***Being Baptized with the Holy Spirit*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 1, John the Baptist continued to testify to Jesus, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him [Jesus]. The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." I am not a theologian, but I can testify that one way to have your spiritual life vitalized or set afire is to ask the Lord to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. It's simply asking the Lord to help you open up fully to the Holy Spirit so that the Spirit may work freely through you.

**Dealing with Sin*

        From today's first reading from 1 John 2: You know that Jesus Christ was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him. We have all inherited original sin. And it is sin that robs us of inner peace. We sin when our weak human nature gives in to temptation. If you don't like your sins, then have Christ take them away from you. And he will keep you from sinning again if you remain in him. This problem of sin we must face and resolve before we leave this world.

**Christ Our Only Guide and Hope

        Today's entrance antiphon, Psalms 112.4: A light has risen in the darkness for the upright of heart; the Lord is generous, merciful, and just. Christ is the Light! He shows us how to live so that we might have life forever and all his teachings are based upon love, for he is love. There is no one else like him. Without him, the world will be in complete chaos and disorder. I see him clearly as our only hope. 

**Fusing with the Lord

        Communion experience. When two metals are melted under heat and mixed together, they form one alloy. When the Lord entered me, I let his love melt all of me so that we might become one entity.

**The Real God*

        In today's Gospel reading from John 1, John the Baptist gave his own testimony. Speaking about Jesus, he said, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." Indeed, our Lord is so holy and high above us that we are not worthy to untie his sandal strap, yet he ardently desires to enter us to be one with us. It is mind-blowing, most moving, and exhilarating to know. He is so far, yet so close; he is almighty, yet most humble. He is our loving Lord.

**Government Oppression*

       I lived in Central California, close to the state capitol of Sacramento. The state is under the control of Democrats and lately, Californians have been moving out of the state in droves. Besides high taxes, deteriorating living conditions in larger cities, etc., I could really feel the oppression of religious freedom in particular. Very clearly, evil forces are at work. This story came out a month ago just before Thanksgiving, but I missed it until yesterday, and I was shocked by it. To find out what it's all about, go on https://www.childrenoftheimmaculateheart.org/, then click on CIH in the News at the top and watch one of the two OAN videos and/or read one of the top two articles. The state government actually considers the Catholic faith "offensive." It's a pity that they don't realize that they are offending the Lord God right now!

*Conquering Emotions

         So it is now 2020. Today, January 1, is as usual the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Of course, we all hope that the new year will be a better one. Again, those who have Christ always see bright hope ahead, as the spiritual battle between good and evil rages on. 

       My first realization of this year is that we are all governed by our emotions. When they are negative, we lose our inner peace. We get angry, worry, sadden...all because we feel that way. So if we can let God take over our emotions, then we should experience peace. To attain union is the way to give all of yourself to God, your emotions included. When you have the Lord totally, you become stabilized. Now you enjoy deep peace and order. 

Happy 2020!

        I am posting Fr. Mark Goring's sensible and encouraging summary of 2019 to conclude my blogging this year.

     
         Have a most blessed New Year!

***God Drawing Us via Holy Eucharist

        Communion thoughts. I have already received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist many thousand times in my life. Looking back, I wish I had been obedient to him sooner in the past. It is unthinkable that we should receive the Most Blessed Sacrament and not let him draw us a little closer to him each time. What we should do is to let the him form us any way he wishes, then we would become holy in no time. Anyhow, I am grateful that as I receive the Lord daily, he is still drawing me closer to him each time (and I am glad that I still have some time left). When your desire to be one with him supersedes all other desires, you are close enough to him.

***God's Greatest Revelation***

      Today's Gospel reading, the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John, is so profoundly beautiful that anyone who knows Christ would totally understand it, while those who do not know him may not at all. It is fitting that at the end of this year, we read this greatest revelation from God to us. Here are the entire 18 verses:

        

        In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

         A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  

          He was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.

          But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor my a man's decision but of God.  

         And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only-begotten Son, full of grace and truth.

          John testified to him and cried out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.'" From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grade and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father's side, has revealed him.

           All I can respond in total submission is "My Lord and my God."

**How To Become Holy*

        If you are determined to find a lost treasure, you must be willing to take the risk that comes with going about finding it. After you find the treasure, you'll be very happy that you took the initiative. Similarly, if you are determined to become holy, you must be willing to abandon yourself completely to God to make it happen. Once you've made the leap of faith, you'll know that you did exactly the right thing. No pain, no gain. No faith, no growth. 

**Another Big Deal*

        Today I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. That Jesus came to us and underwent agony, physical beating, ridicule, and finally death on a cross is a huge deal! Think about it. He willingly suffered to the extreme, submitted to his sentencing without protest and even asked the Father to forgive those who put him to death. That was not normal from our point of view. But now we know that he did it to save us for all eternity, so it is a big, big deal and we must be grateful and never forget it!

**True Wisdom

        It is already the last day of 2019. Let's realize that everything in this world is passing. We'll be gone soon one day too. There is no reason to get ourselves attached to anything that passes or perishes. The eternal God who loves us is the only one to whom we need to attach ourselves. This is being truly farsighted and wise.  

**Joy of Submission**

        This is joy you receive when you submit yourself totally to the Lord. Now you know this is going to lead you to union with him. More joy ahead!

*Effective Praying*

        When we pray to the Lord and wish to get clear, specific responses from him, we need to ask for what we wish for clearly and specifically, and with great confidence. Vague and general prayers do not bring good results. Get to the point and the Lord will get to the point too.

**God or the World*

        Today's first reading came from 1 John 2. John advised members of the community, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world. Yet the world and its enticement are passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains forever." We need to listen to this advice more than ever, as our world is becoming more enticing than ever. The spiritual battle has comes down to God vs. the world. We already know who will win in the end, so let us choose sides accordingly.

***Straight Talk (a Strong Reminder)

        Jesus challenges us, for we must decide whether he is the Son of God or merely a hoax. If you cannot say that he is a phony, then you have no choice but to believe in him 100%, no middle ground possible here. There has been no one else like him ever. And if you believe that he is the Lord but do not follow him all the way, be warned that everyone who does not acknowledge him before others he will not acknowledge before the heavenly Father (Matthew 10, Luke 12).

***Most Important Truth

        There are a million things you can learn in life, but there is one truth that is more important than anything else you need to know—God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3.16). Ignore it at your own risk.