**Laura's Testimony*

         A short that's beautifully honest which I forgot to post when I first caught it earlier.

***The Lord My Defender***

         Communion experience. We do get to drink from the chalice of Jesus' Most Precious Blood at Sunday Masses. This Sacred Blood is so powerful that it can ward off attacks from all evil spirits. The Lord is now my defender!

***Best Preparation for Entering Heaven***

         Attain union with Christ through the Holy Eucharist.

**How Do We Straighten the Lord's Paths?*

         In the Gospel reading from Matthew 3, John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. The Lord is already here, so how do we prepare his way by making straight his paths? The answer: We remain wide open to him so as not to obstruct his paths in any way. 

**Trusting in God's Justice**

         We learn today from the first reading from Isaiah 11 and the Responsorial Psalm 72 that the Lord will judge all of us with perfect justice. This should put all of us who follow him at ease, for whatever each person receives in the end will be perfectly justified.  

***Warning Continued***

         In my last post, I stated "if you think that you are good enough to get into heaven, you are not taking the whole matter seriously." So you may not even make it. The sure way is to do the very opposite: You assume that you are not good enough to enter heaven, and you submit yourself totally to God's mercy and humbly follow his will as best as you can. Now you have ensured the opposite effect.

*****Dire Warning*****

         If you think that you are good enough to get into heaven, you are not taking the whole matter seriously. To be serious, we must realize how horrible it'd be to end up in hell! What's truly horrible is that our separation from God and the agony and suffering we experience there is forever! For this alone, we need to believe in Christ our Savior right now. Going to hell is a no-fun oneway trip—don't ever let it happen to you!

**How Christ Sees Us**

         While Jesus was on earth, he never really judged others. He always loved everyone and felt sorry for those who were lost. He even pray for his enemies: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" after they crucified him. The Lord is truly magnanimous!

**How We Are Tested**

        In this evil world, we are being tested to see how faithful we are in following Christ, which translates to if we show love for others in all that we do.

**Do You Know?**

        Jesus has died on the cross in our place so that we may have life eternal, so it's no surprise that he'll be the one to judge all of us in the end. He has loved us to death and we're being tested by how we respond to this love.

**Jesus Comforts Us**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, two blind men cried out as Jesus passed by,"Son of David, have pity on us!" He said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. This last saying of the Lord is so good for us to hear from him! In turn, it'd be good for us to always pray "Let it be done for us according to your will."   

***God's Most Ardent Wish***

         Today's Entrance Antiphon: Behold, the Lord will come descending with splendor to visit his people with peace, and he will bestow on them eternal life. God, because he loves us so much, wants to bestow on us eternal life. I am sure many know about it, yet they don't seem to care. So for their sake, I am restating it here loud and clear: God's most ardent wish is to bestow eternal life on all of us!

***How to Be Prepared*

         For the Christian, it's to be ready to leave this world and go home to the Father in heaven. It's the best to come, something really to look forward to.

**Just Believing Is Not Good Enough

         To Believe is not the same as to want to believe. If we believe in God only halfheartedly, or with no zeal, then we are Christians in name only. Christians who want to believe in God are always on the move, alive and eager to serve the Lord.

**Self-Examination Time

         This begins my posting for today, Dec. 4. The Gospel acclamation from today's reading from Matthew 7: Whoever does the will of my Father will enter the Kingdom of heaven. This is so easy to know and remember for us to get into heaven. To do the will of the Father, we only need to listen to and follow Jesus the Son! God makes everything simple for us, yet we make it complicated for ourselves. We need to make a good examination of ourselves and start to see and live right!

***Most Powerful Bond***

         Communion experience: In union with the Lord, your invisible bond with him is stronger than any visible or physical bond, and you are closer to him than to anyone else! 

*****The Lord Is Perfection*****

         Jesus is the embodiment of perfection. It there are others who are perfect, there have all been all been made perfect by or thru him. So Jesus is the first and eternal perfection.

**In Case You Don't Know . . .*

         It's our pride that prevents us from obeying God and gets our soul ruined in the end if we don't follow the example of our most humble Lord.

**Speak and Proclaim We Must**

        The Communion antiphon of Dec. 3, Matthew 10:27: What I say to you in the darkness speak in the light, says the Lord, what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. We who follow Christ cannot remain silent; we must listen to voice of the Spirit and speak out. We are to be warriors ablaze. holy rabble-rousers.

***God's Humble Power*

        In the Gospel reading from Matthew 15, Jesus took seven loaves of bread and a few fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn fed a hungry crowd of four thousand men, not counting women and children. They all ate and were satisfied. This miracle may not be so dramatic as the miracle of the sun that happened at Fatima in 1917, witnessed by a estimated 70,000 people, but it's equally amazing, if not more so. The Lord always shows his power to us most humbly to benefit us physically and/or spiritually only.

