**Pleasing Both You and God*

        If you ever have the slightest desire to be perfect (holy), know that it comes from the Lord. Rejoice, for it is his wish that you do become perfect (holy) and he can fulfill your desire completely. What a perfect opportunity to open up to the Lord to make both you and him very happy!

Good, Better, and Best

        We need to realize that we are sinners and need God to save us. Better, believe in him and we are saved. Best, attain union with the Lord and our salvation is secure.

How to Grow Rich

        Today we heard the parable of the talents read from Matthew 25. The lesson was that to everyone who has, more will be given and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. We must not be lazy, but work diligently to bear fruit for the Lord. This is a lesson for all, both the laity and the Church hierarchy.

***What We Should Be Aware of*

        The Lord God wants to form us, mold us, and shape us to make us holy and perfect! This is what he wishes and will make us experience freedom, peace, and great joy now and forever. And he is ever ready if we are.

Be Watchful and Ready

        Today's Gospel reading is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25. The foolish ones who were not ready when the bridegroom arrived were locked out of the wedding feast. They knocked on the door to want to get in, but the Lord replied, "Amen, I say to you, I do not know you." It shows that there is no excuse for not taking God seriously. Either you pay attention or you don't. If you don't, do not expect that you'll get a second chance if you miss the boat. I wouldn't count on having the opportunity to repent of your sins just before you die either, for you could lose your mind before then, die unexpectedly, or die in sleep. Anyway, be ready now and at all times.

Special Relationship with God

        From today's entrance antiphon, Psalm 86, a prayer of David: Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in you, my God. David considered himself to be the servant who trusted in the Lord. The Apostle John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. As for me, I see myself as a little child whom the Lord loves to teach.

*Good People, but Foolish

        There is a nice short video on YouTube showing seven Chinese ladies who are good friends with each other. Even though they all have families, they decided to build a nice house for them to meet and dine and have tea together in order to enjoy each other's company. People everywhere want to do something nice for themselves. But I do feel sorry for all of them, for in their short sojourn on earth, they seek only temporary happiness for themselves, not finding the true God who alone can make them happy so much more and forever. We who know the Lord bear the responsibility of spreading the gospel as far and wide as possible.

***Easy to Be a Saint*

        People have always been smart and intelligent. The fact that we have advanced science and technology today does not mean that we are smarter – we simply have been taking advantage of all the knowledge acquired and discoveries made during all the past generations. Now, when it comes to becoming holy, we are not inferior to anyone of the past either. You do not need to depend upon the saints of the past to become saints. God is just as accessible today as he was yesterday. Anyone can attain union with God if he or she will open up to him. To be a saint,you only need God!

My Thorn in the Flesh

        About two years ago, I unexpectedly hurt my left shoulder when I was pressing some weight, the same amount I had been using for a long time, at a gym. And I have not fully recovered from that yet. I know that God can heal it instantly if he so wishes. But apparently, he wants me to let it be. Now I see this as a thorn in my flesh and intend to let this weakness make me rely on him even more. 

**Intimacy Cherished*

        I enjoy the Lord and savor every moment with him. I do not see him, but my heart hears and feels him at all times. 💖💖💖

*God Desires Union with You

        After John the Baptist learned that Jesus was also baptizing and everyone was going to him, he said to all, "He must increase; and I must decrease." Seek union with God so that Christ might increase to 100% and you decrease to zero. Then you'll be like him!  

*Purifying the Conscience

        Today is the memorial of St. John the Baptist. The Gospel reading came from Mark 6. Herod the king feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. He was also fascinated by John and liked to listen to him. Nevertheless, he had John beheaded because he did not want to break the oaths he made to his daughter before all the guests. Here is a case of shoving aside your conscience to do what makes you look good before others. I still remember how I did bad things to my sisters to hurt them when I was young. We need the Lord to clean up our consciences or we'll become more and more sinful. Seek union with God and he'll make your conscience razor sharp.

***Life Needn't Be Tragic*

        Léon Bloy, the French novelist and a fervent Catholic convert wrote, "The only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint." I think I understand this. Not to become a saint is a great tragedy because there is so much you can gain and have when you become a saint! Being a saint is to be in union with God. To be a saint is to enjoy freedom and peace in God and receive great joy from him. To be a saint is to be in perfect harmony with your loving Father and creator. To be a saint is to gain the Lord and everything he has becomes yours! Relatively speaking, falling short of becoming a saint is indeed tragic.

*How God Blessed Us

        On August 20, I posted "God's Surprise Response." Here it is in a shortened version.

         "Recently my wife underwent kidney stone surgery. She had a stent placed in her ureter to prevent any blockage of the urine flow. Five days later, she lost urinary control completely and developed a high fever accompanied by shaking chills. I rushed her to emergency and she was diagnosed with severe sepsis attributed to an infection. After 3 days, the illness was brought under control, but the stent was to remain in her for another 10-14 days. When a nurse's aid came to prepare her for discharge from the hospital, she discovered the string that's attached to the stent. Ignorant of what it was, she started pulling on it and the stent started coming out. Of course, the hospital staff were all alarmed, but the doctors had no choice but to have it pulled out completely. Unexpectedly, after it came out my wife instantly regained her urinary control. With temperature close to normal and continuing taking her antibiotic, she should be fine soon. I wouldn't be surprised if the stent had caused the infection in the first place. Anyhow, it seemed that the Lord allowed this mistake to happen and turned it into a blessing. A most pleasant surprise."

