***Purgatory Exists

         I thought I did my last posting on this last day of July, then a friend emailed me asking if I'd like to read his copy of Fr. Mark Goring's new book Hold My Beer. I went to Fr. Mark's video of today which showed that the book is now available on Amazon and also watched that video on purgatory I somehow passed when I first saw it this morning. I am posting it now because it shows that purgatory is real. God bless you all.

***Good Warning from Mother

         Convert before it's too late.

***How to Know the Lord

        To know God, we need to enter solitude and search within our hearts. Otherwise, external distractions would occupy all our attention. Once alone, you settle down and open up to God completely. The key is to be receptive, casting aside barriers of any kind between you and the Lord. You'll hear from him and/or experience great peace.

**Simple but Challenging Truth*

        Today is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In the Gospel reading from John 11, Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Christ just told us how we can live forever! It's simple and clear. If you don't accept him, it's not because you can't understand what he'd said, but because you have chosen to reject him. In other words, you and God are still at odds with each other for the time being, and this will have to come to a resolution one day.  

***Consecration to the Holy Mother

         When I consecrated myself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary decades ago, I did it with many others in the whole Sacramento area. We prepared ourselves for a whole month and met together for Mass at St. Philomene in Sacramento. The church was packed and the occasion still remains vivid in my mind. Here's a short video that shows you can do the consecration on you own in under two minutes. How strongly you feel about it matters more than how long you prepare yourself for it. You'll be happy when you have  the heavenly Mother guide, support, and protect you.

**God Calling Us Ever So Gently

        I am not familiar with Our Lady of Zaro. Nevertheless, the message is simple, straight, and beautiful.        

***How to Help God Win His War

        In the video "Words We Need to Hear" I posted yesterday, I was struck by these words. The Blessed Virgin let Miryana know that punishment from God could be diminished by prayer and penance and that one of the evils that threatened the world had been averted, thanks to prayer and fasting. She also said that with prayer and fasting we can stop wars and suspend natural laws.
          This makes clear what our role is in helping God fight his spiritual battle. God is in full charge and we are simply to obey him in whatever he asks us to do. Being human, we tend to take up arms and go out there to wipe out all the evildoers, but this is not God's way. We must let him truly be our Lord once and for all. Submission to him ourselves is the only effective way for us to help him win the battle. Prayer, penance, fasting, and even more loving is the way to go.

***Words We Need to Hear

        Listen to what Mother Mary told us at Medjugorje.  

*Begone, Worries and Anxieties!

         Attain union with God and all your worries and anxieties vanish. For all your problems now have become his, and for God worries and anxieties just don't make the list.

*****Unbeatable State

         When we abandon ourselves in God, we become completely free, for we are no longer blocking God. Now we enjoy true freedom in the infinite space of God. It follows that God is now free to shower the very best on us. Being free and receiving the very best—you can't possibly beat that!   

**Fighting a Predetermined War

       It is a given that God will triumph over evil and we who serve him as warriors will be with him in heaven. It's only a matter of time. Meanwhile, we only need to remain faithful, patient, and obedient to the Lord in all things. With his help, it should be an easy journey. Now that we already know the outcome, we can fight this war against evil for the Lord with confidence, fearlessness, and even joy! Also, it's good to know that we'll be joining with the Holy Mother, for she's our leader in fighting this epic battle.

**Be Thankful to God Always!

         Now only we should praise God as often as possible, we should thank him always too. We can thank him for every moment he's keeping us alive. We can thank him for having died for us to save us from sin—this is fundamental. We can thank for everything, good or bad, that happens to us, for he wants to draw us to him. We thank many people in our lives, shouldn't we thank our creator the most? Don't be like the nine of the ten lepers whom Jesus healed, but never came back to thank him. Thank the Lord at all times to show that you appreciate him.

*****Union with God Is Real*****

         Jesus and the Father are in each other and are one. How are we to join them? When we receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, a physical union takes place. And if you are ready to submit yourself entirely to him, this physical union leads to a spiritual union. We can say that receiving this Most Blessed Sacrament initiates and seals our union with the Lord. What you experience afterwards can tell you that you have indeed attained union with God. These are some of the signs: (1) Being aware of God's constance presence, (s) any sin becoming absolutely repulsive, (3) the peace that results from your trust in the Lord, (3) the intense desire to serve him, (4) the compassion you feel even for your human enemies, (5) your longing for the Lord, 6) his voice you hear in your heart, (7) the unexpected joy impossible to suppress that bursts forth from within you... You and the Lord now thoroughly enjoy each other's company. Literally, you are already in heaven.

