**Spineless Cowards

          It's sad to see that so many people today don't act on principle. They would change their stand or switch allegiance so long as it would benefit them. This is happening with many politicians and big corporations right now. They show themselves as hypocrites. The Lord is keeping the day of his Second Coming a secret, so no one will be able to switch to believing in him on learning that he is coming. Those without principles will surely lose big time.

***The Art of Doing God's Will

         We have the well-known book The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump and the classic The Art of War by Sun Tzu. What about the art of doing God's will? Well, you don't need to read any wordy book to learn that. Just abandon yourself completely in God and you'll know how to do his will perfectly. 

**Our Choices of Freedom

        If you truly follow the Lord, your faith will be tested continuously. You may have to pray hard constantly to get though all your trials and tribulations. Outwardly, this may appear unpleasant, but deep down you'll always have the Lord's peace. After you leave this world, your'll experience complete freedom for all eternity. On the other hand, the evildoers appear to have the freedom to do whatever they want in the world, but they have essentially fallen into Satan's trap. After this life is over, they will be imprisoned with no freedom whatsoever for all eternity. Going against God is never a good idea. 

***World's Fatal Mistake

        Reading 1 has been coming from Hebrews. Paul glorifies the Lord in his epistle. In today's reading, Paul writes that Christ is the one for whom and through whom all things exist. We recall that the Apostle John wrote "All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be" about Christ at the beginning of his Gospel. These are all huge statements! That the world doesn't look up to anyone so meek and humble as Christ has to be its fatal mistake. The humble and the wise see the truth, believing that Christ was with God in the beginning and is God (John 1). As God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth, our highest praises still fall way short of God's true greatness.

****God Calling Us Unceasingly

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew and then James and his brother John to follow him, and they complied right away to become his first disciples. God calls us too. Whether he calls us aloud and in a whisper, it's the same Lord. Anytime you entertain a thought, say something, or perform a deed and lose inner peace, the Lord is calling you. This is the time to turn to him for help and guidance, not hide or run away from him. It's a moment of grace. In your lifetime, you'll probably have hundreds of thousands such moments, unless you are already quite saintly. If you ignore the Lord every time he calls you, you need his help for sure. Don't forget that our time on earth is limited.

***Our Lady of Victoria Novena***

        Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B., has urged all to start praying this Novena beginning tomorrow January 11 for nine days to beg God and Our Lady to reverse the deceitful "results" of the recent fraudulent presidential election. You can read her letter here. You'll find the link to the novena in that letter. I invite you to join her and me to pray this novena, for nothing is impossible for God.

**Perfecting Our Union with God

        Today's Communion experience. I received exactly what the Apostles received at the Last Supper, the first Mass. This Most Blessed Sacrament perfects our union with God.

***Making the Lord Feel Free in Us

        I attended the Sunday 10:30 AM outdoor Mass. Since it's the only on-site Mass scheduled for the weekend, the parking lots were quite full with cars. Again we all wore masks and sat apart. It was another nice dry day during this supposedly wet season. Early during Mass, the Lord made me see that to let him enter us, we must be open to him. But to give the Holy Spirit complete freedom to operate within us, we need to go beyond being open—we must not judge, hold any grudge against, or look down on anyone; that is, we must be like the Lord, his heart filled with love for everyone. If you do not feel at peace for any reason, you restrain the Holy Spirit. Be like the Lord so that he may feel free dwelling within you.

**Magnificent Truth

        John 1:29, today's Gospel acclamation: John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John knew then this magnificent truth, that Jesus was the Lamb to be sacrificed to save us from our sins. Now we all know and should believe.

****Most Precious and Glorious Faith

         Today is The Baptism of the Lord. One of the second readings comes from 1 John 5. The Apostle writes "The victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" That's why our faith in Christ is so precious and glorious! We who firmly believe that he is the Son of God and our Savior possess the "secret" of living everlastingly with him! My oh my, this is pretty incredible, yet so simple. I am going to rejoice every moment of my life over this.

