***Crucial Realization

         Ernesto Nazareth was a well-known Brazilian composer. He is best known for his tangos, but he also composed many waltzes, polkas, etc. The composer was regarded to be the incarnation of the Brazilian soul. Here is an intoxicating waltz titled Confidências. You may enjoy listening to it, but the pictures you see as you play the video have generated some thoughts I want to share with you. As you see, people dress up to look good, play the piano, listen to music, travel, go on an outing, see sights, party, dance, look for love, etc. We live in a different era, but we do many of the same things. I could add that we go to meetings at work, take vacations, attend weddings and funerals, work in the garden, socialize over the internet, etc. My thoughts are that doing all theses things without Christ is much ado about nothing—we simply go through the motion. It is crucial we realize that we are sinners and need salvation, and if we believe in Christ, we are saved for all eternity. Now, life becomes purposeful.    

*****Happy to Know My God!

        Communion experience. It's All Saints Day this Sunday and I attended Vigil Mass today. The Lord already knew me more that I knew myself. As I received the Holy Eucharist, I felt I knew the Lord now more than I knew myself! And this filled me with great joy.

***What God Expects of Us

         We sometimes feel that that we are not doing enough for God, but the Lord makes me see that he measures us by how much we live up to what he expects  of us, not by how much we live up to what we hope to achieve. He knows our capabilities thoroughly. If we can accomplish everything he expects us to accomplish, that's all he expects of us and we should be pleased.

**Importance of Humility

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." Taking the Lord's saying to the extreme, everyone who lives entirely for only himself will not make heaven, but the one who lives solely for the Lord will enter heaven.

**To Be Meek and Humble

        Today's Gospel acclamation from Matthew 11: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, but I am meek and humble of heart. In our society today, we look down on those who are meek and humble of heart, yet the best way to learn to be meek and humble is to learn from someone who is meek and humble of heart. And our Lord is the most meek and humble of heart of all, for he is God. Know that the door to heaven is wide for those who are meek and humble.      

***Obeying the Lord First

           In today's first reading from Philippians 1, Paul wrote poignantly: "If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for you benefit." To depart this life to be with Christ is truly best, but obeying the Lord must come first.

***The Reset We Need

         We need to be reset by Christ our Lord, not by the global elitists who serve Satan knowingly or unknowingly. Christ is only one who can save us from sin and grant us eternal life, period. If you look elsewhere without him, you are doomed! When he resets you, you become a new creature spiritually free in him and from the world.

*Vigano's Letter to Trump Read

         I thought it would be good to hear Archbishop Vigano's letter to President Trump read without interruption. 

***Most Beautiful Relationship

        John 10:27, today's Gospel acclamation: My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. You are aware of the Lord's presence, hear his voice, and know what he wishes you to do every moment. You and the Lord truly know each other. He leads and you follow, inseparable as one. What a beautiful, convivial relationship!

***The Complete Vigano's Letter

        Here is Dr. Taylor Marshall going through the letter from Archbishop Vigano to President Trump. The video lasts over 47 minutes, but if you have the time, it's definitely worth watching, for you learn about the reset the globalists are pushing which will take away our liberty and is antichrist. 

**Learn All Truths from Christ

         I remember that many decades ago before I knew Christ personally, I read a book on prayer. The book told that prayer works. I thought that's good to know, but I wasn't really convinced. Today I see clearly that Jesus is all you need to know if you want to understand prayer and everything else spiritual. Know him to learn all truths from him directly. Become one with him and he will deposit all you need to know in your heart, and learning becomes effortless and a joy. Yes, you learn the sure way to get into heaven too.

**Root Yourself in the Lord First

        Today's verses from Psalm 144: Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war. My mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliver, my shield, in whom I trust..." We must be rooted in the Lord God first. Then we'll know how to relate to all others and deal with all affairs properly. It's so sad to see Christians who are not rooted in Christ get easily deceived by Satan and start to believe that the good is evil and the evil, good. I actually encountered this recently. I believe that the day of justice will be here sooner than we think.

**How to Battle Against Evil

         In today's first reading from Ephesians 6, Paul advised the Ephesians to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. He wrote, "Draw you strength from the Lord and from his mighty power." To receive strength and power fully from the Lord, we must be fully in the Lord. To be in the Lord is to be one with the Lord in union with him. Only then shill we become fearless, for Christ has replaced us in us. This should be our wish and goal.

***Justice After Mercy

           Here's is today's Fr. Mark Goring video on divine wrath. The sayings that come after 2:43 are most important for us to hear.

***What We Must Not Ignore

         We can ignore all the laws and rules made by man on earth and may lose our job, physical freedom, and at worst our earthly life because of it, but if we ignore the mercy of God, we can lose our soul forever.

*Who Loves God More?

          It is encouraging and heartwarming to see that currently, huge crowds have been gathering at various locations nationwide to pray publicly for our country or just to worship God. Here we see mostly common people who do not know a thing about theology, spontaneously jump up and down, dance, sing and shout praises to God from their hearts. On the other hand, I think of those clerics in high places who spent years studying theology, got ordained, now garbed in vestments, teaching heresies—they basically are destroying the Church. Which group do you think loves and pleases the Lord more? 

**Hardened Hearts

        People do not hear the Lord because they have hardened their hearts. This is a tough nut to crack. They don't hear the Lord knocking at their door. They are blind to any signs from the Lord. They have lost all humility and become completely self-insulated. These people can be Christians too. We have pro-abortion Catholics and Catholics in name only. Jesus said that to enter the kingdom of God, we need to be childlike, just the opposite of having a hardened heart. Sometimes it would take a catastrophe to crack such a hardened heart.  

