**Repentance Urgently in Order

        This is my most urgent plea. We do not know when Jesus will come again. Nor do we always know when God is going to chastise us for straying away from him. The threat of the coronavirus is real, but hell is infinitely worse and I pray that no one will ever go there. Since God is infinitely merciful, it is never too late to repent of your sins as long as you are still alive and capable of thinking clearly. Chastisement or no chastisement, repentance is in order to keep the soul safe to show how grateful we are for the love and mercy of our Father. May we all return to him to live forever with him!

**Getting Ready to Meet the Lord

        To be ready to meet the Lord, we must not attach ourselves to the world so that when the time comes to have to give all things up, we'll be happy to let them go. Let us train ourselves for that day. Time can run out quickly. While you may still have a lot of unfinished businesses to deal with, don't ever let them tie you down. If you still drag your feet about detaching yourself from this world, you are not ready to meet the Lord yet.

***Wake-Up Time!

        Fifty teams of epidemic experts including those from universities across the world have predicted that in the worst-case scenario, the coronavirus death toll in the US could hit 1.7 million. The Lord God definitely wants us to wake up from our sinful state. We must ask ourselves if we are ready to die. If not, then why? I heard that some elderly people still go out everyday to have a good time, figuring that they are going to die anyway. Such foolish thinking! If you are attached to Christ only, you should be ready to die. Clinging to the world is like staying with a sinking ship. In this case, you are most likely to sink before the ship completely sinks. 

**Learning from Coronavirus

        So far, thousands of people around the world, including less than 100 in the US, have died from the coronavirus virus, and people are scared and starting to predict the worst that might happen. They are oblivious of the fact that worldwide, about 154,000 unborn children loose their lives daily each day! Might the coronavirus be God's warning to us for our committing this horrendous sin? Now my country is doing its best to stop this virus and protect the economy. I feel it's more important to stop the virus and protect the life of the unborn and raise all moral standards. Otherwise, something worse than the coronavirus will surely happen to mankind again.

*Purgatory Not Good Enough

        I heard someone say that he just couldn't be holier and wouldn't mind going through purgatory first. This attitude is worrisome to me, for it amounts to saying that God cannot make one holy. If you don't aim high, you may not even make purgatory! So, believe that God can make you holy with your permission. Aim high and you'll be assured of getting into purgatory or even getting into heaven without going through purgatory altogether!

*** Messages Coronavirus Brings

        As this virus is now pandemic, the message from God is loud and clear. It is that we need to turn to him to repent of our sins. It just seems most difficult for most people to deal with their own sins. In the worst cases, they are not even aware that they are offending the Lord. As the Second Coming of Christ approaches, we seem to be falling away from God even further. Here is a calling for those who do believe in the Lord to double or triple their effort in praying for all falling sinners.

*How to Fight Evil

        To fight evil, we normally go after and actively attack it in whatever ways we can. But there is the superior way. It is that we go before God, confess our sins, ask him to make us clean, and then beg him to crush the evil. If every one of us does this, there won't be any evil around. To be realistic, we still need to actively fight evil at this point in time, but we must let the Lord make us holy first so that we may rely upon him to crush all evil. 

***Pure Love from Us

        We can love many things or persons in the world. We may love music, stamp collecting, traveling, fine food, our pets, or someone who attracts us. Such love are in general self-centered and can enslave us, so they are really not pure. Then we can love God. Is this love different? I believe so. You see, God is already unconditionally loving us. When we love (or more correctly, fall in love with) him, we are set free by his love. We are not self-centered because we can't help wanting to please him only. Love for God is the purest love we may possess, for it is in fact his pure love that makes us love him.  

**Source of Our Living Water

        Since I did not go to Mass, I read today's Gospel reading John 4.5-42 at home. It's all about Jesus asking a Samaritan woman to give him a drink at Jacob's well. I have heard this reading many times before. Today, as I read it myself, I was astounded by the many things Jesus said. Now, if you do not see him as the Messiah, you would be confused like the Samaritan woman was at first. Today I saw him as the Lord and was amazed by the amount of truth he reveals to us. I do encourage you to read these 38 verses yourself to let him speak to your heart. 

