***Prayer Distilled*

        We can pray that God will strengthen us, that God will increase our faith, that God will make us more loving, that God will do this or do that. Wouldn't it be better to pray that we will let God strengthen us, that we will let God increase our faith, that we will let God make us more loving, that we will let God do this or do that? Best yet, we can pray that we will be open to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us? This covers everything we can think of and simplifies our prayer. And besides, it puts you on the road to union with God.

Stepping Out of Comfort Zone

        I caught Steve Harvey, the comedian, giving a short motivational speech on TV. He said that we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone if we need to. This resonates with me, for we should do that in following God's call. Knowing that you are doing God's will can actually make you feel comfortable.

Laughable Proclamation

        This morning I heard on TV one presidential candidate for 2020, who is 100% pro-abortion, proclaim that he was going to fight for the soul of this nation. That surely sounded like a joke. How can you trust anyone who doesn't know how to save his own soul to save others? 

*Grateful for God's Mercy*

        I would like to thank both the Lord, and the Blessed Mother for her intercession. As you know, I had to rush Maria my wife to emergency room just a few days after she had her kidney stone surgery (see my post "God's Surprise Response" of August 20). It turned out that she suffered severe sepsis due to kidney infection. This is a serious disease that can often be fatal or damage other organs. The medical personnel did their best and the final urine analysis miraculously showed that she was free of infection. The Lord surely heard my prayers! Today she is home finishing up her antibiotic and is pretty much back to normal.

*Keeping Our Thorns

        Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 mentions his thorn in the flesh. He begged the Lord to take it away from him, but the Lord left it alone so that power might be made perfect through his weakness. We don't know what Paul's thorn was, but we all have our own thorns which weaken us in one way or another. Why don't we also take advantage of it by letting God make us strong too?

**Honest Truth*

        Once you hear the Lord speaking to your heart directly, everything else you hear, whatever it might be, becomes downright tiresome and boring! For God alone liberates and refreshes our soul.

"Woe to you Hypocrites"

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 23, Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. Were they self-serving? Yes. Were they misguided. Perhaps. Were they evil? They might not deliberately want to hurt others, but they definitely wanted to make themselves look and feel good. It seems that not doing much good is as sinful as doing evil. You could argue that the evildoers are at least genuine, not phony like the scribes and Pharisees. While the former follow Satan, the hypocrites are deceived by Satan to follow their own ego. Be genuine in the Lord always and you'll never hear the Lord say "Woe to you" to you.   

**Key Realization

        God is not only our creator, but also our loving Father. This realization can totally change your relationship with God.

**Being Bonded to God!

        Communion experience. The Communion antiphon, John 6.54: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Interestingly, Jesus did not say "Whoever eats this bread and drinks this wine has eternal life." It is clear that if the bread and wine had remained ordinary, Jesus would not have used the words "my flesh" and "my blood." Also, it wouldn't have made sense that consuming ordinary bread and wine could give you eternal life. Anyway, I felt true bonding with the Lord when I received the Holy Eucharist.

***Something Beautiful & Wonderful

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 86: Turn your ear, O Lord, and answer me; save the servant who trusts in you, my God. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all the day long. Today's response, Mark 16.15: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. If we love the Lord, we must go all out to serve him. He loves us so much that he wants to possess all of us. When we go all out for him, we get to possess him in the process as well. Then something most beautiful and wonderful happens – God and man becoming one! My friend, make this the goal of your life. As always, let God do the work and I promise you that it will be the most exciting adventure of your life.

**Your Doing or God's Doing?

        If you make yourself god in charge of yourself, then everything you do will be your doing. Can you save yourself from sin? I doubt it. Now, you let the God of Christ be your God. Then whatever you do will be his doing, and, of course, he will know exactly how to lead you to eternal life. This is the big difference, my friend.

*To Remain Free Forever

        People in the world get so involved with the world that they are no longer free. They are in the world, belong to it, and are enslaved by it. Therefore, be in Christ to belong to God to remain free forever. 

*How to Remain Incorrupt

        The world is a corrupt world. All the more we need to be one with God to remain pure now and be incorrupt forever.

***Real Presence in the Eucharist*

       As I have reported, surveys have shown that the majority of Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This has to be a major crisis within the Church, and the outburst of all other scandals are no longer shocking. 

         Let's take a look at the Holy Eucharist. If the bread and wine only represent the body and blood of Jesus symbolically, then the Apostles, the early church fathers, the great saints throughout history, and all the faithful to this day have committed the sin of idolatry, and none of them should be in heaven now, right? If Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist, then those Catholics who do not believe would equally not be able to get into heaven. Who do you think are right? (If you have doubts, read John 6 with an open mind to let the Lord reveal the truth to you.)

***The Missing Prayer***

        I do not recall ever hearing this critically important prayer said in public: "Lord, may we surrender ourselves completely to you so that we might become holy and perfect." It says a lot about us. I see it as our lack of faith in God.     

**The "Chosen" Test

        If the Lord has chosen you, you would definitely know. If you are not sure about it, then you really don't know him well yet.

*Pathway to Freedom and Peace

        You care only about what God thinks about you and nothing else; you are ego free. 

My Favorite Apostles

        Today is the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle. He is also known as Nathanael. We do not know him as much as some of the other Apostles; nevertheless, I feel close to him, as Jesus saw him as a true child of Israel with no duplicity in him. I love anyone without duplicity, a quality you don't see much today. So he is also my favorite Apostle next to John, the one who called himself the disciple Jesus loved.

***Pathway to Holiness

       I have posted in the past that we should pray for ourselves foremost to become holy and perfect, for holiness must start with us, not with someone else. Remember that Christ asks his followers to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect? Once you know that you should become holy and perfect, you shift your focus away from yourself to the Lord – you now want to listen to and obey him always. Yes, that's all you need to do and he will fulfill your heart's desire. As always, God makes things easy for us when we let him.

Lesson on Tolerance

        This is the lesson the Lord has taught me today. There are times I get bothered by seeing someone doing something not in the most efficient or effective manner. I know that we are all different and have our own ways, so it comes down to how tolerant we are. The rule should be "never look down on anyone in any way." Perhaps it's good to remember that we are not holier than anyone else, for God is the only one who is truly holy. Tolerance and patience are called for. 

We Belong to God

        Communion thoughts. The Lord God is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is also our Alpha and our Omega, our first and our last, our beginning and our end. Without him, we would not have come into being. Since we came from him; it'll be out of order if we do not return to him. 

**We Can Be Saints!

        If Jesus could make the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead – not even mentioning his own Resurrection – and convert Paul from an enemy into an apostle, he surely can make each one of us into a saint. With us giving him the OK, our success is guaranteed.

*Our Choice to Be Chosen or Not

        Today is Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Gospel reading from Matthew 22 gave us the parable of the wedding feast. A king invited many guests to come to the wedding feast he had prepared for his son, but many did not appreciate the invitation and ignored it, and one who showed up not dressed properly got cast outside. The result was "many are invited, but few are chosen." The smart move for us is to be ready to go to the Lord the moment he invites or calls us.

***The Path to Life*

        Matthew 7.14: How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life, says the Lord. We can totally broaden that road and widen that gate by opening our hearts to let the Lord in. As we open ourselves up, the road broadens and the gate widens. When we surrender ourselves completely to the Lord, they disappear altogether and voilà, we are one with God! 

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.