**Guardian of My Soul

        Communion experience. Jesus is the only one who can touch, cleanse, heal, and save my soul. I entrust my soul entirely to him for safekeeping.

***No Longer Lost

        We are here in this world, wondering where we came from, why we are here, and where we'll be going. So we need directions. On our own, we are definitely lost. Should we follow some other fellow being? But we are all in the same boat! Our clearcut dream answer: Christ the Lord. Being our creator, he is greater than us, and happens to love us—the perfect fulfillment. Following him is more satisfying than anything else we can possibly experience, for he solves all our mysteries for all eternity!  

**Jesus' Sole Intention

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." Do you know Jesus' intention yet? His sole purpose is do us good by saving us from our sins so that we might enjoy eternal life in heaven! There's zero malice, only pure love! If you still ignore or reject him, I am sorry that I would see you as a quite thickheaded person.

**Only Concrete Way of Knowing God

        Abandon yourself completely to God to become one with him.

Joy Outweighing Sorrow

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus explained why his disciples did not fast: "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from therm, and then they will fast." We are happy because the Lord is always with us. At the same time, we are sorry because the world continues to sin against him. So we experience both joy and sorrow at the same time. By offering up our sorrows to the Lord, the joy outweighs the sorrow always.

*To Be Alert Always

        Jesus said to his disciples, "Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the Lord will come." (Mark 13.33.) While waiting for his coming, we must also be watchful and alert to discern and do his will at all times.

*More Important Concern than Money

        Under the current threat that the coronavirus might become pandemic, stock prices have plunged daily. Many investors are worried or even panic. So they are all getting out of the market. This is understandable. But more difficult for me to understand is why so few are concerned about where their souls are heading right now. This is so much more important than whether you make or loose money in this life—there is no comparison! As Jesus asked in yesterday's Gospel reading from Luke 9: "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"

*Denying God?

        If you haven't surrendered yourself to the Lord God yet, then you are still denying him. God is our most fundamental reality and facing up to reality is always the best policy.

*Letting God Be Our Lord

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." If you believe that Jesus was of sound mind, then he must have spoken as the Lord God. Essentially, he's saying that he should be the Lord of our life. I'd like to add that the more we let him be our Lord and God, the easier it becomes to take up our cross. When we are able to completely submit ourselves to him, he becomes the one to bear all our crosses. Following Christ is the only way to true freedom. 

*Clear- or Muddy-Headed

        To me, a clear-headed person is one who knows that he is a sinner, that he needs to have his sins removed in order in be saved, and that Jesus Christ is exactly the Savior he needs to believe in and follow. Otherwise, he is muddy-headed.  

***Ash-Wednesday Wake-Up Reminder

        We shall all die; but we don't really die, since our soul lives on forever. And how we live on earth will determine how our soul shall live for all eternity. 

**Extraordinary Union!

        Communion experience. What a momentous, memorable occasion! We have a most wretched sinner uniting with the Most Holy One!

*Humility, Key to Sainthood

        In today's Gospel reading of Matthew 6.1-6, 16-18, Jesus teaches that when we give alms, pray, and fast, we should do it all in secret for only the Father to see. In essence, we must not be egotistic, for to be so is to be hypocritical. It becomes clear to me that if we can completely shed our ego, we are well on the way to becoming saints.

*Thankful for God's Mercy

        Today is Ash Wednesday. I thought about the mercy of God. Psalm 30.3: If you, LORD, keep account of sins, Lord, who can stand? Without mercy, we could be struck dead the moment we sin. But God takes our sinful nature into account and is infinitely merciful. Even if we sin all our lives and repent just before we die, we are saved. (Of course, I am not advocating that you go ahead sin and delay repenting until the last moment, for you cannot fool God.) So, on this Ash Wednesday, I thank my God for his great mercy.

**Avoiding the Lord?

        Christ is ever present, waiting to receive us. Yet many who wish to know him better do not readily approach him. Instead, they choose to learn more about him via reading books or listening to others speak about him. Is it because they are not ready to expose themselves to the Lord yet? If you do not go straight to him directly with an open heart, how are you ever going to know him personally?

