***Dwelling in Each Other

        Communion experience. As I went up the aisle to receive the Holy Eucharist from Father B this morning, I saw the open tabernacle on the altar behind him and immediately thought of the house of the Lord. After I received the sacrament, I realized that the Lord had entered my house and that made me the house of the Lord too! We are indeed temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6.19). Nevertheless, house or no house, when you become one with God, you and God are in each other!

**Joy of Hearing from the Lord*

        It is a joy and blessing to hear from the Lord. He speaks directly to the heart and that makes the communication so much more personal and intimate. And his messages always inspire and build you up spiritually. Now you have a personal protector, a travel guide, the perfect soulmate, and your greatest joy.

**How We Can End Up

        God will treat us the way we treat him or others. If we reject God, he will reject us. If we are ashamed of him, he'll be ashamed of us. He will judge us the way we judge others. He will forgive us the way we forgive others. So we'll be treated in accord with how others are treated by us and receive what God receives from us. To be precise, since God always loves us, it is really us who put ourselves in any bad position. Aim to be perfect, and we'll be OK. 

**Our Ultimate Wish

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 15. A Canaanite woman came to beg Jesus to deliver her daughter from being tormented by a demon. Because she showed great faith, Jesus finally said to her, "Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. This is the pronouncement we'd love to hear from the Lord. When we attain union with him, we will hear that, for we and the Lord then will alway wish for the same thing. By the way, this is the ultimate we can ever wish for.

**Where We Need God's Help Most

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 70: O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me! You are my rescuer, my help; O Lord, do not delay. We need God's help in so many things. But most importantly, we need him to help us open up to him so that we may obey him always, not doing his will only when we feel like it.

God Needs Our Fervent Support

        When we petition the Lord for something with a burning desire, it is not that we lack faith and thus need to pray extra hard to make up for that; on the contrary, it's because we know what we ask for is in accordance with his holy will and are with him 100%.

**Our No. 1 Desire and Goal

        Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Here is 1 John 3.2, the Communion antiphon: When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. To be like Jesus – this is most personal and even better than to be in heaven! Brothers and sisters, let's make that our No. 1 desire and goal! Start seeking union with the Lord right this moment.

***Our Final Fulfillment

        We are basically lonely creatures. There is no one on earth whom we can truly rely upon, for we are all alike. Then we run into Christ, start to follow him and we are not alone anymore. As he draws us closer and closer to him, we desire to become one with one. When we attain union, we are completely fulfilled, for we now belong to God totally! 

**Gift to Keep You Holy

        We are set free when we surrender to God the Truth. The first emerging sign is that our conscience becomes super sharp, making you aware of what pleases and what offends God. You lose peace the moment you sin, even if you sin ever so slightly. This is great help in keeping you holy.

***Urgent Call to All Christians

        The Lord wants us to remain vigilant, for we don't know when he'll be coming. But he also wants us to be vigilant about attacks coming from Satan! We must fight evil as hard as we can every chance we get. This is serious business, for all souls including our own are at stake. Because of the laxity of all Christians, evil has managed to infiltrated our societies and the Church rapidly during the last half century or so. The time to go all out to fight for God our savior has been long overdue. Surrender to the Lord to be one with him now so that we may become strong, bold, and fearless.

***Awesome Union

        Communion experience. Since the whole Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist, when I received his Body and Blood, I also received his Soul and Divinity! Realize this and you are never the same again. 

**Worse than Being a Fool

        In my last post, I talked about not to let God see you as a fool. What's worse than being a fool? California is ready to pass the so-called "abortion pill" bill, forcing all on-campus California public universities to provide the abortion pill at student health clinics. From the spiritual point of view, this is clearly choosing evil over God, going beyond being foolish. Alas, Judas Iscariot is alive and well today. Please pray for California.