***Profundities for the Childlike*

        As some of my regular readers may already know, I still have an interest in music and art and loved mathematics at one time. So at times I still watch some videos on musicians, especially the pianists. I must say that some of them do impress me with their profound understanding of great music. I feel the same about painters who reveal their personal perception so well. Yet no matter how good or profound you might be in your field, you may not get any closer to God. For me, knowing Christ enables me to penetrate the most profound mystery in one simple understanding and gain eternal life to boot. To the childlike, all deep mysteries are simple to grasp. What a delight it is to know and trust in the Lord!

***Many Judas in the Church

         Many cardinals and bishops in the Church have already betrayed Christ and are following the Devil. Watch this LifeSite video to learn the truth. The purification of the Church is due. 

****Right Attitude for Rapid Spiritual Progress

        Jesus asked us to be childlike in believing in him. That's because as a child, he can teach you much and you can learn fast. It you want to be a believer, that'd be the way to go. Anyone who questions and doubts a lot won't make a good candidate. It's also this total-abandonment-in-God attitude that gets you to attain union with him. 

*Probability of Getting into Heaven

       The more we are attached to the world, the more difficult it'll be for us to get into heaven. Let's look at the extreme cases. If you are totally immersed in this world, you probably don't want to face death, not knowing what will happen to your soul after you die. Essentially, you are a lost soul, and for such a soul, finding heaven would be virtually impossible. On the other hand, if you follow Christ faithfully and look forward to the day of meeting him, your soul will most likely rise straight to heaven after you depart from his world. If you are in the middle somewhere between the two extremes, how likely you are to get into heaven would depend upon many things. But we can generally say that the more reluctant you are to leave this world, the harder it would be for you to enter heaven directly. The existence of purgatory might just be what you need.

*God's Approval Only Needed

        If people don't appreciate you for what you are or have done, that's OK. But if God doesn't approve of what you are or have done, that's not OK. To live for God alone is to care only about what he thinks of you. You want to be sure that God always approves of what you are or have done.

*Suffering for a Good Reason

        As humans, we don't like to suffer. But if we have a good reason for suffering, we may not mind or even welcome it. And there is no better reason than glorifying the Lord. First of all, if we love the Lord, he'll never send us sufferings we won't be able to bear. And when he sends us sufferings, there's always a purpose. It may be to strengthen us spiritually or if we offer the suffering up to him, he can use the merit we have acquired to help others in some way. Don't forget that suffering also greatly helps uniting us to the Lord in suffering! So accept your sufferings gracefully for the glory of the Lord. By the way, the Lord will always glorify those who suffer for him.

*To Be Self-Centered or Not

         Of course, we should never be self-centered when dealing with God or others. But when it comes dealing with our own spiritual growth, we need to focus upon ourselves entirely, asking the Lord to make us as holy as possible. This is good self-centeredness. Anyway, the ultimate center should always be the Lord God, no matter whom we deal with. We need to do everything for his glory.

***Hidden Secret of the Our Father

         The Our Father is the most fundamental prayer Christ has taught us. This is a perfect prayer, for it properly defines our relationship to the Lord God. Today I see that praying this prayer with all sincerity can make us become like Christ! This has to be the hidden secret. So pray it with all your heart and soul to let the Lord perfect you. The Our Father is now the most exiting prayer of all to me.

**Tears of Joy Mixed with Sorrow

         The Lord often moves me to tears. These are often tears of joy, for the Lord is joy—how can you not feel elated when you have him who loves and cares for you so much? But in dark times like now, my joy is mixed with deep sorrow. I shed tears because so many people have turned against the Lord, the God of Christ, causing him to suffer greatly and themselves to possibly lose their only hope of being saved. 

**A Spiritual Law

         When you do your very best to glorify God, God will do his very best to bless you, fulfill all your wishes, and make sure that you'll be amply rewarded. This is a spiritual law you can count on. Know that we have an infinite, loving God whose riches are inexhaustible. 

***How to Fight Evil

         The World has gone bonkers because it has abandoned God. How should Christians respond to that. One thing we should not do is taking the matter into our own hands. To maintain our own sanity, we need to abandon ourselves completely to the Lord to let him direct us in fighting the battle. The Lord is our leader and we are to follow his every order. Becoming holy will make you most effective. Obedience to God will best help him accomplish his plan. 

*****Our First Order of Business*****

        We need to take care of our own sins before minding other people's sins. So, to know God should be our first order of business. If we don't know God, we'll surely do things blindly wrong most of the time! Many people don't see this because they lack humility. 

***Our Dearest Lord!

          I prayed the Chaplet of Divine Mercy this morning. As I was saying the prayer that began each decade: Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world, I realized that Christ the Dearly Beloved Son of God the Father is our Dearly Beloved Lord, in fact, our Dearest Lord. Dearest because no one else can be dearer than Christ to us. That we have such a Beloved Lord is indeed something to rejoice about! We who love Him will be well taken of by Him for all eternity. 

***Fear of God

        We need to fear God enough so that we do not ever offend him. This is the good fear. On the other hand, if we think that God can no longer forgive us for a sin we have committed against him, this would be an extremely bad fear we must never entertain, for that can only come from the devil.