***Intimacy Most Desired

        Communion experience. Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured before their eyes on Mount Tabor. That must have been an awesome experience. Later, the disciples saw Jesus being taken up to heaven—what an inspiring sight it must have been! But I would rather receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist than witness anything as beautiful and amazing as the Transfiguration or the Ascension—that's because in receiving the Holy Eucharist, I get to experience great intimacy with the Lord.

***Single Step to Capturing God

        With a beautiful, perfect, and holy Lord like Jesus, it is not good enough to take a thousand little steps trying to get closer to him. Instead, we need to go all out to achieve union with him by letting him do whatever he wishes with us. This is total obedience, the single giant step we need to take to "capture" our beautiful, perfect, and holy Lord.

**Faith Most Beautiful

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, a man whose son was possessed by a mute spirit pleaded with Jesus, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus said to him, "'If you can!' Everything is possible to one who has faith." It is so good to hear the Lord say this. Faith in God is such a beautiful thing! Achieve union with the Lord and you'll be able to trust in him completely. 

***Believe in the Holy Eucharist!

        Most timely video to watch. If you still have doubts about the real presence of Christ in this sacrament, check out the three videos listed under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos . . . in the right column.         

***Squaring with Jesus' Teachings*

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus continued to teach his disciples. Here are some of the things he said I am grouping together. "Offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand over your cloak as well. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn back on one who wants to borrow. You have heard said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." But I say to you, love your enemies that you may be children of your heavenly Father. So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

        Jesus indeed practiced what he taught here to the letter when he was on earth. But how can we possibly be so perfect as he is? I do have many questions, for today's evils are quite more sophisticated. There are so many scams out there: are we supposed to let them scam us? People who beg money from you cannot always be trusted, for they fake poverty or work for some crime boss: should we always give or even give more than what they ask for? What if the beggar is actually a drug addict who needs the money to buy his substance? Should we donate to charities that pay their CEOs lavishly? If people want to abort all the babies, should we not resist them? Today, many Catholics have stopped giving money to the Church because they found out how millions and millions of dollars have been paid out to abused victims and for legal defense fees: are they all wrong? Last, if some country decides to take over our country, do we just surrender? The big question: how do we square these teachings of Jesus with the fact that we need to stop and defeat evil? Of course, we need to love everyone and help those who truly need help. At the same time, we don't want to be deceived by evil. I do not have the answer; I only know that the Lord is right. Let's just trust in his mercy and pray that he will not put us to the test.  

***Our Worst Enemy

        The worst enemy is one who can endanger your soul. So who is he? Satan? No, because he is powerless if you remain humble in God. Someone in the world? Well, you may have many of them all fighting you in various ways, but they cannot harm your soul if you don't do anything wrong or bad. In reality, your worst enemy is yourself, since only you can choose to stay away from God or to obey or follow him. It's also your choice to let Satan or others influence you or not. Conquer yourself and you'll have conquered all your enemies with God becoming your friend. 

*Extreme Feelings

        There is no feeling more torturous than realizing that Satan has ensnared you and you feel powerless to escape. And there is no feeling more consoling than realizing that God is in union with you and your soul now rests securely in him.

**Mary and the Miraculous Medal*

        We all feel a special love for our own mother. But our mothers are not perfect. I believe that God has made us so that we yearn for a perfect mother to love. And that mother is Mary, the Mother of Christ our Lord. She has revealed to us that her favorite prayer is the one she instructed St. Catherine Labouré to inscribe on the front of the Miraculous Medal. It reads: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." The Holy Mother promised to obtain many graces for those who wear the medal and request them. You can search for "Miraculous Medal" online and read all about it. How Mary appeared to St. Catherine to ask her to get the medal struck is a beautiful story in itself. 

*All Fair and Square

        If you judge others, God will judge you. If you forgive others, he will forgive you. If you do not acknowledge the Lord, he will not acknowledge you either. If you believe in him, he hears you. If you have no faith, he does not hear you. 

