*Who's Crazy?

        You can read all about Christ in the New Testament. Like no one else, he truly challenges us. If he is all false, he has to be the craziest person that ever lived. But if he is all true and you don't believe in him, then you are the craziest one. What I've found out is that you believe that he is your Lord and Savior and you know the whole truth.

***Liberated by Love***

        Communion experience. It's most exciting to be able to love Jesus who is pure love and love him without limit. This is liberation indeed!

**First Step to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from John 3, Jess said to Nicodemus, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." This shows that believing in Jesus is only the very first step to salvation.

***Reality of Our Existence II***

        If you stay with the God of Christ, he blesses you constantly. If you are not with him, then the Evil One has you and he's only interested in destroying your soul.

***Happiest Thing in Life***

        It's knowing Jesus Christ.

***Reality of Our Existence***

        You can have someone really close to you in this life, but if one of you believes in Christ and the other doesn't, a great separation actually exists between you two. On the other hand, take someone you do not even know but is in union with Christ as you are, a union also exists between you two. So if you are already in union with Christ, you are in union with all the saints and holy angles in heaven. If you do not believe in Christ, then you are basically alone the whole time no matter how many friends you may have now.

****Most Satisfying Belief****

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, the Apostle told how on the evening of that first day of the week, Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples. He showed them his hands and his side, and they rejoiced. Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with them. When they told him that they had seen the Lord, he would not believe. A week later Jesus came again in their midst when Thomas was with them. He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Then John wrote that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that were not written in his book. But these were written that we might come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief we might have life in his name. I have come to see that believing that Jesus is the Christ is the most beautiful satisfying belief we can possibly have, for it completely secures our eternity, fulfilling all we desire and bringing us that most profound peace!

**Danger in following God's Will**

        It dawned on me that to live the Christian life, we need to surrender to the Lord totally or attain union with him first. Then we'll know his will clearly and be able to follow him right. It seems that people can interpret what Christ has said and end up following their own interpretations. When their interpretations are off, their action can be confusing to others. To avoid such mistake happening, know Christ well first to know what he wills, not what you think he wills.

**Getting into Heaven*

        This can be hard or easy. Reject Christ and you are doomed. Be totally obedient to him and even though you don't reach perfection, you are definitely heaven bound. If you fall between these two extremes, you could go either way. There might be good people who do not know Christ and are saved thru his mercy, but to be assured that you have a good chance, believing in him is the way to get started.

***Prayer for the Holy Church

         We are supposed to love the sinner and hate only the sin. Jesus forgave the woman who committed adultery and asked her not to sin anymore. Unfortunately, in the name of love, the Church today no longer condemns many sins outright. This has caused great confusion among the faithful. Pray that the Lord will root out all evil influences within the Church so that she may truly become a shining beacon in this dark world.

**Opposite Effect

        Communion experience. The more we feel unworthy to receive the Lord, the more welcome we are to him. 

***Watered-Down Preaching*

        Jesus came to show how much God loves us and how we can all be saved from sin. He spoke the truth and never tried to please, amuse, appease, nor make sure not to offend his listeners. Now look at the messages we hear today from most preachers—they do just the opposite.

***Our Only Mission**

        In today's first reading from Acts 4, the leaders, elders, and scribes ordered Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” Yes, it is impossible for us whom Jesus has called to follow him not to speak about him! God has commissioned us to spread the good news to the whole world so that all may be saved. This basically is our sole mission. It is in carrying out this mission that we are fulfilled!

***Transformative Love*

        Communion experience. If you truly believe that Jesus is pure love and receive him with reverence and all your heart, you'll never be the same old sinner again.

**Jesus Speaking as God*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 21, the resurrected Lord standing on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias saw Peter, John, Thomas, Nathanael, and some other disciples in their fishing boat and called out to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" All the disciples were probably not that much younger than Jesus, yet he called them children. At the wedding of Cana, Jesus addressed his mother as "woman." I see that Jess was clearly speaking as Lord and God!

