*All and Forever

         When God decided to save us, he gave all of himself. When he gives life, he makes it eternal. His love for us is forever. The joy he gives stays with us too. When he forgives us, we are all clean. Because he loves us, he wants all (not part) of us to be his forever. We are blessed that He is most thorough.

God Is Fair and Just

        Sad headline news from Egypt: ISIS opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians on their way to a monastery, killing at least 29, including many children. This was only the most recent in a wave of attacks on these Christians and their Church. What are we to think? Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus came to my mind. Lazarus was the poor man, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. (The rich man also died, but he went to the netherworld and suffered torment.) I have no doubt that God would take care of the souls of these children of his who were tragically slaughtered, for he knows our hearts, thoughts, words, and deeds. All of us shall be judged by him and receive exactly what we deserve in the end. We need to trust in our God no matter what happens.

*Call to Yield to God

        God's message for salvation is straight forward and simple to understand – you do not need to explain it like rocket science, yet people do not accept it readily. So it's not the mind, but the heart that gets in the way. To overcome this barrier, we must become like a child as Jesus had indicated. What we need is humility. Without it, we won't find God, let alone know him. The most humble Christ is our example and clue. God has already yielded himself to love. It's time for us to yield to him!

**Best Place to Be (Surefire Formula)

        Today's Communion antiphon, John 15: As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. To remain in Jesus' love to to remain in him, for he is love. There is no better place to be. In fact, this is part of the simple surefire formula for getting into heaven: Remain in Jesus and let God take care of the rest.

*Joy Over Pain

        In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus, with his departure from the world and succeeding Resurrection in mind, said to the disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you." Jesus was right, for we know that once we get to heaven, our joy will make us forget all the pains and anguish we suffered on earth. Start rejoicing now if you know you are heaven bound. Do not forget that the daily Mass is a celebration of the Lord's sacrifice resulting in our salvation. [A footnote. No one will take your joy away from you: the joy God gives is a joy that stays with you forever.]

**Way to Union (Winning Feeling)*

        When you let God transform you and the transformation takes place, you are amazed and can get quite excited, for something you've tried to change on your own without success God now does it effortlessly. Even though the Lord did the work, you can't help feeling that you have won! Now your relationship with him is more intimate than ever. As you continue to let God perfect you, the same thing happens again and again. You are on your way to union with him.

Looking Beyond This Life

        The most recent terrible tragedy is the terrorist attack in Manchester, England, which killed 22 and injured many more. One lesson we can learn from this is that all the more we need to look beyond this life and make settling our eternal destination our first priority. Most people do not think about it for various reasons. Only the ones who have put themselves completely in God's hands know that they will be fine no matter what happens to them.

*Christ Is Everything

        Life is imperfect until you have Christ. Your joy is incomplete until you have Christ. Your eternity is unsettled until you have Christ. You are nothing until you have Christ. You have everything when you have him.

God Is Peace

        Communion experience. The world is in chaos, but I am at peace with God, in peace with God, and in peace in God. 

*Smart Rise to Top

        We all want to rise above ourselves. Let Christ determine our destiny and we will end up where he is.

Us Too

        Jesus had his Resurrection and Ascension. Do you know that by his power, we'll have ours too?

Planning for Eternity

        A saint is one who loves God. A mystic is one who also loves God, knows him well and communicates directly with the Lord. Do not ever say that you cannot be a saint or a mystic, for nothing is impossible with God. It follows that you can store up treasures in heaven now, get there and inherit what God has for you later. God is your limit who has no limits. Use your brief time on earth for planning and readying yourself for eternity and God will make everything come true. 

**Our Tragic Error

        Since God is our loving creator, Father, and Savior, who can accomplish anything he wants, it would be indeed most foolish of us not to believe in, appreciate, or trust him. Not seeking union with him is falling short of taking full advantage of what he has to offer – a tragic error on our part, relatively speaking. It's like being offered a most precious pearl and you just admire and enjoy looking at it, but stop short of reaching for it to claim that it is all yours.

