**How Much Do You Know the Lord?

        John 10:27, today's Gospel acclamation: My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me. Of course, following Jesus has to be following him willingly and gladly, not in any way forcing yourself to do it. If that's the case, then you and the Lord know each other well. Otherwise, you don't know him well enough yet. Life is all about how much we and the Lord know each other. Do you know that if you let him know all of you, he reveals all of himself to you too?

***Rejecting the Greatest Offer

        God has sent his only begotten Son to us to die for us so that we may have eternal life. This is a huge deal. So if we reject the Son, we reject God's love for us, and you can be sure that this would cause serious consequences.

*****The Transformation That Perfects Us

        I attended the 8 AM Mass. Fr. S gave a great uplifting homily. During the liturgy of the Eucharist, the bread and wine were transformed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I saw that this was the transformation that could perfect our own transformation. Thank you and praise be to you, my Lord and God.

***No. 1 Prayer Request***

        With the world in disarray, the things we need to pray for seem to be endless. Then I heard the Lord asking us to pray for our own submission to him first. If we are still in rebellion and ask him to make the world peaceful for us, he'd be less inclined to take us seriously. But if we are in total union with him, he would fulfill all our desires without our asking. Once we all put our own house in order, there'd be nothing for us to be concerned about. 

***Massive Crime Against Humanity

        I have shown that in this country, since abortion was legalized in 1973, over 60 million babies had been aborted through 2017 (see my video). The US population of 2017 was around 325 million. If there had been no abortion, the population would have exceeded 385 million. Not counting the abortions that took place before legalization, we can say that in 2017 at least close to 16% of the US population never lived to see the daylight (60/385=15.84%). This has to be a massive crime committed against humanity and, of course, God.

**Way to Peace and Joy

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus said to the crowds and disciples, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted." This great counsel not only shows the way to entering heaven, but also helps me in living my daily life. For example, right now I may get the chance to exhibit my photographs at a museum. (Someone proposed that for me.) That would be nice, giving others the pleasure of looking at some beautiful images. I should feel excited about that, right? Well, not really. If it interferes with my spiritual life and/or get me exalted, it wouldn't be good for me. So I remain calm about the the whole thing. If I don't get that chance, I wouldn't feel disappointed at all. It's in God alone that you find true peace and joy. 

***Rendering Satan Powerless*

        Do you know that you can totally control Satan? If you decide to fight any temptation head-on, believing that you are strong enough, you'll lose. The smart way to beat Satan is to seek refuge in the Lord and Satan won't be able to touch you. God may allow him to attack you to test you, but if you ignore him, you'll be completely safe. 

*****The Process of Spiritual Growth*****

        Many of us are sincerely trying to grow spiritually. Here is some good encouraging news. If you try on your own, you'll find making progress hard and slow. But if you surrender yourself to God first, the whole game changes because Almighty God is now involved. This change does not happen quickly, as surrendering to God is not normally our cup of tea. But you will definitely experience that the more you submit yourself to God, the easier it becomes to do his will. Amazed by your own progress, the surrendering process starts to accelerate and you start to fall in love with God. Eventually, you come to know and love the Lord so much that you abandon yourself completely to him. With the aid of the Holy Eucharist, union with God is attained. At this point, growing spiritually becomes effortless, since you are finally letting the Lord do all the work for you. What a joyful state!

*****Power of the Holy Spirit*****

        Today Fr. Goring talks about invoking the Holy Spirit in his video. In the last part beginning at 1:39, the message given by the Lord thru St. Maryam completely resonates with me; it is beautiful. We need to pray to the Holy Spirit daily asking him to renew us. Then miracle will happen! I can personally testify to that. (Note that it was by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, that Jesus was first conceived and later raised from the dead. Surely this same Spirit can transform us into holy saints.)

***God, the Source of Mercy*

         From God, his mercy pours out on all of us. Without his mercy, we are doomed. With his mercy, we are saved. His mercy is essential to our existence. Take advantage of it, for it's free and infinite, but you'll have to want it. Acknowledge that your survival is totally dependent upon his mercy. Pray "Lord, have mercy on us" unceasingly. When we appreciate God's mercy, we are saved! The evildoers are to be pitied for ignoring or rejecting this life-saving gift that comes from heaven. Pray the Divine Mercy chaplet. Read St. Faustina's Diary, a beautiful inspiring book. Love the Lord and rejoice in his great mercy!