***Joy-Filled Encounter with the LORD***

        Communion experience. It's a most intimate, most endearing, most personal, most satisfying, most rewarding, and sweetest encounter with the Lord God!!!!!!

**How to Earn God's Trust and Grow Rich**

       Lesson from hearing the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25 this morning: To the servants who had successfully traded with the master's talents and profited, he said to them, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities." To the lazy servant who out of fear and buried the only talent he received so as not to lose it, the master was angry and took it from him and gave to the one who made the most profit. He said, "For 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." We Christians need to be faithful in everything we do to earn the Lord's trust. Being fearful and timid just won't cut it. This is how we can grow rich spiritually.

*Cheering Messages

        Today's First Reading verse from 1 Corinthians 1: God chose the weak of the world. The Psalm Response from Psalm 33: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. The Gospel verse from Matthew 25: Since you have been faithful in small matters, come, share your master’s joy. Last, the Communion antiphon from Psalm 104: The earth is replete with the fruits of your work, O Lord; you bring forth bread from the earth and wine to cheer the heart. Upon hearing the highlighted parts read, my heart was gladdened each time.

***How to Know God***

         This is how I first accepted Christ. I felt the emptiness of life and met a humble Protestant Christian who lived a simple life and was always cheerful. Because of his example, I finally succumbed and accepted Christ as my Savior. In this case, only my heart was involved. This is how the Apostles came to believe in the Lord. Later when I wondered if I should become a Catholic, I started reading books both for and against Catholicism from the public library at Berkeley. I did that every weekend for over a year and finally knew that I should. Now, the mind was totally involved. So to know and love God, you only need your heart. I know of people who started out using their mind and never converted. The heart has to take over at somer point, and humility can certainly help.

*****The Lord Keeps Us Holy

        Communion experience. United with the Most Holy, to sin is no longer thinkable! 

*****Fantastic Promise*****

        One of today's Communion antiphons, John 6.54: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, says the Lord, and I will raise him up the last day. This promise should make all of us jump for joy!

***Christ Our Standard*

        From today's first reading from 1 Corinthians 1, we have "We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." By Christ we are divided. It logically follows that we have the dualities of good and evil, God and Satan, and heaven and evil.

**Crying to the Lord*

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 86: Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servants who trust in you, my God. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. Do we need to cry ro the Lord all the day long? Yes! Here, cry doesn't mean shedding tears; we simply yearn for the Lord, beg for his mercy, and want to share all that's in our heart with him—motivated by our love for him. So the crying goes on all the day long.

**How to Experience Peace*

         We lose peace when we don't listen to God. So obey him and we have peace. It's elementary.

***Most Satisfying Project***

        Anytime time we finish a worthwhile project, we feel good about it. For example, I used to design and build pieces of furniture for my own home, using basically one radial saw. Looking at the finished product is always a joy. Do you know that it's even a lot more satisfying when you give the Lord God full freedom to work on you as his project and finish up with a most beautiful piece of work that's you? Think about it.

**Refining the Spiritual Life

        We do so many things in life, but how many of them draw us closer to God, to be blunt about it? I myself find it easy to go on YouTube to watch some news and end up watching many other videos that are either entertaining or give useful information on various subjects. Then I realize that time is limited and precious, and if we spend time doing things that do not make us better Christians, we are wasting our time here. So I've decided to bypass all activities that are unnecessary in following Christ, thus making my life purer and more productive.

***Relating to the Lord

        God has created us in his own image so we can get to know him. He loves us to death, wishing to save us from sin so that we may have eternal life in heaven. Meanwhile, he is sustaining us on earth every second and shielding those of us who love him from evil. Know all these truths so that we may relate ourselves to him dearly, as we are no strangers nor outcasts. 

**Connecting with God*

        To know the God of Christ, just keeping our eyes and ears open won't do much good—we need to soften and open our hearts to connect with him! Let giving our hearts to the Lord God be our ultimate goal.

***Going Beyond Our Limits*

        As finite humans, we are limited in every way, but we can be unlimited in loving God! For in loving God, we receive power to love him even more, exceeding all limits. Now the Lord carries us, making living exhilarating.

*****Our Best Treasure***

         Communion experience. The Lord is all mine! He is the only treasure you want everyone else to possess too—he's that good!