        Why do I repost this again? Well, I found out from my wife this morning that the name of the nurse's aid was Blessing!

Joy of Learning from the Lord

        Of course, my main purpose of attending daily Mass is to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist so that I might remain as one with him. Then my joy increases greatly when he also teaches me directly during Mass.  

*Overwhelmed and with Gratitude

        Communion experience. As the priest consecrated the bread and wine, I knew they were going to be transformed into the flesh and blood of our Lord. For me, this invisible mystical transformation is even more impactful than the visible stunning transfiguration of the Lord on Mt. Tabor. I was compelled to ask who am I that he should find worthy to receive him! 

*Only Essential Teacher

        Communion antiphon from Matthew 23: "You have but one teacher, the Christ." There are many teachers in the world, but no one knows everything nor can save your soul. This leaves Christ to be the only teacher you essentially need.

*Hypocrites Beautifully Portrayed

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus continued to denounce the scribes and Pharisees for being hypocrites. He said to them, "You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth." Ouch! The people of today are no different. Anytime you see someone who wants to appear beautiful on the outside in the eyes of the world, you can be sure that he or she is hiding something on the inside. 

*Letting God Search Us*

        Today's response from Psalm 139: You have searched me and you know me, Lord. It strikes me that it's absolutely necessary that we open ourselves to let the Lord enter to search us, our hearts. This shows our willingness to know him, absolutely necessary for our salvation. 

Remembering Saint Augustine

        Today is the memorial of St. Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church. When I first entered the Church many decades ago, I had to pick a patron saint or something and I chose St. Augustine. Not because I knew much about him, but because I was unfamiliar with all the saints and Augustine was the name I had heard of before. Subsequently, I read some of his books, including the best known Confessions. His most famous saying which I have quoted a number of time in the past on this blog is, of course, this one: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." During Communion, I really felt this to be true, as my heart rested peacefully in Christ. May this great saint continue to watch over and bless me.

***God and I (Ecstatic Feeling)***

        I have recommended the Book He and I a number of times because you can read all the beautiful messages Christ gave to Gabrielle Bossis the author, expressing his desire to be one with us. So the title makes sense. Today I feel that there's only God and I as one – I am alone in him but never lonely. It is most amazing that nothing in this world I can claim to be mine, yet I possess the Lord! By the way, I am also enjoying him every moment.

**I Became the Fruit*

        Communion experience. I wanted the Lord to completely slay my old self to make me new. He made me see that this was also bearing fruit for him, for I was that fruit. 

**Feeling Good About Yourself

        Make sure that God feels good about you, then you'll feel good about yourself too!

***Prayer Distilled*

        We can pray that God will strengthen us, that God will increase our faith, that God will make us more loving, that God will do this or do that. Wouldn't it be better to pray that we will let God strengthen us, that we will let God increase our faith, that we will let God make us more loving, that we will let God do this or do that? Best yet, we can pray that we will be open to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us? This covers everything we can think of and simplifies our prayer. And besides, it puts you on the road to union with God.

Stepping Out of Comfort Zone

        I caught Steve Harvey, the comedian, giving a short motivational speech on TV. He said that we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone if we need to. This resonates with me, for we should do that in following God's call. Knowing that you are doing God's will can actually make you feel comfortable.

Laughable Proclamation

        This morning I heard on TV one presidential candidate for 2020, who is 100% pro-abortion, proclaim that he was going to fight for the soul of this nation. That surely sounded like a joke. How can you trust anyone who doesn't know how to save his own soul to save others? 

*Grateful for God's Mercy*

        I would like to thank both the Lord, and the Blessed Mother for her intercession. As you know, I had to rush Maria my wife to emergency room just a few days after she had her kidney stone surgery (see my post "God's Surprise Response" of August 20). It turned out that she suffered severe sepsis due to kidney infection. This is a serious disease that can often be fatal or damage other organs. The medical personnel did their best and the final urine analysis miraculously showed that she was free of infection. The Lord surely heard my prayers! Today she is home finishing up her antibiotic and is pretty much back to normal.

*Keeping Our Thorns

        Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 mentions his thorn in the flesh. He begged the Lord to take it away from him, but the Lord left it alone so that power might be made perfect through his weakness. We don't know what Paul's thorn was, but we all have our own thorns which weaken us in one way or another. Why don't we also take advantage of it by letting God make us strong too?

**Honest Truth*

        Once you hear the Lord speaking to your heart directly, everything else you hear, whatever it might be, becomes downright tiresome and boring! For God alone liberates and refreshes our soul.

