***God Challenging Us for a Reason

        John 5:17-30 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. Jesus succeeded in incensing the Jews, for he called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Reading the 14 verses confirms that the Jews heard him right. Jesus truly challenges us here again: we must say he is either equal to God or someone who doesn't know what he's talking about. There is no way out; we are cornered and must make a choice. We can evade everything else, but not this matter pertinent to our eternal survival. This is how compelling God can be for the sake of our salvation.

Let God Make You Beautiful

        It is most beautiful to let God transform you into a new spiritual being, beautiful for him to behold. The world worships physical beauty which can be a curse, for it can inflate the ego, fostering pride. When God makes you beautiful, you are beautiful indeed. And it's only what he thinks of you that matters. 

*Being Open-minded or Not

        In today's Gospel's reading from John 5, Jesus cured a man who had been ill for 38 years. The day was a sabbath. The Jews found out about it and instead of being curious about the miraculous healing, they began to persecute Jesus for doing it unlawfully on a sabbath. People who always find some fault with Jesus are the ones who do not want to believe in him in the first place. I met one person once who said that he could not believe in Christ because he referred to himself as the Son of Man, not as Son of God. This is something you can easily explain away. Anyway, to those who want to believe, everything comes together and there are no stumbling blocks. 

**Don't Ignore God

        God is not limited by time nor distance. He lives forever and is everywhere. As long as you open your heart to him, he enters to dwell within you. You could have been one who followed Christ while he was on earth 2,000 years ago; but if you hadn't allowed him to enter your heart, he remains outside of you. On the other hand, if today you who haven't even seen the Lord open your heart to him, he is all yours. God is always there, but we pass. Therefore, grab him while we can or we'll leave this world empty-handed.

Up to Us First

        We need to leave all things up to God, but it's up to us to make it happen or not – we hold the starting gun.

**Great Partnership

        In serving God, he accomplishes his will through us and we accomplish ours through him.

**One Great Feeling!

        Being aware that the Lord actually dwells in you in complete union with you.

**To Know God's Will

        We need to be patient for God to reveal any specific will he has for us. He does not want us to be anxious about anything, including knowing his will. More often than not, the revelation evolves over time and in the end, you know what he wants you to do and you feel right and comfortable about it. This is your reward for trusting in him. God is love, joy, and also peace.

Nosiness and Contentment

        Of these two, one is undesirable and the other desirable. The definition of nosiness is undue interest in the affairs of others; prying. The motivation here is not pure, so we must avoid wasting time being nosey about the affairs of others lest God is displeased. Contentment is feeling that you no longer lack anything after you already possess God. If you are still not happy with yourself or life, you are not happy with the Lord yet. 

God Makes the Big Difference

        Today I realize that Christ Jesus has made everything in life significant and meaningful for me; for this I am most grateful, not to mention a host of other much greater benefits or blessings. 

**Intention Over Execution

        Communion experience. I knew that my execution to be perfect was imperfect, but my intention to be perfect was good enough for the Lord and saved my day.

**A Question We Must Respond To

        We are all sinners and only God our creator can take away (forgive) our sins to make us clean again. Do we want to remain in sin and die with sins unforgiven or take care of them before we die? We must respond to this simple but critical and no-nonsense question before we die, the sooner the better.

***Complete Abandonment to God!

        The desire to be a saint or a martyr can originate from the ego too. The intention sounds good, but is it pure? If you wish to be a saint because you love God, that would be fine. On the other hand, if you want to be a martyr, God may wish you to live a long life instead! Therefore, the best attitude to assume is to desire the Lord's will only – you just trust in him and accept whatever he wishes you to do or be. This is total obedience and abandonment, the perfect Christian way, simple and most beautiful.  

*To Be Restored to Perfection

        We may not be addicted to something as bad as gamboling or narcotic drugs, but we can be addicted to things such as cussing, getting impatient, fishing, golf, video games, etc. In general, I do believe that we are all addicted to my own ego and acquiring material goods. In other words, we are all shackled or enslaved to various degrees, one way or another. Here's where we need God to enter our life (heart) to free us from all our shackles. We need to be restored to the way we should be as God's perfect children. Since nothing is impossible with God, it's up to us to make it happen.

*Most Incredible Mercy

        Again, today is Friday and I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary. I thought about Jesus who came into the world and got himself killed. Those who did it not just killed another human being, but unknowingly killed one who is the Lord God, our beloved creator! Jesus knew that this was going to happen to him, as he carried out the Father's plan of salvation for us. On the cross, he even prayed for those who put him to death – "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." If they had repented, they would have been saved too. The mercy of our God is truly incredible!

*Bearing False Witness*

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus drove out a demon that was mute and the mute man started to speak. Some in the the crowds falsely believed that it's by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that the Lord drove out demons. This reminds me of today's leftist main stream media and politicians who knowingly ignore the facts and keep on accusing falsely those on the right they do not tolerate. This is a clear violation of God's 8th Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. I pity those who keep on doing this relentlessly without repentance, for they doom themselves. 

**Our Big Folly*

        Communion time thoughts. Here's our living, eternal, holy God who is our creator and knows all about us. Here are also all of us, finite and sinful, who think that we'll do just fine on our own. Don't you see the utter folly of our posture? We are no better than those who crucified the Lord for whom he prayed on the cross, "Father, forgiven them, they know not what they do." We are a big bunch who does not know what we do either. (Note: Not all of us are like that – I am just trying to make my point.)

*How to Love Properly

        We all have concerns that place heavy burdens on our heart. Our most urgent prayers are usually said for family members who are dear to us. Then when I place my trust fully in the Lord, I see that he is truly the one to take care of everything, way beyond the people I pray for. In this way, I become detached from them. Of course, I still love them, but this love is now transferred onto the Lord God in charge. As a result, I feel peaceful with no unnecessary concerns anymore. I see that loving properly is to love with faith and in peace.

***Going the Only Way***

        In Deuteronomy 6.5: Moses tells the Israelites: "You shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. In Mark 12.30: Jesus says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." The only way for us to accomplish this is to surrender ourselves completely to God to become one with him. There is not another way! Once you've done it, you would be so happy that you did it, for now the Lord communicates directly with your heart. Without such a breakthrough, your spiritual progress will always be restrained.

***How to Be Free and Happy*

        Surrender yourself to God and do his will. This is the only way. And this is the simple truth. (This is how he has made us.)

Best Lenten Offering

        During this Lent, giving up something like eating chocolate cookies is good, but it's infinitely better to give up yourself to God so as to attain union with him. This positive approach will result in your becoming a saint for the rest of your life. With God, always go as far as you can for maximum security and enjoyment.

***Perfect Submission to God

        Communion experience. It should be a time of experiencing peace, but I felt that it's also a good time to let the Lord shake us up. Whatever God does to us can only be good for us. Therefore, remain completely passive to let him do whatever he wishes with you. 

***Living the Perfect Life

        Let the love of God reign in your heart so that everything you do will be motivated by him who is love. This happens when you let God increase to 100% and yourself decrease to zero. Then guess what, the Lord increases you to 100% in him! This is how he rewards us!

***Our Most Beloved Father

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 was the well-known Parable of the Lost Son. All of us are sons and daughters of our heavenly Father. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are officially adopted by God. Can't you hear the Father calling each one of us "My son" or "My daughter"? How endearing he is to us! At the same time, we must realize how much we can hurt him if we sin against him, for he loves us so much.

*To Rein in Our Speeches

        We speak freely on our own most of the time, and when we are inspired by the Holy Spirit, we speak what the Lord prompts us to say. When speaking on our own, if we are not discerning enough, what comes out can be critical of others or even start an argument. This happened to me recently at a small group sharing. In responding to something someone said, I expressed my point of view and sounded as if I was criticizing the person. If Jesus were at this meeting, he probably wouldn't have minded at all. Afterwards, I realized that I still did not have enough humility in me. From now on, I want to say only what Jesus wants me to say or whatever meets his approval. Humility must rule and the ego never surface. More submission to the Lord is in order.

*Ultimate Spiritual Action

        God alone is more than sufficient for us. Once you have him, you can let everything else go. Therefore, the ultimate spiritual action to take is to dive deep into the Lord to remain in union with him. You fulfill all your desire and receive continual graces from him. This is living in the Lord, not just surviving on your own.

***Our Last Hope

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 16 gave us the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both the rich man and poor Lazarus died; the former descended to the netherworld and the latter was carried away by angles to the bosom of Abraham. In torment, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers still living lest they also end up in the place of torment. Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets to listen to. If they will not listen to them, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." Now we have Jesus, the Son of God! If we won't even listen to him, we certainly banish our last hope of being saved. 