**Don't Be a Fool to God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12 at Mass, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool. A rich man produced a bountiful harvest and decided to tear down his barns and build larger ones to store his harvest and other goods. He said to himself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But God said to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" Many of us are just like the rich man. Recently, I thought of the things such as my piano which I had enjoyed playing for years and the many most personal photographs I'd made over the years. To whom should they go after I die? The answer was "I really shouldn't care." If God is calling you go to him, how can you not drop everything and leave? If you have not been perfectly obedient to God, here is your last chance to show him that you do obey him!

Characteristics of a Disciple

        One of today's suggested Communion antiphons, Matthew 5,7-8, are two of the Beatitudes given by Jesus: Blesses are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Being merciful to others and having a clean heart certainly should characterize any true disciple of Christ.

*Power of the Heart

        The heart is like our steering wheel. It can steer us toward God or away from God. The end results couldn't be more different from each other. But you are the driver in control of your heart. If you steer your heart toward God, as you get close to him, your heart gets purified more and more, and you would want to go all the away. If you had steered your heart to go the other way, turning around can become harder and harder as time goes on. So be a smart driver; steer you heart in the right direction at the start.

***Smart Petitioning

        In just about all the preached messages I've heard anywhere, we ask the Lord to help us love him more, believe in him more, to be more forgiving, etc. But the effective approach is to ask the Lord to help us open up to him, surrender ourselves to him, letting him take complete charge of us! We cannot make ourselves holy, only God can make us holy. If we don't let him in, how can he do the work? We forget that we are the stumbling block that needs to be removed first. This has been the message the Lord wants me to spread and I am repeating it again. 

*Intention Wins

        Attended first Saturday morning Mass today. The congregation sang the entrance hymn and didn't sound too good, for there was no unison. Then I realized that the Lord cared only about our intention, so what I heard was still beautiful to him.

*Choosing Your Reward

        Any reward you receive in this life that feeds your ego comes from the Evil One, and it diminishes your chance of receiving any reward from God. Any reward that humbles you in secret comes from God, and you will be rewarded even more in heaven. 

Rejoice in the Lord Always

        Again, I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary today. It really breaks your heart to think about how Christ suffered so excruciatingly for us. But I felt that the Lord just wanted me to be grateful and rejoice, for he has triumphed!

Intimate Bonding

        Today being a first Friday, there was adoration of the Blesses Sacrament following morning Mass at Church. I was adoring the Lord whom I just consumed five minutes earlier. That's how intimately the Lord bonds himself to us.

What Makes You Happy?

        I had mentioned that when I told some friends that I was really happy to have found Christ, they all congratulated me and were happy for me. It seemed to them as if there were many ways to happiness and I was lucky to have found the one that worked for me. What they failed to see was that there is only one thing that can set us free and truly satisfy us, the truth of Christ.

Just God and Me

        Communion experience. As the Lord and I melded into each other to be one, I became aware of only him and myself.

***Secret of Spiritual Success Reiterated***

        If you want to love God, then let God make it happen. On you own, you cannot succeed. You must have God draw you, inspire you, and dazzle you. So you need to open up to let him in. Then make everything you want to accomplish to be his doing. God, being your creator, is the only one who can transform you! This is the secret of spiritual success. This is why in union with God, you progress spiritually effortlessly, as he helps you do everything! God is your secret power!

*Preparing for Your Own Judgment

        People today love suing others, at least in this country. There have been innocent people who were wrongly sentenced to prison as well as guilty ones who got away with their crimes. But in the end all such cases don't matter much, for one day we'll all appear before God to be judged and receive the exact verdict we deserve, the only verdict that matters. Instead of wasting time suing someone on earth, it would be much more profitable to use the time to prepare for our day in God's court later.

*Abandonment to God Brings Wonders

        I have blogged about being slain in the Holy Spirit. This had happened to me several times. Each time, a charismatic priest put his hand on my forehead to bless me, with or without some relic, and I just fell involuntarily to the floor. It's also called resting in the Spirit, for you experience deep peace in that state. When I went up the aisle to be blessed, I did not question if I was going to fall or not. By abandoning myself to the Holy Spirit, I did fall and experience the peace. The one time this did not happen was when I had some bothersome thoughts on my mind, preventing me from complete abandonment. So the lesson I learned was that if you wish to experience the wonders of God, you need to abandon yourself 100% to the Lord. 

