**Calling on the Lord*

        Communion experience. i called on the Lord, not to ask for help, but to express my gratitude and joy for having saved me.  

**We Are Sombody*

        Today is Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary. God choosing to have his Son born through Mary, a human, shows how how highly he regards us. 

***In God's Eyes*

        1 Corinthians 3.19: The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God. In the same vein, I dare say that "Relative to Christ, the absolute truth, we are all phonies."

***Double-Barreled Power*

        Communion experience. The Eucharist has the power to not only lead us to eternal life, but also make us holy.  

***All We Need to Do***

        The Lord has come and will come again, but we don't when that will be. So there is so point in thinking about it. All we need to is to be ready, which means that we obey the Lord in all things and be as holy as possible, no more and no less. 

***Living Outside the Box

        We accomplish many things in life, many of which are good and even amazing. But we do them shall I say in a horizontal space, never rising any higher spiritually. It's the humble Christians serving their Lord faithfully that rise above the box, so to speak, as they store up treasures in heaven.

***Incredible Union***

        Communion experience. By the Father's great mercy, the immense gap that separates a finite sinner from his infinite, holy creator is no more.

*****Christ Essential to Us*

        In John 14:6, Jesus declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Therefore, without him, we are lost and dead and doomed.

*****Critical to Be Open to God***

        From today's first reading from Revelation 3, we heard read: If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. The Lord is always knocking at the door. In fact, anytime he comes to your mind, it's him wanting to speak to you, but he can't enter unless you open your heart. What a pity you shut him out your whole life and end up being shut out of heaven forever later!

*****Most Intimate Relationship***

        When you meet someone with the same interests, you can easily hit if off and enjoy each other's company. When I was studying math in college, I greatly enjoyed talking with other math majors about math. Since my other interests were piano music and photography, it's great fun talking about piano music with my teacher, and photography with other fellow photo enthusiasts. Now that Christ is my closest companion, do we talk with each other? Of course we do, but when you are in union with the Lord, you and he already know each other fully without any exchange of words or thoughts. The relationship is on the high spiritual level, the soul level. In all other relationships, there is much sharing, but no deep union. 

***Powerful Holiness***

        God's love is most powerful. Equally powerful is his holiness! When you bask in it, you become holy.

***Saving Faith Most Precious***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus healed a blind beggar because of his faith. Indeed, it's by our faith that God saves us. No faith, no salvation; so treasure your faith and allow it to grow until you totally abandon yourself to the Lord.

***Becoming Victorious in Christ

        Today's response to readings from Psalm 1 based on Revelation 2:17—Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life. My thought was that when we follow Christ, we become victors as we overcome sin and secure eternal life! It's time for rejoicing from that point on.

*****Communion Awakening**

        The Lord fully gave himself for my salvation! 

***Our Imminent Appearance Before Christ*

        Today's Gospel acclamation based upon what Jesus said in Luke 21:36— Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man. We'll all have to appear before the Lord one day—happy is the one who is ready and can't wait to meet his most beloved Savior and soulmate! 

*****Beware!***

        In this life, we experience both things that make us happy and things that make us unhappy. In our next life, we'll end up being either extremely happy or extremely unhappy for all eternity! But we do have the chance to predetermine all that while we're still alive now.  

***Powerful Payer Against Evil***

        The late Fr. Gabriele Amorth was Vatican's leading exorcist. Here's one of his powerful prayers that can benefit all of us.

***It Looks like a Miracle

        https://youtube.com/shorts/5wbG_M9rcPw?si=4sblX9FHaghY2Dh4

***Ultinate Fulfillment

        Communion experience. When you are in union with Christ, you are no longe concerned about life or death—you simply want to remain with the Lord. 

**Everything Is Possible For . . .

those who love God.

***True Intelligent Test***

        No matter how high your IQ is, if you don't see that God loves you and believing in Christ can lead you to eternal life, you are not smart at all!

*****A Warning and Reminder

         Everyday you put off accepting Christ, you put your soul at risk. You may pooh-pooh what I've just said, but I said it because I knew it to be the truth, not merely believing in it. When the Lord reveals something to you, you just know it's true, no proof needed! So this warning/reminder stemmed completely from God's immense love for all of us. 

***More Important Than Me***

        Communion experience. The Eucharist, the Lord himself, is the only thing that's more important to me than myself. For without Christ, I'll have neither life nor soul. 

***Warning to the Prideful***

        In Matthew 19:24, Jesus said to his disciples, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." I am sure that this is even more true for one who is full of pride, for humility is a must for entering heaven.

*****BE PREPARED NOW*****

        In today's Gospel reading, Luke17:26-37, Jesus talked about the day of the Son of Man. You must read it yourself. The scenes described are unforgettable. Here are some samples. "For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be." "As it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed." "On that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left." If you believe in Jesus, you'd better prepare yourself for that day, whether it comes in your lifetime or not.

*****Love, Our Ultimate Goal*

        Since God is pure love, selfless love is the solution to all our problems, including being damned for our sinfulness. For us, the direct path is follow Christ with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, then we'll be able to love all others as he loves us.

**Our Life Aim

        Communion experience. I saw that getting ourselves ready for meeting Christ the Lord is truly our life aim. 

***We Are Called To . . .

enjoy Christ the Lord, not the world. 