***Connecting with God*

        When we pray to God, we are most effective when we really mean what we say from the heart. In other words, we need to be completely open and receptive to the Lord. Then the Holy Spirit can come and touch your heart and you'll know it! I've found that a good time is when I am awake in the middle of the night or early in the morning when everything is still quiet and you could feel the Lord's presence. It's the perfect time to pour your heart out to him to make that most personal connection.

**Great Consolation**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24, Jesus, before he ascended into heaven, startled his disciples by suddenly appearing in their midst to show them that he was a real person with flesh and bones and was the Christ to fulfill everything written about him in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms. I just intuitively know that we have a Lord who knows everything about anything as well as what is going on in all our hearts. It is a great consolation to place ourselves under his care and know that we won't ever be lost again.

***Jesus the Author of Life!***

        In today's first reading from Acts 11 is this verse: The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead. Jesus is the life, so is he the author of life. Without him, there would no life of any kind. As the author of life, it is impossible for him to ever die—this explains his resurrection. He lives forever, and best of all for us, he can make us live forever too!

***POWER OF LOVE***

        Today's first reading at Mass was about the cure of a crippled beggar from Acts 3. Peter and John were going up to the temple area. A man crippled from birth was carried and placed at the gate of the temple to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. But Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk." Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. What Peter said above moved me to tears, for in the name of Jesus Christ, we can make the impossible possible! 

**Right and Wrong Attitudes**

        If you think you are a pretty good person and don't try to be better, you may have troubling getting into heaven for not wanting to become perfect. On the other hand, if you always see yourself as falling short of loving God enough and "strive" to grow holier, you have an excellent chance of getting into heaven. Pride and humility make all the difference.      

**Do You Know What Your Are Doing?*

        People love to say "I know what I am doing." Then something unexpected happens and they are no longer in control. The right attitude is to trust in God and say to him, "Lord, I place myself totally in your hands, so guide me and protect me from all evil." 

***Pride Our Worst Enemy

        Jesus being God is forever present. To live as if he doesn't even exist is being absolutely absurd and stupid!  Pride can surely ruin our conscience now and our soul later. 

***To Know the Lord Without Seeing***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, Jesus appeared to Mary of Magdala and she believed that he had indeed risen. She went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." Now we already know that he is risen. To know him, we only need to be open to him and he'll come and reveal himself to us. Then we can  proclaim "I now know the Lord." 

****One We Must Know*

        If we could be made aware of our sinful state and the fact that if we do not repent and change our ways, we'd be heading straight toward hell, then we'd realize our dire need of Jesus our Savior. We can pretty much ignore everything else, but not him, for only he can save us from sin and show us the way to live right and gain eternal life!

**Peace Completed

        Communion experience. The Lord completes my peace.

**To Please ≠ to Love**

        To please someone is not the same as to love someone. If you try to please someone without love, then you motive is not pure. But if you love someone with no concern about whether that person will be pleased or not, your love is pure. Usually, you want to please God because you love him. Wishing to please God alone and not yourself is a noteworthy virtue! The trouble with today's world is that too many people are so eager to please others with ulterior motives that they forget all about pleasing God.

***Smart Move to Make Now***

        Pope Francis has just died after his bout with pneumonia. May he rest in peace! It just shows that you can be the most powerful, the most wealthy, the most famous, the most admired, or the most popular person in the whole world and still die, face the Lord God, and end up doing whatever he wants you to do. So the smart thing to do is to do God's will always now so that after you die, you'll not have to do anything that goes against your will.

**How to Initiate Knowing God*

        The best approach is to go directly to him and talk to him humbly from your heart that's completely open to him. Otherwise, your pride can easily get in the way to impede any progress. 

