**Saving Souls

         We want to bring as many souls as possible to Christ. There are some who are doing this work admirably, for they are gifted speakers or writers and know how to spread their messages through mass media and by other means. How about many of us who are not able to reach so many souls. The Lord made me see that we only need to enter deeper into him. For the more we are in tune with him, the more effective our prayers will be, and deep prayer is the key to saving more souls. Where we lack power, the Lord fills in. Do our small part well and our works will become great too.

***Treat God the Way You Want to Be Treated by Him

       Listen to God and he'll listen to you. Respect God and he'll respect you. Praise him and he'll praise you. Trust him and he'll trust you. Enjoy him and he'll enjoy you. Open up to him and he'll open up to you. Communicate with him and he'll communicate with you. If he is beautiful to you, you'll be beautiful to him. Appreciate him and he'd appreciate that. See how you can make God treat you according to your wish? But no matter what you treat him, he'll always love you. 

****Breaking Free from Sexual Enslavement

         Men are often enslaved by physical desires, among which the sexual desire, especially in today's culture, can be dominant and overpowering. The pleasure men get from sex makes such a sin most difficult to overcome, even though they know that if they indulge in it too much, the pleasure can become sickening. Nevertheless, with gratification on mind, you don't think beyond it. To break free of such enslavement or any serious bondage, you absolute need God to enter your life. Submitting yourself completely to the Lord is always hard, but you must make your first attempt. Much prayer is needed. Find someone with faith to pray with you. Know that your soul is at stake and it's either do or die. Only by experiencing the peace and joy of the Lord will you be able to overcome this sin. Know that nothing is impossible for God. Cry out to the Lord from you heart if you must and he will surely hear and take care of you. 

**Thanks to Another Musician

         Through Nahre Sol, the pianist and composer whom I posted about on May 31, I came to learn about Andrew Huang whom Nahre Sol interviewed in her video The Brilliance of Andrew Huang. He is a Canadian musician very popular on social media. On YouTube alone he has almost 600 videos, garnering 2.2 million subscribers. I think Andrew is creative, ingenious, and a hard worker, not afraid of exploring lots of genres and instruments. While many talented people are admirable, they also make me treasure what I've chosen to follow even more. What I have discovered in my Christ is not only rich and beautiful beyond words, but also absolutely pure and simple. I only need to lie back and enjoy the Lord.

***Challenging Message from Jesus

        In today's Gospel acclamation from John 11, Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die." Is there anything not clear to you? If you do not believe in Jesus, it has to be either you believe that he was lying to you or you just reject the truth.

***Requisite for Knowing God

        Since God knows everything about us, what's in our heart and on our mind, we must be completely honest and truthful to him, for an iota of deviation from that he can instantly detect. Being completely honest and truthful to God greatly strengthens our union with him. This is how we really get to know the Lord.

***Stop Persecuting Priests

          This is today's post from Fr. Corapi. We need to support and pray for all the priests who speak the truth. The video shows the silencing of some of these priests, but there are more cases. 

**Great Realization

        As we age and experience physical deterioration and begin to depend upon others more to do some of the things for us, we think about God more. When we were young, we might be attracted to God, but still thought that there's so much time left that we easily attended to things of the world first. For me, I now catch myself making more and more mistakes even in typing a message like this one, as the old physical dexterity is no longer there. Anyway, turning to God is a great blessing! The ultimate realization is that the God of Christ is all we need. For all things of the world pass. 

**Most Glorious Feeling!

        Today's Gospel acclamation comes from Ephesians 1 in which Paul prayed for all that God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ might open the eyes of their hearts. Yes, our hearts also have eyes and ears through which God communicates with us and we get to know him intimately. When you are totally obedient and receptive to the Lord (or in union with him), you hear and see him. He now is your lifeline, your inspiration, your counselor and guide. Hearing the voice from him alone is enough to transform, nourish, and sustain us. Now you know that you are one with and belong to your God. What a glorious feeling!

***Be Prepared

        June begins today. The temperature had been mild and delightful in the 70s until yesterday, when it shot up to over 100 degrees. It looks like today is going to be another scorcher. Talk about sudden change. Big changes in life always seem to happen unexpectedly, such as the death of someone you love or a serious traffic accident. God's warnings and chastisements also come to us that way. Be prepared is our best preparation. If you are prepared to meet the Lord at any time, then you are prepared for anything that might happen to you in this life.