***Unbelievable Encounter***

        Communion experience. I couldn't believe that I came into this world and found the One who could completely fulfill me! My existence is now complete. Praise God! 

***The Best of All Things***

        There are many, many nice enjoyable things in this life, but the best of all things is yet to come. It is being with Christ in heaven  for all eternity!

**Taking God Seriously*

        When we pray the Lord's prayer, we come to the part "thy will be done." It really means that we should do God's will ourselves first, or we would be praying hypocrites. 

**Most Beautiful Peace***

        The peace of Christ is the unique profound peace that's beyond our understanding. It is to be preserved in the hearts, treasured and enjoyed, by those of us who experience it.

***Levels of Meditation**

         At the lowest level, you focus upon how you can love God more. At the highest level, you forget about yourself and focus upon the greatness and the glory of God alone. Guess which level will bring about greater spiritual growth. Hint: Being selfless is always better than being self-centered.

*****Warning from the Lord*****

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 13, Jesus says to his disciples, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." It shows that we'll end up being either rich or poor, spiritually; being either saved or damned. Accept Christ now and you won't have to worry about that anymore!

***God Is Attrative Because . . .

he is most holy!

**Super sharp Conscience*

        A super sharp conscience is to be treasured and thankful to God for, as it makes you sharply aware of right from wrong. This guards you against committing any sin. The more you belong to Christ, the sharper you conscience becomes, and the happier you get.

***Right Way Seeking God***

         The most effective way to know God or to surrender yourself to him is to go passive, offering zero resistance so that you are wide open to him. I heard once a hypnotist asking his subjects to relax like a sack of potatoes—that's a good metaphor! If you feel stressed about it, you are still fighting yourself.

***Only Way to Enter Heaven***

         Entering heaven is not automatic; you have to work at it. The work involved may be hard or easy, depending upon how you go about it. The most assured way is to surrender yourself completely to Christ. Any deviation from this approach will be less assured or worse. 

*****Obedience to God Sets Us Free*****

         When we disobey God, we lose our peace and don't feel free. Once we start obeying the Lord, whatever we want to do is also his will. As a result, we can do whatever we want and still be at peace. We're now free!.

***Know Your God 2***

         Revelation 3.20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, says the Lord, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. The Lord loves us always and wishes to enter us to be close to us, but we must allow him in first, for he is gentle. So, are you going to be nice or mean to him?

***Know Your God***

         The more we bow down to our God, the more he lifts us up high!

*****Being Touched by Christ*****

         Today is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene. All the readings at Mass touched both my heart and my soul. The entrance antiphon, John 20:17, reads: The Lord said to Mary Magdalene: Go to my brothers and tell them: I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Wow, Jesus' Father is also our Father, and his God our God! By the way. his Mother is our Mother too! The first reading came from the Song of Songs 3. Part of verse 4 reads: I have found him whom my heart loves. This is exactly how I feel about Jesus. Now the Psalm 63 response: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. Again, it spoke to my heart. The Gospel reading from John 20 told the following. After seeing and talking to the Risen Lord at the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene was filled with joy and went to the disciples and announced to them, "I have seen the Lord." I have not seen him, but he has revealed himself to me to the point that seeing him is not going to change anything. Bless my Lord and praise be to him forever! Last, the Communion antiphon from 2 Corinthians 5: The love of Christ impels us, so that those who live may live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised. How good it is to have the love of Christ impel us so that we may live for him! Not knowing his love, we essentially live for nothing.

***Following the Greatest Commandment*

         Jesus affirmed that the first Commandment is our greatest commandment. It reads: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." So to love the Lord your God, start with giving your heart, your soul, and your mind all to him. And you're set free forever!

***On Borrowed Time!

        The Lord already knows how much time each of us still has on earth. You could say that we are all living on borrowed time. This reality should awaken us to look far ahead and not just focus upon doing what we want to do. It's doing God's will that matters. In Matthew 16:25, Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Amen.

***Be Beautiful in God's sight

         Today is a beautiful sunny day with perfect temperatures. I see beautiful trees, roads, and houses all around the neighborhood. I wonder what God thinks of what I see. Then I realize that he would likely notice the state of our souls first. If our hearts were unclean, they would probably appear as dark smudges to him. A beautiful landscape is now ruined by these dirty spots everywhere. It seems that instead of making everything beautiful for us to see on earth, it's really much more important and profitable to us to keep our hearts clean and pure to make ourselves beautiful for the Lord to behold. 

*****Sublime Encounter*****

         Communion experience. The most exalted almighty God stooped so low as to be one with me, a lowly, wretched sinner—I could not be more humbled and elated at the same time!

****FIRST MUST Humble Act****

         You cam be sure that only the humble will enter heaven. The first must humble act for us to perform is to acknowledge that we are sinners and then turn to the God of Christ and repent all our sins to him—there's no way around it!  Let this be a critical reminder to every single one of us now on earth.

