*Joy, Joy, Joy!

when you hear the sweet voice of the Lord in your heart.

***The Power of the Lord

         God remains all powerful. If we believe in him, we are saved. If we reject him, we are doomed. All that power is useless to us if we don't want it. And it's all ours if we desire it. Jesus came to us so that we may receive his power to save ourselves! So it's all up to us to utilize or waste that power. So very clear.

***Why the Holy Rosary Is Powerful

           Early this morning, the Lord also made me see how perfect and powerful the Lord's Prayer he taught us is. If we can have only one prayer, this would be the one to choose, for if you truly mean what you say when you pray it, you can become a saint. I also saw that the Hail Marry is most effective in asking our Blessed Mother to intercede for us. She's the one who can sway our Lord the most. Now, the Glory Be to the Father is the best prayer for praising the God who deserves all our praise. It dawned on me why the Rosary is a most powerful weapon for crushing evil and saving souls: it combines all three of these powerful prayers. We dedicate each decade of the Rosary to a particular mystery and concentrate upon praying the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory.
          After I got up, I was overjoyed to find that Fr. Mark Goring talks about why Our Lady asks us to  pray the Rosary in today's video of his.  

***An Awakening Moment!

        Recently, President Trump caught the COVID-19 and was hospitalized. Then nationwide, millions of people prayed for him and he recovered in a few days and is back to work already. Praise our God! Early this morning, the Lord made me see for the first time very clearly that he had chosen Trump to stem the tide of evil. Without him being elected in 2016, we would never know the corruption in our government and the existence of the deep state that is planning to subvert our democracy. Trump has now made the whole world aware of the threat of globalism, socialism, and Communism. Today, we are able to openly  invoke the name of Jesus and say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays at Christmas time. This has to be the Lord's doing. I pray that this is not just a temporary turn of events. If we all turn to God and repent, we can overcome evil altogether and win the spiritual battle. Otherwise, there will be more chastisements and persecution of all God-fearing people coming. We are at such a critical point that what happens next will depend entirely upon how much we obey the Lord now. We can no longer lie back, say that we trust in God, and not do anything anymore. Pray hard and unceasingly.

*Beauty of God's Love

          There is secular music out there that's beautiful enough to make me think of God. Under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos..., I have already listed two videos featuring Rachmaninov's two preludes written for the piano, to me one expressing our yearning for God and the other, the love of Mary for her son, our Lord. I just watched another video featuring the most talented Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino playing the piano arrangement of Rachmaninov's 3rd movement of his 2nd symphony. Again, the music made me sense God's beautiful love for us. Here's that video.

**Listen to the Lord First*

         This is today's entire Gospel reading from Luke 10.

        Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

         We are very much like Martha, but we must listen to the Lord first and always, putting everything aside if necessary. This will be hard for many and they would probably argue that it won't work in real life. All I know is that if we listen to the Lord and do not be anxious or worry about things, everything will work out best. In other words, live your spiritual life right and your earthly life will follow in good order. Place God first and everything else second.

***We Are Before God!

         Also, in today's reading from Galatians 1, Paul made this side remark: "As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying." It's kinda cute. But seriously, it's good to be beware that whatever we do, we are doing it before God; so we'd better be truthful. (The world has gotten so evil because it's no longer aware that God exists.)

***God's Plan for Us

        In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Paul writes "When God, who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me . . ." We must believe that God has also set each of us apart when we were still in our mother's womb. In Jeremiah 1, we read that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." The Lord may not have revealed to each of us a specific appointment, but he definitely has a plan for each of us. The call to holiness and obedience should be obvious. If we follow Christ faithfully, our plan evolves simultaneously. I could hear the Lord saying: "Blessed are those who do not know their specific appointments and still follow me faithfully."

****Steps to Knowing Christ

        Many Christian spiritual messages are being preached and writings being published, providing reflections, insights, views, etc. How effective they are is to be measured by how well they succeed in drawing you closer to Christ. After all, to know Christ the Lord must be our foremost goal. We cannot be effective if we do not know him well ourselves, even with the best of intentions. The three steps to reach this goal are to accept Christ, to believe in Christ, and to surrender ourselves to Christ so that we may get to know him mostly intimately, as in union with him. 

**Whom Do We Seek to Please?

         In today's first reading from Galatians 1, Pail writes, Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. We try to please others all the time. If we do it for the sake of pleasing God, that's great. But if we do it in order to please ourselves, then our ego is involved and it can be sinful. Worst of all if we do it to please Satan! In any case, whatever we do, we should aim to do the will of the Lord to please him alone, no matter what others think or say. 

