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Pope Saint John Paul II once said: It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise...: Jesus is what and who we are looking for. Nothing but Jesus, no one but Jesus, will ever fulfill our deepest desire for love- for God. The logical question that follows this realization that it is Jesus we are searching for is, "Well, where is He?" Friends, it is so simple. He is here! Our God did not leave us orphans! He gave us a Church, to continue to serve, to love, to pray, to teach, to minister to His people here on earth. Jesus remains with us in the Holy Eucharist. He has not left us. Each Mass, through the graces He's given to the priest, He transforms ordinary bread and wine into His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. What remains is only the appearance of bread and wine. It is Jesus. He is there, spiritually present within His people that make up the Church, and physically present in the tabernacle of each Catholic church building. He is there for you. If you were the only one who came to be with Him, He would still remain there, waiting, just for you. That's how much He loves you. Nothing else- only Christ- can make you happy. For that reason, only the Church that Christ established, and which contains the fullness of the faith and the true presence of Christ, will satisfy your hunger and desire for love. For happiness. For God. No, the people that make up the Church are not perfect. But Christ is. And isn't that enough? Our faith is for God, not for other people. Other Christian communities may have better music, more entertaining forms of worship, more people at their events, or easier teachings to accept. The list could go on and on. These different ways of worship, these other congregations, are not bad. They are SO CLOSE to the fullness of Truth. But until one comes to fully know, believe in, and live out Christ's teachings, they will not have the complete Truth. It is only when you are totally one with Christ in His Church, living totally for Him and with Him in the fullness of Truth that you will be happy. You dream of happiness! We all do. I beg you, begin to fulfill that dream here on earth. It is possible! He is so near to you! Seek our Lord. Find Him in the Holy Eucharist. Go to the Catholic Church. Remain in the Church. Only there you will find Truth, Beauty, Love, as He is.

Catholics are not REQUIRED to abstain from meat today since it's the Feast of the Annunciation, but you still can if you'd like.

^^ There was a correction made to this post earlier. The email may not reflect the real task for the day. I apologize for any confusion!

This topic has been on my heart lately. What we believe does not determine reality. What society believes does not determine reality. Truth is truth. It's not my truth or your truth. It's just the truth. My beliefs do not determine reality. TRUTH determines reality. And how do we find that truth? God. God Himself is Truth. Therefore, what God teaches is Truth. That means: -God created the world. - God is three persons in one. - Humans are both body and soul; physical and spiritual. - God became man in Jesus Christ, died and rose from the dead to save us from our sins, and ascended back to Heaven where He reigns with God the Father. - Mary is the Mother of God. -Jesus founded one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church to continue His mission here on earth, and He desires for all His people to be united in it. - The Pope is the visible leader of Christ's Church here on earth. - Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist. - Purgatory is real - Faith and works sanctify us, not one or the other. - Abortion is wrong, contraception is wrong, pornography is wrong, and sex is sacred and to be reserved for marriage. - Men and women are different. - God intended the Priesthood to be only for men. - War is wrong and to be avoided. - All approved forms of the Mass are valid and beautiful. (TLM, Novus Ordo, Eastern Rites, etc.) - Everything that the Catholic Church teaches and professes to be true IS THE TRUTH. It does not matter what you and I don't like, whether we're Catholic or non-Catholic. Our beliefs and feelings do not determine reality. God does. And He has made it EXTREMELY clear, through His Word, and through Sacred Tradition, what the Truth is. Our job is to pursue that Truth and then live it out to the best of our abilities. When we die and receive our particular judgment from God and go to Heaven (or Purgatory and then Heaven) or Hell, what we believed will not matter. All that will matter is what is. We will be judged on how we lived, how we loved, and we will be judged by God's standards. And yes, He will judge us with the heart and love of our merciful Father who wants nothing but the best for His children, but He will judge us by the standards of Truth. Not our truth; not our feelings. His Truth. The Truth.* (Please read my side note about this at the bottom of the post!) What we believe does not determine what is. We do not have that power. Only God does. And so, I ask you, what will you believe? Will you believe the Truth? Will you make Truth the reality that you live by, choosing to live life in joy and peace, no matter what the rest of the world chooses? Or will you make something else, someone else's ideas your truth? *Even if one has not heard or understood the Truth, they will still be judged by the standards of Truth. However, God knows the hearts and souls of each person, and if someone truly practiced and lived out the beliefs that they thought were good, true, and beautiful, our Lord knows their hearts and would judge them accordingly, but they would first be made aware of the Truth that God teaches and would have to choose whether to accept or reject it, thus choosing Heaven or Hell.