The Way to Grow

        Pope Francis emphasizes the importance of the family unit, since families make up each nation and the world. The family being composed of individuals, it all comes down to personal holiness. Therefore, the best way to influence and convert the world is to concentrate upon your own spiritual growth and not be anxious about anything else.

Beautiful Faith

        Today is Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels. In the Gospel reading from John 1, Nathaniel believed that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel, because Jesus told him that he saw him under the fig tree before Philip called him. Like Nathaniel whom Jesus called a child of Israel with no duplicity in him, we should also believe. Today the Lord made me sense and feel the beauty of believing in him ~ it's the faith that counts, not whether we actually see or hear the Lord.

Pouring Out the Heart

        The Lord God is the greatest in all things, and he is absolutely the greatest psychiatrist we can ever have if you need one. I love to pour my heart out to him because he is the only one who understands me even better than I and knows what troubles my heart if any, often difficult for me to explain to him clearly myself. Even if your heart is at peace, carrying on heart-to-heart talks with him is beautiful way of maintaining your intimacy with the loving Father.           

God Indispensible

        Even if you can find someone in this life who truly loves you, completely understands you, and is one you can fully trust, you still need God to take away your sins.

End of Evil

        The evil rampant in the world is quite horrifying. The good people fight against evil as hard as they can and still feel overwhelmed. Then one day God will come and dispose of all evil in no time.

God's Omnipotence

        When a supermoon and a lunar eclipse occur at the same time, we have a supermoon lunar eclipse. The world just witnessed one. It hasn't happened in 33 years and won't for another 18. The regularity of the combined motion of the sun, the earth, and the moon that makes prediction of such an event possible has to be attributed to the omnipotence of our God.

Infinite Mercy and Power

        Know that even if you are the worst sinner of the entire world, God can transform you into a great saint ~ such is the mercy and power of God.

Most Desirable

        It's much more desirable and beautiful to have a pure and clean heart than to possess multiple talents of all kinds.

Justified Envy

        Envy has been considered one of the deadly sins, but there is an exception. If you long to possess the peace and freedom a Christian has received from God, such envy is perfectly OK. 

Bad Things Are Good

        If we obey God, bad things that happen to us are good because they strengthen us by drawing us close to him and may even form part or all of our purgatory. If we are disobedient to God, bad things that happen to us are good because they shake us up, forcing us to look to God for help. Either way, we get blessed.

Key Humility

       Humility is a virtue, and the key humility is our submission to God our creator, for through it we gain eternal life.

Learning from Pope Francis

        The Holy Father is heading for the Philadelphia airport right now on his way back to the Vatican. From what I've seen and heard in the media these last few days, his example has taught me to not judge, love all, and trust in God and his love alone and not in myself. When you leave all to God, you have peace.

Pray for Yourself

       Pray to God for others is easy, but don't forget to pray for yourself too. It takes humility to acknowledge that you are weak, finite, and need God's help. Imagine how happy the Father would be when you trust in him and go to him for help! If you are a parent, you would perfectly understand this. The only barrier between God and us is our sin; and we need to go to him to get our sins removed, then we'll be ready to become one with him, enjoying him fully. Love Christ and you'll be rewarded for all eternity!

Our Part Missing

        Today's Gospel reading at Mass came from Mark 9. I urge you to read verses 43-48 which teach us about dealing with sin. It tells us how important it is for us to be holy, for the consequences can indeed be grave. God is merciful, but not to stop sinning is to abuse his mercy. After receiving Communion, I saw that God has given us all, his own Son and all we need to know and do to be saved. What's left to be done is giving ourselves to him. It's now up to us.

Christian Joys

        The Christian receives many joys. Here's a partial list of possible sources: repentance; praising God; thanking God; praying to him; reading the Gospels; meditating upon the Lord himself, his Passion, his love, his mercy; hearing the word of God read during Mass; receiving the body and blood of the Lord; detaching ourselves from the world; total abandonment in him. The joy could also come unannounced at any time. A while ago, just listening to Pope Francis' homily at the Mass held in Philadelphia brought me unspeakable joy.

Joy Bursting

        Christians want to share their joy with others, not because they wish to impose their beliefs on them, but because the joy of Christ is so great that they cannot contain it anymore and this joy has made them so happy that they forget all about themselves and just want others to feel this happy too.        