One More Big Deal

        Communion experience. The Lord can actually remove my sins from my soul! Another big deal.

***God's Awesome Holiness*

        You become aware of God's holy presence, once you attain union with him. So do not ever claim that he is not present. It's not just his presence, it's his holiness that impresses. Being aware of this holiness is sufficient to keep you from sinning, for it is the Lord.

**Undeserving Fools

        God has made simple and clear the way for us to get to heaven, but we pretend that we don't even hear or understand it. Who are the fools? How undeserving we can be!

***To Know Jesus Thoroughly

        How well do you know Jesus? How personal is your relationship with him? Do you only know him at the intellectual level? To know the Lord well, we need to know him at all levels. We need to understand him, to feel him, and to experience him. Then we'll have a warm, comfortable, and intimate relationship with him. Believe that he is present, body and soul, in the Holy Eucharist, open up and receive him to become one with him. Now you should know the Lord.

*Big Deals All Around

        Today is the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. In the first reading from 1 Peter 5, Peter gave good advice to the presbyters. He then told them, "When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." It made me see that when God rewards us, it is a big deal! Now, the Lord also loves us, appreciates us when we are faithful to him, and gives what's best for us and promises us life eternal when we love him . . . these are all big deals. It's also a big deal to see that he treats us as VIPs. 

***Most Violated Commandment

        The 8th of the Ten Commandments: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Very sadly, this is the commandment the mainstream media have been violating for many years, much more so since Trump got elected. As the MSM pretty much align themselves with the liberals on the left, they shamelessly make up stories, spread lies, show false pictures, ignore all the news that would make Trump look good and report anything that could make him look bad, aiming to spin their viewers and audiences. Unfortunately, there are always those who watch and listen exclusively to the fake news, and they get "brainwashed" and become intolerant of anyone who might disagree with them. The leftists even hope that the country will have a recession to make Trump look bad! This is wishing ill of all others for the sake of regaining control and power! Such continuing bearing false witness has succeeded in polarizing our entire country. I truly pity the people of MSM for spewing falsehoods and hate, not realizing that they are playing with fire, for by knowingly violating any of God's commandments you can lose your soul.

**Our First Order of Business

        Communion thoughts. If our relationship with the Lord is perfect, we shouldn't let how all other things turn out bother us anymore. This is not being cold or selfish; this is what the Lord desires from us. He always wants us to have faith in him and not be anxious about or afraid of anything. Our first order of business is to obey him.

**Doing the Opposite to Succeed

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus said to the crowd, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it." Jesus had also said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." It seems that we need to do the exact opposite to achieve what we want. It's the same with making spiritual progress. Instead of struggling hard, we simply abandon ourselves to God. It all comes down to letting God be God.

***Liberation in Two Parts***

        Communion experience. The Lord liberated me! This is how it came about. (1) It's all up to me—I let the Lord do whatever he wanted with me. (2) It's all up to God—he liberated me. That is, I gave him the OK and he finished the job. Simple and cool! 

••Lessons from Gospel Reading

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter got it right, for he replied, "You are the Christ." Our duty and goal is precisely to make this truth known to all!

        Right after Peter said the right thing, he blundered. Jesus told the disciples that he must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this Jesus turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." We are very much like Peter, following our emotion and not discerning the will of God. So, be aware that Satan is always there, prompting us to go against the Lord. And to know God's thoughts, seek to attain union with him.

**You Are Free When . . .

Jesus is more important to you than yourself.        

**Abandonment Time

        When we come to say "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" in praying the Our Prayer, it is time to abandon ourselves totally to God!      

Worldly Pleasure vs. Heavenly Joy

        When we pursue pleasure in the world, we are being self-centered. Whereas, when we receive joy from God, both he and we are pleased.

*Learning to Love Others

        Learn how to love others from the God of Christ first, then you'll know how to love everyone properly. So get to know the Lord well and you'll love all others as he loves them.

