With so many Catholics no longer believing in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, Fr. Mark Goring makes a great point in this short video:
Thursday, September 26, 2019
**Best Spiritual Journey
If you believe that heaven and hell are real, then you should see them always before you and make sure that every step you take is going in the right direction. Best yet, be one with Christ the Lord and not worry about anything. This is the simple, carefree, and assured way to go.
**Huge Challenging Claim*
John 14.6 was today's Gospel acclamation. Jesus made this earthshaking statement to his disciples: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. That first sentence is a most bold claim, and the second sentence that followed authenticates it. Not believing in what he claimed here is equivalent to believing that he was a phony.
*It Makes a Huge Difference
The truth you either see or you don't. Once you know Christ, you are set for eternity. This life is only temporary, for you know exactly where you are heading. On the other hand, if you don't know Christ, you are not sure what life is all about. You are basically heading into the unknown, not a comfortable feeling. The difference can't be any greater.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
**Sharing Yourself with God*
There are many prayers already written that are beautiful and you can certainly use them to pray to God. But I still believe that the Lord loves to hear prayers that come directly from your heart. Only you know your own feelings and thoughts best, so prayers formed by you in your heart speak most intimately to the Lord. You don't even need to be concerned about correct grammar, proper wording, or how fluent or clumsy you are ... just thinking about your intention is good enough for the Lord to know. The main point is to let him see the genuine you. Keep sharing yourself with him like this and you will hear from him and develop a most intimate relationship with him. Then you will experience his holy presence. Naturally, receiving him in Holy Communion can greatly expedite this process. In sum, open up to God to let him open up to you.
Peace of Christ
There will be no peace as long as we rebel against God. The peace of Christ comes to us when we reconcile ourselves to God completely. It is the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4.7).
*Relying upon the Lord
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, Jesus sent the Twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of God at the many villages. He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic." This is trusting in God that he will always provide what you need —great advice for all. But many of us don't even believe in that, so they never find out whether it works or not. The truth of the matter is that the more you rely upon the Lord, the more he supports you.
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Our Only Way
Communion experience. I saw Jesus as our only hope, our only way out of bondage and misery, our only way to be liberated forever, and our only way to heaven. John 14.6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
**Foremost Important Relationship
Here is today's Gospel reading from Luke 8: The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you." He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." I see that we have mother, brothers, and other blood relatives, but to God we are all equally his children. What unites or separates us is whether we keep God's word or not. Our relationship with God is foremost among all our relationships. Each of us is important to our Father. Therefore, we must love everyone for his sake.
Our Great Sorrow
Today's response from Psalm 122: Let's go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. What a joy to be chosen by God! What a joy to know Jesus! What a joy to follow him! What a joy to know that I am returning to the Father! Yet there is great sorrow. The Lord loves all of us, yet there are many who might not make it to his house. How can we deal with this sorrow? All we can do is to pray hard for and trust fully in God's mercy on all souls. Being extra holy ourselves can definitely help. One thing I do know: in the end our great joy will overcome all sorrows.
**Unique Loving Father
The Lord God is so holy, perfect, and high above us that we need to worship and praise him in awe and with great reverence. Yet he is so loving and tender that we can place ourselves completely in his hands, for his ardent desire is to adopt us to be his children to live with him in heaven forever! What I wish to highlight here is the unique duality of awesome almightiness and tender lovingness our heavenly Father possesses.
*Best Move for Us*
There are so many things to pray for, too many to possibly cover. At the same time, I am aging and can no longer do many things physically with ease. So I see that the only sensible and really always the best move for me to make is to submit myself even more to God—it's one thing anyone can at any time do unrestrictedly.
Monday, September 23, 2019
**The Truth of Love
Communion experience. God is love. I realize that it is love that created us, saves us, and heals us. Commune with the Lord to receive the power of his love. This truth is what today's world urgently needs to know and wake up to.
**Christ Is Power
If we preach to others how we should or can love God, we sound nice but not much will happen. It's like telling our children to be good—they need to know why and how. But if we preach Christ, then we preach power, for only he has the power to change our hearts. So, know Christ ourselves and then preach only him!