*****REAL PRAYING Called For***

         I lost my internet service again yesterday, so I'lI share yesterday's thoughts first. I first hared Laura's conversion story Buddhist to Catholic on November 5. Coming across this short of hers titled The Virgin Mary Is Real (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_bkJT69e6eE) triggered in me the following thoughts. There is a difference between just praying and real praying. One is a lot of more serious than the other. You can say your prayer as an an obligation, while your mind is elsewhere. Or you can pray, feeling strongly prompted by the Holy Spirit or that you really need God's help. Recently, I felt the urgency to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet before an original Divine Mercy image hung on a wall in my house. I stood close to it the whole time, focusing fully on the Lord and saying every word from my heart, and my soul felt the close presence of the Lord. Never hold back if you feel like pouring your heart out to him, for "real praying" allows God to let you experience him fully. He always treats us the way we treat him! He is not to be just a casual acquaintance of ours; he's to be our most beloved personal Lord.  

**Being Humbly Proud & Content

         Communion experience—the Lord is all mine!

**Sign You're Ready to Go to the Lord

         Today's Communion antiphon based upon 2 Timothy 4:8 reads: The just judge will bestow a crown of righteousness on those who eagerly await his coming. When you eagerly await the Lord's coming, you are ready to go to him.

**Smart Attitude**

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." To be childlike is what we need in the Father's presence. On our own, we'll never be able to understand everything. Knowing that the Lord has the answers to all things is good enough for us to believe in him without question.

**Being Nothing and Free**

         Communion experience. The Lord is everything to me, for he is the creator of all things, myself included. I owe him all I have. When you belong to the God of Christ, you know you are free.

**The Lord Delivers*

         Today, I still can't believe that the Lord has chosen me to believe in him and given me so much joy! This is a case of "it's actually true when it's too good to be true."

**To Amaze the Lord**

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 8, a centurion appealed to Jesus, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Jesus was amazed by his great faith and said to him, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." At that very hour his servant was healed. Let's amaze the Lord with our faith too. What say you?

**Christ Makes Us Fearless*

        Today's Entrance Antiphon (cf. Jer 31:10; Is 35:4): Hear the word of the Lord, O nations; declare it to the distant lands: Behold, our Savior will come; you need no longer fear. One thing about having Christ as our Savior is that we now know we're going to have life with him in heaven forever and thereby no longer fear anything!

***Joy of Doing God's Will*

       When you always do God's will, you'll find everything you do a joy! By the way, this is how to strengthen your bond with the Lord continuously.

**To Take It Seriously or Not**

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 24, Jesus told his disciples about the unknown day and hour of his next coming and that they should be prepared. To the unprepared, it will always happen at an unexpected time and too late to save themselves. On the other hand, the prepared don't have to be concerned about the whole thing at all. All is common sense. The big factor that comes into play is how seriously you take Jesus' words. 

**Review Time

        As Christians, this is the rule we often forget: We must always do God's will while we're on earth. This is the sole rule by which we'll be judged in the end.

***Prayer and Spirituality**

        Today is the First Sunday of Advent. This is the entrance antiphon based upon Psalm 25:1-3—To you, I lift up my soul, O my God. In you, I have trusted; let me not be put to shame. Nor let my enemies exult over me; and let none who hope in you be put to shame. This is a beautiful payer. It makes me realize that our prayer to the Lord actually reflects how we feel spiritually. In turn, our spirituality shapes our prayer. The two are closely interrelated.

**A Virtue to Rejoice In**

        If sin abhors you, it's a grace and virtue. 

**Spirit over Body**

         Communion experience. Physically, I am still on earth; but spiritually, I am already with Christ my Lord! The physical body is short-lived and perishes, while the soul lasts and lives on for all eternity. So focus upon taking care of your spiritual life foremost. 

**No Perfect Peace on Earth

        On 11/28, I saw clearly that the world has no peace because it hasn't submitted itself to God yet. Those who have done so know that they'll experience perfect peace in heaven.

***Lost Only Without Christ***

         On Thanksgiving Day, the third day without internet service, I did feel a little bit lost. Then this thought came to me. We are lost only when we don't have Christ. Many things that do not glorify God we can live without. In heaven, there'll be no more worldly distractions and we'll be even happier.

***Today's Communion Experience

         To die and then live in Christ is pure paradise!

**Thanking God First**

        It's November 27, Thanksgiving Day. Of course, No. 1 on the list for us is to thank God for having redeemed us from sin—this changes eternal death to eternal life for us!

**Happy in the Lord

        Now the Communion experience. I felt so good in the Lord that I felt sorrier than ever for those who do not know or do not want to know him.

**Going Gung-Ho for the Lord

        Lesson from the Gospel reading from Luke 21: Following the Lord without any hesitation is the only way to go. For him, we should go all out and all the way, for the prize we'll gain is absolutely worth it.

**Secure in the Lord*

        Also on 11/26, the Gospel acclamation from Luke 21 reads : You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. This is how secure we are in the Lord!