**Overcoming Our Weaknesses

        How do we overcome temptations, our ego, our fixations or obsessions, our hang-ups, and other human weaknesses? Should we resolve to face them and fight hard by whatever means available? On the contrary, we should not even worry about them. Instead, we should go before the Lord with all the above and rest ourselves in him with great confidence. Again, we go limp in God to let him restore and transform us completely.

*****Be a Saint Please

        From today's Communion antiphon from Psalm 78: They ate and had their fill, and what they craved the Lord gave them. Do you know that if you crave for spiritual food, the Lord will always give it to you without fail? Should you wish to become a saint, it is inconceivable that he would not comply! In fact, he would be so pleased that he'll readily fulfill your wish. After all, nothing is impossible with God, right? By the way, to want to be a saint has nothing to do with pride, for you realize that a saint must remain most humble. So, do not shortchange yourself. Do not miss glorifying God. Crave for the very best spiritually and God shall give it to you without fail!

**To Console God

        We worship God, adore God, praise God, and ask for his mercy, but we forget to console him, as the world continues to offend him! Let us amend this by being extra good, obedient, and holy to the Lord. 

*Why Attend Mass?

        Why do I attend Mass daily? To hear a good homily? To hear some good music or singing? To be amidst my brothers and sisters in Christ? The answer to all three questions is no. My only reason for attending Mass is to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist so that I may remain as one with him. 

**God Most Wonderful

        In Nazareth, Jesus' native place, he did not perform many mighty deeds because the local people lacked faith in him. Similarly, we do not experience God's wonders if we do not expect much from him. I can tell you that if we put all our faith in the Lord, that is, he becomes totally real to us, we shall never cease to experience his wonders! 

***Responding to God Alone

        In Matthew 7.21, Jesus said to his disciples that only those who do the will of his Father in heaven would enter the kingdom of heaven. To do the will of the Father always is to respond to him alone, making his voice the foremost one in our life. We neither look up to nor down on whatever good counsel we hear from others; we only want to be sure that we do the will of the Lord. This is a fundamental rule to which we must adhere. Last, I must mention that the way to knowing the will of the Father is to know Jesus well, for they are one. 

*Knowing How to Get to Heaven

         Here's an insight I received after taking Holy Communion. It's something pretty obvious. I call it an insight only because it came to me clearly and rather acutely this time. 

           The Lord God knows everything about me, everything. So if I live the best possible life, remaining pure, obeying him always, and doing everything for his glory, I shall surely be rewarded with seeing him in heaven and more. It is all logical, and true. (To be lost is easy; to be saved is not hard if you know God.)

**More Precious than My Soul

        Communion experience. I receive the Holy Eucharist. I realize that it is more precious than anything else, for it's the Lord. In fact, it is even more precious than my own soul, for without the Lord, I would not be able to save my soul.

Our freedom, Peace, and Joy

        We follow Christ and experience freedom, peace, and great joy. These are the gifts which can only come from him. So not only he is the way and the truth and the light (John 14.6), it is equally valid to say that he is our freedom and our peace and our joy.

*Made Ready for Heaven

        Communion experience. Ah, the joy of having your soul healed by the Lord! Now you are made ready for heaven.

**For Fast Spiritual Advancement

        I still remember the time I first came across Thomas à Kempis' spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ. I felt uncomfortable reading it, for spiritually I wasn't there yet! But it's all different now. After knowing Christ the Lord in person so well, who turned out to be the most awe-inspiring being there ever could or would be, nothing "intimidates" me anymore. For to know God is to know all you need to know, and to possess God is to possess everything. 

***God in Action

        The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, is the God in action. He draws you to him, makes you fall in love and want to be one with God. He speaks to and creates joy in your heart. And, of course, the Holy Spirit sanctifies you and keeps you holy. Yes, he warms your soul and sets your heart afire for God with love. With him dwelling in you, your life becomes most rewarding and exciting. 

**Know God to Know Truth

        "God loves you"—I am sure you have heard this said many times already. But how do you know that it's true, for you do not really feel it? You can rationalize, pointing out the many good things that have happened to you, but you still would like to see some kind of proof. Well, do you ever think that the reason might be that you are not open to God? If the sun is shining brightly outside and you keep your eyes closed inside the house, of course you wouldn't see that it exists. With God, if your heart is wide open and receptive to him, you shall know that he loves you as sure as the sun exists. When God reveals something to you, you'll know that it's true, for God is the truth.