**Need to Accept Jesus*

        If what Jesus says inspires or makes sense to you, you should accept and believe in him even if it's demanding or hard to swallow. As a matter of fact, the difficulty you encounter only exposes your need to accept him. The Lord knows our hearts!

***Dealing with the Ego*

        The ego is our nasty enemy. You cannot get rid of it entirely, but you can starve it by not feeding it. As soon as you sense it surfacing, ignorer it outright. This is exactly how we deal with temptations from the devil as well.

*****Face of Jesus and More*****

        Watch this video to 10:06. The best part comes after 6:10, showing the awesome Eucharistic miracles! Time to believe in Jesus the Christ, our Lord God and Savior!

***Rule for Smart Ones

        Never bend God; instead, bend yourself to fit him.

***Serving God Overriding All Else***

        My wife wasn't feeling well yesterday, so she rested in bed in the afternoon. Meanwhile I was blogging away, enjoying the Lord's companionship. Then she, feeling hungry, called out to me to get her some food to eat, but I responded OK, I'll do that soon, since I was finishing up one post. Then I realized later that I should have stop blogging and do what she had ask for right away, for I could always finish that post later. In other words, serving God should take first priority, even over enjoying him. I remember how St. Juan Diego chose to skip his set meeting with Our Lady of Guadalupe and went to see his sick uncle instead, and Mary understood and wasn't offended at all. That's a good example for all of us to emulate.

**Your Choice**

        We can reconcile with God right now, later, at the time of death, or never. You decide. Putting it off is never wise.

***To Love & Not to Love Yourself*

        We should love ourselves, for we are most precious to the Lord, loved by him to death. Then we must also not love ourselves, meaning that we are to hate our own ego. So love God and be selfless—the two go hand in hand. Freedom is born when you forget all about yourself and trust in God completely.

***Sign of a Strong Faith

         You are completely open to the Lord and completely comfortable with him.

**Only One We Can Count On*

        I got to Mount St. Joseph for morning Mass early and parked under a huge oak. Since we go thru a dry season here each year, sometimes a big dry branch would break and fall suddenly. Well, I could get my car crushed, but the chance of that happening was slim. Anyway, in this world, things happen unexpectedly at all times. World War III could break out tomorrow, etc. My thoughts shifted to the Lord God. The chance that he will stop loving us is absolutely zero, and all his promises we can account on completely—so he's the one in whom we can trust unreservedly.

*****Apostasy Warming***

         The Church Messed up.

*****Critical Message for All (Especially the unbelievers)*****

        It will be a different Jesus at the Second Coming. 

**Stark Contrast**

        The wise never do anything to risk losing the soul, while the dumb sin nonstop without reservation.

***Death No More*

        Communion experience. I have received the body of my Lord, no way I can possibly die anymore! 

*****Be Aware of the Holy Spirit!*****

        God the Holy Spirit is real. When you realize that you have offended God and repent, the Holy Spirit in you is working. When you feel God's love and are moved to tears, the Holy Spirit has touched you. You thank God for his mercy, it's the Spirit prompting you. You feel sorry for someone and offer help, the Spirit has moved you. You want to serve God, praise him, or yearn for him, the Spirit of God is right there. At this moment, I feel great joy glorifying the Holy Spirit, for he is in me. A Christian is in love and union with God the Holy Spirit. Be aware of his holy presence always, praise and adore him, share all that's in your heart with him, and be open to him to receive the power of love from him without end.   

***Thanks Be to the Perfect One

        Communion experience. Way back before I knew Christ, life felt like a big void. Today I know that Christ is the one to who has perfected my life and completed my existence.

***One We Need Now (Our Only Way Out)***

        Do you realize how much we need someone like Jesus now? The world is in total chaos and disorder The evil ones serve only themselves and want to enslave the rest of us. Clearly, we need to stop sinning and start loving. The only one who can change our ways is Jesus Christ, but we'll have to turn to him first! I pray that the world will wake up to the truth, for without Christ our Savior, we are doomed for sure. 

*****Smart Way of Reaching God*****

        If you are not progressing fast enough spiritually, that's because your are not reaching high enough. Christ is the highest point for us, so go straight to him for the speediest progress. In theory (truth), you can become a saint instantly if you abandon yourself to him all the way. The Lord can help you advance as far as you want effortlessly when you let him. All other approaches are time-wasting roundabout ways. I personally advocate that you take the direct, most proficient and expedient way of knowing Christ by seeking to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist.