*Peace for God's People*

         Four days ago, my internet died. So I wasn't able to blog, watch TV, or phone people (I am still used to calling people on my land line phone). Life seemed a little "weird" and I felt somewhat lost at first. Anyway, a technician finally showed up and found a bad wire at their substation down the street and fixed it. I am back in business and will starting posting some of the thoughts I had since this past Tuesday.

      On November 26, the Entrance Antiphon from Psalm 85 reads: The Lord speaks of peace to the people and his holy ones and those who turn to him. If you belong to the Lord, are holy, and always turn to him, then you are indeed blessed and will have his peace all your life.

****To Know Before You Die****

        Father Gabriele Amorth was the famous exorcist for the Vatican until he died at 91 on September 16, 2016. I came across this video with a beautiful powerful message from him. Never mind the misspelled words and AI-sounding voice, fully comprehending this message can be most beneficial.  

***A Conversion Story**

        Today at morning Mass, I did not receive any thoughts to share. Then after I got home, I came upon two videos that are interesting. I'll share this one by Laura whose message to Pope leo XVI I posted two days ago first. It's her conversion story Buddhist to Catholic, which may resonate with some of you. Our paths that lead us to God are all different, but the one we find in the end is always most beautiful!

**To All Who Have Left Christ:*

       If you have no proof that the four Gospels are just a bunch of made-up stories, you don't know what you've done!

**Foe and Friend**

        When we deem ourselves most important, we imprison ourselves. Make God moat important and we are set free. This shows that we can be our own worst enemy, while God is always our liberator and best friend.  

**How Self-Giving Are We?*

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 21: When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said [to his disciples], "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." As God has already given his only Begotten Son for us, the question is "How much are we willing to give ourselves for him?"

**Message for Pope Leo XIV"

        Here's a message from Laura, a convert from Buddhism, to Pope Leo XIV. She delivers it honestly with courage and love. It's worth sharing.

**Happy Suffering

        If you are willing to suffer for Christ's sake, then you are a happy person. For now you are no longer perturbed by anything that doesn't go your way. 

**Existence Cmplete*

        Communion experience: Receiving Christ in the Holy Eucharist completes my existence. I began with the Lord when he created me and I now end in him by returning to be in union with him.

***Compelling Truth**

        Jesus is either God or not God. If he is, we must take him most seriously, that is, believe and follow him totally. If not, you can do whatever you want with him. Because he is so compelling, I know that he is truly my God.

***Jesus Christ Our King***

        Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:26). If you think you can live without him, you have to be an idiot! I assume that you know that you have a soul and are a sinner, so my first question to you is "How are you going to save your own soul from sin?" 

***A Decision to Make***

         Whenever we sin, we sadden the Lord, for we have placed another obstacle in our path to heaven. Then if we repent all our sins, we bring great joy to the Lord, heaven rejoices, and our path to go there is now clear. The Lord patiently awaits. We must decide which way to go before facing eternity! Do you hear me?      

***Formula for Salvation**

         Communion time insight: Our sure way of being saved is to let Christ love us. We do that, and we'll be made holy, able to love all others as ourselves, and on our way to heaven. This is all God wants from us.

***Life-Changing Living***

         When you abandon yourself totally to God, you put yourself in his hands and experience a deep peace unaffected by worry or anxiety. You know that even if you die, you'll be happier than ever with the Father in heaven for all eternity! 

***Great Time to Beocme Saints**

         Here's a video that talks about this generation being most evil, I don't doubt it. So it's more critical than ever that we choose to fight along God against the Evil One. It's the perfect time for us to become saints.

**Jesus on the Periphery**

        If normally you just lead your own life and Jesus is never the first person you turn to for consultation or guidance, but always the last one you go to when you really need help, then he's only living on your periphery. And you are definitely not living in his house either. 

***Rating My Church***

        I am a Catholic because I am convinced that the Catholic Church is the original church built by Christ upon Peter, the first Pope. When Simon Peter first told Jesus that he was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (See Matthew 16:16-19.) So how is the Church with over 2.4 billion Catholics today doing? Well, as in any big institution you'll find some good people and some not so good. Within the Church, we have great saints as well as corrupt traitors. Satan, in rebelling against the Lord, has made priesthood one of his prime targets. My rating of the current state of the Church is lukewarm+ at best.
        These three issues have figured in prominently in my evaluation. (1) Abortion: Way over a million unborn babies still get aborted in this country alone. This most serious offense against the Lord must end! The Church has remained relatively quiet on this issue. You rarely hear the clergy speaking out boldly against this evil. It's the laity that's doing much work on its own. (2) The Holy Eucharist: Surveys have shown that the majority of Catholics no longer believe in the real presence of Christ in this most holy sacrament. This is an absolute crisis! We need to initiate a worldwide campaign to educate all Catholics and there's no time to waste! Yet the Church doesn't seem to sense any urgency. To wish the Lord to safeguard us, it behooves us to do our utmost to "safeguard" him, not that he can't take care of himself. (3) Union with God: The Holy Eucharist is available to us, the Lord's invitation to seek union with him is there, and above all, he commanded us to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect; yet we are not specifically encouraged to seek to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist so that we may all become saints! Have the Church ruled out this possibility? Wouldn't that be limiting God's omnipotent power? To believe that we can't become saints is false humility. The fact is that wanting to be a saint is being obedient to the Lord and being truly humble! Abandoning ourselves totally in God is all it takes. In Luke 12:49, Jesus said to his disciples, "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!"  

