**Taking Advantage of Sin

        Every time you sin, see it as an opportunity for you to turn to God, repent to him (or go to confession) and be made clean again! Hate the sin, but keep yourself pristine.

*****No Goodbye to Jesus*****

        My wife was going on a trip and left the house around 3:30 a.m. this morning. She didn't want to wake me up early and left me asleep. Then I heard a "goodbye" and the closing of the front door. I got up, looked out of the window quickly, and saw the car her friend was picking her up with speeding away down the road next to the house. Someone I have loved for being with me for over six decades was gone! I knew she'd be back after two weeks; nevertheless, I felt a sudden loss. And it got me thinking.
         We'll all be gone one day to say goodbye to this world forever, so how will you handle that? Will you look forward to it with great anticipation or fear entering the unknown or are sorry that you have to say goodbye to everyone and all your possessions? This is something we need to think about before we die if we are to be realistic about it. By the way, Jesus demands that to be his disciple, one must be willing to give up everything, follow him, and never look back. Now I see clearly that this is the way to true freedom.
        As for myself, knowing that I already belong to Christ, going to him will be my greatest joy and consolation. I have no problem leaving all my things behind, including those I have really enjoyed, for I'll gain in heaven infinitely better and everlasting treasures! The only sorrow I'll be feeling is leaving those souls who haven't loved Christ yet and mighty not reach heaven, for any separation will be eternal. (It so happened that the Gospel reading at Mass this morning was on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. As you know, Lazarus died and was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham, while the rich man also died and went to the netherworld where he suffered torment. When he asked for help from Abraham, he was told that there was a great chasm established between his side and Lazarus' to prevent anyone from crossing.)
       Everything on earth passes away. But if you have Christ the Lord, he'll be with you forever and you'll never need to say goodbye to him ever!

**Most Pressing Supplication

         Since God's greatest desire is to save all of us from sin, our most urgent supplication should be asking the Lord to convert the entire world.

*****Fallkng in Love with God (to Become a Loving Person)*****

        If you'd ever fallen in love with someone, you would want to do whatever to please your loved one and you became a new loving person. Now, if you fall in love with the Lord God, you'd want to do whatever to pease him and in the process, he transforms you into a loving person. The question is how to fall in love with the Lord God. The answer: Let him know you, then he'll in turn let you know him thoroughly. When that happens, you won't be able to help falling in love with the most beautiful, loving holy Lord. 

*****Unbounded LORD

        The Lord God is omnipotent, so never think that you can limit him. He is also infinite, that's why in him you experience unlimited freedom.

****Our No.1 Concern

        It should be our eternal happiness. (Whether you believe hell exists or not, you don't want to end up there!)

***Urgent Awakening Needed***

        It's so easy for us, especially the younger generation, to pick up what's popular in our society. For example, a certain way of dressing yourself is indecent, but since it looks cool and seems that everybody likes it, you just join in—the concept of purity could't be further from your mind. But know that everything you do has its consequences. Every wrong you don't correct will be corrected by the Lord. And whatever you owe him will have be paid off in full by you. The smart way is to always follow his ways and repent our sins as soon as they occur. The God of Christ is always our answer, but it won't do us any good if we don't even realize it.

***MOST GLORIOUS NAME***

        "Lamb of God" to me is the most beautiful, glorious name of all names. Whoever glorifies him will be rewarded with eternal life! Absolutely no one else can be this good to us.  He alone deserves all our adoration, praise, and love. 

*****God's Awesome Holiness*****

        God's holiness or sanctity is so beautiful and powerful that it alone can transform us into spotless, blameless souls. Let us bask in it so that we may enjoy his love for all eternity! 😇😇😇

***Secret to Effortless Living***

         Since we have all inherited the Original Sin, our whole existence has come down to choosing God or ourselves to follow. Basically, we have an internal struggle going on within us. Here's how to resolve this: To stop this struggle, you simply give in to God. Here's a picturesque description of the thing. See your struggle as traveling along a road. Your first part of the road is rough, bumpy, dusty, winding, and often steep uphill. Then you reach a point at which you must give up all you have, even yourself, in order to continue on. A lot of people decide to stop right there. But those few who choose to venture ahead find that the road is now all straight, smooth, clean, and effortless to travel on. Besides, the sceneries are beautiful. They simply enjoy their newfound freedom and peace. By the way, that point is called Total Abandonment to God.