Don't Blame God

         If we don't hear God, it is us who cause the disconnect, not God, for he is ever ready for us.

Possible Responses from the Lord

        When you see the Lord after you die, you can possibly hear him say to you "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, share your master's joy" (Matthew 25.21) or "I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoer" (Matthew 7.23). 

***We Need Be on Fire!

        In Matthew 16.18, Jesus said to Peter, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." This church has stood for almost 2,000 years to this day, but it has been loosing members and support. Evil has infiltrated our societies, even the Church. Only a small percentage of Catholics have remained faithful. Empty pews, the relative absence of younger parishioners, and tepid preachings are all telling signs. We need to submit ourselves to the Lord completely to let the Holy Spirit set our hearts on fire. All members need to be reeducated to be sure that they understand the teachings of the Church clearly, especially those that are more difficult to accept. God will judge all believers as well as unbelievers. In fact, the believers will be held to a higher standard. These two videos below show the facts and share my feelings.

Our Exciting Challenge

        We learn about so many evil deeds done by people in every type of organization and at every level of the society. What we know is probably only the the tip of the iceberg, for evildoers like to keep their deeds hidden. Mankind's condition is definitely worse than what it appears to be. On the other hand, we have God's love and mercy. Fortunately, their true greatness is far beyond our comprehension. So things rather balance out. Still, our goal must be to have the Lord crush all evil and save all souls. We can never trust in God enough. And this is our exciting challenge.

***Being Spiritually Smart

        God is the only one you can totally trust. People in the world, being sinners, will always fail, disappoint, or shock you. So expect that and don't let anything they do ruin your inner peace. In fact, let it motivate you to trust in God even more. When things go negative, you go positive. No matter how far others stray away from God, you counterbalance that submitting yourself to God even more. 

*Reality We Are to Face

        Matthew 13:36-43 was today's Gospel reading at Mass. I urge you to read these verses. For in explaining the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus made it plain that God the Father, the Evil One, angels, judgment, heaven and hell are all real. 

*Key Step to Salvation

        In today's reading 1 from Exodus, Moses called his people a stiff-necked people before the Lord. Indeed, this description fits many people today too. We have the Lord to whom every knee shall bend (Isaiah 45.23, Philippians 2.10). So it is necessary for everyone who knows the Lord to beg for mercy from him in order to be saved. 

**Choosing Money over God

        Jesus has made it clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon and promised that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all things we need will be given us besides. But sadly, people just don't get it. They are always talking about making more money, spending more money, selling this or buying that. Do they ever question if they serve God in what they do? Do they ever consult him about what they should do and how they should do what they do? How sad that against money, God doesn't have a chance! It's safe to say that if we don't choose God now, he won't choose us later either.

**Cure for Impure Thoughts

        Men by nature have more trouble than women with keeping their thoughts pure, for they are more easily aroused sexually. Such impure thoughts provide them instant gratification, but also rob them of inner peace. If you are more of less addicted, only turning to God can help. You must have the Lord take away all your sins and heal your soul. Then you'll experience that clean feeling only a pure soul can experience. And you won't want to revert to your old ways again. 

**Beautiful and Powerful Faith!!

         Today's Gospel reading came from John 11. Martha's brother Lazarus had already died. Jesus was coming and Martha went to meet him. She said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Wow, what faith! It's so beautiful to believe that nothing is impossible for God. 

       Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise. He finally said, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die." Let's not forget this promise: Believe in the Lord and we'll live forever! 

***Help God Win!

       Wake up! Satan is waging a ferocious war against the Lord God nonstop and we are the targets. For Satan, knowing that we are loved by God, wants to destroy our soul, and God is defending us. Christ has already made all this clear. So if we can keep our soul safe, God wins. What should we do? Here, defense is our best strategy – all we need to do is to dwell within the Lord God and we'll be safe. Therefore, seek union with God to be one with him. We are always concerned about safeguarding our physical health, but saving our soul should absolutely be our first priority!

