***The Holy Eucharist Is Christ!

        Most likely, I  won't able to blog during the next four weeks or so. I expect to resume blogging fully beginning November 16. While Catholics are losing their belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, I am happy to post Fr. Mark Goring's new video to show that the Most Blessed Sacrament is indeed the bread from heaven. 

**Confusion Is from the Evil One

        Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 5.37, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." The evil one and those who are influenced by him love to sow confusion. Instead of coming straight to the point, they expend a lot of words to deflect the truth—a trick employed by many deceptive politicians. I had watched a the Amazon Synod a few times on YouTube and found that whenever a reporter asked the panel a question, the responding member usually gave some vague, drawn-out response difficult to follow. Alas, when the Holy Father was accused of not believing in the divinity of Christ on earth, we only got a weak explanation via some Vatican spokesperson. Why couldn't the Holy Father settle the issue by openly declaring to all that he either believes or doesn't believe that Christ is divine on earth! By the same token, when we pray to God, we should be clear and specific about what we ask for.

**Catholic Failure in Brazil

       Here is a comment from Teddy on Michael Matt's video I last posted that's worth reading.

         I live in Brazil. The Brazilian Catholic Church is losing their indigenous people to the Evangelicals for the simple reason that the Indians are not stupid, they are fed up of so-called priests who teach them Marxist revolution, hatred against the oppressors, the white oligarchy who is there to submit them and exploit them. That is all they teach them. The Catholic missionaries and priests are totally Marxist and revolutionary in character, ideology and praxis. So here the Evangelicals come, and teach them of a loving Saviour who died to save them from eternal death and hell, and who is there for them, who loves them personally and who has shed His holy blood for them to give them eternal life. Does this sound familiar to any one of you? They also bring practical help, not marxist ideology and preaching upheaval against the oppressors. They teach them skills, jobs, they house them, care for them, bring them doctors, show them love and bind them in closely knit communities based on prayer and communal living where they are taught Christian virtues and holiness. And you know what? Our Indians love that. Because they want God, they want to pray to an Almighty, All-loving Saviour who loves them personally and communally. Shame on Brazilian Catholics for having transformed the Catholic pure teaching into a Third World Revolutionary Manifesto to fight Capitalism. The Indians don't simply care for this. And they do well. So, yes, 80% of Amazon Indians have become Evangelical Christians. And many of them have a daily routine of prayer, holy living and love for neighbour. What about the other 20% remaining in the Catholic Church? They are filled with revolutionary zeal, anger and hatred for those "capitalist pigs" who are there to "destroy" their "perfect Eden-like egalitarian utopia" which has never existed to begin with.

***Sad State of the Church***

        Michael Matt's latest video tells us the reality of the Catholic Church today and I think you should hear him. During the last half a century or so, the Church has been influenced and weakened by the world that the younger Catholics no longer know what the traditional Church was like (very much like the Chinese people under 40 or so who have no idea about the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution that took place in their country.) I cannot recall ever hearing the word "hell" in any homily as if it does not exist. The word "sin" maybe, but not to make us feel how horrible it is to offend God. It's more important for priests not to offend his audience than to defend God. We have lost the glory, the dedication, the spirit, and the courage to tell the truth of our Catholic faith. Evil has so deeply infiltrated the Church and deceived her members that it would take a thorough cleansing to restore it. 

 

**Wakeup Moments

        Looking back, I can't believe I spent so many years collecting records and CDs until I realized I'd be running out of storage space if I continued on. This is a wakeup moment. So many of us are obsessed with various hobbies and material things in this world that we are no longer free, so such wakeup moments are blessings from God. The Lord knocks on our door every chance he gets and we need to let him in every time he knocks. He won't stop knocking until we are fully awake knowing that he only wants us to return to him to enjoy living with him for all eternity.