***Dying-in-Sleep Warning***

        Today's entrance antiphon contains the verse Psalms 13:4b. It reads "Give light to my eyes lest I fall asleep in death." Here I don't think "fall asleep in death" means "die in sleep"—nevertheless, I can't help thinking that dying in sleep could happen to anyone and it's something we need to be ready for. It is OK so long as it's not dying in sin. To prevent that, we need to be a state of grace always. If there is one mortal sin you haven't confessed yet, that'll prevent you from entering heaven forever. To take God seriously is to take all your sins seriously too.  

***The Lord Is Always Right***

        Jesus has taught us to not judge, to always forgive, and even to love our enemies. It's hard for us to follow these commands because most of our godless world is doing just the opposite. But if we all comply, we'll instantly have peace on earth. This shows that the Lord is absolutely right. If it's hard for us to carry it out, we should still try our best to follow him. To refuse doing so is downright being disobedient.

***Lamenting Blind Fools***

          Jesus is our Lord and God, and he is to be worshipped, adored, praised, and loved by us forever. But the world has fallen so far away from him that not only many have stopped believing in him, but also many of those unbelievers have turned to Satan and started mocking Christ openly, notably among some of the most popular entertainers. They truly don't know what they do and I can say that they are playing with hell fire! It's clear that condemnation is basically self-induced due to uttermost foolishness, for the Lord has already paved the way for us to get into heaven. If you don't see that God even sacrificed his own Son in order to save you, you are a big blind fool indeed!

*****Our Highest Fulfillment***

        Communion experience. In receiving the Holy Eucharist, I receive the greatest possible love into me. That love has the power to transform us to become like the Lord himself, fulfilling us to the max!

*****Only inspiration We Need

        Christ, being holy, perfect, and all love, should be our first and only inspiration. We don't need any other examples. Desire to be like him and he will make that happen. This greatly simplify living the perfect spiritual life. 

***To Israelites and Palestinians***

        These words of truth are for all to hear.

*****The Easy, Sure Way***

       Trying to be holy and perfect on your own is hard; in fact. not possible. Surrendering yourself to God is also hard; but once you succeed, it becomes super easy the whole rest of the way, for the Lord God has now taken over! Again, seeking to attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist will get you there.  

*****Awesome LORD and GOD*****

        Communion experience. The LORD is so holy and awesome, making you want to die in him! Then you are reborn and have eternal life—it becomes even more awesome! 

**Christian Hypocrites?*

        If one claims to be a Christian, but sets the standard lower than what Christ demands, would you consider him a hypocrite? I am afraid that the answer is yes. Then I have been a hypocrite myself at times. Fortunately, the Lord is understanding and merciful.

*****Glorious Feeling**

        It's entirely proper and even glorious for us to feel sorry for our sins and cry to the Lord God in deep repentance. There is no better feeling than having the Lord wash you totally clean and restore your wholesome relationship with him—it's the feeling we are called to experience!

**Happy for a Reason

        I rejoice in the Lord and am most grateful to him, for he is able to show me all my sins, shortcomings, and imperfections so that I may improve and please him more!

***How We Get Condemned***

         No one in the world has the power to condemn us. God wants to save us, not condemn us. Surely we don't want to get condemned either. Then we stupidly choose to disobey God and get ourselves condemned. Honest truth.

**Seeking To Understand, a Humility*

        From the Prayer of St. Francis, I'd like to quote the following: "Lord, grant that I may seek rather . . . to understand than to be understood." We often forget this. In seeking to be understood, we end up causing disaccord. In most cases, it doesn't matter much whether we are understood or not, except to our ego. If we had tried to understand first, it might not have become an issue at all. Retire your ego and remain humble.

**Separating Sin from Sinner

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus asks his disciples to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. It got me thinking. I know we are supposed to hate the sin and not the sinner, but often we don't see that clearly. When someone sins against us, we just see that person's sinning. Now, we all sin and hurt the Lord, so how does he feel? I am pretty sure that he would pity us, always wanting to give us another chance and not cutting us off outright. So let's be more perfect by pitying and not hating the sinner. 

**Secret to True Success*

        Obey the Lord God always, and everything becomes possible and will go your way.  

***Our False Pride*

        Scientists and engineers spend so much time, effort, and money to come up with some discovery or invention and falsely believe that they are so smart that they can solve any problem. Yet the Lord God only needed to will and the whole universe was created. So we fail to realize how infinitely greater God is than us. Know that we ourselves were created by him and we can never get to heaven without his love and mercy. To be truly smart, cast aside all your pride and ego and remain humble, then the Lord God will make you great!

**Sign You Belong to God

        If you long for the Lord's coming, you are ready to meet him. You are now his!