***Overcoming Our Original Sin

        I started to pray the Rosary a second time this evening. Before I even finished saying the creed, the Lord made me see that we have all inherited the original sin and thus tend to sin. The only way to stop sinning is to let him take charge of us. That is, we need to surrender ourselves to him. Otherwise, we shall not be able to win our spiritual battle. This is a most clear message. Now that I have finished posting it, I am going back to my Rosary. (By the way, the extra five decades I say each day now are the Sorrowful or Glorious Mysteries because this is the time we need to suffer with the Lord and also know that his total victory over evil is assured.)

***God Showing Us Who We Are

        Each of us created by God in his image is unique. He made you and me. By knowing God, he makes us see who we really are and that we are most precious to him. Then we come to treasure and become happy with ourselves. We no longer compare ourselves with others and learn to do what's best for us and for the Lord. Yes, now you just want to become the best possible you. He makes us grow to our fullest potential to give great glory to him, our Creator and Savior. Our rewards await us in heaven.

**Dumb Evildoers

         If i am so bad and it looks like I am headed for hell and if I still have some intelligence left, I would probably think about changing my ways and even turning to God. But I just don't see many evildoers do that. Choosing to be evil already makes you a loser. If you don't ever consider turning away from evil, that makes you dumb as well. Dumb evildoers are to be greatly pitied.

In the Kingdom of God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to (1) a mustard seed that's planted in the garden and grew fully to a large bush and the birds of the sky came to dwell in its branches and (2) yeast mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened. Obviously, if we know God, we would grow, expand, and become productive. If we still remain pretty much the same, then we are not quite in the Kingdom of God yet. 

***The Blessing of Knowing God

        I said in the last post that everything around us keeps us from knowing God. This is true if you don't know the Lord yet. Once you know the Lord well, you have just the opposite. Things that are beautiful instantly remind me of God. Things that are ugly put a heavy burden on my heart and I automatically turn to the Lord who is my refuge, to pray to him and seek consolation from him. And I am drawn even closer to him. To the blessed, everything that happens around him becomes a blessing.    

***Only Christ Can Lead You to Life!***

         In Matthew 7:14, Jesus said to his disciples, "How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leas to life. And those who find it are few." In Matthew 22, after telling the parable of the wedding feast, he said, "Many are invited, but few are chosen." Man has strayed away from God so much that to find life in this world has truly become an uphill battle for all. Everything around you keeps you from knowing God. Only those who have found and encountered Christ are able to keep their soul safe. Christ is our only hope to salvation. If we have lost our way, he can lead us to life. If we are headed toward hell, he can make us heaven-bound. Go after Christ as if you whole life depends upon it because your whole life does depend upon it.

*Hypocrites Galore

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus called the leader of the synagogue hypocrites. There are numerous hypocrites among us today. These people do not see their own faults and always blame others for everything. They are self-righteous, lack humility, and do not truly know God. They are phony and they lie. The glaring examples are the crooked politicians, corrupt clerics, and fake news networks. Hypocrites are to be pitied, for they are doomed if they do not turn to God to change their ways. 

*****Asking God to Consecrate Us

        In today's Gospel acclamation John 17:17, Jesus asked the Father to consecrate in the truth all those he gave him out of the world. So I start thinking that instead of us struggling on our own to become holy, since we know that the Father has also chosen us out of the world to give to Christ, why don't we ask the Father directly to consecrate us in the truth? I believe that great things will happen if we do this, as it is what the Lord wishes the Father to do to us.

***Powerful Free Will***

         We are all given our free will. With it, we are free to reject God's love, defy him, and land ourselves in hell fires for all eternity or we can choose to obey and serve God and end up in paradise with him for ever! I would make the latter choice and retire my free will once and for all.

***Christ to Be Imitated

        We know that when we accept and believe in Christ as our Savior, we are saved. But the Lord wants us to go further; he wants us to imitate him to become like him. He has commanded us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. And Christ is our perfect model, as he is pure, humble, and holy. Our biggest oversight or neglect is not imitating him after we have accepted him as our Lord. We forget that calling him Lord is to obey him in all things. Otherwise, unknowingly we become hypocrites.

**With Heart and Not by Reason

        To love God, you don't reason with yourself to tell yourself that you should do this or that and then try to do it. It won't work out well that way. To love God, you must know and experience the Lord first and then let him inspire and motivate you to do what he prompts you to do. This way, your heart is involved and you'll be able to accomplish it easily with joy. Always live and do everything in the Lord.      

**A Math Riddle

            Once in a long while, I post a puzzle, a riddle, or a math problem just for fun. When it comes to solving any math problem, you must think logically and be rigorous. There is no place for sloppy thinking. I can also say that when it comes to learning to grow spiritually, we must discern all things with a clear consc ience and let the Holy Spirit alone guide us, with ourselves out of the way completely. 
           Anyway, this math riddle I came across online is supposed to be a basic math problem that most college students fail to solve. So I took up the challenge to find out how hard it was. Well, I did solve the problem and found that some knowledge of basic algebra was necessary, for you need to start out with some equations. And you must figure out how you are going to attack the problem first. After my wife solved the problem, we compared notes and found that the tracks we followed were somewhat different, but we came to the same answer. So if you have some time and love to challenge yourself, here is the problem:
        Tom and Dick can complete a job in 2 hours. Tom and Harry can complete the same job in 3 hours. Dick and Harry can complete the same job in 4 hours. How long will the job take if Tom, Dick, and Harry all work together? (Obviously, the answer has to be less than 2 hours. If you express you answer as a simple fraction, the 4 numerals making up the numerator and the denominator turned out to be 1, 2, 3, and 4.)

*Reminder of Something Obvious

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus called the people to repentance. He made it clear that if they do no repent, they will perish. To repent your sins is to humble yourself before God, knowing that he can forgive your sins so that you might have eternal life. The need for repentance is so obvious, yet sadly not taken seriously by so many. "No repentance, no salvation" should be easy to remember.