***Most Beautiful Experience of Life***
More thoughts followed from the last post. If we think God won't know what we are doing, we become instantly the biggest fool of the whole universe. The light of Christ can reveal everything in our heart, even things we do not even see ourselves. It is so beneficial to go before the Lord to let him reveal what's in your heart. What you learn will amaze you. This is a challenge! You must be sincere and honest to yourself and thus to God. Remain still and look as deeply as possible within your heart. Eventually, you'll come to know and understand yourself. (I did this after receiving the Holy Eucharist in front of the tabernacle in a most peaceful chapel. All this helped.) A somewhat parallel example: At one time in the past, I studied mathematics. Once in a while the professor would throw his students a most challenging problem to solve. I remember the time I spent the whole weekend working on one proof. I thought as hard as I possibly could and caught a glimpse of the solution—I scribbled it down, for I knew I would lose it instantly the moment I let it go. When we examine our own inner self, we should also go as deeply as we can. But here we won't forget what we have discovered. With God's help, we can truly achieve self-understanding, which is the beginning of knowing God. As you and the Lord explore and share all your "secrets" together, you get to know him intimately. Eventually, you can't help but fall head over heals in love with him! This is the most beautiful experience you can have in this life, for it transforms your heart and shapes your soul!
***No Escape from Light!
Today we heard the parable of the lamp read from Luke 8. Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be be known and come to light. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." Jesus is our light, for nothing can be hidden from him. Those who welcome his light see their own imperfections and know exactly how to ask the Lord to help them, and he makes them holier. But those who hide from his light are blind to their sins; they remain in darkness and lose their life altogether.
**What Life Is Like to Us
Life can be seen as a peaceful period of time interspersed with many disruptions or as a series of disruptions interspersed with short peaceful periods in-between. Since I receive the Lord daily, I see my life as a continual dwelling in him who protects me from all disruptions and blesses me with inner peace.
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Are You Trustworthy or Not?
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, the parable of the dishonest steward was read. Jesus said, "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones." People are either trustworthy or not trustworthy. It doesn't matter if you are a Christian or not. I had Christians who promised me to do something for me and never heard from them. I bet we all had friends or acquaintances who owed us money or borrowed a book from us and never mentioned it again. And they are lawyers and government officials who do not follow the laws themselves. One small incident I still remember. I was learning how to develop prints in a city photo lab many years ago. A staff member told all learners never to dip their hands in the developer. In the darkroom, I saw this very staff member doing exactly what he forbade us to do; he was rubbing the paper with his fingers in the solution, attempting to make the image appear sooner. If we want God to trust us, we must be trustworthy to him.
*Jesus Revealed
We do not know what we want until we know Christ, for he leads us into a new existence out of this world. He is our missing piece that makes us see the whole truth. He is absolutely essential for our soul, our whole being. Yes, he is our treasure, pearl, and prize. And he turns out to be our creator, Lord, and loving God.
**How to Know the Lord
John 10.14 is one of today's two Communion antiphons. I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep and they know me. It comes down to knowing the Lord as our shepherd. Do you truly know him? If not, seek to attain union with him and you will know him when you become one with him. A most amazing life-changing experience!
What's Our Concern?
Living in this physical world, we are most concerned about my physical existence. We wish each other good health and believe that to have good health is most important to us. The last thing we are concerned about is our spiritual well-being. Therefore, those who are ready for Jesus' Second Coming will have an excellence chance of being saved and those who don't even think about the Lord will have a much smaller chance of being saved.
Worse than You Think
Is the spiritual condition of the world better or worse than you think? In Mark 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile." Since these evils may not manifest themselves and we can't see what's hidden in people's hearts, the spiritual condition of the world is definitely worse than you think. When we think that we are good enough for God, it only shows that we are not, for lack of humility.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
*Experience Your Conversion
As sinners, we can all experience conversion. When we truly repent of our sins, we experience it. Besides, God always wants us to become holy and he can surely help us succeed. Open up to the him and you'll experience being converted by him continuously, living a life ever refreshing.