**Our Fundamental Prayer Goal

        The world, our nation, our society, the Church, our families...all need our prayers. It all comes down to saving souls to glorify God. So make that your primary goal. Let's ask the Lord to crush evil and save souls. But we must become holy first. I believe that Jesus taught us the Lord's Prayer for that reason. Saying that prayer perfectly can make us perfect.

Experiencing Early Peace

        Communion experience. I believe that many people will be able to resign to letting everything go when they know they are about to meet God. After I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist today, I was at that point, even though I wasn't dying yet. The great thing of knowing God intimately is experiencing that peace early irrespective of when you will depart from this world.

How God Compels Us

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me." Later, he also said, "No servant can serve two masters." So, as sinners, we must make a choice, and one choice is good and right and the other, bad and wrong. It's only when we face the true God that we are truly challenged. 

**Stupidest Cold-Hearted Joke

      This morning I thought of how proabortionists tell us that they just don't want any child born into this world to feel unwanted. It sounds as if they are doing the child and the whole world a favor and we should thank them for that! This has to be the stupidest cold-hearted joke ever! Who are making the unborn unwanted? Certainly, not the pro-lifers. God creates life and these hypocrites decide whether it should live or die! The Lord loves the children. In the Gospels he said to the disciples, "Whoever causes one of these littles ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Let me remind the proabortionists that when they make their unborn children unwanted, they themselves become the unwanted children of God!

        After I had these thoughts, I saw Fr. Mark Goring's new pro-life video. It's fitting that I should post it here below.

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***The Church Has Failed

        The Church hierarchy has failed its mission. It has failed to teach the faithful to understand their faith. It has failed to inspire them to be holy. It has failed to retain the youth. It has failed to guard the souls of its followers. It has failed to evangelized the world. It has failed to fight evil. It has failed to respond to the Holy Spirit. It has failed to remain loyal to the Lord. It has forgotten him. It has fallen asleep. It has become corrupt and self-serving. It has become heretical. It has allied with the Devil. It has betrayed the Lord. It's chastisement time.

*Seeing Crises as Blessings

        Today's entrance antiphon from Esther 4: Within your will, O Lord, all things are established, and there is none that can resist your will. For you have made all things, the heaven and the earth, and all that is held within the circle of heaven; you are the Lord of all. Today's response from Psalms 40.5 to Psalm 1: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Today's Communion antiphon, Lamentations 3.25: The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.

        All these verses are comforting and reassuring to those of us who are most concerned about the present crisis in the Church. The Lord is infinite and almighty and his will will prevail. By contrast, the fact we can feel so insecure and dread the worst only shows how weak we are and how much we need to hope and trust in the Lord. Let all crises bring the best out of us.

Be Genuinely Catholic

         You can go through the motion as a Catholic without giving your heart to God. Then you are not being genuine. Let God have your heart to be genuinely Catholic. 

The Holy Spirit Is the Lord

        When you completely submit yourself to the Holy Spirit, you are one with the Lord!

**Don't Remain in the Pit*

        Today's Response from Jonah 2: You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord. We, burdened with sins, are indeed in a pit, but Christ can rescue us from it. This is what we need to recognize and realize. Without God, we just have no assurance that we can be saved. Rejecting Christ is even worse—you may love to gamble, but in this case you'll lose for sure.

**Much Ado About Nothing?*

        I just watched the current EWTN short video Vaticano featuring the International Sacred Music Art Festival. A world-famous Russian Orthodox choral group also participated. And musicians from various orchestras played music by Mahler and Mozart, which I don't consider to be truly sacred. All performances took place in the various magnificent basilicas of Rome. Of course, beautiful music played in magnificent settings can be most impressive, but if no one is drawn any closer to the Lord afterwards, then it's much ado about nothing. In reality, you can open up to the Lord in silence anywhere and be drawn deeply into him. Seeking God through anything external to him only reveals our unreadiness to directly face him.

***All We Need to Preach***

        Here is Fr. Mark Goring's latest video. I couldn't agree with him more. Not to go to Jesus or preach him directly is wasting your time. Saints are great, but don't follow them. Instead, let them inspire you to follow Christ as they did. If the Lord were on earth right now, I am sure you would want to follow him only. By the way, if you do not zero in on Christ, how can you possibly attain union with him?

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My Soul's Refuge

        Communion experience. After I received the Holy Eucharist, I knew my soul was safely residing in the Lord.

Rejoicing for the Right Reason

        From today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, the seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing from their mission and said to Jesus, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said to them, "Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." This is rejoicing for the right reason. No other delight can possibly top the delight of knowing that you are going to experience the greatest joy in heaven for all eternity!

**Insights from the Lord*

      Today is the first Friday of October, so there was Eucharistic adoration at church after Mass. I remained for about a hour and received these insights.

• To desire the Lord is the only desire we need. When we have him, we have everything. It is also the desire that pleases him the most. It is not a selfish desire, for it requires giving yourself to him.
• To be wholly healed by the Lord is to be holy.
• To be aware of your sins is good, for it is the Lord drawing you to him.
• The world is filled with evil, so seek union with the Lord to remain in him.
• Everything is known to the Lord. Everything done for his sake in faith is great in his eyes.
• If you want to feel good, serve the Lord faithfully and he will give you joy.
• A sinner who hides from the Lord is a fool. He becomes wise when he turns to the Lord to let him look into his heart.
• We can solve all our problems if we will surrender ourselves to the Lord to ask him to make us perfect.

**Removing Causes of Sin

        In Matthew 5.29 & 30, Jesus said to his disciples, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna." The Lord has a point: we must remove what causes us to sin. Sometimes we can have hidden desires our ego still urges us to fulfill. Therefore, we must have the Lord go deep into us to find and remove all the causes. Again, attain union with him to give him total freedom to accomplish this. As it is, the more perfect your union is, the holier you become.

***Raising Our Aspiration

        In general, we who follow Christ do not aspire high enough. We are too mild, too fainthearted, falling far short of what the he expects of us and what he deserves from us. We should go all out to possess the Lord, for he loves us so much that he desires ardently to be one with us! The most expedient way to accomplish this to give yourself entirely to him. You cannot aspire any higher.

***Wake Up or Die Forever!**

        Today is Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi. In the Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus reproached the unrepentant towns. He said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.'" That there will be judgment and there is hell is clear. We know that we are sinners, yet we behave as if we are sinless, remaining repentant. Sins buried are still with you; they can only be taken away by God after you repent of them. If you don't face sins squarely, you won't see heaven either!

**Living for God

        I am old enough to recall the lives of the many deceased relatives and friends of mine. Like most lives, they had happy times as well as sad ones. All I can say is that if we only seek happiness but do not have Christ, then we are merely going through the motion. It is the Lord who can give us the right perspective on life, giving it meaning and direction. Living for God frees us from the prison of living for ourselves. It's living a new life not bound by this world.

Our Attitude Toward God

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He said to them, "Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.'" It truly matters to the Lord and to us whether we welcome him or not. For our own good, we must seriously consider him before dismissing him outright.

*Total Submission to God

        To submit to the Lord totally is to trust in him gladly in everything, even if he needs to punish you for whatever reason, knowing that his mercy is great.

**Reaction to Liturgy*

        I became a Catholic prior to Vatican II, so I am familiar with the old Latin Mass. Now we have the priest celebrating Mass facing us, standing between us and the tabernacle. This morning at Mass, the Lord unexpectedly made me see that the priest could easily become the center of our attention rather that the Lord. In the old days, the priest stood facing the tabernacle like the congregation, so we all focused in the same direction upon the Lord. Hearing the language I understand instead of Latin is fine with me; it's taking the focus away from the Lord that's disconcerting. 

**How to Acquire Humility

        Humility is a great virtue. Without it, never mind trying to get into heaven. If you remain humble, God will exalt you. How can we become humble? Simple—you simply surrender yourself to the Lord!

*To Be Childlike

        Today is Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. The Gospel reading came from Matthew 18. Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven." How do good children behave? Well, they believe in and obey the father without question, knowing that he takes complete care of them. This is what we adults should be like to the Father. After all, aren't we all God's beloved children?

The Lord Is My Shepherd . . .

        The Lord God our creator has implanted in our soul a thirst only he can quench. That is why those who have become one with the Lord no longer lack anything. 

***Warning to a Disordered World***

        If you had read my post "Bright Hope for Our Time" about the prophecies made by Our Lady of Good Success yesterday, you would understand what's going on in the Church and the world right now. We have all become disordered. Another small example was just in the news. A gay male senior at a high school in Tennessee was crowned as a gender-neutral homecoming queen. Here's a teen boy wearing a gold dress believing that he was a queen. It is only by giving our heart completely to God that we can keep it pure and in good order. You can believe or claim that you are a Christian and still be influenced and swayed by the Evil One without realizing it. To come to the point, you can belong to God or to Satan, and if you are in-between, you are taking an awfully big chance hoping that you can be saved. 

**Greatest Happy Ending*

        It is just plain impossible for us to escape God unless we become absolutely nothing, which again only God can make happen. So the smart, sensible thing for us to do is turn to him and give ourselves totally to him. And he turns out to be our most loving creator and Father! 

***Saint Thérèse

        Today is October 1, the memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus. Deuteronomy 32.10-12 was the entrance antiphon: The Lord led her and taught her, and kept her as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle spreading its wings, he took her up and bore her on his shoulders. The Lord alone was her guide. Matthew 18.3 was the Communion antiphon: Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. What marked Thérèse as a saint were her childlike belief in Jesus and trusting in his guidance alone. It's a singular faith that was simple, pure, and unwavering. She is my model saint.

**Bright Hope for Our Times*

        This is a video about Our Lady of Good Success. She prophesied in the 16th century for our times through Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, a Spanish mystic in Quito, Ecuador. I chose this presentation over some of the others on the same subject. You'll be amazed how the prophecies have come true and heartened by what's still going to come. There is also a Part I you can look up and watch.

***To Be Safe from Satan

        Satan is tricky. He is the master of deception. What he presents always looks or sounds good outwardly, but is always defective in some way. He can even produce false miracles and apparitions to fool you. That I can tell you from my own experience. Only God is perfect in every way. I really appreciate the advice of St. John of the Cross. He counsels that if you are seriously interested in seeking union with God, then focus upon the Lord alone and do not let anything else distract you, no matter how attractive, alluring, wonderful, or even miraculous it seems. Of course, these are not his exactly his words, only what he essentially stated. I'll always remember that.

Our Pressing Issue

        We are rightly concerned about our environment, our living space, our air, our water, etc. But our inner peace, our soul, our eternal existence are so much more important. Common sense tells me that the earth is not to be mankind's permanent abode. First of all, the earth is a finite body, so it's surface area and its resources are limited. If the human population keeps growing, one day we'll run out of space as well as resources. God would not have put us on such a planet if we are not going to come to some kind of an end one day. That end could be his Second Coming, I don't know. So the #1 issue should be our own eternal survival, as each of us will only live a short time on earth and be gone.

*Beyond Expectations*

        Communion experience. Today's Communion antiphon, Jeremiah 15.16: Lord God, when I found your words, I devoured them; your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart. When we yearn for the Lord, hearing his words is a joy, gladdening our heart. But we do not see him, nor can we touch him. Then the Lord gave us his own flesh and blood to consume to satisfy our yearning for him, exceeding all our expectations.

***Evil amid Us

        Luke 17.1: Jesus said to his disciples, "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur." When you cause others to sin, it is indeed a grave sin. It saddens my heart to see that the hierarchy of our own Church is promoting globalism and a new humanism and is much concerned about "global warming" instead of condemning the continuous global murdering of the unborn, addressing the issue of general disbelief in the Real Presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, questioning why so many Catholics are leaving the Church, etc. When evil has infiltrated the Church hierarchy, it's a sign that something momentous is happening. It's time to take complete refuge in the Lord.

