Christ the Transformer

        Communion experience. I died in Christ and he renewed me – how fitting and perfect.

*Learning All Things from the Lord

        As I was growing up, I heard all those popular songs singing about love and saw how people fall in love in all those Hollywood movies. Then Jesus came along and I finally understood the true meaning of love. Learn from Christ to understand all things correctly, and you'll experience freedom and joy.

**Afraid of Looking at Ourselves?

        It's always easy to criticize others, but not ourselves. It's easy to expect others to be perfect, but not so easy to look at our own imperfections. It's also easy to help others, not realizing that we need help too. Praying for others is commonly heard, but we neglect to pray for ourselves. Perhaps we are afraid of looking at ourselves. The fact is that we should pray for ourselves first, for if we all become holy, we'll have peace and heaven on earth. So take care of ourselves before trying to take care of the world. Going the other way is going the wrong way!

Following Yourself or God

        You try to climb Mt. Everest, jump across a canyon on your motorcycle, or attempt some other feat to feel good about yourself and may lose your life in the process. Following yourself and anything bad can happen. You can also humbly surrender yourself to God and gain eternal life for sure. Begin and remain in God and you'll always end well.

*All in God's Power!

        If God can make us temporarily blind as when he called St. Paul or dumb as when he called Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, he can certainly heighten all our senses to make us see clearly all the truths or hear him speak to our hearts.

*Reminder

        Since Jesus is God and personally came to us to redeem us from our sins in order that we might be saved, salvation can only come from him.

**Most beautiful, Simple, Pure Act

        Communion experience. The perfect time to make the act of surrendering yourself to the Lord, placing yourself at his disposal, at his service. 

**The Way to Happiness

        God loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. And he has made us so that we can only truly be happy when we possess all of him. When you let God possess you, he is all yours too. Imagine how happy both God and you will be when you offer yourself to him! 

God's Surprise Response

        I posted recently that my wife underwent kidney stone surgery. She had a stent placed in her ureter to prevent any blockage of the urine flow. Five days later, she lost urinary control completely and developed a high fever accompanied by shaking chills. I rushed her to emergency at the hospital. Her temperature was high and blood pressure low, signs of an internal infection. She went through various tests and was treated with antibiotics. The stent was to remain in her for another 10-14 days. On the 4th day she was ready to be released to come home. A nurse's aid, while preparing her for leaving the hospital, discovered the string that's attached to the stent. Ignorant of what it was, she started pulling on it and the stent came more than halfway out. Of course, it was a mistake and could possibly cause further complications. My wife, I, and the hospital staff were all concerned. But the doctors had no choice but to remove the stent entirely. The surprise was that after it's all pulled out, my wife's urinary control became normal again. Her temperature was now almost all gone. The next day on August 18, we quietly celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary at home. It seemed that the Lord allowed this mistake to happen and turned it into a blessing. It sure was a pleasant surprise. 

*****Wakeup Call to the Whole Church*****

        Recently, on August 12, I posted "Failings of the Church," lamenting the fact that the majority of Catholics who attend Mass do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. (For details of this finding, read this report.) I feel a tremendous burden on my heart, for it is worse for Catholics not to believe in this teaching than it is for non-Catholics not to believe in Catholicism. The general lack of reverence seen at Mass and the fact that parishioners who don't go to confession continue to receive this holy sacrament indicate the lack of this central belief. The Church should start educating her flock on the double now before trying to evangelizing the world. If your belief is seriously in error, how can you possibly go convert others? Correcting this problem is fundamentally even more important than exposing all the scandals within the Church. Never forget what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11.27: Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. Most serious warning! [I know I may be rocking the boat, but I cannot stifle the voice of the Lord.] 

***True Wisdom Is . . .

knowing God's will. You want to know it to possess the Lord 100%!

**Do the Impossible in God

        Communion experience. It was the perfect time to abandon myself to the Lord after receiving him. I did it and now I can say I've done it! In God, all things become easy!

***How to Be Perfect

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 19, Jesus told a rich young man that to gain eternal life, he needed to keep the commandments. But to be perfect, he should go sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow him. Although we may not be able sell all our possessions, we should at least be able to detach ourselves from them totally. Again, seeking to attain union with God will take care of this. In perfect union, you become detached from not only your things, but also your family and yourself! You are now attached to God alone and are free!

**God's Continues Calling Us

        In ancient Israel, God spoke to his people through the prophets, but many did not remain faithful. Then Jesus the Son of God came himself to proclaim salvation for all nations, but still many hardened their hearts and rejected him. More recently, the Mother of our Lord has appeared many times calling us to return to God, but the big division between those who believer and those who don't has remained. I personally belief that God, being most merciful, will show us great signs to draw us to him once more yet at the appropriate time, and this could be the last call to wake us up before the final judgment. But don't take any chances.

*Greatest Spiritual Gift

        Communion experience. The Eucharist is our greatest spiritual gift and treasure, for it's the Lord himself. I experienced great fulfillment and contentment. Truly, he is with us always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28.20).

***Transform Your Spiritual Life***

       In today's second reading from Hebrews 12, Paul urges all to rid themselves of every burden and sin that clung to them and persevere in running the race that lay before them. We are always being encouraged to love the Lord more, become holier, accept suffering, etc., and never give up. This is hard work if you try to do it on your own and you can easily get discouraged. But you may still make heaven, for God sees your good intentions. Now that you are going to heaven, why not make your journey on earth also joyful and enjoyable? This is my principal message, the message the Lord God wants me to spread for the world to know. I am reiterating it timely again here.  

        Struggling to love God on your own will alway be a struggle, as we are all finite beings. The secret of success is to let God do it for you! You can choose to climb the mountain all by yourself or ask God to lift you straight up to him. As always, I advise that you submit yourself to the Lord completely to let him take you where you want to go and accomplish whatever you want to accomplish for his glory. Then he will remove all your struggles and turn all your sufferings into joy. Why live a tedious, laborious spiritual life, whereas you can soar to him effortlessly in joy and with excitement? Why?

**Connecting with the Flock

        I wish that the Church hierarchy will always use plain language in teaching her flock. This calls for a degree of humility. A PhD talking at his level will surely not connect with a group of elementary school students. Many official messages and letters are written for the learned, the well educated, not always easy for the laity to comprehend. Jesus always spoke plainly and direct to his people. Personally, I enjoy reading Pope Benedict very much. I've found his writings beautiful and profound, but still within my grasp.

***Call to Arms*

        At an evil time like ours today, we need to heed Paul's advice given in Ephesians 6 all the more: put on the armor of God to hold your ground; stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace; in all circumstances, hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. This sounds like warfare to me. But today, the leadership within the Church is relatively weak or timid, and the messages preached in many churches rather mild or unfocused. Missing are the fire, the zeal, the spirit, for there is no going after the Lord! The soul needs to be pierced, prodded, stirred up, fed, nurtured, and the focus must always be intensely on Christ, our Lord and Savior. 

*The Perfection of Man

        God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are his ways our ways (Isaiah 55.8). Without God's guidance, we would be wandering farther and farther away from him. Therefore, seek to attain union with him to become like him. 

**Our Primary Aim

        Our soul is what Jesus cares about the most. The gospel he spread aimed solely at saving us. And that should be our primary aim too, to bring all to Christ so that they might be saved.

**Only Proper Response to God

        Communion experience. The Lord entered into my house, how could I possibly sustain his almighty presence in me? Then I realized that he was the one who had sustained me all along. How else could my heart have kept on beating and my lungs kept on breathing? In fact, my very existence depends upon his will. The only logical, proper response to him I can think of is to rest in him, putting myself completely in his hands and at his mercy.   

*The Day We'll Have No Say

        Should Jesus come today as he did last time, our world would be even more divided. Many will spread fake news about him and physically attack him right away, I am quite sure. But, of course, the next time he comes, he'll come as our judge and we'll be completely at his mercy.  

*Going Against God's Intentions

        Today's Gospel reading came from Matthew 19. Some Pharisees tested Jesus, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." Today man rebels against God in so many ways. Even within the Church, I wonder how some get their marriage annulled so much quicker than others. I know of one local Catholic celebrity who has divorced and married a number of times and he is still regarded as a celebrity.

All Is Relative (Only God Absolute)

        When some trauma came up like my having to rush my wife to ER unexpectedly, which I posted about yesterday, you simply put all your plans on hold and alter your daily routine for the time being. Things that mattered to you no longer matter much. I thought of the day we'll all face God and be judged. That will be the time we just have to drop everything we'd planned, owned, or saved. Nothing else matters anymore. If you are wise, you would start getting yourself detached from everything other than God right now.