*In Gratitude to the Lord

        Communion joy today. Experiencing the joy of union with my Lord, I couldn't help asking him "Who am I that you should care for so much?" I felt so grateful that I asked him to give me whatever he wished to give me.  

***Joy of Surrendering to God

        Life is all about whether we surrender ourselves to God to let him be our Lord or rebel against him so that we can (foolishly) be our own lord. The fact that when we give our heart to Christ alone to become completely submissive to him and experience the great joy of freedom shows clearly which way is the right way. 

**Submitting to God's Holiness

        The holiness of God is most dazzling and awesome! We need to be aware of it in order to realize our sinful state. Then we can submit ourselves to it and let it dispel all the darkness around us and flush out all the impurities within us.

***What God Is to Me

        At Mass this morning, I was thinking about how much God meant to me. I was formed by him in the beginning, shall end my life in him, and then live on forever with him. So he is both my creator and my savior, sustaining my being always. He is my all and everything—my beloved Lord, best teacher and friend, my guide and advisor, and healer of my soul and spirit. He is also my soulmate, closer to me than my own soul! We belong to each other and are inseparable as one. My security in him is completely assured. 

**A Small Step to God

         This morning the Lord made me see that we are so very close to having life with him for all eternity—we only need to believe and trust in Christ fully, and we'll be ready to leave this world in peace. So we can have all of God and inherit everything he has for us or end up with absolutely nothing that would be of comfort to us. The choice should be a no-brainer. 

***Pushing God to the Limit

         God's most urgent call to us is to convert ourselves first. If we do that, we'll overcame sin and be saved for all eternity. Then we'll automatically want to spread the good news to all others. Yet much of the world does not heed this call and continues to ignore its own salvation. Perhaps the warning like the illumination of conscience will wake many up to God. We are really pushing the Lord to the limit, being so insolent and rebellious. Alas, if we reject God's infinite mercy, nothing will be able to save us. Perhaps this is the unforgivable sin?

***Only Way of Truly Living

         To know God well, we need to become like him. Then we can become his soulmates and get to know him thoroughly. Obviously, the Lord is already perfect, so we are the ones to be transformed by him to become like him. If we cooperate, it's a done deal, for everything is possible for him if we don't get in his way! It's that simple, and most exciting, I can assure you. This to me is truly living. To live any other way is not knowing what you are doing.

*Appreciating God for Giving Us Life

         I have acquired a print of Mary with Baby Jesus and one of the Crucified Christ. Originally I thought I would hang one in the living room and the other one in my study. The more I looked at them, the more I realized that they should go together to show fully why he came to us. Now they hang next to each other in the living room so that when I look at them, I see immediately that he came into our world to die for us in order that we may have life forever.

*How Is Your Conscience?

          God has given each of us a conscience to know right from wrong or good from evil, so we have the obligation to do our best to keep it clear and sharp. Without God's guidance, the conscience can easily get muddy or dull. But with God, the Holy Spirit can help you keep it super sensitive or sharp, and it becomes a great joy. It's a fact that those who have a poor conscience live with an unrestful heart, while those who possess a good conscience live in peace. A clear conscience is a must for being holy.

**Only God's Understanding Matters

          We often feel hurt when people misunderstand our action, especially when our intention is good. Then people are not God; they are fallible and may even be malicious. Since God is the only one who understands us perfectly, we only need to care about what he think of us. A hundred years of being misunderstood on earth now is nothing compared to being understood by God now and for all eternity later on. 

**Making God Remember You

        Do you know that when you pray for others, you are one of the beneficiaries too? The more you give for God, the more he fills you up. He always rewards those who are selfless. The more you forget yourself, the more he remembers you. 

**Flexible Praying

         Sometimes we pray for one thing single-mindedly, but we can be flexible and pray for the opposite outcome too. Here's one example to show you what I mean. I have suffered a shoulder pain for years due to repeated falls. The recovery has always been slow and incomplete. The pain now is tolerable. If the Lord wishes me to remain thus for whatever reason, that''d be OK with me, for he'll give me the strength and patience necessary to endure it. But at the same time, I am free to pray for its healing too, knowing that he can heal me in an instant. If that doesn't happen, it'll be OK with me too. The bottom line, "Thy will be done." So pray for whatever you need from God, but be flexible and happy with whatever he sends your way.

***Our Best Ally

        The most perfect existence for us on earth is to be of one heart and of one mind with the Lord God. This is entirely possible because it is what he desires, unless we don't care about it. We need to know that nothing is impossible for God and appreciate the fact that he can help us not only live perfectly on earth, but also get into heaven later! 

**To Belong to the Lord's Family

           In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 12, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds, someone told him that his mother and his brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with him. He said in replay, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Stretching his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my  mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and my mother." Jesus was speaking about his true family. Now we know how to belong to his family!