**My Mission on earth

          I want to praise Christ always. I want to extol his glory with all my heart and with all my soul. I don't just believe in him, I know that he is the true God. No one else can ever replace him, for there can be only one Lord. So hear me if you have ears. We are given just one life on earth to realize this truth. To remain lost forever is unthinkable. Try to get to know him; you have nothing to lose and only eternal life to gain. And you can always change your mind at any time, although I know that once you are with Christ, gladly following his will in all things, you'll never ever want to leave him. 

**Unbreakable Union

         Communion experience. The Lord entered me to affirm his union with me, a union that nothing in heaven and on earth can break. I am completely secure in the Lord.

***Our Calling and Fulfillment

        If Christ is your Lord, you must be in complete union with him. You cannot follow him without all your heart and all your soul. He has given us all of himself and we must reciprocate by giving all of ourselves to him. This is our sole calling and our perfect fulfillment.   

***Speaking Out!

        An urgent, important message for all Americans to hear. 

*Unself-Centered Rejoicing

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The Lord hit the nail right on the heard. Knowing that God has chosen you is what truly matters and worth rejoicing about. The focus should always be on what he does for you and not on what you do for him.

**Joy of Learning from the Lord

        From today's reading from Psalm 119, we hear "O Lord, the revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple." This is followed by the Gospel acclamation, Matthew 11.25: Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. In college, when I studied mathematics, I virtually had to push my mind to the limit to solve some of he homework problems. Now, to learn the truth from the Lord, I only need to remain simple and be childlike. What a joy!

**Courageous Priest and Bishop

        We need more priests like Fr. Goring and bishops like Bishop Strickland.

Knowing the Lord Intimately

          Today's Psalm reading comes from Psalm 139 of David. I'm amazed that the psalmist knew the Lord so intimately. I am reproducing the entire text below, for it's a joy to read.

          Lord, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize; with all my ways you are familiar. 

        Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the nether world, there you are.

         If I take the wings of dawn and dwell beyond the sea, even there your hand guides me, and your right hand holds me fast.

         You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you that I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. 

*The Righteous and the Wicked

          Today is the Memorial of the Hoy Guardian Angels. In the first reading form Job 38, the Lord mentioned the wicked on earth to Job. This made me see that the world is divided into two camps which may be called the righteous and the wicked. The Lord God knows exactly which camp we belong to. And we can switch from one camp to the other at will when we are still alive on earth. To remain righteous is easy if you have God; to remain wicked is easy if you do not have God. Simple and clear.

**Our Exciting Challenge

        Things happen unexpectedly, but we must trust that God's timing is always perfect, for he knows exactly what he is doing. Jesus told us that he would come again at an hour we do not expect. Signs and warnings may precede certain prophesied events such as the illumination of conscience and the three days of darkness, but we still do not know when they will take place. So we must be prepared and trust the Lord in all things—this is our exciting challenge.

**Consequences of Rejecting the Gospel

        Today is the Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. It's her intense love for Jesus that first inspired me to love the Lord. I consider her to be my first spiritual guide. In the Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus sent seventy-two of his disciples ahead of him to every town and place to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He said to them, "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.' Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." This shows that if you reject the gospel of Christ, you will suffer consequences. It is most serious, for it amounts to telling the Lord that he is not true, putting it bluntly.   

***Urgent Calling to Prayer

         We are now engaged in a spiritual battle so fierce that we must not put off praying anymore. There are Christians now who've been deceived by Satan and believe that those Christians who do not embrace the left are now lost souls! I am not kidding! Satan is good at sowing confusion. If you don't stand strong and firm with Christ, you can be swayed easily by all his enemies who are legion. So anytime you feel the Lord calling you to pray, you must pray without delay and with all your heart. Yes, pray unceasingly, as we are in end times now. The time for the Lord to separate the goats from the sheep is near.

**No Looking Back

           In today's Gospel reading from Luke 9, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." I don't think Jesus is saying that saying farewell to your family first is not appropriate. The main point he makes is that if you want to follow him, you must be resolute and not hesitate. It you want to go straight to heaven, then stay on that path and not wander off, take breaks, or get yourself distracted.

****How to Learn from God

            Our ego and our pride have made us slow learners of the truth. We do not see the wonders of God all around us. We do not hear the good news preached to us. God knocks at the door of our heart constantly and we just ignore him. Let me tell you how you can learn fast or even effortlessly from God. All you need to do is to turn to the Lord and invite him to enter your heart and you will start to hear from him, for he needs a receptive heart that welcomes him. Now, if you can open up your heart all the way, dropping all resistance, for him to enter and dwell within you comfortably, then you'll instantly know the whole truth, for Truth is now with you. This is learning from the Lord effortlessly. It's truly fantastic! 

