**Full Dependence on Holy Spirit**

        In Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." If you trust fully in the Lord, the Holy Spirit will teach you what to think, say, and do at all times!

**How to Best Know the Lord**

        If you want to know the Lord, don't be like those in the crowd who call out to him only when he passes by, but be more like the Apostles who followed him at all times.  

***Jesus Is Calling!***

        Today's Communion Antiphon (John 12:32) reads, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself, says the Lord." Jesus is calling you now! Are you responding?

***Our Great and Only Hope!***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 8, Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin." Later again, he said to them, "You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." I pray that none of us die in our sins, as the consequences are unimaginably horrifying. However, we can completely reverse this by believing in Jesus, who, as our Savior, removes all our sins!  

**Communion Experience**

        I received and united with the one who is the creator of heaven and earth, and all the wonderful things in between.

***Great Lesson from the Lord***

       In today's Gospel reading from John 8, the scribes and the Pharisees caught a woman in adultery and brought her to Jesus. They 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, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. In response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and 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."

      Jesus' response to the scribes and Pharisees is a lesson for all of us. If you are a sinner, you have no right to judge others. Even Jesus, who is sinless, did not condemn the woman, but rather told her to 'sin no more.

***Heavenly Experience

        Communion Experience—a most intimate private encounter with the Most Beloved One. 

***Winning with the Lord***

        When you live for Christ, you are so happy that you don't mind dying for him. Once you die, your eternal life begins. With the Lord, you just can't lose!

**My Testimony in Two Sentences**

        Without Christ in my life, I lead a virtually meaningless, empty existence. Once I placed my faith in him, I gained eternal life and found complete fulfillment.

*****Test Your Spiritual Intelligence*****

        Today's Communion Antiphon (John 11:26) reads: "Anyone who lives and believes in me will never die, says the Lord." This truth is as simple as it gets. The Lord has made it impossible for us to die—unless we rebel against him. You'd have to be the ultimate fool to choose eternal death!

**Wise Move**

        Since the Lord created us out of love, it follows that we should remain faithful and do everything for his glory. In doing so, we form a perfect, eternal bond with him, ensuring we are truly prepared for the moment we go to him or he comes to us.

**Modes of Living**

        In today's Reading II from Romans 8, Paul talks about living in the flesh vs. living in the Spirit; they are mutually exclusive. If you live in the flesh, you belong to the world; but if you live in the Spirit, you belong to Christ. We should easily know which mode we are living in, unless we just don't care to know. The Spirit frees us, while the flesh enslaves us. The earth is like our launching pad. Once we take off, we either soar upward to  God or crash-land back on earth and die for ever.

**Central Fact We Must Be Aware Of**

        In today's first reading from Ezekiel 37, the Lord God says: "O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD. O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD." In many other places in Scripture, God lets us know that he is our beloved Lord. We must never forget that he is indeed our Lord and also our creator and most loving Father!

**God's Incredible Sweet Love**

        Today's Communion Antiphon based on 1 Peter 1: 18-19: By the precious Blood of Christ, the Blood of a spotless and unblemished Lamb, we have been redeemed. Read it again. Let it sink in. It all happened for our sake; let your heart be moved by God's most sweet love.

**World Divided by Truth**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 7, some in the crowd who had heard Jesus, words said, "This is truly the Prophet." Others, "This is the Christ." But still others said, "The Christ will not come from Galilee, will he?" So  a division occurred in the crowd  because of him. Of course, the Pharisees did not believe in the Lord at all and thought that the crowd was accursed. Today we also hold different opinions. To seek the truth, we must remain objective, open, and humble. Too many people today have pretty much decided to follow their own hardened hearts, even hoping that Christ is not the truth. That is being as bad as the Pharisees of Jesus' day.

***Reality We Must Be Aware Of***

        It may be a beautiful day, but we live in a chaotic world in which evil is waging a fearsome war against the Lord God, fighting for our very souls. How we live our lives will directly affect our eternal fate. To remain complacent, as if nothing earthshaking is happening or will happen to us, amounts to saying that Christ's coming and what he went through are irrelevant!

**Following Your Vision**

        Anyone without a vision will not get anywhere. For me, that vision is to return to my creator and Father in heaven after this life—a path already made possible through believing in and following Christ. The way has been paved, and it's only a matter of time before my vision is fully realized!

**Christ, Only One Worthy to Believe In**

        Christ challenges us all; he will not go away as long as we are alive on earth. Reading the Gospels alone compels us to ask if Jesus is truly our Lord and Savior, and the stakes are too high to ignore him. Personally, I totally believe in him because he is incredible and amazing. I don't think that any of us would be happy with a mundane and ordinary god. And there is simply no one else who can even compare to him.