*Our Power to Know God

        If we ignore God, we'll never know him. If we let God be our God, then we can get to know him most intimately. To know God is impossible or easy—it's all up to us. The truth: we are not free until we relinquish our control of ourselves to God.

**A Spiritual Warning

        The evil forces of our godless world are so deceptive and prevalent that we must be deeply grounded in the Lord and remain vigilant in order not to be influenced by them. Seeking to achieve union with God is absolutely the best way to keep your soul pure and safe. Be one with the One who one day will completely trounce evil. 

Jesus Most Satisfying

        Communion experience. The Lord filled my cup to overflowing.

**Our Ultimate Voice

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 16, we heard the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Both the rich man and poor Lazarus died. The rich man, suffering in the netherworld, saw Abraham far off with Lazarus. He said to Abraham, "I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house to warn my five brothers, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the prophets. If they will not listen to them, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." I see Jesus as our ultimate voice, for he is far more than Moses or the prophets—he is God and will be our judge too. Therefore, we must listen to him! After him, there will be no one more worthy to listen to.

***Key to Spiritual Success***

        Do you know that you do not have to try hard to hold onto Jesus? As a matter of fact, he is always waiting for you to abandon yourself to him for him to become one with you. You accomplish great things when you remain passive to let him be your Lord. You want to love him, let him love you. You want to be strong, let him make you strong. You want the Church purified and restored, trust in him to make it happen. In total union with the Lord, whatever you will is whatever he wills. You let him and he'll have it done, since you are no longer in his way.

Prayer Obedience

        True we can ask God for anything that comes to our mind, but let's obey him in prayer too by asking the Holy Spirit at the start to guide us in our prayer. This way, we remain in tune with the Lord throughout.

***Perfect Relationship

        I've been married to my wife for over 57 years and you can say that she is the person I know best in this life, but not that we thoroughly know each other. After we die, that relationship will be gone. Our relationship with the Lord God is on an entire different level. This relationship can be perfect for these reasons: we can reach a complete mutual understanding with the Lord, we can become one with him through obedience, and the relationship can last forever! Therefore, establish this heavenly relationship with God to live on an exalted level.

*Priorities Out of Order

        In the news just now, Pope Francis calls for an ethical use of technology. Good idea, but personally I don't think it'll do much good when so many people do not even know or love Christ yet. Without God, doing anything for the good of others doesn't always happen.

***Two Timely Urgent Messages

Watch the first 2 minutes 46 seconds of the first video for the main message.



Catholics, unite!

*Lack of Reverence at Mass

        This lack of reverence brings to my mind the picture of the disciples of Jesus falling asleep when he was praying. Instead of trying to amuse the congregation in some way, why can't we focus our entire attention upon the Lord? Instead of talking aloud and laughing the moment Mass has ended, why can't we wait at least until we have entered the vestibule of the church?

Final Settlement

        Communion experience. I had finally settled, resting completely in God's hands. 

*Christ the Only Truth

        Today is the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul. The Gospel reading came from Luke 9. Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They replied, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." It is important for us to realize who Jesus truly is. Then we'll know that not all religions are the same and that Christ is the sole truth.

***Key to Getting Close to God***

        Some people are used to read prayers written by others; they have trouble saying their own. Some don't consider themselves to be contemplatives and have to rely upon words. And there are numerous books out there teaching you how to pray. Of course, the goal is to be drawn close to God. Let me say that if this is your goal, all you need to do is to open yourself up to God, surrendering to him, and he will draw you to him in no time. As long as you do not abandon yourself completely to him, you can read a thousand of these books and pray all you want, it won't draw you any closer to him. As Jesus said in Matthew 26.41: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Here the flesh is your own pride. Only God can draw you to him, but you have to let him do it.