***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!

***Christ Our Best Companion***

        Christ is the one you want to be with for all eternity. While it's virtually impossible for us to get along with anyone else perfectly for any period of time, the Lord understands us thoroughly and can perfect us to get along with him fully. It is through him that we become holy.