"Woe to you Hypocrites"

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. Were they self-serving? Yes. Were they misguided. Perhaps. Were they evil? They might not deliberately want to hurt others, but they definitely wanted to make themselves look and feel good. It seems that not doing much good is as sinful as doing evil. You could argue that the evildoers are at least genuine, not phony like the scribes and Pharisees. While the former follow Satan, the hypocrites are deceived by Satan to follow their own ego. Be genuine in the Lord always and you'll never hear the Lord say "Woe to you" to you.   

**Key Realization

        God is not only our creator, but also our loving Father. This realization can totally change your relationship with God.

**Being Bonded to God!

        Communion experience. The Communion antiphon, John 6.54: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Interestingly, Jesus did not say "Whoever eats this bread and drinks this wine has eternal life." It is clear that if the bread and wine had remained ordinary, Jesus would not have used the words "my flesh" and "my blood." Also, it wouldn't have made sense that consuming ordinary bread and wine could give you eternal life. Anyway, I felt true bonding with the Lord when I received the Holy Eucharist.

***Something Beautiful & Wonderful

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 86: Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in you, my God. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. Today's response, Mark 16.15: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. If we love the Lord, we must go all out to serve him. He loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. When we go all out for him, we get to possess him in the process as well. Then something most beautiful and wonderful happens – God and man becoming one! My friend, make this the goal of your life. As always, let God do the work and I promise you that it will be the most exciting adventure of your life.

**Your Doing or God's Doing?

        If you make yourself god in charge of yourself, then everything you do will be your doing. Can you save yourself from sin? I doubt it. Now, you let the God of Christ be your God. Then whatever you do will be his doing, and, of course, he will know exactly how to lead you to eternal life. This is the big difference, my friend.

*To Remain Free Forever

        People in the world get so involved with the world that they are no longer free. They are in the world, belong to it, and are enslaved by it. Therefore, be in Christ to belong to God to remain free forever. 

*How to Remain Incorrupt

        The world is a corrupt world. All the more we need to be one with God to remain pure now and be incorrupt forever.

***Real Presence in the Eucharist*

       As I have reported, surveys have shown that the majority of Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This has to be a major crisis within the Church, and the outburst of all other scandals are no longer shocking. 

         Let's take a look at the Holy Eucharist. If the bread and wine only represent the body and blood of Jesus symbolically, then the Apostles, the early church fathers, the great saints throughout history, and all the faithful to this day have committed the sin of idolatry, and none of them should be in heaven now, right? If Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, then those Catholics who do not believe would equally not be able to get into heaven. Who do you think are right? (If you have doubts, read John 6 with an open mind to let the Lord reveal the truth to you.)

***The Missing Prayer***

        I do not recall ever hearing this critically important prayer said in public: "Lord, may we surrender ourselves completely to you so that we might become holy and perfect." It says a lot about us. I see it as our lack of faith in God.     

**The "Chosen" Test

        If the Lord has chosen you, you would definitely know. If you are not sure about it, then you really don't know him well yet.

*Pathway to Freedom and Peace

        You care only about what God thinks about you and nothing else; you are ego free. 

My Favorite Apostles

        Today is the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle. He is also known as Nathanael. We do not know him as much as some of the other Apostles; nevertheless, I feel close to him, as Jesus saw him as a true child of Israel with no duplicity in him. I love anyone without duplicity, a quality you don't see much today. So he is also my favorite Apostle next to John, the one who called himself the disciple Jesus loved.

***Pathway to Holiness

       I have posted in the past that we should pray for ourselves foremost to become holy and perfect, for holiness must start with us, not with someone else. Remember that Christ asks his followers to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect? Once you know that you should become holy and perfect, you shift your focus away from yourself to the Lord – you now want to listen to and obey him always. Yes, that's all you need to do and he will fulfill your heart's desire. As always, God makes things easy for us when we let him.

Lesson on Tolerance

        This is the lesson the Lord has taught me today. There are times I get bothered by seeing someone doing something not in the most efficient or effective manner. I know that we are all different and have our own ways, so it comes down to how tolerant we are. The rule should be "never look down on anyone in any way." Perhaps it's good to remember that we are not holier than anyone else, for God is the only one who is truly holy. Tolerance and patience are called for. 

We Belong to God

        Communion thoughts. The Lord God is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is also our Alpha and our Omega, our first and our last, our beginning and our end. Without him, we would not have come into being. Since we came from him; it'll be out of order if we do not return to him. 

**We Can Be Saints!

        If Jesus could make the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead – not even mentioning his own Resurrection – and convert Paul from an enemy into an apostle, he surely can make each one of us into a saint. With us giving him the OK, our success is guaranteed.

*Our Choice to Be Chosen or Not

        Today is Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Gospel reading from Matthew 22 gave us the parable of the wedding feast. A king invited many guests to come to the wedding feast he had prepared for his son, but many did not appreciate the invitation and ignored it, and one who showed up not dressed properly got cast outside. The result was "many are invited, but few are chosen." The smart move for us is to be ready to go to the Lord the moment he invites or calls us.

***The Path to Life*

        Matthew 7.14: How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life, says the Lord. We can totally broaden that road and widen that gate by opening our hearts to let the Lord in. As we open ourselves up, the road broadens and the gate widens. When we surrender ourselves completely to the Lord, they disappear altogether and voilà, we are one with God! 