***Awaiting That "Perfect" Day***

        Communion experience: I am full of blemishes, but I know that the Lord will make me perfect one day! 

**No Ordinary God**

        Today's First Reading Antiphon from 2 Maccabees 7: The creator of the universe will give you back both breath and life. Let us realize that Christ is that amazing creator and our Savior who deserves our utmost awe, respect, and gratitude!  

**God-Centered or Self-Centered Living**

        Those who do not know Christ always have to look for something they enjoy doing to keep going. Watching a TV drama is one example. On the contrary, those who know Christ well experience so much joy in him that all the things the world enjoys become rather boring and meaningless in comparoson. As a matter of fact, they never need to seek out anything in the world to keep going. 
       Also, I've noticed that many older folks, realizing that their time on earth is limited, decide to live it up by enjoying as many things in the world as possible. This may seem to be a sensible decision, but spiritually it may not be wise, for the intention is all self-centered. The closer we get to meeting the Lord, the more we really should live a God-centered life. We must never stop growing spiritually so that we may store up as much treasure in heaven as possible. To be rich in heaven is being God-centered.

****Being Most Unrealistic**

        Avoiding Christ is worse than avoiding the fact that you do exist. You now become the most absurd unrealistic person—for without Christ, you wouldn't have existed at all!

****Union with God and and Beyond****

        Communion experience: Attaining union with Christ the LORD through receiving the Holy Eucharist is reaching a mighty high point in our spiritual journey on earth. Further rapid, limitless spiritual growth now lies ahead, promising making following Christ more exhilarating than ever! 

**Equal Before the Lord*

        In Jesus' days, the Pharisees and the scribes look down on all the tax collectors and other sinners, forgetting that they themselves are sinners too. They became hypocrites, which displeased Jesus a great deal. It is important to realize that we are all sinners before the Lord, no better or worse than anyone else. We are to measure ourselves against the Lord only, for we only aim to be holy like him.

***Critically Important to Realize!**

        Today's Gospel Acclamation from Luke 19: The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost. If you know that you are lost, then Jesus is for you. This is all there is to it.

**Foreknowledge

        Communion experience. I know that one day in Christ, I'll understand everything.

***Faith and Healing**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, as Jesus approached Jericho and was passing by a beggar, the man shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" Jesus stopped and asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. This is how faith works in healing. We must not assume that the Lord will heal every little health problem we have. Normally, if it's something that's not that severe and/or will heal naturally in time, we ought not bother the Lord. But if it's something that's critical and really needs God's help, then it's proper to ask for healing outright without hesitation.

**Matching the Lord's Offering**

         Today's response from Psalm 119: Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands. In John 15:13, Jesus said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." Now, Jesus has shown his greatest love by laying down his life for us so that we may have life, we really ought to look forward to doing his commands with zeal and joy!

***Beauty in Plain Sight***

         I just found this post in drafts which I initiated two years ago but didn't get published. I recall that's because I didn't know how to include a photo image. Here it is now. I've been photographing with my cell phone since 2013 and have photographed hundreds of images of ordinary sights or things most people do not notice. At the time, I was attending daily Mass at Mount St. Joseph Seminary in Loomis, CA. One rainy morning after Mass, I saw this beautiful image reflected in a large puddle of rainwater in the seminary parking lot. Of course, what your see is that image turned upside down. God's beauty is everywhere!

**No Double Standard

        We easily notice others' faults and hardly our own. To be fair, we should examine ourselves at least as rigorously as we do others. On the other hand, we should just focus upon perfecting ourselves first.

**God Is Perfectly Just**

         Today's response from Psalm 98: The Lord comes to rule the earth with justice. Yes, we should trust in the Lord's justice, pray as best as we can for all sinners and accept the outcome of his judgment on any of us in the end. Worrying about it simply shows the lack of our trust in the Lord.

***Unique True Love***

        This is the love we have for God. It's essentially his love. It's different from any other kind of "love" we feel, being pure and completely selfless, and involving both the heart and the soul. As a matter of fact, it alone qualifies as true love.

**Becoming Unchosen**

        In John 15:16, Jesus says, "It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you." The Lord has chosen many of us, but many have turned him down. Not only they won't bear any good fruit, but also lose the benefit of receiving whatever they ask the Father in Jesus' name. They are now orphans.