***Eliminating the Gap

        God is almighty and holy, while I am finite and sinful. Yet when I surrender myself to him through receiving the Holy Eucharist, that seemingly unbridgeable gap is no more. We now dwell in each other in union. This is how loving and helpful the Lord is.

**Amazing Thorough Teaching**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment . . . and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother nd then come and offer your gift." What strikes me is that the Lord wants us to be perfect in every small way beyond just obeying the Ten Commandments and to get along with our brothers and sisters before we attempt to please him. Wow, the Lord's teaching is amazingly thorough! All the more we need to follow him more diligently! 

**Sad Unawareness*

        Today's Psalm 130 response: If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? How true, we are completely at God's mercy. What is sad is that those who do evil do not believe in God and are not even aware of this. It's a case of "To everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." (Matthew 25:29) Lord, have mercy on us!

**Turning the Other Cheek

        This also applies when the attack you receive is not a physical one. In most cases, when someone verbally hurts you, the best way to respond is to remain calm and let the person say all he has to say. If you remain cool and don't retaliate, that should end the matter in most cases. Really, how important is it for you to be understood by others? If God understands you perfectly, shouldn't that be good enough? If you do respond, then do it calmly with no intention to get even. I know it's easy for me to dole out advices. Then if you remember to always do whatever for the Lord's sake, all should be possible. 

***Growing Conscience

        The Lord has given each of us a conscience, but all our consciences are not the same, as some are sharper and others less clear. The more we get to know the Lord, the sharper the conscience becomes. We also suffer more as we become more in tune with the Lord. Then our joy increases too. In union with God, you experience both great joy and great sorrow. with joy always coming out on top. Being a Catholic is never boring!

**What Governs What We Do*

        We can do whatever we want—the only thing that matters is if what we do conforms to God's will or not. 

***Wasting Your Life

       I often hear old folks suffering from poor health say that they wish they were dead, and I really feel sorry for them. How I wish that they would open their hearts to Christ for him to fill them with hope and joy! How tragic it is to not want to know that God loves them to death! This is truly wasting your time on earth. The Lord who can get you into heaven surely can you make you happy on earth too!

**Repentance to Be Embraced

        Back to the basics again: Repentance of our sins is absolutely necessary for our salvation. No repentance and we remain lost. Repentance is that first step we need to take to begin our journey to heaven. You probably know this already, but do you take it seriously?

****Christians in a Different League

        When we belong to Christ, we live in and for him alone. This puts us in an entire different league. We used to be lost, but now our course is all set. We are on our way to our heavenly Father to inherit all he has for us! The Lord surely knows how to make our lives exciting.                                                              

***Pity the Lost Souls

 

**How to Be Truthful*

         I thought about this. Obviously, we must at least always speak the truth. Then what if I say bad things about others that are true or talk idly about a lot of things all true but trivial? Finally, I realized that if we always did God's will, we'd be truthful always. 

*To Forgive Is . . .

to not judge.

**Only Two End Reaults**

         We have good and evil. If you were smart, you'd choose good. Should you choose evil, then I'd have to say that you are downright dumb. This same applies to choosing beteween Christ and Satan. Simply out, in the end we'll have just winners and losers.

****How's Your Relatioiship with Christ? (Another Reminder)

         How do you feel about Christ? How close are you to him? It's good to asses your relationship with the one you'll inevitably meet and give an account of you life to later. To me, it's not good enough to continue living the same as always. As we get closer to meeting the Lord, we just have to get readier, for our next life is going to remain fixed one way or another for all eternity! This awareness alone should make us live the best possible life for Christ in the time we have left!

**How We Fear God

         Why should we fear God? It doesn't mean that we should be afraid of him. No. We fear him out of respect and reverence for him. To do so is to realize that he is our creator and Father, and that he is holy, almighty, and all love!  

***Our Will Be Done***

         Whatever God wills, it will be done. So if you always will what he wills, whatever you will will be done too, and you'll be happy always. Attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist and you are there!

**All Accidents Have a Purpose

         Christians believe that there are no accidents. Every unexpected happening the Lord sends you way has a purpose. This morning I got up and was ready to go to Mass as usual. Right after I started driving the car, I heard a knocking noise coming from the right rear wheel and I knew that something was wrong. I was sure that I was going to miss Mass and my gym workout afterwards. I checked the tire and found that a nail or something with an extra big round head had punctured the tire. But the tire wasn't flat at all. Later I learned that the car had run-flat tires on it. That means you can still continue driving (up to 50 mph) after a puncture so you can get to a repair shop. That explains why the car didn't come equipped with a spare. Anyway, why did the Lord allow this event to happen? Well, a few days ago, my first son and I had a big misunderstanding between us and we have been cool to each other. Today he felt obligated to come over to help both me and my wife (the car is basically hers), as the two of us are no longer physically fit to deal with this kind of problem easily. So I believe the Lord allowed this to happen in order to restore peace in my family.