Christ the Transformer

        Communion experience. I died in Christ and he renewed me – how fitting and perfect.

*Learning All Things from the Lord

        As I was growing up, I heard all those popular songs singing about love and saw how people fall in love in all those Hollywood movies. Then Jesus came along and I finally understood the true meaning of love. Learn from Christ to understand all things correctly, and you'll experience freedom and joy.

**Afraid of Looking at Ourselves?

        It's always easy to criticize others, but not ourselves. It's easy to expect others to be perfect, but not so easy to look at our own imperfections. It's also easy to help others, not realizing that we need help too. Praying for others is commonly heard, but we neglect to pray for ourselves. Perhaps we are afraid of looking at ourselves. The fact is that we should pray for ourselves first, for if we all become holy, we'll have peace and heaven on earth. So take care of ourselves before trying to take care of the world. Going the other way is going the wrong way!

Following Yourself or God

        You try to climb Mt. Everest, jump across a canyon on your motorcycle, or attempt some other feat to feel good about yourself and may lose your life in the process. Following yourself and anything bad can happen. You can also humbly surrender yourself to God and gain eternal life for sure. Begin and remain in God and you'll always end well.

*All in God's Power!

        If God can make us temporarily blind as when he called St. Paul or dumb as when he called Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, he can certainly heighten all our senses to make us see clearly all the truths or hear him speak to our hearts.

*Reminder

        Since Jesus is God and personally came to us to redeem us from our sins in order that we might be saved, salvation can only come from him.

**Most beautiful, Simple, Pure Act

        Communion experience. The perfect time to make the act of surrendering yourself to the Lord, placing yourself at his disposal, at his service. 

**The Way to Happiness

        God loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. And he has made us so that we can only truly be happy when we possess all of him. When you let God possess you, he is all yours too. Imagine how happy both God and you will be when you offer yourself to him! 

God's Surprise Response

        I posted recently that my wife underwent kidney stone surgery. She had a stent placed in her ureter to prevent any blockage of the urine flow. Five days later, she lost urinary control completely and developed a high fever accompanied by shaking chills. I rushed her to emergency at the hospital. Her temperature was high and blood pressure low, signs of an internal infection. She went through various tests and was treated with antibiotics. The stent was to remain in her for another 10-14 days. On the 4th day she was ready to be released to come home. A nurse's aid, while preparing her for leaving the hospital, discovered the string that's attached to the stent. Ignorant of what it was, she started pulling on it and the stent came more than halfway out. Of course, it was a mistake and could possibly cause further complications. My wife, I, and the hospital staff were all concerned. But the doctors had no choice but to remove the stent entirely. The surprise was that after it's all pulled out, my wife's urinary control became normal again. Her temperature was now almost all gone. The next day on August 18, we quietly celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary at home. It seemed that the Lord allowed this mistake to happen and turned it into a blessing. It sure was a pleasant surprise. 

*****Wakeup Call to the Whole Church*****

        Recently, on August 12, I posted "Failings of the Church," lamenting the fact that the majority of Catholics who attend Mass do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. (For details of this finding, read this report.) I feel a tremendous burden on my heart, for it is worse for Catholics not to believe in this teaching than it is for non-Catholics not to believe in Catholicism. The general lack of reverence seen at Mass and the fact that parishioners who don't go to confession continue to receive this holy sacrament indicate the lack of this central belief. The Church should start educating her flock on the double now before trying to evangelizing the world. If your belief is seriously in error, how can you possibly go convert others? Correcting this problem is fundamentally even more important than exposing all the scandals within the Church. Never forget what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11.27: Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. Most serious warning! [I know I may be rocking the boat, but I cannot stifle the voice of the Lord.] 

***True Wisdom Is . . .

knowing God's will. You want to know it to possess the Lord 100%!

**Do the Impossible in God

        Communion experience. It was the perfect time to abandon myself to the Lord after receiving him. I did it and now I can say I've done it! In God, all things become easy!

***How to Be Perfect

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus told a rich young man that to gain eternal life, he needed to keep the commandments. But to be perfect, he should go sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow him. Although we may not be able sell all our possessions, we should at least be able to detach ourselves from them totally. Again, seeking to attain union with God will take care of this. In perfect union, you become detached from not only your things, but also your family and yourself! You are now attached to God alone and are free!

**God's Continues Calling Us

        In ancient Israel, God spoke to his people through the prophets, but many did not remain faithful. Then Jesus the Son of God came himself to proclaim salvation for all nations, but still many hardened their hearts and rejected him. More recently, the Mother of our Lord has appeared many times calling us to return to God, but the big division between those who believer and those who don't has remained. I personally belief that God, being most merciful, will show us great signs to draw us to him once more yet at the appropriate time, and this could be the last call to wake us up before the final judgment. But don't take any chances.

*Greatest Spiritual Gift

        Communion experience. The Eucharist is our greatest spiritual gift and treasure, for it's the Lord himself. I experienced great fulfillment and contentment. Truly, he is with us always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28.20).

