*****To Be Taken Seriously (Important Message)*****

        This is going to be a long "special" message which I feel compelled to post. I may not make everyone feel comfortable, but I cannot keep it unsaid, for truth must be faced squared when it affects our eternal life! First, let me post from Mathew 25 what Jesus has said about the judgment of the nations.

        “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

        The message is crystal clear: To inherit the kingdom of God, we must love all, especially the least ones. I look at the world, at least America here, and see that most people live a self-centered life: They want make the most money, buy the best things, eat the best foods, live in the best possible house, etc. They do help others in need at times, but it's not top priority. Sadly, many of them do not end up with much savings in their old age. My thoughts are that I can be a nice person, well liked by everyone, never trying to be mean to anyone, believing that I am OK with God, and still get shut out of heaven for having essentially lived a self-centered life and not loved others enough. So we need to take Christ most seriously and believe in and follow him to avoid encountering any future shocks. After all, he is the Judge of all judges through whom we'll all have to go.

***Transformational Joy of Christ

        Communion experience. The joy of Christ penetrates my heart and liberates my soul—how I love my Lord and my God! 

***Mutual Glorification*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 13, after Judas had left the Last Supper to begin getting Jesus arrested, the Lord said to the rest of the Apostles, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him." So anytime we do God's will, we glorify God and he in turn glorifies us. 

***Living for Victory*

        Psalm 27:12, today's entrance antiphon: Do not leave me to the will of my foes, O Lord, for false witnesses rise up against me and they breathe out violence. So evil has ben around ever since our creation. Even Jesus was betrayed by one of his Apostles. Accept this fact and and join our Lord in his battle against evil and we'll surely come out victorious!

***The Split We Create Among Us*

        This is an afterthought after the last posting. If we remain closed to God, we'll never learn anything from him. The evil influences around us are so great that we really need to open up quite a bit to the Lord to become strong enough to grow holier. Then once we get going, the sky is the limit. This bring to my mind what Jesus said in both Matthew and Mark: To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

****Effortless Way to Progress Spiritually****

         How can we get to know the Lord well? It's simple: You just remain completely open to let him reveal himself to you. This is the effortless way and the result can be astounding! The common mistake is to try so hard on your own as if God doesn't even want to know you. The truth is that he longs to know all of us most intimately, but we more or less do not open up completely to him. If you want to give all of yourself to him, again, be open to let him take possession of you.

****Christ Indispensable to Us**

         In today's Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead was. Mary, one of Lazarus' sisters, took a liter of costly perfumed oil and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair. Then Judas the Iscariot, the disciple who would betray him said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." This just made me aware of how indispensable Jesus is to all of us. As air and water are vital for keeping us physically alive, Jesus is essential to the preservation of the integrity of our soul for all eternity.

**Making Going to Heaven Hard or Easy**

        It you are reluctant to leave this earth and not really looking forward to going to God, you may have trouble getting into heaven. For example, if you expect someone to come to your home and find out that person's not that willing to come, you may decide not to want this unhappy guest come at all. On the other hand, anyone who greatly looks forward to returning to the heavenly Father with joy will likely go straight to heaven. The good criminal who were crucified next to Jesus is a good example.

**God's Invincible Power**

        The Lord is pure love. In union with him, no evil can come close.

**Where to Find Eternal Peace*

        Communion experience. I don't just sense, I know that only in union with Christ (God), will you find eternal peace. 

***Faith Works Wonders

        Today's long Gospel reading, Luke 22:14-23:56, began with The Last Supper and ended with The Burial of Jesus. As you know, two criminals were also crucified along with Jesus. one on his right, the other on his left. Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." What's clear here is that as long as you believe that Jesus can save you and ask him to have mercy on you, you are saved! If you already know this, now believe in it, for with God, nothing works without faith.

*****Jesus Christ Is Lord

        Here's today's second reading from Philippians 2: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I reproduced it here because I have come to the same conclusion.

****Palm Sunday Reminder***

        You get only one chance to know Christ the Savior, to be sure that you'll get into heaven. After this earthly life is over, that chance is gone forever! On this Palm Sunday; Christ is getting ready to fulfill the Father's will by dying on the cross in our place. Only a truly loving God can initiate such a compelling act of love. It's time for us to die for him by dying in him out of gratitude. When we do this, we live forever!

*****Formula to Peace and Freedom*****

        Today the Lord made me see clearly that the most proper, glorious, and rewarding thing for us to do is to surrender ourselves completely to him. The lack of our interior peace and spiritual freedom is completely due to the lack of our trust in God or, shall I say, our rebellion against God. Return to him like the prodigal son and all will be well! If you see this truth, the Lord is calling you. If not, you only prove that I am right.