***Constant Prayer Indespensable*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus revealed to his disciples the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. To live a Christian life is to live a life of prayer. It's essential that we communicate with the Lord honestly from the heart at all times so that we may get to know him most intimately and grow to become like him. It is through prayer that we can attain union of the hearts with the Lord!  

**Appreciating My Own Existence*

         Today I became acutely aware that the Lord God, our heavenly Father, indeed created me out of love. So I am a special, unique creature to him whose sole intent now is to save me from sin and death. And I greatly rejoicing in that!  

*****Prepare Now or Perish*****

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus told his disciples about the day of his next coming. These sayings of his are most poignant: "I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left." This will be either your day of the greatest unification with God or your day of the greatest separation from him. Plan ahead now to be ready, for his coming can happen at any time!

**Attitude of a Believer**

         We cannot possibly outdo God in any way. As a matter of fact, I see the Lord doing everything good for us when we "allow" him. It'd be wise and proper for us to remain receptive to whatever he sends our way, trusting that he'll always bestow what's best upon us.

***Best Thing to Ask of the Lord***

         This verse from Psalm 27 seems to come up at Mass often and is beautiful. Today it was one of the two recommended Communion antiphons. It reads: One thing I ask of the LORD; this I seek: To dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of my life. To dwell in the Lord's house is to be with the Lord and serve him; we are now totally under his care, protected from all evil, and destined to be with him forever! Basically, we are back home with the Father who always loves us! There's nothing more we can ask for. 

***More Reason to Want to Go to Heaven**

        It is the will of our heavenly Father that we all get to heaven so that we may be happy for all eternity. In this life, it's the prevalence of sin that causes all our unhappiness! All the more we should want to go to heaven, for there we'll be perfected by the Lord and sin no more!

***Radical Message Perfect for Us***

        Matthew 10:39, today's Communion antiphon, reads: Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it in eternity, says the Lord. So live for Christ's sake and not for ourselves. This radical shift is what we need to follow to stop sinning and become holy, to leave hell behind and head straight for heaven. It's letting the Lord properly be our Lord.   

**Essential Prayer for All Christians*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus entered a village and ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" Now, we may not have leprosy, but as sinners, we need to ask the Lord to have pity on us as well, if not more so. Praying thus from the heart shows that you do submit yourself to the Lord as a follower.     

***Christ in All of Us**

        Today's Communion antiphon from Matthew 25.40: Amen, I say to you: Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me, says the Lord. The Lord wants us to see him in everyone. This is not easy and will take practice. But if we want to be like Christ, we must see as he sees. It is the way to both exterior and interior peace for sure.

***Serving God Liberates Us***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus described the proper attitude of a servant to his apostles. He summed up saying, "When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'" In other words, for whatever you do for the Lord, give him all the credit and yourself nothing. It turns out this is exactly how we become free from ourselves and experience inner peace! 

***Face of Jesus Uncovered by AI***

        Well done!

**Only a Matter of Time*

        Communion experience. I am not in heaven yet, but knowing that I'm already inseparable from Christ, sooner or later I'll be there.

***One Step to Eternal Salvation***

        Let the God of Christ capture your heart and soul and you are saved forever! 

**Sin Causing Sin**

        Today is the Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church. In the Gospel reading from Luke 17, Jesus said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard!" This is a serious warning! To sin is one thing, but to become an agent of sin, knowingly or not, is a lot worse. It's good to be aware whether your action will lead others to sin or not. Best yet, don't sin at all.

***Reverse Effect?**

        The more you are proud that Jesus is your Lord, the humbler you become.

**Being Unloved Is OK**

        In this evil world, there are so many unhappy people full of hatred for others. Even in some Catholic families, grown children have abandoned their faith and fallen away from their parents. My message: Do not let all that bother you as long as you know that the Lord God, being the only one who can save us from sin, loves you. If you can still love all those who don't love you, you are truly blessed. 

****Important Wake-Up Reminder!****

        In this life, we are always getting ready for things such as attending a school, starting a new job, getting married, expecting your first child, going on a vacation, visiting a doctor . . . just mentioning a few of the more significant events. But the most important thing to be ready for has to be meeting God after this life ends. This should not be done in the last minute. In fact, it should be done the first moment you realize it's going to inevitably happen. Get your priorities straight to avoid eternal suffering!

***Ultimate Fulfillment

        Communion experience. It's not just saying hi to Jesus or getting to embrace him; it's achieving union with him physically and spiritually in the most intimate way—the ultimate fulfillment in this life on earth!

***God's Transcendental Beauty***

         In union with God, you sense the sheer beauty of the Lord in your heart. This transcendental beauty radiates from his pure love for us. It can only be sensed in our hearts, not through any of our physical senses.

***Further Evidence That Jesus Is God***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 2, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
         His disciples came to realize that Jesus fulfilled the words of Scripture. That should make us believe that Jesus is indeed God as well.