***Transform Your Spiritual Life***

       In today's second reading from Hebrews 12, Paul urges all to rid themselves of every burden and sin that clung to them and persevere in running the race that lay before them. We are always being encouraged to love the Lord more, become holier, accept suffering, etc., and never give up. This is hard work if you try to do it on your own and you can easily get discouraged. But you may still make heaven, for God sees your good intentions. Now that you are going to heaven, why not make your journey on earth also joyful and enjoyable? This is my principal message, the message the Lord God wants me to spread for the world to know. I am reiterating it timely again here.  

        Struggling to love God on your own will alway be a struggle, as we are all finite beings. The secret of success is to let God do it for you! You can choose to climb the mountain all by yourself or ask God to lift you straight up to him. As always, I advise that you submit yourself to the Lord completely to let him take you where you want to go and accomplish whatever you want to accomplish for his glory. Then he will remove all your struggles and turn all your sufferings into joy. Why live a tedious, laborious spiritual life, whereas you can soar to him effortlessly in joy and with excitement? Why?

**Connecting with the Flock

        I wish that the Church hierarchy will always use plain language in teaching her flock. This calls for a degree of humility. A PhD talking at his level will surely not connect with a group of elementary school students. Many official messages and letters are written for the learned, the well educated, not always easy for the laity to comprehend. Jesus always spoke plainly and direct to his people. Personally, I enjoy reading Pope Benedict very much. I've found his writings beautiful and profound, but still within my grasp.

***Call to Arms*

        At an evil time like ours today, we need to heed Paul's advice given in Ephesians 6 all the more: put on the armor of God to hold your ground; stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace; in all circumstances, hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. This sounds like warfare to me. But today, the leadership within the Church is relatively weak or timid, and the messages preached in many churches rather mild or unfocused. Missing are the fire, the zeal, the spirit, for there is no going after the Lord! The soul needs to be pierced, prodded, stirred up, fed, nurtured, and the focus must always be intensely on Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

*The Perfection of Man

        God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are his ways our ways (Isaiah 55.8). Without God's guidance, we would be wandering farther and farther away from him. Therefore, seek to attain union with him to become like him. 

**Our Primary Aim

        Our soul is what Jesus cares about the most. The gospel he spread aimed solely at saving us. And that should be our primary aim too, to bring all to Christ so that they might be saved.

**Only Proper Response to God

        Communion experience. The Lord entered into my house, how could I possibly sustain his almighty presence in me? Then I realized that he was the one who had sustained me all along. How else could my heart have kept on beating and my lungs kept on breathing? In fact, my very existence depends upon his will. The only logical, proper response to him I can think of is to rest in him, putting myself completely in his hands and at his mercy.   

*The Day We'll Have No Say

        Should Jesus come today as he did last time, our world would be even more divided. Many will spread fake news about him and physically attack him right away, I am quite sure. But, of course, the next time he comes, he'll come as our judge and we'll be completely at his mercy.  

*Going Against God's Intentions

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 19. Some Pharisees tested Jesus, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." Today man rebels against God in so many ways. Even within the Church, I wonder how some get their marriage annulled so much quicker than others. I know of one local Catholic celebrity who has divorced and married a number of times and he is still regarded as a celebrity.

All Is Relative (Only God Absolute)

        When some trauma came up like my having to rush my wife to ER unexpectedly, which I posted about yesterday, you simply put all your plans on hold and alter your daily routine for the time being. Things that mattered to you no longer matter much. I thought of the day we'll all face God and be judged. That will be the time we just have to drop everything we'd planned, owned, or saved. Nothing else matters anymore. If you are wise, you would start getting yourself detached from everything other than God right now.

*Truth About God Revealed

        I prayed the Holy Rosary this morning. As usual, I started with the Apostles' Creed. While saying it, I heard myself and felt as though the Lord was revealing everything about him I need to know, and I felt great joy. You can hear the creed recited in English on this short video:

**Facing Problems in Life

        I thought my wife was on her way to full recovery after the kidney stone surgery, but suddenly she developed a fever with violent chills and had to be rushed to emergency. It appears to have been caused by an infection of the kidney. She's still having her urine tested and I'll know more about the exact treatment to be administered to her tomorrow. How do you handle things like that? I believe that whatever we do, we should do it for the sake of God. This way, however things turn out, we'll know it's his will. Of course, we are free to intercede, possibly affecting the outcome. But ultimately, we must accept the will of God. I don't know of a more appropriate way. Your prayers for her would be appreciated.

To Win with God

        Anyone who is in union with God knows that the Lord always works things out. Therefore, he does not get anxious nor ever reach the point of not knowing what to do. Getting ahead of God is playing the losing game. To win, you always follow God's lead.

*Guadalupe Confirms Revelation

        Today is Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reading 1 came from Revelation 11. We heard read: "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." Immediately, the 1531 image of Our Lady of Guadalupe came to my mind. It shows the Blessed Mother having sun rays emanating behind her, the moon under her feet, and a black girdle around her waist signifying that she was with child. There are other signs in the image not that obvious, but what I could see confirms what St. John wrote in Revelation – pretty amazing.