Joy of Repentence

        Not long ago I mentioned to someone who did not know God that we need God because we are all sinners. His response was that how could he be a sinner since he had never killed anybody. This shows that without God, the conscience can get pretty dull. Look at the great saints ~ they humbly see themselves as the most wretched sinners. This leads me to pointing out that there is great joy in acknowledging our sins before God. When we repent and ask for God's forgiveness, he washes away our sins and we are made clean again. The feeling of relief and renewal absolutely uplifts the soul. Every sinner should experience this joy, for this is the way God has made us. 

God Revitalize Us

        Just caught on TV a glimpse of Pope Francis standing in his popemobile cruising through the streets of Philadelphia on his way to take part in a World Meeting of Families festival. After witnessing the enthusiastic crowds lining both sides of the street applauding and cheering nonstop, I felt great hope for this nation and its people.  

To Be Amazed or Shocked

        I just watched on TV Pope Francis' arrival at the seminary in Philadelphia. I was deeply moved by seeing the genuine joy on the faces of the cheering seminarians. Now imagine Jesus himself arriving at his Second Coming ~ how ecstatic his faithful chosen ones would feel, knowing that their beloved Lord will take them to live with him for all eternity! At the same time, those who will be left behind would experience the most indescribable horror and desperation. It's accepting Jesus now to be amazed later or rejecting him now to be shocked later.

Deep Satisfaction

        Today, deep, deep down I feel that Jesus has completely satisfied my needs. I know that's how God has made me. I now understand fully "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack."

Setting the Sights

        Pope Francis just finished saying Mass at Madison Square Garden. I saw the 20,000 there and knew that many of them I would meet in heaven. There we'll witness the beauty of God and see it in each other too. Heaven will be the most beautiful place the soul can ever experience. Follow Jesus now to secure your place in God's family and your later admission to paradise.

The Beauty of God

        I was watching a little bit Pope Francis speaking at a packed Madison Square Garden in New York City on TV. I felt great joy that the Lord had chosen me because knowing Christ has absolutely made my life beautiful. The world does not know him because it is immersed in sin. Sin has turned the world into darkness and those in it no longer see God. Sin has made the world so disordered that the world no longer believes that there is a living, loving God. It's absolutely tragic. The beauty of God is meant to be enjoyed by all! May the Lord soften our hearts so that we may all see and hear him clearly and be made beautiful for him to behold.

On Abandoning to God

        Communion thoughts. Have you set up a wall, a fence, or just a screen around you at all to shield you from God? How much you love God is proportional to how much you abandon yourself to him. Remove any separation between you and God so that you may abandon yourself to him completely. 

Opportunities for Intimacy

        Today's entrance antiphon at Mass: I am the salvation of the people, says the Lord. Should they cry to me in any distress, I will hear them, and I will be be their Lord for ever. We get distressed many times a day and we can cry to God each time, and he hears us ~ such wonderful opportunities to get intimate with him ~ how blessed we are!

Following the Lord

        Normally, when God uses you, he does not always reveal his purpose at the start. I believe he just wants you to follow him in faith. Even after the purpose has become clear, he does not reveal right away what action you should take. Again, he wants you not to listen to your own voice but to put your trust in him. All this teaches patience and actually makes following the Lord exciting.

The One Who Won't Go Away

        God was here when we came into the world and will be around when we depart from it. Because of his great love for us, he watches over us the whole time. You can leave him alone, but he'll never desert you. We are used to feeling sorry for ourselves; shouldn't we at least feel some sorrow for God our Father who patiently waits and longs for our return to his bosom?

A Kudo to Pope Francis

        With so many religious leaders nowadays chanting death to whom they consider to be enemies or executing anyone who doesn't accept their faith, it was most refreshing to have heard the Holy Father speaking the truth to the Congress and at the UN with humility and love. I am proud of being Catholic.

Living Up to High Standards

        Some people will wear only name-brand clothes; drive expansive, luxurious cars; associate themselves only with others in their class or higher . . . they try to live up to what they regard as high standards. It's a pity that they do not know that only living up to what God expects of them is truly living up to high standards. 

True Security

        Infinity, eternity . . . these words are meaningful only if we associated them with God. Now, he loves us with an infinite love, and hears us and becomes our Father for all eternity after we surrender ourselves to him ~ it strikes us that this is true security.

Banishing Fear

        We experience fear only because we are concerned about ourselves. And we become fearless when we live for God alone.

Lack of Humility

        Pope Francis the Holy Father is visiting America right now. Instead of listening to him, there are always those who want to hear only what they wish to hear ~ where is humility? How can one follow Christ and not listening to his vicar?