**Reflections on Growing Old**

        Having lived quite a bit beyond normal life expectancy, I am totally ready to meet Christ, my Lord and my God—a blessing in which I greatly rejoice. When you are old, the energy is just not there, which is why you see old folks doze off easily. A nap or good rest replenishes the body; a weak battery that needs constant recharging is a good picture of this. We all become like old batteries if we live long enough. The important thing is that we remain strong and vigorous spiritually as we leave this life and enter eternity.

***Our Ultimate Fulfillment***

        This is to love and be in union with Christ forever.

**Salvation Made Simple**

        What impressed me today is God's tremendous love and his perfect plan of salvation for us. In today's Gospel reading from John 5, Jesus said to the Jews, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life." It can't be any simpler! The Lord has done all the work—we only need to believe as he has asked.

**Know God's Motive Clearly*

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 3:17, reads, "God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him." We must be clear about God's motive: He only wants to save us, not to judge us. This should remove any fear we have of the Lord. If we ever get judged, it has to be the result of our own actions. 

***Transformative Moment with the Lord**

         Today is the Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick. The Gospel reading from Luke 5 is on the Call of Simon the Fisherman. Alongside the Lake of Gennesaret, Jesus got into one of the two boats, the one belonging to Simon. He asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him. Simon Peter gave such a beautiful, heartfelt response, realizing who Jesus was and who he himself was. Would that we all could have such a transformative moment.

***Called to Be Saints***

        We are all called to be saints, yet no two are alike. The Lord knows each of us intimately—exactly how we should serve and glorify him. Be holy as he desires, letting him mold us every step of the way for an exciting life!

**A Clear Picture**

        You either belong to God or the world. If you are not with God, then you are with the world. Since the God of Christ is eternal and the truth, the bond you form with him will last forever; whereas the world passes, and any bond you form with it is unreliable and only temporary—afterwards, you'll be left all alone for all eternity.

**Suffering to Be Offered to God**

        Once you experience the sweet, sublime presence of the Lord, every other worldly experience becomes boring. When you hear people incessantly blab or gossip about trivial, mundane things, you feel as though you are being dragged away from the Lord—a feeling that can be unbearable! This is a form of suffering anyone in union with Christ undergoes, and is to be offer up to God.

***How We Are Set Free***

        Jesus is the light. On our own, we remain in darkness and are self-centered; thus we are not free. Basically, we have the blind leading the blind. When we follow Jesus, we remain in the light always and center on him. By getting ourselves out of the way, we are set completely free. I might add that we also experience one of the greatest possible feelings.

***Urgent Call to Repentance***

        In today's Gospel reading from John 6, Jesus opened the eyes of one born blind. The pastor's message was that God can open our eyes to see the truth, but we often choose to remain blind. We hear the good news, but we just close our hearts to it—how sad that our pride has hardened our hearts, causing the Lord great sorrow! It is time for us to repent, for we are crucifying him all over again!

***Ultimate Fulfillment Is . . .***

 living in the will of Christ, feeling exactly what he feels at all times.

**Positive Outlook*

        I see people dwelling on the past, wasting their limited, precious time on earth, whereas we should be focused on Christ the LORD full-time, praying and serving him, while waiting for the joyful day of joining him in heaven!

**Endless Love**

        I was impressed by the phrase "endless live" in a video I watched recently—it perfectly describes God's love for us. We must never cease to love others at every opportunity for his sake. This is how we progress spiritually toward living the eternal life. If we remain stagnant, we are, in reality, falling behind the Lord.

***We Are Out of Control Too!

        We lament the fact that in today's society, our children are often out of control, not realizing that as children of God the Father, we ourselves are often way out of control!

**We Must Take Sides

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to the crowds, "Whoever is not with me is against me." Therefore, we cannot remain neutral—unless you have never heard of Christ. We must take a stand, for we cannot ignore the Lord God!

***The LORD is the One

        Common experience. The Lord is eternal and remains the same forever. He loves me with an everlasting love and is most trustworthy. He is now my rock and my stronghold . . . how can I not feel elated!

**Ego, Begone!**

        I've been asking the Lord to completely eradicate my ego. Early this morning I had a dream in which I was with a group of friends and had the chance to show off a little bit; however, I decided against the whole idea. I actually felt good about that. Now I am happy that if I could do that subconsciously, I ought to be able to do even better consciously. Praise the Lord for that!

***Our Great Delight***

        Communion time thought. Pleasing the Lord is always a delight, and that delight is great when you allow him to perfect you.

***A Reminder and Warning***

        In today's Gopspel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus says to Peter, "Unless each of you forgives your brother and sister, the Father will not forgive you." Sadly, many people today do not take this critically important statement seriously. When you no longer fear God, you may end up facing exactly what you fear the most! 