*Shaping Our Own Journey

        Your spiritual journey can be arduous, tedious, and long, or delightful, exciting, and prompt. It all depends upon you, for you are either in God's way or out of his way. Abandon yourself completely in him to get out of his way.

The Lord Easily Accessible

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus taught his disciples about prayer. Beside teaching them the Lord's Prayer, he said to them, "Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Therefore, ask for the Holy Spirit and he is yours. Question him if you don't understand anything and you shall find the answer. Knock on the door if you want to enter to be one with him and you'll succeed. Of course, once in union with him, prayer becomes delightfully spontaneous.   

Extreme Foolishness (a Warning)

        Those in the world who attack the Lord God are to be pitied the most, for they are being extremely foolish to attack the one who is holy, perfect, who loves them and will judge them in the end. There are plenty of them right now in this country alone. May they wake up to God's mercy as the last days approach.

**Save Yourself First

         We want to save the world, seeing how sorry a state it's in. The best way to save it is to save yourself first, and the best way to save yourself is to surrender yourself to God. Then you become one with the Lord and know his will for you in all things. Now, through his power, you can go about saving the world under his command.

***Our Good News!

        Can we save ourselves for ever? Of course not! The good news is the God can and is ready to save us for all eternity. Read the Gospels to get to know Jesus – it's all there. The good news is now our best news! No more uncertainties, no more worries. Christ is our only true answer. To know him is to know God. To not know him is to be lost, uncertain about our salvation. This is my good news to you all.

**God Expects High Expectations*

        Jake Shimabukuro is an amazing ukulele virtuoso from Hawaii. People who have seen him play often come away with a new love and respect for the instrument. He jokes that one of the best things about a traveling ukulele player is that audiences all over the world have such low expectations. I bring this up because I want to say that one of the best things about following Christ is that we can have our highest expectations of the Lord and still come away being amazed by him! 

To Be More like Jesus

        Jesus connects with his people because his messages are authentic, concrete, aiming directly at the heart and soul. And you remember his sayings forever. The least effective messages you hear today are inauthentic, abstract and intellectual, and not coming from the heart, more like observations. They are instantly forgettable, leaving no impact. We are not Jesus, but by seeking to attain union with him, we can be more like him in every way.

Amazing Jewish Belief

        It is amazing that the Lord God did speak to the Israelites from the very beginning. That explains why the Jewish people had always believed in the one personal God.  

**My Fulfillment

        If you find something that is so precious and means everything to you, you would be so happy to want to hold onto it and never let it go. Can this happen in real life? Yes. I've found Christ the Lord to be that something. I don't even need to hold onto him, for he swoops me into his kingdom and I am his forever. He is my fulfillment and the cause of all my joy!

**Still Self-Centeredness*

        We try to make all things turn out perfectly, and if they don't, we are upset. Meanwhile, we never think about trying to be perfect ourselves so that God might be pleased. You don't think about yourselves, but it's all about yourself. It's still pure self-centeredness all right.

No Part-Time Christians

        Following Christ is a full-time job, so anyone working only part-time as a Christian is being derelict and risk not being able to get into the kingdom of God. The Lord demands our full commitment and we need to give it to him.

*How Comfortable with the Lord?

        How comfortable you are with God indicates how well you know him. If you feel completely comfortable with the Lord as if you were already with him in heaven, then you are already on your way there.  

**No Abandonment to God

        Many people, especially the older folks, have been set in their ways and don't wish to change anymore. They often say that God has made them that way as their reason or excuse. The reality is that everyone needs to change unceasingly for the better – to become holier to be precise, for the Lord demands that. So we must always be open to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us. Unfortunately, this is the stumbling block for those who still hold onto the world and themselves. Even though freedom is totally with their reach, they stay put in their sorry state. 

**Our Big Frailty

        In today's world of propagandas, fake news, and self-promotion, it's so easy for us to fall for whatever we hear. If we do not discern carefully, we get deceived or manipulated. We must listen only to God, the God of Christ. To safeguard you soul, make knowing the Lord well your first order of business so that you may hear his voice.