*God Is With Us

        In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples: "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." His disciples first did not know what he meant. Of course, Jesus was telling them about his coming death and resurrection. We need not to be concerned about whether we see him or not, for later he promised that he would be with them always, until the end of the age. Every time I receive the Holy Eucharist, he enters me and unites with me in the most intimate way. As long as I am still alive and breathing, I know that he is with me, for my very existence depends upon him.  

Our Ideal State

        It's been my experience that as long as I remain in Christ, I have inner peace. The moment I step out of him to be on my own, that peace gets disturbed. We are in the ideal state when we have Jesus at our center with us remaining in total submission to him.

**Jesus My Center

        Jesus draws me to him, making me see that he is the absolute indispensable center of my life. He keeps me safe, for nothing can take me away from him! And he feeds me and fills my cup with living water continuously. Remember that he's the one who would turn the left cheek to the one who strikes him on the right one, hand his cloak to someone who wants to go to law with him over his tunic, and go with anyone for two miles when pressed into service for one mile? (Matthew 5.39-41.) In the same manner, even though my faith is limited, he always gives me more than I ask for. How can I possibly not love my most generous Lord?

Self-Generated Fear

        Know that if you feel uneasy about abandoning yourself or just turning to God, it is not God who wants to instill fear in you. How can he when all he wishes is to love and be intimate with you as your Father? If you hesitate or feel uneasy, that's because you are resisting him, thereby generating your own fear. May this understanding clear the way for you to approach God.

Aging Is a Blessing

        In my younger days, I pushed myself as hard as I could when working out in a gym. Now, my foremost concern is not to risk any injury when I exercise, walk, or just get out of bed. Aging slows one down, but does make you turn to God more. In this way, you are wiser. At last, a dreamer turns into a realist, and that should be one best thing that ever happens to you.     

**Jesus Essential!

        When I hear the sweet voice of Jesus in my heart, I feel his presence, his love, his mercy, his gentleness, his assurance, deep joy, gratitude, consolation, and my oneness with him. He is all we need, for there is nothing greater or more satisfying than God our creator. It's time for all prodigal sons and daughters to go home.

Treating God the Father

        With Father's Day coming up next month, this question came to me: Shouldn't we treat our heavenly Father at least as well as we treat our earthly fathers? 

Two Most Important Prayers

        To help us love God with all our heart, with all our mind, with all our soul, and with all our strength, we need to pray that we will always be obedient to God in all things and that he will lead all souls to heaven. 

Signs of Indwelling Holy Spirit

        How do you know that the Holy Spirit dwells in you? In the early days, I wasn't sure. I did not exactly expect to see a white dove or tongues of fire landing on me, but some tangible sign would surely help. Of course, you cannot see the Holy Spirit, for he works within your heart. Now I know that when you sense Christ's presence, hear him speaking to your heart, feel the urge to call on the Father, pity anyone who is suffering, can't help wanting to witness for the Lord, experience joy at the thought of God, yearn to be one with him, or . . . – all these are signs that you have the indwelling Spirit. This is the Jesus who promised that he would be with us till the end of the age.

**Disempowering Satan

        This is quite simple. Focus entirely upon God, letting him replace your ego fully with his humility, and you become invisible to Satan. Seeking to attain union with God will take care of all that and more. 

What I Admire About Jesus

        What impresses me about Christ is that even though he is God, he has zero ego, never boasted about his power, and always told straight the truth. We can be like that only with God's help. He is the Lord who never attempts to lord it over us.

*Choices of Living Our Life

        Broadly speaking, there are only two. First of all, life is never perfect, for things do not always go right for us. In fact, for some, life can be downright miserable. It is a no-brainer that we should want to live a most happy life forever after we die. Coming right down to it, we can either accept the offer of eternal life from Christ as he promised or turn him down and end up living the most miserable life apart from him for all eternity. It's a choice between "from bad to perfect" and "from bad to worst."

