"Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

*To Be Childlike

        Today is Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. The Gospel reading came from Matthew 18. Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven." How do good children behave? Well, they believe in and obey the father without question, knowing that he takes complete care of them. This is what we adults should be like to the Father. After all, aren't we all God's beloved children?

The Lord Is My Shepherd . . .

        The Lord God our creator has implanted in our soul a thirst only he can quench. That is why those who have become one with the Lord no longer lack anything. 

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

***Warning to a Disordered World***

        If you had read my post "Bright Hope for Our Time" about the prophecies made by Our Lady of Good Success yesterday, you would understand what's going on in the Church and the world right now. We have all become disordered. Another small example was just in the news. A gay male senior at a high school in Tennessee was crowned as a gender-neutral homecoming queen. Here's a teen boy wearing a gold dress believing that he was a queen. It is only by giving our heart completely to God that we can keep it pure and in good order. You can believe or claim that you are a Christian and still be influenced and swayed by the Evil One without realizing it. To come to the point, you can belong to God or to Satan, and if you are in-between, you are taking an awfully big chance hoping that you can be saved. 

**Greatest Happy Ending*

        It is just plain impossible for us to escape God unless we become absolutely nothing, which again only God can make happen. So the smart, sensible thing for us to do is turn to him and give ourselves totally to him. And he turns out to be our most loving creator and Father! 

***Saint Thérèse

        Today is October 1, the memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Deuteronomy 32.10-12 was the entrance antiphon: The Lord led her and taught her, and kept her as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle spreading its wings, he took her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her guide. Matthew 18.3 was the Communion antiphon: Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. What marked Thérèse as a saint were her childlike belief in Jesus and trusting in his guidance alone. It's a singular faith that was simple, pure, and unwavering. She is my model saint.

Monday, September 30, 2019

**Bright Hope for Our Times*

        This is a video about Our Lady of Good Success. She prophesied in the 16th century for our times through Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, a Spanish mystic in Quito, Ecuador. I chose this presentation over some of the others on the same subject. You'll be amazed how the prophecies have come true and heartened by what's still going to come. There is also a Part I you can look up and watch.

***To Be Safe from Satan

        Satan is tricky. He is the master of deception. What he presents always looks or sounds good outwardly, but is always defective in some way. He can even produce false miracles and apparitions to fool you. That I can tell you from my own experience. Only God is perfect in every way. I really appreciate the advice of St. John of the Cross. He counsels that if you are seriously interested in seeking union with God, then focus upon the Lord alone and do not let anything else distract you, no matter how attractive, alluring, wonderful, or even miraculous it seems. Of course, these are not his exactly his words, only what he essentially stated. I'll always remember that.

Our Pressing Issue

        We are rightly concerned about our environment, our living space, our air, our water, etc. But our inner peace, our soul, our eternal existence are so much more important. Common sense tells me that the earth is not to be mankind's permanent abode. First of all, the earth is a finite body, so it's surface area and its resources are limited. If the human population keeps growing, one day we'll run out of space as well as resources. God would not have put us on such a planet if we are not going to come to some kind of an end one day. That end could be his Second Coming, I don't know. So the #1 issue should be our own eternal survival, as each of us will only live a short time on earth and be gone.

*Beyond Expectations*

        Communion experience. Today's Communion antiphon, Jeremiah 15.16: Lord God, when I found your words, I devoured them; your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart. When we yearn for the Lord, hearing his words is a joy, gladdening our heart. But we do not see him, nor can we touch him. Then the Lord gave us his own flesh and blood to consume to satisfy our yearning for him, exceeding all our expectations.

***Evil amid Us

        Luke 17.1: Jesus said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur." When you cause others to sin, it is indeed a grave sin. It saddens my heart to see that the hierarchy of our own Church is promoting globalism and a new humanism and is much concerned about "global warming" instead of condemning the continuous global murdering of the unborn, addressing the issue of general disbelief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, questioning why so many Catholics are leaving the Church, etc. When evil has infiltrated the Church hierarchy, it's a sign that something momentous is happening. It's time to take complete refuge in the Lord.

*Our Power to Know God

        If we ignore God, we'll never know him. If we let God be our God, then we can get to know him most intimately. To know God is impossible or easy—it's all up to us. The truth: we are not free until we relinquish our control of ourselves to God.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

**A Spiritual Warning

        The evil forces of our godless world are so deceptive and prevalent that we must be deeply grounded in the Lord and remain vigilant in order not to be influenced by them. Seeking to achieve union with God is absolutely the best way to keep your soul pure and safe. Be one with the One who one day will completely trounce evil. 

Jesus Most Satisfying

        Communion experience. The Lord filled my cup to overflowing.

**Our Ultimate Voice

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, we heard the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both the rich man and poor Lazarus died. The rich man, suffering in the netherworld, saw Abraham far off with Lazarus. He said to Abraham, "I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house to warn my five brothers, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets. If they will not listen to them, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." I see Jesus as our ultimate voice, for he is far more than Moses or the prophets—he is God and will be our judge too. Therefore, we must listen to him! After him, there will be no one more worthy to listen to.

***Key to Spiritual Success***

        Do you know that you do not have to try hard to hold onto Jesus? As a matter of fact, he is always waiting for you to abandon yourself to him for him to become one with you. You accomplish great things when you remain passive to let him be your Lord. You want to love him, let him love you. You want to be strong, let him make you strong. You want the Church purified and restored, trust in him to make it happen. In total union with the Lord, whatever you will is whatever he wills. You let him and he'll have it done, since you are no longer in his way.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Prayer Obedience

        True we can ask God for anything that comes to our mind, but let's obey him in prayer too by asking the Holy Spirit at the start to guide us in our prayer. This way, we remain in tune with the Lord throughout.

***Perfect Relationship

        I've been married to my wife for over 57 years and you can say that she is the person I know best in this life, but not that we thoroughly know each other. After we die, that relationship will be gone. Our relationship with the Lord God is on an entire different level. This relationship can be perfect for these reasons: we can reach a complete mutual understanding with the Lord, we can become one with him through obedience, and the relationship can last forever! Therefore, establish this heavenly relationship with God to live on an exalted level.

Friday, September 27, 2019

*Priorities Out of Order

        In the news just now, Pope Francis calls for an ethical use of technology. Good idea, but personally I don't think it'll do much good when so many people do not even know or love Christ yet. Without God, doing anything for the good of others doesn't always happen.