**Another Reason to Follow Christ*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 11, the chief priests and the Pharisees were so concerned about losing their power that they, ignoring all the wonderful signs Jesus had performed, saw him as a threat to them and planned to kill him. This is the same with the people of today. In this country, members of one political party, intent on holding onto their power, try hard to destroy the leader of their opposition party who has accomplished many good things for the country. They are today's Pharisees, only concerned about themselves and not a bit about anyone else. So if you don't know the God of Christ, your views and reasoning just become warped and wrong. Only by following Christ will we be able to become selfless and know how to love all others right. 

**Three Levels of Belief

        We can (1) totally believe in Christ and follow him, (2) belief that Jesus exists, but have no faith or do not know him, or (3) ignore or reject him. These levels of belief are more or less reflected in these three levels of living, respectively: We do (1) everything according to God's will, (2) all things dutifully, neither for God or ourselves, or (3) all things to serve ourselves only. 

**What's Most Important for Me*

        At Mass this morning, I realize that the most important thing for me is to trust in the Lord and not worry abut anything else. Therefore, receiving the Holy Eucharist daily is a top priority. All the problems I have in life I'll deal with dutifully, never letting them make me lose my focus. Realizing that when my life ends, I'll have to leave everything behind also helps.

***Loving God Is Easy (& Welcome)**

         It is beautiful to see people kneeling in a church adoring the Lord. This makes me realize that loving another human being in the world is often a lot harder, for the person may not care or even resent us for whatever reason. On the contrary, the Lord is always open and ready to receive any sinner turning to him. Imagine the immense joy we bring to him and the whole heaven when we decide to love him! 

***End and Beginning

        Communion experience. I've reached the end and beginning. End, because there is nothing beyond Christ I need to seek. Beginning, because I've started living a life in Christ that will me take me straight to him.

***Banish Your Pride and Live!

        Today's Communion antiphon, Romans 8:32—God did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all; with him, he has given us all things. God has indeed given us all things, even his own Son! We need to realize this, for he has already paved the way for us to return to him in paradise—what more can you possibly ask for? Let's be humble and gratefully submit ourselves to God to avoid being destroyed by our own stupid pride in the end!

***Settled for Eternity***

        Hebrews 9:15, today's entrance antiphon: Christ is mediator of a New Covenant, so that by means of his death, those who are called may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. Eternal inheritance is what we are going to receive! It's so good that our Lord deals with all things that are eternal—anything we settle with him, it's settled forever!

***Only One True Sorrow***

         It is also our greatest sorrow that much of the world is still trying to crucify Christ our most loving Lord again!

**Big Oversight**

        When we normally "judge" others, it' easy to assume without thinking that we are "holier" than anyone else, not realizing that God who knows all hearts alone is qualified to judge all of us.

**In Freedom**

        Communion experience. I felt ready to leave all behind to meet the Lord, as he has already set me free and I an now his alone.          

*****Horror to Avoid***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus told the Pharisees that because they belonged to the world and did not believe that he was I AM, they would die in their sins. "To die in sins" is something that should horrify everyone, not just the Christians. It is worse than suffering a head-on collision on earth, for it destroys the soul as well! If you avoid head-on collisions at any cost, but are not concerned about getting your sins removed, then you are not making any sense and remain as dumb as ever. Sorry I am being blunt about this, but truth must be faced squarely.

***Unawake Fools***

         Before Mass began this morning, the Lord made me realize the following: We are most fragile both physically and spiritually. Physically, we can die any moment from an accident or illness. We can be here now and gone the next moment. Spiritually, we can die in sins and get condemned forever if we reject God. Only the biggest fool would live for himself as if he were not going to ever die on earth. Sadly, many people seem to belong in that category.

***Sign You've Attained Union with God**

         Obeying and pleasing Christ is now your only joy.

***Incredible Perfect Opportunity***

        Communion experience. The Lord God offering himself to us as an invitation to attain union with him, it's the perfect opportunity for us to submit ourselves totally to him to realize this most intimate personal relationship—it's union with the Almighty God!!!

***Reason We Don't Take God Seriously***

        Do you know that we all sin against God? You probably do, but do you realize that sinning is the worst possible thing we can possibly do, for it can lead us to total self-annihilation? Think of it, we're the own creatures in this universe sinning against the Lord God who is our creator, most loving Father, and is all holy and deserves all our love. If you do not believe in or even respect him, that's because you don't realize how horribly awful sinning is yet! It's time to wake up!

***Letting God Be God or Not***

         Just a week ago, the Gospel reading at Mass was on the parable of the lost son. I blogged about it under the title God the Father's Greatest Love, for it really shows how great God's love for us is. I wrote "You have to have a heart made of stone not to be moved by it." This parable truly is the most beautiful of all the parables. In today's Gospel reading from John 8, the scribes and the Pharisee brought a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test him. Jesus said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." In response, they went away one by one. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Here Jesus showed his greatest love for this woman. In John 3:17, The Lord said, "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." So no matter how much we sin, he does not condemn us—he simply wishes that we stop sinning and patiently waits for us to turn to him to repent our sins so that he might forgive us and save us from eternal death. If we do not do this when we can, we just get ourselves condemned in the end. It all comes down to if you let God be our God or not.