**Spiritual Sweetness**

        Communion experience. The heavenly, divine sweetness of the Lord engulfed my soul.

***Christ Our Model to Imitate*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 4, Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place." Later, when they disliked what they heard, they were filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built to hurl him down headlong. Ultimately, he was even crucified. This should teach us never to complain if people reject or persecute us for the sake of the Lord.

**God's Eternal Outlook**

        Communion experience. The Lord, being eternal, aims at solving all our problems for eternity. Eternal life for us is his top priority, and we should be grateful to him for that.

*****Secret of Soaring to God Effortlessly*****

        Go passive and surrender yourself completely to God, and he will lift you all the way to his bosom. (This can be accomplished in instantly.)

**Living Not by Bread Alone**

        Also in today's Gospel reading from John 4, Jesus said to his disciples, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work." Likewise, we should live by doing God's work; this is what sustains us.

**Sign You Are on Way to Eternal Life**

        In today's Gospel reading from John 4, Jesus, at Jacob's well in Sychar, saw a Samaritan woman come to draw water. He said to her, "Give me a drink." The woman responded, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water... whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." If you feel that Christ has completely quenched your thirst, you are on your way to eternal life.

**Sign You Are with God**

        The first part of today's offertory antiphon from Psalm 19 reads, "The judgments of the Lord are right; they gladden the heart, and are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb." If you feel that way about the Lord's judgments and welcome them, you are already with him.

***Call to Believe***

        Many prominent scientists and notable individuals have studied the Shroud of Turin for decades, concluding that no human could have created the image and that the man on the cloth was a crucified person whose suffering matches the biblical description of Jesus. Recently, scientists have found the DNA on the Shroud to be unexplainable. Yet, some still think it might be just an anomaly. It seems some people never come to believe, no matter how overwhelming the evidence may be. For me, the moment I saw the image on the Shroud many years ago, I just knew that it was the Lord, and I believed!

***Pure Joy

        Communion time experience: To be in union with Christ is pure joy!

*****We Are Loved by God!*****

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, the Parable of the Lost Son, beautifully illustrates how deeply our heavenly Father loves each one of us. You'd need to have a heart of stone not to be moved by it. It's incredible that we are loved so much, and when we return to him, all of heaven rejoices! 

**Cherishing the Lord**

        Communion experience: I deeply enjoy the Lord and his love.

**Another Simple Realization**

        If I don't do anything about my sin, it will destroy my soul!

**Simple Realization*

        The Lord is infinite, almighty, and holy, while I am finite, lowly, and a sinner; therefore, my place is to obey and follow him totally.

***Our Only Chance Now***

          This morning we heard the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus from Luke 16. After the poor man Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he 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." 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."

       We have a poignant exchange here. Today we have Jesus the Lord among us. He is the only one who can save anyone who listens to him. It's strictly between each of us and the Lord: it is now or never!

**The Only Trustworthy One**

        We have from today's First reading, Jeremiah 17: A curse on those who trust in mortals; a blessing on those who trust in the Lord God.  It is true that we can never trust in any mortal fully, but we can trust in the Lord God unreservedly, for he takes care of us for all eternity.

**Resurrection Experience**

        Communion experience. The definition of resurrection is the act of rising from the dead. Without Christ, I was spiritually dead. When I received the Lord I believe in, I was saved and granted eternal life—a spiritual resurrection now, prior to my final resurrection.

***Recipe for Peace**

        If you want to have peace, don't look for it outside of you. Instead, let go of your ego so that you may trust in God fully.

**"Jesus Is Our Lord and Savior" Made Clear**

         In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus predicted his own Passion and Resurrection to his disciples. Then he said to them, "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." His purpose was also made clear; all has come to pass. This leaves no doubt that he is our Lord and Savior.

**Manifestation of God's Love**

         Communion experience: When we love God, his love for us turns into mercy.

**Proper Behavior in God's Presence*

         Since the Lord is ever-present, we must always remain humble.

**Not Practicing What You Preach**

        In today's Gospel reading rom Matthew 23, Jesus denounced the scribes and the Pharisees for not practicing what they preach. As long as our ego still exists, we are not as good as we sound. Sometimes it's better for us to listen than to preach. Anyway, preaching should be motivated by the Holy Spirit, not your ego. 

**How We Need God*

        If you feel good after repenting of your sins to God, it clearly shows that you did sin and God can take away your sins. For this reason alone, we need God.

**Bang-Up Job**

        Communion experience—the Lord entered and banished all my sins forever!