*****What It's All About*****

           Three years ago, a Hubble study showed that our universe has trillions of galaxies. Well, that number is truly mind-boggling, but why should we stop there? As far as I am concerned, our universe can be infinitely vast, as our God is an infinite God! It's more logical to say that the universe is infinite than to say that it is finite, as a finite universe would raise even more questions. As I was praying this morning, I sensed the infinite depth of God's love, and that love deserves our total submission to him. It dawned on me like a revelation. We either submit ourselves to the Lord to become one with him or rebel against him to be cast out forever. This is what it's all about! When all the righteous are saved and Satan and all the evil spirits are cast into hell forever, we'll have eternal peace. 

***What to Do with Today's Evildoers

        Satan only knows how to deceive you and spread hatred. He lures you with false promises. Read the Gospels to see how he tempted Jesus. Satan also attacks anyone who follows the Lord. He has attacked many saints most viciously. Well, I see so many evildoers today operating just like Satan. You cannot reason with them, for they are no longer rational. They only want to take control of you by any means necessary. They are on the brink of falling into hell and they don't seem to be unaware of that. It is so very sad. The ignorance of the Most Holy Lord has to be the most detrimental ignorance to anyone. We can only pray for God's mercy on them. It's most appropriate that we pray as Jesus did on the cross before he expired: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." 

***God Makes All the Difference

          Everything is to be measured against God. We can make a lot of money, but this itself is nothing compared to having God. We can lose a lot of money, but this is nothing compared to losing God. Living comfortably a hundred years on earth is nothing compared to living in heaven forever. The worst suffering in this life is nothing compared to suffering in hell without God for all eternity. God makes us see the truth. He makes all the difference and nothing else matters. I could go on, but you get my point.

**A Great Adventure

         In today's Gospel from John 1, Nathanael came to Jesus and said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree." Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." For us who have believed in the Lord, we not only see great things, we also experience great things internally. Following the Lord is a great adventure throughout. 

**God Makes Us Special

         Today is the Feast of the Archangels Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. When we fulfill the word of the Lord and heed his voice, we become like these good angles. Praising God, blessing God, adoring him, glorifying him, and thanking him exalts us to a special status. We are not the same anymore. Attaining union with the Lord in total submission would be ideal. God transforms us anew and lifts us up to him, and we become holy and beautiful like the good angels. Praise him.

**Praying with Intensity

          We can pray fast or slowly; it's the intensity of our prayer that matters the most. How much do we mean what we say to God? How urgently do we desire to communicate with the Lord? How much pain do we experience in the heart? Praying lukewarmly is a waste of time. (I am not talking about contemplative prayer here.)

***Doing the Lord's Work Well*

          In John 15.5, Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing." When I realize that without Christ I truly cannot do anything and that he is with me, I gain great strength and courage and lose all anxieties. I am now calm, ready to do his work. Try it. It''s letting God make everything easy for you.

**Great Power of Christ the Lord

        Nothing is impossible for Christ, for he is the Lord God. The many miracles he performed witnessed by many were most impressive. But equally amazing is his power to transform us. When you let him forgive all your sins, your heart become clean and pure. When you let him heal your inner wounds, your soul is made whole. When you abandon yourself to him, you become a holy person. The Lord can completely make you anew. So take advantage of his great power to get you ready for heaven. We have a most powerful helpful God.

**Who's More Important than Us?

           In today's second reading from Philippians 2, Paul writes, Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others. The first part is manageable, I can stop being selfish. But the second part, to regard others as more important than yourselves, that is much harder. Sure, God is more important than me, but others? In Luke 9, Jesus did say, "For one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." It's good to know this. Perhaps, to start with, we can as least regard others as important as ourselves. 

*Communion Experience

         Today I actually started to attend Sunday Mass at my church again. I had to register in advance, for only a hundred parishioners are allowed inside the church at one time. And, of course, all wore masks and sat apart. Many rows of seats were taped off, so I couldn't even use the kneeler attached to the chair before you. This is California, you know. Anyway, it's good to receive the Lord in the Holy Eucharist again. I trembled with joy, hoping that the Lord will draw me even deeper into him.

***God's Gifts for Following Him

         Following Christ is not forcing yourself to follow him in any way. Instead, you go passive to let the Lord take over. The rewards are freedom, peace, and joy. I am repeating this here to let you know that this is true fact. For Christ your creator is the only one who can fundamentally transform you internally. Freedom, peace, and joy are what you receive after you make him truly Lord (beyond calling him Lord). I listed these gifts in the order they normally come. Of course, they can overlap.

