Patience Needed to Listen to God

        I have said we Christians do too much talking and not enough listening to God. So I also see that we tend to start a lot of things before we get any clear signal from God. Our intention may be good, but we can get ahead of the Holy Spirit and end up wasting much of our valuable time. Unless we face some urgent issue, the Lord does not rush us; he will let us know what to do at the right time. To be patient and to trust in him are what we need to learn.

***Best Way to Know God

        I watched Ben Shapiro interviewing Bishop Robert Barron on his show and realized that many intellectuals came to know God through studying philosophy, theology, and writings of saints who happened to be great intellectuals. I know each of us Gods leads to him via an individual path. In my own case, the spiritual growth of the past decade or so began after I opened myself up to God, asking no questions, but trusting. And he responded by speaking to me directly from my heart, revealing himself to me in the most intimate way. I really think I have discovered the best way to know God – the childlike approach.

God's Transforming Love

        Jesus is all mine, but I want all others to possess him too. For his love is so great that it removes selfishness and transforms us to become as loving as he. 

Smooth Transition to Next Life

        Communion experience. The Lord already entered me, dwelling within my heart. Therefore, meeting him after I leave this world will be a great joy as anticipated, without any shock.

*To Live in Truth

        If you do not believe in truth, you should be afraid of it, for it will indict you one day. If you believe in truth, you would have no fear of falsehood, for it's simply false and not real. Believe in Christ the Lord to live in truth always.

**Sweet Secret of Knowing God

        Communion experience. Jesus is the light of the world. When I open myself up to him, he makes me see everything in and about me, and at the same time I come to understand and know him intimately. This experience is eyeopening, exhilarating, and endearing. Once you have tasted him, you would want to become one with him for ever. The Lord is that beautiful!

God's Mercy and Peace

        At every Mass, we ask God to have mercy on us and to grant us peace. Of both mercy and peace, the Lord, being love, has an infinite supply to deliver to us. As Christians, we are sustained by his mercy and peace. Knowing this keeps us humble. Without his mercy, we would be doomed. And peace is what he wishes us the most to have. Seek union with him and all his peace will be yours.

A Spiritual Law

        As surely as the righteous will be rewarded, those who are evil will be punished. Our conscience tells us that if good and evil are the same or if there is no heaven or hell, life would be completely meaningless. You may not see the purpose of life yet, but to see without a doubt that life is meaningless when you mind is clear and are not under emotional stress is not possible. 

*Our Amazing Genealogy

        Today's Gospel reading from Matthew gave us the genealogy of Jesus. The total number of generations from Abraham to David is 14; from David to the Babylonian exile, 14; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, 14. All of us can be traced back to Adam and Eve, but what is amazing is that through Christ we are now directly the adopted sons and daughters of the heavenly Father.

**Not Belonging to This World

        John 18.36: Jesus answered (to Pontius Pilate), "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." We who follow the Lord must also realize that we belong to his kingdom and not to this world. Therefore, we won't be troubled when things go against us in this world, knowing that we'll be dwelling in the Father's kingdom later for all eternity. 

***Most Beautiful Human Being

      On November 8, I posted the story of Roy Schoeman to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared. At one point, he asked her what her favorite prayer was. Her answer: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." This is one of the short prayers we recite right after daily Mass at my church. Today I also realize that these are the exact words inscribed on the front side of the Miraculous Medal, a medal I've been wearing around my neck for decades. If you do not know anything about this medal, you can find its extraordinary story online. Briefly, the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Labouré, at the time a novice in the community of the Daughters of Charity, Paris, in 1830. She instructed Catherine to have the medal struck, paving the way for the Church to declare officially the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary 24 years later. The Blessed Mother told Catherine that those who wear the medal would receive great graces. I believed and still believe in that. The fact that I can know our Lord so intimately today is certainly one of those great graces. I love my Holy Mother, the most beautiful human being God has ever created. (A footnote. You can still see the chair Mary sat in while conversing with Catherine at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, 140 Rue du Bac, Paris. St. Catherine's incorrupt body can be seen displayed there as well.)