*****Sign You're in Union with Christ***

         You know that the Lord dwells in you, as you feel his holy presence at all times.

***Be Imprisoned and Free***

        Today's first reading came from Philemon 7. Paul wrote this letter during an imprisonment, possibly in Rome. My thought: When we let the love of God imprison us, we are set free! 

***Unavoidable Realities to Face***

         (1) We are all sinners. (2) We need God to remove our sins in order to get into heaven. (3) We all shall die and leave this world. (4) Last, we'll be judged by Christ to see if we are clean enough to enter heaven.

**Experiencing the Holy Spirit*

        When you are in union with Christ, you are in tune with God the Holy Spirit and feel his power guiding you. You experience the Spirit live! 

***Greatest Gift and Blessing***

        Realizing that Christ is the truth and God

**Pure Foolery

        Since we are finite creatures, we cannot realize how omnipotent, wise, loving, and great God truly is. If we think that we know it all and don't need God, that would be pure foolery.

**The Renewal

        Communion experience. The Lord cleanses and heals our souls and makes us holy and whole again.

**Our Only Power Source

         We can pray as hard as we want, but power comes only from God. Pray hard to let him make us holy and fruitful. Without him, we are nothing.

**Christian Duty**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus explained the right attitude a servant should have to his disciples. He said to them, "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" Yes, serving God is our duty, not to show that we are being extra good. We merely do what we should and not think about receiving any rewards. God remains the Lord and we, his lowly (but beloved) servants.

***The Death That Gives Birth*

        Communion experience. To die in Christ is to begin living the new eternal life. 

***Perfect Combination***

         Today's entrance  antiphon from 1 Samuel 2: I shall raise up for myself a faithful priest who will act in accord with my heart and mind, says the Lord. It struck me that obedience to God is truly a beautiful thing! In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus said to his Apostles, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Here I was struck by the beauty of having a great faith. Obedience and faith do make a perfect combination that can lead us straight to eternal freedom!

**Communion Wish

        To vanish from the world and dwell in Christ alone 

***The Right or Wrong Approach***

       When you want to know and love God, you can focus upon Jesus or yourself. Usually, when we see that God is not that close to us, we start thinking how we can get closer to him. This is never that helpful because you still think that you can do it on your own. The right approach is to do the very opposite—you focus upon the Lord and forget all about yourself. Remain open to let him inspire you and draw you to him. This is relying upon the Lord and not yourself. This is how we should live the Christian life. Any message telling you that you can do it won't work, but if you trust that God can do it, then it'll be done for you. 

**Sinning Depicted

         This was what I saw mentally this morning. Every time we commit a sin, we grow a thorn that pokes out, making us look ugly and hurtful to others. When we repent and beg Christ's forgiveness, he plucks it out. We hurt a little and are healed, looking wholesome again.

***Smart Move*

        Communion time thoughts. Things happen unexpected all the time, so we are not in control at all! Realizing this, if you were smart, you would completely submit yourself to God. 

***Going All the Way with God (Most Exciting Living)***

        The LORD is infinitely good and powerful, so feel free to ask him to make you holy and great in his eyes. Do not limit him nor yourself! The more you trust in him, the more power you receive, and the better and happier you become. Only with God can you go all the way, for his mercy is unlimited and his riches inexhaustible. This way you gain all he has for you, and you'll be overwhelmed!

***Reverencing the Lord Always***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 2, Jesus cleansed the temple by driving out all those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers, for making his Father's house a marketplace. This makes me realize that we must reverence our churches as our Father's houses, especially if the Holy Eucharist is present in the tabernacle. In such cases, irreverent talking, unrestrained laughing, indecent dressing . . . would all be inappropriate. Last, if we regard ourselves yo be temples of the Holy Spirit, we should keep ourselves pure, blameless, and pleasing to God.

***Best Evidence for God's Existence

        Though we do not see God in person, the fact that Christ has come, told us all about the kingdom of God, died for us so that we might have eternal life and then rose from the dead is ample evidence that God exists and loves us. To believe in Christ is to believe in God, as he is God.  

***Christian Requisite*

       To be open to God and clean of heart always. 

*****Future of the Church?*****

        This is a disturbing video and it seems like we are heading in that direction. We need to beg for and trust in God's mercy!

***Our Biggest No-No***

         There is just one thing we must not do—it is sinning against God, the God of Christ. Remember this and persevere, and you'll be happy forever one day.

*****Great Communion Joy!

        I have akready said that the Eucharist, being God's most humble miracle, is his greatest miracle. To me, the transformation of the bread and the into the real body and blood of our Lord without any visible sign is absolute astounding! It's so earthshaking that should the earth know how great this miracle is, it would shake in its orbit. And if I can truly comprehend its greatness, my soul would leap out of my body for sheer joy!

***How We Impact Heaven***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus addressed the parable of the lost sheep to the Pharisees and scribes. "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." We are like that man in the parable, and God who created us in his image is like us. The parable reveals how precious we are to God. So the question is "Do we want to bring joy or to bring sorrow to heaven?" Of course, our decision will greatly affect our own destiny too. 

*****Important Message for the Rich***

        In Matthew 19, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Now, one of gates into Jerusalem was named "The Eye of the Needle," and was quite small, since camels heavily loaded with goods would have to be unloaded to pass thru. If that were the eye of a needle Jesus had in mind, that would mean it's definitely possible for anyone rich to enter the kingdom of heaven, but he would have to unload all his possessions first. Anyway, all of us who are not poor should take this message seriously. If in practice we cannot unload all we have, we must at least become detached to it.