****Sinners' Concern****

        We are all born with a conscience, meaning it is impossible for us to ignore that we are sinners. When we do things that steal our peace of mind and cause us to hide, it shows we have sinned. If we don't address this, we are sure to face eternal death. The good news is that if we confess our sins to God and ask him to take them away, we are saved forever.

**Cause for Great Joy**

        Today I realize that no matter how imperfect I am, Christ will always be with me. Being abandoned or lost is impossible now; I am all set for eternity!

**Everlasting Faith!

        Today's Entrance Antiphon, Psalm  27:8-9, reads: Of you my heart has spoken: Seek his face. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me. There are many other verses in Psalms that earnestly seek and express a longing for the Lord. It is amazing! Since now we have Christ, the Son of God, who descended into the world to be with us for 33 years, we should feel closer to God more than ever!

**Consummate Power of God's Love**

        We can all be different from each other in our backgrounds, upbringings, personalities interests, and talents, yet become one through union with Christ the Lord. 

**A Mutual Relationship**

         How well you know God depends entirely on how open you are to letting him know you.

**The Right Focus**

        Focus upon ourselves, we can never be free. When we forget ourselves and focus only upon the Lord, we are set free. Even when we look deep inside ourselves, it is the Lord we seek.

**Teaching Us to Be Perfect**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Then he started teaching them by saying, "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors..." and followed with "But I say to you..." thereby elevating the standard. In other words, we must not think that we are good enough, for the Lord wants us to be perfect! (And he deserves it.)

**No-Brainer**

        In today's reading from Ezekiel 18, the Lord GOD says, "Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?" Clearly, if we want to cause the Lord pain, just be wicked. But if you want to make him happy so that you may live, then turn away from your evil. It's plain and simple.

**Ego Our Most Dogged Enemy**

        The ego incredibly difficult to eradicate. Anytime you feel bad because you think that you've done something that made you look bad, it's your ego acting up. In fact, most of the time we lose our peace, we can trace it back to the ego. To be truly ego-free, you have to be like Christ the Lord, who was able to turn the other cheek every time. Let's imitate him so that we may become ego-free one day.

**Our Heavenly Father Forever Good to Us**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him." How good it is to know that the Lord is wide open to us, and we can ask, seek, and knock to our heart's content and he'll always respond by giving us the vey best!

***We Need the Lord*

        From today's Reading 1 from Esther C, we have the verse "I have no protector other than you, Lord." This is true because the only protection we truly need is to ensure our souls do not end up in hell, and only the Lord can provide that. We absolutely need the Lord, as we cannot survive without him in this life or the next. 

**Remain Egoless so That . . .

you may experience peace and discern God's will clearly.

**Our Greatest Sign*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to the crowd, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation." Jesus alone should be sign enough for us to believe in him. If not, you are likely not open to knowing him.

***The LORD Going Extreme***

        The Lord is awe-inspiring, yet endearing; He is great, yet humble. Though he is immense, he dwells within every righteous soul. He is all-knowing, yet he always listens. He cares for us even when we turn away. He died so that we might be saved—there is nothing he won't do for our good. This is love in its most extreme form.

****Sad Reality***

        Communion experience. Perfect obedience to the Lord is the key to eternal happiness. It's so simple, yet so few people get it!

***A Stark Warning!**

        Today's Gospel reading coming from Matthew 25 is on the judgment of the nations. On that day, the Son of Man will separate those who showed love for the least ones from those who did not. Then the king will say to the righteous, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And to the uncaring, "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels." So both eternal life and eternal punishment exist. Now is the time to prepare yourself!

**Things We Must Not Do to God**

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 4, the devil tempted Jesus three times and failed. We must never tempt the Lord. In fact, we should not even doubt, test, deceive, or disprove him. Always remember that he is our infinite creator and we are his finite creations; we are to worship and obey him always. Loving him will make it all easy.

**We Live Again**

         These post follows the last one. In today's Reading 2 from Romans 5, Paul wrote, "Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned." So we are in bad shape, but the important thing is that we can be freed from sin and gain eternal life again. For through Jesus, we have been redeemed and made righteous! So believe in him now.

**Why We Die*

        In today's Reading 1 from Genesis 2, the LORD God formed man and woman and planted a garden in Eden for them. He told them that they may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but about the fruit of the tree of life in the middle of the garden, they should not eat or even touch it, lest they die. Then the serpent tricked the woman into believing that she certainly would not die and that the moment she eats of it, her eyes would be opened and she would be like gods who know what's good and what's evil. The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Now I see why we all age and die. In Romans 6:23, Paul confirms that by writing: "For the wages of sin is death."

***Urgent Call**

        Communion experience. The Lord's love is so compelling that we are called to live it, spread it, and die for it. Be open to letting this love fill you with joy and make you holy. The Lord is instantly accessible and ready to enter your heart. 