**Are We Laboring in Vain?*

         Most of us work hard all our lives, but spiritually, we may not get any richer. When we die, we can be lost forever. Blessed are those who always do God's will, aware that his yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30). They are the productive ones who will receive eternal life.

**Thoughts on AI*

         I watched a video on AI, artificial intelligence. It made me see that the Lord God who created our whole universe has to be the source of all intelligence. Look at just one example—how amazing our body can digest all the food we eat, extract the nutrition from it, and then discharge the waste—the Lord God had to be super intelligent to have planned all that and made it possible. All intelligence comes from him. We've already been warned that managing AI wrongly could result in destroying our souls! This makes following the Lord even more mandatory, for he'll always lead us to life eternal. 

**A Contradiction**

         Many who claim to be Christians follow the Bible alone. If you read the Bible carefully, you'll see that Christ wants his followers to follow the Church he has established and her teachings. Besides, the Bible as we know it was compiled and approved by the Church centuries later. So you have a basic contradiction here.

***Greatest Treasure***

         Communion experience. the Lord is my greatest treasure, dearer to me than my own soul! Receiving him is truly a heavenly experience.

***Secret Joy***

         The joy in Christ is a secret one, for it is known to him and experienced by you only.

**Stark Difference in Awareness**

         Those who follow Christ know that they are heaven bound, while those who do not have Christ are not even aware that they are lost.

**God Our Sustainer**

         Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 54: See, I have God for my help. The Lord sustains my soul. I will sacrifice to you with willing heart, and praise your name, O Lord, for it is good. It is indeed good that the Lord sustains not only our body, but more importantly our soul. For this alone, we can rejoice and praise his name.

**Wise Observation*

         As we are just passing thru on earth, instead of squandering away these temporary moments, it is the time for us to fix our eternity before facing God.

***God Exists!*

         The fact that after we sin, we feel that something is not quite right and lose our peace is proof that we have a holy God who will be judging us one day. 

***Sensible Advice***

        To be early and ready for anything is always better than to be late and miss possibly your opportunity. Do not put off believing that Jesus is your God and Savior. Capture him and you'll have eternal life.

*****Folllowng Christ Is Right!*****

         On Saturdays after morning Mass, the sacrament of reconciliation is offered at my church. Right after receiving Communion, many who want to confess their sins rush to line up to be as close to the confession room entrance as possible. Is this proper? It becomes clear when you look at the extreme case. Suppose that everyone at Mass that day wants to make a confession and does that. You'd see all the Mass attendees lined up against the walls around the whole church. When the priest continues saying Mass, he'd be facing a bunch of empty pews! This shows that you should not go lining up for confession before Mass ends. Let's look at a second case. Say you see someone you know and start saying something unfavorably about another person. Doing it once seems to be alright. But what if you do that to everyone you talk to and everyone else in the world does the same thing? I wouldn't be surprised if a world war breaks out! It shows clearly that speaking ill of anyones is wrong. What I want to get to is the following. If everyone of us in the world would follow Christ and learn to be as loving, as humble, and as forgiving as he, we'd have peace throughout the world. This proves that following Christ is the right and proper thing for us to do!

***Utter Folly***

         The Lord God is almighty and infinite. We were all created by him, so we are finite and any power we have all came from him. Mathematically speaking, any finite number, no matter how large, compared to infinity is a big zero. If we think we are mightier enough to not need the Lord, that would be utter folly and laughable! I hope you see this and agree with me.

*****MY BOLDEST CLAIM*****

        The only reality is the God of Christ, for without him nothing would exist! (Truth is always bold.)

**Receptive Heart Essential**

        Every time you ask God to bless you or receive his blessing thru a priest, be completely open and the Lord will make you holier. A receptive heart is essential for spiritual growth (entering heaven, more to the point). Letting the Lord have your heart is a smart preemptive move.

***Being Exalted High*

         Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in he holy Eucharist is to be exalted by him in spirit to thje max.

**Three Levels of High Existence*

         When you believe in Christ and follow him, you are lifted out of the world to live on a higher plane. Then when you attain union with the Lord, you reach the highest level of existence in this life. The next higher up plane would be the final level in heaven when you get there. 

**Smart Move**

         Once there's a popular song named "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." If "Daddy" meant our heavenly Father, we'd be heaven bound! Give your heart to God and you'll be going to him.

*****Shockingly Horrible World*****

         While our Lord is meek and humble, we see that the world is full of us who pursue and fight for power, fame, and wealth in a most aggressive way openly or by stealth. This I know: the Lord will put an end to all that one day. 

*****Amazingly Awesome God*****

         In today's 1st reading from Exodus 3, when Moses heard the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, he asked him, "When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you." What awesome answers! Now, in John 8, when Jesus said to the Jews that Abraham rejoiced to see his day, the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." Clearly, he revealed to them that he is God. In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowd, "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves." Now, the Almighty God is also meek and humble of heart—how amazingly awesome is our God!

