**Letting God Prove Himself

        In today's Gospel reading from John 14, Jesus said to the Twelve at the Last Supper, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. I am in the Father and the Father is in me." So Jesus is God, but many people today still "amazingly" do not get it. I know that Christ is our Lord and God. I cannot prove it to you in any way, but I knew it without the slightest doubt when he revealed himself to me in our heart. There has been no brainwashing, indoctrination, or coercion of any kind coming from the Lord, so it's been a most satisfying proof for me. If you ask the Lord to reveal himself to you, you'll get your own personal proof too.

Perfect Love

        Jesus laid down his life for us, showing God's greatest possible love for us. I call that the perfect love.

**God Awaiting Us

        Know that you are most precious to God and that he can make you holy and beautiful. Therefore, feel good about yourself and do not ever hesitate to go to God your Father to have a heart-to-heart or ask for any kind of help you need. 

*Christianity's Uniqueness

        In today's Gospel reading from John 3, the Apostle speaks of Jesus as the one who comes from heaven and is above all. We can proudly proclaim that Christianity was started on earth by God from heaven, the only religion (if I may call truth a religion just this time) not started by a man.

**Remaining Clean in the Lord

        The bishop of our diocese just released publicly a list of priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of abusing minors and young adults over the last seven decades. It is not a short list, including many who have already passed away. I am surprised to have spotted the names of two deceased priests I am familiar with. One I knew very well and had always respected, but his offense was relatively minor. I am sure that if he had repented, he should be with the Lord now. The other I knew not so well and his offenses were a lot more serious. Then I thought of ourselves. I can clearly remember the many times I offended the Lord since I was a young boy. Many of these sins you just don't want to tell anyone except a priest in a confession booth. It's like we all have a secret closet in which we store our sins. The great news is that our Lord Jesus Christ can clean out that closet in no time if we repent and ask for his forgiveness. In fact, when you become one with him, you won't ever need any secret closet anymore. 

**Getting Ready for Heaven

        We enjoy belonging to any group that share the same interest. It was fun when I once belonged to a car club and all members would meet and drive around together to various interesting spots. And I enjoy talking to fellow smartphone photographers now. I would love to share my joy in Christ with others in person, but this does not always happen in today's world. Anyway, I am thinking ahead that in heaven we'll have all the saints as our company. To get ourselves ready for a smooth transition to heaven, now would be the time to seek to attain union with God. Then we'll fit perfectly in with those already in heaven. 

Most Comfortable Position

        If you are most comfortable with God, you are in the most comfortable position of your life.

***Simple, Direct Path to God***

       We are often taught to know our faith, study the catechism, the Bible, learn more about the saints, etc. But if you want to develop a personal relationship with God, acquiring knowledge is pretty much barking up the wrong tree. We can progress spiritually so much faster and most efficiently if we start from God. Go straight and open up your heart to him and he will reveal himself to you and set your heart on fire! Officially, it's known as seeking union with God. You attain union and God becomes your soulmate!
       
         Fr. Mark Goring's vlog today on YouTube backs up my point:

A Simple, Logical Question

        Christ and the Father are one. As the Son, he came to us. If we do not even listen to him, how can we ever expect to understand God, let alone know him?

**Personal Relationship Needed

        Because we have the communion of saints, we can ask all the angels and saints to pray for our intentions. Holy Mother Mary is usually our first choice. But even if the whole heavenly court prays for you and you do not pray yourself, the Lord will not hear you. So we should start praying ourselves before enlisting others for help. What God desires is a personal relationship with him. Seeking union with God is seeking that most personal relationship that pleases him the most.  

*Logical and Sensible Reasoning

        If we were all holy and perfect, Jesus wouldn't have needed to come down from heaven to save us. But without a doubt we all know that we do sin. Therefore, we should be honest with ourselves and welcome the Lord into our hearts to let him save us.

Good Cardinal Rule

        We have only one Lord and one God, Jesus the Christ. Therefore, follow him and no one else. 

Amazing Grace

        Communion experience. I still remember the days I lived in my own prison away from God. Now I dwell within the Lord himself in complete freedom. In saving me, the Lord also liberated and transformed me. 

*Make Your Existence Beautiful!

        Everything must pass through Christ the Lord – nothing can ever sneak by him. Being aware of this reality, you will want to do everything in his holy presence, and your existence will be made beautiful. 

***Jesus Achieves His Goal*

        Communion experience. When I received the Holy Eucharist, Jesus entered me physically; but his main goal was to transform me spiritually. When I believed and yielded to him, it was done. What a wonderful heavenly grace! So cool!

***Jesus Reveals Himself Unseen*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 20, the resurrected Christ appeared to the disciples yet again. Thomas was not there and thus did not believe what they told him. A week later Jesus appeared when Thomas was with them. He saw and believed. We do not visually see Jesus either, but we can get to know the Lord so well that we would know that he is real. Believe me, once you attain union with him, he becomes more real than anyone you see with your eyes. What a wonderful grace!

***Important Message for All

        Just saw this video of Bishop Barron receiving an award at his high school. The talk starts at 4:06. The message, especially good for our youth to hear, comes later. So watch the video to the end.

**A Touching Story

        This powerful video was voted the Best Short Film at the 1970 International Catholic Film Festival.