***Common Sense Realities***

         (1) We are all sinners. (2) Good and evil are real. (3) A spiritual battle between the two has been going on since our creation. (4) We'll all end up in either paradise or hell. (5) Christ stands out as our only true Savior.

***Only Way to Be Saved fron Sin***

        Sin is the biggest enemy to our existence, yet it's also like an old friend who sticks with us. If we let it influence us too much, it'll surely sink us. The right thing for us to do is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior to let him take away our sins and keep us holy. There are no others out there who can do the same, for they themselves are all sinners. So stick with Christ to be set free from sin forever. 

***Best Way to Know and Learn from Christ***

        The fastest and most expedient way of knowing and learning from Christ the Lord is to go directly to him, skipping all third parties, for he is instantly accessible to you at any time. To take any roundabout way to seek to attain union with him would be nigh impossible! So be like the Apostles, who followed and learned directly from the Lord.

***That Unique Satisfying Feeling

        To remain in union with Christ, you must remain completely open to him, hiding nothing, In fact, you pour out everything in your heart for him to know, proving to him that your heart is in union with his Sacred Heart too. Knowing that you are in union with the Lord has to be the most triumphant, satisfying, and humbling feeling you can possibly have in this life.  

***Answer to Triumphant Living***

        To live triumphantly in this chaotic evil world is a huge challenge. The best way I see to meet this challenge is to remain in solid union with Christ. Only in him will we find peace, consolation, and receive power and strength. There is not another way, for he alone is in charge of all things and the one to whom we shall all return to give an account of ourselves.

***That Heavenly Feeling***

        To know that you are heaven bound is a great feeling! Since I am going to follow Christ forever, I know that I'm going to him.

***The World Losing Its Lure**

        Once you realize and sense how special, perfect, and extraordinarily beautiful God's love for us is, all the worldly things lose their appeal and those who belong to the world just look like they are acting out their parts in some pointless play.

***Worst Unjustified Maltreatment*****

        Christ has shown that God's love for us is pure, selfless, merciful, and most tender—it's truly beautiful beyond words! It melts the hearts and transforms the souls of all those who believe in him. We truly need to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. Yet so many of us still ignore, reject, or even mock him. So the Lord God is the most loved and most maltreated being at the same time. This only shows that evil is real and the God of  Christ is truly our God!  

***How Faith Begins**

        There are people who show zero interest in knowing anything about Christ. It makes you think that faith might be a gift that God gives only to those he has first chosen. I don't know. If that were the case, I'd ask the Lord to choose everyone. What I know is how I came to choose Christ. I did not consider him until I felt the emptiness of life while I was attending college. I got to know some Christian friends who shared their faith enthusiastically with me. Eventually, I opened up and accepted Christ—that was the key moment! As I received more graces, my faith started to grow. This was affirmed by what Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 13: "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich." In most cases, this growth goes on one's whole life. Then if you can abandon yourself to the Lord entirely, with the aid of the Holy Eucharist you can achieve union with him in a relatively short time. In conclusion, to have faith in God, we must open ourselves up to God to get started, and then by abandoning ourselves to him to keep the growth process going.

*****JESUS IS WORTH EVERYTHING*****

         All of us, Christian or Non-Christian, need to know this about Jesus. Don't miss listening to the great St. Thomas Aquinas' epiphany moment with him beginning at 9:47.

**The LORD Is Our Joy*

        Isaiah 55:1, today's entrance antiphon: All who are thirsty, come to the waters, says the Lord.  Though you have no money, come and drink with joy. The Lord is the source of our joy and is our joy!

***Love Jesus First And . . .

you'll know how to love everyone else right.

***Divided by a Sorrow***

        When people don't love the Lord, we who love him feel sorry for him and also those who hurt him. We now share how he felt when he was abandoned by his people. This creates a double sorrow that can be quite unbearable. The solution is to bear it and offer it up to the Lord for his disposal, and it becomes more bearable. So we are divided by whether we experience this sorrow or not.

*****God the Father's Greatest Love*****

        Today's Gospel reading was taken from Luke 15 on the parable of the lost son (verses 11-32). It's is perhaps the most beautiful of all Jesus' parables. If you are still not sure about how much God loves us, you must read it! You have to have a heart made of stone not to be moved by it. So read this parable, fall in love with God (by letting him love you) and become one happiest person in this (and also the next) world!

*****Serious Warning*****

        In Luke 10:13, Jesus said, "Whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." Again in Matthew 10:33, "Whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father." These are serious sayings we cannot simply dismiss or ignore, for how we treat Christ has its consequences! After all, he is our Lord and God! I am warning all so that you may not get yourselves rejected by him in the end. If you love others, let them know of this truth too. Avoid hell like hell at any cost! Think clearly and don't ever let pride muddy your conscience.