**Is Life Meaningful?

        Suppose you live in a beautiful place in a most comfortable house with a most beautiful view. Let's even say that the weather is always perfect. And you have no problem whatsoever financially and can enjoy anything you wish. And you have perfect health always as well. Everyone loves you and thinks highly of you with no one ever giving you any trouble. Then you die and become nothing. Would you say that you have lived a meaningful life? If yes, where's the meaning? Let's now look at a case at the other extreme. You born poor and lived all you life in a miserable condition. People look down on you and treat you badly. And you are always sick and suffer pains all your life and you wish to die. You do die and become nothing. All that suffering for what? Is your life now meaningful? For most of us, we lead a life between these two extremes. So what is a meaningful life we can realistically live? 

       For us, life becomes meaningful only if we see a higher purpose and know that we'll have a better life after death. The reality is that all things beautiful on earth are earthbound, evil is real, and suffering unavoidable. God is the eternal reality and wants in fact to deliver us from this world that imprisons us. Life on earth is a test. If we believe in Christ, we shall pass this test and head toward eternal life. So we can live right and make our life completely meaningful, as we enter the most beautiful final part of our existence.

*Missing Sunday Mass

        Two days ago Friday, the bishop of my diocese finally granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday for all members of the Catholic Faithful. It's sad not to go to Mass. Although I could still go, but being in the high risk group, I didn't want to take the risk and end up affecting all my family members. I just watched a video on the city of Nanjing in China which claims that the number of cases of coronavirus infection there has dropped to zero. The control is strict and thorough alright, but it seems to me that what has helped the most is not letting people get close to each other. So, what can we do if we stay home on Sunday? I urge you to listen to Fr. Mark Goring on this video which came out yesterday.

Start at

***Supreme Advantage of Being in Union with God

        I just watched a very good podcast. The speaker made it clear for all Christians that this is the time to go all out to battle evil for God. In the first half of the talk, he brought up various things for us to follow. I'll just mention a few. (1) First of all, be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect, as Jesus had commanded. (2) We must deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Christ. (3) Do not presume that you are going to heaven. (4) You must have faith and also works. (5) Do not remain complacent. These are all good things to remember, but if you try to follow them all, it may not be easy. That's why you should gain access to the power that can help you accomplish all these and more first. This is done by attaining union with God! When you are one with the Lord, you'll automatically do these things without thinking about them. Besides, you would know that the Lord is taking you with him to heaven!

*A Decision We Face

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 is the best-known parable of the lost son. We learn that sin saddens our Father greatly, but admitting to him that we have sinned cheers him up greatly, so much so that the whole heaven rejoices. That a simple choice by us can affect God so much only shows how much he cares for us. We need to decide whether we continue sinning or repent. 

Trust in God Best

        God will be our final judge, casting all evildoers into hell in the end. How should we approach him? All we need to do is to trust in his mercy, for he wishes to pardon us and delights in his clemency. If we would just follow the Lord in full confidence, there's really not a thing to worry about.  

*Seek the Lord, Not What's Peripheral

        I've always been attracted to the Carmelites and their spirituality, St Thérèse of Lisieux being my favorite saint. I thought that visiting Mt. Carmel in Israel would be an exciting adventure, then I realized that I could enjoy the Lord every moment anywhere. It's experiencing the Lord, not anything that's associated with him, that should be central to us.  

***Most Extraordinary Soulmate!

        By definition, a soulmate is a person with whom one has a strong affinity, shared values and tastes. Obviously, when you are God become one, you become soulmates. But wait, this is no ordinary relationship, for God happens to be your creator and truly knows all about your soul. So that makes him the most extraordinary and fantastic soulmate you can ever have!

***The Greatest Feeling***

        It's so great to be one with the Lord. Of course, it goes without saying that the Lord and you are now completely open to each other, with you in him and him in you. You pray to him, but you are really speaking to him right within your heart and soul. And you know that you are absolutely safe in him. Praise be to him, your most beloved!

***Church Needs to Repent

        Outside of China, Italy has been most affected by the coronavirus. The current lockdown has made Rome look like an abandoned city. During this Lenten season, I feel that the Lord is calling all Church leaders, beginning with the Holy Father, to publicly renounce their sins to inspire the whole Church to follow suit. If they can humble themselves like this, the Lord shall surely bless them and the whole Church abundantly. This is the way to avoid divine chastisement. For reinforcement, watch Fr. Goring's new video "Pachamama & Coronavirus" below.

***He Is Our Life!

        I have stopped attending daily Mass for the time being, as coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the county I live in. This morning at home, as I was gazing upon an image of my Lord being baptized by John the Baptist, I saw so clearly that Christ is the life. In John 14.6, Jesus did say (to Thomas) "I am the way and the truth and the life." Indeed, the world without him is dying, but those who possess him have and will have life eternal without a shadow of a doubt!

***If You Don't Listen to God . . .*

         Also from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man, suffering torment in hell, begs Abraham to send Lazarus to his father's house where his five brothers lives to warn them, lest they too end up in the place of torment. But Abraham replies, "The have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them." He says, "Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." Then Abraham says, "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." Now, consider us. Jesus, the Son of God, the Lord himself, greater than Moses and all the prophets, had come, and many of us still do not listen to him! What is going to happen to them? I can only pray for them and leave the answer to God.

*Keeping Peace in Troubled Times

        Today's Gospel reading is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. As you know, the rich man dresses in purple garments and fine linen and dines sumptuously each day. And lying at his door is Lazarus, the poor man, covered with sores, who would gladly eat the scraps that fall from the rich man's table. When the poor man dies, he is carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also dies and is sent to the netherworld where he suffers torment in flames. Between him and Lazarus, a great chasm exists to prevent anyone from crossing to the other side. At this critical time when the world is fighting to rein in the coronavirus, it is good to be reminded that after we die, we'll end up in either heaven or hell. As long as we are sure that we are headed for heaven, we can remain in peace.

Trust Only in the One Who Knows You

        Excerpts from Jeremiah 17, today's first reading: Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. The man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD, is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit. I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds. Therefore, trust only in God, not in other human beings or even yourself, for only he is trustworthy. Also, God will be the one to reward (or punish) us, for only he knows our minds and hearts.

**Comforting to Know Our Mission

        From today's Gospel reading from Matthew 20, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." The Lord knew his mission and had no fear of death. What then is our mission? Well, clearly we are to serve the Lord God without fear of losing our lives. This is good to know as we are facing the threat of possibly losing our lives to the coronavirus.   

**Fool's Choice

        Whether we face any crisis such as the coronavirus or not, we should always turn to the Lord, repent of our sins, and put ourselves in his hands. Those who choose to live only for themselves are doomed. There will be no reward from God after they die. What fools they must be to choose this life which will be over in the blink of an eye over all eternity.

***Urgent Time to Turn to God

        Yesterday I posted "Reacting to the Coronavirus." Today Fr. Goring's video "New York Needs to Repent" echos my thoughts. It's time to turn to God and repent, more urgent than ever. To ignore God is heading toward eternal death. Only the Lord of Christ can lead us to eternal life.

*Our One Teacher, Father, and Master

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus said to the crowds and the disciples, "Do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ." This tells me that God is our most important teacher, father, and master. And we must learn from him first, obey him first, and go to him for help first.

***Reacting to the Coronavirus

        Is the spread of the coronavirus a chastisement from God? Maybe, considering how rebellious our generation has been against him. I do believe that God is always trying to get our attention to turn to him and to follow him. If we continue ignoring him, we give him no choice but to shake us a bit to wake us up. If we would all realize our sins, get on our knees, repent, and beg for his mercy, he will surely wipe out this terrible virus instead of letting it wipe us out. Rebellion against God cuts off his mercy; only repentance can open up the way to receiving it again.  

**Where Is Your Faith?

        A great video from Fr. Goring to watch, as many are worried about the coronavirus. In Matthew 8, Jesus and his disciples were in a boat and Jesus fell asleep. A violent storm came up suddenly so that the boat was being swamped by waves. The disciples got scared. They went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuke the wind and the sea, and there was great calm. Let's not ever hear the Lord say to us, "O you of little faith." We are to wield our faith always!

**A Secret Revealed

        When we live secretly in the Lord, we get to enjoy our joy in secret.

To Love God Is . . .

to be like him.       

*Doing All Things with God

        Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 6. In the first verse, Jesus said to his disciples, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." This set the tone for what's to follow. He wanted them to stop judging, stop condemning, forgive, and give. It is a high calling for all of us. Whatever the Lord asks of us is possible if we are with him, for nothing is impossible for him. 

*Be Merciful, as Your Heavenly Father Is

        Today's Response to Psalm 79: Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Indeed, if the Lord marks iniquities, who can stand? (Psalm 130.3.) Fortunately, the Lord will deal with us according to his mercy, for he is merciful. Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, says the Lord. Surely, if we can be as merciful as our heavenly Father is, we are on our way to becoming perfect.

**Instant Relief

        This morning I went to Mass. I had an utmost urgent petition on my heart, so I begged the Lord hard to hear me. Then I heard the Lord's calm voice from within my heart, letting me know that he already knew my burden and I only needed to trust in him and it'd be done. I instantly calmed down. Yes, trust in the the Lord and it's done—what an easy way to get things accomplished! 

***Your Personal God

        God to many can be someone or something quite vague and remote. But I believe that as humans, we won't be satisfied until we have a God we can get to know most personally as our best friend or even soulmate. *And we have the God of Christ who fits the bill perfectly. He is actually the one we all search for secretly, whether you realize it or not. If your god is vague, remote, impersonal, or unsatisfying, simply switch over to Jesus Christ and you'll receive eternal life to boot. I am not kidding!

**To Be Detached to All Burdens*

        We should get to know the Lord well and come to realize that he is all we need to attach ourselves to. Then we'll be able to detached ourselves from everything and everyone else, even from ourselves, and become free. Normally, we think of everything as those things of the world that give us pleasure, then the Lord made me see that it should also include things that give us pain too. We don't like to suffer, but if we can detach ourselves from all pains, then suffering won't upset us anymore. Yes, the Lord can liberate us from all burdens!

***Most Appropriate Soulmate

        How appropriate it is for the Lord God to be your soulmate, for he alone created, understands perfectly, and knows how to heal your soul.

**Meeting God's High Expectations of Us

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." The Lord always raises the bar to want us to be perfect. And we should feel good that he regards us to be good enough to be made holy by him!

**How God Heals My Shoulder

        I posted sometime last year about my injured left shoulder which had been troubling me for almost two years. Whenever I moved my left arm around, especially when I tried to lift it above the shoulder height, I felt a sharp pain. Various exercises, massage, heat treatment, etc., didn't help. If I were to remain like that for the rest of my life, I suppose I could handle it. But if my right shoulder goes bad, it would even make things such as getting up from the bed difficult. I blogged about this, saying that this might be my thorn of the flesh. 

          Encouraged by how Jesus wanted us to persist in our prayer, I started to pray that the Lord would heal me. Of course, my most urgent prayers are to ask the Lord to crush evil and save all souls, stop abortion, restore and purify the Church, protect this nation from all evil, and draw all to him. So I tack on the prayer to heal my shoulder at the very end. Now, the Lord could heal me instantly, help me heal naturally, or surprise me in some unexpected way. And he chose the last.

        Late last year I cam across a YouTube video on the exercises that can help you heal the shoulder. I did not think that I would learn anything new, for I knew and had tried most of these exercises. I watched it anyway, as it's a short video. Then the two presenters in passing mentioned a book they said was very good. It's titled Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention, written by Dr. John M. Kirsch, an orthopedic Surgeon. I got curious and bought a copy on Amazon. What's amazing is that Dr. Kirsch has discovered one simple exercise that pretty much cures all shoulder problems. In fact, many people who had been scheduled for shoulder surgery got well after doing his exercise in a relatively short period of time. 

        The exercise is called dead-hanging—you grab onto an overhead bar, with palms facing away from you, and hang yourself from it. This lets your body weight stretch your shoulder joints. Apparently, this enlarges all the spaces between the various bones of the shoulder, eliminating all causes of pain. I built a structure using the scrap wood I had to support a metal bar I also had. With one good shoulder, it took me several weeks and some help from my son and grandson to get it done. So far I have performed the exercise for five weeks, hanging twice a day. I can tell you that the pain is almost all gone, and I know that if I keep doing it, my shoulder will be totally well. Dead-hanging makes the whole upper body feel free and loose. The lesson, have faith in God and he will answer your prayer. 

**Our Sorry State

        God has always existed and has come with the good news of salvation, yet we don't seem to be aware of it. That's because we've been blindsided by sin.

***The Holy Spirit effect

        When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you can't help thinking about and wanting to talk about the Lord at all times. You long for him and are eager to bare your heart to him and hear his voice within it. He becomes real, more relevant and exciting than anyone or anything in the world. Only he now matter to you. I can go on and on. To sum up in one sentence: God and you now exist in complete harmony as one!

*Letting God Be Our Doctor

        When we see our personal doctor, we allow him or her to examine every part of our body so that we may get our health back. Shouldn't we allow the Lord to examine our mind, our heart, our conscience, and our soul so that we may become spiritually healthy? Isn't the soul infinitely more important than the body? Right answers: yes and yes.

Do You Know That . . .

getting your sins forgiven is a huge breakthrough on your journey to heaven?       

How to Enter God's Kingdom

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." So there he set a minimum standard. In fact, he went on to tell the disciples not to follow what they had heard was said, but to listen to what he tells them. The smart move is to never mind the scribes and Pharisees and what anyone else had said, but to go straight to the Lord and listen to him alone. We make heaven not because we not holy enough; we make it because we follow the Lord.

*Good Reasons for Seeking Salvation

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 25 contains the verse Look upon my affliction and suffering; take away all my sins. We are sinners and need God to take away our sins. Today's response from Psalm 130: If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? If God pronounces you guilty, you are dead guilty. Then the Communion antiphon from Ezekiel 33.11: As I live, says the Lord, I do not desire the death of the sinner, but rather that he turn back and live. God wants us to live. These three truths compel us to to turn to the Lord to ask him to save us.

*Being Attached to the Past

        I watched a British TV show, The Repair Shop. People brought old and broken objects such as pieces of furniture, stuffed dolls and animals, music boxes, toys, vases, clocks, paintings, etc. to the shop to be repaired or restored. The repair-crew were all amazing craftspersons. The owners wanted their things brought back to life because they were mostly heirlooms which they wanted to remember their ancestors by and pass onto their own descendants; and they had happy memories associated with the respective objects they owned. So when they came back and saw the object all restored, they were all so exited and happy. In some cases, they were moved to tears. I felt happy for them too, but I couldn't help also feeling sorry for them, for with such attachment to these material things and the past, they wouldn't be free to leave this world when the time comes. 

**God Forever Ready and Open

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 7, Jesus said to his disciples, "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." So you can confidently go direct to the Lord to seek or ask for whatever you need. It doesn't matter whether you are a sinner or a saint (although I do have the feeling that the sinner would get the bigger welcome). Our Lord is pure love, totally accessible, and eagerly wishes to be one with us. He created the universe, keeps us alive, and gave us his only Son so that we might have eternal life, surely he can and would want the best for us. Time to run toward him at full speed.

**Fast Track to Holiness

        Trying to make spiritual progress without accessing the Lord God is like trying to lift yourself up by pulling on your bootstraps—it won't work! This is not a new message; I am giving it again only because I saw people again praying that they might become more patient, more sensitive to others' needs, more obedient to God, etc. . . . all centered upon themselves. It should be obvious that the effective way to getting results is to go straight to the Lord, telling him all that you desire and asking him to take over to help you succeed. And you'd be surprised by how easily he can fulfill all these good desires of yours.

*Sign Seeking Is Evil!

        Today's Gospel reading came from Luke 11. Jesus said to the people that their generation was an evil generation, for it sought a sign, but no sign would be given it. Our generation today is the same. Many of us do not believe in the Lord unless they personally witness a sign. If you have a hardened heart, do not even acknowledge that you are a sinner, and still expect the Almighty God to do some wonder so that you might believe, you have to be out of your mind! Don't you see that Jesus has been our greatest sign for the past 2,000 years? If you don't see that, no other sign will do you any good. Be humble and know your place before the Lord first and desire to know him, then you'll have made the right start. 

**To Be with Christ Completely

        Jesus is always present and among us anyway. What we need is to have the Lord dwelling within each of us to be one with us. Otherwise, we are not completely with him.

**Purpose of the Eucharist

        Communion experience. The Lord gave us the Holy Eucharist to consume so that we may know that he is always with us and that he wishes to become one with us. In receiving this most precious gift, we also get to savor and enjoy him.