**Secret of Happiness

        Born with original sin, we can become self-centered and commit sins. On the other hand, we are capable of loving others too. There is another desire we are not always aware of: we want to feel happy. Deep down, there is an emptiness in life we want to fill, so we continually seek fun, pleasures, and security throughout our lifetime. But true happiness is never found this way until we know that we can be happy for all eternity. This is exactly why true Christians feel completely fulfilled and happy.

God Challenging Us

        At Mass this morning, as the priest raised the Holy Eucharist and proclaimed to the people: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper. Of course, I had heard this thousands of times and it had always sounded fine because I accepted it. Today I heard the Lord challenging us whether we believe that Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world or not. Not thinking about it would be tantamount to rejecting the claim. So we are challenged to either accept it as true with all our heart or reject it resolutely as false. The Lord is never to be ignored. 

Follow the Prodigal Son

        The most beautiful and powerful parable of all the parables of Jesus has to be The Prodigal Son. Realize that we are all prodigal sons or daughters to some degree because we all need to turn to the Father, repent, and beg for his forgiveness. Follow the example of the prodigal son and we shall likewise discover the infinite love and mercy of God and arrive at a happy ending.

God to Be Imitated

        Communion experience. After receiving the Lord, the clear message I heard from him was "Be like me." Yes, we are to imitate the Lord, never play him.

*Sinking Reality

        Imagine everyone stuck in quicksand. How deep we have sunk depends upon the degree of our sinfulness. And Jesus our Savior can easily lift us out of the sand if only we will to listen to and follow his instructions. I could have imagined a less dire picture, but the reality of truth remains the same. 

*Shining Light of the World

        Jesus is the only shining beacon in our dark world because he is the supreme example of selfless love. He said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" and he did just that to show that we are his beloved. He has set the highest standard so that the world may not be lost. If you do not see this, you won't find hope anywhere else.        

Dangerous World

        Our world is dangerous because it is where we can lose our soul forever if we do not watch out carefully. If you love the way of the world, you've already fallen into its trap. In today's Gospel reading at Mass from John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you." So if the world loves you, watch out. But if it hates you on account of the name of Jesus, rejoice.

*How Christ Changes Us

        You encounter Christ, get to know him, decide to follow him, fall in love with him, abandon yourself to him to let him into your life, and now you belong to him completely. After experiencing freedom, peace, joy, and other amazing happenings, you know that you have tasted and possess the very best in the whole universe and there is nothing you lack. At this point, you learn that you have won the lottery for ten billion dollars, tax free too. And you are cool, looking and feeling just the same, for you already have the best.

*Perfect Obedience

        Be/do whatever God want you to be/do; your role, status, position and everything else are all irrelevant.

*In Tune With God

        In quiet solitude, it's easier for us to turn to God and sense his presence. But to be in tune with God, you need to be in a state of total abandonment in him, for a single disturbing thought coming from you, can block you from hearing his voice, thus stopping the flow of any grace coming your way. 

Only One Indispensable

        Communion experience. I live among a lot of trees and the weather can get very hot and dry in summertime. One common concern around here is forest fire. So it did go through my mind what I should grab if I ever had to evacuate this area in a hurry. I really wouldn't know. However, during Communion today, if I had to choose one person to hold onto, that person would be Christ without the slightest doubt. Again, Jesus makes it easy for me.

**Direct-to-God Advantage

        Going direct to Jesus is superior to learning about him through the writings of any human, with the exception of the Gospels, for when you approach the Lord direct, the Holy Spirit teaches you direct.  

***Shortcut to Loving God

        We are being told to love God, to love God, to love God; but it's hard to love him if you do not really know him that well yet. Once you know him well, you wouldn't need anyone to remind you anymore. So how do we get to know God well? Simple, we do what we can and have God do the rest. Which is: we surrender ourselves to him and let him reveal himself to us or accomplish whatever we desire of him. Super neat!

All About Union

        In today's Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete." Basically, Jesus is taking about union with him, what he desires.