***Today's Question***

         Our sojourn on earth is temporary; we're just passing thru. Why do you act like you are going to be around forever?

***Dealing with Evil

         How do you do it? You don't! Belong to the Lord God and he'll take care of it for you.

**Being Selfless, Not Self-Centered**

         To want to be saved from sin is not being self-centered. In fact, it's being most selfless, for you totally submit yourself to God's call, letting him be your Lord and Savior. 

***Peace from Heaven**

         You experience the most profound peace when you yield yourself completely to God. This is how the Lord has made us, proving that we are his beloved children. It's the peace that can only come from heaven when you are back in your Father's embrace!

***Simple Way to Know the Truth***

         Open your heart wide to the Lord of Christ, hiding absolutely nothing, and you'll now see the whole truth.

***Easy to Communicate with God

         God knows us more than we know ourselves. So ask him to reveal to us how we can change ourselves to become perfect. This is a request he'll always honor! Since he knows me thoroughly, I only need to turn to him and he knows what my heart desires already. This is really cool.

**Suffering, a Christian Duty*

         For our sake, Christ went thru the greatest possible suffering to save us. His suffering was not only physical, but also mental, as many did not believe in him. Today he continues to suffer, as we continue dismissing him. The totality of all our sufferings in this life doesn't even come close to what he underwent and is experiencing still now. The least we could do is to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24). I don't mean that we go seek suffering, I only mean that we accept sufferings that come our way willingly for his sake.

**Holy Love**

         Communion experience. The love of the Lord is not only pure, but also holy, so it needs to be adored, reverenced, and held in great awe.

***Personal-Tragedy Warning***

         The most recent catastrophic Texas flood tragically wiped out many homes and lives, including more than a score of young campers, not to mention the numerous ongoing tragic situations in human trafficking, drug addiction, etc. Yet most of us still focus upon maximizing our own wealth and comfort, while evildoers continue plotting to hurt others. Soon we'll all meet the Lord alone and be judged by him for better or worse. This could turn out to be a great tragedy for those who are not awake to the truth or reality yet. 

**Union with God Our Best Goal

         Today's psalm response came from Psalm 69. It reads Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live. Obviously, "live" means "to have eternal life." Since we are in constant need for the Lord's support, protection, and guidance, we might as well seek to attain union with him for good.

**Reason I Feel Happy Today*

        I realize that the God of Christ I believe in is one for whom nothing is impossible and he is with me.

********At a Fork in the Road****

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." These sayings absolutely challenge us to he core! We are faced with accepting Christ as our Lord and God or not—there's no middle ground, no third choice! It's either the best or the worst for us. To me, they could only have come from the true God.  

**Ready to Go to God?

         Am I? The answer is yes. I believe that it will happen when I have done enough for him on this earth in his eyes. Meanwhile, I continue serving the Lord faithfully in peace.

*******Critical Reality to Realize*******

         If your god is a vague god, it won't do you any good, for you can't really get to know someone vague. On the contrary, the God of Christ is so crystal clear, specific, and personal that you can get to know most intimately! Don't waste time looking elsewhere, for there can only be one God! Christ is all yours for the asking, if you have enough sense and can override your pride. So wise up to receive the greatest possible reward—eternal life in heaven! Otherwise, you'd remain lost forever! I am not trying to scare anyone; I simply feel compelled to make this truth known with love from the only God!

**World's One Big Sin*

         When we go bad, God always gives us another chance. We repent and become good again. The world, on the contrary, has no love. When they hate you, they will always say that you're bad. That's why so many good people are still being persecuted today. It's the lack of love that causes people to judge others. The Lord will right everything in the end by treating everyone the way they treated others.

**Being Foolish and Heartless*

          We claim that we believe in the God of Christ, but how we live often shows a different picture. The Lord is almighty, most loving and eager to help, yet we still choose to live our way, oblivious to his presence and cutting off all that love, kindness, and transformative power available to us. How foolish and heartless we are! Wake up, weep, and repent, for he is our only Savior.

***Total Fulfillment***

         Communion experience. I've found Christ to be the only one who can satisfy me completely. Imagine my joy! 😇

***How Much Do We Love God?***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, a scholar of the law stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply,"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." I must admit that to love my neighbor as myself is not easy, and it's thru his mercy that he hasn't really tested me on that yet. As followers of Christ, we need to ask ourselves if we're really following these commandments. To not try to do better amounts to being hypocritical.

***Wonderful Blessed Gift***

         Here is the entire text of the second reading from Colossians 1: Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven. How did Paul know all this? It had to be the heavenly Father who revealed it all to him. When you are in union with the Lord, he imparts knowledge to you as he wills. It is a most wonderful blessing (see Matthew 16:17).

***Existence sans Christ***

         I now live in a house that has a temporary address on earth, and I know that my permanent residence will be somewhere in heaven in the house of the Lord. Anyone who resides on earth without Christ is basically drifting thru space and time, not knowing where he'll end up. It is a terrible situation to exist in an unknown. Without the light of Christ, we basically remain in darkness.