*Test Question for Getting into Heaven

        The Lord: "How much time did you spend doing things for my sake on earth?" 

**Seeing Your Own Sins

         To face our own sins is to face reality, as we are all sinners. If you think that you are holier than you truly are, then you'll be in for a shock when you see God, for he knows sins you are not even aware of or have forgotten. It's much better to humbly acknowledge that you are a sinner needing God's mercy. This should incite you to become holier. Later, it'll be good to hear God tell you that you are better than you think you are. Great saints saw themselves as most wretched sinners before God and the Lord greatly exalted them.  

*How A Christian Lightens His Burden

        When we carry a heavy burden on our heart, we normally try to forget it. We may listen to some soothing music, go traveling, or even visit a bar to get intoxicated. These are all forms of escape and do not offer a solution. What should a faithful Christian do? A good Christian would not run away from anything but temptation. Whatever problem he has, he goes to the Lord to seek help. If you give your heavy burden to him, he will help you carry it. Doesn't Jesus say in Mark 11:28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest"? United with the Lord, you'll find the strength and guidance to deal with the problem and consolation. Every burden shared with the Lord will draw you into deeper union with him.

*To Be Watchful and Alert

         In Mark 13, Jesus told his disciples to remain watchful and alert, for they would not know the time of his Second Coming. To be watchful and alert is to be ready, and the best way for us to be ready is to follow the Lord and become holy and blameless. Then he can come anytime.

****Warning We Must Heed****

         We have a pandemic going on now which has caused many deaths around the globe. We've had wildfires destroying many homes and propeties in my own state of California. Floods are now inundating many countries. Earthquakes continue shaking up various regions worldwide. And I can never forget how terribly tsunami waves wiped out so many villages and towns along the coast of Japan not that long ago. I must mention the wars started by man that had ruined so many countries and killed people. All these occurrences were horrible, for they destroy lives. But they are nothing compared to what's coming, especially for those who reject Christ now. At the Second Coming of the Lord, we'll all be judged and sent to either heaven or hell for all eternity. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." Jesus has given us the warning and we must not ignore!

***Time for Weeping***

        These verses from Luke 23 came to me. As Jesus was lead away carrying his own cross to be crucified, a large crowd of people followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do no weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that times people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and the hills, 'Cover us!'"
        During these dark day when the future of this country and mankind in general appears bleak, we need to weep for ourselves for having forsaken God and allowed evil to infiltrate the world, our societies, and even the Lord's own Church. I myself am already an old man, but I do fear for our children and grandchildren if they do not turn to the Lord. We are near end times. Be aware of the big awakening that's coming from the Lord.

*Measuring How Much We Love God

        In today's reading 1 from 1 John 4, the Apostle writes, "Whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. Whoever loves God must also love his brother." These two statements are contrapositive to each other. In logic, if one of the statements is true, the other has to be true. Since God is love, we know that if we love God, we would love all others. Then it is clear that we can measure how much we love God by how much we love others. Now we see where we stand in loving God.

***Sharing God's Sorrow and Joy

        This is how Jesus changes our sorrow and joy. Before I knew the Lord, I was a self-centered person. For example, when my beloved grandmother died, I was saddened more because I lost someone who had been a great consolation to me; I wasn't thinking for her sake. Now, if someone one passes away and I know that person's soul is going to God, I feel joy, not sorrow. I would feel sad only if the deceased were clearly evil, for the Lord would be feeling sorry for that soul. In other words, you now feel sorrow and joy as Christ feels them. When times are evil, I feel the agony along with the Lord. People tell me to relax and not let it affect you so much . . . just trust in God, for he is in control and knows what he is doing. Christ knew that too, but he still underwent his Passion. I am not worrying nor losing my peace; I am just experiencing agony and spiritual suffering. The former keeps you away from God, while the latter unites you to him. If I suffer, it's for the sake of Christ and not for myself. I know that the Lord is in control and knows what he is doing, but you need to care about how he is feeling for our sake. At any rate, joy always underlies whatever sorrow you feel when you remain in the Lord.