**Peace and Agony

         We can trust in the Lord fully and experience peace, but this does not exclude us from experiencing agony. Peace and agony can coexist with peace always underlying any other suffering. Doing the will of God promises peace, but not happiness.

*Christ, the Lord of Peace

         Communion experience today: Christ is the source of my peace. 

Why Sermons Are Ineffective

        Sermons from pulpits are weak when they are intellectually conceived without involvement of the heart. There is no inspiration from the Holy Spirit. As a result, they do not draw the listener any closer to the Lord. An effective sermon must exalt the Lord and not the speaker. 

**Good to Know

        No sin can escape God, but at the same time nothing you do for the glory of God will go unrewarded—just know this.

**Praying the Our Prayer

        Before we pray the Our Father, the most perfect prayer the Lord has given us, we need to go before the Father with complete submissiveness, reverence, and openness. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time if you don't mean what you say much. 

**Cause of Suffering

       God suffers when we sin against him. We suffer, also when we sin against God. Sin causes all suffering. When we stop sinning against God, all sufferings cease or become a joy.   

**Risk of Putting off Considering God

           I knew a friend of my son who was related to a local well-known Italian family.  I was quite sure that he came from a Catholic family, so I tried to persuaded him to come back to the Church. I emailed him in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and didn't get any response from him. But through my daughter-in-law, I heard that he wasn't quite ready to consider God yet, as there were still many things to take care of first. I think it is very common that people keep putting off considering God, as they want to take care of their worldly business first. But, of course, there'll always be unfinished business to finish. The last I heart about this particular person was that he already had dementia, not recognizing everyone anymore. Maybe I can go see him and try to pray with him when my son visits him. The lesson: do not put off considering the Lord, unless you have already rejected him completely.

***Beautiful Surrender**

        When we surrender to God to let him do whatever he wishes with us, we lose all fears . . . the fear of death, the fear of possibly going through purgatory, the fear of whatever punishment we might receive for our sins. Complete trust in and total surrender to God expunges all fears. 

**Becoming Beautiful for God

        Get to know Jesus to experience his tremendous love for you. Let this greatest love transform and mold you into a new creature. Then you become beautiful for the Lord to behold.  

***An Intimate Revelation

         Last night around midnight, I was awake because I was concerned about two people I knew, but the Lord Christ was on my mind the whole time—he was really all I could think of. I had never experienced him to be this close. And he let me know most clearly that only he can make me happy, and I was overjoyed! I have always loved the hymn "For You Are My God" by John Foley. The refrain is what I love the most: "For you are my God; you alone are my joy. Defend me, O Lord." (To hear this song, go the the video listed in the right margin. It's near the end, right after all the Ave Maria videos.) So I don't see the Lord visually nor hear him audibly, yet he reveals himself to me totally. My joy Overflows! 

***Our Last Call to Salvation!*

         After the parable of the lost son, I like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus most. When the poor man Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, "I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment." But Abraham replied, "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." We have now Jesus, the Son of God, greater than Moses and all the prophets. I just want all to realize that if you do not even listen to him, you will have missed your last call to board the train of salvation.

****God's Wonderful Promises

           From today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God." Jesus said it definitively and now we know exactly how to get ourselves accepted by God.
        Also in today's reading, Jesus said to the disciples, "When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." This is a huge promise! The bottom line is that we don't need to worry about anything under any circumstances. It's easy not to believe in him, as we still think that we know better! My point is that if you dismiss the Lords promises outright, you'll never find out if his promises are good or not. Again, faith works wonders. If you are not childlike in believing in the Lord, you'll have difficulty entering his kingdom.

*****Reminding the Entire Church!

         Also in today's reading from Ephesians 1, Paul reminds us that the Church is the Body of our Lord. As members of his Church, we are parts of his Body, so we'd better be holy in order not to defile the Church! 