**Our Most Amazing Master!*

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus told the Twelve about his coming Passion, yet after the mother of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, asked Jesus to make her two sons sit, one at his right and one at his left, in his kingdom, the other ten heard about it and became indignant at the two brothers. It just shows how far our thoughts and ways are from God's. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servants; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Indeed, Jesus came and never lorded it over us nor made us feel his authority over us. This is the amazing fact: our God is our greatest servant!

**Devotion to God Alone

        Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph. Many of us Catholics have great devotion to saints. My personal favorite saint is St. Thérèse of Lisieux whose spirituality is most attractive to me. At Mass, the Lord gave me these thoughts. Devotion to any saint is good as long as it draws us to him. That is, devotion to Christ must always be foremost. Likewise, miracles should always lead us to their producer. When we start chasing after miracles instead of God, we start going astray. I know all great saints are most humble beings and would rather remain hidden in God. Putting them on too high a pedestal would probably make them squirm. They'd rather we go to the Lord directly than through them. So my point is again to always go to the Lord first. If you happen to celebrate the Feast of some saint, don't focus upon the saint; rather, ask the saint to help you increase your devotion to Christ. We can live without the saints, but we can't without the Lord. 

**To Live in the Present

          I see so many people worrying about so many things in this world. At my age, most people I know are older folks and they are very much concerned about how they are going to be taken care of in the near future. This is a legitimate concern, but to worry about it is wrong, especially if you profess to be a Christian. I can quote from Matthew to show that Jesus does not want us to worry about tomorrow or about life, and if we seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness first, everything will be taken care of for us. But most people dismiss these sayings outright because they think you have to be pretty naive to believe in such easily made statements. What I want to say is if you really believe in them to the letter, you'll find that they speak the truth. What is needed is faith.

        Today I see clearly that God has a plan for me. He knows how much time I have left in this world and what he has in mind for me to accomplish if I continue following him. I myself only have an inkling of what I should do within the next year or so. Therefore, I do not worry about anything, knowing that God knows it all already. Should my inkling turn out to be off, that's fine too. We only need to do our best each moment and not be concerned about the next.

God's Light and Mercy

        I love feeling that as a disciple of Christ, I am constantly basking in his light and mercy. His light helps me see what he sees, the reality, and my own life and path so clearly. And his mercy draws me ever close to him and helps me love him and all others throughout my life.

*To Be Like the Father*

        Jesus had said, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus said, "Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful." If you are perfect, you must be merciful too. Now, does being merciful make you perfect? If to be merciful is to be loving, then the answer is yes. For to be loving is to be like God who is perfect. So be merciful to all, do not judge anyone, and be concerned about their eternal life. Anyhow, be like the Father to become his favorite sons and daughters. 

**God to Be Experienced

        One watershed moment for the Christian is the moment he realizes that he is a sinner and needs Jesus as his Savior. He feels the Lord touching his soul definitively – usually an emotional experience he would always remember. Many Protestant brothers and sisters as well as myself who is a convert had it. The MS-13 gang members display this burst of emotions prominently in the video "God's Power of Conversion" I posted last Thursday. I have not encountered any cradle Catholics who talk about such a moment. I think it's because the question never came up for those who did not have to convert. Nevertheless, God should be experienced. If you remain open, the Lord will definitely make you aware of him. When I questioned him about us being the temple of the Holy Spirit, the gift of tears came to me unexpectedly. Of course, attaining union with the Lord is another big watershed. To experience God is to know him well and to love him.

***Ego, Our Worst Enemy

        The Lord made me see that ego is what keeps us from obeying him. It follows that ego is what prompts us to sin. Take a man who merely fantasizes and entertains impure thoughts – it's also the ego seeking self-gratification. The presence of ego shows the absence of humility. It is humility that frees us and ego that enslaves us. The path to God and heaven is clear. Seek union with God to rid yourself of ego to be perfect. 

**Ideal witnessing for the Lord

        Whenever we preach or witness to, or share with someone about Christ, we must be sure that we are promoting Christ and not ourselves. Sometimes you hear a great speaker and come away really impressed, but what you remember is the speaking and not so much the message. There are many homilies you hear from the pulpit that may be impressive, but fail to draw you deeper into the Lord. It's like listening to a pianist playing with great technical virtuosity, but not much feeling for the music. To be effective, we must live a hidden life in Christ with zero ego. Then let the Holy Spirit set our heart on fire so that the focus will be upon the Lord alone. 