****Coming Reality****

         Right now we are already divided between those who accept Christ as our Savior and those who don't. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 25, Jesus told his disciples about the judgment of the nations. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,' and to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.'" Now, division leads to final separation between the righteous who go off to eternal life and those who go off to eternal punishment.    

**Wisdom Is . . .

 knowing that the LORD is absolutely trustworthy.

***Falling Far Away from God*

         In today's first reading from Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18, the LORD laid down various rules of conduct through Moses for the whole Israelite community. Here are just some of them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy; you shall not steal; you shall not lie or speak falsely to one another; you shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God; you shall not defraud or rob your neighbor; you shall fear your God; you shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment; show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly; you shall not go about spreading slander among your kin; you shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart; take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. When I look at the general public, especially today's corrupt politicians and dishonest news media, blatant violation of these rules has become their routine and norm. Such is the sad state of our shameless world.

***Doing Our Best

         In these chaotic godless times, it's best for us to remain humble, trust and hope in God always, pray unceasingly, and be fruitful.

*****Only Whole Catholic Allowed*****

         Revelation 3;16—Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Obviously, the Lord doesn't like lukewarmness. Now, if a Catholic picks and chooses which teachings of the Church he will follow or won't follow, that would offend the Lord even more! You just can't be a partial Catholic!

***Joy and Sorrow, Genuine or False*

         Both joy and sorrow can be genuine or false. While joy in the Lord is genuine, the "joy" you receive from impure worldly pleasures is not truly a joy ay all. As for sorrow, again sorrow in the Lord is genuine, while that caused by the world may be genuine or false depending upon whether the ego is involved or not. Be in the Lord always to experience pure joy and sorrow.

***Fighting for the Lord God***

         At the 9:45 morning Mass at my church, there is always a large number of families with small children attending. I noticed some little ones being held lovingly by their parents the whole time. Of course, they were now totally dependent upon their parents. I couldn't help thinking that some of them will one day grow up and leave their parents and most likely the Church too, as the secular world has caused so many of young people to go astray. I felt a great sadness. We know that the spiritual warfare between good and evil in ongoing. We who stand with the Lord must not relent an iota. It's time to fight harder than ever! Let the words of Paul in Ephesians 6:13-16 inspire and embolden us: Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Amen.

***Reason to Remain Humble***

         We need to be humble because we'll die one day, leave everything behind, and hear the Lord God pronounce his final judgment on us. Not a thing we can do about it!

***Simple Reality We Face

         Here we have the everlasting Lord God to confront, so how should we react to him? There are only two sensible choices possible. We either surrender to or reject him, totally. (To not react is essentially rejecting him.) The wise pick should be obvious unless you are a truly mindless person.

***Humility Essential

        Another wise Message from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. 

**Asking for Conversion (?)

         While receiving Communion, I asked the Lord to convert every single small part of me, whatever that means. (Words are not always adequate to express one's deep feelings.)

***Good Prayer*

         Pray that not only everything you do, but also everything that happens to you, will help you bear fruit for the Lord.

***Pray Right to Be Blessed*****

         When you pray the Lord's Prayer, if you mean what you say, you are surrendering yourself to him completely. Otherwise, you shouldn't pray and say "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Right? So surrendering to the Lord is our first order of business. If you haven't done so yet, then at lease say the prayer to help you achieve that goal. Once you mean everything you say in all your prayers, you'll surely receive abundant blessings from God!

*****How to Be Truly Carefree*****

         Every thought, every word, and every deed of each one of us is recorded in his or her book in heaven. So we'd better watch whatever we do. Again, I advocate that you seek to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist. Once you reach that union, you'll be completely absorbed in the Lord and know that you are with him every step of the way. Now, you are not concerned about that book anymore.

*Interesting Conjectures

       Since those who had near-death experiences had reported that they saw beautiful trees, flowers, meadows, and the like in heaven, is it possible that the earth was modeled after heaven, considering the facf that we were made in the image of God?
          Among those who enter hell, I am sure some are truly evil and others much less so. This makes me think that possibly there are various levels of punishment in hell. (Actually, I remember reading about the different levels in a well-known book I can't recall now.) Being burned in fire might be the highest level and being left alone in darkness, possibly the lowest. Not being able to go to God ever is punishment enough. The dead souls the spiritualists can easily contact might be those souls suffering at the lowest level.
           Both conjectures are just conjectures, so don't believe in them.