**A Generation That Rejects Suffering

         I see our generation as a spoiled generation. We complain it's too warm or too cold even when riding in a car for a short time. We get bored when we don't find anything entertaining around us. That is, we get unhappy anytime we don't get what we want. It is a self-centered generation that does not accept any suffering or even inconvenience, thus distancing itself from the Lord God who suffered for all of us for our salvation and advised us to take up our cross and follow him. Apparently, this generation life cares more about life on earth than life eternal.  

**Christ the Source of All Our Needs

         Christ is ready to give us eternal life, for he wants us to have the very best. It follows that he's ready to give us all the rest we need too. Accept and believe in him and you are set for living forever! Truth is always simple, but we always make accepting it complicated for ourselves.

**How to Achieve Freedom in God

        Before the Lord, we need to decrease to nothing. You see, God loves to become one with us and has made our path to him straight and smooth. But if our pride or ego is too big, we simply won't be able to squeeze through that narrow entrance to enter him. So we need to become a humble nobody first in order to succeed. Now, once in his infinite space, you get to enjoy your full freedom.

**Our Test for Entering Heaven

          Suppose you are given a long list of possible wishes and one of them is to get to heaven, and you are only allowed to choose one wish. I believe that anyone with some sense would choose to get to heaven. Then the heart is likely to overrule the head and you continue to live a life leading you further away from God. To remedy this, we need to give God our heart first, and this is precisely the stumbling block for many of us. Letting God have your heart will easily pave your way to be with God. This is the big challenge we face and the test we need to pass. It's all up to us. 

*Making Good News Good for You

       The God of Christ is ready to embrace you and carry you in his bosom all the way to heaven, but you need to seek him first. A closed heart will never know him, while an open one will find the truth and one day know everything. So make your most momentous move today without delay. The good news is made good only when you desire to hear and take advantage of it.   

**God Can Shape Us Perfectly

        I  attended Sunday Mass this morning. I felt as if I were a piece of twisted, deformed metal, and now I was going to the Lord to receive him in the Holy Eucharist and he's going to straighten me out completely. This is what he loves to do and is his specialty. He can shape us perfectly as long as we are willing to put ourselves in his mighty hands.  

**Ungodly Surrender to Satan*

        In the past, Christians died for their faith rather than offending God. Today we have bishops silencing priests who dare to preach the truth for fear of offending Satan. This is a fact, even if you don't see it that way. Those who remain faithfully in Christ the Lord have absolutely no need to fear Satan, knowing that he is only annoying like a mosquito at times—this was how St. Teresa of Avila described it. Focus upon serving the Lord alone and dismiss Satan entirely. Let God deal with the Devil.

*God's Accomplishments vs. Ours

         I was reading what's printed on a snack bag telling how this snack was made by someone who afters years of research and experimenting finally succeeded in making it so tasty. Human beings have accomplished many things. Today's hi tech inventions can be quite ingenious. Yet I find God's simple acts of love much more amazing. Our greatest achievements are not what we can accomplish on our own, but what we can do for his sake via his power. For whatever we do for our own sake, we don't deserve patting ourselves on the back.

**Illumination of Conscience Thoughts

        There is much talk and anticipation about the prophesied Illumination of Conscience. It seems that this warning could take place any moment now. I've posted about this since April, 2020. Do a search on this blog and you can read all those posts. Personally, I welcome its coming and am excited about witnessing God's power and glory, yet at the same time I pray that it will happen when the greatest number of people will be ready for it. After all, God wishes to save as many souls as possible. Then this may be just a moot concern, as God knows the proper timing best. Of course, if we all heed the warnings from heaven virtually begging us to convert and return to God, this act of mercy need not even happen. In any case, the best policy or strategy for us to be ready ourselves for whatever event God sends our way at whatever time. 

*****Time Is Running Out

         I'd like to post this video because the messages begging us to get back to God are truly urgent, as time goes by quickly. For many of us, we just can't afford to remain as usual anymore. The worst thing would be not taking all warnings from heaven seriously now and getting caught when we are not ready later. Then we'll lose our peace forever.

****How to Relieve the Lord's Suffering

         Today Friday is the day to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Jesus went thru so much suffering for us and is suffering still for our continuing infidelity. I ask myself how we can share or alleviate his suffering. His answer to me is clear: we only need to keep his word and obey him always, and that''ll be enough to make him happy. Lord, you've done so much for us, yet you ask so little from us and even want to help us do our part. I thank you, praise you, and declare my love for you forever!

***Only One We Need to Know

        There are billions of people out there in the world, yet finding a trusty friend or compatible mate is just not that easy. The good news is that there is only one you need to know and attach yourself to—he is Christ the Lord. He is open to all of us, especially if you are a sinner who needs help. He is absolutely trustworthy and can fulfill your desire to be happy forever! Turn to and follow him first and everything you'll ever need will be yours. 