**Huge Mistake**

        Some Catholics are turned off when they see other members, religious or lay, do things they find unacceptable, forgetting that not all members of the Church are saints. We remain in the Church in order to become holy. As Jesus says in today's Gospel reading from Luke, "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." For our own sake, we need to focus upon the Lord rather than others. To be a true Catholic, humility is essential.

**Jesus Calling Us**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Later, the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus' disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners." So if you are a sinner, the Lord is calling you right now! Would you respond to him as well as Levi did?

**God Is Light**

        From today's First Reading from Isaiah 58, we have the verse "If you bestow your bread on the hungry, then light shall rise for you in the darkness." And today's Response from Psalm 86 reads, "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth." I see clearly that God is light, for he reveals to us what is holy and sinful, right and wrong, true and false—and most of all, the path to eternal bliss and that of eternal damnation.

**Deepening Our Intimacy with God**

        We usually don't "bother" God unless we really need his help. Personally, I feel it's best to share everything in our hearts with him, significant or trivial. This deepens the relationship. As long as you love and trust in him, he'll never be annoyed with you.

***Praising God***

        If I praise God, I soon run out of things to say. So I am going to put down as many fitting adjectives I can think of, in no particular order, as a way of praising him:

        Beautiful, lovely, magnificent, amazing, awe-inspiring, incredible, marvelous, spectacular, tremendous, admirable, brilliant, cool, enjoyable, fantastic, outstanding, phenomenal, superb, terrific, wonderful, sweet, holy, divine, hollowed, pure, humble, sublime, perfect, impeccable, splendid, superb, profound, thorough, exalted, loving, affectionate, benevolent, caring, considerate, faithful, generous, warm, kind, charitable, compassionate, courteous, gentle, gracious, thoughtful, sympathetic, merciful, forgiving, glorious, dazzling, delightful, grand, great . . .

***Union Benifits***

        When you are in union with God, you are deeply in love with the Lord—this alone fills you with unspeakable joy. He is now your soulmate. Your eternity is settled; you are ready to go to him at any time. Your life is completely fulfilled. You feel his continual holy presence. As a result, you lose all desire to sin. Since now his ways and thoughts are yours too, you automatically know how he wants you to serve him. This greatly simplifies your spiritual life, for you don't need to remember the many rules you've learned on how to serve him anymore.

***The Unquenchable Fire***

        Overworking leads to burnout, but being on fire for God is different; like the burning bush in Exodus, this fire can go on forever because the Holy Spirit is eternal.

**In Tune with David**

        These are today's readings: (1) Entrance Antiphon, Ps 30:11—The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper. (2) Psalm Response, Ps 51:19b—A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (3) Communion antiphon, Psalm 25:4—O Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths. Everything sounds so right! David wrote all three psalms and I am happy that I feel exactly the way he felt. 

***Overcoming the Unknown**

        The Lord made me see that it's what we don't know that unsettles us. For example, I just had a rain leak in my house—water started dripping from the ceiling through a recessed light. It could have come through the flat roof, the stucco wall next to it, an open louver vent up there, or a drain pipe joint with a faulty joint in the wall. The repair might cost a lot! It's the unknown that's disturbing. In my case, I finally found out that the open vent was the cause. Just nail a piece of sheetmetal over it and you solve the problem. My peace was restored. I know that the uncertainty of what people face after death can be disconcerting, but those who know Christ—and know they'll be going to him—feel completely at peace. Basically, once you know Christ, no unknown can bother you anymore.

**Becoming Rich Forever**

        In Matthew 13, Jesus said to the disciples, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Now, if you have Christ the Lord, imagine how rich you will be!

***Truthful Living**

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9: JesusI said to his disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,  but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." Every day is no different from the day we were born or the day we die, for the world remains sinful. As long as we deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Christ, we are doing the best for the Lord, ourselves, and the world. Living to lose our lives for his sake is the way to go. 

***Jesus the Eternal Truth***

         To those who have faith, no proof is needed, but for those who always ask to see proof, none shall be found. God is greater than us, and we can only find him if we submit ourselves to him.

**Communion Experience*

        My soul was fed the sweetest juice.

**Secret of Joyful Living**

       In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 6, Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father." He added, "Do all your good deeds in secret and your Father who sees in secret will repay you." 

*Greatest Joy & Greatest Sorrow*

        We experience the greatest joy when we attain union with God and the greatest sorrow when we reject and lose him forever. 

**Ash Wednesday Thoughts

        On this first day of Lent, it's fitting to remember that we are but dust, and that we must repent and reconcile ourselves to God. The Lord is merciful and never wishes to condemn us; if we get condemned in the end, we have only ourselves to blame.