**Falling in Love with God

        Falling in love with God is different from falling in love with any other human being. All love starts with a sense of attraction, usually physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual. With God, the attraction is spiritual, then you discover that he, being your creator, can actually transform your heart and heal your soul to make you experience freedom, peace, and joy. Now you can't help but fall in love with him who is actually your most beloved Father. 

*Need for Praying Together

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." It shows the importance of praying together. Most churches hold Bible study sessions, but lack a prayer group. Praying together will certainly draw you closer to God more effectively. By the way, Catholics should learn to pray spontaneously and not always read prayers written by someone else. After all, only you can express what is exactly in your heart.

**Fire and Water

        Today is Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, an incredible priest who showed his love for God at Auschwitz. May he inspire us to be as selfless and obedient to God as he was. The response to readings from Psalm 66 at Mass: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire! God is not only fire, but also water. He is fire because he burns away our impurities and inflames our heart with zeal to serve him. He is water because he quenches our thirst and refreshes our soul. The Lord is good for us!

***To Live Passionately in Christ

        Benjamin Zander, the English musician, is currently the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He gives interpretation classes to young musicians. I am impressed that he can make them play more passionately to liven up the music. Here is one video you'll enjoy watching if you like classical music. Of the ten violin sonatas Beethoven wrote, the "Spring" (No. 5) and the "Kreutzer" (No. 9) are best known. They are masterpieces for sure. Here the violinist and the pianists succeed in playing the first movement of the "Spring" as one. The music is filled with joy. My thoughts turn to  what we can do too: Living passionately in union with Christ as one to be filled with joy.

***Worth Dying For

        Communion experience. Unfortunately, all new churches built nowadays no longer provide altar rails and we simply receive Holy Communion standing and in the hand. But more importantly, how do we receive the Lord in our heart? Today I knew that I received the one worth dying for and who will raise me on the last day! 

Making It Easy for the Lord

         In Matthew 8, a centurion appealed to Jesus to help his paralyzed servant. When the Lord was ready to go and cure him, the centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Now at Mass we respond the same way before receiving Holy Communion by putting ourselves in the servant's place. Today I thought I wouldn't even need the Lord to say the word – I only need him to will it and I shall be healed.

*Be True Christians

        In John 1, Jesus saw Nathanael (Bartholomew) coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." "No duplicity" – I love hearing that! In Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." Therefore, let us be complete honest to God and to ourselves. Be genuine. Phoniness is from the evil one. Aim to please God alone, not anyone else. Then we'll be true Christians and sleep better too.

Hanging by a Thread

        Life on earth for all of us will end one day, as physical death is imminent. It's as if we are all hanging by a thread, a thread that can break at any time. What happens to us after that thread breaks is what we should be concerned about. The good news is that if you know Christ, that thread will never break and will in fact be used by him to pull you up heavenward to him in the end.

***Failings of the Church

      I came across this video by Brian Holdsworth today and his message resonates with me. If it's true that only 1/3 of Catholics believes in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, then the Church has failed miserably in teaching her members. This belief in the Real Presence is at the core of being Catholic. If a Catholic does not hold this belief, I don't think he should consider himself to be a Catholic. By the way, when all the submarine Catholics show up only at Easter and Christmas Masses, why don't the individual churches make it clear that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist and that one should not receive the sacrament if he has not been attending Mass regularly?
     Brian also mentions the lack of reverence at most Masses and I agree with him too. We should worship the Lord as if we were at the Last Supper. Anything that distracts us from focusing on the Lord is out of order. I personally freak out a little bit when I receive the Holy Eucharist and see fingernails painted black or dark red holding forth the consecrated white host for me to receive. That's why I always chose to receive the Lord from the priest if possible. Also, music that sounds more like pop music is another distraction. I still remember the time a high school student was allowed to play the drum with the band and I got jumpy when I knew that a predictable big drumbeat was coming. There are many other things I can touch on. Anyway, believing in the Eucharist and showing proper reverence at Mass are of primary importance in making you a true Catholic.

***Lukewarm Catholicism

        Today's brand new video from Fr. Mark Goring. A great warning for us!

*Most Pleasing Prayer to God

        "Lord, make me holy for your sake."        

*God's Great Love

         I love the Father for loving not just me, but also everyone else equally. 

**Trusting in God with Our Burdens

        Communion experience. My heart had been weighed down spiritually by a number of heavy burdens, so I sought refuge in my Lord, as he was the only one who understood and could console me. This lead to complete abandonment in him. I see that God desires that all of us do this when we are burdened. Trusting in the Lord with all our burdens pleases him who loves us. 

***Fantastic God!

        Our God is our Lord, our creator, our master, our teacher, our counselor, our comforter, our healer, our father, our brother, our friend, our server, our confidant, and our soulmate! Whom else would you ever need?

Straight Path to Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading, Jesus also said, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be." It's obvious that following Jesus will lead you straight to heaven. Attain union with the Lord now and your destination is assured.

**Becoming Useful to God

        Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence. In the Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." So the question is how much of my old self has died? With God, you gain maximum benefits only if you go all the way with all your heart! This is precisely what makes following Christ so exciting, for you are amazed that he can indeed transform you to make you fruitful. Now you know that you are useful to and loved by God.