**Importance of a Sharp Conscience

        The more you know the Lord, the more you develop a sharp conscience, enabling you to distinguish right from wrong. Thus you'll be able to respond correctly in each situation. Pity the ones who have a muddy conscience and do not know peace.

**Soaring Feeling

        Communion experience. I felt as if my soul was soaring to the Lord.

***God to Be Explored!***

        The more you submit yourself to Christ, the more you'll be blessed and rewarded by him—there is no limit to how far you can go! So start exploring the infinite space of your Lord God.

***A Christian's Hope***

        A Christian is always full of hope, for he knows that the best is yet to come. And he also knows that he'll see greater things and the greatest at the end! 

***Unbeatable Feeling***

        Today is the Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle. Jesus said of him as a true child of Israel in whom there was no duplicity (John 1: 47). I love the description "no duplicity." It means being truthful always. That way you are being genuine and have nothing to hide. As a result, you have peace, feel free with the Lord, and sleep well every night. Also, you are ready to be judged by him. A terrific feeling indeed! 

***Where My Heart Belongs*

        This morning at Mass, I truly felt that Jesus is the only one who can draw me away from anything else, no matter how pleasant or enjoyable it might be, for my heart is already his.  

**Live Your Best Life Please**

        There are many things in this world you can enjoy, but there are also many unpleasant problems you must deal with. For example, I now see water dripping down from a ceiling light fixture in my bathroom occasionally even when it's not raining. Figuring out the cause is not exactly fun. And of course there are many other more serious problems caused by sin to face. Currently, all social security number information of the entire population of this country got stolen and is being sold on the internet, and we are forced to freeze our credit for protection. In any case, this is not the kind of life you want to live forever. Fortunately, this life will end. So it would be extremely wise to accept Christ as your Savior now in order that your afterlife will be filled with nothing but joy. Yes, God intends that we enjoy him to the fullest!

*Regret upon Leaving the World

         I think mine will be having sinned against God and not loved him enough.

***God's Undeniable Existence (What We Need to Do)*

        The Lord God has done so many wonderful things as God, creation of the universe filled with infinite galaxies and our plant earth with plentiful things for us to live on and enjoy. We mustn't forget ourselves, marvelously created in every way. It is he who keeps us alive every moment. Last, never forget the sending of his own Son to us to free us from sin. The list of wonders is endless. His existence, power, and love are overwhelmingly present, yet many are blinded by pride and remain lost. It's so one-sided and unjust. This clearly reveals the existence of that underlying war between God and Satan with both aiming at capturing our souls. And we cannot afford sitting idly by without choosing sides and joining in the fight.

***Holy Greed*

        When God is blessing you directly or through someone like a priest, and you are completely open and receptive, nothing can stop that blessing from coming to you. Of course, yourself can ask God to bless you too. But in all cases, be sure that you are in a state of grace first. Then ask for all the blessings you want. that would glorify God. This will definitely heighten and excite you spiritual life.

**Best Place to Be In*

        Communion experience. To be in union with the Lord is better than being anywhere else. 

**Shocking Reality?

        Today's Gospel reading was the Parable of the Wedding Feast from Matthew 22. Jesus' conclusion after telling the parable was "Many are invited, but few are chosen." I show it in red because it's a pretty shocking statement. I've always prayed that God would save all souls. Perhaps now I should pray specifically that all those who are called would respond favorably and be chosen. 

**Defeating Our Biggest Enemy

        Sin is the biggest enemy of our life. As sinners, we struggle against it our whole life. Now, if you repent your sins to Christ and ask him to forgive you, he takes them all away and you are set free! Really, no problem is too big for him, our Lord and our God. So wise up please.

***Joy of Being New*

         Today's is the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate New Year because it gives us hope that we'll have a better year. Anything new makes us feel good. Do you realize that when you yourself become new, it's even more exciting? Every time we receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, he heals our soul—it's like we have a brand new soul again. In today's Reading 1 from Ezekiel 36, we heard that the Lord could give us a new heart and place a new spirit within us. It has to be the best feeling when we have a new heart, a new soul, and a new spirit all at once. God can make all things new, so let him make us new too!

*****My Blunt Loving Warning*****

        I am coming right to the point. If you definitely believe that there is life after death, then live every moment for Christ now, for this will produce the happiest result! If you believe that there'll be nothing after you die, then by all means do whatever you want now and I guarantee that you'll have a miserable life in this world and a much worse one later for all eternity, mind you.

***Amazing Love***

        Today I am amazed that I (along with innumerable others) can fall head over heels in love with Jesus, a man who was crucified on a cross. This is something we can mull over our whole lifetime. 

*****The PERFECT Meeting*

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Eucharist is a perfect meeting. It's perfect because there is no better way of meeting the Lord in this life. At this meeting, you and the Lord enter full union with each other, fulfilling each other's desires! It's reaching the ultimate point of your life.

*****What Life Is All About***

        In view of all the extraordinary benefits of surrendering to God I listed in the last post, I can also come up with a list of horrible disadvantages of rebelling against God. It's so very clear that life is all about whether we obey God now or not. We cannot ignore this criterion, for it will be used by the Lord at judgment time! I am reminding all now so that you may all pass this critical test when the time comes.

***Extraordinary Benefits of Surrendering to God***

        (1) You solve the whole mystery of your existence! When you and God reconcile, you restore your relationship with him and the entire heaven rejoices! (2) You experience freedom, peace, and joy; you are now worry-free. (3) You enjoy God's holy presence at all times. (4) You fall deeply in love with the Lord, knowing that you are a brand new creature. (5) In union with him, sin becomes absolutely repugnant. (6) Death is no longer fearful. (7) You never feel lonely and is always full of hope. (8) You now love and never hate anyone. (9) Talking to the Lord is a joy. (10) Hearing his voice is even more satisfying.

**Be Happy and Big-Hearted

        Today's Gospel reading was the Parable of the Workers of the Vineyard. At the end of the day, the landowner paid all the workers the same daily wage, irrespective of how many hours they had worked. Obviously, this made those who were hired first or earlier unhappy. The owner said to to them, "My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?" Jesus added, "Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last." My interpretation on this is that if we all get to heaven, be happy, for there's no point of minding that some had lived a more sinful life than you?

*****BEST POSSIBLE NEWS*****

        This is my second realization today. There is only one true God, the God of Christ, and he is all love. To live on forever, we only need to possess this love. Nothing else matters! This is the love that sets us free and enables us to attain union with our God. I have just given you the best possible news for your existence!

**Let the Transformation Begin*

         Today is the Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbott and Doctor of the Church. After hearing Reading 1 from Ezekiel, this thought entered my mind: We are not God, but the Lord can make us become like him—this is enlightening, inspiring, and most exciting! So abandon yourself to the Lord and let the transformation begin.

***A Beautiful Prayer***

        Communion time thoughts. When you are ready to receive Christ in the Eucharist, it is the perfect time to surrender yourself to him completely. This results in a permanent union with God forever. This act of giving oneself to God is in itself a beautiful prayer, for it embodies perfect obedience to the Lord.  

***The Next Level

        The Gospel reading came from Matthew 19. A young man approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" He answered him, "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." We see that keeping the commandments is just getting started. To proceed beyond that toward perfection, We must actively do more. Again, seeking to attain union with God thru the Holy Eucharist is the direct way aimed at attaining perfection. 

**God Makes All Things Simple for Us

        Today's response from Deuteronomy 32:You have forgotten God who gave you birth. We didn't just happen to appear on earth; we were created by God! This knowledge or awareness can make a huge difference in our outlook. It relates us instantly to the Lord; all that's left for us to do is to believe in him. 

***Our (the World's) Pitiful State***

         We cannot love both God and evil. The more we know God, the more evil repels us. So if you think the world is a pretty nice place, you must not know God yet. The world is full of self-promotion, while mocking God. Even with Christians, it's self first and Christ second or even last. A chastisement from God is due. but are we ready for it? Living as if there's no tomorrow is bad; living as if God does not exist has to be the worst! If we don't wake up soon, it'll be too late—you don't have to be a prophet to know this.

***Growing-Old Grace***

        As we age, we can become more self-centered or more God-dependent. The self-centered would focus upon enjoying the world as much as possible in the time they still have left—this is being foolish! On the other hand, the wise, realizing that they are becoming increasingly helpless on their own, choose to abandon themselves totally to the Lord—finally they trust in him with all their heart. This is a beautiful grace getting them ready for gong home to the heavenly Father.

