Effortless Creation

       For God, creating life or a miracle or anything is effortless. For us, creating something new always involves a lot of work. One thing that strikes me as an exception is creating a link to God. Anytime we wish to connect with the Lord, he knows it already. This is instant communication created without any effort on our part, unless you consider turning to the Lord to be an effort.  

On Temptation

        I've mentioned that the smart way to overcome temptation is to flee from it. I also want to point out that the more you enter the Lord and sense his holiness, the more repugnant sin becomes. Being human, you'll always feel the lure of temptation, but now you are stronger because you see that it will lead you to commit something that's repugnant to you. Also, attain union with God and you will not be lead into any temptation that can overpower you.

What God Asks of Us

        Do your humble best and not worry about the rest.

*My Greatest Joy Is . . .

that the Lord is my soulmate. A soulmate is someone completely compatible with you. This is difficult to realize between two human beings. However, with God you can attain union and become perfectly compatible with him.

The Great Tragedy

        Life can be so beautiful and complete if you can attain union with Christ, yet the world does not even want to know him.

*Doing What Matters

        In the limited time we have on earth, what matters is not how much work we get done, but doing what God wants us to do.

Is There Reproductive Justice? (reposted)

        The fact that the Left in this country has absolutely no regard for the unborn and care only about their own existence and political power shows clearly that they are hypocrites to the core. It is appropriate that I repost this blog of March 23, 2012 below:

         Yesterday I attended a forum on "Reproductive Justice: Does a Woman Have a Right to Choose?" at a local college. The panelists were made up of five well-known pro-choice, pro-abortion females. Naturally, abortion was the biggest issue among the reproductive rights claimed. What I basically saw was that they didn't believe that anyone, not even God or Church, should tell a woman what to do with her body, not admitting that the child conceived is not really a part of the mother's body. They admitted that abortion terminates a life, but it's the mother alone who knows whether it should keep the baby or not. One panelist had gone through an abortion herself and knew how painful an experience it was, so she wanted to make sure that others would have an easier experience ~ why didn't she make sure that others wouldn't have to go through an abortion? 

       They used the position taken by Catholics for Choice to bolster their own. I almost laughed out loud when one said that the bishops should not tell women what to do with the unborn because they don't have any children themselves. I wanted to tell them since they don't really know God, they are not qualified to preach to others on moral matters.

      I believe that they're probably all church goers and did care about women's welfare; but unfortunately, they were misguided. Until the heart is touched by the love of God and converted, the chasm remains between the pro-abortion camp and the pro-life one. I also sensed that they might feel that the pro-lifers care only about the unborn ~ how I wish they know that we love the pregnant mothers, the unborn babies, and even them!  

Effective Messaging Needed

        Telling others simply to love God and be holy is just too general – it won't affect the listener much in any way. What we need to give are specific, focused, strong and clear messages that illuminate the mind and better yet, touch the heart. The Lord is our supreme example. We don't have his authority, but we can certainly get to know his thoughts and learn his ways first.   

*Our Demonic Generation

        In the Gospel reading from Mark 6, Herod had John the Baptist beheaded. Many of our generation today are right with Herod. We have a major political party that has no qualms about killing the unborn at any stage of their life, even if they survive a botched abortion. You are talking about allowing mothers to kill their own children for whatever reason! Our generation has truly become demonic.  

How Real Is God to You?

        Faith is all about how real God is to you. Attain union with God and the Lord will let you know without the slightest doubt that he is real, for he and you are now one.

**Only Possible Union

        Think about it: only union with God makes sense. We cannot have union with a tree or any inanimate object. Union with nature is rather vague. Union with another person can never be perfect because there will always be differences between the two. Union with God makes sense because if differences exist, God has the power to remove them through changing us. Therefore, let union with God be the ideal state for us to attain.

***Get Baptized in the Holy Spirit!*

        In the Gospels, John the Baptist says that he baptizes with water, but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit. In the Church's Charismatic Renewal movement, we do pray for baptism in the Holy Spirit and, lo and behold, dramatic changes take place. All of a sudden, scriptures come alive, Jesus becomes real, praying is a joy, you experience great exuberance, or your heart is set on fire for the Lord. These are all real experiences. Therefore, I ask you, my friends, to ask the Lord to baptize you in the Holy Spirit or release his power in you, to kindle in you the fire of his love. The Holy Spirit is gentle but powerful. Simply pray straight from you heart and let miracles happen. Anything coming from your heart the Lord hears. Anything you ask for for the love of him, he honors. His whole goal is have you live in peace and joy now and enjoy eternal life later. 