***Courageous Pro-LIfe Priest

         How I wish that all priests are as courageous as Fr. Altman. At my church, we are following the diocesan guideline not to name Trump, Biden, or any political candidate when making announcements or in any handouts we pass out. This to me is stymieing the Holy Spirit. You feel like you are in a Communist country. (Note: Today on 2/26/2022, I found YouTube had removed the video already.)   

****Smart Fools

        Matthew 11.25, today's Gospel acclamation: Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. In the parable of the rich fool, the rich man thinks that once he has all the material properties and goods he needs, he can just sit back, eat, drink, and be merry, not realizing that he's going to die that night. Today we have smart fools (an oxymoron for you). These are people who are rich in knowledge. You could say that they own a lot of intellectual properties. They are fools because they could also die, without knowing the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. All knowledge that comes from humans cannot save us. Only what's revealed by God to us can save us. To have hope of being saved, be like the little ones.

**Following the Lord with Patience

        I want to to draw every singe person to Christ, to be saved and go to heaven. This has been my burning desire. Then I realize that the Lord desires this much more than I, for his love is infinitely greater than mine. I must follow him and not rush ahead on my own, for apart from him I can do nothing. Anyway, I am satisfied that he knows my desire. I must trust and follow him in every little thing I do with patience. The Lord must lead and we follow.

*****What We Forget to Rejoice About***

         It is most amazing that we are made in the image of God. This makes it possible for us to understand the Lord! We all have a heart, so we know that our Lord has a heart too, sacred and most pure. We can truly relate to him. He knows everything about us, so if we open ourselves up to him, he reveals himself to us. Once we know him, we know ourselves too. This is absolutely cool (marvelous)! Since we are made in his image, he can make us holy to be like him. Again, wonderful! We should truly rejoice that we are made in the image of God!

***How to Follow Christ Effortlessly***

         In today's first reading from Ephesians 4, Paul wrote "I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace...." I could add many, many more things on how we should live as Christians. But without knowing Christ well, it would be impossible to do all or even just a few of these things. On the other hand, if you really know the Lord, you don't even need to think about what you should do, for he will let you know and lead you to do his will at all times. This is why I advocate that you seek to attain union with Christ through the Holy Eucharist, for this is the shortcut to allowing the Lord to accomplish all things through you, eliminating all struggle on your part.

**Inner Healing No Problem

          If you still have wild, weird dreams or nightmares, you most probably still have inner wounds to your psyche, unpleasant memories that haunt you, various hangups, secret unfulfilled desires, and/or other suppressed feelings. For Jesus, the past and the buried present no barriers. Ask the Lord to enter your innermost interior to clean up and heal your soul, for you want to enjoy his peace fully. If he is your Lord, let him be the lord of the whole of you.

***My Joy Is Complete***

        Recently, I realized that God is the only one who can make me happy which I posted about. Looking back, I had done many things in the past, but nothing totally satisfied me. Even after I knew Christ, there were still the ups and downs of life. Nevertheless, my life became meaningful and my faith certainly gave me much peace. What I had not expected was that after I retired from work, the Lord started to fulfill me more and more. It all started in 2009 when I began blogging. I had only intended to put down my conversion story, not knowing that the Lord continued to put thoughts in my heart to post. A year later, it became clear that he wanted me to let all know that he wishes to draw all to union with him through the Holy Eucharist. I am now typing post #10,625. In these years, the Lord has been teaching me continuously that my joy is now complete. I can only thank him for his mercy and generosity. If you stick with God, it'll always be "the best is yet to come."

**Taking Advantage of God's Love

        In today's first reading from Ephesians 3, Paul mentions the love of God that surpasses knowledge. It's true that we cannot comprehend how great that love is, yet we can believe in it, receive it free, and enjoy it, letting it making us anew. To have faith is wonderful!   

**Two Great Transformations

         The last two Luminous Mysterious of the Holy Rosary are The Transfiguration and Institution of the Eucharist. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John were with Jesus. When Jesus was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared and conversed with him. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him." This visible and audible experience must've been absolutely spectacular and stunning to the three disciples. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he changed the bread and wine into his body and blood in substance, but not in appearance. This is an invisible mystery. Nevertheless, it is even more amazing than the Transfiguration when it comes to making us anew in the Lord.

***Living the Most Exciting Life*

          While living on earth, we have the opportunity to live the most exciting life. That is, we can deepen our relationship with God without end! With continuous submission to our dear Lord, we can attain the best possible intimate union with him in the limited time we have on earth. What a beautiful way to live!

*Chosen by God's Chosen One

          In John 13.6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." When the Father chooses us, he lets the Son know first. Then the Son chooses the ones the Father has given him. So we who follow the Lord were all chosen by the Chosen One of God.

***Beautiful Way of Living for God

        The word of God is our spiritual food; it is most beneficial to our soul, as it's written: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." In John 14.23, Jesus said, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." Therefore, surrender yourself to the Lord to become one with him, then you'll be able to keep his word joyfully and effortlessly. To submit to the word of the Lord is to submit to the Lord. This is the most beautiful way of living for God.

**How Good and Bad Things Affect Us

         Good things and bad things happen to both good and bad people for different reasons. God always blesses those who love him. Good things encourage them, making them even more grateful to him; bad things draw them close to him, making them even stronger. In fact, bad things would be a big blessing if they serve as part or the whole of their purgatory. As for the bad people who do not love God, good things happen when God rewards them for their ego. If this is all the reward they are going to get, it would absolutely be bad news. On the other hand, when bad things happen to them, they can be blessings in disguise, for God is trying to wake them up to realize that they need him.

***Our Big Day Coming

         We all have some big days in life. I suppose that it was a big day when I got my college degree, but I would say that the day I got married was a lot bigger because it affected me emotionally a lot more. Then we'll all have a truly big day coming to us, that is the day we stand before the Lord. Today's Gospel acclamation, Luke 21.36: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the the Son of Man. Will you be strong enough to face Christ on that day? Will you be standing with knees shaking and a heart fast pounding? Or do you actually look forward to that moment with great expectations and joy? In the Gospel from Luke 12 that follows, we hear Jesus say to his disciples, "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival."

*Unification and Division

         In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." The fire he has come to set is the Holy Spirit who has united all those who believe in him into one Body in one Spirit. He has also come to cause division, for he foreknew that there would be many who would not believe in him. It's all part of the spiritual battle to this day.

*A Life-After-Death Experience

         You can read the story telling what Fr. Jose Maniyangat experienced after he died in the right margin of this blog. Today I came across his story told by this video. I think it'd be worth watching if you haven't seen it yet or read the story. 

**Praying the Rosary

          The difficulty of praying the Rosary is that we are supposed to meditate upon each mystery while reciting the words of the prayers at the same time. It'd been a back-and-forth thing for me, so I decided to do it this way to help me become more focused. Maybe you'll find it helpful too.
        Before I start, I let the Lord know what my main intention is. It could be for world peace, mercy on all the souls, and/or anything that's on my heart. Before starting a decade, I declare the mystery to which the decade is to be dedicated and that I am going to commemorate that mystery by praying the decade. After making my intent clear, I can wholly concentrate upon praying the Our Father to put me in the right place before the Lord, the Hail Mary's to ask the Holy Mother to intercede for me, and the Glory to fully praise the Holy Trinity. The Fatima prayer the Holy Mother asked us to say at the end of each decade is also important. We must constantly ask the Lord to save souls, especially those in most need of his mercy.

**God Alone Our Judge

        We should not judge others because we just don't know what's truly in their hearts. Sometimes we do not even understand ourselves. Compared to God, none of us is completely trustworthy. God being our creator is the only one who knows our hearts and can judge us fairly. Also, since we are all to be judged by God as equals, we are not qualified to judge anyone.

**Thinking Beyond Death*

         We all know that we are going to die, yet we think mostly about things of the world. As we get older, we may start composing a will, think about how we can avoid paying too much death tax, and possibly look into where we might like to be buried. That's about it. The most important question about where our soul will go after death for all eternity is just not taken seriously enough. This is odd, sad, and bad. As soon as we realize that God, heaven, and hell all exist, we should focus upon this issue before all other worldly considerations. Know that the Lord God wants to save us from our sins and we are sinners. Once we are sure that our soul is safe, we'll feel a lot more peace in our heart.

**Heading for Self-Destruction*

        We really should be mindful of what Jesus said in today's Gospel reading from Luke 12. He first spoke against greed. To the crowd, he said, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Amen. Then he told the parable of the rich fool. "A rich man planned to build larger barns to store his bountiful harvest and other goods and thought that he would have so many things stored up for many years that he could just rest, eat, drink, and 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?' Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God." This message our material world would find most difficult to accept because it is what it needs to hear the most. Not to change the course is to head for self-destruction. 

**Know Whom You Belong To

        Today's response from Psalm 100: The Lord made us, we belong to him. It's such a simple statement, but it's absolutely true. I used to do a lot of wood working. Suppose I want to make a table. I would work out the design, buy the materials needed, cut each part to the right size, assemble the parts, and paint or stain the whole thing. The finished table is now mine! The Lord clearly made each of us, so we belong rightfully to him. And we should act like we were wonderfully made by God!

**Peace and Agony

         We can trust in the Lord fully and experience peace, but this does not exclude us from experiencing agony. Peace and agony can coexist with peace always underlying any other suffering. Doing the will of God promises peace, but not happiness.

*Christ, the Lord of Peace

         Communion experience today: Christ is the source of my peace. 

Why Sermons Are Ineffective

        Sermons from pulpits are weak when they are intellectually conceived without involvement of the heart. There is no inspiration from the Holy Spirit. As a result, they do not draw the listener any closer to the Lord. An effective sermon must exalt the Lord and not the speaker. 

**Good to Know

        No sin can escape God, but at the same time nothing you do for the glory of God will go unrewarded—just know this.

**Praying the Our Prayer

        Before we pray the Our Father, the most perfect prayer the Lord has given us, we need to go before the Father with complete submissiveness, reverence, and openness. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time if you don't mean what you say much. 

**Cause of Suffering

       God suffers when we sin against him. We suffer, also when we sin against God. Sin causes all suffering. When we stop sinning against God, all sufferings cease or become a joy.   

**Risk of Putting off Considering God

           I knew a friend of my son who was related to a local well-known Italian family.  I was quite sure that he came from a Catholic family, so I tried to persuaded him to come back to the Church. I emailed him in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and didn't get any response from him. But through my daughter-in-law, I heard that he wasn't quite ready to consider God yet, as there were still many things to take care of first. I think it is very common that people keep putting off considering God, as they want to take care of their worldly business first. But, of course, there'll always be unfinished business to finish. The last I heart about this particular person was that he already had dementia, not recognizing everyone anymore. Maybe I can go see him and try to pray with him when my son visits him. The lesson: do not put off considering the Lord, unless you have already rejected him completely.

***Beautiful Surrender**

        When we surrender to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us, we lose all fears . . . the fear of death, the fear of possibly going through purgatory, the fear of whatever punishment we might receive for our sins. Complete trust in and total surrender to God expunges all fears. 

**Becoming Beautiful for God

        Get to know Jesus to experience his tremendous love for you. Let this greatest love transform and mold you into a new creature. Then you become beautiful for the Lord to behold.  

***An Intimate Revelation

         Last night around midnight, I was awake because I was concerned about two people I knew, but the Lord Christ was on my mind the whole time—he was really all I could think of. I had never experienced him to be this close. And he let me know most clearly that only he can make me happy, and I was overjoyed! I have always loved the hymn "For You Are My God" by John Foley. The refrain is what I love the most: "For you are my God; you alone are my joy. Defend me, O Lord." (To hear this song, go the the video listed in the right margin. It's near the end, right after all the Ave Maria videos.) So I don't see the Lord visually nor hear him audibly, yet he reveals himself to me totally. My joy Overflows! 