***Learning to Abandon Ourselves to God***

        We always have those we love and pray hard for, yet they remain hardhearted and unbelieving. Perhaps we should become more detached from them and trust in God even more. When God tested Abraham's faith and obedience by asking him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering, he actually started carrying it out without hesitation—that was absolutely amazing and inspiring! I think his example can help us abandon ourselves totally to God, knowing that he tests those who love him and will always come through.

***What Not to Put Off

        You can put off doing many things and it's not going to matter much, but you should never put off doing God's will. So get to know him well so that you my know and follow his will. True living is all about learning to let God be your Lord, thus setting you free from yourself. 

***Knowing Christ vs. Not Knowning Him***

        I have not seen Christ the Lord, yet he came to me and made me know him as if I had seen him. For this I am overjoyed and most grateful. I truly pity those who do not believe in him and are unaware of what they are missing and will happen to them in the end should they not wake up.

***Greatest Joy and Greatest Sorrow***

        Our greatest joy is knowing that God loves us, and our greatest sorrow is knowing that many do not love him to their own detriment.

***There's Only One God***

        If all those who believe in Christ gain eternal life, then certainly all those who reject him won't receive that—he's the dividing factor here. On judgment day, we'll be either taken or left behind. Many believe that there is a God and Christ is it!  

***Easter Message to All***

         The Lord God bas already extended his mercy to us to the max—he has given his own Son so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. So cast your pride aside, soften you heart, and welcome this terrific news. God is all for us; let him win and we win big!

***Trimphant Entry and Scourging***

*****Jesus Is Pivotal*

        Today's second reading came from Hebrews 4 & 5. From 5:9, we read that Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. This sums up beautifully about Jesus. Obey him and you are saved, all we need to know. It's so simple, yet absolutely pivotal!

***Jesus Our Genuine Savior***

        Today is Good Friday of the Lord's Passion. Jesus is believed to have fulfilled over 300 Old Testament prophecies. I do now know them all. But after just reading Isaiah 52:13-53:12, today's first reading, there was no doubt that Jesus had to be the coming Messiah Isaiah prophesied 700 years before his birth. This is absolutely amazing!

****Sad Reality**

         In John 3:16, Jesus said, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." And in Matthew 5:48, he said, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Once we believe in Jesus, we don't become perfect right away. So to make heaven, believing in him is required and becoming perfect should be our goal. The Christian life now looks like this: We continue to sin and then repent and ask for God's forgiveness each time, in hope that we'll sin less and less. Sadly, many seeming good people are not even interested in taking that first step of believing in Christ.

*****Jesus the One to Imitate*****

        The Gospel reading on this Holy Thursday came from John 13. Before the feast of Passover, Jesus rose from supper and began to wash the disciples' feet. After he had washed them, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,'  and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." That last statement is what we need to remember, meaning "We should do as he has done for us." And he has died to save us!

***God Forever Exciting***

        Normally, we find new things a lot more exciting than old things. For example, it's always exciting to visit places we've never been to before. I often like jumping to learn a new piece of music on the piano, even though I may not enjoy playing it as much as the one I am still working on. And almost everyone looks forward to the beginning of a New Year. On the contrary, the more we know Christ, the more we find him to be exciting. I believe these are the reasons. (1) Christ being infinite, there are always new things we can learn from him. So he remains forever new, you could say. (2) Things of the world get tiresome because they provide only momentary pleasures, while God refreshes and uplifts us at the soul level. (3) God continually renews those who follow him, making them feel new.

***A Puzzle?***

        If I enter a race I really want to win and someone else wins, I'd be disappointed. Now I'd really like to love Christ more than anyone else. If it turns out that everyone else in the whole world actually loves him a lot more than I do, instead of feeling disappointed, I'd be overjoyed to the hilt! You figure that out.

**Helpful Realization*

        To be saved, we first need to realize that we are sinners. It also helps to realize that the Lord God is most holy and try to perceive that! Let him set you free from sin and inspire you to become holy so that you may experience freedom, peace, and joy all at once. Or you'd rather remain a miserable sinner for all eternity?

*****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.