**How God Enlightens Us

        Today's first reading were verses 15-23 from Ephesians 1. I am not going to reproduce them here. After I read it, I just want to say amen. Here is what I learned: (1) When we get to know the Lord well, he reveals himself to us and we become spiritually wise. (2) When our hearts are enlightened by the Lord, we are filled with hope and see the riches of his glory and the greatness of his power. And I can testify to the truth of what I have learned.

***Encountering the Lord Necessary

        Today is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The entrance antiphon is based upon Galatians 19-20: I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me. For many of us, this sounds OK, but we don't feel compelled to live like that—you may even feel sorry for anyone who'd choose to live like that. What we fail to realize is that both Paul and Ignatius had encountered the Lord and willingly desired to live for him only. They already knew the joy of following the Lord. If someone goes to heaven, comes back and chooses to skip all the fun parties on earth, you probably wouldn't understand that either. Therefore, be open and seek Christ. Once you truly know the Lord, you will understand everything.

*Good Coming Out of Evil

        The rampant evil you see today makes many realize the goodness of God and how much we need him now more than ever. I see this as the process of God restoring us to wholeness. It may take some time, but the end result is assured. Meantime, let's fight the spiritual battle through prayer and sacrifice. When we trust in the Lord all the way, he works wonders.

**What We Most Need to Safeguard

          Also in today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one." These sayings may sound familiar and commonsensical, but they are extremely important for us to be aware of. The Lord is telling us that our soul is what we need to be concerned about. Our physical body matters only when we are still on earth. We try to safeguard our body, our properties, our job, our affairs, etc., but they will all pass, while our soul lives on forever. This, the soul, is what we truly need to safeguard!

**We Should Not Judge

         There are some abhorrent and evil people around today and many "good" people wish that they die or go to hell. I can understand that. I placed quotes around the adjective good because those people are basically good but not yet perfect. If you follow Christ, you would pray for all the evildoers and leave the judging to God. I bet that when you get to heaven, you'll find some whom you'd expected to see missing and others whom you'd not expected to see present. God alone determines our eternal destination. We only pray that his will be done.

***No Escape from All-knowing God

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 12, Jesus said to his disciples, "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops." Today many are not even aware that our all-knowing Lord is ever present, so they do whatever they feel like doing. I truly pity them for not knowing what they do, for they'll have to answer to the Lord for every single thought they have entertained, every single word they have uttered, and every single act they have committed! Nothing can escape the Lord. Do what you will, but you shall be found to be worthy to enter heaven or not in the end.

***Wake up, Bishops!

        To me, the abortion holocaust is the most horrible crime we are committing against God as a result of not believing in the God of Christ. To get a sense of its magnitude in this country alone, it you haven't seen my post of Nov. 16, 2018 yet, please click on the link to take a look at it—you may be in for a shock. Unborn babies are being killed nonstop while I am typing this post to you now. How can we possibly not do anything and still sleep well? Our Church has been infiltrated by evil and our Pope and most bishops have remained relatively quiet. They are more concerned about global warming and not being nice enough to the enemies of the Church than resolving the crises the Church faces right now. Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me." Listen to the highlights of Archbishop Vigano's warning to the bishops who are silent on abortion during this election year in the video below. (Note. Today is 2/26/2022 and I found the video already removed.)

**How Much Alive Are We Spiritually?

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk." To be like unseen graves is to be totally dead spiritually! Hearing this makes me question how much alive we are spiritually. For the Lord, half alive, 3/4 alive, or 99% alive is not good enough. We need to be fully alive, filled with zeal and joy, doing everything for the love of the Lord. He has give his all and it's time for us to give our all to him. 

*Obeying the Holy Spirit

         The Holy Spirit should be our sole guide and teacher. We should let the Holy Spirit mold and form our conscience. His commands must override all other commands not from the Lord. In the Spirit, we are no longer bound by the law made by man.

