***Worst Possible Oppression

        We just had our Walk for Life on the West Coast, equivalent to the March for life held in various other part of the country. The right to life is our God-given right to live. Don't forget that for us who get to live, we also have the right to claim eternal life! To terminate the life of the unborn is oppression at its worst. I like to close with this quote I posted some time back: "Everyone who supported slavery was free. Everyone who supports abortion was born. And that, my friends, is how oppression works."

*Perfect Peace

        This profound peace comes from dwelling completely in the Lord with you becoming totally nonexistent on your own. Your spirit is now set free and is filled with hope and joy in your most beloved. 

*Worst Case of Man Playing God

        This past week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (a self-professed Catholic) signed a radical pro-abortion bill into law, legalizing abortion for basically any reason up to birth in New York state. This is a clear case of man going against God. Satan has taken control of many in politics, the news media, the academia, and the entertainment business. I don't want to give the impression that America is going to hell, because we still have a patriotic, God-fearing, and God-loving majority who normally remain civil and quiet, but will rise to defend their liberty, their right to religious freedom, and their faith in the Lord if they must. The righteous may suffer awhile, but they will live forever. Let's pray the Fatima prayer: O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy!

Exercising the Heart Properly

        We do things customarily without thinking much, but if we believe God with our heart, we should see, hear, think, and speak with our heart too. To live for God is to exercise our heart solely for his sake. Seek union with him and you'll automatically use your heart wisely in tune with God's will.

**Ultimate Reality

        I came out of church after Mass this morning. It was cold but sunny and beautiful. The parked cars, the trees, the sun light . . . all looked normal and delightful, but I saw the ultimate reality that we'll all face later – heaven or hell. I do not intend to jolt anyone, but the Lord made me see this reality that's veiled to many today. At least you see that heaven is one possible reality, and that should give us hope, expectation, and joy.

**To Be Spontaneous in the Holy Spirit

        Jesus said in John 3.6: The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is like the wind. When the Lord Spirit prompts you to do something, it is spontaneous, never premeditated. Attain union with God so that following the Holy Spirit may become your second nature.

*Letting God Enlighten You

        Communion experience. "Nirvana" is achieved without spending a lifetime in meditation. It's God entering and revealing himself to you, not yourself hoping to find some illumination on your own.

Another Reminder

         Throughout all our life, we are engaged in battling evil with our soul at stake, whether you are unaware, faintly aware, or somewhat aware. What is critically important is that we come out on top in the end.

*Joy of Belief

        When we find great joy in the Lord, serving him becomes a joy and you feel that everything you do for his sake is special. Today I did routine things like going to Mass, receiving Holy Communion, tidying up the kitchen a bit, and getting ready to blog, yet I feel God has made them all very special. The joy of the Lord is something no one can ever take away from you.

*Power of a Single Voice

        I am only one voice among the multitude, but I feel that the Lord hears me and I can move his heart. Abraham pleaded with God not to destroy Sodom for the sake of the righteous among the wicked. The Lord agreed that if he finds 50 righteous people in Sodom, he will spare the whole place for their sake. But Abraham kept on asking: what if there are only 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally 10 righteous people? Each time the Lord agreed that he would not destroy the city for the sake of the righteous. (Read Genesis 18.16-33.) God values each of us equally, so every one of us can move his heart if we mean it and are persistent. With enough of us praying hard, there is no question that we can reshape our world.

**Neglecting the Soul

        Too many people are concerned about their own happiness in this life and not about the well-being of their soul. Is it because they don't believe that there is a soul or believe that their souls are just whole and fine? Or could it be that they, in their sinful state, are just plain afraid of facing God?  

***Only One You Need to Know

        In Jesus, all things have come together and made sense to me. I know that one day I shall understand everything. Know the Lord and you'll know everything!

*Expedient Way to Pray

        I have a lot of things in my heart to let the Lord know about. Going through them one by one would take quite a bit of time. At church after Mass this morning, I simply opened my heart wide to God and knew without the slightest doubt that he saw everything in there and knew exactly what I asked of him. 

***How to Do Great Things

        Never think what God calls you to do is small or insignificant. Anything you do with perfect obedience is great in his eyes. 

**The One to Live For

        We are created by God to live for something. It's a fact that we all seek something to make life meaningful. If you do not know Christ yet, you naturally start seeking financial security, good health, a happy marriage, good education for your children, etc. But you sense that these things are just not good enough to live for, because they are not perfect and do not last forever. Now perhaps God should be considered. Those of us who have heard the Lord's call and responded can declare triumphantly that he is indeed the one who has made us look for something to live for and that we know we won't be satisfied until we find him. 

**Genuine Giving*

        If you give someone a nice gift so that the person might like you, then it's like bribing the person and you have the wrong motivation. But if you give solely to make the receiver happy, then even if the person doesn't like and rejects the gift, you wouldn't mind. This is giving with the right motivation. Genuine giving is giving without expecting any reward, and God will reward you. It follows that genuine love is not affected how we are treated by others. Look at Jesus. Some of us love him, some of us don't care about him, and some even hate him, but he loves us all just the same.

*A Life After Death Experience

        I posted Fr. Jose Maniyangat's testimony of his life after death experience some years ago and found out that the link to that YouTube video no longer worked. Anyway, you can now read the whole story on the website of his healing ministry here.

**What God Has Done

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 15.16: It was not you who chose me, says the Lord, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. When I think about it, the Lord has always been around, and I chose him only after he had chosen me and revealed himself to me. Of course, he also loved us first. So this is the Lord who has created us, sustained us every instant, died in our place to save us, chosen us, and been watching over us, listening to and answering our prayer requests, healing and guarding our soul, teaching and feeding us spiritually, giving us hope, inspiring us to do great things, and calling us to become one with him. When we have this Lord, we are set for all eternity.