***Holding onto Christ*

        Communion experience. That Christ can get me into heaven is good enough reason for me to hold onto him. You hold onto the Lord for dear soul!

*****One We Must Never Ignore or Lose*

        Some have not heard about Jesus. If you have, you should absolutely look into him. If you already know him, then please never, never let him go. We can afford to ignore or lose anything but Jesus the Christ, for he is the truth, the way, the light, and our only Savior! To ignore or lose him is to ignore or lose your own soul altogether.  

***Best Way to Stop Sinning***

        As you surrender to God and sense his awesome holiness, sin becomes increasingly repugnant to you. This is why attaining union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist is the perfect way to banish all your tendency to sin.

***Communion Joy***

         I am united with the one who loves me the most and whom I love the most!

***Essential Sorrow and Joy***

        To be saved, we must experience one sorrow—the sorrow for our sins (contrition). To be saved, we also need to experience one joy—the joy of surrendering ourselves to God (to become obedient to him).

***Missing the Greatest Joy*

        From today's reading 1 from Ezekiel 18, we heard "The one who sins shall die." You sin and you die—this is so common sense and clear, yet many do not take it seriously. Pity them for not knowing the great joy of salvation, the joy of knowing that God loves us all so much.

***Intenifying Our Relationship with God***

        This is something all Christians should do as often as possible That is, we cry out aloud to the Lord, calling upon his holy name from our very soul to voice all our needs, desires, as well as our love for him. If you are not that type to express yourself like that, you can always do it quietly or in silence—it's the intensity you feel that matters. When we take the Lord seriously, he takes us seriously.

*****Akita Messages (Serious Warning)*****

         The messages from ur Lady of Akita to Sr. Agnes Sasagawa of Japan were officially approved by the Church in 1984. Sr, Agnes just passed away yesterday on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It's good to hear these messages again as the prophecies are being fulfilled now. 

*****Obedience Comes First*****

        We should not do only things we enjoy doing; we should instead do only what the Lord wants us to do. If we're not pleased with or don't understand it, we should still do it out of obedience alone. Then everything we do becomes a joy!

***Most Satisfying Food***

        Communion experience. I received the food that would make me live forever! If that doesn't satisfy you, you are eiher totally ignorant or out of your mind.

**God Is Almighty!

        The Lord knows all about us and deals with each one of us, and there are now not just Adam and Eve, but over 8 billions of us. Obviously, he handles all of us simultaneously. It just shows that our God is omnipotent. We can certainly rejoice in that!

***Inspired by the Lord***

        I arrived at Mount St. Joseph Seminary for morning Mass early, so I waited in the car prayerfully. It was a beautiful day and the view from the the top of the mount was impressively panoramic. The Lord placed these two thoughts into my mind. (1) If I stop managing my own life and let him take over, I would be set free completely. (2) Suffering in this life is OK as long as I remain with him and emerge victorious in the end. That these two thoughts revealed the truth to me was crystal clear.

***Limitless Ways of Loving God***

        The theme of this blog is essentially "to love God." Each message posted is a variation on this theme. So far I have posted more than 15,600 times. It just shows that the number of ways to say "I love you" to the Lord is limitless. This is precisely what makes following Christ exciting and exhilarating!

**Christ, Our Perfector*

        Communion experience. Christ the Perfect One, is the one who can make us perfect. When the Lord makes you clean and blameless, it's the best feeling you can have, proving to me that he is our Savior.

***God's Wonderful Gift for Us*

        What we see or hear may not be the truth. Look at the scams and the fake news nowadays. Then you order something online and it turns out to be fake. You trust someone and get betrayed. As long as evil exists, you can easily get gypped  Then there is Christ the Lord whom I don't see nor hear physically, yet I know him to be absolutely real and trustworthy. Faith, more dependable than physical experiences, is truly a wonderful gift from God.

**Getting the Priorities Straight*

        We normally do what we need to do for survival and getting ahead in this world first, and do something for God only when there's some time left. This is all wrong if God is most important to us. In that case, we should do all things for his sake, that is, we should serve him in whatever we do.

***Awe-Inspiring Lord***

        Communion experience. Receiving Christ in the Eucharist is receiving the King of kings and Lord of lords! Realizing this alone should make us want him to make us anew and holy.