***Another Reason Not to Judge Others

         It's easy to criticize or look down on others you don't approve of, then ask yourself this question: If you were in that person's situation and had experienced all that person had gone through, would you have done better in the end? We really don't know. Only God would know, So not judging is the right thing to do. 

****Key Prayer to Salvation

        Today's Communion antiphon, Luke 18:13: The tax collector stood at a distance, beating his breast and saying: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner. This is the prayer we must be humble enough to be able to say from our hearts if we ever expect to be saved.

***We Need Our Lord!***

         Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits; it is he who forgives all your sins. Yes, the Lord God of Christ is that Lord. We need him, for without him we are doomed in sin!

**To Believe, Believe in, and Know God*

        To believe God is to merely believe that he exists, with no faith involved. To be saved, you need to have faith, so you need to believe in God. To know God is something else again. You may believe in God but do not know him well, then your salvation may not be that secure. The more you know him, the stronger is you faith, and the more secure is your salvation.

*****When Time Runs Out (Another Warning)*

        We are here on borrowed time, and when that time ends, we'll have to leave this life. In our next life, all the time will be ours, then time will be rather meaningless, for we'll be either with or without God for all eternity. 

**Having the Lord Perfect You

        Communion experience. I asked the Lord to reshape, remake me again, for it's always a joy to have him work on me and there's always something that needs to be taken away. reshaped, or cleaned out. 

**Another Case of Myopia**

        The last post has to do with being myopic. Here is anther example. We seek wealth, fame, success in business, friendship with others, knowledge about the many things of interest, etc., yet we don't really seek holiness for ourselves.

***Are We Myopic?***

        I still remember the time when I was attending college in Michigan. One afternoon six of us drove to a nearby lake to enjoy our leisure time. We rented two rowboats and took off on the lake. All of a sudden the weather changed dramatically with the sky turning grey and heavy rain pouring right down on us. The wind was so violent that our two boats started spinning in circles. We couldn't go back to where we came from, for that would be going directly against the wind. So we had no choice but to row toward the opposite shore which was invisible. The lake wasn't a big lake, but it's not a small one either. So we were forced to row ahead, virtually heading into the unknown. Since our lives were in danger, I rowed as hard as I could. Eventually, the shore appeared. We were greatly relieved, but I was totally exhausted. I mention this because we all automatically do our utmost to make sure that we don't lose our lives here on earth, yet we hardly do enough to make sure that we'll have happy eternal lives later. Isn't this rather ironic? Maybe we all suffer from short-sightedness!

***Most Important Question***

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 12,  A scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus answered him and saw that he responded with understanding. And he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." My question for all of us is "How far are we from the Kingdom of God?" This is such an important question that we must ask ourselves if we care about our eternal future at all!

*****Deeply Satisfying State*****

        The Lord does speak to our hearts! The more you are in tune with him, the more you receive his thoughts and insights for you. This communion is deeply satisfying when you realize that you and the Lord God of the whole universe are on such intimate terms! BTW, to be in tune with the Lord God is to be in a state of grace and complete abandonment to him. 

*****God's Ingenious Way***

        Communion time thought: What an ingenious way the Lord has come up to draw us into union with him! It's heavenly and most endearing—it's just awesome!

**Our Sad Mindset**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus drove out a demon that was mute, and the mute man started to speak. Some of the witnesses said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." These people didn't have an open mind; they already wanted to take the Lord down. Today we have the same situation. Most people don't like anyone to tell them what to do, so when they hear about Jesus, they feel threatened and are ready to ignore him. Pride is the enemy here. When you have a lot of it, you become oblivious to its existence. 

***Proper Prayer Attitude*

        The burden of praying for this godless world is heavy. We can pray in gloom or pray with hope.  In Mark 11:40, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." Therefore, no matter how heavy our burden is, pray joyfully with confidence, for faith makes all the difference. Doubts or worries cannot come from the Lord.

***Our Great Divider***

        Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 9:40, "Whoever is not against us is for us." And in Luke 11:23, he said, "Whoever is not with me is against me." It's clear that you are either for (with) him or against him. There is no middle ground, for he is our God and final judge.

***God's Divine Beauty

        Communion experience. I was overcome by the extraordinary beauty of Christ who is all holy and full of love. 

***Secret to Following God***

         Have an open and willing heart ready to absorb every single word that comes from the Lord. From Matthew 4:4, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God."

**Today's Big Realization

         Faith in the God of Christ is such a wonderful delightful treasure!

**To Be Spiritually Intelligent*

        If we follow Christ, everything will work out well in the end—this is a given. I feel sorry for all those who still remain in darkness or try to find some way out of their quandary. Pursuing anything besides the God of Christ will only lead you to a dead end, also a given.

***Only God Can Transform Us***

        Only God can fundamentally change us. I am talking about changing to become holy, for any other change doesn't mean much. We can try to be holy, but we still can't remove our sins on our own, for only God has the power to do that. So if we want to become holy, turn to the God of Christ. Otherwise, we remain unholy!