**Beautiful Example for Us

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus called Levi the tax collector sitting at the customs post to follow him. Levi, leaving everything behind, got up and followed him. I thought this immediate obedience to the Lord was just beautiful! We who are Christians should follow Levi's example in following Christ.

***We Are in God's Way (The Real Situation)***

         God can do whatever he wants with Satan, but for the time being we are preventing him from doing so, as many of us are being disobedient to him. You see, if he destroys Satan, they'd be destroyed too. If we all abandon Satan and follow Christ, we'll have instant peace and Satan will be totally crushed. Understand this situation and do what's right and wise so that we may have peace ASAP.

**Jesus Power*

         We are all shackled by the secular world we live in. Do you know that submitting to Jesus can sever all those shackles one by one until your spirit is set totally free?

***Church in Sad State***

         A crystal clear call we need to heed:

***Nowhere to Go***

         Communion experience. In union with God, you have nowhere to go anymore because you have reached the end of your quest. Besides, you don't want to go anywhere anymore as God has completely fulfilled you. Now you simply enjoy the Lord every moment! 😄 

****First Things First*

         Be pure first before doing good deeds. An unclean person doing good deeds is, strictly speaking, a hypocrite. It's also a waste of time, for doing good won't remove your sins. Be holy first and you'll automatically do good deeds. 

****What's Most Precious to Us****

         Apart from God, our soul is our most important possession. Without the soul, we wouldn't be worth much. God created us with a living soul, not a bunch of puppets. Our soul is way more important than our physical body and everything else you can think of. The Lord God sacrificed his only Son so that our soul might go to in heaven—that's how important the soul is to him. So safeguard your soul more than your body and all other possessions. Lose your soul and you lose everything!

***Joy Surpassing All Understanding****

         In Philippians 4, Paul writes about the peace that surpasses all understanding. I can vouch for the fact that the joy you receive in union with Christ is a joy that surpasses all understanding too. This is a joy you experience whenever the Holy Spirit touches your soul. It bursts forth powerfully from within your heart, completely taking over your spirit—you just know that it came from the Lord!

***Sin to Be Spurned

        Back to the basics—we must spurn sin or suffer eternal separation from God. Only Christ, who is God, can take away your sins when you repent of them and ask him to forgive you. He can even make you holy enough to stop sinning!

*****Our Momentous Day (Urgent Reminder)*****

         We'll all face God and be judged by him one day on which our eternal abode will be determined by him. So do not go on as if that won't ever happen. Instead, we need to take it most seriously and prepare ourselves for that momentous day while we still have time. I really feel like repeating this reminder a thousand more times because it's that critically important! It all comes down to us embracing Christ in this life or not. God bless you all!

***Why We Get Attacked

         A good short message for Christians to know:

**For God Alone

        To live secretly in the Lord is to care about only what he thinks. So we do good, suffer for his sake, and do everything else for him alone to know.

***Obedience Foremost***

        At the Last Supper and each Mass today, Jesus offers us his own body and blood and asks us to partake of them. And we do just that in obedience to him. It strikes me that we should obey him in all the other things he tells us to do as well. In fact, we should have done that first in order that we may fully deserve receiving him in the Holy Eucharist. Then since the Eucharist can absolutely help us grow to be holy and obedient, let us proceed by resolving to be obedient and receiving him at Mass simultaneously.

**The Christian Life

        Following Christ, you experience both joy and sorrow. Joy is a given, for how can you not feel it when you have a Lord who loves you to death? Then as you love him, you also experience all the sorrows the ungrateful world has caused him and you feel truly sorry for him. Overall, joy always wins out!

***Thinking Ahead

        Communion experience. I know that when I go to my Lord, it'll be only me with nothing else. So I give myself to him totally to expedite the process later. I experience great joy!

***From One Extreme to Another*

        We are dust. Then the more we surrender ourselves to God, the more we are set free. Eventually, through the Holy Eucharist we attain union with him and become like him. God can accomplish anything we deem impossible—truly amazing and exciting!