**Fighting the Godless

         Today is the optional memorial of St. Callistus I, Pope and Martyr. The entrance antiphon: This holy man fought to the death for the law of his God and did not fear the words of the godless, for he was built on solid rock. Today we hear the fake main stream media and leftists spreading fake news and lies nonstop, misleading a good portion of the people of this nation, making them hateful of God. But we need not fear the words of the godless and only need to embed ourselves solidly in the Lord. For evil is doomed to fail and we shall triumph.

**Images of Mary Caught on Phone

         Here is a video that was posted three years ago, showing the three miraculous pictures taken by parishioners in the chapel of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glenview, IL. Two were images showing the Blessed Mother adoring the Lord and one, an image of an angel. To see all three images, you only need to watch to 8:25. (The rest of the video touches on Satanic desecration of the the sacrament, the Eucharist, and it's adoration. To skip the "Satanic" part, you can restart around 12:10.) The images of Mary really moved me.

***Tough To Keep Love Pure***

         There are our pure love for God and our impure love for ourselves. It's easy to let our selfish love which shouldn't be there in the first place override our love for God. For example, we personally dislike someone. We know that we should love that person, yet we decide not to have anything to do with that person. On the other hand, we can like someone for selfish reasons, so under the pretense of loving God, we "love" that person. In both instances, we are being hypocritical. To love as God loves, we must ground ourselves solidly in the Lord and vanquish all our selfish motivations. Unless you already know the Lord intimately, this can be a tough battle to fight. God bless you all!

*Cleansing Your Inside First

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus was invited by a Pharisee to dine at his home. The Pharisee was amazed to see that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. Jesus sain to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?" Our outside is for people to see, but our inside is for God to see. So cleanse your inside first and then the outside if you have the time. Jesus said to his disciples, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." So focus upon yourself and never mind what other people see or think.

**The Living Word of God

            Hebrews 4.12, today's Gospel acclamation: The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thought of the heart. To surrender to the Lord is to surrender to his word. It is through surrendering to this living word that we are spiritually nourished, enlightened, and formed to become like the Lord, fit to inherit the Kingdom of the Father.

***Be Prepared for the Unexpected Moment

          I love the late night or early morning before dawn arrives because when I am awake, I could sense or hear the Lord so clearly in the quiet. This time the Lord made me see that we might be in a very nice environment, living in a comfortable house, seeing beautiful things around us, etc., but one day even if all such things still remained, we would pass and find ourselves alone before the Lord. This could be drastic for some of us. So let's expect and be prepared for this unexpected moment when it comes.

To Be Set Free the Right Way

        From the first reading from Galatians 4, Paul wrote, For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. People erroneously think that if they do not accept Christ, they can do whatever they want and thus remain free, not realizing that they only end up enslaving themselves! To be truly set free, we need Christ, our creator and a much greater power, to heal our soul and set our spirit free.  

**God's Love Removes All fears

         Even though I am a most wretched sinner, since I love the Lord and yearn for him, I look forward to meeting him in person, as I know that he'd be glad to see me in person too. The love of God removes all fears, knocking down all barriers.

*Blog Title Change

         You might have noticed that I have changed the title and the description of this blog at the top of the page. When the Lord first started giving me thoughts to post eleven years ago, I had no idea what he was up to. It was almost a year later that he made it clear that he wished to draw all to him through the Holy Eucharist. Early this morning, the idea of changing the title to make it more relevant came to me, and I made the change. Praise the Lord. May he be glorified forever! 

**Enlightening the Heart

        Today's Gospel acclamation from Ephesians 1: May the Father of our Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts... That's right, we need the Lord to enlighten our hearts, not our minds. The mind only serves the heart. With an enlightened heart, we'll be able to see and think clearly. We speak of "the heart of the matter," not "the mind of the matter." If your heart is for God, you are for him. Whether your heart is defiled or clean concerns our Lord the most, for he cares about our soul the most. Opening your heart up to God opens the door to your salvation!