Perfect Match-Up

        Communion experience. I am imperfect. The Lord is exactly whom I need to make me perfect. 

**Prayer Simplified and Refined

        At Mass this morning, I heard "May God give us guidance" said in the Prayer of the Faithful. I thought that if we were not open to God, this would be a wasted prayer. It would be better to pray "May we be open to God's guidance." Best yet, since God always knows what we need, we only need to pray "May we always be open to God." If we are wide open to God, offering no resistance whatsoever to whatever he wants to give us, surely he'll give us exactly what we need. 

**Following the Coolest Person*

        Anyone with a big ego is like a hot air balloon. He is all puffed up looking big, but is only a bag of hot air. The cool person to me is the one who is humble without any ego. Looking at all the humble persons, I must say that Jesus has to be the coolest one. He is God, yet he became a slave to us. Philippians 2.6-8: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Even though he has all the power, he never ever uses it to showed off. He is the Lord, yet he never forces us to follow him. He simply reveals the truth to us, allowing us to make the decision. How cool that is! This is one big reason I follow and adore him.

**Help Yourself First!

        It's easy to pray for others. In public or at Mass, we pray for the world, our government, our church, our friends, etc. O yes, we also pray for God's blessings on us, but never that we open ourselves up to him or yield to him. Even in private, we rarely do that. Here, ignoring yourself is really being self-centered. In Matthew 7.3, Jesus taught his disciples not to judge others and asked, "Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" Before praying for others, we should also notice our own shortcomings and imperfections. Since we are most important to God, we should be most important to ourselves too. To change the world, we need to change ourselves first, for the imperfect cannot help the imperfect. Therefore, pray for yourself first for the sake of God and others! When we become perfect, the world becomes perfect. 

*Battle with Ego*

        The ego is our worst enemy. If you do not conquer it, it can even make you lose your soul. (As a note, I'll just mention again that the way to kill the ego effectively is to starve it, with God's help.)

*My Only Lord!

        Communion experience. My soul feels triumphant, victorious, for by the power of Christ, I have conquered my sins and conquered myself. Only the Lord is my lord now. 

**Union with God a Must

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus said to his disciples that what comes out from within a man, from his heart, is what defiles him. As examples, he mentioned evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, Blasphemy, arrogance, and folly. The fact is that God can thoroughly cleanse our heart and keep us holy. That's why seeking union with God is not just a choice, but a must for us. It's getting defiled without God or staying clean with God.

Choice We Make on Earth

        We have many successful business entrepreneurs who have become billionaires today. They are ambitious and they work hard. By their own choice, they have succeeded in their own way in this world. We can also make a choice. Since we are all going to God after our limited time on earth, the wisest choice for me is clearly to follow Christ to store up riches in heaven while on earth. Then our eternity will be secured. This is being foresightful and smart, not to mention the peace and freedom that will accompany you on your way. 

**A Test on Forgiving Others*

        Forgiving others is difficult for most of us, especially if the person who has hurt us is also evil. Nevertheless, God understands that as finite beings, our mercy is also finite. We may wish to forgive an "enemy," yet our feelings may still remain negative. Here is a test for you. If God comes to you to ask for your permission to forgive that enemy of yours, would you say yes or no to the Lord? If you can say and answer yes, you pass the test. (BTW, had you said no, you would have been condemned by God for judging others.) 

**Going Directly for God

        This posting segues from the previous one. We get so many little pieces of advice from so many sources on how to get close to God. If you put all of them down on paper, you'd have a long, long list of do's and don't's. Besides, many of such messages are hardly memorable. So what's the productive way to reach God? Once again, the answer is to surrender yourself to achieve union with God. Then you'll automatically know what you should do and what you should not do, with no need of memorizing anything. So, to reach God, go directly for him.