***Our Last Call to Salvation!*

         After the parable of the lost son, I like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus most. When the poor man Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, "I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." We have now Jesus, the Son of God, greater than Moses and all the prophets. I just want all to realize that if you do not even listen to him, you will have missed your last call to board the train of salvation.

****God's Wonderful Promises

           From today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." Jesus said it definitively and now we know exactly how to get ourselves accepted by God.
        Also in today's reading, Jesus said to the disciples, "When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." This is a huge promise! The bottom line is that we don't need to worry about anything under any circumstances. It's easy not to believe in him, as we still think that we know better! My point is that if you dismiss the Lords promises outright, you'll never find out if his promises are good or not. Again, faith works wonders. If you are not childlike in believing in the Lord, you'll have difficulty entering his kingdom.

*****Reminding the Entire Church!

         Also in today's reading from Ephesians 1, Paul reminds us that the Church is the Body of our Lord. As members of his Church, we are parts of his Body, so we'd better be holy in order not to defile the Church! 

**How God Enlightens Us

        Today's first reading were verses 15-23 from Ephesians 1. I am not going to reproduce them here. After I read it, I just want to say amen. Here is what I learned: (1) When we get to know the Lord well, he reveals himself to us and we become spiritually wise. (2) When our hearts are enlightened by the Lord, we are filled with hope and see the riches of his glory and the greatness of his power. And I can testify to the truth of what I have learned.

***Encountering the Lord Necessary

        Today is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The entrance antiphon is based upon Galatians 19-20: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me. For many of us, this sounds OK, but we don't feel compelled to live like that—you may even feel sorry for anyone who'd choose to live like that. What we fail to realize is that both Paul and Ignatius had encountered the Lord and willingly desired to live for him only. They already knew the joy of following the Lord. If someone goes to heaven, comes back and chooses to skip all the fun parties on earth, you probably wouldn't understand that either. Therefore, be open and seek Christ. Once you truly know the Lord, you will understand everything.

*Good Coming Out of Evil

        The rampant evil you see today makes many realize the goodness of God and how much we need him now more than ever. I see this as the process of God restoring us to wholeness. It may take some time, but the end result is assured. Meantime, let's fight the spiritual battle through prayer and sacrifice. When we trust in the Lord all the way, he works wonders.

**What We Most Need to Safeguard

          Also in today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one." These sayings may sound familiar and commonsensical, but they are extremely important for us to be aware of. The Lord is telling us that our soul is what we need to be concerned about. Our physical body matters only when we are still on earth. We try to safeguard our body, our properties, our job, our affairs, etc., but they will all pass, while our soul lives on forever. This, the soul, is what we truly need to safeguard!

**We Should Not Judge

         There are some abhorrent and evil people around today and many "good" people wish that they die or go to hell. I can understand that. I placed quotes around the adjective good because those people are basically good but not yet perfect. If you follow Christ, you would pray for all the evildoers and leave the judging to God. I bet that when you get to heaven, you'll find some whom you'd expected to see missing and others whom you'd not expected to see present. God alone determines our eternal destination. We only pray that his will be done.

***No Escape from All-knowing God

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops." Today many are not even aware that our all-knowing Lord is ever present, so they do whatever they feel like doing. I truly pity them for not knowing what they do, for they'll have to answer to the Lord for every single thought they have entertained, every single word they have uttered, and every single act they have committed! Nothing can escape the Lord. Do what you will, but you shall be found to be worthy to enter heaven or not in the end.

***Wake up, Bishops!

        To me, the abortion holocaust is the most horrible crime we are committing against God as a result of not believing in the God of Christ. To get a sense of its magnitude in this country alone, it you haven't seen my post of Nov. 16, 2018 yet, please click on the link to take a look at it—you may be in for a shock. Unborn babies are being killed nonstop while I am typing this post to you now. How can we possibly not do anything and still sleep well? Our Church has been infiltrated by evil and our Pope and most bishops have remained relatively quiet. They are more concerned about global warming and not being nice enough to the enemies of the Church than resolving the crises the Church faces right now. Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me." Listen to the highlights of Archbishop Vigano's warning to the bishops who are silent on abortion during this election year in the video below. (Note. Today is 2/26/2022 and I found the video already removed.)

**How Much Alive Are We Spiritually?

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk." To be like unseen graves is to be totally dead spiritually! Hearing this makes me question how much alive we are spiritually. For the Lord, half alive, 3/4 alive, or 99% alive is not good enough. We need to be fully alive, filled with zeal and joy, doing everything for the love of the Lord. He has give his all and it's time for us to give our all to him. 

*Obeying the Holy Spirit

         The Holy Spirit should be our sole guide and teacher. We should let the Holy Spirit mold and form our conscience. His commands must override all other commands not from the Lord. In the Spirit, we are no longer bound by the law made by man.

**Fighting the Godless

         Today is the optional memorial of St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr. The entrance antiphon: This holy man fought to the death for the law of his God and did not fear the words of the godless, for he was built on solid rock. Today we hear the fake main stream media and leftists spreading fake news and lies nonstop, misleading a good portion of the people of this nation, making them hateful of God. But we need not fear the words of the godless and only need to embed ourselves solidly in the Lord. For evil is doomed to fail and we shall triumph.

**Images of Mary Caught on Phone

         Here is a video that was posted three years ago, showing the three miraculous pictures taken by parishioners in the chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, IL. Two were images showing the Blessed Mother adoring the Lord and one, an image of an angel. To see all three images, you only need to watch to 8:25. (The rest of the video touches on Satanic desecration of the the sacrament, the Eucharist, and it's adoration. To skip the "Satanic" part, you can restart around 12:10.) The images of Mary really moved me.