***Power of the Heart

         By choosing to submit yourself to Christ and follow his will, you are set free and become heaven bound—all done with a change of heart. 

**Exciting Following Christ*

         Communion experience. There's no limit to how deep you can enter union with the Lord, that is, no limit to how much you can love him. This is what makes following Christ exciting!

**Price/Reward Ratio Considered*

        When you follow Christ and become divorced from the world, there's a price to pay. But relative to the reward you'll be receiving, it's practically nothing. 

***Requisite for Discipleship

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the crowds, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." The Lord spoke as the Lord God here, measuring our discipleship by how wholeheartedly we follow him. It's perfectly logical and makes sense that we should follow him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

**Making Our Love Great**

        We show our love for others by helping them financially and/or materially; while Christ, whose love for us is most pure, wishes to save our souls foremost. So if we love others but are not concerned about their souls, then our love is not great enough. 

*****You Ain't See Nothing Until . . .*

you know Christ. As we grow up in this world, we see and learn new things every day. We can see the whole world and earn high degrees in various fields at colleges and universities. Our knowledge and vision are constantly expanding and this can be exciting. Then one day we run into Jesus Christ and discover the reality and truth, and our understanding and perception change completely. We now see the world to be utter lost and boring, heading into self-destruction. Only God and heavenly things are now meaningful and exciting. This is enlightenment and progress, as we are set free from sin and become new creatures in Christ. Existence now is fantastic and life totally fulfilled.

***Perfecting the Union***

        Communion experience. When you receives the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, you absorb him physically totally. If spiritual union doesn't follow, you have received him in vain—it's the spiritual part that completes the union, making it perfect. That is, we receive him physically in order to achieve spiritual union with him.

**What's Your Excuse?**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus told the parable of the great feast. A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. Today Jesus invites all of us to dine in the kingdom of God, but many reject his invitation, giving various excuses. Could it be that they want to play God themselves? If you really believe that Jesus' intention is bad or that he is false, I can respect that. But if you are not being honest with yourself, then I can't really respect you.  

***Power of God's Peace*

        Communion experience. When you receive the peace only the Lord can give that surpasses all understanding, you are ready to go to him, dropping your worries and concerns about all things. Basically, you are ready to comply with whatever he wants you to do at any time.

***Loving God***

        At morning Mass today, I felt so grateful to the Lord for having loved and saved me that I willingly surrendered all of myself to him. When you let God make you feel good, you gladly want to make him feel good to feel even better. Loving God becomes natural and a joy.

***Goal of the Christian**

         He is to forget all about himself and focus upon glorifying Christ alone. He is then set free and heading straight to heaven! 

***Most Precious Special Gift

         Communion experience. Historically, humans have sought the elixir of life, hoping to live forever; but do you really want to live in a sinful world like ours forever? The Holy Eucharist is in an entirely different class, for it can actually bring us into union with God so that we end up enjoying heaven for all eternity!

***Instant Perfection

        We are measured by how much we are like the Lord. So if we can love others like how he loves all of us, we become perfect.

**Compensating Physical Weakness**

        Today's offertory antiphon came from Psalm 103; Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits. And he shall renew your youth like the eagle's. The last saying made me realize that God can renew us spiritually! It is most appropriate that as we age and grow weaker physically, we can always ask the Lord to help us grow stronger in him spiritually!

***Great Simple Secret***

        Today's Gospel acclamation based upon John 14: Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our our dwelling with him. Here's the secret of making the Lord God come to dwell within us! Wow!

***God's Special Mercy

        Only God our Father is perfect, whereas we can never be. Fortunately for us, as long as all our intentions stem from love and we do our best to carry out his will, it is good enough for him.  

**Reminder

        We want God to wipe out all evil, yet we want God to save everyone, for he loves us all. So pray for all evildoers, not hate them. 

***Ultimate Expression of Love***

         Jesus' laying down his own life for us

*****To All Whom God Loves*****

        Following the Solemnity of all Saints, we today commemorate All the Faithful Departed. As sinners, death is imminent for all of us. If we do not do anything about our sins, we are heading straight to hell. Now, Christ came to and died for us precisely to make it possible for us to change our course and go to heaven instead! He wishes that we would accept the Father's love for us and inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world! (Mathew 25:34) My loving advice to all: Prepare yourself now so that you may look forward to your day of departure from this world in peace and with joy.

**Letting Christ Heal Me*

        Communion experience. I let the Lord heal my entire psyche, my innermost.part, which only he can reach and touch.

***We Must Be Active Followers!

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount to the crowds. In the beatitudes, he said "blessed are the poor in spirit, they who mourn, the meek, they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me." Clearly, to follow Christ we must actively follow his example. To remain complacent, not getting involved with anything and only believing that he will take care of everything, just won't cut it!

***Our Best Day to Come***

        In reading 2 from 1 John 3, the author writes, "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." How exciting it is to know that one day we'll be like God the Father! We should look forward to that day with great joy and anticipation!

**Forever Happy Later!

        Today Nov. 1 is the Solemnity of All Saints. The first part of the offertory antiphon from Wisdom 3: The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. This is God's assurance that we who follow Christ will not suffer after we die. How comforting it is to know!