*End of Our Toil

         My wife had her kidney stone surgery this morning. It's her third time having to remove a stone from the kidney. Earlier the doctor said that he might have to operate a fourth time, since the stone this time was very large. I prayed in the waiting room practically the whole time and at the end, the doctor came out, happily informing me that he succeeded in removing the entire stone. I was most grateful to God.
        While waiting in the car for my wife to come out of the hospital entrance to drive her home, I watched many other patients being discharged. One old gentleman apparently came with his own wheelchair. He had difficulty in getting into his waiting car and the driver had to fold up the chair and put it back in the car afterwards. What I saw was that most of us had to toil a lot in life, so the earth is definitely not where we want to be for long. Fortunate are those who know Christ and that they are going to settle in heaven with him for all eternity.

**Fear of Devil Examined

        Looking at how evil has infiltrated our society and how so many people exhibit ungodly behaviors, should we fear the Devil? My answer is NO, for if you remain humble and holy in the Lord, the Devil has absolutely no power to touch you. He is annoying at times, but he can easily be ignored. Those who should fear the Devil are the ones who have already been deceived and snared by him and are in danger of losing their soul. But God is always there to save them. They can be freed instantly if they would only turn to the Lord and beg for his mercy. So, to fear the Devil or not, it's your choice.

**Our Most Appropriate Response!*

        Communion experience. The Lord enters me, body and soul – this is the perfect time for me to yield to and rest in him. As a matter of fact, I can't think of another more appropriate response! 

Most Powerful Joy

        The Joy of Christ can wipe out all our sorrows!        

Two Requirements for the Disciple

        Today is the memorial of St. Dominic. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus confirmed to his disciples that he was the Christ, the son of the living God. And he rebuked Peter for not thinking as God does, but as human beings do. So we must not only believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior, but also think as God does. This clearly requires that we become one with him so that we might become like him.

**Precise Advice (Best Ever News)

        If you are not perfectly happy living in this world, there is an option – seek out Christ who can make you perfectly happy in heaven for all eternity!

***Dwelling in Each Other

        Communion experience. As I went up the aisle to receive the Holy Eucharist from Father B this morning, I saw the open tabernacle on the altar behind him and immediately thought of the house of the Lord. After I received the sacrament, I realized that the Lord had entered my house and that made me the house of the Lord too! We are indeed temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6.19). Nevertheless, house or no house, when you become one with God, you and God are in each other!

**Joy of Hearing from the Lord*

        It is a joy and blessing to hear from the Lord. He speaks directly to the heart and that makes the communication so much more personal and intimate. And his messages always inspire and build you up spiritually. Now you have a personal protector, a travel guide, the perfect soulmate, and your greatest joy.

**How We Can End Up

        God will treat us the way we treat him or others. If we reject God, he will reject us. If we are ashamed of him, he'll be ashamed of us. He will judge us the way we judge others. He will forgive us the way we forgive others. So we'll be treated in accord with how others are treated by us and receive what God receives from us. To be precise, since God always loves us, it is really us who put ourselves in any bad position. Aim to be perfect, and we'll be OK. 

**Our Ultimate Wish

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 15. A Canaanite woman came to beg Jesus to deliver her daughter from being tormented by a demon. Because she showed great faith, Jesus finally said to her, "Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. This is the pronouncement we'd love to hear from the Lord. When we attain union with him, we will hear that, for we and the Lord then will alway wish for the same thing. By the way, this is the ultimate we can ever wish for.

**Where We Need God's Help Most

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 70: O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me! You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay. We need God's help in so many things. But most importantly, we need him to help us open up to him so that we may obey him always, not doing his will only when we feel like it.

God Needs Our Fervent Support

        When we petition the Lord for something with a burning desire, it is not that we lack faith and thus need to pray extra hard to make up for that; on the contrary, it's because we know what we ask for is in accordance with his holy will and are with him 100%.

**Our No. 1 Desire and Goal

        Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Here is 1 John 3.2, the Communion antiphon: When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. To be like Jesus – this is most personal and even better than to be in heaven! Brothers and sisters, let's make that our No. 1 desire and goal! Start seeking union with the Lord right this moment.

***Our Final Fulfillment

        We are basically lonely creatures. There is no one on earth whom we can truly rely upon, for we are all alike. Then we run into Christ, start to follow him and we are not alone anymore. As he draws us closer and closer to him, we desire to become one with one. When we attain union, we are completely fulfilled, for we now belong to God totally! 

**Gift to Keep You Holy

        We are set free when we surrender to God the Truth. The first emerging sign is that our conscience becomes super sharp, making you aware of what pleases and what offends God. You lose peace the moment you sin, even if you sin ever so slightly. This is great help in keeping you holy.

***Urgent Call to All Christians

        The Lord wants us to remain vigilant, for we don't know when he'll be coming. But he also wants us to be vigilant about attacks coming from Satan! We must fight evil as hard as we can every chance we get. This is serious business, for all souls including our own are at stake. Because of the laxity of all Christians, evil has managed to infiltrated our societies and the Church rapidly during the last half century or so. The time to go all out to fight for God our savior has been long overdue. Surrender to the Lord to be one with him now so that we may become strong, bold, and fearless.

