**Fruit of Being Connected to Christ*

        In John 15:5, Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." Since each of us is a branch of Jesus the vine, we are connected to him as one. Know that not only we can bear much fruit, we also receive all the power we need to remain strong in battling evil at all times.

***Beware of Prophecies***

        Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 that many false prophets would arise and deceive many. Today in what I believe to be end times, we have prophets galore. On YouTube alone you find all kinds of signs, miracles, apparitions, warnings, etc., reported or presented. To me, a true prophecy deserves to be presented accurately and clearly with all the detailed information on where, how, and when it came about. Looking at these videos on YouTube is like looking at a Hollywood production. You see special effects and hear dramatic music. The thumbnail usually shows a made-up fake image with a clickbait title or description which often is not even mentioned in the video. Sometimes it also shows the picture of a well-known Catholic religious figure just to lend credibility. The image of any sign or miracle presented is always fuzzy or somewhat dubious. Some weeks ago, some videos reported that Virgin Mary would appear atop the Statue of Liberty on June 1, just two days ago, according to Vicka, one major Medjugorje seer. The thumbnail showed such an image as if it had already happened. So far I haven't heard that it had. So this false reporting's can potentially ruin the credibility of all those alleged Marian apparitions that began in Medjugorje. What bothers me is that there are prophets who advise us to eat special foods, keep certain objects in the house, and even not to go out on a certain day during certain hours. To me, to be ready spiritually is of foremost importance, not performing certain specific little things. The best policy is to stick to the Church-approved prophecies, even though the Church doesn't require us to believe in them either. Put your trust in Christ and you can't go wrong.

*****Extolling the Eucharist*****

       On this Corpus Christi day, here is my message to all. The Eucharist is my our greatest gift from God, for it's the Lord himself. It is also the humblest and thereby the greatest miracle because the change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ takes place unnoticeably with zero pomp. When you receive this sacrament, you are united with the him physically; then when you also accept his invitation to unite with him spiritually, you attain union with him. There is not another relationship that's more intimate, exalted, or fulfilling. The Lord is now your God and also your heavenly soulmate.

***Jesus Is God***

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 14, we heard that on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus’ disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them. What amazed me here is that Jesus made things happen in the future the way he'd wanted. Only God can do this! 

*****KNOW THIS INVAUABLE TRUTH*****

         Anytime we lose peace, it's because we are out of sync with God. Proof: Surrender ourselves to God to become totally obedient to him and we experience instant peace. This is how God has made us! 

**Crystal clear Promise*

        Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. John 6:51 is the Gospel acclamation: I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever. It can't be any clearer. Either you believe it or you don't. Also, common sense alone tells me that the Holy Eucharist is truly the body and blood of the Lord. If the bread were merely symbolic, it'd be hard to believe that he would have said "whoever eats this bread will live forever."

***Communion Elation*

        Communion experience. In John 6:51, Jesus said to the people, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever." How could I possibly not feel elated when I ate that very bread? (I did feel sorry though for those who couldn't get to experience the joy I was experiencing.)

**Christ My Illuminator and Consoler*

        Today I feel blessed that anytime my heart is troubled, I can go to the Lord Jesus who understands everything perfectly. I unburden myself before him and he would help me see the truth and make me feel good again. Without recourse to him, one could easily be driven to depression and hopelessness. With him, no matter how heavy your burden is, you always come away feeling free.

**How Lost Can One Be?

        We are to take God's every word seriously, yet today there are many who worship Satan exclusively. Satan is real to them, but the Lord God is not? How lost can you be? This surely has to be one gravest sin!  

**Attending Daily Mass Avantage

        I get to enjoy uniting with the Lord spiritually as much as possible. If we are inseparable now, we'll be inseparable forever.

**Praying for Evildoers

        We pray that the Lord will wipe out all evil. It's better that we pray he convert, not destroy, all evildoers.

***Each in His Own World***

        Once you know Christ fully, you know you are living in reality. Then you look at the people who live apart from the Lord and see that they are each in a way living in his own fantasy world. To them you now look like an oddball. I guess that's being fair enough and a small price to pay. Wait, I could also see it as a great big honor that's been bestowed upon you!

***Trust in God Only*

        We depend upon God. Of course, there are times we need to depend upon fellow humans too. But the ultimate trust we have must be in God alone, not anyone else. Then everything will work out right.

****Another Urgent Reminder****

        Christ has already paved the way for us to enter heaven and given us the road map (instructions) as well. All that remains for us to do is to get on that path to let the Lord lead us all the way. If you haven't started yet, what's making you hesitate? Know the window of time you have can expire at any time.

***Only One True Judge

        We get judged by a lot of people. They say all kinds of things about us, but if we don't let them affect us negatively, our souls remain intact. So they are not true judges at all. The only true judge we have is our Lord God. We only need to mind what he says about us. If we obey him, then nothing can harm us, for he is also our rock, our shield, and our refuge. 

****How Awake Are You?****

      I blogged this thought recently, but feel the urgency to do it again. We were born into this mostly secular, material world and have been conditioned from birth to believe that making a lot of money so that we can own a lot of material things is the goal of our life. Sometimes we do think of God, but that small inner voice we hear always gets drowned out fast. As a result, we no longer realize that we are losing our soul when in fact we are. This is absolutely tragic. Let me use an example to show you why we need to wake up to reality.
        Suppose you need to take and pass an entrance exam in order to be admitted to a university. Wouldn't you prepare yourself as well as possible to be sure that you'll pass it? But if you wrongly believe that you already know a lot and don't need to prepare thoroughly for it, you could miss the passing score by one point and be rejected by the university. Now, losing your soul is infinitely worse than being rejected by a university.

***Challenging Truth***

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 10, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all." Here is the secret (truth) revealed for us to be first and great. It is most challenging and we should appreciate it. The ball is again in our court.

***Enjoyment That Liberates You***

        I watched a video showing a famous pianist and his grandmother playing on one piano. She was also a renowned piano teacher in her days, but could only play with her right hand now. They play together most touchingly, and afterwards I heard her say how lovely it would be if one could continue listening to music when dead. She was right, but I did feel a tinge of sadness. For even though listening to music is a lot better than enjoying many other things in the world, it's still more or less self-centered. Not only it doesn't set you free in any way, it can even enslave you. I've seen musicians living exclusively for music where faith is God is absent. On the supreme level, we have enjoyment of the Lord. We experience that when we are in love with God. Here's an everlasting joy that truly uplifts your spirit and sets you free.