Asking for Your Gifts

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus summoned the Twelve, began to send them out to preach repentance and gave them authority over unclean spirits. They went off and indeed drove out many demons. It shows that all our gifts come from God and when you need a special gift, he gives it to you too. This leads me to think that we should ask for all the gifts we need for our work. Yes, ask him to make us special.

A Brainteaser***

        Again, in reviewing my old posts, I deleted those with links that no longer exist and came across this brainteaser posted on 9/26/2011. I thought it would be fun to repost it here. This time I'll give a hint to make it easier: the word starts with the letter N. Here we go.

        

        What word is it? 

        (1) The word has seven letters.

        (2) It precedes God.

        (3) It is greater than God.

        (4) It is more evil than the Devil.

        (5) All poor people have it.

        (6) Wealthy people need it.

        (7) If you eat it, you will die.

*Dealing With God*

        Everything about God is infinite – nothing is impossible with him. With such a God, there is no point in asking him questions. The only way to deal with infinity is to accept it. We should just trust in him, obey him, rest in him, while marveling at his infiniteness.  

*Versatile Prayer

        Just nine days ago on Jan 28, I blogged about the three-word prayer "If you wish . . . ." Today I see that you can complete it with anything you have on your heart or let the Lord show you how he wants you to complete it. For example, you can pray "If you wish, heal my knee" or feel the Lord want you to pray "If you wish, help me forgive that person."  

Joy of Anticipation

        Communion experience. Knowing that I would be seeing my beloved Lord not too long from now filled me with joy. We all need to have something to look forward to. And I have found mine already, the one who is the source of all my joy.

Faith Releases God's Power

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 6, Jesus was not able to perform any mighty deed in his native place Nazareth because of the lack of faith of his own people. When we don't have any faith, we don't get to see the power of God in operation. God can do wonders; it's we who shut him out. 

***Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (repost)

      Anne Catherine Emmerich is a holy, German nun (1774-1824), who took sufferings upon herself to expiate the sins of the Church and her members. I started reviewing my old posts and came across three on her which I blogged in July of 2011. I am reposting them here because what she had experienced in her visions deserves to be known by all.       

          (1) Her angel led her across a narrow bridge safely and she saw on the bank a mousetrap around which a little mouse kept running and running, and at last slipped in to get the bait. Anne cried out, "You are sacrificing your liberty, your life for a mouthful!" "Are men more reasonable," asked her angel, "when for a momentary gratification they endanger their soul's salvation?"

        (2) She was taken to a place to be shown how it is with our prayers before God. They seemed to be inscribed on large white tablets which were divided into four classes: some were written in magnificent golden letters; others in shining silver; some in darker characters; and still others in black streaked lines. The guide explained to her: "What's written in gold is the prayer of those who have united their good works to the merits of Jesus Christ and often renew this union; they aim at observing his precepts and imitating his example. What's written in silver is the prayer of those who think not of union with the merits of Jesus Christ; but who are, notwithstanding, pious and pray in the simplicity of their hearts. What's written in darker colors is the prayer of those who have no peace unless they frequently confess, communicate, and daily say certain prayers; but who are, however, tepid and perform their good works through habit. Lastly, what's written in black streaked characters is the prayer of those who place all their confidence in vocal prayers and pretended good works, but who do not keep God's Commandments nor curb their evil desires. Such prayer has no merit before God."

         (3) God also made it clear to Anne about his justice and mercy in this vision. She said, "Great is God's justice, but still more inconceivable is his mercy. He damns only those who are determined not to be converted; they who have a spark of good will are saved. Those who grieve for their sins, confess them sincerely, and trust confidently in the merits of their Savior; they are saved and their sins will no longer be remembered. It's true that they go to purgatory, but not to remain long. On the other hand, many stay long in purgatory who, although not great sinners, have lived tepidly. Through pride they would take no admonition or instruction from their confessor. The time was when the thought of only one poor sinner's condemnation grieved me so that I could not get over it; but on the present occasion, though many were condemned, I was perfectly calm, for I saw that God's justice called for it." Here she just answered my questions. 