**Desire Nothing Short of God

        Today's response from Psalm 84: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God. Our dwelling place is really the Lord himself. We want to dwell in him! The second half of today's Communion antiphon from Psalm 107: The Lord satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things. Again, it's the Lord himself who satisfies our thirst and hunger. The Holy Eucharist does the job. When we seek union with God, it is to be one with God himself, not the gifts we receive from him. Don't "shortchange" yourself. Go for the Lord God, all of him. Once you have him, you receive all the gifts he has for you as well.   

**Neglect of Our Highest Calling

        We've ignored Christ and are no longer aware of his teaching that to be great, we must serve others (Matthew 20.26). It turns out that to be a lowly servant to others is in fact our highest calling, for he promised that he would exalt all those who humble themselves.

**Secret of Spiritual Growth

        To follow the Lord spiritually, you must get to know him, for it's impossible to grow spiritually if you do not know him. And it is impossible to know him if you do not get close to him. So the way to follow God best is to surrender ourselves to him to become one with him, then we'll know him inside out most intimately.  

*Lost Priorities

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus came to Gennesaret and people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak and be healed. Being human, we all want to be healed physically, but not so much spiritually. When you look at the world today, everyone wants to push their own agenda; they couldn't care less about the will of God. We always get the priorities wrong! No wonder the world is always in a mess.

***Simple and Direct way of Knowing God***

        I just saw a video telling you how to focus on Jesus by reading certain prayers. There are many suggested ways or methods out there. But you cannot beat going straight to the Lord; it's simple and direct. Your goal should be to attain union with God, beyond merely focusing on him. In union, you get all the support you need from the Lord himself, so much superior than reading books, attending conferences . . . in general, learning from someone else. So go heart to heart with God and not let anything stand between you and God, and he will reveal all his thoughts and ways to you. This is the endearing and most efficient way of knowing God. In a way, you don't have to do anything to know him. Like Mary the sister of Martha in Luke 10, just sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him speak.

***Church Going Astray

        More shocking news. When the Church is breaking up, something big is going to happen. Let's be extra vigilant, pray, and brace ourselves for possible chastisement from God.

**Greatest Possible Experience

        Communion experience. It is to enjoy the greatest possible friendship and intimacy we can have on earth. 

***To Attain Union with God...

you simply put down all your resistance to him. You go limp, that's it!

Journey to Salvation Summed Up

        Key realizations: (1) We are sinners. (2) We need to get our sins removed. (3) Christ is the Savior. Then we accept Christ as our Lord and follow him. 

*Our Best to Come

        The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in each other, for they are one as God. This perfect oneness or union has existed from the very beginning (if there ever was one). We become one with God, as we submit ourselves to the Lord completely—it is the union between the creator and his creatures. Due to our sinful nature, it is not perfect, but it's the best we can attain on earth. This union creates an intense longing for God in us, as we yearn to perfect our union with him in heaven. For all faithful Christians, the best is yet to come.

**God Fulfills Our Needs!

       We have all kinds of needs. If they are spiritual, the Lord would most readily fulfill them without fail. After all, our soul has to be his most urgent concern. If you truly wish to be saved from sin, he shall save you. If you truly desire to be holy, he shall turn you into a saint. Have no doubt!

**Warning on Losing Souls!

        Another timely short video from Fr. Goring. I am starting the video at 2:21 for the gist of the message.

***Prerequisite for Loving God

        We are constantly advised or encouraged by others to love God, to trust in him, etc. But if we do not open up to him, there can be no progress. Letting ourselves go in God is the prerequisite here! If I sound like a broken record, please forgive me, for it is the truth. We cannot make ourselves holy, period. If God can make us holy, then let him do it. Depend upon the Lord in all things, always!

**Going Beyond Confession

        It's not good enough to go to confession after you sin, again and again. It just gets tedious and discouraging. You want the Lord to take away your tendency to sin as well! And you can make this happen by letting him take over. You simply surrender yourself to him and he'll make you holy.