*Truth About God Revealed

        I prayed the Holy Rosary this morning. As usual, I started with the Apostles' Creed. While saying it, I heard myself and felt as though the Lord was revealing everything about him I need to know, and I felt great joy. You can hear the creed recited in English on this short video:

**Facing Problems in Life

        I thought my wife was on her way to full recovery after the kidney stone surgery, but suddenly she developed a fever with violent chills and had to be rushed to emergency. It appears to have been caused by an infection of the kidney. She's still having her urine tested and I'll know more about the exact treatment to be administered to her tomorrow. How do you handle things like that? I believe that whatever we do, we should do it for the sake of God. This way, however things turn out, we'll know it's his will. Of course, we are free to intercede, possibly affecting the outcome. But ultimately, we must accept the will of God. I don't know of a more appropriate way. Your prayers for her would be appreciated.

To Win with God

        Anyone who is in union with God knows that the Lord always works things out. Therefore, he does not get anxious nor ever reach the point of not knowing what to do. Getting ahead of God is playing the losing game. To win, you always follow God's lead.

*Guadalupe Confirms Revelation

        Today is Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reading 1 came from Revelation 11. We heard read: "A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." Immediately, the 1531 image of Our Lady of Guadalupe came to my mind. It shows the Blessed Mother having sun rays emanating behind her, the moon under her feet, and a black girdle around her waist signifying that she was with child. There are other signs in the image not that obvious, but what I could see confirms what St. John wrote in Revelation – pretty amazing.

**Falling in Love with God

        Falling in love with God is different from falling in love with any other human being. All love starts with a sense of attraction, usually physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual. With God, the attraction is spiritual, then you discover that he, being your creator, can actually transform your heart and heal your soul to make you experience freedom, peace, and joy. Now you can't help but fall in love with him who is actually your most beloved Father. 

*Need for Praying Together

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." It shows the importance of praying together. Most churches hold Bible study sessions, but lack a prayer group. Praying together will certainly draw you closer to God more effectively. By the way, Catholics should learn to pray spontaneously and not always read prayers written by someone else. After all, only you can express what is exactly in your heart.

**Fire and Water

        Today is Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, an incredible priest who showed his love for God at Auschwitz. May he inspire us to be as selfless and obedient to God as he was. The response to readings from Psalm 66 at Mass: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire! God is not only fire, but also water. He is fire because he burns away our impurities and inflames our heart with zeal to serve him. He is water because he quenches our thirst and refreshes our soul. The Lord is good for us!

***To Live Passionately in Christ

        Benjamin Zander, the English musician, is currently the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. He gives interpretation classes to young musicians. I am impressed that he can make them play more passionately to liven up the music. Here is one video you'll enjoy watching if you like classical music. Of the ten violin sonatas Beethoven wrote, the "Spring" (No. 5) and the "Kreutzer" (No. 9) are best known. They are masterpieces for sure. Here the violinist and the pianists succeed in playing the first movement of the "Spring" as one. The music is filled with joy. My thoughts turn to  what we can do too: Living passionately in union with Christ as one to be filled with joy.

***Worth Dying For

        Communion experience. Unfortunately, all new churches built nowadays no longer provide altar rails and we simply receive Holy Communion standing and in the hand. But more importantly, how do we receive the Lord in our heart? Today I knew that I received the one worth dying for and who will raise me on the last day! 

Making It Easy for the Lord

         In Matthew 8, a centurion appealed to Jesus to help his paralyzed servant. When the Lord was ready to go and cure him, the centurion said to Jesus, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." Now at Mass we respond the same way before receiving Holy Communion by putting ourselves in the servant's place. Today I thought I wouldn't even need the Lord to say the word – I only need him to will it and I shall be healed.

*Be True Christians

        In John 1, Jesus saw Nathanael (Bartholomew) coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." "No duplicity" – I love hearing that! In Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." Therefore, let us be complete honest to God and to ourselves. Be genuine. Phoniness is from the evil one. Aim to please God alone, not anyone else. Then we'll be true Christians and sleep better too.

Hanging by a Thread

        Life on earth for all of us will end one day, as physical death is imminent. It's as if we are all hanging by a thread, a thread that can break at any time. What happens to us after that thread breaks is what we should be concerned about. The good news is that if you know Christ, that thread will never break and will in fact be used by him to pull you up heavenward to him in the end.