*****God Makes All the Difference*****

         When you have God with you, everything is sweet. Yes, I am using the word "sweet." When you are on your own, life is not worth living. I mean that too.

**Beautiful and Sweet Message**

         Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. One of the entrance antiphons, Revelation 21:3 read: Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people, and God with them will be their God. How beautiful and sweet it is to hear and know this—it should mean a lot to us!

**Better Early than Late

        As Catholics, many have not turned completely to the Lord yet. Recently, someone I know finally decided to believe in God more after a bad accident happened and caused him much suffering. If he had taken God more seriously, the accident might not have happened. Then there are those who do not turn to God until they are in their dying momenta. The wise would turn to the Lord fully the moment they hear him first call.  

**Right On!**

        Today's Communion antiphon, Psalm 16.11: You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord. I know I am on the path of life, full of joy in God's presence. Amen!

**An Important Question*

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, Jesus said to nhis disciples, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones." The natural question that comes up is "Are we trustworthy to God?"

**Self-awareness Called For**

        We let what we see and hear from others easily affect us so that we react instantly without thinking. Often our response is negative and unkind, thus falling short of being Christlike. Basically, we still lack humility. The remedy for us here is to be totally open to Christ and closed to all other secular influences so that we may remain in the Truth at all times. 

**Spiritual Wellbeing over Physical Wellbeing

         When it comes to our physical wellbeing, we can only manage to live a little longer as we age. Improving our spiritual wellbeing is on an entirely different level. Depending on what we do, we end up either in heaven or in hell.

**One Thing You always Do**

        Be happy or sad about many of the things you encounter, but rejoice always in Christ the Lord.

**How to Be Perfect**

         Today's Gospel acclamation, 1 John 2.5a: Whoever keeps the word of Christ, the love of God is truly perfected in him. Keep the word of Christ and you are perfect!

***Best Gift for LORD***

        Communion experience. The Lord gave all of himself to me. What could I possibly give to him in return? I asked him what he wanted from me. I heard him say, "Just follow me." I understood that surrendering to him was what he wanted.

***Genuine Joy Insuppressible***

        When a person is genuinely happy, he would want the whole world to share that joy. So if you're happy about something but wishes to keep it a secret, you can't be truly happy. For the Christian, if you don't share Christ with others much, you can't be too exited about the Lord.

**The Joy of Repentance**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes, "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." When you repent, knowing that you make the whole heaven rejoice should at least double or triple your own joy! So repent unceasingly if you do sin or you'll be known as a party pooper! 

**Unfathomable Peace!**

        In today's reading 1 from Romans 14, Paul wrote, "Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." Once you belong to Christ, you are his forever! The peace this feeling brings is unfathomable. Just for that, you need to know the Lord.

***Dangerous World*

         This secular world is dangerous to those who do not know Christ or have rejected him, for they have no truth to guide them. If they do not control or limit their pride, they easily fall into sin, and over time no longer feel the need to repent any sin anymore. Now they are on the way to becoming lost souls.

****How to Become Free****

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the crowds on discipleship. He said, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." In other words, we must follow only Jesus willingly. Since we can never get ahead of God, it'd be most wise to follow him close behind to remain with him always. This is exactly how we can become free, free of ourselves! Be last to God, and you'll be first.

*****Only True Belief*****

        The God of Christ is the only true God. The following highlights the uniqueness of Christianity no other religion of the world can come close! (1) God the Son personally came into the world as one of us so that we might know him. (2) His message is that he is pure selfless love. (3) He proved his love for us by sacrificing himself on the cross in our place to redeem us from sin so that we might have eternal life. (4) On the third day, he rosd from the dead and ascended into heaven. (5) This God is most humble and merciful that we may achieve spiritual union with him through the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

***Do You Excuse Yourself Too?***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. There he told the Parable of the Great Feast. It began this way. A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, "Come, everything is now ready."But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. Today the Lord is inviting us to dine with him and be his friends so that we may learn the good news that can make us live happily forever. Yet the great majority of us not only don't give any excuses, but simply ignore the Lord's call. This is being extremely ignorant or dishonest, not realizing that being invited by the Lord to be his guest is one greatest honor and blessing! 

***Heart-to-Heart Union***

        Offer up your heart to Jesus. Once your heart is united with his Most Sacred Heart, you attain union with God!

***Most Fulfilling and Satisfying Experience***

        Communion experience. Receiving the Lord in the Holy Eucharist has freed me from the world; I now belong fully to Christ the Lord. It has to be the most fulfilling and satisfying experience of my whole existence so far. (The best is yet to come!) 

**Prophesy Fulfilled*

        Today's Communion antiphon, Psalm 16:11—You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord. Yes, the Lord has shown me the path of life, filling me with joy to the fullest in his presence.

****Serving the Lord for Free****

         This is today's entire Gospel reading from Luke 14: On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." This is the lesson to be learned. The Lord wants us to do good without expecting any repayment. Our focus is to love others for the sake of the Lord, nothing more. When we pray for others for their good, we want them to thank the Lord and not us—we are to remain anonymously in peace. When we forego all repayments in this life, the Lord is going to repay us in heaven without end!