**Awesome Experience

        At Communion time, it was receiving the most holy food in the presence of the most holy God.

***Our Source of Freedom and Peace***

        Once you surrender yourself completely to God, you immediately experience freedom and peace— that's because you don't need to struggle to be somebody or to fight your own ego anymore. God is now your ally; it was you who mistreated him as your enemy before. The Lord God can "groom" you so much better than you. There's no greater joy than returning to the loving Father after you've wandered away!

***IT HAS TO WORK!***

        The Lord God even sent his only Son to die on the cross in our place so that we might have eternal life—we'd better believe that he wants to and can save us! 

**Ready to Go to the Lord?

         If you hesitate and have to think about it even a little bit, you are not ready yet.

**Only One Thing Matters

        Communion experience. Your are now Christ's; relatively speaking, everything else doesn't matter much anymore. 

**Great Comfort**

        God becomes our security guard when we acknowledge him as our Lord and loving Father. He now makes sure that our souls remain safe with him. This is indeed a great comfort.

***Reason for Believing in Only One God*

        Today's first reading came from 2 Kings 5. Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, is a leper. After following the prophet Elisha's instructions, he was cured and became clean. So he returned to the man of God and said to him, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel." I know that there is no God other than the God of Christ because I have experienced his peace, the true peace you receive only after you have surrendered yourself to him.

***Beautiful Animation of the Lord***

         Jesus Brought to Life:

***Walking Right to Avoid Falling

        We are shaped by what we believe in. Most oldsters like me walk carefully for fear of falling. As a result, we end up shuffling along at a slow pace, even though we are capable of walking faster. I am posting this video to show that we can change our attitude and do better. I tried the suggestions given and felt the difference right away! Basically, we correct our mindset so that the problem doesn't get worse. This applies to the case of our spiritual growth too.

***The Living Water That Quenches All Thirst***

        In the Gospel reading today from John 4, a Samaritan woman came to a well to draw water. Jesus was resting there and told her that whoever drinks the living water he gives would never be thirsty again, that water would become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. I can personally testify to this truth, for Christ fulfills all my needs, absolutely nothing else out there can possibly satisfy me more. When the world has lost its attraction, you know that you have drunk that living water.

***Listen to God with Our Hearts*

       In today's Scrutiny Year A reading from Psalm 95, the psalmist wrote "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." This is like a direct plea coming from the Lord himself. We all sense the emptiness of life at one time or another—that's the Lord calling. If you ignore his voice, you have a hardened heart. God almost always speaks to our hearts, so we need to be extra sensitive to what we sense in our hearts.

*Peace for Keeps*

        Communion experience. The peace Christ gives is forever.

*Intention Matters

      Whether we are perfect or imperfect, as long as we intend to love God, he is pleased.  

*****Snart Responding to God's Love***

        Today we heard the parable of the lost (prodigal) son read from Luke 15 at Mass. It's been regarded by many to be the most beautiful of all Jesus' parables. It reveals how much God the Father loves us. I am reproducing the first part of the parable below and going to share a thought on it.   

          A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, "Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me." So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, "How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.'" So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son." But his father ordered his servants, "Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found." Then the celebration began.

         Now that we see how great our Father's love for us is, it would be smart of us to go to him, repent, and beg for his mercy the moment we realize we have sinned. Or you'd rather go thru what this lost son had gone thru and then come to your senses? 

***Who's to Blame?*

        Today's response from Psalm 103: The Lord is kind and merciful. True, the infinitely merciful God just wants to love us and save us from sin so that we may be happy forever, yet we ignore him, reject him, or even mock him! Who's at fault? Certainly, not the Lord. Has sin so muddied our conscience that we have become this thickheaded and heartless?

***Unleashing Your Potential for Doing Good

        We tend to sin, but we are also capable of doing good. So choose to do only good and our future is assured. Naturally, we would need help from the Lord God for whom nothing is impossible. Submit yourself completely to him and seek union with him and he can make that happen effortlessly for you. That's right because it all depends upon how much you let yourself go in him.

****Total Abandonment Time****

        As we age and get weaker physically day by day, we tend to depend on others more and more. But don't forget that this is the perfect time for us to abandon ourselves totally to the Lord God! We can't reverse the aging process, but we can surely accelerate our spiritual progress without limit. Looking our best to meet the Lord would certainly give both God and us great joy.

**Quick Way to Salvation*

        Let the love of God melt your heart and you are saved.

***Waking Up to Reality***

        Evil is real! So God has to be real! It follows that the spiritual battle fighting our souls must also be real! Realizing this should make us seek refuge in God, I already know Christ and all this—I am just trying to wake everyone up to this reality so that they may not lose their souls! That God truly loves us is our best possible news!