**Freedom in God

         Communion experience. When you experience the peace of union with God, nothing else bothers you anymore. You are now living in the house of the eternal Lord!

***What God Loves***

        It's a simple, pure heart. Therefore, trust in him and remain clean, and you will feel better than anything else in the world! 

**God Sees Through Darkness

         In today's Gospel from Matthew 10, Jesus said to his Apostles, "Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." The Lord knows everything! Therefore, do not sin.

***Love's Secret***

         ONCE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH CHRIST, YOU DON'T NEED TO UNDERSTAND HIM ANYMORE, FOR YOU NOW KNOW HIM PERFECTLY.

**Note on Last Post

        I believe that the video HOW WE CAN MISS HEAVEN was AI-generated, judging from how smooth the deliver was and the word "sower" was mispronounced. Personally, I'd rather see Bishop Barron speaking to us in person. Then since the content was all Scripture-based, I can't really argue against that.

******HOW WE CAN MISS HEAVEN******

         I came across this video today and challenge all Christians to watch it. What we learn should sober us up. To enter heaven for sure, we must get our hearts transformed by God first and then obey him in all things.

***How Good God Is!***

         Went to Mass this morning. What good thing can I say about the Lord today? A lot actually, but I can sum it all up with this sentence: The God of Christ is absolutely most holy and perfect, and is exactly what we need to become like him.

**Most Foolish Decision**

         If you don't believe that Christ is truly your God and Savior and decide to wait until after you die to find out if that's true or not first, that, of course, absolutely won't do you any good. Only a most foolish person will gambol with his eternal future. 

***Good Sensible Video*

         Here's a good motivational video that can benefit us in following Christ, even though it's not presented from a Christian point of view. 

**Exquisite Experience**

         Communion experience. I wasn't consuming any ordinary food—I dined with my most beloved LORD at a heavenly banquet!

***Do You Know?***

         When you pray for physical healing, it may not happen if it's not best for your soul. But if you pray for the healing of your soul, it shall happen without fail! The Lord knows.

***Becoming Heavenly Rich

         Every time you do something for Christ's sake, your treasure in heaven builds up more. Keep going and you become super rich in heaven.

***Simple Great Advice

         When someone sins and causes others to fall also, that sin becomes a lot more serious. Do not follow the sinful ways of anyone. Instead, follow Christ steadfastly to become heaven bound, glorifying God. In other words, don't let anyone make you sin; let only God make you holy.

**Only One Father for Us**

         I am thinking that each of us has one father and one mother on earth. They might not be perfect parents, but I hope that I'll see mine after I get to heaven. Anyway, in heaven all earthly relationships will no longer exist—there'll be just one eternal Father with all of us being his children. So let's realize this and start loving and obeying the eternal Father right now! 

**Under God's Mercy*

        As I age, my eyesight and dexterity are diminishing. This explains why you may catch misspelled or missing words in my posts often. I try to make the correction as soon I see one. The deteriorating eyesight also makes blogging harder, as I now find it harder to discern the words on my laptop screen. Perhaps the Lord will stop feeding me thoughts one day soon—I don't know, and I am not concerned about that either. We are all constantly living under God's mercy. Realizing this gives us great peace. For all of us who follow Christ, we know that the best is yet to come!

*****Know This Truth!***

         I know that some of my messages on the strong side can making some readers feel uneasy, but truth is never weak. Otherwise, many more would choose to follow Christ. You could say that the Lord separates the men from the boys. Then he can make all of us super strong when we submit ourselves to him. Now we hunger for truth and don't mind dying for it!

**Heading the Wrong Way!*

         In the overall schemes of things, our time on earth compared to eternity is practically zero, yet we spend much of our time and energy to make sure that we look good, fit, and healthy, and at the same time are hardly concerned about the state of our soul. Have we already lost both our mind and senses?

*****Incredible Elevation*****

         Communion experience. Receiving the Holy Eucharist is to enter into union with Christ, who is our Lord, our creator, our Savior ... the Almighty God! This is an incredible elevation that's astounding beyond words! Realizing this alone is enough to make us want to give all of ourselves wholeheartedly to him forever.

***Critical Sayings WE MUST KNOW***

       In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus commissioned seventy-two of his disciples to visit ahead of him every town and place he intended to visit to proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand. He said to them, "Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." This shows that rejecting whatever Christ tells us is no trivial matter—it will bear severe consequences! In Matthew 10:33, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." We must remember these sayings, for ignoring them amounts to dismissing the Lord!

***Transforming Joy of Christ***

         Surrendering myself to Christ has to be the happiest experience of my whole life—it made me realize that this is how God has made us! When we do his will, we are set free! The joy of Christ that comes to us now bursts forth spontaneously from our hearts, enrapturing the soul—now we are made anew in the Lord, the old sinner no more! 