**Be Truthful Like God**

         From today's First Reading from James 1, we heard: "God himself tempts no one." Satan always tempts us, but God never does, for he is always truthful. Like the Lord, we must also never do anything to cause others to sin.

The Great Confirmation Sign**

         Communion experience. After I believed in Christ, the Holy Eucharist was the great confirmation sign.

**Christ Is Our Sign**

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, the Pharisees demanded to see a sign from Jesus to test him. The unbelievers of our generation see many wonders and signs and still do not believe; they are basically atheists. To me, the greatest sign is Christ the Lord himself. He alone is enough for me to believe in and follow him..

***Perfectionist Not Perfect*

        Some people are perfectionists; they keep all their material things in perfect condition and expect all their plans to go exactly as planned. This is already an imperfection in itself. It's ironic that they are not bothered in the slightest by their many moral imperfections.

**Serious Business**

         God is merciful but strict, for we need to be holy in order to be saved.

**God Doesn't Kid Around!**

         In today's Gospel reading from Mathew 5:17-37, Jesus taught about the law, anger, adultery, divorce, and oaths. Again and again, he said, "You have heard that it was said . . . but I say to you . . . ." What he said was direct and clear. Anyone who does not take the Lord seriously, but thinks that he's good enough to get into heaven is kidding himself. If you don't take him seriously, can you expect him to take you seriously?

**Reward for Loving God**

        It's nothing short of eternal happiness in heaven. (You probably already know, but haven't accepted that yet.)

**Breaking Free from Self-Imprisonment**

         To follow your own will is to lead yourself by a leash around your neck. Let the Lord cut that and you'll be able to follow him freely!

**Condition for Salvation**

         We must be able to pray to Christ from the heart, "Lord, have pity on me, a sinner." This will open the gate for God to pour his infinite mercy on you.

**Only Memento Worth Keeping

         I attended the celebration of someone's birthday yesterday. Of course, we had group pictures taken to commemorate the occasion. When people travel, they also take pictures of themselves to show that they've been there. Then I see that all such memorabilia will pass. The only memento worth keeping is our friendship with Christ the Lord, which will last for all eternity.

***Most Precious Love***

         Today is Valentine's Day and people think of love. The love of God, agape, is so pure and powerful that it can transform us an make us heaven bound—it is really the Lord himself! So let us treasure this love with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.

*God Cares About Us**

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 8, Jesus had a great crowd around him. He summoned the disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance." The Lord solved the problem by multiplying the seven loaves of bread his disciples had more than enough to feed about four thousand people. I am so happy our God knows every situation, cares about us, and will alleviate whatever problem we face.

**To Be Self-Centered the Right Way*

         It's perfectly fine to focus upon ourselves this way: recognizing that we are sinners who need God's mercy to be saved, that we must be holy and blameless before the LORD, and that we must surrender ourselves to him to get all that accomplished.

**Spiritual Progress Achieved in Silence**

        To be set free spiritually, we need to understand ourselves thoroughly. The best way to achieve that is to delve deep into your own inner self. There, you ask the Lord to help you examine what's truly in your heart, and you'll be amazed and delighted by the many things he reveals to you that you never thought existed. It's time for inner house-cleaning, all done in silence.

**Duty We Easily Forget**

         Today's Entrance Antiphon based on Psalm 95:6—O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God. Perhaps you believe that God exists, then are you aware that he actually made you? If you are, then shouldn't you seek to know him and develop a most special personal relationship with him? To ignore your own maker is just plain wrong!

***Urgent Notification***

         The relationship we have with God, the God of Christ, must be straightened out before we leave this world. You can make it as easy or as hard as possible, depending upon how cooperative your are to the Lord. This basically involves fighting a battle against yourself. If you have a lot of pride, you may likely lose, but if you are a most humble person, you'll surely be a winner. This message is critically important for all of us to know, for the stake can't be any higher! Remember never to die in sin.

**Two Guiding Principles**

        (1) When we follow God's will, we are set free. (2) When we follow ourselves, we enslave ourselves. This is how the Lord has made us.

**God Is Forever**

         The Lord God is our beginning and our end, but he himself has no beginning nor end, for he exists forever. His plan for each of us is for all eternity. And I know that the joy I received from him this morning at Mass will last forever! 

***Putting All Your Heart into Prayers***

         The Lord loves hearing us talking to him from the heart. If means a lot more to him than reading some written prayer which may not be easily comprehensible to us. Unfortunately, many Catholic are so used to reciting written prayers that they have trouble saying prayers from the heart. If the heart is not involved, you just don't get to experience the Lord. Should you not feel free saying your own prayers before others, you can always do it alone with the Lord. It's such a good feeling to be able to share all that's in your heart with him, for it can truly be life-changing!