***Joy of the Holy Spirit*

         It is totally different from any enjoyable pleasure you encounter in the world. You experience it in your heart and soul, although something you see or hear could've triggered that. It simply bursts forth like a spring from within of which you have no control. It is both exhilarating and calming, always uplifting. You are drawn to the God's holiness, purity, and his sweet love. The whole experience is most refreshing and soul-cleansing; you just know that it's the Holt Spirit at work.

***Union with God***

        When you involve Christ in all your thoughts, your words, and your deeds at all times, you are in full union with him. There is now no separation between you and him.

*****To Have God's Company or Be Alone*****

        I have posted that we basically are all alone with God, for he is the only one who totally understands us and will judge us in the end. We may have a multitude of friends, fans, or followers in the world now, but when the time comes for us to face the Lord to give an account of ourselves, no one else will be around. He's really all we need for existence and survival. Separated from him, we really become alone, not a good thing. We absolutely need God's love and companionship!

***Learning from a Parable***

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 19 is on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It is a beautiful but poignant one. I am going to reproduce it in its entirety below and share some of my thoughts' 

         Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

       My thoughts: (1) Being rich and enjoying all the pleasures of the world won't make it any easier for you to get into heaven. If fact, it can make it even a lot harder. (2) Sufferings in this world as undergone by Lazarus are not necessarily meant to punish us. It can be part of our purgatory or a great blessing when we accept it for the Lord's sake. (3) Receiving what's good in this lifetime and what's bad after we die is so much worse than having it the other way around. (4) The eternal separation from God after we die is so terrible that everyone should take it most seriously and prevent it from ever happening. Losing our soul for betraying the Lord who has died for us is the most horrible thing that could ever happen to us. (5) That the rich man still asked Abraham to warn his brothers showed that he still had a heart. It seems that he was not really a bad person; he simply lacked compassion—a lesson for us here. (6) Abraham was right. People who did not listen to Moses and the prophets were not likely to listen to someone from the dead. Those who do not listen to the risen Christ the Lord today also are not likely to wake up to the whole truth right under their nose. Prayers that can change their hearts are urgently needed, for the Lord can change all things.

**Total Abandonment in God*

        A lot of things in life can get us down and it's good that we have the Lord to whom we can turn, to seek both guidance and comfort. We are just passing thru this world on the way to our permanent home in heaven. This realization should keep us awake and not to become overly concerned about any problems we face. Total abandon in God is the way to go always.

*****ONLY WAY TO HAPPINESS*****

        You can live for God or for yourself in this life. You may think that you'd be a lot happier to live for yourself, but I can guarantee that'll lead you to a most miserable life later. The truth is that living for God is infinitely better than living for yourself. This is something you absolutely need to realize, but it does take a leap of faith to get started. Once you get going, you'll experience freedom, peace, and joy, and never ever want to go back again! Letting the God of Christ be your God is the only way to permanent happiness! Letting the God of Christ be your God is the only way to permanent happiness! Letting the God of Christ be your God is the only way to permanent happiness!

***You Are God's Treasure***

         If you realize that Christ the Lord has already redeemed you from the power of sin, or eternal death, you must never ever look down on yourself again. Instead, you should rejoice and do your utmost to safeguard you soul so that you'll return to the heavenly Father to live with him happily forever! Don't mess it up!

***You Can Do Anything You Want . . .

if you do it out of love for God.

***God's Amazing Power**

         This morning I got out of bed and saw the bright sunlight that came thru the window hitting the large round mirror on the wall, and the reflected light from it casting a perfect circle of light on an opposite wall—it was quite a striking sight. The sun definitely made its presence known thru my visual sense. Then I thought of the Lord Lord. He has made his presence known to me thru my heart! I don't see him, yet I am more certain of his presence in me than that the sun will rise again tomorrow. Such is the power of our invisible God.

***Smart Way of Approaching God*

        Admit to God that you are foolish and you are being wise, that you are weak and you become strong, that you are sinful and you are made clean, that you need to submit yourself to him and you are set free, that you hunger and thirst for him and you are satisfied, that you are unworthy of him and you get uplifted, that you feel sorry for other souls and you are comforted . . . you get the idea.

*Prayer Tip*

        The more you mean what you pray for in your heart, the more effective your prayer will be. If you just say your prayer without feeling it, then of course the Lord is going to dismiss it right away. Always be fully sincere with God.

**How's Your Vision?

        Don't waste time building up your wealth on earth. Instead, spend time on storing up treasure in heaven, and your return will be infinitely greater. It's the difference between living selfishly for yourself and living selflessly for God. It's also the difference between being utterly foolish and being heavenly wise. 

***The Three Heavenly Gifts***

        Freedom, peace, and joy manifest our closeness to God. Someone in full union with God feels completely free in the Lord, enjoys deep peace in his own heart, and is always filled with great joy. The three come and go as one. Whatever the Lord gives, you always get the whole package. There is no such thing as partial salvation.

****Secret to Peace and Freedom***

        The more we surrender ourselves to God, the more we become free of ourselves and experience inner peace. This is how God has made us. If you realize this truth, you are not far from him. 