**Fight with the Right Vision!

        As Christian warriors, we must see that we are fighting the Devil. As Paul wrote in todays' first reading from Ephesians 6, our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. We must see all events in this light and base all our actions on helping good to overcome evil. It's to win for God and not just to fight for our own security. Change your vision to become effective valiant warriors. 

**Toward Total Abandonment*

        As I age, I realize that I must depend upon the Lord for all things more and more. Our whole life should be a process of shifting our independence to total dependence upon God. The sooner we achieve this, the better off we are. It's letting go of the world and yourself and start clinging to Christ alone. It's total abandonment to God to become free and secure your eternal life.

**Freedom of Speech Matters

        Another straight talk from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

**Sobering Warning

           This is today's entire Gospel reading at Mass from Luke 13:

         Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." So if you think you already know Jesus, but slack off and do not remain watchful, you may end up last and get cast out of heaven.

**Thoughts on Prayers*

        God hears all our prayers. If we don't pray at all and continue sinning, we'll be chastised for sure. If we all pray for his will be done, we'll all be rewarded for sure. In reality, not everyone prays, so what we'll receive will be determined by how many of us pray and how fervently we pray. Nevertheless, pray hard and fervently always!

**Right Thing to Do*

        If everyone in the world believes in Christ, follows his example of loving others, and resolves to become holy, the world would have instant peace and be filled with joy. So even if the world were 99.99% evil in reality, you know the right thing to do.

***To Rest in Christ

         We wish that all who die would rest in peace. I want to be more specific: I want to die and rest in Christ, for only he can give us true peace now and for all eternity.

**God Is . . .

         When you hear "God" mentioned, what's the first word that comes to your mind? Most Christians probably would say "love." I'd say "life," for only God can create life and make it eternal.

***When Being Childlike Is Appropriate***

        Believing like a child works only when you believe in the true God of Christ!

***Appreciating Our Creation

        We are absolutely God's unique creation. He created inanimate objects such as rocks . . . then living things like trees. At the next level, we have insects, birds, and nonhuman animals. Finally, he created us in his image with souls. Unlike other animals, we look all different from each other. And we can become his sons and daughters to inherit his kingdom. Be aware of this fact and be thankful and rejoice in it. 

***Smart Move*

         Tell the Lord that you wish to receive all your reward from him in heaven. This makes him grant you eternal life.

***Absolute Truth***

        Christ remains the truth irrespective of whether you believe in him of not. 

***To Attain Union with God Is . . .

to reach the highest level of spiritual freedom on earth.

**More than My Lord and My God**

        Jesus is my Lord and my God.  But he is so close to me that I feel that he is also my life and my soul!

*Sense of Humor Changed

        Recently, I heard some jokes that really made people laugh. Since they made fun of others, I didn't feel that they were funny at all. I then realized that the Lord had changed my sense of humor.

**Sad Reality

        Recently, I heard about some oldsters in pretty bad physical shape still talking about buying a new house or getting one more dog. When we are young, we focus upon acquiring many things. As we age, we either begin to wake up to our need for God or remain as oblivious as ever.

***Being Heartless*

        Jesus died for us purely out of love. If we don't even care, then we are heartless indeed. 

**When We Become Free

        We are not free as long as we still live in our physical body. We become free only after we leave our body and return to the Father in heaven. 

***Living Without Christ***

         In John 15:5, Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." We do all kinds of things for our own sake, divorced from Christ. To come right to the point, that's all for nothing.

**Salvation Is Up to Us.

         Surely God can save us, but we must allow him to do so. Otherwise, nothing will happen.

***How to Know God

        To know God, we must loosen up first. That is, we remain open, should he choose to communicate with us. The big mistake is to expect God to come to us when we don't even try to meet him halfway. The worst position is to play God, then you won't ever know him. Humility is what he loves. (Note: For the next three weeks or so, I won't be able to blog daily. I do expect to catch up before this month ends. May God bless all of you who read herein. Ask for his blessings yourselves too. If you sincerely believe that he is blessing you, you'll know or feel it.)

***Prayer Joy*

        The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) Christ has given us is the perfect prayer for us as God's sinful children. If we mean and follow everything in that prayer from the heart, we can become holy! Today when I prayed it before Mass began, I was filed with great joy. 

***Be like Christ***

         God wants us to become like him so that we may return to him in heaven. We are called to be holy, period. So make that your top goal. (If you haven't read Thomas Kempis' The Imitation of Christ yet, read it to help you reach that goal.)

***Believe First Always***

        Today's Communion antiphon, Jesus' saying in Matthew 18:3—"Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Again, this is a very clear statement. We are far from entering the Kingdom of Heaven because we are far from being childlike when it comes to believing in God. The wise would start out believing. Should you find that he is false or doesn't exist, you can always disbelieve then. If you start out not believing, surely you'll never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Know that the Lord has a soft spot for the humble: If you are humble enough to believe in him, he'll humble himself to welcome you with open arms.

***Our Glory

        The cross was the glory of Christ, and Christ is our glory. That makes the cross our glory too.

***Lord Our Only Guide***

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, the first person who made me realize the beauty of loving God. I am most grateful to her. The entrance antiphon reads "The Lord alone was her guide." Indeed, we need the Lord to guide us in everything. Should we are to follow someone else, that has to come the Lord first. Following ourselves is the worst way of living, inevitably leading to the loss of inner peace in this life and even beyond.