**Cleansing Time for the Church*
Today is the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle. Matthew 28.19-20 was the entrance antiphon: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that I have commended you, says the Lord. This is the chief mission Christ has given to his disciples. Then you look at the Church today, busily occupied with covering up all the scandals and allying with the world's leftists and globalists. As the members are losing their faith and leaving the Church by the droves, the Church doesn't even seem to care. Yes, there are still clergy and laity that are God-loving and God-fearing, but the hierarchy has become more like our politicians or the Pharisees. Schism within the Church has already begun (look at the German Church that wants to go even further left). In fact, the present division could end up with a breakup into more than just two factions. This is a sad, trying time for all of us, but God will triumph in the end. Pray hard that he will cleanse and restore his own Church again quickly.
Friday, September 20, 2019
**To Be Freed from Sin and More
I see that we sinners (7.7 billion as of this year) continue to sin in thoughts, words, and deeds. On the surface, we can't always tell until our own or others' sins hit us in some way. In other words, we are living in a pretty filthy world full of unclean hearts. This can't be our permanent home and the good thing is that all of us will be leaving this world. I see clearly that the way out of this predicament is to follow Christ. He is the only one who can remove our sins, even our tendency to sin, and heal all the wounds inflicted upon us by sin. Not only we are set free from sin now, we also get to enjoy paradise forever later!
**Ultimate Food
Communion experience. Here I was receiving the food that would fill my hunger and quench my thirst not just for a day, but for all eternity!
*Easy Path to Heaven
Matthew 10.32, today's Communion antiphon: Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father, says the Lord. Be proud of Christ and he'll be proud of you. What an easy way for us to get to heaven!
God Our Ultimate Goal
You can never _______ God enough. Can you fill in the blank? Here are just some correct answers: love, praise, adore, trust, obey, surrender to, be holy for.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
**Dark Days of the Church*
Worldwide abortion of the unborn continues on, less and less Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Church membership dwindles, and Catholic universities are become increasingly secular—just to name four alarming facts. I don't see the Church doing much to turn the tide. Instead I see the Church continuing to cover up the various scandals, not providing complete transparency. Millions and millions of dollars were paid out, resulting in the closure of many parishes and schools. The Holy Father seems to be more concerned about "global warming" and conciliating the various other religions and the secular world than saving his own flock. We with the Church are going through some very dark days.
***Get Personal with God***
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, a sinful woman showed great love for Jesus—she brought an alabaster flask of ointment with her, stood behind him at his feet, weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears; then wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. And Jesus forgave all her sins.
Lessons. For those who show great love for God, much will be forgiven; but to those who love little, little is forgiven. The Lord is not someone remote or from whom you need to keep a distance. In fact, he loves you to get personal with him. Therefore, tell him everything and show your affection—there should no barrier between you and such a loving God. He wants all sinners to go to him so that he may free them from their sins! There is no other Savior than the God of Christ. Yes, seek union with him and he even becomes your soulmate!
What We Forget to Do to God
We pray to God, praise him, thank him, and serve him diligently, but we often forget to rest ourselves in him, which is equally important.
**Our Only Resort
At troubled times like these today, the only resort for us is to enter even deeper into our Lord. In fact, this is what we should always do. The only way to achieve that is to surrender or abandon ourselves to him even more.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
***No Prejudging Others
Because the window installer came, I had to skip morning Mass. Nevertheless, I looked up the Gospel reading for today from Luke 7. Jesus said to the crowds, "For John the Baptist came neither eating food or drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" This is prejudging others, worse than judging! We are the same today. We rarely remain open-minded, making up our mind about whom we like and whom we hate before knowing all the facts. This is not the way the Lord sees us. In Matthew 5.37, Jesus taught, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes" and your 'No" mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." Let's be genuine and honest to ourselves; let's be like Jesus.