**Christian Life Is a Celebration

         Mass is a celebration, so is the life of a Christian, for the Lord is our greatest joy. Also, how can you not celebrate when you know that you are heaven bound? A Christian not feeling any joy is not a bona fide one.

***To Be Blessed to the Max at Mass*

        Before you go to Mass, make sure that you are in a state of grace, that is, you are clean. Then at Mass, completely empty yourself so that the Lord may fill you with all the graces he has for you. When you receive him in the Eucharist, surrender yourself completely to him once again to strengthen your union with him. 

***A Universal Message***

        This succinct message is for all of us. 

**Looking Beyond This Life

        Picture life as a lit candle. As we age, that candle is slowly burning out. While we can see things immediate to us in that light, we fail to look for that what's beyond this life. The wise see the light of Christ and follow him. After the candle of this life burns out, they'll be lit by God's glorious light to shine forever.  

**Unstoppable Journey*

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me and I knew that he's going tp take care of everything for me. My journey to him may not be perfectly smooth the rest of the way, but nothing will be able to stop me from getting there, that's for sure. 

***My Great Consolation:

knowing that I can fully trust in the Lord God who knows everything that's going on and about me 

***God Is Sweet***

        The response from Psalm 119 today: How sweet to my taste is your promise! Do you know that the Lord God is not only loving, merciful, and gracious, he is also most sweet to our soul? As a matter of fact, everything about him—his love, his forgiveness, his words, his teaching, his guidance, his protection . . . his every act—is sweet!  

***Serect to Freedom

        The more you let God love you, the more you fall in love with him and the freer you become. 

***Why Care About Jesus Dying?***

        Tuesday today, again it's the day to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. These mysteries are more difficult for me to pray than all other ones simply because meditating upon the Passion of Christ is so poignant that it becomes unbearable easily. Why should God love me like this? I don't mind because deep down I know that I am a sinner who needs to be saved by him. Praise God!

**Christ Is Both . . .

life-changing and life-saving. 

***Letting Christ Touch Us

         When we are sinful and Christ makes us clean again, we are overcome with joy. When we realize how much he loves us, we are moved to tears. These are watershed moments in the life of a Christian. The personal Lord is to be experienced! If you don't feel any joy, you can't be living an exciting spiritual life.

***Unbelievably Blessed Are We***

        Although God is almighty and most exalted, he loves each of us to death. It's absolutely amazing that we should have such a personal Lord! Knowing this alone should lift us up with high spirits and make us feel elated every moment of our existence!  

***Undeniable Endings for Us!***

         We'll end up in union with or separation from God for all eternity. And that's how we'll also end up with anyone we love now. All the more we need to follow God's will to save as many souls as possible for both his and our sake.

***Archbishop Viganò's Timely Message

 

***Dire Warning from Mar Mari Emanuel***

         It's time to REPENT!

*****Readiness for Receiving the Lord*****

        Communion time thoughts. When we go forward to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, we must be in a state of grace in order not to offend him. In fact, it should be as if we were going to receive our last judgment or final admission into heaven—it's that serious! (1 Corinthians 27: Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.)

***What Matters the Most***

         It you do not know Christ yet, it would be that you are still alive. For if you'd died, it's likely that you would've been a lost soul forever. If you are already a Christian following the Lord faithfully, then nothing matters to you anymore.

*****We Are Full of Hope***

        The Lord God can make us holy and live on forever!
        The Lord God can make us holy and live on forever!
        The Lord God can make us holy and live on forever!

***Church in End Times

        Many of us are seeing what Mel Gibson sees. I believe the Lord will purify and restore his (and our) Holy Church fully in time.

**Ready for Resting in Christ Forever!

        Communion experience. My soul is already resting in Christ and there's no more toiling on earth. So I am ready to go to him to rest in him forever. 

***The Compelling Lord***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it . . . the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct." The Lord is speaking as God here. Again, he compels us to believe that he spoke the truth or didn't know what he's talking about—we are cornered!

***Ultimate Reality*****

        We can continue sinning and living in a disordered world filled with turmoil or obey Christ and have peace in a world filled with people loving one another. So it all comes down to if we obey or rebel against our Lord God. This is the ultimate reality, and we need to deal with it!