***Our Most Precious Soul

        The soul is our most essential, fundamental entity. It was realized by God, given to us, and became everlasting. Remain with God and we'll be everlastingly happy. Stray away from him and we'll be everlastingly miserable. Our mind and heart are here to help us discern and make that choice. We should treasure and safeguard our soul, as it is so loved by and so precious to God our Father and creator.

**About Being Perfect

        There are people who want everything to be done perfectly. Naturally, they are critical of others who are not so perfect by their standards. Of course, it would be nice that everyone or everything is perfect, but that's forgetting that only God is perfect. Such critical people can greatly benefit from realizing that they themselves are imperfect and should strive to perfect themselves first. It's most satisfying and exciting to discover that God can actually make you holier and more perfect. Besides, when you become more perfect, you become more tolerant of others who are not so perfect, and you enjoy more peace. So, perfect yourself first to be perfect. 

***Filled with the Holy Spirit?

        I am showing a Fr. Mark Goring video again. This one was uploaded to YouTube today. I like his messages because he is Spirit-filled and speaks to the point from his heart. Today he hit the nail on the head again. The tragedy is that we know or were at least told that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but we do not feel his presence and power because we have not surrendered ourselves totally to him yet. So the Holy Spirit is in us, but not yet completely of us, as we still belong at the least partially to the world.

**Free and Secure in the Lord!

        Communion experience. There is absolute security in the Lord. When your soul is secured by him, you are indeed secure. Now you live a God-centered life. You desire to please and glorify him alone, and you are indeed free. There is no better position to be in.

**What Truly Counts

        You can do all the right things, but if your motivation is not pure, you accomplish nothing. So it all comes down to how holy you are, not how you follow all the rules or look right before others. Remember that God only needs to look into your heart and at your soul.

*Better or Worse than We Can Imagine

        In Luke 22.28-30, today's Communion antiphon, Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper, "It is you who have stood by me in my trials and I confer a kingdom on you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom." Stand by the Lord and our reward will be greater than we can possibly imagine. I also know that God is more beautiful and heaven more glorious than we can possibly imagine. Interestingly, accounts by those who died and came back to life reveal that on the other side without the physical body, their senses and awareness became even sharper than ever. Reading the accounts of those who had been given the privilege of seeing hell by God, we can be sure that suffering in hell is also more horrible than we can possibly imagine. Be good and God will surprise you. Be evil and he'll shock you.

*The Ball in Our Court

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach repentance. He prepared and instructed them. This he said to them: "Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." I was struck by it. I see that when Jesus preached to others, he never force it onto them; he simply proclaim the truths and let you make up your mind so that if you believe, you'll have faith. One big mistake unbelievers make is thinking that God should come to them to reveal himself to them or even beg them to believe in him, while their hearts remain closed. They do not realize that you'll find God only if you are humble enough to be willing to go to him first. Christ is ready for us; you either take it or leave it. 

**"Unbelievable" Church Leader

        Pretty shocking story to me. At a time like this, all the more we need to go directly to Jesus and put our trust in him. *To be holy, follow our Lord only. 

**Becoming Heavenly Rich

        Today's Communion experience. I felt what Jesus said in Matthew 13.12: To those who have, more will be given and he will grow rich. The Lord has been blessing me spiritually nonstop, drawing me deeper and deeper into him every time I receive him in the Holy Eucharist. I feel that I am now richer than all the world's richest put together!

***Urgent Need to Be One with God!

        Following posting the video "End Times" yesterday, this new one by Fr. Mark Goring needs to be watched by every Catholic too. It is more urgent than ever that we stand firm to remain as one with the Lord. 

***END TIMES?!***

        If you just attend your parish church, and hear the routine prayers said for the Pope, the bishops, and our Church at Mass, everything appears to be normal. But the truth may be far different from what you think. Here is a video all Catholics must watch, for we may very well be in end times. [You might have heard about the prophesies Saint Malachy (1094-1148) made about the Popes. He started with Pope Celestine II of his time and prophesied about 111 future Popes in succession, covering a total of 112 Popes. Interestingly, Pope Benedict was #111, so could Francis be our last Pope?]  