***Tough To Keep Love Pure***

         There are our pure love for God and our impure love for ourselves. It's easy to let our selfish love which shouldn't be there in the first place override our love for God. For example, we personally dislike someone. We know that we should love that person, yet we decide not to have anything to do with that person. On the other hand, we can like someone for selfish reasons, so under the pretense of loving God, we "love" that person. In both instances, we are being hypocritical. To love as God loves, we must ground ourselves solidly in the Lord and vanquish all our selfish motivations. Unless you already know the Lord intimately, this can be a tough battle to fight. God bless you all!

*Cleansing Your Inside First

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dine at his home. The Pharisee was amazed to see that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. Jesus sain to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?" Our outside is for people to see, but our inside is for God to see. So cleanse your inside first and then the outside if you have the time. Jesus said to his disciples, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." So focus upon yourself and never mind what other people see or think.

**The Living Word of God

            Hebrews 4.12, today's Gospel acclamation: The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thought of the heart. To surrender to the Lord is to surrender to his word. It is through surrendering to this living word that we are spiritually nourished, enlightened, and formed to become like the Lord, fit to inherit the Kingdom of the Father.

***Be Prepared for the Unexpected Moment

          I love the late night or early morning before dawn arrives because when I am awake, I could sense or hear the Lord so clearly in the quiet. This time the Lord made me see that we might be in a very nice environment, living in a comfortable house, seeing beautiful things around us, etc., but one day even if all such things still remained, we would pass and find ourselves alone before the Lord. This could be drastic for some of us. So let's expect and be prepared for this unexpected moment when it comes.

To Be Set Free the Right Way

        From the first reading from Galatians 4, Paul wrote, For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. People erroneously think that if they do not accept Christ, they can do whatever they want and thus remain free, not realizing that they only end up enslaving themselves! To be truly set free, we need Christ, our creator and a much greater power, to heal our soul and set our spirit free.  

**God's Love Removes All fears

         Even though I am a most wretched sinner, since I love the Lord and yearn for him, I look forward to meeting him in person, as I know that he'd be glad to see me in person too. The love of God removes all fears, knocking down all barriers.

*Blog Title Change

         You might have noticed that I have changed the title and the description of this blog at the top of the page. When the Lord first started giving me thoughts to post eleven years ago, I had no idea what he was up to. It was almost a year later that he made it clear that he wished to draw all to him through the Holy Eucharist. Early this morning, the idea of changing the title to make it more relevant came to me, and I made the change. Praise the Lord. May he be glorified forever! 

**Enlightening the Heart

        Today's Gospel acclamation from Ephesians 1: May the Father of our Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts... That's right, we need the Lord to enlighten our hearts, not our minds. The mind only serves the heart. With an enlightened heart, we'll be able to see and think clearly. We speak of "the heart of the matter," not "the mind of the matter." If your heart is for God, you are for him. Whether your heart is defiled or clean concerns our Lord the most, for he cares about our soul the most. Opening your heart up to God opens the door to your salvation!

***Making Your Faith Infinite!

         In today's second reading from Philippians 4, Paul wrote: My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Christ the Lord himself has assured us of the same and we need to believe in this truth. This is the faith that can get us through anything and lead us straight to heaven. This is total abandonment in God that allows miracles to happen. This is truly believing that nothing is impossible with God. 

***The Same Magnificent Lord

         Today's psalm at Mass is Psalm 23, probably the best know and possibly the most beautiful psalm of all the Psalms. As you know, it starts out this way: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. Of course, this psalm of David was written about a thousand years before Christ came. After knowing Christ, you feel about the Lord just as David did, if not more so, for it's the same magnificent Lord. There's consistency here. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

**Knowing-Christ Difference

         If you do not know Christ, living seems to be empty and life, meaningless. Once you know the Lord, it becomes absolutely clear that without him, you are definitely lost. To know Christ is to know the truth and reality. Not knowing him is knowing everything that's not worth knowing! You are hearing this from someone who has found out and knows all about it.

***Do We Want to Be Forgiven?

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 130.3-4: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities. Lord, who could stand? But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel. It all comes down to this:
        
           God is most forgiving. At judgment time, do we want to be found guilty or not?

*Joy, Mark of the Christian

           The more we know the Lord, the more we rejoice in the Lord and the more we feel sorry for those who reject the Lord or do not take him seriously. The danger here is that we let the sorrow overwhelm us and we become less joyful. The way to to beat that is to trust in the Lord even more, knowing that he pities them more than we do and will take care of them as we pray for them, and offered up your sorrow to the Lord. A true Christian should always experience greater joy than sorrow.

**Observing the Word of God

         Today's Gospel reading from Luke 11: While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." The woman said something nice, but the Lord went right to the truth. For Christians, obedience to God must be taken to heart and carried out. The living word of God is to be practiced and propagated. If you hear it and take no action, you stifle the Holy Spirit. 

***Truth of the Holy Eucharist

 

**Either with God or Not with God

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, we hear Jesus say "Whoever is not with me is against me." This is worth our attention. With God, it's either you are with him or you are not with him, no third choice. 

****Why Satan Still Thrives

        God can easily wipe out Satan, but we who sin get in the way. If we all instantly become holy, that'll be the end of Satan and we all go to heaven. But as we continue to sin, the spiritual warfare continues on. The clear solution is that we turn to my Savior and believe in him, then we'll be set free from sin and Satan loses for good. So very clear.

*Start Exulting with Christ Now

         Today's entrance antiphon: Th souls of the Saints are rejoicing in heaven, the Saints who followed the footsteps of Christ, and since for love of him they shed their blood, they now exult with Christ for ever. We can follow the footsteps of Christ and start exulting with Christ now.