**Impressive Awareness

        At Mass this morning, the Lord impressed on me that he could indeed take away all my sins! 😇

**Wise Move

        In Mark 9:40, Jesus said to John, "Whoever is not against us is for us." So if you don't go deliberately against the Lord, you can still be saved. But in this case, I'd go all out to be for him so that I'll be saved for sure, not to mention all the other benefits I'll gain. 

***How to Know LOVE

         Know Jesus, for he is love.

***Greatest Human Tragedy***

        I'd say hands down it's rejecting Christ our Savior, for it would lead us to the greatest separation from God.

***Secret to Eternal Happiness*****

        If you read the Scriptures, you'll see that the Lord God was severe at times but most kind at all other times to his beloved people. In other word, he treats all of us as his beloved children. So if we love him as our dearest Father, everything shall work out beautifully for our whole existence!

***Infinity a Reality

        In today's first reading from Genesis 15, the Lord God took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be." As far as I am concerned, if the universe were infinitely large, I wouldn't be surprised, for the Lord God himself is infinite in every way. For someone who has always existed, I'd be shocked if he cannot make something infinite. In fact, I have difficulty in conceiving that we have a space that can only accommodate a limited number of stars. A finite God is no God at all.

***Best Way to Know the True God***

        The Lord God of Christ loves all of us equally. This is the Lord who reveals the truth to us and let us choose to believe or not believe in him thru our free will. If you choose to believe in him wholeheartedly, you'll know without a doubt that he is the true God. This is the best proof that he is. With any false god, it never works out this way!

***Pefect Command***

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus told his disciples to be perfect, just as their heavenly Father was perfect. This is a command for all of us. If that's not quite possible, it should at least be our No. 1 goal. Then nothing is impossible for God for sure, so here's our perfect chance to put his might to work by placing all our trust in him.

**Prerequisite for Reconciling with God

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it's important that everyone should reconcile with his brother before bringing his gift to God. That is, to reconcile with God, we need to get along with others first. If we still judge and are unforgiving, we are being hypocritical and that displeases the Lord. 

*****To Be Considered Most Seriously*****

        Today's response from Psalm 130: If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, who can stand? Indeed, if God marks our iniquities, we are doomed. On the other hand, if he marks our virtues, we'll be saved for sure. The difference is as great as that between heaven and hell. You become either God's friend or enemy. The time to consider this seriously is now, for our judgment is imminent and can happen at any time. Anyway, love and obey the Lord always and you won't have a thing to worry about!

***Letting the Heart Lead You to God*

        You can believe in God with all your heart or with all your mind. If you believe with your mind only, you won't be able to achieve union with God. But if you believe with all your heart, your faith will come alive, setting your heart on fire with your mind automatically following. Now when you pray to the Lord, your prayer reaches the Sacred Heart. Let your heart go and it will seek and find the Lord..

***Lord God Formost***

        Pray for all sinners but weep only for God, for the Lord God must come first. 

**Rejecting Salvation?

        It's most amazing that God should offer to save us from sin so that we may have eternal life! And it's thickheaded and cruel of us not to even consider that offer! Don't you see that to save our souls, we need to give God our hearts and minds first?

**The Lord Eager to Please Us*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." So let us ask, seek, and knock as much as we want and the Lord cannot refuse us. He only wants to give us life forever and we need to respond to him favorably always.

**At Your Service, Lord**

        Communion time thoughts. I was both an empty vessel and an open channel. As the former, I let the Lord fill me with whatever he deems to be the best for my spiritual growth. As the latter, I attempt to bring as many of his children as possible back to him, our most loving Father. There is no greater honor than being called to serve God. 

***Most Beautiful Heart*

        Today's response Psalms 51:19b at Mass: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. A heart contrite and humble is most beautiful to God. Anyone with such a heart who believes in Christ is bound to enter heaven.

***My Joy Forever

         That was what I experienced when I received the Lord today in Holy Communion.

*****Bold Statement of Truth*****

        It is impossible for us to have any sort of life without Christ, for he is God, our creator, our judge, and our Savior! I am making this sweeping statement because I know that it is true! I cannot prove it, but you cannot prove it otherwise either. Anyway, we are to believed in the Lord without any doubt. For that, he has given us the free will. 

**Timelessness in Heaven*

        On earth, we feel the passing of time and everything else as we grow old. Then I realize that in heaven, we'll be young and the same, and experience the constant peace and joy of being in union with God forever. When we embrace God's love fully, we are settled for all eternity and time is no longer a consideration.

***Everything Belongs to God***

        We came into the world all naked and will leave without being able to take anything with us. We ourselves and all the things we have in this life belong to God alone. Realizing this can greatly help us get detached from ourselves as well as all the things in the world. Otherwise, living can be most burdensome and leaving the world, a rough experience. And we could also end up in a place we never want to be. Traveling unburdened is the way to go.