**To All Sinners:

        Let any among you who has no sin be the first to reject Christ.

God Makes Us Forgetful

        Communion experience. I entered the Lord and was able to forget about everything else, for he was everything to me.

Lord Over All Demons

        I came across this interesting15-minute video "Exorcisms and the Church," an interview with Fr. Vincent Lambert by Raymond Arroyo on EWTN. For me, it clearly shows that Jesus is Lord over all demons and evil spirits.

Do Think Ahead

        On a beautiful, calm, sunny day, it's easy not think about the stormy days ahead after the season changes. Then when those days arrive, we are not prepared and may suffer damage or loss of our properties. Likewise, if we do not think about our life after death in advance, we won't be prepared and may lose our soul.

An "Early" Warning

        I have lived long and known the Lord enough to see clearly what life is all about. When you are young, you only see what you wish to achieve in your life. In other words, you see yourself as the master in control of your own destiny. What you do not always see is that you were born into a mostly secular, sinful world which can easily influence and shape you wrongly. As you age, you begin to see this danger and start to seek God or if you had somewhat known him earlier, to deepen your faith. My advice is to be aware of the existence of evil and start seeking the God of Christ when you are still young. If you play God too long, you may lose him forever.       

**Good Test Question

        How ready are you to go to God now? This tests how much you belong to the world, also how much you belong to God. If you are only 50% ready, you are still in the danger zone. God wants you to be 100% ready.

The Foolish and the Wise

        There are fools and there are the wise ones. The fools are those, especially the elites, who think they are in control, have everything, and live to serve themselves only; while the wise ones are those who have already linked themselves to God, got their eternal life all settled, and now live to serve the Lord, bearing fruit and building up treasures in heaven. 

***Old Warning Once More!

        On Feb. 1, I mentioned that I probably would not be able to blog until after Feb. 10. Well, things have turned out differently – I am back and blogging. Here's what has happened. I was asked to see three people south of here in Los Angeles, Temecula, and the San Diego area. My wife was already in Los Angles. I did not get a strong call to go until I heard that the friend in the San Diego area who recently lost her husband was feeling somewhat down, so I thought it would be a good time to lift her spirit by telling her about the Lord who can fill us with so much joy and hope. Yesterday I took the short flight in the morning. It had been raining hard all along the coast. At times in flight, the turbulence was so bad that the plane shook and jerked you thought it might break apart. Anyway, after a little over an hour, the flight continued past the arrival time for about 20+ minutes in grey and murky layers of clouds with horrible visibility. The time was before noon, but it looked so dark outside that you thought it was almost evening. Finally, the pilot announced that the plane was going to return to where we started, for he could not locate the airport landing strip and did not want to waste more fuel. It was all very dramatic. We finally got back, all passengers cheered. Clearly, the Lord did not want me to complete this trip for reason not clear to me yet. I also suffered from motion sickness, feeling dizzy and nauseous. Slept all afternoon and all night, feeling almost normal now. I thought of the suffering in hell again. It would be so much worse than feeling motion-sick and, worst of all, suffering for all eternity! I truly wish that no one would ever end up there. Do not commit any mortal sin. If you already have, go to confession and get it absolved. Salvation means saving your own soul too and first! This may be one of the reasons I did not complete this trip. 

Absolutely Sensible Advice

        In Matthew 6.33, Jesus said, "Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [the pagans seek] will be given you besides." He is saying that we should choose God and heaven first, and not worry about everything else. [Note. I probably won't be able to post anything until after the 10th of this month. Meanwhile, God's blessings on all of you who visit my blog.]

Letting the Kingdom of God Grow

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus said to the crowds, "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." This is a beautiful picture. We should be the soil for the Lord to make rich so that the seed he plants in us can grow to its fullest potential. Know that what we produce may not be impressive or even visible to us, but it would be great in the eyes of the Lord.

Safe in God's Light

        I see the Lord, the only one radiant in the darkness all around me, and I know that I am safe in his light which dispels all evil.

