Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. 

The high priest rose up and all his companions,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and, filled with jealousy,
laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
“Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life.”
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, 
they were at a loss about them,
as to what this would come to.
Then someone came in and reported to them,
“The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people.” 
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them,
but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people. Acts 5:17-26

God continues to send the early Church the message to evangelize and spread the Good News.  He sends an angel to release the Apostles to evangelize in the Temple.  He does not condemn the high priest and Sadducees, but continues to try turn their hearts toward Him and believe.  It is time to do some heavy thinking, are we the Sadducees and will not be open to God’s love, or the Apostles who believe and spread the Good News.  I know I need to have a more resolute heart and believe more than I do now.  I have doubts and fears, I sin, I struggle with my pride and ego, I hurt others.  I must pray, trust, and believe.  What more does God need to do?

God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.  Jn 3:16-21

God gave us His Son.  Jesus went through a most painful Passion and Death.  He fulfilled His mission by resurrecting and saving us from Hell.  Everyone deserves hell.  We nailed Jesus to the cross with our sins.  He took our place to reconcile us with God.  Thank you.  Jesus does not condemn us but He came to save us.  We condemn ourselves by being selfish, not loving, and hurting others.  We must make a decision to come to the light.  Jesus conquered death, sin, and the darkness (evil).  We enter the tomb with Jesus at our Baptism and receive new life.  We receive the spiritual powers of intellect and will.  In Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit and the power to conquer that Jesus won for us to overcome sin and live a new life on earth and in heaven.  If we do not come to Him, continue in the darkness/sin, we lose the power of the cross in our life.  Jesus wants nothing more than for us to be in heaven with the Father, this was His entire mission for coming to earth, He wants it so bad He died for us.  In this year of mercy, may we come to Him, give ourselves to Him, and repent (change our life, come to the light).  Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday and the message Jesus gave St. Faustina was a message of hope.  God’s mercy is as big as the ocean compared to our sins, but we must come to Him and ask for this mercy.  Allow Jesus to be “the one” in your life because as Fr. Mike Schmitz says in “The Hour that Will Change Your Life” on Youtube, “You are Jesus’s ‘the one’!”

Today’s challenge: Spend time in silence and listen to your heart to know who you are.  Become the best version of yourself and share it with God.  Use your spiritual powers, understand your mission through Baptism, and fight to make sure the power of the cross shines in your life.  ”The greatest love is to lay one’s life down for one’s friends.”  ”Love one another as I have loved you.”  Don’t allow the regret on your death bed to be that you didn’t love enough.

Christian YOLO, YODO

​Be a servant, Become a saint!