***Hidden Meaning of Apparitions in Zeitoun

         Abortion opened the door wide for the Devil to operate among us. I still remember the day abortion was legalized in this country. It seemed rather incredible. This kind of things happens when Christians don't remain vigilant. Now we are in a much worse position.! Returning to God is more urgent than ever! (You'll find an earlier post on Our Lady of Zeitoun on July 4.) 

*Hypocritical Politicians in Evil Times

**Pure Love is Totally Self-Giving

        Pure love is never self-centered. I mention this because in loving someone our ego can still get in the way. The loss of peace is a sign that our motive is not quite pure. To show our love is a great opportunity to abandon ourselves totally to God. Know that loving others is loving God, and you can't love God if you are not totally centered on him.

**Pity the Evildoers

        The fact that today's evildoers outwardly no longer show any fear of God shows that evil has already ensnared their souls. You can only pity and pray for them who are unaware that they are on their way to losing their souls altogether.  A most sad sight. Pray that they will realize that it only takes a change of heart for God to save them outright. By contrast, the wise and righteous submit their free will to God to get their souls safeguarded first. What a smart brilliant move! 

*Living Comfortably Now Is Not Enough

         If you live a very comfortable life but do not have God, what would be your gain? I would say none and you may even lose your soul in the end! If living a comfortable life before you die is all you wish for, you need to wise up and realize that there is so much more you can have, unless you don't believe that there is life after death. If you do believe that you possess an everlasting soul, then you'd better make sure that you'll live comfortably after you die too.

*God Doesn't Play Hide-and-Seek

         From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, we see that God hides things from the wise and the learned and reveals them to the childlike. I think this is because the wise and the learned are full of pride and remain closed to God, whereas the childlike are humble and remain open to whatever the Lord wishes to reveal to them. It is not God being unfair, but us who put the blocks on God or let our guard down before him.

**God Always with Us

         In today's first reading from Exodus 3, the Lord God told Moses that he's going to send him to Pharaoh to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will be with you." When the Lord God asks you to do something, know that you won't be doing it on you own, for he'll surely be with you. Then, live for the Lord and do everything for his sake, and he's right there with you at all times.

**Eliminating Our Point of No Return*

        There are different points of no return, but only one is of critical importance to us. This is the point beyond which we won't be able to save our soul. For example, if you think that you are not ready to turn to God yet and you suddenly die, you miss your point of no return. This happens only if you are not ready. To those who are ready, the point of no return no longer exists. I personally believe that at the Second Coming of Christ, the moment you realize that the Lord is here, the time for your repentance is no more. Nowadays so many warnings coming from heaven asking us to pray and convert, if we do not comply, we'll likely miss our point of no return. Be smart and return to God now to eliminate our point of no return.

*****Best Path for Us to Take!

          The 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition has begun in Warsaw, Poland. You can now watch all the contestants playing in the preliminary round live on YouTube. I believe there are over a hundred pianists coming from around the world now strutting their stuff, hoping to advance to the next round. All pianists who wished to be considered applied for admission in 2019 and found out if they qualify to play in the preliminary round or not in March last year. The screening process continues on right now and the real competition won't start until this October. There will be three stages to go through. Imagine the amount of work, practice, preparation, anticipation, and pressure you have to undergo, hoping to emerge as the best among so many talented players! Is all this worth it? I am sure the answer is yes for many of them. This is truly more difficult than following Christ to become a saint. To succeed in following Christ, you simply relax in the Lord to let him do all the work, and it's definitely worth it, for the tremendous reward you'll reap is completely assured. Yes, following Christ is absolutely the most sensible, rewarding, and worthwhile path for us to take.

***Removal of My Greatest Burden

        As I was doing my daily walk this morning, I felt great inner peace and knew that's because I had completely reconciled myself to God and had my sins, my greatest burden, removed by him. This is also proof to me that the God of Christ is the real true God.

***Fr. Calloway's Conversion

         Fr. Calloway's conversion was told in the video Encouraging Stories I posted on July 10, just three days ago. Here is a longer, more complete version worth hearing. Realizing that we need God or life remains empty brings about true conversion. That had been my experience too. 

 

***Living the Sweet Life in God

        It would be nice to let the Lord inspire you daily. Best yet, be completely open to him so that you may get inspired as much as possible by him. Let him illuminate you to understand his ways and thoughts. Knowing him intimately should be our primary goal. Once you know him well, you won't be able to help but fall deeply in love with your God. Now you grow spiritually by leaps and bounds, living the sweet life in him.

**Fault of This Generation

       The great fault of this generation is the lack of humility, making us unwilling to listen to others, but wanting to impose our strong opinions and views on them instead. If someone doesn't listen to anyone he sees, you can't expect him to listen to God whom he doesn't see. Basically, we have a pretty much close-minded generation. To know God, we need to have the humility to be willing to not only listen to others, but also examine our own conscience and heart, for God can only be encountered in our innermost self.      