****Holy Spirit the Great Unifier

        It is the Holy Spirit that unites us to God. When we are totally Spirit-filled, we become one with God. This union breaks down all barriers between you and God and between you and all the saints in heaven or others on earth who are in union with the Lord, creating perfect unity. That's why I feel I already know all the saints in heaven whom I have not even met. That's why the best marriage on earth is one between a man and a woman who are both in complete union with God. But no matter, we can always seek to attain union with the Lord himself. Believe in the Lord completely, receive the body and blood in the Holy Eucharist with utmost devotion, and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and you become one with the Lord.

*****Asking for the Gift the Holy Spirit*****

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus told his disciples two parables on prayer. Here's the second parable. "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Wow, the Father is ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks him! I knew this parable, but I neglected noticing that the gift Jesus mentioned was specifically the Holy Spirit! This is exactly the gift we all need. You probably have been told that that Spirit dwells in you, but you must submit to the Holy Spirit to receive power! I'll mention again that when I prayed for baptism in the Holy Spirit at a charismatic prayer group meeting four decades ago, the Spirit "zapped" me and I was never the same person again. If you wish to snap out of your lukewarm state, just ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit or pray to the Holy Spirit directly. This is a gift many of us neglect to ask for, but it's essential and most precious, for you'll be amazed how the Holy Spirit can make you holier in no time. To this day, I still remember the joy and excitement I experienced. The Holy Spirit is real and is to be embraced and enjoyed! Do not miss the opportunity of receiving this life-changing, life-saving gift. Remember that God can do anything with you, and when you let him do what he wants with you, it's instantly accomplished.

**Compelled to Choose

        In today's entrance antiphon, we hear "O Lord, you have made all things, the heaven and the earth, and all that is held within the circle of heaven; you are the Lord of all." We either believe that the Lord is the Lord of all or he is not the Lord at all. We are compelled to make a choice here with no third choice available. Not to make the choice is an option, but that'd be the same as not believing that the Lord is the Lord of all, which is the same as believing that God doesn't exist. 

**Blessed Carlo Acutis

         Fr. Mark mentioned Carlo Acutis in the video I just posted. Carlo was a saintly boy who died at 15 in 2006 and will be beatified this Saturday, Oc. 10. He loved the Lord since he was a little boy. This reminds me of St. Thérèse, The Little Flower. He was known for documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world. I encourage you to watch at least one of the many videos about him on YouTube. I love his saying: "The Eucharist is my highway to heaven." Indeed, if you are a Catholic and don't know and believe in the Eucharist, then you are a Catholic in name only. Carlo Acutis is a shining example for all of us. Praise Jesus!

***Believe in the Holy Eucharist!

        Another Eucharistic miracle. 

***Christ Alone Fully Suffices

        Once you have Jesus, you never look back anymore. You don't wish that you should have done this or should not have done that. You no longer remember all your sufferings nor ever compare yourself to others. Christ alone now overflows and fulfills you. 

**God Anticipates Your Action

         I posted about the Holy Rosary without realizing that today is the memorial of Out Lady of the Rosary. I posted about the Lord's prayer and the Gospel reading from Luke 11 turned out to be about how the Lord taught his disciples to pray the Our Father. I picked up my new Testament, intending to look at the reading in Luke 11, and the book opened exactly to the page that showed the reading with the prayer. God is amazing!

On Unfinished Business

         There will always be unfinished business for us to finish in this life, so finish what you can and don't let any unfinished business bother you. When you leave the world, you'll have to leave all your unfinished business unfinished. Finish only your business with God on earth. 

*Joy, Joy, Joy!

when you hear the sweet voice of the Lord in your heart.

***The Power of the Lord

         God remains all powerful. If we believe in him, we are saved. If we reject him, we are doomed. All that power is useless to us if we don't want it. And it's all ours if we desire it. Jesus came to us so that we may receive his power to save ourselves! So it's all up to us to utilize or waste that power. So very clear.

***Why the Holy Rosary Is Powerful

           Early this morning, the Lord also made me see how perfect and powerful the Lord's Prayer he taught us is. If we can have only one prayer, this would be the one to choose, for if you truly mean what you say when you pray it, you can become a saint. I also saw that the Hail Marry is most effective in asking our Blessed Mother to intercede for us. She's the one who can sway our Lord the most. Now, the Glory Be to the Father is the best prayer for praising the God who deserves all our praise. It dawned on me why the Rosary is a most powerful weapon for crushing evil and saving souls: it combines all three of these powerful prayers. We dedicate each decade of the Rosary to a particular mystery and concentrate upon praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory.
          After I got up, I was overjoyed to find that Fr. Mark Goring talks about why Our Lady asks us to  pray the Rosary in today's video of his.  

***An Awakening Moment!

        Recently, President Trump caught the COVID-19 and was hospitalized. Then nationwide, millions of people prayed for him and he recovered in a few days and is back to work already. Praise our God! Early this morning, the Lord made me see for the first time very clearly that he had chosen Trump to stem the tide of evil. Without him being elected in 2016, we would never know the corruption in our government and the existence of the deep state that is planning to subvert our democracy. Trump has now made the whole world aware of the threat of globalism, socialism, and Communism. Today, we are able to openly  invoke the name of Jesus and say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays at Christmas time. This has to be the Lord's doing. I pray that this is not just a temporary turn of events. If we all turn to God and repent, we can overcome evil altogether and win the spiritual battle. Otherwise, there will be more chastisements and persecution of all God-fearing people coming. We are at such a critical point that what happens next will depend entirely upon how much we obey the Lord now. We can no longer lie back, say that we trust in God, and not do anything anymore. Pray hard and unceasingly.

*Beauty of God's Love

          There is secular music out there that's beautiful enough to make me think of God. Under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos..., I have already listed two videos featuring Rachmaninov's two preludes written for the piano, to me one expressing our yearning for God and the other, the love of Mary for her son, our Lord. I just watched another video featuring the most talented Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino playing the piano arrangement of Rachmaninov's 3rd movement of his 2nd symphony. Again, the music made me sense God's beautiful love for us. Here's that video.