***Always Take God Seriously*

         At the end of each Mass, the priest blesses the congregation in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We are so used to hearing it that it's easy not to take it seriously; but this is truly having God bless us! So if we remain open and receptive, blessings will definitely be bestowed upon us. The Lord will take us seriously only if we take him seriously.

***Basic Reminder***

         Before God, we are all sinners; so we are in no position to judge others. If we ask the Lord to save us, we need to ask him to save everyone else too, for he loves all of us. Know that our greatest enemy is our pride, and humility is a must-have for getting into heaven.

***Serious Wake-Up Call***

         Christ is always with us, even when we are unaware of that or when we ignore it, for he is our Lord and our God. Each of us is basically alone with him, as only he matters to our existence. If you lose him, who is our only Savior, by choice or thru negligence, you become alone and lost forever!

*****Great Way to Know God Dearly*****

         Anytime you lose peace over anything, go straight to Christ the Lord to tell him about it, and he'll comfort and guide you. This is such a great way to endear yourself to him to deepen your relationship with him. Treat the Lord as your soulmate and he'll treat you as his. Now, watch how your life takes a wonderful turn!

***Onward with the Lord***

         Communion experience. That the Lord would feed me with his own body and blood through the Holy Eucharist is true giving! After receiving him, I know that I belong to him and my soul is in his most holy hands. Now I am rich beyond bounds and victorious over all obstacles. When the Lord is with you, you are unstoppable!

***Greatest Unjust Misunderstanding***

         Today's psalm response from Psalm 106: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Indeed, God is more than good: His not only sustains us phsically, he also loves us to death and wants to set us free from sin so that we may return to him to enjoy eternal life in heaven! But so many of us have chosen to live for themselves in their brief time on earth—how foolish and blind they are! Have they no concern about their souls? To believe that Christ has come and died for nothing is not only a serious sin, it also has to be the greatest unjust misunderstanding of all times! That's saying that you can survive without God, that he doesn't exist, or that he doesn't care about you at all. If you still have some heart and a mind left, it's time to wake up and give yourself a thorough internal examination. 

***Most Secure Bonding***

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, you then form a bond with him impossible for anyone else to break!

***To Be Blessed to the Max***

         Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle. He's the one who came to believe that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead after seeing the mark of the nails in his hands, putting his finger into the nailmarks, and putting his hand into his side. Jesus said to Thomas, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." This is true and valid only because he is true God. If you can believe in Jesus to be your God and your Lord without seeing him, without knowing him, or even without questioning about him, then you'll surely be blessed by him to the max! It works because he is true God.

***Critical Awareness***

         Be aware that basically, each of us exists alone with God, for only he knows all about us and shall determine our eternal destiny. All the billions of other fellow human beings are in the very same boast with no direct power to change anything for us. Only we alone can shape the way we want the Lord to shape our eternal future. So start living for Christ right now! 

***Most Soul-Satisfying

         Communion time thought: Doing God's will is the most soul-satisfying thing we can possibly do on earth.

***Key to Salvation***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, two demoniacs met Jesus and immediately cried out to him, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" The demons recognize who Jesus is and we should too. When we truly believe and know that he is the Lord and our Savior, we are saved!

***Sins That Can Sink Us***

         Here's a video that's a little long, but is important for all Catholics to watch. Come to think of it, it's also important for all others to watch so that they may come to understand sins more. It will definitely make some people feel uncomfortable, but you can always choose not to watch it. Mind you, the fact that it makes you feel uneasy only shows that you need to face sin and deal with it. Of course, if you're closed to Christ, to become sinless would be impossible. On the other hand, if you are open to him, sin can become totally manageable and you can even become effortlessly a saint! "To sin or not to sin?" is what we struggle with all our lives.

***Spiritual Elevation***

        Communion experience. As a lowly, finite being, you are overawed in becoming one with the glorious, infinite holy God, knowing that he's going to exalt you to the full. "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich" (Matthews 13:12) really applies here.

*****Our Only Business*****

        Before the Most Holy Almighty God, our only business is to love and obey him ... no more, no less. Then we become totally free.

***Leaving All Up to God

         For all these years since 2012, I've been posting on the average at least three messages per day. Once in a while I receive as many as ten messages almost at the same time. For the first time his month, while I am still as open to the Lord as ever, I've been receiving on most days at most two messages to post. Job 1:21 comes to my mind: "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away." I had experienced this when I was actively involved in leading a charismatic prayer group decades ago. I would receive all the ideas from the Lord to share with the group in advance. (I still have the notebook that I wrote them in.) Then after years one day, thoughts suddenly stopped coming to me—I sensed it's time to let someone take over and phase out of the charismatic renewal movement. Now I have definitely been called to let the world know that the Lord desires that we all seek union with him thru the Holy Eucharist. Perhaps I am now going thru the final phase of my spiritual journey on earth; then again, perhaps not. I am leaving all up to my Lord and my God.

***Living in Christ Wisely***

         Always be open to and rejoice in him, knowing that he is leading you to eternal life and total spiritual freedom. Follow him every step of the way. Instead of expecting things to happen, let him surprise and amaze you. 

***Our Most Beautiful Act!***

         Bliss is the ecstatic joy of heaven. We experience bliss in heaven because we can do whatever we want in heaven as we only want to do God's will up there. And when we desire that, it's done for us! Therefore, the most beautiful act for us now on earth is to submit ourselves to God completely. When we attain union with God, we perfect his plan and the entire heaven rejoices!

***Our Ultimate Prayer***

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, we have the centurion who asked Jesus to cure his paralyzed servant, impressing the Lord with his faith by saying to him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Faith is believing that God can do whatever you want him to do, not necessarily that he will do whatever you ask of him. And we must believe that whatever he wishes for us will always be the best for us. "Thy will be done" is to be our ultimate prayer.

***Perfect Way to Become Perfect***

         Today is the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus has surely given his Most Sacred Heart to us in saving us from sin. Now, we all follow our hearts. So if we give our hearts totally to Jesus, we would follow him perfectly! Do this to become perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). 

***Proper Attire for Attending Mass*

         At daily or Sunday Mass, I do notice people who dress inappropriately because they reveal the body inappropriately, causing distractions. This video I came across is refreshing, so I'd like to share it with all.

***Poignant Warning*

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'" This is a warning as poignant  as the one that tells us that on that day when two people are together, one will be taken and the other left behind. For sure I know that anyone who's humble enough to know that he absolutely needs Christ to save him will make it to heaven, while one who thinks that he's already good enough will not. It's a matter of letting God be your Lord (doing his will).

***This Is How to Miss the Boat***

         Jesus has always advised us to remain alert and vigilant so that whenever he shows up to judge us, we'd be ready. It's clear that if you wait until you see him and then tell him you are now ready to follow him, it'll be too late!

**Primary Duty of a Christian*

         John the Baptist was called by God to go before Christ to prepare his way. We must realize that we who follow Christ have all been called by God to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). To sit by and not do that is neglecting our primary duty of life, a great sin of omission. The more diligently we work to glorify God, the greater will our reward be in heaven. Life on earth is our time of sowing, then in heaven we reap what we sowed for all eternity.

***Wonderfully Made Are We**

         Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. Psalm 139:14a, the responsorial psalm response, reads: I praise you, for I am wonderfully made. To be a happy person, you must realize this and appreciate how wonderfully the Lord has made you! You are no junk; in fact he even died in your place in order you might have eternal life! If this were too hard for you to believe, then you either don't realize that you are wonderfully made or you are full of false humility. True humility is believing whatever the Lord tells you.

***Mark of True God

         Christ is true God because he attempts to subdue us only with the most tender selfless love.

***MY LORD & MY GOD***

        As the Apostle Thomas finally saw Jesus and realized that he was his Lord and his God, I know that he is also my Lord and my God. So I let Jesus my Lord lead and guide me in all things with total trust, not questioning any of his intentions. I also acknowledge the fact that I depend totally upon Jesus my God, for without him I wouldn't even exist. It's believing in and submitting yourself to him completely, knowing that before long you'll be with him in heaven for all eternity!

***Connecting with Heaven***

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. I find Christ to be the only one I can entrust fully with my soul and feel the greatest comfort in abiding in his love. Receiving him in the Holy Eucharist at Communion time is nothing short of partaking of a banquet in heaven!

***Only Way to True Happiness***

        Since only Christ can take away our sins, only he can fundamentally change us to make us fundamentally happy. We can only make others (or ourselves) momentarily happy without involving Christ. Therefore, to make others truly happy, we must aim at leading them to know and believe in Christ.  

***Christ Desperatelty Needed!*****

         This is a world filled with people who hate all other kinds of people. No matter who you are, what you believe in, there are people out there who don't like you. Basically, we have too many unhappy souls who "love" to judge others, but are blind to their own faults. This is why we so desperately need Christ to come into our lives to correct and transform us with his pure love! He is our only hope and Savior!

***God Can Make Us Wise!*****

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." That last sentence is the key: We must learn to see the truth with our heart! Tragically, we are so occupied with following our own desires that it hardly occurs to us that our omnipotent God can not only save us from sin, but also make us wise in this life. By the way, learning from the Lord is always a delight and an excellent way of getting to know him dearly.

**Simple Awareness

         Only God can grant us peace, while Evil causes only tumult and unrest in our hearts. Know this and live wisely.

***Time to Remind All Again*

         We are all passing thru this world on our way to face Christ, our Lord and only judge. You either look forward to that day or avoid thinking about it. The only way to get thru it successfully is to straighten out your relationship with him now before that day.

***Important Rule to Follow***

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." The Lord is asking us not to judge anyone, and let's accept it as a basic commandment. Of course, to be humble will take care of that. 

***Reap Your Reward in Heaven, Not Now***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples to do all things that are good and righteous in secret, not for people to see. In other words, we must be ego-free and never seek to glorify ourselves. Here the Lord is revealing to us the secret to living a life in peace. The Lord knows what we do already and his love alone is more than enough for our salvation. What anyone else thinks of us can only distract us from God. As a matter of fact, feeding the ego to feel good is exactly what the Devil wishes us to experience!

****Easiest One to Get Along With**

         In our world today, there are so many unhappy people hating others. There are also those who try to steal our personal information, to scam us, and do other bad things to us. Even our loved ones sometimes say unkind things to us. (And we in turn do the same to them.) This morning while waiting for Mass to begin, it dawned on me that the one we can really get along with great always is Jesus, for he's always loving and kind, never condemns us, and always looks at my intentions, not our failures—he just understands us perfectly. So I know I can live in perfect harmony with him! The gives me great joy. Now, whatever I experience in this life doesn't matter anymore as long as I am at peace with my most beloved Lord.

***Ready for Life Eternal*

         Communion experience. Jesus has ended my quest for the truth; my life and joy are now complete.

***Secure in God's Love***

         Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy trinity. I feel absolutely secure in the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! 😇😇😇

**Holy Goal

         Communion time thought. I must be at least a little bit but preferably a lot holier after receiving the Lord again. 

***To Be Far-Sighted and Wise

         At morning Mass today, when the time arrived for all to proceed toward the altar to receive the Holy Eucharist, I saw the female of a couple got up to join the line, while the male didn't. Anyway, this poignant scene came to my mind. In Matthew 24 (and also Luke 17), Jesus told his disciples what would happen on the day of his coming: "Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left." It's goodbye forever for one of the two! Let's definitely secure our eternal future first, so that we may live a carefree righteous life on earth.

*Dealing with Worldly Pleasures*

        All pleasures of the world can enslave us. The greater the pleasure, the greater its power to snare the soul. The more you experience the joy of the Lord, the more boring these worldly pleasures become. Then when you are obligated to experience some such pleasure (not a sinful one, of course), you can still "enjoy" them in a detached manner.

***Great New Feeling***

         In today's first reading from 2 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote: "Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come." It's true that we become new and remain new as Christ renews and refreshes us continuously. Feeling new always, we are excited about ourselves and exult in the Lord. 

**Secure Walk with the Lord*

         Today's entrance antiphon based upon Psalm 27:1-2—The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread? When those who do evil draw near, they stumble and fall. I can say that anyone who follows and trusts in the Lord every step of the way for sure does not stumble nor fall.

**Chasing Emptiness

         I an coming right to the point again. Doing anything without involving Christ is a waste of time and energy and you'll regret that one day.

***Way to Remain Humble

         In order not to judge anyone, see yourself as the worst sinner of all. So focus upon improving your own sanctity and live for the Lord alone.

***Lopsided Love***

        In praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we say "Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." Saying this prayer acknowledges that God's love for us is so powerful that it can save all of us. It's a lopsided love impossible for us to match, but should we accept it with all our heart, it'll be good enough for the merciful Lord. 

***Faith in God Is Beautiful . . .

because you know that what God knows is all true.         

**Work and Diligence Essential

         In today's Gospel reading from Mathew 5, Jesus taught his disciples many things. For example, he said to them, "Whoever is angry with his brothers will be liable to judgment." It seems that to be saved, it's rather like to graduate from a school: there is a certain amount of work you are required to do to succeed. At school, if you play too much and don't work hard enough, you won't make it. Similarly, if you get angry a lot and don't try to become holier, you won'e make it either. Play it safe by surrendering yourself completely to the Lord and you are being absolutely wise!

***Why Be Holy*

        The primary reason is that we should love and obey the Lord God. And here's the most wonderful side benefit: When we are holy, we not only enjoy living a free, peaceful, joyous life, we are also ready to receive the Holy Eucharist to attain union with God, getting to enjoy him to the fullest extent.

**God's Mercy for All*

         When the Lord grants mercy on me, he's going to consider what my heart really desires. Now, I truly wish that he'd save all of us by converting the whole world. So when I pray "Have mercy on me, Lord." he knows that I am also praying for the whole world, including my own family.

***Counting on Christ***

         This is what I received from the Lord today. Whatever he tells us, we can trust completely. In Matthew 10, Jesus sent out the twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel to proclaim that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He asked them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons, and they received that power! We may not receive such specific instructions from the Lord, but we can surely count on his promise that whoever believes in him will have eternal life!

***What We Must Not Delay

         When we are in sin, we cause the Lord great sorrow, for he truly loves us. It's our duty for the sake of both God and ourselves to remain holy at all times. The moment you commit a sin, repent of it to let Christ remove it pronto. Delay this process can put you soul at risk, especially if the sin is serious. When we please God, the whole heaven rejoices and we receive great joy ourselves in return. 