*Heart for God

      A kind heart alone is not good enough for God; it must also be pure.

God Is Fair

        Put Jesus first and he'll put you first. 

*How to Stop Hiding!

        It is easy for us to hide things from others, things that would make us look bad. But it is impossible to hide anything from God. Therefore, if you can completely open yourself to God, letting him take away everything that shouldn't be in your heart, then there'll be nothing you need to hide from others anymore. You are now liberated and free!

**Unequal but Fair

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 4, Jesus told the parable of the lamp and ended by saying, "To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." How does this make sense? Think of yourself as a receptacle. If you leave it uncovered, wide open, God would fill it with all he wants to give you, so you receive more and more. If you leave your cover on, then pretty soon whatever you had would either rot, so you have to throw it away, or be used up, leaving you empty with nothing. Lesson: never close your door on God. 

**Right Way to Approach God

      Martha Argerich is unquestionably one of the top pianists in the world. I watched this old video on YouTube when she was rehearsing the Schumann piano concerto and liked what she said about how she approached music. You can watch the video by clicking here. To find out what she said that resonated with me, read below.

          "You must try to achieve directness with music. You know, like with a person. If you figure you know how you'll act with someone, it' a fiasco. That's not how it works. You have to be in tune to how that person is at that given moment, not to the idea you have of him."

         We should approach God this way too. That is, we go directly to him, remain open and spontaneous (no preconceived ideas), and tune in to him. And great benefits will come through to us.

***Be Meek, Not Weak

       There is a fundamental difference between being meek and being weak. It takes courage to be meek, which is to remain humble without ego. If you do not have the courage to speak out for the Lord or do what is right, then you are being weak or timid. For me, the Holy Catholic Church was established by Christ who promised that the gates of the netherworld should not prevail against it, so I firmly believe that the Church will always teach and safeguard the truths as she has so far done. Then because of it, all the more Satan wants to ruin her. With evil prevailing over the whole world, the time is so urgent that we follow Christ and be extra strong and active in fighting the battle for him. Sadly, there is a lack of both unity and strong leadership within the Church. At the meeting of the U.S. bishops in Baltimore last November, there was really no progress made in addressing the abuse crisis within the Church. Three days ago, I posted about the New York Catholic Governor Andrew Cuomo signing the horrible pro-abortion bill into law. The response from Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York as to whether Cuomo should be excommunicated as some other bishops had suggested was weak and evasive, showing that he was definitely no warrior or even soldier for Christ. He basic message is that we can go against the teachings of the Holy Church or commit other mortal sins and still receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist when we feel like it. I also personally wish to hear a clear, strong, decisive voice coming from the Holy Father. This is no time to play nice, for billons of souls are at stake, while Christ is continuing to suffer because of us. The Lord was meek and humble, but he also spoke out without any fear. You can say that he is God and we are not, but aren't we supposed to imitate him?

*Our Best Good News

        In the first reading today from Hebrews 10, Paul lets all know that where there is forgiveness of sins, there is no longer offering for sin. Let me just remind all once more that even though we are sinners, God has already resolved the problem! We don't ever need to be burdened or enslaved by sin anymore, for the Lord can make us clean if we repent. This is not just good news; it has to the best possible news we can ever get. For with our sins removed, the way back to our Father in heaven is made all clear.

**Losers and Winners*

        We all play little games in life. This is what I mean.  We have good and evil in this world and we make sure that we get the best for ourselves. It's figuring out how to make the most money, get the best possible deal, get into the best school, ensure that we have good health, etc. But there are also heaven and hell and one big game we mustn't neglect to play, and that is figuring out how we can get into heaven and not end up in hell. So, we have those who foolishly play and win all the little games, but lose the the big one they forgot about, and those who wisely play and win the big game before "playing" any other games. 