***Great Spiritual Messages***

         I have recommended the spiritual classic He and I by Gabrielle Bossis quite a few times on this blog, for the messages from Jesus to her show how much he yearns to be one with us. After reading them, I just't fell in love with the Lord even more! I gave a copy of thos book to a friend once who was suffering from terminal cancer and it completely cheered her up and changed her outlook. This book has garnered hundreds of 5-star reviews on Amazon, but unfortunately has become harder to obtain. (Note: Make sure you don't mistakenly buy the book with the same title by an Isabella Renee.) The following video lets you hear some samples of these beautiful messages.

**Remaining in God's Peace**

        In Matthew 5:22, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment." That could also include those who complain about or are impatient with things. Essentially, the Lord wants us to remain calm, not letting anything upset our peace under any circumstances. This may seem impossible for us to achieve, but if you attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist, you can pretty much succeed or recover quickly should you fail.  

***Prayer Testing Your Allegiance to God***

        When you pray "Lord, have mercy on me," do you really meant it? If you do, you must be willing to submit all your will to his entirely. Otherwise, your prayer would be wasted. 

****Crucial Realization****

         The current life expectancy of the world is around 73.3 years. So this is how much time we more or less have to fix our eternity!

***Life Getting Better with Christ***

         I have lived long enough to go through many changes in life and must say that right now I am going through the best part, my last phase, for Christ is now my most beloved Lord and soulmate. What comes next will be a thousand times or more better! The best is yet to come for sure, amen.

***Thanking the Lord in Return***

        Communion experience. The Lord had already given himself up for us and all I could give him was my willingness to obey him in all things. That seemed to please him, for it's exactly what he was awaiting from us.

***Our Calling and Mission***

        In this evil-filled world, being a lukewarm Christian is not being of much use—all Christians need to be on fire to follow the Lord to fight evil and win souls! This is in fact our only calling and mission in this life.

***Mankind's Sad State***

        God has always loved us. He made us in his image so that we can get to know him. He keeps us alive on earth and provides us with what we need to remain alive. Most of all, he has shown us how to gain eternal life. Yet so many of us who know that we sin and mess up the world still do not accept Christ as our Savior! It's hard to believe that our consciences have become so dull and our hearts so hardened that we no longer care about seeking the truth anymore—a most sad state indeed!

***Through Christ Alone (Warning)***

         No one can get to the Father in heaven except through Christ, not Buddha, Mohammad, or any other spiritual leader. For he alone is God and the way. Also, he'll be our only judge in the end. Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14 and 19:16). Know this truth now for your good.

***Become like the Lord*

       Today is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain. And he was transfigured before them, his clothes becoming dazzling white. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they conversed with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus,  "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He hardly knew what to say, as they were terrified.
       We all say something that first comes to our mind when we don't know what to say or in any other situation. And I realize that we should always say what the Lord wants us to say. Now, this will happen only if we become like him. So through the Holy Eucharist, let's seek to attain union the him so as to achieve this goal. And we'll be living an inspired and exciting life.

***God for All Eternity***

        My single first thought today was that the Lord God I believe in is an everlasting God. That means I can trust in him in all things and he will take care of me for ever. There is nothing I lack.

***Putting Faith to Work***

        In Matthew 8, a centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant who was lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully. When Jesus was ready to go and cure him, the centurion said to him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Jesus was amazed by his faith and healed the servant. Now at Mass before we receive Holy Communion, we say, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word, and I shall be healed." I am sure we can also confidently say at any time, "Lord, I am not worthy to come into your holy presence; only say the word and I shall be made holy."

***To Love God . . .

just let him love you.

**Strong Faith Needed*

        A strong faith in God remains steadfast, unaffected by any ongoing disorder or confusion in the world as well the Church. One with such a faith always thanks the Lord for his generosity and mercy, so he does not complain about anything. I'd like to thank God specifically for this. Decades ago, I had a blockage in a rein in my left eye, causing the the center of its vision to go blurry, and I had to rely on my right eye mostly for seeing. Time passed and the blurry vision started to clear up unexpectedly at an imperceptible pace and is almost completely well now. It so happened recently that the vision of my right eye became slightly blurry overall due to glaucoma, so the roles of the two eyes have reversed. The bad has become good and the good gone bad—the Lord surely knows what he is doing.