**Fighting for the Church*

          As a Catholic, I'll never leave the Catholic Church, even if everyone in the Church becomes corrupt. For this is the Church Christ has built upon Peter for us. To reject her amounts to rejecting Christ. Catholics like all sinners can become evil, but Christ remains holy and perfect forever. This is something all Catholics must clearly see. The fact that the Church is being attacked so viciously by Satan is precisely because she is the true Church. We are going through a most difficult period now, but the Lord will cleanse and restore his Church again. This is the perfect time for us to surrender ourselves to the Lord even more to help him fight the spiritual battle.

***What Alone Matters to Us

         Each of us now lives among billions of fellow humans, but ultimately, we are alone with God. For all of us in the world will pass away and the Lord alone remains. We'll come to meet him face to face and give an account of what we've done. No one else will be there to speak for us. Each of us came from God alone and will return to him alone and be judged by him alone. So only God and how he wishes us to live matters. 

*God and Worry Mutually Exclusive

         You cannot abandon yourself to God and worry about things at the same time. Choosing one excludes the other. To abandon yourself to God totally is to give up everything else. To worry about all things is to have no trust in God whatsoever.

**Our Greatest Attainment

         When we follow Christ faithfully and do everything according to God's will, we are in perfect harmony with God, becoming one with the Holy Trinity. For us, there is no greater or more beautiful and rewarding attainment than that. 

***A Truth

        When Christ lives in you, you shall not die.

**A Message to the Foolish

            In John 14.6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In fact, we cannot bypass the Lord in any manner. Whatever we do he knows. You want to go to heaven, you have to go through him, as he is not only our Savior, but also our judge. And he exists forever, for he is the life. If you think you can ignore him, you only fool yourself.

***Christ Brings Life to Light!

         2 Timothy 1.10 is today's Gospel acclamation: Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel. I do feel that Christ has liberated my spirit. He has made me see what life is all about and what is beyond this life. I am no longer lost. In fact, he has brought me to become one with him! Now I see all things as he sees them. He has truly brought my life to light and made me ready to live eternal life with him in heaven. There is no greater satisfaction than this!

**Don't Lose Your Eternal Freedom!

         Today's first reading comes rom Ecclesiastes 11.9—12.8. After reading it, I understand that we are free to do whatever we want in life, but God will bring us to judgment one day. After the judgment, we'll either have freedom forever or no freedom at all. This is good for us to realize and remember so that we might live right.

***The Unborn Must Be Defended!

         Hear Fr. Mark Goring's clear message for all.

***The Union with God Experience

        How much we hear from the Lord is directly proportional to how much we abandon ourselves to him. In complete union with God, you and he become one. You now enjoy his most intimate presence within you. You are his and no longer of the world.

***Communicating with God Properly

            When you pray or talk to God, you must do it with all your heart, meaning every thought and word from the innermost of your heart. It's as if you take your heart out of you and offer it all to the Lord. This is baring your soul before him. Then you'll enjoy your reward. The Lord will always give you back manyfold more than you give him. 

**Our Most Fundamental Calling

          You pray to the Lord, asking him whether he wishes you to become a religious or remain lay, to get married or remain single, to become an engineer or a teacher, etc. It should be clear that the Lord most of  all wishes you to love him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind—that is, he wishes you to become holy like him. Become one with him first and all other callings will be made clear. So seek to attain union with the Lord through the Holy Eucharist so that you may fulfill his most ardent desire.

**A Neglected Awareness

        We are used to doing whatever we feel like doing and don't think about how we might affect others. But If our action does cause others to sin, then we have committed a serious sin. Of course, if you know the Lord well enough to have developed a super sharp conscience, this will no longer be an issue.

**Am I a Religious Right-Wing Extremist?

         Someone I know who's also Catholic has called me a religious, right-wing extremist. I really don't care whether I turn out to be right-wing or left-wing, I only follow the Lord Jesus Christ. But I do feel honored to be considered an extremist for Christ, for how can you love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all you mind, and with all your strength, if you don't go all out for him? If I am an extremist, then Jesus has to be the most far-out extremist of all. Obviously, this person hasn't totally accepted Christ yet. Revelation 3.16: So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Here we learn what the Lord prefers.

**Don't Explain God Away

         People who always try to explain away the wonders, signs, miracles, and even existence of God are close-minded, unknowingly allying themselves with the Devil. The right attitude, if you don't know God yet, is to remain neutral and open, and do your investigation conscientiously.