***Are You Awake or Asleep?*

        If you truly realize that Jesus has died for your sins, you are awake and ready to embark on your journey towards heaven. On the other hand, if you don't care about the gospel at all, then you are asleep, basically regarding Jesus as having died on the cross for nothing. In this case, your self-pride has turned you into an ignorant, heartless fool. 

**All Planned Out**

        Today is All Souls Day to commemorate all the faithful departed. The Gospel acclamation, Matthew 25:34, reads, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." It's the Lord speaking—he has clearly planned all this from the very beginning, Perhaps he even had the earth all planned out just for this purpose. Anyway, to inherit the Kingdom he has prepared for us is the big thing! 

**Following the Saints**

        Today is the Solemnity of All Saints. Here's the offertory antiphon from Wisdom 3: The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead, but they are in peace. Alleluia. Unlike non-believers, all of us who follow Christ likewise remain in peace, no longer experiencing any torment. Alleluia!

**To Be 'Tamed" by God*

        Since we have inherited the original sin, the tendency to sin is innate in us. It's like a wild animal that was born with the instinct to prey on other animals. If we love and train that animal right, there's a good chance of taming it. With us, we need God to "tame" us. We can accomplish this by opening up to him so that we may experience the greatest love from him. That should make us want to surrender ourselves to him and seek union with him. Once we attain union, we'll have a conscience so sharp that all sins become absolutely abhorrent to us! This should pretty much deters us from sinning again.

**Communicating with God, a Joy**

        Communicating with other fellow humans is not always easy. Sometimes it's not even possible no matter how hard you try. Now, communicating with the Lord God is an absolute delight, for you don't even need to use words and he already knows what's in your heart. He can never misunderstand you and will speak to your heart to inspire, illuminate, guide, or comfort you. 

*****God Becoming Real*****

         Since God is real, he can become real to you. Attain union with Christ through the Holy Eucharist and he becomes more real to you than anyone else you know. Such intimacy changes you to the core. All this proves that Christ is God.

**Bestest Prize*

        Communion experience. What I have won is infinitely better and richer than the lottery—ETERNAL LIFE!

***What God Wants of Us***

        The Lord God simply wants us to accept his love! Is this too much to ask, huh?

**Play the Ball Game Right*

        God respects our feee will, so the ball is in our court now. Choose him and we live. Reject him and we perish. This should now help you hit the ball the ball back right.

**Myopic and Dumb?*

        We are good at making sure that we remain physically healthy so that we may live as long as possible on earth. Yet we seem to be unconcerned about our spiritual well-being as to what will happen to our souls after we die. What has made us so myopic? Are we dumb or what?

**Intention Matters**

        In Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. Of course, being mortal and on earth, we can never be as perfect as God is, but we must do the best we can. The Lord would be pleased if we have this intention. In Matthew 19, Jesus said to a young man: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. Now, many of us are married and have a family to support, so the Lord's advice is not practical for us. But we should be willing to follow it if it were practical. Again, intention matters. The Lord will judge us by our intentions, not just our outward actions. Proverbs 16:2: All one’s ways are pure in one’s own eyes, but the measurer of motives is the LORD. Again, in 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord said to Samuel: God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The LORD looks into the heart. Amen.

**What Keeps Us Alive**

        Today's psalm response from Psalm 13: My hope, O Lord, is in your mercy. I, a poor sinner, dare to approach the Lord only because he is merciful. None of us can possibly survive without his great mercy.

**Beautiful Truth**

        In today's reading 1 from Romans 8, Paul wrote, "All things work to the good for those who love God." Here's a truth to believe in. Put simply, we love God and all will end well for us! Amen.

***What Much Longer to Keep God Waiting?*

        The Lord God awaits us to submit ourselves to him completely, that is, to acknowledge that he is our Lord, so that we may enter paradise. If you haven't done so yet, how much longer are you going to keep him waiting? Know that God will always win in any game you play with him. Lose to him and you win every time.

**Can You Really Escape from God?**

        This is a challenging question for every non-believer. I suppose that if you are a staunch atheist, the question wouldn't concern you. All I can say to you is "Good luck." Otherwise, if you have any common sense, the answer should clearly be no; and if you are wise, you would want to become a believer.

***Smart Approach to Knowing God**

        Seeking God is not the same as seeking how to know God. Unfortunately, many people follow the latter, spending a lot of time and still failing to know God. The smart approach is to go to Jesus directly, for he is ever present and ready to receive you. People don't do that—I think it's because they are not quite ready to abandon themselves to God yet. Once you turn to Christ, just open yourself up wide to him and he'll reciprocate by revealing himself to you—now you know him. (This is not a new message; it's just important enough to be reiterated.)