*Happiness That Lasts

        We cannot be happy if we only get to be happy for a short time. All things of the world pass, so there is no point in attaching yourself to any of them. I think of the tsunami that hit Japan suddenly 7 years ago which destroyed so many lives, homes, and buildings. Recently, the whole town of Paradise just 80 miles north of here burned to the ground and practically all the residents became homeless in no time. If we ever have another world war, the extent of destruction of lives and properties would be impossible to estimate. Therefore, get yourself detached from all things of the world and seek eternal security and happiness in heaven, then you'll be truly happy now and forever. No "here today, gone tomorrow"; we demand "here today and here forever"! 

Perfect Union Time

        Communion experience. The Lord entered me, so it was the perfect time to rest myself in him. This means abandoning myself completely to him, putting all my trust in him. And we became one.

Turning Sorrow Into Joy

        Communion experience. If we are willing to suffer with the Lord, God will turn our sorrow into joy. And automatically, we'll taste all his joys. 

***A Great Blessing*

        When you are in union with Christ, you and the Lord share the same joys and sorrows. So carrying a burden in your heart for his sake is simply being with him carrying that burden. This is why for us, his yoke is easy and his burden light (Matthew 11.30). What a blessing it is to experience the same joys and sorrows with the Lord!

**God Is Fire

        God is fire because he illuminates my way, warms my heart, purifies it by burning up all its impurities and dross, and sets it aflame with holy zeal. 

**Do you Realize . . .*

that when you become the master of your own life, you only succeed in becoming your own slave? (No laughing matter.)  

*Who Is Your Center?

        How often do you think of God? Do you ever think about him? How often do you think of yourself? Do you care a lot more about yourself than about God? These questions help us realize how much we know God. The quickest way to know God is to surrender ourselves to him to let him be the center of our life. And he will set us free to enjoy fully our new freedom in him.

*Nation's Woe

        Today is the Memorial of St. John of the Cross. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11, in speaking to the crowds about John the Baptist, Jesus said, "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" This reminds me of the fake news media in this country. They no longer report news objectively; they would twist facts, accentuate the negative, or spread outright lies to spin the public to hate someone they dislike, such as President Donald Trump right now. In general, double standard and hypocrisy exist in many of our nation's places. You have to be totally ignorant of God to not sense the fierce ongoing war between good and evil. 

Complacency, Our Enemy

        We must never remain complacent when our soul is Satan's target in his war waged against God. This is why the Lord wants us to remain alert and be vigilant at all times. Not doing anything bad is not good enough – we must do every little bit we can to help our Lord. Don't commit any sin of omission. And our reward will be great in heaven.

**Ideal Union With God

        We have Christ the Lord dwelling within our heart; we no longer exist independently. When people see us, they would see only the Lord. We glorify God alone, now completely free of ourselves.

**Universal and Personal

        This is our God, the God of Christ. He is universal because he loves every single one of us and wishes that all of us would enter heaven to live happily forever with him. He is personal because he would have died to redeem you even if you were the only one existing. He is so personal that he wishes to be your soulmate even now while you are on earth. 

*Most Urgent Prayer Now*

        "Lord, have mercy on us!"

**Foolish Humans

        Today is the Memorial of St. Lucy. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 11, Jesus said to the crowds: "Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." So we can say that the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest on earth. 1 Corinthians 1.25: The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. We humans forget that God who created us is infinitely greater, wiser, and stronger than us finite creatures. Any finite number compared to infinity is essentially zero. Unfortunately, there are many of us who think that they are smart enough not to need God anymore, unaware that they are exhibiting utter foolishness. Know that the smartness of the world is dumbness in the eyes of God.

***Flaring Spiritual Warfare

        Be clear about it, we are all engaged in the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. As a matter of fact, this warfare is all about battling for our souls. Unknowingly, you may already have been held hostage by Satan, but those who are fighting evil know that they are fighting for God. The polarization between good and evil has never been so clear. From here on, I can only see that the battle intensifies, as our last days diminish. Rampant sins are causing so much misery around the world. I won't be surprised that major disasters will hit and civil wars break out in the various prosperous countries. It was the Middle East first, possibly Europe next and America soon. If Christians are no longer listening to their God, it is a bad sign. The great joy I feel in the Lord is mixed with the great sorrow I feel for the world, but God is my refuge from whom I seek help and consolation.

