**God Can Shape Us Perfectly

        I  attended Sunday Mass this morning. I felt as if I were a piece of twisted, deformed metal, and now I was going to the Lord to receive him in the Holy Eucharist and he's going to straighten me out completely. This is what he loves to do and is his specialty. He can shape us perfectly as long as we are willing to put ourselves in his mighty hands.  

**Ungodly Surrender to Satan*

        In the past, Christians died for their faith rather than offending God. Today we have bishops silencing priests who dare to preach the truth for fear of offending Satan. This is a fact, even if you don't see it that way. Those who remain faithfully in Christ the Lord have absolutely no need to fear Satan, knowing that he is only annoying like a mosquito at times—this was how St. Teresa of Avila described it. Focus upon serving the Lord alone and dismiss Satan entirely. Let God deal with the Devil.

*God's Accomplishments vs. Ours

         I was reading what's printed on a snack bag telling how this snack was made by someone who afters years of research and experimenting finally succeeded in making it so tasty. Human beings have accomplished many things. Today's hi tech inventions can be quite ingenious. Yet I find God's simple acts of love much more amazing. Our greatest achievements are not what we can accomplish on our own, but what we can do for his sake via his power. For whatever we do for our own sake, we don't deserve patting ourselves on the back.

**Illumination of Conscience Thoughts

        There is much talk and anticipation about the prophesied Illumination of Conscience. It seems that this warning could take place any moment now. I've posted about this since April, 2020. Do a search on this blog and you can read all those posts. Personally, I welcome its coming and am excited about witnessing God's power and glory, yet at the same time I pray that it will happen when the greatest number of people will be ready for it. After all, God wishes to save as many souls as possible. Then this may be just a moot concern, as God knows the proper timing best. Of course, if we all heed the warnings from heaven virtually begging us to convert and return to God, this act of mercy need not even happen. In any case, the best policy or strategy for us to be ready ourselves for whatever event God sends our way at whatever time. 

*****Time Is Running Out

         I'd like to post this video because the messages begging us to get back to God are truly urgent, as time goes by quickly. For many of us, we just can't afford to remain as usual anymore. The worst thing would be not taking all warnings from heaven seriously now and getting caught when we are not ready later. Then we'll lose our peace forever.

****How to Relieve the Lord's Suffering

         Today Friday is the day to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Jesus went thru so much suffering for us and is suffering still for our continuing infidelity. I ask myself how we can share or alleviate his suffering. His answer to me is clear: we only need to keep his word and obey him always, and that''ll be enough to make him happy. Lord, you've done so much for us, yet you ask so little from us and even want to help us do our part. I thank you, praise you, and declare my love for you forever!

***Only One We Need to Know

        There are billions of people out there in the world, yet finding a trusty friend or compatible mate is just not that easy. The good news is that there is only one you need to know and attach yourself to—he is Christ the Lord. He is open to all of us, especially if you are a sinner who needs help. He is absolutely trustworthy and can fulfill your desire to be happy forever! Turn to and follow him first and everything you'll ever need will be yours. 

***Hidden Meaning of Apparitions in Zeitoun

         Abortion opened the door wide for the Devil to operate among us. I still remember the day abortion was legalized in this country. It seemed rather incredible. This kind of things happens when Christians don't remain vigilant. Now we are in a much worse position.! Returning to God is more urgent than ever! (You'll find an earlier post on Our Lady of Zeitoun on July 4.) 

*Hypocritical Politicians in Evil Times

**Pure Love is Totally Self-Giving

        Pure love is never self-centered. I mention this because in loving someone our ego can still get in the way. The loss of peace is a sign that our motive is not quite pure. To show our love is a great opportunity to abandon ourselves totally to God. Know that loving others is loving God, and you can't love God if you are not totally centered on him.

**Pity the Evildoers

        The fact that today's evildoers outwardly no longer show any fear of God shows that evil has already ensnared their souls. You can only pity and pray for them who are unaware that they are on their way to losing their souls altogether.  A most sad sight. Pray that they will realize that it only takes a change of heart for God to save them outright. By contrast, the wise and righteous submit their free will to God to get their souls safeguarded first. What a smart brilliant move! 

*Living Comfortably Now Is Not Enough

         If you live a very comfortable life but do not have God, what would be your gain? I would say none and you may even lose your soul in the end! If living a comfortable life before you die is all you wish for, you need to wise up and realize that there is so much more you can have, unless you don't believe that there is life after death. If you do believe that you possess an everlasting soul, then you'd better make sure that you'll live comfortably after you die too.

*God Doesn't Play Hide-and-Seek

         From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 11, we see that God hides things from the wise and the learned and reveals them to the childlike. I think this is because the wise and the learned are full of pride and remain closed to God, whereas the childlike are humble and remain open to whatever the Lord wishes to reveal to them. It is not God being unfair, but us who put the blocks on God or let our guard down before him.

**God Always with Us

         In today's first reading from Exodus 3, the Lord God told Moses that he's going to send him to Pharaoh to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will be with you." When the Lord God asks you to do something, know that you won't be doing it on you own, for he'll surely be with you. Then, live for the Lord and do everything for his sake, and he's right there with you at all times.

**Eliminating Our Point of No Return*

        There are different points of no return, but only one is of critical importance to us. This is the point beyond which we won't be able to save our soul. For example, if you think that you are not ready to turn to God yet and you suddenly die, you miss your point of no return. This happens only if you are not ready. To those who are ready, the point of no return no longer exists. I personally believe that at the Second Coming of Christ, the moment you realize that the Lord is here, the time for your repentance is no more. Nowadays so many warnings coming from heaven asking us to pray and convert, if we do not comply, we'll likely miss our point of no return. Be smart and return to God now to eliminate our point of no return.

*****Best Path for Us to Take!

          The 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition has begun in Warsaw, Poland. You can now watch all the contestants playing in the preliminary round live on YouTube. I believe there are over a hundred pianists coming from around the world now strutting their stuff, hoping to advance to the next round. All pianists who wished to be considered applied for admission in 2019 and found out if they qualify to play in the preliminary round or not in March last year. The screening process continues on right now and the real competition won't start until this October. There will be three stages to go through. Imagine the amount of work, practice, preparation, anticipation, and pressure you have to undergo, hoping to emerge as the best among so many talented players! Is all this worth it? I am sure the answer is yes for many of them. This is truly more difficult than following Christ to become a saint. To succeed in following Christ, you simply relax in the Lord to let him do all the work, and it's definitely worth it, for the tremendous reward you'll reap is completely assured. Yes, following Christ is absolutely the most sensible, rewarding, and worthwhile path for us to take.

***Removal of My Greatest Burden

        As I was doing my daily walk this morning, I felt great inner peace and knew that's because I had completely reconciled myself to God and had my sins, my greatest burden, removed by him. This is also proof to me that the God of Christ is the real true God.

***Fr. Calloway's Conversion

         Fr. Calloway's conversion was told in the video Encouraging Stories I posted on July 10, just three days ago. Here is a longer, more complete version worth hearing. Realizing that we need God or life remains empty brings about true conversion. That had been my experience too.