*****All God's Doing*****

        Even though I do not see Christ, he is more real to me than anyone else I see. This has made it possible for me to feel his holy presence at all times. It has to be his doing and I rejoice in that.

*****Fast Track to Knowing God*****

        To know and learn from God, we commonly seek help from someone else. It might be reading a book that person has written or listening to a talk of his. If you attend a big conference, you still learn from a lot of other people. Chances are all of them are seeking to know the Lord themselves. Of course, if you learn from a saint, you can benefit a lot, for he or she is most likely a lot more advanced spiritually. Then since saints learn most from the Lord directly, and the Lord is instantly accessible to all of us at all times, it makes sense that we go directly to the Lord too? In fact, this is the best, most efficient and quickest way to achieve your goal! Should you wish to attain union with God, this is the only way!. It's not incorrect to say that by comparison, all other indirect approaches more or less amount to beating around the bush.

***Tragic Ignorance***

        Most of us hope to do something big to make ourselves rich, famous, and influential to satisfy our ego, not realizing that doing a tiny small thing to please our heavenly Father is infinitely more satisfying both now and later after we leave this world! 

**All Our Sins Are Known to God**

        I'd like to post what Jesus said to his disciples from today's Gospel reading from Mark 9: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'" No sin can be hidden from God. Should there be a book for each of us kept in heaven, every sin of ours would be recorded in it. If you are smart, you would have Christ take away all your sins now to get them all check off in that book.

***That Clean Feeling*

         This was what I experienced before Mass this morning. It felt so good (heavenly). When you are clean, you feel totally free before the Lord, enjoying his love for you to the fullest. You are in intimate union with him, inseparable as one. No other feeling on earth can beat that. You now belong to God and it's bye-bye to the world.

***A Warning Reminder***

         If you keep putting off looking into Christ, you are trying to put off the inevitable judgment every one of us will have to face when we leave this world. Trying to avoid the unavoidable is being plain stupid (I couldn't think of a milder word). 

***Christ Our Determinant

         Communion Experience. With Christ, life is completely fulfilled. Without him, life remains a void. It's all very clear.

***Christ Is Our Joy***

        When you have Christ, you have perfect joy, and you forget everything else. 

*****Being Most Optimistic in God*

        Seeking union with God thru the Holy Eucharist is being most optimistic, for you believe that you can reach God directly to become one with him! This is being daring and doing exactly what the Lord wants from you! Yes, he loves a soul who desires all of him and is willing to submit himself to him completely. This soul is ready for the Lord to perfect him. If you love the Lord, you should make it as easy as possible for him to change you.

***How We Feel About the Lord**

        In today's Gospel reading for Luke 9, the disciples of Jesus were afraid to ask him about a saying they did not understand. That was proper, for they knew that Lord knew everything. It's understandable that many today do not fear him because they don't know how awesome he is yet. Then there are others who do not feel comfortable with him; they are the ones who actually need to know him right now. Of course, those who have attained union with him feel only love with all fear having turned into reverence.

***False Belief***

        Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus, martyr. Now, countless martyrs have died for their faith in Christ throughout history, and you say that all religions lead us to God? That is not only illogical but also nonsensical, unless you are one of those who are pushing for a one-world religion.

*****Best Short Prayer***

        "Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God" is the prayer we can say at any time unceasingly. It really brings you into union with him, making following him a breeze, eliminating all anxieties.  

**Overwhelming Experience

        Communion experience. I realized that the Lord was giving all of himself for my salvation.

***Know Sin Well*

        We all know that we sin, but we often don't realize how ugly and deadly it can get! For if you don't control your sins, you can lose your soul for all eternity! The loss of peace after you sin should remind you of this danger. So we need to "respect" sin and take it seriously. On the other hand, we can always have Christ take away all our sins and make us holy and beautiful for the Lord to behold. 

*****An Outstanding Day*****

        Communion experience. In John 6, Jesus declared to the crowd, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." These are familiar sayings, but when I received the Lord in the Eucharist, I became acutely aware that eating this food was going to make me live on forever! I was overcome with gratitude and great joy. Now I feel more carefree than ever, rejoicing in another day the Lord has made!

***Greatest Division or Union**

        Jesus came to us and caused division, for not all accepted him. This division will lead to the greatest separation from God in the end. On the other hand, Jesus brings about the greatest union among those who are in union with him. Once you are thus united with him, nothing external will be able to break that bond. All then become one in the Lord for all eternity. You decide which way you want to go.

*****God Most Exciting*****

        From today's reading 1 from Ecclesiastes 1, I quote verses 9b-10: Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. We discover and learn new things; they are new to us only because we didn't know them before. The Lord God is the only one who can create new things, things that never existed before. This is also saying that he's the only one who can make miracles happen. He makes us sinners anew and we become saints. The great miracle of the sun that took place in Fatimas had not happened before. How about the Resurrection of Christ? The Lord God is awesome, amazing, and most exciting, worthy to be worshipped, adored, and praised by us. 

**Balancing Trust Against Concern*

        As a Christians, I trust in the Lord, but at the same time I am most concerned about the world seemingly becoming more godless than ever. The urgency I feel to help the Lord to save the world is great. Then I must strike a balance here. Surely God is in control and knows what's going on. Besides, his final victory is already in the bag! So I am just going to trust in him and pray as hard as always, but not allowing my concern to ruffle my inner peace.

***Our Primary Goal on Earth***

        Communion experience. The Lord strengthens my union with him, readying me to meet him. On earth, our primary goal should be to ready ourselves for meeting God. 

***Most Consequential Test on Earth***

         Do we accept or reject Christ as our Savior?

**Our Spiritual Food*

        From today's first reading from Proverbs 30, "Give me neither poverty nor riches; provide me only with the food I need." For us Catholics, the spiritual food we need consists of Christ''s word and his body, the Eucharist. 

***Compelled to Respond

        Christ has come down from heaven to die on the cross so that whoever believes in him may live forever—how can we possibly ignore such a wonderful proposition? If it sounds incredible, we should at least look into it. We know we are sinners and don't know what's going to happen to our souls after death, so remaining unmoved and not doing anything about it is being utterly foolish. (Should you realize that your souls are what God and Satan are fighting for, you would jump right into action to help God fight this war!)

*****Clear Sign We Are in End Times*

**Soul Healer

        Communion experience.The Lord goes straight for the soul, making it pure and whole again.

***Hallmarks of the True God***

         To me, these are the hallmarks of the God of Christ as our true God. He declares the truth to us. He lets us respond to him with our free will, showing only love and not coercing us in any way. Once we have accepted him, we are completely free to reject him. The fact is that I am so happy and satisfied with him as my Lord and God that I voluntarily want to submit myself to him even more. All this can only happen when you are dealing with the true God.

***Bread from Heaven

         Communion experience. This bread which had come directly from heaven healed my heart, my soul, and my spirit.

**Direct Opposites

        Christ is the light that makes us see the truth, while Satan's darkness makes us "blind" to the truth.    

*****Most Urgent Prayer

        After Jesus was crucified, he prayed from the cross: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Today, our world is in no better shape, so saying this prayer is relevant and apt. It all comes down to us being saved or damned! I ask that you beg for God's mercy on all souls fervently as often as possible, for the matter is most urgent. 

*Only Thing God & Satan Have in Common

        God is awesome, while Satan is awful. 

****An Important Reminder to All****

         Being a nice kind person to all is nice, but it doesn't guarantee that you will enter heaven. What can guarantee that you will is that all your sins have been forgiven by God. (Hint: Christ is our only answer.)

*****How to Feel Christ's Presence*****

         Many decades ago before I accepted Christ, I sensed God's existence briefly a few times, each time lasting for just a split second. This helped me come to accept him as my Savior. Now I feel that he is ever-present within me. Feeling his presence can really help you grow spiritually, for you realize that he is absolutely real! The best way to make this happen is to let him see that you are completely open to him, then he will reciprocate by presenting himself to you the way you have presented yourself to him.

**Pathway to Inner Peace*

        If you do not experience inner peace, it's because you and the Lord are not quite together yet. Attaining union with him through the Holy Eucharist is the best way to acquire that peace.

**Prerequisite for Loving God**

        We cannot love God if we are unaware of and not doing anything about our own sins and imperfections. Always start with becoming holy for the Lord's sake first.

**Formula for Greatness

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 9, Jesus said to the Twelve, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Now we know how to be great before the Lord. Serve all others on earth to build up our treasures in heaven. 

***Why We Need to Follow Christ

         (1) We are sinners. (2) On our own, we don't always know what's truly good or bad (evil) for us. (3) Christ's teachings show clearly what we should do and should not do in order to gain eternal life.

***Today's Epiphany

         The Lord God is infinite, so I, a finite creature, can only comprehend as much as he "allows" me to. Therefore, being totally dependent upon him, I should surrender myself to him.

***Great Consolation***

         I know many people in this life, but one day I'll be leaving all of them, not sure if I'll ever see them again. So I'm going to love them now, not getting myself attached to them in any way though. As far as Christ is concerned, he's already with me and will always be forever—what a great consolation!

**Key to Salvation**

         Having the humility to listen to the Lord God

**Heavenly Relationship

         For us who follow the Lord wholeheartedly, he remains in union with us as we glorify and serve him with joy, securing our salvation.

**Ever-Present Willingness*

         Today is the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and evangelist, who was martyred in Ethiopia. We may not get martyred, but we must be willing to accept martyrdom, should it happen to us. Again, we may not be called to give all we have away to the poor, but we must be willing to do so, should we are so called. The point is that we must be willing to do whatever the Lord wants for us. 

***How to Become Free***

         Let Christ overwhelm you completely, then you are set free! This should be an epiphany moment for all of us.

**Letting God Overwhelm Me*

         Communion experience. The Lord completely overwhelmed me, setting me free. Submission to God leads to freedom.

***Authentic Truth***

         Today's Communion antiphon from Matthew 10: Jesus said, "Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father." To me, this is the Lord God speaking, contradicting what Pope Francis has declared recently that all religions lead to God. No other religious leaders have ever said anything like this. There is only one true God and only one sure way of going to him. 

***The Crisis We Face*

         If you do not know Christ, even though you still have your God-given conscience, you can still think that right is wrong, and vice versa. For example, way back I thought abortion was OK, for it sounded right. Only after knowing Christ's love for us did I realize that it was dead wrong. Today so many young people with Christian upbringing have fallen prey to the influence of our godless world and no longer possess a clear conscience. This is a crisis that could result in the loss of innumerable souls! The spiritual war will continue until Christ's Second Coming. In the meantime, we must relentlessly fight evil to maximize the Lord's final victory over evil.

*****Holy Communion Most Precious

         Communion experience. Treasure the Lord, for his food makes you holy!

***Hearing from the Lord***

         Hearing the Lord speaking to your heart is such a rewarding experience! It's a great comfort to know that he is with you. And his sweet words are tonic for the soul, soothing and uplifting the spirit. Let him speak to you to draw you totally into union with him, which is paradise!

***True Freedom!***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, Jesus said that the one to whom many sins are forgiven shows great love for others, but the one to whom little is forgiven loves little. Being forgiven by the Lord is a big deal! When your sins are forgiven by him, you are able to love freely—you now enjoy true freedom.

**What Makes One a Fool*

         Many car owners, especially those who'd suffered a bad traffic accident make sure that they always drive the safest cars, even if they might cost a lot more and are less maintenance free. They are being sensible; but if they are not at all concerned about the safety of their souls, then they are being most foolish. The fact is that anyone who ignores his soul is already a big fool.

***Communion with the Lord

         Communion experience. I am so joyful that I could freely pour my heart to my Lord and my God, and he totally understands me. . 

***Our Foremost Calling

         It is to be holy so that we may love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. If everyone is holy, there'll be heaven on earth. So let seeking union with God thru the Holy Eucharist to become holy be your foremost priority. 

**Communion Experience

         It felt as if I was participating at the Lord's Last Supper, not just there as a spectator.

**Reacting to God's Power*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, as Jesus drew near to the gate of Naim, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, a widow. When Jesus saw her, he was moved with pity and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God. If you didn't know Christ, you would surely be stunned and seized with fear when you witness such a powerful miracle performed; but to those who already knew him well, they would simply praise God with a big knowing smile on their faces.    

**No Longer of the World*

         In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 12, Paul writes "Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it." Yes, we Christians are parts of Christ, intimately belonging to him! He is our world now. Let us feel that difference, live that difference, and rejoice in it. 

**Today's Big Realization*

        The Lord God cares about me and watches over me every moment. 

***Submission to God Leads to . . .***

freedom, peace, and joy.      

***Only God Can Do This*

         Communion experience. Best way to describe my feeling of complete fulfillment and total satisfaction: My cup overflows.

***Necessary Realization

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, a centurion sent elders of the Jews to ask Jesus to come and save the life of his slave who was ill and about to die. But when Jesus was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed." Jesus was amazed by his faith and healed the slave. It's true that we are not worthy to have the Lord come to us. Humbly realizing this is necessary for him to hear us. Sadly, there are many prideful individuals who think highly of themselves and are sure that they'll make heaven. Apparently, they don't really know the Lord yet.

***Only God Can Cure Lonliness***

         When you are in union with the Lord, you never feel lonely anymore even if you are not doing anything. On the other hand, worldlings are always involved in various activities with others, yet deep down they still feel lonely.

*****Breakthrough to Knowing Christ*****

        If Christ is indeed our Lord and our God and we are to love him with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, then why do we not even talk about him when we are not at Mass, not in a Bible study class, not on a retreat, etc.?  The answer is that we are just not totally with him yet. To remedy this failing, seek to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist. This requires that you trust in him and open up completely, abandoning yourself to him with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all our mind. Then you'll become aware of his holy presence within you at all times! 

*****All Religions Lead to God?*****

        Pope Francis has just announced that all religions lead to God. This really bothers me. If it were true, then why did Jesus even bother to come and die for us? We could just seek God in any way we like and get to him! I might as well ignore Jesus' last command to his disciples that they go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature! Another problem to square with is that all religions understand God differently with teachings contradicting each other. Note that I am not saying that if you're not a Christian, you won't get to know God. Take those who were brought up as non-Christians who do not know Christ at all. If they are basically good people, God could very well save them since he is fair and just. But in that case, they are still saved thru Christ! Here's a video by John-Henry Weston of LifeSite providing a clear response.

***Christ Most Compelling*

         Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This is the entrance antiphon: We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, through whom we are saved and delivered. Accepting Christ is not easy for many, but they should realize that proving that he never existed, he didn't rise from the dead, he is not divine, or he was a false teacher is even harder; in fact, nigh impossible. Now you are compelled to make a choice. This is another mark of the true God.

**Christ over Past**

         History can be interesting, but to me, the past is a dead end as it doesn't lead us anywhere. A Christian should focus instead upon Christ exclusively, for he leads us directly to eternal freedom of the spirit.

***Taking Care of Sin Now & Forever***

        Communion experience. The Lord can take away all my sins and heal my soul. Equally important if not more, I asked him to take away also my tendency to sin.

***Good Rule for Remaining Holy***

         Let only Christ the Lord, not anyone else, affect or influence you.

***The Urgency We Face (and Our Obligation)***

        We who follow Christ faithfully experience great inner peace; but being close to him, we also feel the urgency to help him save souls—for he is still being terribly persecuted or betrayed by the world! We can't just believe that everything will be fine and do not actively help the Lord in converting the world. Our time on earth is extremely limited. While he is fighting for us, we should at the least be fervent prayer warriors fighting alongside him.

*****What God Wishes for Us (Absolutely Fantastic)*****

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus also said to his disciples, '"Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful." And in Matthew 5, he said to them, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Clearly, he wants us to be like him. And it's also clear that since he asks for that, it will surely happen if we go along with him. Letting God transform us as he wishes truly makes life exciting and worth living, for it completely restores our relationship with him, gladdening both him and us to the max, while heaven rejoices! 

**Love Has No Favorites**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners," Clearly, to the Lord, sinners are those who discriminate against others of their choice and he wants us to be generous to all others equally as he is to us.

***Mark of Greatest Love***

         In today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 8, we learn from Paul that to sin against our brothers is to sin against Christ. By the same token, to love our brothers or sisters is to love Christ. We are as important to the Lord as himself.

***Absolute Security in Christ***

        Make Christ your center, your base, your Lord, and your guide, and remain in him at all times, then you'll never ever be lost! This is easily accomplished when you attain union with him.

**Dwelling in God, Not Ourselves

        Since God does not enslave us and we only enslave ourselves, dwell in him always and never in ourselves to remain free. But if you are already in union with the Lord, dwelling in yourself will be dwelling in him too—another union advantage.

**A Simple Truth*

          The Lord God of Christ can be totally trusted, so do all things for his sake, no matter what the consequences, and your reward will be great in heaven . . . a simple truth easy to remember.

****Most Enjoyable Feeling****

         When you are in union with the Lord, you sense his presence at all times. That is why when you see others having fun or a good time participating in some activity divorced from him, you just can't get excited about it. Anytime anything diverts your attention away from the Lord, you feel you are being pulled away from him and it's not a happy feeling. Being with him is truly more enjoyable than anything else!

**Prayer Beoming More Intimate*

        Surrender to the Holy Spirit so that he may dwell within you. Now you pray to him feeling most intimate to him.

**New Freedom**

         When we believe in Christ and no longer judge anyone and only wish all well, we experience a new freedom!

*****Proof It's God's Plan***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus chose twelve of his disciples to be his Apostles. The fact that he included Judas Iscariot, knowing fully well that he's going to betray him, proved that he was faithfully fulfilling the Father's plan for our salvation. Yes, God loves us and wishes to save us from sin so that we may have eternal life! Please for God's sake and your own sake, believe.

**Only One Holy Judge*

        In today's reading 1 from 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is not happy about brother going to court against brother before judges who are unholy unbelievers. They should be wise enough to be able to settle the case between themselves. Today we are judged not only in court, but also by various government departments and even the secular news media, all of them unholy. Just know that we have only one judge who is absolutely just, the holy God of Christ. Only his judgement matters!

**Cause for Elation

        Today my first feeling at Mass was pure elation when I realized that Christ my most beloved Lord had chosen me to belong to him!

*** Loving Christ to the Max***

        Christ has willingly died out of love for us, and we should love him back. Even if we don't get the chance to literally die for him, we should be willing to do so if given that chance.

***Ugly Consequences of Not Knowing God***

        This is today's Gospel reading from Luke 6. On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus. The scribes and the Pharisees are so intent on finding a reason to accuse Jesus that they became totally blind to the wonderful miracle he performed on the man with the withered hand. Today we have radical politicians filled with so much hatred for their political opponents that they have become completely blind to their own sins and anything good about others. This is deadly to the soul! Only knowing Christ can save them!    

**Proper Way of Approaching God*

        We should always thank God first, for he has loved us and given his own Son for our sake. Then it's fitting that we praise him next. Finally, we can ask for what's good for us and for his glory. So it's with gratitude we praise God, then we petition him for we need and want.

**Clear-Cut Truth**

        The Lord God is all holy, but we sin and become defiled. So all that's good for us comes from the Lord and all that's bad for us are caused by ourselves. Then Christ can transforms us to make all things that happen to us good.  

Pope Gets Called Out

***Our Choice Again**

        The God of Christ, our creator, can fundamentally change us. We can let him make us holy or remain the same sinners.

**God's Power & Our Openness*

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus healed a deaf man. Of course, Christ being God, nothing is impossible for him. From the Gospels we know that raised the dead, calmed storms, multiplied bread and fish . . . his power is on an entirely different level, and we can receive or benefit from this power if we believe in and are open to him! That he can get us into heaven is without question absolutely certain.

***Supreme Rule to Follow***

         Have faith in the God of Christ and let nothing ever disturb you, but let only the Lord inspire and support you all the way on your return to him.

*****The Holy Trinity Is Real

        Communion experience. I experienced all three; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!  

***How to Know God Better (a Requirement)***

        In my early days, I believed in the God of Christ, but I didn't feel his presence. In other words, the faith was there, but my personal relationship with the Lord was weak. This relationship only grew as I experienced God more. When I got involved with the Charismatic Renewal Movement within the Church later, it's the Holy Spirit who deepened that relationship tremendously. Now, as I sought to attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist, that relationship hit a peak. So the Lord God is to be experienced for us to know him better. And to experience him, we must open ourselves up to him. 

**Big Question**

        First thought at morning Mass today. The Lord God is so good that he only wants to love and make us happy forever! So why do so many of us today not only ignore him, but even hate him? To me, this is proof that the spiritual warfare between God and Satan is real.

*****Urgent Prayer*****

        Please pray for America now at this crucial time. 

**Pakistan Being Converted*

        Great new, hallelujah!