Spirit-Filled Joy

        Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 tells us that Mary, pregnant with Jesus, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and when she greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and the infant in her womb (John the Baptist) leaped for joy. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we would also feel great joy upon hearing the Lord speaking to us or merely at the thought of him. Therefore, rejoice if you have such joy, for the Holy Spirit dwells within you.

***The Tepid Church***

        Today the Church has become relatively tepid. The cause: no more abandoning ourselves in Christ. The remedy: seek union with God.  

Blind Generation

         I lament that so many people worship so many false gods nowadays: glamor of the celebrities, name-brand merchandise, luxury cars, smart technology, etc. – summarily, vanity and mammon. But they cannot save you. In fact, they will ruin your soul. How blind and foolish today's generation is!      

*We Don't Know

        Any of us may die tomorrow or Jesus may come tomorrow.        

**About Sinning*

        Sinning is a complete waste of time. So you get your way, do you really feel good about it? Even if you get some pleasure out of it, how long will that last? Anything you contemplate that will make you feel guilty or regret later is not worth doing. If you sin and hurt others, your sin can be serious. And if you sin and cause others to leave God, your sin is now deadly serious. Above all, know that however you sin, you hurt and sadden your heavenly Father the most.

**Habitual Sins

        I used to sleep late and get up late every morning for many years. Then I was able to change all that by going to bed early and rising early the next morning everyday. I used to sit with my legs crossed most of the time. Then I realized that I really shouldn't do that sitting in a church pew during Mass, and I was able to change that too. Now I actually feel better sitting anywhere without crossing my legs. The point I am getting at is that many of our sins are also habitual and you can change your habit to stop committing them again. 

**Fearless Living in Christ

        Christ our Savior has already come, making it clear that we can have life in him forever. Once we know that our soul is safe in him and our body will pass away anyway, there is truly nothing left for us to fear. Let the Lord remove all your sins first and then all your fears.

*A Big Deal*

        It strikes me that the fact that God can forgive our sins is a big deal. Because if you are stuck with sins, you simply won't be able to get into heaven! In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, Jesus forgives the sins of a paralytic for having faith in him. Anyhow, the sure way is to repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. Having God cleanse you spiritually is more amazing than having him heal you physically. For only he can do this, and it's a request with which he'll always gladly comply.  

Sharing the Joy of the Holy Spirit

        When you are in union with God, your spirit is in union with the Holy Spirit, sharing the same joy.

***Real Presence in the Eucharist

        Communion experience. I received the greatest possible gift on earth, the Lord himself. By the way, a Eucharistic miracle just occurred in Buffalo, NY. This is not the first miracle of it kind. I personally saw one Host which once bled and is now preserved in Betania, Venezuela. You can google and find others preserved around the world. Unfortunately, the bishops in Buffalo for inexplicable reasons to me, instead of investigating the phenomenon and preserving it for the faithful to witness, ordered the Host to be disposed of. Fortunately, you can still see some of the images caught before it was disposed of on this part of Raymond Arroyo's latest World Over report. 

**Simple Obedience Prayer

       Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Gospel reading from Luke 1, the angel Gabriel came to Nazareth to announce the birth of Jesus to Mary, informing her that the child would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born through her. Mary's final response was: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." That last line shows Mary's perfect obedience to God. In fact, it begs for God's will be done. This is a prayer we can learn quickly to say at any time to get ourselves ready to do God's will. 

*The Remnant Church

        In Matthew 7.21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." How can you be sure that your name is written in heaven? If you are not quite sure, then it's probably not written there. If you truly love the Lord and are trying to do God's will in all things and not even concerned about whether your name is written in heaven or not, you certainly will enter the kingdom of heaven. How many of us belong to this group? Perhaps not the majority. The word "remnant church" comes to my mind. It is made up of "leftovers," those who remain within the Body of Christ after all the others have left or are only loosely tied to it now. 