**The Veil Removed*

        Came across this short video. The comments are also worth reading. They show that the film has made many of them appreciate the Mass and the Holy Eucharist more. May you benefit from watching it too.

***March for Life Around the World

        Encouraging good news!

Trusting in God's Judgment

        Today the Lord made me see that he is the perfect judge, for he has made all of us, knows us through and through, and understands our hearts perfectly. We simply do not meet any of these qualifications and should not judge anyone. Our role is to do our best to pray for others, testify to them what God has done for us, and leave the rest to him who loves us all. To trust in God is to trust in his mercy and judgment.

**To Have Perfect Faith

       Today's Gospel reading from Mark 5 tells about Jairus' daughter and the woman with a hemorrhage. The woman afflicted with hemorrhages had heard about Jesus. She went up behind him in the crowd and touch his cloak, saying to herself, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be healed." She was immediately healed. Jesus, aware that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" The woman, realizing what had happened, came forward, fell down before Jesus, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." Let me repeat this part of what Jesus had said: your faith has saved you.

           Jairus was a synagogue official. He came to Jesus to plead with him to save his daughter who was at the point of death. Jesus went off with him. Then the woman with the hemorrhage appeared and interrupted his journey. After curing her, while he was still speaking, people from the house of Jairus arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message, Jesus said to Jairus, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did continue on to Jairus' house and raised the girl back to life. The central message of Jesus' saying here is again about faith: Do not be afraid; just have faith. You can say that this is easily said than done, but it is the key to living in God. If your faith is perfect, you would believe in God totally and have no room for fear, anxiety, or worry anymore. The only way to perfect our faith is to let God do it for you, and the only way to let him take over is to surrender yourself completely to him. We just have to go through the Lord!

*Awful Losing-the-Lord Feeling

        I am used to hearing Jesus speaking to me in my heart ever since I started blogging. Last night after I got in bed, he gave me a thought to post. Normally, I would jot down the idea so I won't forget; but this time I was too sleepy and made it a point to post it first thing this morning. Unfortunately, today I can't recall it. This had happened to me once before, and I felt bad about it. Now I again feel I have lost something most personal. From now on, I want to make sure that I do not forget whatever the Lord wishes me to do. Lagging behind in following him can make one feel awful—you almost feel as if you have lost the Lord.

***Choose to Receive Your Reward

        Back in the old days, I could easily count all the models of cars made by GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Today you have countless models made by a great number of companies worldwide, including super expensive and fast cars of which many hope to own one. The thing is driving any of these super cars won't get you a centimeter closer to heaven. (I am not trying to be funny.) Of course, there are many other things in the world that can give us pleasure as well. What I hope is we would not ever hear the Lord say to us "You have already received your reward"! Personally, I'd rather receive any reward coming to me later in heaven. Then heaven itself is already our best possible reward. In any case, reject any reward that does not get you any closer to heaven. If you don't, you may end up receiving all you reward on earth.

***Exciting to Have Found God

        Yesterday I blogged that there is no limit to how holy we can be. The is the same as saying that there is no limit to how close we can get to knowing God, as he is infinite in every way. We can surrender to him as best as we can, but only he can perfect that union. Finding God is exciting enough. Discovering that we can get to know him more and more without end makes it even more exciting!

*Facing Tough Times

        Today's Gospel reading from Mark 4 tells how Jesus calmed a storm at sea. I came home after Mass and saw Fr. Mark Goring's new video "Tough Times Ahead." He applies the lesson he learned from this reading to handling the tough situation the Church has put us in today. 
                                                                                            

**God Making Us Holy

        Communion experience. The soul is even more fundamental than the heart. That the Lord would enter me and heal my soul, making it whole and perfect, was both overwhelming and rewarding. He may not always heal us physically, but he'll always help us spiritually as much as we want him to. Living the spiritual life is exciting precisely because there is no limit to how holy you can be.

**Life Is Worth Living!

        Attended morning Mass today. Another day to live. As always there are various mundane affairs to take care of, but it's another day to live for Christ to store up even more treasures in heaven! And it's also a day closer to seeing my most beloved in heaven face to face.