*****Perfect, Sweetest, Heavenly Moment***

         Communion experience. Our church has finally resumed offering the wine of the Eucharist again. Receiving Communion under both species was truly a perfect, sweetest, heavenly moment of life with the Spirit permeating my entire soul!

***REJOICING in the SPIRIT of the LORD***

         Today is Pentecost Sunday. I love the last two verses read from Psalm 104: Lord, if you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. This shows our utter dependence upon the Lord, and I rejoice that I have such a loving, wonderful, trustworthy Lord to depend upon! 

**It's Our Choice

         A glass can be seen to be half full or half empty. Science can make us believe that God exists or God doesn't exist. Similarly, sin can make us turn to God to ask for his forgiveness or turn away from God to hide from him.

**The One Who Gives Peace

        No matter how much turmoil you experience within, you can have your peace restored when you turn to Christ and surrender yourself to him. 

**Practical Conclusion*

        Whether you follow the Lord or not, he knows all about you. Hiding or escaping from him is impossible. So you might as well get to know him to receive his love, protection, and all the other benefits from him. Otherwise, you just end up alone, not being loved by anyone for all eternity!

**Narrow Horizons

         If you do not believe that nothing is impossible with God, you limit not God, only yourself!

*****Our No. 1 Calling (Often Forgotten)***

         In today's Gospel reading from John 17, Jesus asked the Father to keep all those he had given him from the Evil One. This reminds me that the No. 1 calling for all of us in life is to remain holy in this evil world. Once we accept this calling, any specific calling as to what each of us should do will become clear. All in all, to wish to remain holy shows that we truly love God and are obedient to him. Furthermore, it reveals that we are now free.

***God Completes Our Existence*

        We don't see God, but he sees us. We may not know him, yet he knows all about us. Under such circumstances, don't you think that we'd better get to know him? I now know the Lord intimately and can say that my life is complete, for knowing him has absolutely secured our eternity.

***Go to Christ First Always*

        See your spiritual journey as a process of letting Christ become more and more your only Lord and master. I have been advocating "go to the Lord directly," "focus upon the Lord alone," "be completely open to him" . . . so I am reiterating things here. Think about how you can serve and love God is good, but great progress can only come from shifting your attention to the Lord to let him inspire you directly! Basically, know God and you'll know what to do.

**Practical Advice

        Jesus said to Thomas in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So we might as well let Christ transform us to get us ready now for our return to the Father.

***Our Great Ignorance***

        If you think that your God is way up somewhere in heaven and you are way down here on earth in a totally separate world, then you've got the wrong God. The true God we have is most personal whom we can know most intimately through Jesus the Son, for the Father and the Son are alike. In fact, we can achieve spiritual union with him through receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist. If we open ourselves up to God completely, he is all ours! It's ironic that so many of us choose to run away from him and end up lost forever. Basically, we treat ourselves who are dearest and most precious to God the Father as worthless junk. All the more we need to turn to the Lord and ask him to take away our pride and ego!

**Union Through Belonging**

        In today's Gospel reading from John17, Jesus prayed to the Father, saying "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, . . . I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine." How good it is that God the Father completely owns us whom he has chosen and who now completely belong to him! This is union all right. 

*****A Breakthrough Secret!*****

        We ponder how we can love God more, we meditate upon God's beauty, we reflect upon our own feelings about the Lord, we try to understand our innermost feelings . . . all these things I can do on my own, but I can do so much better if I remain completely open to the Lord. For then I see all things clearly with his light shining on them. This is absolutely the key to knowing the Lord and understanding all truths! So, be wide open to God at all times to be enlightened.

***Not as Able as We Think

        When we are young and physically fit, we tend to believe that we can do anything in this world. So we're just not concerned about our spiritual wellbeing. Then finally we grow old enough to see the end of life approaching and realize that we cannot do many things anymore. Having been ingrained in the way of the world for so long, we find turning to God not always easy. Some may not fully wake up to reality until their last moments on earth. This message is to remind all that we are finite beings on our way returning to our infinite God to be judged by him. So the earlier we realize this to get ready, the better for us. 

***Taking Another Look at Jesus***

        Here's why we should believe that Jesus is our Lord, our God, and our Savior. The fact that he rose from the dead on the third day is undeniable. He taught and spoke to us with authority as God and performed numerous miracles. Today we are still seeing such wonders happening among us, not to mention the vast number of people whose lives have been transformed by his love. As sinners, we are grateful that he can cleanse us from sin and make us heaven bound. He is unique, for no one else loves us to death and challenges us to the core at the same time. Of course, many of us still have trouble believing in him. So let's try looking at the whole thing rationally. Suppose that the chance Jesus is true is just 50-50. If you don't believe in him and he turns out to be true, you are doomed. On the other hand, if you believe in him and he turns out to be false, you are not in any worse shape. So if you have any sense at all, you would choose to believe in him, as the risk of losing your soul forever is unthinkable! You have to be out of your mind not to believe in him, especially if you cannot prove beyond any doubt that he is all false.