How Jesus Frees Us

        Have you really thought about that Jesus can set us free? Well, he can free us from being self-centered and from our own ego; he can free us from feeling anxious and worrying; he can lighten all our burdens for us to carry easily and turn our sufferings into joy; he can remove all shackles that keep us from approaching him; he can remove all our sins and even our desire to sin; he can fill our heart with peace and joy; he removes our fear of death and makes us look forward to meeting him in heaven; and he can makes us live in bliss for all eternity. That last freedom alone is good enough for me.

**State of Mankind

        "The love of money is the root of all evils" – 1 Timothy 6.10. More fundamentally, it's our rebelliousness against God that has made our world so chaotic and disordered. On this tiny planet in this vast universe, billions of us all try to play God, concerned only about our own happiness on earth and not realizing that we'll soon pass away and face judgment. It's quite a pitiful sight. Perhaps it's not a bad idea to play God here so as to see that we are the only creatures who are capable of sinning and are messing up things in the universe. 

**Receiving Faith From God

        Faith is a gift from God. You can receive this most precious divine gift by opening up your heart to the Lord. How strong a faith you receive depends upon how much you open up your heart. Do you know that as you open wide your heart to God, the narrow entrance gate to heaven also opens wide for you? 

*Becoming Lovely

        God is love, so he loves us. Because of this tremendous love, he is most lovely and we fall in love with him. It is this love that can bring us inner peace and unite us to him as one. Surrender to God to let this love engulf you and you'll be lovely to him.

Mutual Relationship

         If we acknowledge Jesus before others, he will acknowledge us before the heavenly Father. If we deny him before others, he will deny us before the heavenly Father. (Matthew 10.32-33.) If we trust in the Lord, he will trust in us. If we glorify him, he will glorify us.

***How to Experience God

        I watched about 3/4 of Fr. Mark Goring's testimony on how he came to know God on YouTube. Some of his experiences were similar to mine, so I am prompted to reiterate what I have said in the past again, for I think the message is important. Knowing God is simple to understand. God has done all the preparatory work and is waiting for your move. He has even knocked on your door before, but you did not hear him. What is essential is that you must leave your heart open – the wider the better. If you seek God and expect him to hear from him, but if your heart is closed, he's not going to barge in. Of course, there are exceptions. In the case of St. Paul, even when was persecuting Christians, Jesus called him directly to be his Apostle to the Gentiles. Roy Schoeman whose testimony I recently posted is another case. But for most of us, the fast and sure way to know God is to open your heart and invite God to enter. The wider you open yourself, the sooner you'll experience him. This is to show that you are humble and sincere in seeking him. If you keep God out, he's going to keep you out, or said perhaps more accurately, you'll keep yourself out by your own choice.

Are You Limiting God?

        Nothing is impossible with the Lord God, so know that he can transform you into a saint if you so desire.

*Only Sure Way to Salvation

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus tells us how we must build our house on a solid foundation so that it will not collapse when the rain falls, the floods come, and the winds blow and buffet it, by listening to his words and acting on them. Of all the battles, the battle for the soul is the one that matters the most to us. And Christ is the only rock we can set our house on to safeguard our souls – there is no alternative.

Sufficient Reason for Belief

        From the Old Testament, we know that God is eternal. From the New Testament, we know that God is love. These two facts are more than sufficient for us to believe and worship the God of Christ.

**For Rapid Spiritual Progress*

        Do not let tradition, customs, or conventional ways bind your spirit in any way. Be free in the Lord Jesus Christ, letting him show you everything to reach union with him.  

***Make Your Choice

        We cannot always be what we want to be, but we can always be what God wants us to be. Think about it.

***Power of Genuine Love

        Communion experience. The Lord is now all mine! I've never been so possessive, yet I want everyone to possess him. Is there something odd here? No, it's because of his powerful love for all of us!

*Smartest Move With the Heart*

        The heart is the innermost part of us, the center of our total personality. Give your heart totally to God and you will enjoy peace and freedom.