***You Must Experience God***

        God needs to be experienced. We need to get in touch with him, to get connected to him, and if fact, to become one with him. How do we do it? It's quite simple. First, be completely honest with yourself and with God. In a quiet chapel or somewhere you won't be disturbed, open yourself up to God to let him see everything that's in your heart – hiding nothing – this is important. Then he will make you see what shouldn't be there, the true reasons you are unhappy about certain things, why you have no peace in general, etc. You'll be revealed things that you would never see if you hadn't gone before him like this. Once you see all these things, you'll experience relief and new joy. After all, self-understanding is the key to spiritual freedom. If you feel like crying, cry your heart out, for it's the Holy Spirit touching your soul. The joy comes from knowing that God has removed the barrier between you and him. You are now connected directly with him. Yes, we all need to go through a breakdown to be made anew by God. Now, experience and rejoice in him as your most intimate soulmate. Your joy is now complete. (A footnote. If you are a Catholic, the best time for you to open up to the Lord is right after you receive the Holy Eucharist.)

**God Can Be All Yours

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 3, the mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house in which he was speaking to a crowd. When informed that they were waiting outside asking for him, he said, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Looking around at those seated in the circle he continued, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." So we can become members of God's immediate family by doing his will, no initiation required! As a matter of fact, if we abandon ourselves in God totally, he immediately becomes all ours!

Invisible Tug-of-War

        In John 8.12, Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, "I am the life of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus has always given us the good news, straight and clear, showing his love for us; yet people find him to be a stumbling block. How come? I see a tug-of-war going on. If you are still resisting God, it's because Satan still has a hold on you, preventing you from joining God on the opposing side. You'll be free only if you break all the shackles holding you as a prisoner. This is the time to wield the power of your free will to let God set you free.

*Soul vs. Material Possessions

        Communion experience. Our soul is our most precious possession. Compared to the soul, all our material possessions are worth nothing!

Smart Living

        Of course, in life we do have things we must get done to meet some deadline, but most things can be left undone for a while. If you are OK with that, you have abandoned yourself to God to some extent. We all are going to die and I am sure on that last day, there will be many things still unfinished or not wrapped up yet, and we'll just have to let go. Since we do not know the day we die, why not let things go starting right this moment? We are just passing through on earth, so don't let anything tie you down. Remain free and enjoy life. 

**God Does Not Worry

        Jesus told his disciples not to worry about what to say when they face coming persecutions, for the Holy Spirit will teach them what to say. I am happy that I do not have to think about what to blog, for the Holy Spirit tells my heart what to say each time. Worrying should not be any Christian's cup of tea.

Only One Everlasting Bond

        All earthly bonds between loved ones will end, but the bond we make with the Lord will last forever.

A Three-Word Prayer

        In the Gospel, a leper came to Jesus and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." Here I learn another prayer. I simply say to the Lord, "If you wish . . ." and he knows exactly what I ask of him. 

Formula for Spiritual Progress

        We are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. If we truly believe that Christ is our Lord and our God, we have no choice but also to believe in him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. What's tragic is that many Christians do not take God seriously enough; they believe in him rather casually, not much better than being lukewarm. If one does not know God well yet, tell him to love God more, to believe in him more, or to be holier will not work. They must understand that only God can make all these things happen. Therefore, teach or advise them to abandon themselves to God first and he will make all things easy for them. This is absolutely truly. I'll again say: save your energy and let God do the work for you.  

***Worst Possible Oppression

        We just had our Walk for Life on the West Coast, equivalent to the March for life held in various other part of the country. The right to life is our God-given right to live. Don't forget that for us who get to live, we also have the right to claim eternal life! To terminate the life of the unborn is oppression at its worst. I like to close with this quote I posted some time back: "Everyone who supported slavery was free. Everyone who supports abortion was born. And that, my friends, is how oppression works."

*Perfect Peace

        This profound peace comes from dwelling completely in the Lord with you becoming totally nonexistent on your own. Your spirit is now set free and is filled with hope and joy in your most beloved. 

*Worst Case of Man Playing God

        This past week New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (a self-professed Catholic) signed a radical pro-abortion bill into law, legalizing abortion for basically any reason up to birth in New York state. This is a clear case of man going against God. Satan has taken control of many in politics, the news media, the academia, and the entertainment business. I don't want to give the impression that America is going to hell, because we still have a patriotic, God-fearing, and God-loving majority who normally remain civil and quiet, but will rise to defend their liberty, their right to religious freedom, and their faith in the Lord if they must. The righteous may suffer awhile, but they will live forever. Let's pray the Fatima prayer: O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy!