**Be Smarter than Evil Spirits

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus came to Capernaum. He entered the synagogue and taught. A man with an unclean spirit was there; he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come our of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 
          The unclean spirit knew exactly who Jesus was and obeyed him. On the other hand, many of us do not obey Jesus because we don't know who he truly is—this is most unfortunate. In Philippians 2, Paul wrote, "At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." Be smart and recognize and accept who Jesus truly is, then no evil spirit will be able to touch you.

**Being Wise Early

        When you are young, you live and plan as if you have all the time in the world. Then when you get old and realize that your time on earth is limited, you start to wonder if you've done enough for the Lord—surely you don't want to appear before him empty-handed. This is the beginning of wisdom. To be most wise, look for Christ when you are young, start storing up your treasure in heaven and settle your eternal destiny early. Then you will live a life in peace.  

**Another Reason We Need God

        In this life, there is just not one person who can truly understand you. In fact, we, being imperfect, misunderstand each other all the time. This is how arguments get started. This is also one big reason we need the Lord God who alone understands us perfectly and can make us more understanding. In heaven, there will be only trust and harmony without any misunderstanding.

***One-on-One with the Lord

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me and it's a one-on-one with him. He alone created me, keeps me alive every moment, and will judge me when I face him. My destiny is completely in his loving hands. I rejoiced in my good fortune!

*****Our Selfless Lord

        Today we celebrate The Baptism of the Lord. Jesus was completely sinless, yet he still asked John the Baptist to baptize him like any one of us. This moved me very much, seeing how humble and meek he was. Later he even washed the feet of his disciples. Finally, he gave himself up so that we might be freed from sin and have eternal life. How more selfless can one possibly be? Here's God, the Almighty, to whom we ought to submit ourselves totally, yet he never lords it over us. It is this astounding selflessness that has won me over to follow him.

***God Knows What's Best for Us

         We often don't see what's best for others. For example, parents give their small children all the material things to keep them happy and entertained, but end up spoiling them. Grown children give their parents expensive gifts, not realizing that they'd rather have you talk and listen to them more. We have good intentions, but we don't often see what others need the most for their good. Our Lord God doesn't always promise us happiness in this life, but he surely knows what to give us now to make us happy for all eternally later. All you need to do is to trust in him a little longer while you are still here on earth.

***The Warning Again

        I just finished the second book on Garabandal, Garabandal, Message of Hope, by José Luis Saavedra. The coverage of the apparitions is comprehensive. I was impressed and inspired after reading about the miracles associated with the apparitions and the messages from God given to us through the Blesses Virgin to the seers. The Warning of illumination of conscience was specifically prophesied. I personally believe that this can happen anytime now. Anyway, you have no obligation to believe in it.
           I am posting this video I came across today because it explains the warning well. Besides, I believe that it's always prudent that we be prepared in case it does come. Otherwise, the shock we experience might be too great to bear. (The message ends around 8:20.)

****Being Truthful to Yourself*

        To be set free by God, we need to be truthful to ourselves. That is, we must have the courage to look at ourselves squarely in the face in God's presence. It is analyzing yourself scrupulously while remaining wide open to the Lord. He then makes you see what truly lies deep within your heart and soul. This is a most rewarding moment, for you've let the Lord in and now understand yourself and experience a great freedom in him. 

***Joy in a Class of Its Own

        Among all the joys we might experience, the joy of knowing Christ the Lord and Savior is the only joy that is permanent, deep-rooted, and penetrates the soul and liberates the spirit, bar none.   

**Modern-Day Tragedy

         I realize that most people work in mega-cities and face traffic congestion, crowds, commotions . . . on top of job stress. After work they just want to unwind, relax or rest. Life continues on like this and as a result, they just don't get in touch with God anymore. This is tragic—ignoring the soul and not realizing that we need to commune with God to live a meaningful life and gain eternal life. 

*****What You Should Know

          It is that we all have recourse to the Almighty God. We can call on him at any time about anything from our hearts and he hears us and will respond to us! He can do so much for us and specializes in getting us to heaven—so if you don't even look his way, you can't be very smart. Let me testify to you that if you have a lot of pride, you won't ever see God; but if you can submit yourself to him humbly, he'll come to you, set you free, and make you see the truth! 

****Only Thing We Need to Do

        Obedience is all God asks of us. Certainly, we can ask for what we want or need, but praying that God's will be done is most proper and fitting. If you don't know what exactly to pray for, you can always leave things up to God. If we all obey him at all times, there will be peace in this world and no more chastisements coming our way. Obedience to God restores our relationship to God and gets us to heaven. There's not a better way!

***Road to Peace

        Inner peace is experienced when our conscience is clear. Our conscience is clear only if we obey God. So if we rebel against God, we lose our peace. This is how he has made us. It's simple to understand, but difficult to follow, as we are not obedient to God.

**Our All-Knowing God

        I just finished reading Chapter VIII of Garabandal, Message of Hope, entitled "For All to See." It tells the many "wonders" of Garabandal. I was most impressed that God did allow Mary reveal the "secrets" of many through the visionaries during their ecstasies. We all remember many things, but we also forget some of them over time. Here's the Lord, showing that everything about any of us is fresh in his mind; it doesn't matter when it happened. When a doubter wished to see a specific sign so that he might believe, one of the visionaries would went over to him, fulfilling his wish, while still in ecstasy. Knowing that God knows all about us always is reason enough for us to believe in him.

****Calming the Wind for Us

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat to precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd that had been with him. Afterwards he went off to the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. He saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he went toward them walking on the sea. When they saw him, they thought it was a ghost and were terrified. At once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" He got into their boat and the wind died down. Let us remember this saying always, for the Lord sees exactly what each of us is going through at any time and will calm the wind for us if we trust in him. (Let me sum things up for you. Believe in Christ with all you heart and you are on your way to paradise to be with him forever!)

**Love That Perfects Us

        In today's first reading from 1 John 4, the Apostle talks about God's love. Because God loves us, the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. More fundamentally, I believe that God wants to teach us how to love. If we become like him and love all his children, then we are saved. This is the love that brings us to perfection. John tells us that perfect love drives out fear, for if we love like God, there will be no more punishment from him. 

**To Be with God Instantly*

         I finished reading Ed Kelly's book A Walk to Garabandal and am now reading Garabandal, Message of Hope by José Luis Saavedra, possibly the best book on the subject. The English edition came out in 2016 and I am reading the 2017 second edition. Conchita, the oldest of the four seers kept a diary. After seeing Mary in the first apparition, she wrote, "And so ended the 2nd, Sunday; a very happy day! We have seen the virgin for the first time. We are all with her, whenever we want." I am struck by that last sentence. We can be with God or Mary whenever we want! They are totally accessible even if we don't see them. Of course, if we are in union with God already, we don't even need to want God to be with him. Anyway, to be with God or the Blessed Mother is just great!

****Fantastic Bonding

        It's a great feeling to be able to share what's deep in your heart to someone who totally understands you and can heal all your wounds and make you whole as well. That person exists and is Christ our Savior. When you share everything within you with him, you bond with him in the process. Eventually, he and you become soulmates, no less.