***Sure Way to Holiness***

         I greatly admire the Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. It's about being both small and doing the smallest things with great love. This is how we can become saints. I bring this up because the Lord made me see at Mass today that if we let everything that happens to us in life draw us to the Lord and make us appreciate and love him more, our spiritual progress will be phenomenal! 

***Lord Dearest

        Communion experience. The Lord is not only my soulmate, he is as dear to me as my own soul.

****Christian Cowardice

        When it comes to controversial topics such as abortion and LGBTQ, many Church leaders and Protestant church pastors just don't want to talk about them. Recently, a number of megachurch pastors in this country were asked about this. Their responses were pretty much the same: They want to focus upon telling people to follow Christ and not on advising them on specific issues. This is sheer cowardice, being afraid of following Christ all the way. You'll have to "give credit to" those Catholic bishops and priests who openly support LGBTQ, those Protestant churches that help pregnant mothers to get abortions, and the openly Satanic worshippers. If true Christians don't speak out more and don't pray and fight harder, whatever chastisement coming from the Lord will only worsen.

**Unsuppressible Joy**

        In today's first reading from Acts 4, the leaders, elders, and scribes ordered Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. The two disciples said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." It is true that it is impossible for anyone who has encountered and known the Risen Lord not to tell others about him, whose last instruction to the eleven before his Ascension was "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." The joy of the Holy Spirit is unsuppressible!

**Christian Joy and Sorrow**

        Joy, we feel in Christ as he blesses us; sorrow, we feel for the world as it offends him. The joy will last forever, while the sorrow will be short-lived.

**Christ on Our Mind?*

        We say we are Christians, but we think about everything else first except Christ—whereas we should be aware of his holy presence always whenever we think about or do something. Attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist and you'll become aware of his presence at all times.  

***Strong Basic Messages*

          I am posting more videos by Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel because he doesn't hesitate to speak the blunt truth. His love for Christ is obvious. Strong spiritual messages feed the soul and are exactly what people need to hear today. So Bishop Emmanuel is like a breath of fresh air when you don't hear too many other clergymen speak with such faith and passion. The two videos here are related in a way. 

***Why People Reject God

        At Mass the Lord made me see we do not accept God because we "love" ourselves too much, and that's the truth. And it's also true that as long as we love ourselves more than we love God, we'll never be free from sin. Here's Bishop Emmanuel's two-minute talk of why people reject God.       

**Bye-Bye to the World*

        Communion experience. With the Lord dwelling in you, it's time to trust in him, put yourself totally in his hands and say bye-bye to the world. As Peter advised his community in 1 Peter 5, cast all your worries upon God because he cares for you.

****It Is the Lord!****

        In today's Gospel reading from John 21, Jesus after his Resurrection revealed himself again, to seven of his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. The seven had been fishing all night, but they caught nothing. At dawn they saw Jesus standing about a hundred yards away on the shore, but they did not realize that it was he yet. Then he asked them to cast the net over the right side of the boat, and they caught a full net of large fish. At this point the disciple John said to Simon Peter, "It is the Lord." Peter heard it and got so excited that he jumped from his boat into the sea and went straight for Jesus. Now, for us who follow the Lord and have attained union with God, we know that he is with us at all times. So every moment now is an exhilarating it-is-the-Lord moment! To have him with you constantly in this life is such a wonderful blessing!

***Truth to Hear***

         Another clear message from Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. Since he is an Orthodox bishop, he is free to speak out this way. The unorthodox teachings of Pope Francis have already alienated the Orthodox Church and so many in his own Church. Lord, have mercy on us.

***God Is Real!

         For non-believers, here are some proofs that God Exists. I'd like to add one of my thoughts. It seems that our earth had been perfectly created for us. We have the perfect atmosphere for survival; various kinds of plants and animals for us to live on; and the right climate, water, and other natural resources to sustain us. As far as we know, there is not another planet in the whole universe like ours; our earth seems to be a unique "anomaly." That God is our creator has to be beyond doubt!

***Our Life Goal:

to know Christ and submit ourselves to him so that we may pass his judgment and return to the Father, our creator, in heaven.     

*****PURITY AWARENESS*****

         The God of Christ is absolutely holy and pure. Once you belong to or have attained union with him, you become aware of the slightest impurity and develop a strong aversion to all impurities. I know what I am going to say will not resonate with those who have already been snared by the world, but speak out I must. Recently, I saw some videos attacking Taylor Swift. I didn't know much about her at all. I learned that she claimed that she's a Christian, yet some of the things she'd done contradicted her claim and were even seemingly satanic. I sense the impurity when I just look at her appearance and how she dresses herself. I'd like to mention that I used to enjoy listening to jazz singing, for the music could be quite beautiful. But now after knowing the Lord, I sense its impurity and listening to it actually weighs me down. Even great rarefied abstract classical music has lost its appeal. It's pure, but pales next to God's purity. I am totally with Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel's view expressed in this recent video below. Following Christ is the only right path for us.

*****Unique Christianity

        Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel again gives a good talk, clear and bold. Unfortunately, the editor did a poor job. I suggest that you listen to just the first seven minutes to preserve the unity of the message. 

*****Appreciating Christ*****

         Today I just feel that Christ has been good to me beyond words! I was a nobody . . . only a wretched sinner. Yet he called me, never gave up on me, showed me his tremendous love for all of us, taught me patiently, opened my eyes and heart to see the truth, fundamentally changed me, and set me free, while filling me with peace and joy thru the Holy Eucharist. The Lord is as precious to me as my own soul or more!

***Greatest Self-Giving***

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 24, the resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to two of his disciple on their way to Emmaus. They recognized the Lord in the breaking of the bread. I recognize that when the Lord breaks the bread for all of us to eat, as happens at every Mass, he's giving all of himself to us! What we receive, eternal life, is priceless and no sum of money, not matter how huge, can possible buy it. This is how the Lord rewards us who give ourselves to him. We the finite become infinite, alleluia!

****Greatest Satisfying Reward****

        Today's entrance antiphon from Matthew 25:34: Come, you blessed by my Father; receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is what Christ will say to those who have been chosen to inherit eternal life at his judgment of all the nations. When you choose to follow Christ, it shows that the Father has chosen you! This has to be the most satisfying reward you can possibly receive in your whole existence! You have now become one of the Father's special favorite creatures!