***Jesus' Death Accepted***

        Today Tuesday is the day of praying the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Here are my thoughts. If anyone suffers a death like Jesus', I would feel most sorry for that person. But Jesus' suffering and death are different and most personal, for he died for my sins so that I might live! And I don't mind that because deep down I know I am a sinner. This to me is a great blessing!

***Our Big Fault**

        In today's Gospel  reading from Luke 13, Jesus cured a crippled woman in a synagogue. The leader of the synagogue got indignant that Jesus had done it on the sabbath. Our big fault is also to find fault with others. Instead of trying to help or understand others, we criticize and judge them outright. It's this hypocritical holier-than-thou attitude that really displeases the Lord.

**Important Realizations**

        Today's psalm response from Psalm 68: Our God is the God of salvation. Critical realization: We are sinners and we need the salvation of our souls. Most heartening realization: God has given his only Jesus so that we may not perish but have eternal life. 

**Evidence the Spirit Dwells in You**

        In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul wrote, "You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, 'Abba, Father!'" Addressing God as Abba in Aramaic is like calling God Dad in a close and intimate relation. So if you turn to the Lord and "Abba" spontaneously bursts forth from your heart, the Holy Spirit dwells in you!

***We'll Have No Peace . . .

until we accept death and live for Christ.

**Use of Our Free Will**

        God gave us the free will, so we have the freedom to choose to be free from sin or to remain in sin. If you believe that God loves you, the right choice is a no-brainer. 

***Secret to Peace**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 18, Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." When the Lord exalts us, we finally attain inner peace.

***Our G00D (GREAT) NEWS**

        I don't believe that there is anyone who wants to live in this chaotic, disordered world forever; and if there is life after death, we'd all want it to be better. Especially, if it's going to be everlasting, it'd better be perfect! The good news is that we indeed will have what we hope for if we follow Christ; for he has already died for us on the cross so that we might have life in heaven for all eternity!

**Our Distinguished Lord**

        Jesus is the Lord of lords, yet he never lord it over us. In other words, he's unlike any of us in the position of a lord. Utter humility is what distinguishes him.

***Clear and Simple Truth***

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus called the people to repentance. He said to them, "I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish!" The message is so clear and simple! Repentance can really cheer us up! If you don't feel excited about it, something has to be wrong with you. It could very well be that you are not ready to deal with all your sins yet, which basically is avoiding God.

**We Have the Same Spirit**

        In today's reading 1 from Romans 8, Paul wrote, "The Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you." So that same Spirit dwells in us. If we let the Spirit have free rein, we can accomplish whatever the Lord wishes and become like him. More power to us!

***Unbelievable Experience*****

        Communion experience. The greatest humblest miracle took place on the altar when the consecrated bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Christ the Lord. I was not only present, but also participated in it by uniting myself with the Lord both physically and spiritually. All in all, it's heavenly! awesome! and unbelievable!

***Sure Way to Loving God***

        We've been told to love God by doing this or that and almost never to surrender ourselves to God completely to attain union with him. And we end up lost in the innumerable rules we're given to follow. Of course, the right order is to seek union directly with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist first. Once you attain union, you'll know automatically how to love and serve him in your heart. 

**Sad Observation*

        The wise always follow the Lord. Looking around, I see that most of us, even though they profess to be Christians, are still deeply ingrained in their own ways and thinking.  Basically, they still foolishly follow themselves, barely the Lord. 

***One Basic Rule of Life***

         When the salvation of your soul is at stake, you must not take any chance. That is, you must always take the Lord seriously and never wait until it's too late. For example, if you believe that God will always take you back as long as you turn to him before you die, well, the Lord is always a step ahead of you. When he sees that you are really not in a hurry to turn to him, he may very well not give you that chance you count on. Revere the Lord and you take care of your soul as well. 

**Complete Delivery from the Body*

         In today's reading 1 from Romans 7, Paul wrote, "Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Yes, Christ can free us from our mortal body once and for all. Trapped in this body, we are weighed down physically and sin through our physical senses. If we follow Christ, he frees us from sin starting right now and will deliver us from our body totally the day we depart from this world. Misery will be gone forever!

*****Our Obligation Is Clear***

        Let's look at the Lord God. He is infinite and almighty, and is our creator. Now, look at ourselves. We entered the world naked, not owning anything. We live because our God and Father sustains us. Everyone and everything needed by us all came from him. In other words, we are 100% dependent upon God. Above all, he loves us with the greatest love. In such a situation, how should we behave or act toward him? Objectively, I see that the only correct answer is that we trust in and obey God wholeheartedly without reservation.  

***God's Great Mercy**

        This video presents a message that gives us hope and teaches us not to judge anyone. It shows how truly merciful God is.

**Our Dividing Lord**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus told his disciples that he had come not to establish peace on the earth, but rather division. He said, "From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." This has turned to be true to this day. This is proof that Jesus is the truth by which we are differentiated. Otherwise, the division wouldn't have been such a big deal.