*Surprise in Seeking Union with God
I mentioned that a pair of metal French doors that open up to the outside deck area from the family room at my home just would not close. It must have been the hot weather that caused the door bottoms to scape the threshold. An installer I contacted weeks ago finally showed up this morning. I thought he would surely lower the threshold somehow or grind the door bottoms. To my amazement, he sized up the situation and decided to shim up the door frames at the top, forcing the rectangular frame to be out of square, just enough to clear the door of the threshold at the bottom. It was a surprising solution that worked perfectly. Again, my thought turned to seeking union with God. There is no surprising approach here. Submitting yourself directly to God is the only way. The surprise comes from how God can truly fulfill your desire and make your life exciting.
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
***Shocking New Teaching!***
When I first heard that Pope Francis asked us all to obey the United Nations, I couldn't believe it! I really would have liked to hear him say that we should obey Christ our Lord. Now I came across this new video by Mother Miriam who has always inspired me ever since I heard her telling her conversion story many years ago. At the time, she was Rosalind Moss before becoming a nun. The headline of this video is "Pope's proposal for 'new humanism' would 'wipe out Christianity.'" I watched the video and was appalled. This is the message all faithful Catholics should hear. Yes, it's time to prepare ourselves for persecution or even martyrdom! Here is the video. (Since Mother Miriam answers email questions in the second part of this presentation, you only need to watch the first 26 minutes of it.)
**Time to Be Somber
Reading my church bulletin, I saw one neighboring church announcing its coming Annual Multi-Vendor Sale of crafts, food, and gently used items, and another local retreat center publicizing its Annual Autumn Splendor Gala on the theme "A Night in Venice." All these fundraising events are fine, except I can't help thinking about all the somber, tragic events happenings around the world such as the continuing murdering of the unborn, the infiltration of Satan into all levels of our societies and governments, the failure of the Church to lead and teach the faithful causing vast numbers of Catholics to leave the Church and division within . . . and more. It is the time to pray together, repent, fast, make amends. It is already late! Always remember that Jesus will come at an our we do not expect.
Fulfilled and Completed
Communion experience. More than joy, I felt fulfillment in the Lord and being completed by him.
*In God's Hands
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 7, As Jesus drew near to the city Nain, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearer halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. I know that my own life is completely in the Lord's good hands too.
Monday, September 16, 2019
**Most Important Call
Normally, we don't see any rain until November here, so it was a big surprise when I came out of my church this morning after Mass that the skies had turned grey and a relatively heavy rain was pouring down from above. The earlier sunny vision had turned gloomy, and I thought of the the metal door that lead to the outside deck area at home which I couldn't close, due to expansion caused by the heat. Then I thought if Jesus were to ask me to go to him right then, I would let the gloomy weather and the door that wouldn't close go and happily comply with the Lord without hesitation.
**Receiving the Greatest Gift
Communion experience. I was still on earth, yet I was receiving the bread of heaven that came down from heaven!
A Simple Question
You know you are a sinner and God died for you to save your soul—how can you not trust in him?
*With Mathematical Certainty
For anything we do for the love of God, we will be rewarded by him. If we stand by the Lord through thick and thin, we will eat and drink at his table in the end. These are as certain as 2 + 2 = 4.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Is God in charge?
If you believe that God is not in complete charge of all things, then there's no point in believing in him at all! If you believe that God is in complete charge of all things, then you have no choice but to trust and obey him in all things.
**Keep Heaven Rejoicing
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 15, Jesus said to the Pharisees and scribes, "There will be great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents." When you repent, you soul is saved. Heaven rejoices because the love of God has triumphed. So you must first repent to be saved. After that, you can make heaven rejoice once more. This time you surrender to God to be one with him. Heaven rejoices again, for you have fulfilled the Lord's most ardent desire.
**There'll Always Be Unresolved Problems
I used to bring the Blessed Sacrament to the homebound in my parish who could not attend church for Mass. I got to talk to them about their faith, family, etc., and found out that they all had problems within their family. My own family is the same. I realize now that life is facing all kinds of problems and we'll certainly be leaving this world with many of them still unresolved. Therefore, concentrate on surrendering yourself to God to become holy—this you can actually achieve in your lifetime! Do this and let the unresolved problems go. For we are meant to live for God alone.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
**Best Use of Life*
See life as a learning process, during which we let the Lord God teach us to be perfect.
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