Christian really doesn't that much. It's how much you live for him that makes the difference. Is he the most important person in your life? Where does he list on you list of people important to you? Is he even on your list? How often do you think of him or talk to him? How often do you do anything in his name or for his sake? How often do you tell others about how great his love for us is? These are the relevant questions, not just letting others know that that you believe in him.
***How God Wants to Win Us Over***
Since God is all love, he wants to win us over by his love. He could easily impress us by performing endless miracles, but that would be like how all our material innovations and inventions impress us sensually. The Lord without any pride wants to win our hearts, our devotion, not superficial admiration which doesn't last. When we love God with his pure love, we are complete and home.
*****Amazing Christ*****
Again, I am thinking about Christ. He came to us to give us the Good News. He was meek and humble, full of love for us. He practiced what he preached: forgiving everyone, loving his enemies, serving all who needed his help . . . in today's world, people easily look down on someone like that. Yet, he has affected so many of us, winning them over completely to the point of willing to give your life over to him. I somehow know that he is exactly the one we all need for existence and survival. It's a response not just from my heart, but from my soul as well. This is truly amazing, making me realize that he is indeed our Lord and our God! Happy is the one who has found someone worth living and dying for.
Friday, March 29, 2024
****Purgatory and Hell
I am posting a couple of excellent videos so we can learn more about purgatory and hell thru St. Genoa.
***Stations of the Cross***
You see these Stations on the walls of every Catholic church. The fourteen stations are also known as the Way of the Cross. Each station depicts a moment on Jesus' journey to Calvary. This devotion be said in various ways. I like the one composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori. Here's the shorter version. The Stations were prayed today Good Friday at my church. Consider praying it at any time often and you'll definitely come to know Christ better and love him more thru his Passion.
*****Jesus' Death*****
It is Good Friday. Jesus is crucified today. If you can truly see the Passion he underwent for the sake of saving us from sin and eternal death, you would completely fall in love with and want to die for him! This is definitely an excellent way to get to know the Lord. The mystic Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich had received visions on the life of Jesus Christ in great detail. These visions, which the Church has approved, had been recorded and published, amounting to four volumes. The last volume is all on the Passion of Jesus. I'd like to read it, but am afraid that I may not be able to bear learning all the details. Here are two short videos on Jesus' death according to Catherine Emmerich.
Thursday, March 28, 2024
*****How to Love Christ the Lord*****
To love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind is to always run to him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. The Lord of Christ is the alpha and omega, our Savior, the one who loves us the most, our most beloved, our everything, our lifeline, our fulfillment, our only hope, the solution to all my problems, the only one who can give us eternal life, and the one to whom we are to return—we must treat him as such!
**Dangerous Thinking*
It's easy to think that we are pretty good persons and will probably enter heaven as long as we don't do anything really bad. Well, this may be optimistic thinking, but it's dangerous. The reality is that we have inherited original sin and are on my way to hell if we don't change our ways. This is precisely why Jesus came to us to let us know that if we believe in him, he'll deliver us from sin and death! It's always wise to be prudent than being foolishly overconfident.
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