***Are We Alone?*

        Aside from the Lord God, specifically Jesus Christ, there is no one whom you can totally trust, who totally understands you, or who can save you from sin and get you into heaven. So each of us is basically alone with God. If you do not have him, then you are really alone.

***Most Pitiful Ones***

         There are people who have so much pride that their hearts have hardened to the point that they turn away from Jesus totally. So Christ, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, who created all of us and the whole universe, the most humble and exalted holy God is not even good enough for them—this is absolutely insane, shocking and revolting! They are to be pitied the most.

**Heavenly Experience

        Communion experience. When you are in love with Christ, you feel that you are literally already in heaven! 

**Christ Deserves Our Full Trust*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 4, the devil tempted Jesus three times. Jesus responded to the devil's last attempt by saying to him, "It is written You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." So let's not ever be like the devil testing Jesus, but trust in him fully always.

***Appreciating the Lord***

         You can always see anything in opposite ways. For example, a glass of water may be seen as half empty or half full. Today I see the holy Lord God in the most favorable light. Because of him, I am now aware of all my imperfections (mainly sins) so that I can ask him to take them away all to make me holy. This is a huge deal! It is changing my life now, and is going to save my soul in the end—an even huger deal! 

**A Wake-Up Question**

        You believe in God, but do you also seek him? If you don't follow the Lord closely, you can lose him quickly! For the Lord is a dynamic Lord, not a static one.

***Most Desirable Virtue*

         Christ being most high is most humble. The more humble we are, the more we become like him and are exalted by him. Humility eradicates the ego, frees our soul to love others and brings peace to our innermost. When we remain most humble, we become invulnerable to Satan's attack and super safe in the Lord. Be humble and God will have a hard (or real easy) time judging you. Humility is the key to entering heaven.

***Greatest Spiritual Malady Today***

         The Communion antiphon based upon Matthew 9:13 today—I desire mercy, not sacrifice, says the Lord, for I did not come to call the just but sinners. Mercy stems from love, and is a virtue, while sacrifice is an act. If we love God, we'll automatically perform sacrifice for him when we are called to. So start from love always, that is, be merciful always. Tragically, much of the world today does not hear the Lord and and continue to remain in sin. Witness the current wars between Israel and the Hamas and between Ukraine and Russia—the killing and dying goes on with no side willing to give in a little bit to achieve peace.

***Jesus' Holy Face Again***

        My Lord and my God!

***Between Just You and God***

         Today's Psalm 51:6a: Against you [God] only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. Yes, when we sin, we truly hurt God only, for he is the holy one. And we'll all be judged by him alone. It all comes down to whether we obey God or not. Quoting Mother Teresa:—"In the final analysis, it is between you and God."

***Learning from the Lord***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" Here are some of my thoughts. (1) The Lord has already carried his gigantic cross for our sake. How can we possibly not want to carry our own little ones and still wish to follow him? (2) "Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it": No one other than the Lord God can say this and make sense. He is awesome! (3) The last statement "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?": This was addressed to all of us then and now. We all understand it, but how many of us take it seriously? The Lord leaves it up to us. By the way, we do reap what we sow.

***Most Foolish Are the Ones Who . . .

live as if God doesn't exist or doesn't know what's going on with them.

*****Miracle Food*****

         Communion experience. The heavenly bread nourishes, purifies, and heals the soul, wiping out all fears.

***Perfecting Your Reconciliation to God Is . . .

perfecting your return to him.

**Holy Habit

         No one likes complainers. Thank the Lord for whatever you experience, pleasant or painful, and he'll reward you many-fold.

**Day to Start Looking Beautiful

         Ash Wednesday is the perfect day to realize that we are nothing but dust. When we are humble, we look beautiful to the Lord. So this is also the perfect day for us to start looking beautiful to the Father if we are not that pretty yet.

*****Simple Secret We Must Know***

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus told his disciples to take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that the people might see them; otherwise, they would be like the hypocrites. In other words, we must be egoless and focus upon glorifying the Lord alone. This is the whole secret to peace and salvation: Let God all in and we are in! It's so simple, but are we smart enough to handle that?

*****What the World Misses***

        Today is Ash Wednesday. The response from Psalm 51 reads "Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned." It would be such an unbelievably beautiful thing if all of us in this world would want to shout this out from the heart! The deep joy the poor world sorely misses is the joy of repentance, that joy of being back in grace with our heavenly Dad!

***Greatest Miracle***

        At Mass this morning, I saw that Jesus is not only the King of kings and Lord of lords, he is also our greatest miracle for having such an incredible love for us sinners. 

**Prayer Priorities*

         As Pope Francis' health is faltering, many Catholics are praying for him, but there are also many who are praying for a new Pope who will keep the Church faithful to Christ and unified. I do see that the latter is urgent and encompassing. Now, at the fundamental level is praying for the conversion of all souls. So I'm going go follow this order in my prayer. As for praying for any individual, I'll alway pray for his soul before anything else.