***Awesome Union

        Communion experience. Since the whole Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist, when I received his Body and Blood, I also received his Soul and Divinity! Realize this and you are never the same again. 

**Worse than Being a Fool

        In my last post, I talked about not to let God see you as a fool. What's worse than being a fool? California is ready to pass the so-called "abortion pill" bill, forcing all on-campus California public universities to provide the abortion pill at student health clinics. From the spiritual point of view, this is clearly choosing evil over God, going beyond being foolish. Alas, Judas Iscariot is alive and well today. Please pray for California.

**Don't Be a Fool to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12 at Mass, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. A rich man produced a bountiful harvest and decided to tear down his barns and build larger ones to store his harvest and other goods. He said to himself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But God said to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" Many of us are just like the rich man. Recently, I thought of the things such as my piano which I had enjoyed playing for years and the many most personal photographs I'd made over the years. To whom should they go after I die? The answer was "I really shouldn't care." If God is calling you go to him, how can you not drop everything and leave? If you have not been perfectly obedient to God, here is your last chance to show him that you do obey him!

Characteristics of a Disciple

        One of today's suggested Communion antiphons, Matthew 5,7-8, are two of the Beatitudes given by Jesus: Blesses are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Being merciful to others and having a clean heart certainly should characterize any true disciple of Christ.

*Power of the Heart

        The heart is like our steering wheel. It can steer us toward God or away from God. The end results couldn't be more different from each other. But you are the driver in control of your heart. If you steer your heart toward God, as you get close to him, your heart gets purified more and more, and you would want to go all the away. If you had steered your heart to go the other way, turning around can become harder and harder as time goes on. So be a smart driver; steer you heart in the right direction at the start.

***Smart Petitioning

        In just about all the preached messages I've heard anywhere, we ask the Lord to help us love him more, believe in him more, to be more forgiving, etc. But the effective approach is to ask the Lord to help us open up to him, surrender ourselves to him, letting him take complete charge of us! We cannot make ourselves holy, only God can make us holy. If we don't let him in, how can he do the work? We forget that we are the stumbling block that needs to be removed first. This has been the message the Lord wants me to spread and I am repeating it again. 

*Intention Wins

        Attended first Saturday morning Mass today. The congregation sang the entrance hymn and didn't sound too good, for there was no unison. Then I realized that the Lord cared only about our intention, so what I heard was still beautiful to him.

*Choosing Your Reward

        Any reward you receive in this life that feeds your ego comes from the Evil One, and it diminishes your chance of receiving any reward from God. Any reward that humbles you in secret comes from God, and you will be rewarded even more in heaven. 

Rejoice in the Lord Always

        Again, I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary today. It really breaks your heart to think about how Christ suffered so excruciatingly for us. But I felt that the Lord just wanted me to be grateful and rejoice, for he has triumphed!

Intimate Bonding

        Today being a first Friday, there was adoration of the Blesses Sacrament following morning Mass at Church. I was adoring the Lord whom I just consumed five minutes earlier. That's how intimately the Lord bonds himself to us.

What Makes You Happy?

        I had mentioned that when I told some friends that I was really happy to have found Christ, they all congratulated me and were happy for me. It seemed to them as if there were many ways to happiness and I was lucky to have found the one that worked for me. What they failed to see was that there is only one thing that can set us free and truly satisfy us, the truth of Christ.

Just God and Me

        Communion experience. As the Lord and I melded into each other to be one, I became aware of only him and myself.

***Secret of Spiritual Success Reiterated***

        If you want to love God, then let God make it happen. On you own, you cannot succeed. You must have God draw you, inspire you, and dazzle you. So you need to open up to let him in. Then make everything you want to accomplish to be his doing. God, being your creator, is the only one who can transform you! This is the secret of spiritual success. This is why in union with God, you progress spiritually effortlessly, as he helps you do everything! God is your secret power!

*Preparing for Your Own Judgment

        People today love suing others, at least in this country. There have been innocent people who were wrongly sentenced to prison as well as guilty ones who got away with their crimes. But in the end all such cases don't matter much, for one day we'll all appear before God to be judged and receive the exact verdict we deserve, the only verdict that matters. Instead of wasting time suing someone on earth, it would be much more profitable to use the time to prepare for our day in God's court later.

*Abandonment to God Brings Wonders

        I have blogged about being slain in the Holy Spirit. This had happened to me several times. Each time, a charismatic priest put his hand on my forehead to bless me, with or without some relic, and I just fell involuntarily to the floor. It's also called resting in the Spirit, for you experience deep peace in that state. When I went up the aisle to be blessed, I did not question if I was going to fall or not. By abandoning myself to the Holy Spirit, I did fall and experience the peace. The one time this did not happen was when I had some bothersome thoughts on my mind, preventing me from complete abandonment. So the lesson I learned was that if you wish to experience the wonders of God, you need to abandon yourself 100% to the Lord.