Not to Forget

        If you are a disciple of Christ the Lord, know that you have been chosen by the Father. Rejoice!

Pure, Clean Feeling

        Communion experience. The best pure, clean feeling is when your soul is pure and clean. For this I am most grateful to God.

Good Selfcenteredness

        If we are to see our own fault first before criticizing our brother or sister, then also we are to get our own souls healed before helping those with broken souls. In other words, God wants us to concentrate upon our own holiness first. Selfcenteredness is bad only if we do not aim to glorify God.

Jesus Simplifies Life

        On our own, we make life complicated because we tend to hold onto things. Once we embrace, hold onto, listen to, obey and follow, want to please, and live and die for him alone, life is delightfully simplified. For this I am most grateful.

Jesus Changes Life

        Communion experience. Life is basically bitter and Jesus has made it sweet.

Instant Intimacy

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 8, Jesus said, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." Here's the secret of being brought instantly close to God.

Easy but Risky Living

        Randomly pick someone you see, chances are if that person is in fairly good health, making financial gains would be foremost on his mind, with death the last thing he would think about. There's nothing easier than living a myopic, self-centered life. I say myopic because the person doesn't look beyond this life or at God. The occasional thought of God may turn out to be his saving grace.

Government Hypocrisy

        We legalize abortion in this country, terminating the lives of millions and millions of children over decades, yet our government accuse many other countries of violation of human rights. It's almost laughable. Back to Jesus calling anyone who notices the splinter in his brother's eye, but does not perceive the wooden beam in his own eye a hypocrite (Matthew 7, Luke 6).

Warped Justice

        Anyone who prays outside an abortion clinic risks being arrested if he or she walks one step too close to the building. Here we have Planned Parenthood selling aborted baby parts for maximum profit and our government remains silent as if nothing wrong has been done. Where is justice?

Essential Christian Belief

        We must believe in the power of Christ to change us inside out. That is saying that each of us has absolutely the potential of being transformed into a holy saint fit to be adopted by the Father to be his son or daughter. If you don't believe that you can be changed, your close the door in God's face.

The Savior We Need

        On NPR this morning I heard the singer Steven Clark being interviewed. His song "Lonely Roller" must be very well known to his fans. Steven admitted that what he expressed in his song were his true feelings. He was honest in saying that he was attracted to the dark side and suffered from that. Singing it out openly must be therapeutic for him. I can't help thinking that many who are mired in sin choose to remain in sin because they still derive pleasure from it, despite the loss of inner peace. I want to openly declare that Jesus is exactly the one we need to deliver us from all evil and into the loving arms of our Father.

Sweet Sorrow

        Once you live for Jesus, every sorrow becomes sweet because it's in sorrow that you are brought closer to him.

Great Consolation

        During prayer before Mass began, the Lord let me see that he's capable of squaring away everything and ironing out every problem in my interior life.

Surrender to Freedom

        We enslave ourselves any time we do not follow God. Therefore, we become free when we surrender ourselves to God. It's because we are no longer in the way and have become one with God.

One Big Family

        At Mass this morning, I felt extra close to the Holy Mother. I know that she watches over me and prays for me, to make sure I would follow her Son faithfully. What I love being a Catholic is the sense of belonging. I have God, my Father; Mary my mother; Jesus my Lord and my God, but also my brother; and all the saints as my intimate friends, among whom is St Therese, to me my sister and spiritual guide. We are all one big family, including all the faithful who are still living, bonded as one in the Holy Spirit.

One Thing Never to Lose

        Chile just got hit by a powerful 8.3-magnitude earthquake. One man I watched on TV says that he has lost everything. Here in California, hundreds and hundreds of families have lost their homes to wildfires. I feel great sorrow for all the victims. Then I thought of the one thing we must never lose and can't afford to lose, and that's our soul.

Living in God

        Living in God does not make your life more peaceful; it only makes you peaceful in your heart. Life remains the same, but you have changed. You see life as what the Lord wants you to go through for your good, and your wish and goal is to follow and obey him knowing that he is with you always and will lead you to eternal happiness. This is how you receive strength and remain at peace.     

Reaching God From Within

        If you long to reach God, let Jesus into your heart to lift you up to him.            

Not Leaving God Alone

        God is not only real and existent, he is alive and active! Therefore, relate to him, link up with him, and best of all, become one with him.