**No Looking Back

           In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." I don't think Jesus is saying that saying farewell to your family first is not appropriate. The main point he makes is that if you want to follow him, you must be resolute and not hesitate. It you want to go straight to heaven, then stay on that path and not wander off, take breaks, or get yourself distracted.

****How to Learn from God

            Our ego and our pride have made us slow learners of the truth. We do not see the wonders of God all around us. We do not hear the good news preached to us. God knocks at the door of our heart constantly and we just ignore him. Let me tell you how you can learn fast or even effortlessly from God. All you need to do is to turn to the Lord and invite him to enter your heart and you will start to hear from him, for he needs a receptive heart that welcomes him. Now, if you can open up your heart all the way, dropping all resistance, for him to enter and dwell within you comfortably, then you'll instantly know the whole truth, for Truth is now with you. This is learning from the Lord effortlessly. It's truly fantastic! 

*****What It's All About*****

           Three years ago, a Hubble study showed that our universe has trillions of galaxies. Well, that number is truly mind-boggling, but why should we stop there? As far as I am concerned, our universe can be infinitely vast, as our God is an infinite God! It's more logical to say that the universe is infinite than to say that it is finite, as a finite universe would raise even more questions. As I was praying this morning, I sensed the infinite depth of God's love, and that love deserves our total submission to him. It dawned on me like a revelation. We either submit ourselves to the Lord to become one with him or rebel against him to be cast out forever. This is what it's all about! When all the righteous are saved and Satan and all the evil spirits are cast into hell forever, we'll have eternal peace. 

***What to Do with Today's Evildoers

        Satan only knows how to deceive you and spread hatred. He lures you with false promises. Read the Gospels to see how he tempted Jesus. Satan also attacks anyone who follows the Lord. He has attacked many saints most viciously. Well, I see so many evildoers today operating just like Satan. You cannot reason with them, for they are no longer rational. They only want to take control of you by any means necessary. They are on the brink of falling into hell and they don't seem to be unaware of that. It is so very sad. The ignorance of the Most Holy Lord has to be the most detrimental ignorance to anyone. We can only pray for God's mercy on them. It's most appropriate that we pray as Jesus did on the cross before he expired: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." 

***God Makes All the Difference

          Everything is to be measured against God. We can make a lot of money, but this itself is nothing compared to having God. We can lose a lot of money, but this is nothing compared to losing God. Living comfortably a hundred years on earth is nothing compared to living in heaven forever. The worst suffering in this life is nothing compared to suffering in hell without God for all eternity. God makes us see the truth. He makes all the difference and nothing else matters. I could go on, but you get my point.

**A Great Adventure

         In today's Gospel from John 1, Nathanael came to Jesus and said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." For us who have believed in the Lord, we not only see great things, we also experience great things internally. Following the Lord is a great adventure throughout. 

**God Makes Us Special

         Today is the Feast of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. When we fulfill the word of the Lord and heed his voice, we become like these good angles. Praising God, blessing God, adoring him, glorifying him, and thanking him exalts us to a special status. We are not the same anymore. Attaining union with the Lord in total submission would be ideal. God transforms us anew and lifts us up to him, and we become holy and beautiful like the good angels. Praise him.

**Praying with Intensity

          We can pray fast or slowly; it's the intensity of our prayer that matters the most. How much do we mean what we say to God? How urgently do we desire to communicate with the Lord? How much pain do we experience in the heart? Praying lukewarmly is a waste of time. (I am not talking about contemplative prayer here.)

***Doing the Lord's Work Well*

          In John 15.5, Jesus said, "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." When I realize that without Christ I truly cannot do anything and that he is with me, I gain great strength and courage and lose all anxieties. I am now calm, ready to do his work. Try it. It''s letting God make everything easy for you.

**Great Power of Christ the Lord

        Nothing is impossible for Christ, for he is the Lord God. The many miracles he performed witnessed by many were most impressive. But equally amazing is his power to transform us. When you let him forgive all your sins, your heart become clean and pure. When you let him heal your inner wounds, your soul is made whole. When you abandon yourself to him, you become a holy person. The Lord can completely make you anew. So take advantage of his great power to get you ready for heaven. We have a most powerful helpful God.

**Who's More Important than Us?

           In today's second reading from Philippians 2, Paul writes, Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. The first part is manageable, I can stop being selfish. But the second part, to regard others as more important than yourselves, that is much harder. Sure, God is more important than me, but others? In Luke 9, Jesus did say, "For one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." It's good to know this. Perhaps, to start with, we can as least regard others as important as ourselves. 

*Communion Experience

         Today I actually started to attend Sunday Mass at my church again. I had to register in advance, for only a hundred parishioners are allowed inside the church at one time. And, of course, all wore masks and sat apart. Many rows of seats were taped off, so I couldn't even use the kneeler attached to the chair before you. This is California, you know. Anyway, it's good to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist again. I trembled with joy, hoping that the Lord will draw me even deeper into him.

***God's Gifts for Following Him

         Following Christ is not forcing yourself to follow him in any way. Instead, you go passive to let the Lord take over. The rewards are freedom, peace, and joy. I am repeating this here to let you know that this is true fact. For Christ your creator is the only one who can fundamentally transform you internally. Freedom, peace, and joy are what you receive after you make him truly Lord (beyond calling him Lord). I listed these gifts in the order they normally come. Of course, they can overlap.

**Fighting for the Church*

          As a Catholic, I'll never leave the Catholic Church, even if everyone in the Church becomes corrupt. For this is the Church Christ has built upon Peter for us. To reject her amounts to rejecting Christ. Catholics like all sinners can become evil, but Christ remains holy and perfect forever. This is something all Catholics must clearly see. The fact that the Church is being attacked so viciously by Satan is precisely because she is the true Church. We are going through a most difficult period now, but the Lord will cleanse and restore his Church again. This is the perfect time for us to surrender ourselves to the Lord even more to help him fight the spiritual battle.

***What Alone Matters to Us

         Each of us now lives among billions of fellow humans, but ultimately, we are alone with God. For all of us in the world will pass away and the Lord alone remains. We'll come to meet him face to face and give an account of what we've done. No one else will be there to speak for us. Each of us came from God alone and will return to him alone and be judged by him alone. So only God and how he wishes us to live matters. 

*God and Worry Mutually Exclusive

         You cannot abandon yourself to God and worry about things at the same time. Choosing one excludes the other. To abandon yourself to God totally is to give up everything else. To worry about all things is to have no trust in God whatsoever.

**Our Greatest Attainment

         When we follow Christ faithfully and do everything according to God's will, we are in perfect harmony with God, becoming one with the Holy Trinity. For us, there is no greater or more beautiful and rewarding attainment than that. 

***A Truth

        When Christ lives in you, you shall not die.