**Listen to the Lord First*

         This is today's entire Gospel reading from Luke 10.

        Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

         We are very much like Martha, but we must listen to the Lord first and always, putting everything aside if necessary. This will be hard for many and they would probably argue that it won't work in real life. All I know is that if we listen to the Lord and do not be anxious or worry about things, everything will work out best. In other words, live your spiritual life right and your earthly life will follow in good order. Place God first and everything else second.

***We Are Before God!

         Also, in today's reading from Galatians 1, Paul made this side remark: "As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying." It's kinda cute. But seriously, it's good to be beware that whatever we do, we are doing it before God; so we'd better be truthful. (The world has gotten so evil because it's no longer aware that God exists.)

***God's Plan for Us

        In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Paul writes "When God, who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me . . ." We must believe that God has also set each of us apart when we were still in our mother's womb. In Jeremiah 1, we read that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." The Lord may not have revealed to each of us a specific appointment, but he definitely has a plan for each of us. The call to holiness and obedience should be obvious. If we follow Christ faithfully, our plan evolves simultaneously. I could hear the Lord saying: "Blessed are those who do not know their specific appointments and still follow me faithfully."

****Steps to Knowing Christ

        Many Christian spiritual messages are being preached and writings being published, providing reflections, insights, views, etc. How effective they are is to be measured by how well they succeed in drawing you closer to Christ. After all, to know Christ the Lord must be our foremost goal. We cannot be effective if we do not know him well ourselves, even with the best of intentions. The three steps to reach this goal are to accept Christ, to believe in Christ, and to surrender ourselves to Christ so that we may get to know him mostly intimately, as in union with him. 

**Whom Do We Seek to Please?

         In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Pail writes, Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. We try to please others all the time. If we do it for the sake of pleasing God, that's great. But if we do it in order to please ourselves, then our ego is involved and it can be sinful. Worst of all if we do it to please Satan! In any case, whatever we do, we should aim to do the will of the Lord to please him alone, no matter what others think or say. 

**My Mission on earth

          I want to praise Christ always. I want to extol his glory with all my heart and with all my soul. I don't just believe in him, I know that he is the true God. No one else can ever replace him, for there can be only one Lord. So hear me if you have ears. We are given just one life on earth to realize this truth. To remain lost forever is unthinkable. Try to get to know him; you have nothing to lose and only eternal life to gain. And you can always change your mind at any time, although I know that once you are with Christ, gladly following his will in all things, you'll never ever want to leave him. 

**Unbreakable Union

         Communion experience. The Lord entered me to affirm his union with me, a union that nothing in heaven and on earth can break. I am completely secure in the Lord.

***Our Calling and Fulfillment

        If Christ is your Lord, you must be in complete union with him. You cannot follow him without all your heart and all your soul. He has given us all of himself and we must reciprocate by giving all of ourselves to him. This is our sole calling and our perfect fulfillment.   

***Speaking Out!

        An urgent, important message for all Americans to hear. 

*Unself-Centered Rejoicing

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The Lord hit the nail right on the heard. Knowing that God has chosen you is what truly matters and worth rejoicing about. The focus should always be on what he does for you and not on what you do for him.

**Joy of Learning from the Lord

        From today's reading from Psalm 119, we hear "O Lord, the revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple." This is followed by the Gospel acclamation, Matthew 11.25: Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. In college, when I studied mathematics, I virtually had to push my mind to the limit to solve some of he homework problems. Now, to learn the truth from the Lord, I only need to remain simple and be childlike. What a joy!

**Courageous Priest and Bishop

        We need more priests like Fr. Goring and bishops like Bishop Strickland.

Knowing the Lord Intimately

          Today's Psalm reading comes from Psalm 139 of David. I'm amazed that the psalmist knew the Lord so intimately. I am reproducing the entire text below, for it's a joy to read.

          Lord, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize; with all my ways you are familiar. 

        Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the nether world, there you are.

         If I take the wings of dawn and dwell beyond the sea, even there your hand guides me, and your right hand holds me fast.

         You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you that I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. 

*The Righteous and the Wicked

          Today is the Memorial of the Hoy Guardian Angels. In the first reading form Job 38, the Lord mentioned the wicked on earth to Job. This made me see that the world is divided into two camps which may be called the righteous and the wicked. The Lord God knows exactly which camp we belong to. And we can switch from one camp to the other at will when we are still alive on earth. To remain righteous is easy if you have God; to remain wicked is easy if you do not have God. Simple and clear.

**Our Exciting Challenge

        Things happen unexpectedly, but we must trust that God's timing is always perfect, for he knows exactly what he is doing. Jesus told us that he would come again at an hour we do not expect. Signs and warnings may precede certain prophesied events such as the illumination of conscience and the three days of darkness, but we still do not know when they will take place. So we must be prepared and trust the Lord in all things—this is our exciting challenge.

**Consequences of Rejecting the Gospel

        Today is the Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. It's her intense love for Jesus that first inspired me to love the Lord. I consider her to be my first spiritual guide. In the Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus sent seventy-two of his disciples ahead of him to every town and place to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He said to them, "Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." This shows that if you reject the gospel of Christ, you will suffer consequences. It is most serious, for it amounts to telling the Lord that he is not true, putting it bluntly.   

***Urgent Calling to Prayer

         We are now engaged in a spiritual battle so fierce that we must not put off praying anymore. There are Christians now who've been deceived by Satan and believe that those Christians who do not embrace the left are now lost souls! I am not kidding! Satan is good at sowing confusion. If you don't stand strong and firm with Christ, you can be swayed easily by all his enemies who are legion. So anytime you feel the Lord calling you to pray, you must pray without delay and with all your heart. Yes, pray unceasingly, as we are in end times now. The time for the Lord to separate the goats from the sheep is near.