***God's Power of Conversion

        As I have said, only God can fundamentally change a person. This short video shows how Jesus Christ had changed many MS-13 gang members. Praised be our Lord. Please pray for more conversions of them.

***Fast Way to Union With God

        One sure way of getting to know Jesus well is to talk to him whenever you can. Tell him everything on your mind and in your heart. Everything means everything, including things you wouldn't share with another human being. Keep doing this and receive the Holy Eucharist regularly and you'll reach union with God fast. (Naturally, you are expected to have all your sins removed by God first.)

*Be Prepared for Anything*

        I have planned on doing a few things for the coming months, then my wife had a new health issue and I realized that depending upon how it's going to turn out, I might have to scrap all my plans. I started thinking that I must be prepared for anything. Priorities must remain flexible, for all is in God's hands. If my plan doesn't work out, so be it. It's better to expect less and be surprised than expecting too much and be disappointed.
       The parable Jesus told at a dinner he was invited to in Luke 14 came to my mind. The Lord said to the invited guests and hosts, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, 'Give your place to this man,' and you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, 'My friend, more up to a higher position.' Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table." The bottom line: we should always remain humble – contrary to what the world teaches.

**Endearing Yourself to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." We as followers of the Lord do not knock on his door enough; it's as if we don't want to bother him too much. Let's realize that his riches are inexhaustible and he wants so much to give them to us. Not taking advantage of this is somewhat rejecting his love. In fact, it endears us to the Lord to be greedy for his offerings!

*Under God's Protection

        This early morning in a dreamy state, I sensed that the Lord was absolutely the one for us to follow. As a child, we always feel good when there is a big brother or sister or some adult whom we can trust and who is strong enough to protect us. Well, our God the Father is unquestionably the strongest of all and loves us the most. Therefore, if we trust in him and put ourselves totally in his hands, we'll absolutely be secure and not have to worry about anything. In this way, we also form the strongest possible bond with the Lord. Do not doubt what I have just stated; put all your faith in him first. 

*God Revealing Us to Ourselves

       Often we do something or feel a certain way, not aware of what the true motivation or the reason was. For example, in my own experience I once did something that made me feel unhappy. I went before the Lord and opened up my heart. He then revealed the hidden cause and I felt exhilaratingly liberated! Our God is the only one who can expose what's hidden or buried in our innermost, revealing us to ourselves. Again, I am most grateful and rejoice that we have such an understanding, loving Lord.

*God Can Make Us Clean!

         The feeling that you are clean, that your sins have been forgiven or taken away by God is one of the best feelings you can have. To preserve that feeling is to stop sinning. God is the one who can make us new, thus saving us! This is how he has made us and we should rejoice for that.

**Going Far With God*

        You see your sins and imperfections and sincerely wish to overcome them. It is possible that you spend your whole lifetime focusing upon this and end up merely maintaining your status quo. The excellent way is to aspire to become holy, looking beyond your present state and asking the Lord directly to make you a saint. Doing this and not dwelling on your woeful state will lift you to a higher state. There is absolutely no limit as to how far you can advance. Go positive and be on the offensive! Yes, get all the help from God you can to make everything easy for you – this is showing that your trust in and love your heavenly Father.

**Most Personal Lord

        Our God, the God of Christ the Lord, turns out to be the most loving Father and personal friend you can ever possibly have. He is the one who fulfills and completes our existence.

One Everlasting Relationship

        All relationships we have with other humans on earth will end, but my relationship with God once established will last for forever.

Learning From History

        Look at the history of mankind. So many people have come and gone. Those who believed and obeyed God went to heaven and those who didn't went to hell. We who are living are still marching on. Make sure now that you'll get to go where you want to go as you leave here.

*Happy Living

        Will you be happy about how you have lived your life if you were to leave this world right now? Happy is the person who is not concerned about what kind of things he has done or how much he has accomplished, but has followed the will of God all his life. He is ready to leave the world to receive his reward from the Lord.

How to Preserve Peace

        Let no one "bother" you except Christ, or mind no one except Christ.

Spiritually Stuck

        To recognize that Christ is Lord and Savior and that he can free us if we submit ourselves to him is not that hard. The hard part is to do the submitting part to make it all happen. This is the struggle we face. We then let the whole thing slide, and we are stuck and remain stagnant.

Serious Urgent Issue:

to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior or not in your lifetime.