**Gauging Your Spiritual Progress*

        If you are journeying toward the Lord, do you feel that you know him more each day? Do you feel that you have definitely passed the point of no return? Do you still have doubts? Do you experience freedom, peace, and joy?  Are you a more forgiving person now? Are you happy with yourself? Do you still feel lonely at times? Do you still get anxious or worry about things? Do you sleep well? Do you thank God often? Do you still hate some people? Do you do all things for the sake of Christ? Do you still complain about things? Do you find it easy to pray? Do you enjoy praying? Do you truly pray from the depth of your heart? Do you tell everything about yourself to the Lord? Do you feel his presence within you? Do you ever feel prompted by the Holy Spirit? Do you ever pray for miracles to happen? Do you think about the Lord often? Are you ready to meet him? Are you excited about him? Do you have a strong desire to bring others to him? Do you evangelize every chance you get? Are you a humble person now? Do you still enjoy worldly things? Are you ready to surrender yourself to God? Do you hesitate in letting others know that you follow Christ? Can you say that you belong to him now? Do you yearn for him? Do you long to become a saint? Do you really believe that nothing is impossible with God? Are you in love with him? Is he No.1 in your life? Do you know that you are definitely heaven bound? Do you love him with all your heart, all your mind, and with all your soul? I think I have asked enough questions for the time being and believe that you know whether yes or no is the better answer to each question. The Lord be with you!

***A Most Sorry State***

        The good news is all around us, yet our hearts remain hard and frozen, so we remain blind, deaf, and mindless. 

***Doing Good sans Ego

         Today is Ash Wednesday. The ash reminds us that we are dust and to dust we will return. If we truly realize his, then ego has absolutely no place in us. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples not to perform righteous deeds in order that people might see, and to always pray and fast in secret for the Father alone to see. The reward ego brings you is not from the Father, for it doesn't glorify him. When we do all the good things for God the Father sans ego, he will repay us in secret. This is the reward that will be infinitely more satisfying.

***Sign You Love Jesus*

         You want him to change you so that you may obey him in all things.

*****Christ for the Hardhearted

        Alas, people have hardened their hearts so much that they no longer feel sorry about their wrong doings. Not willing to confront their own sins is playing with fire! No humility, no repentance of sins, no cleansing of of the soul, no entry into heaven—it's going astray all the way! But if you turn to Christ for help, he can and will turn you around instantly. He's not called our Savior for nothing.

***Fractured Church and Families***

        Fr. Patrick Peyton who launched the Family Rosary Crusade in 1987 popularized the phrase "The family that prays together stays together." Indeed he spoke the truth, but sadly today family members don't even talk or listen to each other in the same family! Everyone follows his or her own way. We have church members whose children don't ever show up to see them. It's not surprising when the Church is already so fractured herself. What we have left is a small but strong remnant Church. The Lord will surely come to us soon.

***Love All the Way***

        God has first loved us. Then it is he who has called us. If you feel drawn deeper into him, it's him again. It's love all the way. To not accept the God of Christ is to reject his love. 

***God's Peace

        In Philippians 4, Paul writes "The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Once you know that God loves you, give yourself to him, and secure your eternal future, the peace you receive is truly wonderful. You now know that you are totally in his loving hands and you are not anxious about or afraid of anything anymore. It's the peace that comes from having been set free from sin!

***Contrasting Weights

         When the Devil takes hold of you, you'll feel like being crushed to death under a heavy weight and all your hope is gone. When the holy LORD takes charge of you, you also feel a powerful crushing force that's irresistible, but this is the weight of his love and now you know you are going to live forever! 

**Sign You Are One with God

        When you desire only what God desires for you, you are one with him.

*God We Can Trust

        In today's first reading from James 1, the author wrote that "God tempts no one." I can see that this is true because God is always truthful and forthright. In fact, he is the one who can keep temptation away from us. So he is the one we can and should trust wholeheartedly.

***Holy Anger Is Differemt***

        In Matthew 2, Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves in his attempt to cleanse the temple, his house of prayer. We all get angry with a cause too. The Lord showed me that our anger must be free of hatred. So if anyone upsets you, you still pity and pray for him.

***Suggestion***

        We pray for our loved ones who have passed away. It'd be infinitely better to have loved and converted them when they were still alive and know that they are now in paradise. 

***Our Consolation and Joy

        Unrest and sorry happenings prevail in our world and I've found Christ to be my consolation and joy. This has totally lifted up my spirit. Christ is the only one who can wipe away all our sorrows!

*****Triumphant March to the Lord*

        Every time you let Jesus override your own will, feel good about it because you have won another battle against yourself! This is a victory for you on your way to meeting the Lord. Keep winning and imagine the kind of welcome you're going to get from him! 😃

**Spiritual Progress*

        I still remember the days when my thoughts were always dashing around and I found it difficult to remain still. Now, the mind is directly affected by the heart. Today, since I feel so much peace in the Lord, no random, uncontrolled, or extraneous thoughts invade my mind anymore. Both mind and heart tend to remain in perfect stillness. Praise be to God!

**Getting Personal with God

        Today after morning Mass, I remained in the chapel and prayed to the Lord, letting him know of all kinds of needs for the world, the Church, my country, my family, myself, etc., some of which might seem unlikely that he would fulfill. Nevertheless, I asked for his help anyway since I truly believe that nothing is impossible for him. Always trust in the Lord fully and ask for as much as you want with a sincere heart. 

***God Heals

        Communion experience. I submitted myself to the Lord and he healed all my inner wounds! And I prayed that he would heal the inner wounds of all of us.

***Happy to Have God

        We cannot read others' minds nor discern what's in their hearts. People often change their personality or behavior unexpectedly. I am most grateful that we have a Lord who knows all about me and whom I can even entrust with my soul.

***What God Thinks Matters*

         Communion experience. I was a nobody before the mighty, holy LORD, but he thought otherwise. This gave me great joy!

*****Greatest Act*****

        One Small act of total obedience to the Lord is infinitely greater than putting up a most ostentatious entertaining show on the grandest scale for the whole world to watch and enjoy.

***Humility Being Tested

        If you are truly humble, the amazing thing is that when people misunderstand you, accuse you falsely, or get angry at you, you may be surprised or somewhat shocked at first, but you would never harbor any resentment or think about retaliating in some way. You still maintain your inner peace and only feel sorry and want to pray for them. This is how Christ feels about us.

**Prayer to Complete the Day

        May I suggest that you pray "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy" in bed repeatedly until you fall sleep. The prayer is most appropriate, easy to sustain, and will help you achieve praying unceasingly.

***Being Too Lukewarm?

         I posted "Most Serious Message for All Catholics" last Jan. 12. This is a good hard message that reinforces my thoughts. We may be worse than what we think and not good enough to get into heaven?

***St. Mother Teresa's Great Message***

         https://youtube.com/shorts/rseNJzU7f1s?si=CA7lk3r4c5w38Ysl

**An Awakening Process*

        As I get old, I do see life differently. When I was young, death couldn't be further from my mind as I saw mostly old folks die. I lived as if I was never going to die. Old age changed all that, but not in all cases. You become wiser as you see more clearly the reality of life. You might say that we are all at various stages of a sleep; some are more awake than others. It's good if we wake up fully before we die. I feel blessed that I am totally awake now, ready to enter the next phase of my existence, thanks to Christ.

**Talking About Jesus to Others

        Do you notice that Jesus is hardly mentioned by many Christians? Another video by Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel that's short but right on.  

*Lord and God for All

        Communion experience. The Lord made me see that we all need a Lord and God and he is that one, for there's no one else who can equal him in any aspect. I concur with that totally.

*Waiting on the Lord*

         The Lord God is in charge, so we can be sure that everything will fall into place in time. When a miracle happens, things get speeded up a bit. What we need is trust and patience. An impatient person will invariably lose out in the end.

***Intuitive Faith*

        I know that even if I were the only sinner in the world, Christ would be willing to die for me. So I love him and have no doubt that if I prayed to him from my heart, he would definitely listen and respond to me. 

***Lay Catholic Gone Astray

        This is a good video to follow the last one. It shows lay Catholics can go astray too. It relates to my post of last Jan. 12 "Most serious Message to All Catholics." In that post, I pointed out that being good may not be good enough for entering heaven. 

***Bishop Gone Astray

        Another good sermon was given, but what happened afterwards showed how so many of our bishops had already gone astray. Pray for the purification and restoration of the Holy Church!

**Great Disobedience to God*

       When Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes was "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Many global government leaders are warmongers. Let's use the current war between Russia and Ukraine as an example. Many leaders already assumed that one side was bad and the other side good. So they jumped right into helping what to them were the good guys. you can be sure that they had ulterior motives too. What followed were horrible destruction of many cities and villages and tragic loss of numerous human lives. No one attempted to defuse the situation early or at the very beginning. How can you have peace if you don't even find out from your enemy what's really on his mind? Say Putin is concerned that Ukraine joining Nato would pose a threat to Russia, then assure him that Nato would never attack his country first. This could have avoided the war.  By the way, after Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he also advised that we settle with our opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Peacemaking should always be our first goal. 

*****Life After Death

         Heres is a good sobering message for all, Christians and non-Christians. Jesus' question of Mark 8:34 comes to my mind: What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

***Greatest Exaltation by God***

        Communion experience. John 6:51: says Jesus to the people, I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. Not only have I just got a foot in the door to heaven, I am now deeply implanted in the Lord, all set for eternity! 

***Food for the Soul

         Communion experience. The Holy Eucharist is the only food that nourishes the soul. When you let the Lord feed you, you are totally satisfied for all eternity!

**How We Become Defiled

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 7, Jesus said the crowd, "Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile." I see that when you face temptation, it's how you respond to it that will determine whether you remain clean or become defiled.

***Being Smart

         Things will never always go the way you want, so let God's will be your will and you'll be happy always.

**Clear, Powerful Message*

         This video by Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel is worth listening to.

***Our Greatest Consolation

        Things usually get worse before they get better. But if you follow Christ, no matter what happens, you'll be safe, for he is with you always. Today's Communion antiphon from Luke 22 is what Jesus said to his disciples: It is you who have stood by me in trials; and I confer a kingdom on you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. 

***One Goal of Knowing God

         It should be to have him transform our conscience to think and see things as he does. Attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist is the way to attain that goal.

**Most Satisfying Experience

       Communion Experience. There's nothing more satisfying than being in union with Christ!

***Cherishing Our Lord***

         My Lord sure knows how to keep me happy. He uplifts my spirit, fills me with hope, and is always with me, calming me when I start losing peace and delighting me from time to time with insuppressible joy. He is our most beloved Lord!

***Transformative Love

        I am happy that God loved me so much that he gave his only Son so that I might have eternal life. And I am even happier that he loved all others just as much. It just shows that God's love is truly transformative, making us so selfless as to want to love everyone else. 

***Great Talk for Men

        The is a talk given by Fr. Jonathan Meyer at the Catholic Men for Jesus Rally at the Cathedral of St Ignatius in the Diocese of Palm Beach last month. It gets better as it progresses. 

***Keeping Pride Out***

        I am happy anytime I receive thoughts from the Lord to blog. Then I realized that if I started thinking that they were all mine, that would be wrong. So we must guard against our pride and keep our motivation pure always. This is part of our staying-alert-and-vigilant porocess. 

***Exalted by God***

        Communion experience. The LORD exalts you highly. Whether you are superior or inferior to others is totally irrelevant. He has now made you perfect to inherit his kingdom!

**Christians in Name Only?*

        Christ is supposed to be loved by all Christians over everyone and everything else, yet this obviously doesn't seem to be the case. It seems that most Christians don't think or talk about Christ at all outside a Bible study class or some Christian event. Instead, they seem to be killing time doing all kinds of things they want to do on their own. It makes you wonder if they really know the Lord or not.

***Astounded by What Christ Can Do*

        Christ can take away my sins and I already knew that. But when I think about it, I see that no matter how filthy I am spiritually, he can make me clean and fit for entering heaven! And this is truly astounding beyond belief.

**A Miracle in Jerusalem*

         Every miracle is extraordinary, whether it is spectacular or modest, visible or hidden. For it's a sign from God. Here's an amazing one that occurred in 2017.

***Purifying Our Motivation*

        Whatever we do, it should be motivated by our love for Christ, not because it's something we want to do or everyone is doing it. 

***Exchange of Love

        Communion experience. All I could do was to love the Lord by letting him love me even more.

**Suffering for the Sake of Christ*

        Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. In the Gospel reading from Luke 2, Simeon, at the presentation of the child Jesus, prophesied that a sword would pierce Mary's heart. Indeed, Mary suffered so much on behalf of his divine son. And, of course, Christ himself suffered more than anyone else for our sake. So we must not complain but fully accept whatever suffering he sends our way, for suffering for his sakr purifies us, readying us for entering heaven.

***A Fundamental Calling

         We are all called to serve God in different ways, as we were created by him differently. It's perfectly fine if you are called to pray only, not always seeing the fruit of your labor. A true prayer warrior can help the Lord accomplish many mighty deeds, affecting all of us. Really, anyone serving the Lord should be a prayer warrior also.

*****Secret to Peace

        The peace of Christ descends upon you when you no longer care about yourself and start living for him alone. When you let him set you free, peace is born.  

*****Power of the Eucharist*****

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Eucharist is the highlight of each day for me. It affects everything I do the rest of my day and, of course, totally settles my eternity. This most precious gift from the Lord has the power to transforms my whole being!

**God Values Our Trust*

        This morning the Lord let me know that even if I were the only person in the whole world praying to him, he would listen to me and take me seriously. If our prayers are proper and said from the heart, they are powerful and most pleasing to him.