**Disadvantages to Being a Christian?

        Are there any? I know for sure that being one can turn people away from you or make them ridicule or even attack you. But these are hardly disadvantages, for a Christian sees whatever he receives from others on account of his faith as a badge of honor and rejoices in that. In fact, it's in times of persecution and suffering that he feels closest to the Lord, and is thankful for that. Life in Christ is upbeat always! 

***Holy Eucharist Encapsulated***

       The Church just held a National Eucharistic  Congress in Indiana last month. It was a glorious 5-day event with over 60,000 attendees. I thought this would be a good time to give a summary of what the Eucharist means fo me.

        (1) The Eucharist is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

        (2) It is the greatest gift from him—himself!

     (3) Since the transubstantiation takes place most humbly, it is one greatest miracle. 

       (4) Receiving himself achieves physical union with him, but is also an invitation to spiritual union with him. If we say yes, we attain the highest level of union with God.  

***Making Entering Heaven Easy***

        In Matthew 7, Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." Entering hell is super easy—just do whatever you want to do, while following the world. Entering heaven is super hard only if you don't know Jesus. For once you know him, that narrow gate virtually disappears and the road becomes wide and free, making entering heaven a sure thing. This is the good news about God's great love for us!

**To Be Famous Now or Later**

        This morning I lay in bed to do my eye drops for glaucoma. I turned on the bedside clock radio to see what's playing on the classical music station. It was to be Schubert's famous Trout Quintet. I learned that this masterpiece was composed in 1819 when Schubert was 22, and was not published until 1829, a year after his death. Like many other artists, he became better known and was appreciated more after his death. My thoughts are to become known in this life or afterwards should never be the concern of a Christian, for only God is to be glorified. So never mind what people think of you, but remain hidden in the Lord so as to enjoy your great intimacy with him.

***"Think No Evil" Best?

        Scammers nowadays are rampant. It shows how evil has taken control of our societies. Do you know that when you buy a health supplement online, if you're not careful enough, you are likely to receive a fake product? One YouTuber tested 27 different brands of berberine he ordered from Amazon and found that three of them contain no berberine at all and only five of them 100% berberine. That's pretty shocking, for you can endanger people's health here! Of course, online scammers we encounter daily. Using credit cards to shop is a risk too. I wonder how God will judge a scammer who has stolen $10 from someone vs. one who has stolen a million dollars from others. Would they be guilty to the same degree? What if the $10 was taken from some really poor soul and the million from a multibillionaire? I don't know the answer. The solution is not to sin at all, then you won't have to think about such questions. 

**Our Duty and Aspiratioin

         We acknowledge that Christ is our Lord and our God—let us live up to tt. 

**Basic Law**

        Fall deeply in love with God and you are filled with constant joy.  So if you are not happy with life, you don't love God enough yet.

***Reversing Our Predicament***

        Again, I'd like to make a blunt statement which some people may not want to hear, but I believe to be true: We are all sinners heading straight toward hell unless we do something about it. You see, I can't say that as sinners we are naturally heaven bound. Now, to reverse our situation, we only need to turn to Christ. His whole purpose of coming to us on earth was to save all future generations.

***Purpose & Power of the Eucharist***

        (1) To unites you with the Lord spiritually so that you may become holy.
        (2) To set your heart on fire so that you may assist the Lord in saving all souls.

***Balanced Approach to Prayer

        We can ask God for favors once, believing that he will grant them and stop praying anymore, or we can pray persistently, concerned that God may not grant them to us. These are the two extreme examples. I believe that the best approach is to pray unceasingly but also believe firmly that the Lord will respond to us favorably, thus showing both our fervency and trust in him. 

***Our Missing Piece***

        Communion experience. Christ is exactly the one we need to make our existence meaningful and a joy, for he is the truth!

**Biggest Fools

         I know of people who spend a lot of money on what they wear, what they eat, and how they look, but don't realize that they'll have to justify all that before God one day soon. The biggest fools are the ones who do not even realize that they are being foolish.

***Happy Separation***

        Communion experience. My body is still on earth, but my spirit is already with Christ the Lord in heaven. 

***To Be Righteous Before God*

        Today is the memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. In thje Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus said to the disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” We must be sure that we live a life good enough now to be considered righteous before the Lord later. Best yet, attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist and you won't need to be concerned about how to live your life right with God anymore.