***Failings of the Church

      I came across this video by Brian Holdsworth today and his message resonates with me. If it's true that only 1/3 of Catholics believes in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, then the Church has failed miserably in teaching her members. This belief in the Real Presence is at the core of being Catholic. If a Catholic does not hold this belief, I don't think he should consider himself to be a Catholic. By the way, when all the submarine Catholics show up only at Easter and Christmas Masses, why don't the individual churches make it clear that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist and that one should not receive the sacrament if he has not been attending Mass regularly?
     Brian also mentions the lack of reverence at most Masses and I agree with him too. We should worship the Lord as if we were at the Last Supper. Anything that distracts us from focusing on the Lord is out of order. I personally freak out a little bit when I receive the Holy Eucharist and see fingernails painted black or dark red holding forth the consecrated white host for me to receive. That's why I always chose to receive the Lord from the priest if possible. Also, music that sounds more like pop music is another distraction. I still remember the time a high school student was allowed to play the drum with the band and I got jumpy when I knew that a predictable big drumbeat was coming. There are many other things I can touch on. Anyway, believing in the Eucharist and showing proper reverence at Mass are of primary importance in making you a true Catholic.

***Lukewarm Catholicism

        Today's brand new video from Fr. Mark Goring. A great warning for us!

*Most Pleasing Prayer to God

        "Lord, make me holy for your sake."        

*God's Great Love

         I love the Father for loving not just me, but also everyone else equally. 

**Trusting in God with Our Burdens

        Communion experience. My heart had been weighed down spiritually by a number of heavy burdens, so I sought refuge in my Lord, as he was the only one who understood and could console me. This lead to complete abandonment in him. I see that God desires that all of us do this when we are burdened. Trusting in the Lord with all our burdens pleases him who loves us. 

***Fantastic God!

        Our God is our Lord, our creator, our master, our teacher, our counselor, our comforter, our healer, our father, our brother, our friend, our server, our confidant, and our soulmate! Whom else would you ever need?

Straight Path to Heaven

        In today's Gospel reading, Jesus also said, "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be." It's obvious that following Jesus will lead you straight to heaven. Attain union with the Lord now and your destination is assured.

**Becoming Useful to God

        Today is the Feast of Saint Lawrence. In the Gospel reading from John 12, Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." So the question is how much of my old self has died? With God, you gain maximum benefits only if you go all the way with all your heart! This is precisely what makes following Christ so exciting, for you are amazed that he can indeed transform you to make you fruitful. Now you know that you are useful to and loved by God.

*End of Our Toil

         My wife had her kidney stone surgery this morning. It's her third time having to remove a stone from the kidney. Earlier the doctor said that he might have to operate a fourth time, since the stone this time was very large. I prayed in the waiting room practically the whole time and at the end, the doctor came out, happily informing me that he succeeded in removing the entire stone. I was most grateful to God.
        While waiting in the car for my wife to come out of the hospital entrance to drive her home, I watched many other patients being discharged. One old gentleman apparently came with his own wheelchair. He had difficulty in getting into his waiting car and the driver had to fold up the chair and put it back in the car afterwards. What I saw was that most of us had to toil a lot in life, so the earth is definitely not where we want to be for long. Fortunate are those who know Christ and that they are going to settle in heaven with him for all eternity.

**Fear of Devil Examined

        Looking at how evil has infiltrated our society and how so many people exhibit ungodly behaviors, should we fear the Devil? My answer is NO, for if you remain humble and holy in the Lord, the Devil has absolutely no power to touch you. He is annoying at times, but he can easily be ignored. Those who should fear the Devil are the ones who have already been deceived and snared by him and are in danger of losing their soul. But God is always there to save them. They can be freed instantly if they would only turn to the Lord and beg for his mercy. So, to fear the Devil or not, it's your choice.

**Our Most Appropriate Response!*

        Communion experience. The Lord enters me, body and soul – this is the perfect time for me to yield to and rest in him. As a matter of fact, I can't think of another more appropriate response! 

Most Powerful Joy

        The Joy of Christ can wipe out all our sorrows!        

Two Requirements for the Disciple

        Today is the memorial of St. Dominic. In the Gospel reading from Matthew 16, Jesus confirmed to his disciples that he was the Christ, the son of the living God. And he rebuked Peter for not thinking as God does, but as human beings do. So we must not only believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior, but also think as God does. This clearly requires that we become one with him so that we might become like him.

**Precise Advice (Best Ever News)

        If you are not perfectly happy living in this world, there is an option – seek out Christ who can make you perfectly happy in heaven for all eternity!