***Our Greatest Sign from God

         There are many prophecies coming to us nowadays. Of course, we need to apply good discernment and not believe in everything we hear or read. Then there are always those who tell you why you shouldn't believe in a particular revelation. I am not personally promoting any of the seers. What I like about this video is that it points out that Jesus is the greatest sign God has given us. For me, Christ alone is more than sufficient for me to believe in the loving Father. (By the way, calamities prophesied can be averted if we respond to God's will favorably each time.)  

*God Completes Us

          Communion experience. I truly felt as David felt when he wrote Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. The Lord fulfills me completely. Besides, he is most trustworthy, the only one I can trust with my soul!

**Walking by Faith

          In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus sent the Twelve out to the villages around to preach repentance. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. This is indeed traveling light, but more importantly, it's to walk by faith. I believe that if we rely upon the Lord fully, he will support us fully. If we don't seek his support, we won't witness any of his wonders. A faith journey is basically an adventure filled with the wonders of God. 

***Removing Our Sins, a Huge Deal!

        "Jesus can forgive and take away our sins." You've probably heard this many, many times. I have, but it hit me today that this is a huge deal and we must pay critical attention to it. Christ can actually remove all our sins to make our soul clean again. What fantastic news! He is the only one who can do this. With a clean soul, we are fit to enter heaven. I hope you now see that this hackneyed saying actually brings us the best possible tidings we need to hear.

***Wake-Up-to-Reality Call

        We have those who work for the Devil. If they do not turn around, they'll become demons one day. We have those in the middle who are more or less lost, surviving like sheep with no shepherd to guide them and not knowing why they are here nor where they are heading. Then we have those who follow the God of Christ and know exactly where they'll be going. Their names are already written in the book of heaven. This is quite a wide range. We can choose where we want to be now and to go later. Wake up, think ahead, make your choice  and be ready, for life on earth is short and fleeting.

***Christians Called to Be Dynamic

        A Christian cannot remain static, peaceful yes but not static, for God is always calling us to action! If we just trust in God and remain static, how can we bear any fruit? We are to love the Lord with all our heart, with all our all soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength—this means we cannot sit idly and not sense any urgency, especially in dark times as now. Storing up treasure in heaven and bearing fruit in this life is our full time duty we must perform with great dedication. Be awake, alert, and vibrant!

*****What Union with God Is About*****

        Union with God does not concern so much about how the Lord dwells within you or contains you. Being mystical, it's more about how much you become like him, A perfect union means that the Lord's ways and thoughts are now all yours as well. (Time for great rejoicing again.)   

**Letting Pure Love Liberate You

         What is love? I think love to us is most often sexual attraction or strong attraction to anything we enjoy sensually. True pure love is something else. To know this love, you'll have to know God first, for he is that love. Know him so that you may be freed from the entrapment of impure love. 

*****Most Expedient Way to Know God

        For many years in the past, I prayed to God a lot, but I never did open myself up completely to him. I kept him at a distance, you could say. Wishing to love him more, I read a lot of books about many saints and other spiritual classics. That helped. I still have about 20 of those books set aside containing many passages that spoke to my heart which I had highlighted with a yellow highlighter. Today I finally realized that if I had gone directly to the Lord with a completely open heart, I would have progressed so much faster and sooner. I took the longer, indirect route, but lived long enough to discover the most expedient way to know God. For this I am most grateful. I can now say that if you let yourselves be completely known to God, he reciprocates by letting himself be completely known to you. Now you and the Lord get to enjoy each other fully!

*****Words from Our Heavenly Mother

        In this video, you hear the words spoken by the Holy Mother to us. They are moving, comforting, and most beautiful. Her Triumph is near!

***Encouraging Stories

         Finally, a video with  two happy stories. The Lord always works in a beautiful way to those who seek him. 

****The Church Being Destroyed!

        Now, Fr. Mark Goring's message. More scandalous news. More prayers needed.

****Suppression of the Truth

        Today, I'd like to share a number of videos. First, Fr. James Altman's bishop finally suspended his priestly faculties. I see this as the doing of the Devil. This video shows his reaction to that on the John-Henry Westen show. To hear Fr. Altman only, you only need to watch the first 24 minutes or so. How sad and revolting it is that many bishops silence those priests who proclaim the truth out of love for God and his people! Christ, have mercy on us!

***God Will Always Prevail

        The God of Christ is the truth, and the truth will remain true and last forever. Whoever has this truth will live forever and triumph over all evil and overcome all obstacles. This has been predetermined already. In this truth, peace and joy vanquishes all fears and worries. The Lord will always prevail. It's sheer folly to think otherwise.

**A Sane Voice in These Dark Times

        Hearing Archbishop Vigano speaking out at a time like this is like haviing a breath of fresh air or seeing a ray of sunshine. 

**Not Knowing Our Place

          Leg us remember that we are finite beings, born into the world and had to learn everything from scratch; while the Lord God is infinite, the beginning and the end, who created all of us and knows everything and the future. Before him, we are nothing, yet he treasures us. Our proper, sensible response should be to humbly submit ourselves to him with gratitude and trust. Yet so many of us think that we are somebody, want to have our ways and even discard God! What a ridiculous, perverse, and foolish generation! We need to put ourselves in our place before God does it for us.

*Like a Blank Canvas

         As I did my early morning walk today, I saw myself as a blank canvas, clean and spotless, ready for the Lord to paint whatever he wants on it. This is a great way to start each day, letting him do whatever he wishes with you, knowing that you'll always get the most loving care from him.

**We Are the Culprits

         The love of God alone is enough to make us all holy and go to heaven, and turn our world into a peaceful haven for all. That this is not happening is because not all of us are cooperating with God. It's that simple. There is nothing more beautiful than the love of God for us, yet we do not see or accept that because we are in sin. That is clear. We are the ones giving God a hard time. We need to repent and pray hard for ourselves foremost.

***God Ready for You to Experience*

       God is real and you need to experience him. Otherwise, your spiritual journey will be arduous. It is true that faith alone is sufficient for salvation, but why not make your journey easy and a joy when you can? I do not mean that you need to witness miracles or have apparitions, etc., which can actually be distractions; I am talking about experiencing the Lord himself! Our God is not remote nor aloof. In fact, he even became one of us to befriend us on earth 2,000 years ago. All you need to do is be open and desire to experience him and he will respond readily to you, for he loves you and is waiting for this moment to establish a most beautiful intimate relationship with you. Never forget that he died for us so that we may live forever with him in heaven!

***Dream Relationship with God*

        There is no better feeling than pouring your heart out to God, your most loving Father. It's not to let him know what's in your heart, for he already knows; it's to show that you are willing to share everything with him directly from your heart, being totally open so that you become one with him with absolutely no barrier whatsoever between you and him. You now fulfill his will always and experience true freedom, peace, and joy that surpass understanding. You now have a dream relationship with God that's real.

*A Special Grace

         As I get older, I do feel that the Lord God is the only one I can depend upon, even though I still have my wife the dearest person on earth with me. She's good to me, but the Lord alone is the one I can rely on now and forever. This is good to be aware of! Blessed are those who are still young and realize this.

*****Two Revelations*****

        As I prayed and walked this morning, I had two revelations. (1) Luke 23:34—from the cross, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who crucified him. He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." We are all sinners, so we all do not know what we do, until we surrender ourselves completely to God. Again, seeking union with God is the way to go. (2) No matter how holy we are, we need to cry out for God's mercy, for we are dependent upon his mercy for everything. We are entirely in his hands. To rebel against God is to jump out of his protective hands into oblivion. "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner" is our most fundamental prayer. We must acknowledge this foremost to get into heaven.

*Learning from Plants

          Plants are like us. Some grow fast, while others always look sick. I planted a lemon tree and it did not produce any fruit for over 10 years. I almost gave up all hope, then a year ago, all of sudden to my surprise, lemons started to appear. This year we have more lemons than we we can possibly consume. From this, a  couple of thoughts came to me. (1) We must not judge others, for those we judge may one day become holy and enter the kingdom of heaven before us. (2) Plants become well established only after their roots have penetrated deep enough into the soil over time. Likewise, we need to ground ourselves deep in the Lord to become strong. 

***Don't Let Your Life Be like a Dream

         Life without Christis is like living in a dream. In a dream, you don't know why things happen nor where you are going; you do not experience reality. And your dream can easily turn into a nightmare. Those who live without Christ are simply lost. They just go thru the motion, not knowing the truth nor which way they should go. They are basically asleep and wake up only when life turns into a real nightmare in the end. Don't ever let this happen to you!

*How We Affect Others

        To be holy, you focus upon yourself. As a result, it's easy to forget considering how your action might affect others. This is what I have come to realize. If you are not living as a recluse, you always interactive with others. So this becomes an important point to be aware of if we want to be more perfect. 

***God's Infinite Love

        God's love is so great that it's beyond our comprehension. This is the love that can transform each one of us and the world. When you get to know him more and more, you begin to understand it more and more. Seek union with him to know and experience it as fully as possible.

***Christ Alone More than Enough

          People are thrilled by many things of the world. Some dream of becoming famous, while others hope to drive super-fast sport cars. Some really enjoy gambling at casinos, while others want to acquire always the latest hot gadgets. I'd prefer to have Christ alone who can give me freedom, peace, and joy the world does not know and cannot supply. 

****Christ fulfilling Us Forever

          Yesterday I watch the video Leon Fleisher: Lessons of a Master. As you may know, he's a world-renowned pianist. I have some of his great recordings and had met him personally. His love for music is obvious if you watch this documentary. There are other artists who live for their art and derive great satisfaction from that. Beautiful art truly has its power. Then Christ came to my mind. He never exhibited anything solely to delight our physical senses; he simply showed his love for us. Yet he is more powerful than all the attractions in the world, able to capture our whole being, heart and soul. Besides, he uplifts and frees us, while other attractions weigh us down. While the latter can satisfy momentarily, Christ alone fulfills us forever.

**All Hinges upon Christ

         It's so easy to ignore Christ, keep on sinning, and end up in hell. But it's just as easy to get to heaven. All you need to do is believe in Christ as your Lord and Savior and follow him. The outcome hinges upon Christ alone, for he is our creator and the truth. You follow yourself or him, the only decision we need to make.

***Happy with My God

           Today I feel extra happy with my God. (1) He has given us a conscience and we can choose to confess our sins to him or not. I am just happy that I can confess my sins to him, my most loving Father, to become whole again and receive complete peace from him. (2) I am happy because God is my refuge. In him, I am shielded from all the evils around me and my soul remains safe forever. I love my Lord and my God.

*****Our Lady of Zeitoun

          I have always thought that the appearance of our Holy Mother in the Zeitoun district of Cairo, Egypt, beginning in 1968 and ending in 1971, seen by a vast number of people, was truly amazing and beautiful. The world press in those days like ours today suppressed reporting anything that appeared to have come genuinely from God—one reason many people don't know about this wonderful event. Today Fr. Goring focuses upon this miracle in his video. You can find online the story and many images of Our Lady of Zeitoun. Here's the video:

****Church Against Evil

          The spiritual battle is real. The Church no longer stands up to Evil! Prepare for Jesus' coming. Watch John-Henry Westen's video. In the future, if you don't find his show on YouTube, you can always go directly to his site lifesitenews.com.

***Letting God Have All or Nothing

         If you love someone, you pray hard for his or her conversion and decide it's best to offer that person to God to be taken care of by him, then you should release and no longer worry about that person anymore, right? Either you mean to hand over your problem to God totally or you don't. Offer anything to God and it becomes his. Offer yourself to him and you shouldn't be attached to yourself anymore. Either you belong to God or you don't. Not letting go is from the evil one.

**Sign You're a True Believer

         Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle. In the Gospel reading from John 20, after Thomas saw the nails in Jesus' hands and put his finger into the nail-marks and his hand into Jesus' side, Thomas finally believed that Jesus had risen from the dead and said to him, "My Lord and my God." If you can say this same to the Lord spontaneously from your very heart, you are a true believer and will be greatly blessed by him.

*****Coming of the Illumination of Conscience

        Because even details had been revealed about the Illumination of Conscience, I believe that it's imminent. Here's another video to warn you about it. Of course, you are free to believe or disbelieve it.

***Making Light of Mortal Sins

          I watched a YouTube video titled 15 Mortal Sins Catholics Are Frequently Missing in Their Confessions. I'll just mention a few on the list, such as using contraception, masturbating, wearing immodest clothing, and not keeping Sunday as a day of rest, which most Catholics no longer consider to be serious sins. But a mortal sin once is a mortal sin always! It's us who have fallen further away from God. Even priests today no longer touch on these subjects openly, for it seems that not offending people matters more than not offending God. We are in or near end times.

**Two Big Realizations

        The world has strayed far away from God. First, we need to realize that we are sinners and need salvation from the Lord. Next, we need to realize that Christ is the perfect example for us to emulate. We truly need someone to guide us in all things and there is no one but Christ who knows everything and has the greatest love for us. 

*Being a Bona Fide Christian

          Since God communicates with our heart and touches our soul, the life we live for him is always an interior one. We communicate with him and experience his joy secretly. Whatever we do for him is for him alone, to be known to him alone. So a bona fide Christian is one who lives for Christ only in secret. 

**Tough Conversions, but Not for God

         Smart, educated people are most difficult to convert. They think that they can find all answers themselves. I talked to a prominent doctor who was a Protestant at one time, but he was never able to bring himself to believe in Christ fully. He was always asking me questions and couldn't understand why someone like me would even want to be involved with serving at a local prison. Another person I talked to recently has no qualms about following the way of the world. I just sense that bringing up Christ is not going to make any impact at this point. You need to pray for people like him. This reminds me of in Mark 9 the time the disciples asked the Lord why they couldn't cast a demon out of one boy. Jesus said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer."
       Fr. Goring's video today more or less ties in with I've just said above. Also, since the Miraculous Medal was mentioned, I can testify that wearing one and believing in its efficacy, you do receive abundant blessings from God as promised by Holy Mother.