Be Like the Apostles

        In these weeks after Easter, the first readings at Mass have been taken from Acts. We hear how the Apostles and disciples preached the good news fearlessly and with joy. It is obvious that they had personally encountered God. So why can't we be like them, for we have the same God, the same Spirit, the same access to the Lord? We should be able to spread the gospel with the same zeal, fire, and boldness. God surely knows us and can use us effectively in the best way he sees fit.  

*On the Road of Life

        I wake up this morning and realize that it's another day of my life. I also see that we are all walking along the road of life which will end one day and that each passing day is a step closer to the end. We may gradually see the end coming or not at all. If you already know Christ well and, in fact, long to meet him, it is a sure sign that you are on the right road. If you have no idea what awaits you or do not even look ahead, you are surely on the wrong road. Yes, there are many signs along the way and you should read them to discern which ones are trustworthy and which ones deceptive. Whether you agree with me or not, I am just sharing this personal insight.

*Bonding With God

        As I watched the priest consecrating the bread and wine during the liturgy of the Eucharist, I marveled at the selflessness and ingenuity of God. For bonding, some societies devise secret handshakes or conduct initiation, while other organizations go to the extreme of making blood pacts. But our Lord just simply gives us himself to consume under the guise of bread and wine so that we may become one with him. It has to be the most beautiful and intimate bonding on this earth.  

To Be Part of Jesus

        The Lord's words in today's Gospel reading from John 15 are powerful. 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. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned." Jesus was not talking about doing things for your own sake; to be fruitful is to do what glorifies God. How to be sure that you are one of his branches? Seek to attain union with him is the assured way to go.

Aging Blessing

        Aging gives us no choice but to become more and more dependent upon others. Disregard your pride and you'll see that it is a blessing. True, physically, you'll need others to help you; but spiritually, here's finally your chance to abandon yourself totally in God's hands. A great time to enjoy God to the fullest!  

God's Mercy at Work

        When we are young, we live as if we're going to live forever and God is seldom on our radar. As we age and our physical condition starts to weaken, we finally realize that death is imminent and begin to turn to God. I see this as God's mercy at work, preparing us to meet him. Would that we realize this earlier in life so that we could have lived a cleaner and more fruitful life. Anyway, happy ending is what matters now.

Approaching God Effectively

        Many who seek God take the wrong approach. They more or less challenge God to reveal himself to them. Suppose that God is real, the proper attitude would be to humble yourself and pray that he would take pity on you and let you know of his existence and/or presence. I believe this approach will get you quick results. Of course, when you start out without faith, you're likely to do the opposite. The smart approach is definitely the humble approach, for God loves to exalt those who humble themselves. 

Moment of Great Glory

        I am aware of my own existence and you are, of yours. Each one of us is a unique creature. Without God, we are all lost souls, drifting around and not knowing where we came from and where we are going. Then we find God and realized that he is our very creator, knowing every one of us through and through, loves us and awaits our return to him. Now we are no longer lost, but living with hope and purpose. We come to know who we truly are – this is the moment of great glory for us.

Mark of a Real Christian

        It is the joy of knowing Christ. A Christian without joy is one in name only, for he does not know the Lord well yet.  

God Makes Us Forgetful

        In today's first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas, to strengthen the spirits of their disciples and exhort them to persevere in the faith, reminded them that it would be necessary for them to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. In reality, we undergo hardships in life whether we follow Christ or not. The difference is that when we do it for the sake of Christ, it becomes a source of joy. Being intent on glorifying God makes us forget all the hardships. 

God Makes Us See Truth

        There are still people today who deny that Christ ever existed and claim that Christianity is a big religious hoax made up by a bunch of people. This is not just telling others that you ran into a Big Foot in the woods, it is saying that billions of people have been duped for two thousand years. If you have any common sense at all, you would see that deception on such a massive scale is well nigh impossible. My genuine personal experience is that when I follow Christ, he removes all my intentions to sin, including that of deceiving others. It follows that the Apostles, excluding Judas the betrayer, sincerely wanted to spread the good news of salvation with no deception. Those who make absurd claims about Christianity are clueless about the transformative power of God.