***Free Will Wrongly Exercised*

         So far since 2009 I have posted over 17,000 messages all inspired by the Holy Spirit from my heart. Perhaps there are not many who have read all my messages. Bu if you had and still did not believe that Christ is our God and our Savior, you must have a heart made of stone. Again, know that nothing is impossible with God, but we have to give him the OK. 

**Today's Great Feeling:**

 realizing that Jesus knows and loves me—I am really somebody!     

***Most Gratifying One-Way Trip***

        The process of attaining union with God through the Holy Eucharist may take a while for some, depending upon how you let yourself go. But once you get there, you'll feel so satisfied and fulfilled that you don't ever want to look back again; you simply want to go deeper into the most beautiful Lord. 

**May I Ask?**

        Why don't most Christians talk about Christ when they get together informally? Aren't we supposed to love him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength? If you are not very excited about the one you love, you are not really in love.

*****Only One We Need to Know on Earth*****

        Almost all of us have known or heard about people who died in our lives. So we all entered this world, get to know a bunch of people, and depart again. While on earth, we either got to know Christ or not. I can speak for all of us who came to believe in and followed him: When we leave this world, we'll be going to be with the Lord in heaven forever.

****God's Drawing Power****

        Communion time thought: Knowing the Lord makes you want to learn as much as possible from him. And anything he reveals to you is most sweet to the soul.

*Commandment vs. Tradition*

         In today's Gospel reading fro0n Mark 7, Jesus chided the Pharisees and some scribes for disregarding God's commandment but clinging to human tradition. We are the sane today. We follow social customs in doing what we think is proper in order to look right in others' eyes, not out of true love. This is a hard nut to crack because we all so care what people think of us. I hope that if we realize that this is not right, we are not true hypocrites.

**A Lovely Feeling*

         Today's Mass Response from Psalm 84 reads, "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!" If you feel the same way and want to be there, you are close to the Lord.

**How Open Are We to God?*

        In Matthew 13:12, Jesus Jesus said to his disciples, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Based on this, we can say that "To anyone who expects a lot from God, he will receive much; to anyone who doesn't, he will end up with naught." Basically, it comes down to how open we are to the Lord.

***God Cannot Be Fooled*

         If you think you can serve the Lord by doing some good works and gain entry into heaven, but still haven't gotten all your sins removed yet, you are only fooling yourself. Your good may outweigh the bad, but the former cannot cancel the latter. God does not judge us with a balance, but by our purity alone.

**A Top Priority**

        Most of us feel it's OK to go ahead and do whatever we'd like to do if it's not something bad. Strictly speaking, this is still self-serving. While what we want to do seems OK, it may not be God's will, at least not yet. For example, I get an idea of spreading the gospel and am excited about it, but I could be rushing ahead of the Spirit or the Lord might want me to do it some other way. So it's best to let him motivate us and show us the way in everything we do. This takes patience and self-effacement, but follow the Lord we must.

**Awesome Communion Experience

        The Most Perfect Infinite One melds with an imperfect finite one. It was overwhelming and most gratifying at the same time!

**Serving Self vs. Serving God**

         If we just do whatever we feel like doing without considering whether it's in conformity with God's will or not, we essentially serve Satan, for it's self-serving—and we'll never experience true peace. On the other hand, even if we always follow God's will, disturbing thoughts can still pop up. But we now know that they're not from the Lord and dismiss them right off the bat.

***Church Needs to Step Up Preaching*

         Currently, all the mega churches that have been preaching prosperity gospel for decades have started to fall one by one. These million dollar enterprises are facing closures. People have finally realized that God has never promised that he'll make youn rich if you believe in him enough. On the contrary, true discipleship requires taking up the cross and denying yourself. As far as the Catholic Church in the United States is concerned, the preaching in general has been on target but rather weak and unbalanced. Weak because the focus on the Lord is not that strong, and unbalanced because important basic topics we need to hear but might make some parishioners feel uneasy are not mentioned. America is supposed to be a Christian nation, but affluence and materialism have made it secular. As a result, the Church in this country has also become less spiritual.

**The Lord "at Our Command"

        If we are in union with the Lord, anything we wish becomes ours.

**Ask and You Shall Receive**

         In today's First Reading from q Kings 3, the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you." Solomon answered, "I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong." The LORD was pleased with Solomon's request and gave him a heart so wise and understanding that after him there would come no one to equal him. Surely the LORD is open to us asking for gifts that can help us serve him better. Every bit we receive can make us bear more fruit.

**Warning to the Unprepared**

         Be prepared or unexpected things will happen and shock you!

**Jesus Appearing in Iran**

         Please pray for the people of Iran that they will be freed by Christ and have peace.

**Today's Herods*

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, we heard about the death of John the Baptist. King Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. This shows that he still had some conscience. Later, even when he knew it's wrong to get John beheaded, because of his oaths made to his daughter in the presence of all the guests, he still went ahead to get John killed. Many people today are like that too. They don't really understand Christ, yet they don't quite cut him off either. When it comes to commit a sin, they choose making themselves look good over not offending the Lord. These are all mixed-up folks.

**The Lord Does It All*

         Communion experience. I remained open to receive whatever messages and blessings the Lord wished to give me. Anything from him is good for the soul and exhilarating! We are now soulmates. 💕

**The Lord's Sorrow**

         Christ is inseparable from joy. Even when I shed tears of sorrow for his sake, it is intermingled with joy. When I weep for the world, the sorrow felt was pure. Then the Lord's joy comforts me.

**Disciple Test*

         Jesus' most ardent desire is to save souls. When we become fishers of all people, we are his disciples.

*****Achieving Perfect Obedience*****

          To achieve perfect obedience, attaining union with God through the Holy Eucharist is necessary. For it's in union with God that you come to know his will and receive the strength you need for execution.

**Holiness│Longevity**

         Today is the Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr. This Italian saint was tortured to death at age 20. It makes me realize that there is no correlation between holiness and longevity. For you can live a most affluent long life on earth and end up losing God later for all eternity or suffer torture, die young and end up in heaven. Simple conclusion: Live for Christ only, never mind everything else, and you'll live forever.

***Presenting God's Love**

         When we love someone, whether that person is trustworthy or not, good or bad, attractive or not . . . often affects how much we're willing to love them. This is not Christ's love for us. Pure love is blind, not selective in any way. This is hard for us to follow, but follow we must, and it tests how much we truly love the Lord.

***To Be God-Centered*

        A lot of times, we do things mainly because we want to look good to others. Your can say that we are being self-centered, while God is always self-less. Also, we are used to following conventional customs and not consider what God's will might be every time. Only knowing God well or attaining union with him can help us learn his ways and know his thoughts to make us center on him always.

**Big Flaw of Our Genertion*

        Too many people have bloated egos. They love to express their own (usually strong) opinions on just about anything before others, but show no willingness to listen to anyone who feels differently. It's a total lack of humility.

**A Final Grace**

         When we age and become increasingly helpless on our own, we begin to realize that we'll soon be completely at God's mercy.

**AI Checks Out the Shroud of Turin**

https://youtube.com/shorts/9gwEdFuKKgQ?si=DxICUI7RhOB8xTwy

**Naming the Holy Eucharist**

        Communion time thought. What shall I name the Holy Eucharist I just consumed? The Food of Eternal Life came to my mind!

***Letting God Do It***

        This is the whole secret of making living a joy for us. We do all things for the Lord's sake with us out of his way and through his power.

***Simplest and Cleanest Bucket List**

        Many people keep a bucket list showing the things they'd like to do in this life. I've found that many older folks are taking this matter quite seriously, for they know that if they wait too long, they won't be able or have the time to complete doing those things that are still on their list. I used to have a list like that in my younger days, but not anymore. Once you know Christ the Lord well, doing his will simply becomes the the most enjoyable and satisfying thing of all. 

**Settling the Big Question*

         We'll all face Jesus after we die or at his Second Coming, whichever comes first. At that tine, we'll find out if the gate to heaven is open for us or not. Wouldn't it be nice if we can know that ahead of time? We certainly can. By believing in and following Christ now, we can be sure that the gate will be open for us!

***Guard Your . . .

most personal and intimate relationship with the Lord as your most precious treasure. 

**Our Biggest Tumbling Block

         It is our pride which governs if we get to know God or not. Full of pride and we'll never get to know him. Full of humility and we can know him instantly. Our battle comes down to ridding ourselves of our pride. Jesus is exalted to the highest place because he remains most humble and meek.

**To Be Genuinely Catholic*

         As a Catholic, if you just perform all the external acts without putting your heart in it, then you are no better than the Pharisees and scribes whom Jesus called hypocrites. We are to love God with all our heart, right? So do everything genuinely from your heart and you'll receive mercy and peace from the Lord.

**To Think As God Thinks**

         Jesus died on the cross to redeem us from sin so that we might be saved. How do you feel about this? I believe it's easy to feel sorry that he suffered so much for us and then we thank him for that. I'll always remember what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16 (also in Mark 8). After he showed to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." The Lord turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." When Jesus gave himself for us, he's following the will of the Father perfectly. So we should not stand in the way but rejoice and praise God. We must think as God thinks!