***Making Your Faith Infinite!

         In today's second reading from Philippians 4, Paul wrote: My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Christ the Lord himself has assured us of the same and we need to believe in this truth. This is the faith that can get us through anything and lead us straight to heaven. This is total abandonment in God that allows miracles to happen. This is truly believing that nothing is impossible with God. 

***The Same Magnificent Lord

         Today's psalm at Mass is Psalm 23, probably the best know and possibly the most beautiful psalm of all the Psalms. As you know, it starts out this way: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. Of course, this psalm of David was written about a thousand years before Christ came. After knowing Christ, you feel about the Lord just as David did, if not more so, for it's the same magnificent Lord. There's consistency here. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

**Knowing-Christ Difference

         If you do not know Christ, living seems to be empty and life, meaningless. Once you know the Lord, it becomes absolutely clear that without him, you are definitely lost. To know Christ is to know the truth and reality. Not knowing him is knowing everything that's not worth knowing! You are hearing this from someone who has found out and knows all about it.

***Do We Want to Be Forgiven?

        Today's entrance antiphon from Psalm 130.3-4: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities. Lord, who could stand? But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel. It all comes down to this:
        
           God is most forgiving. At judgment time, do we want to be found guilty or not?

*Joy, Mark of the Christian

           The more we know the Lord, the more we rejoice in the Lord and the more we feel sorry for those who reject the Lord or do not take him seriously. The danger here is that we let the sorrow overwhelm us and we become less joyful. The way to to beat that is to trust in the Lord even more, knowing that he pities them more than we do and will take care of them as we pray for them, and offered up your sorrow to the Lord. A true Christian should always experience greater joy than sorrow.

**Observing the Word of God

         Today's Gospel reading from Luke 11: While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." The woman said something nice, but the Lord went right to the truth. For Christians, obedience to God must be taken to heart and carried out. The living word of God is to be practiced and propagated. If you hear it and take no action, you stifle the Holy Spirit. 

***Truth of the Holy Eucharist

 

**Either with God or Not with God

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, we hear Jesus say "Whoever is not with me is against me." This is worth our attention. With God, it's either you are with him or you are not with him, no third choice. 

****Why Satan Still Thrives

        God can easily wipe out Satan, but we who sin get in the way. If we all instantly become holy, that'll be the end of Satan and we all go to heaven. But as we continue to sin, the spiritual warfare continues on. The clear solution is that we turn to my Savior and believe in him, then we'll be set free from sin and Satan loses for good. So very clear.

*Start Exulting with Christ Now

         Today's entrance antiphon: Th souls of the Saints are rejoicing in heaven, the Saints who followed the footsteps of Christ, and since for love of him they shed their blood, they now exult with Christ for ever. We can follow the footsteps of Christ and start exulting with Christ now.

****Holy Spirit the Great Unifier

        It is the Holy Spirit that unites us to God. When we are totally Spirit-filled, we become one with God. This union breaks down all barriers between you and God and between you and all the saints in heaven or others on earth who are in union with the Lord, creating perfect unity. That's why I feel I already know all the saints in heaven whom I have not even met. That's why the best marriage on earth is one between a man and a woman who are both in complete union with God. But no matter, we can always seek to attain union with the Lord himself. Believe in the Lord completely, receive the body and blood in the Holy Eucharist with utmost devotion, and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and you become one with the Lord.

*****Asking for the Gift the Holy Spirit*****

          In today's Gospel reading from Luke 11, Jesus told his disciples two parables on prayer. Here's the second parable. "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" Wow, the Father is ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks him! I knew this parable, but I neglected noticing that the gift Jesus mentioned was specifically the Holy Spirit! This is exactly the gift we all need. You probably have been told that that Spirit dwells in you, but you must submit to the Holy Spirit to receive power! I'll mention again that when I prayed for baptism in the Holy Spirit at a charismatic prayer group meeting four decades ago, the Spirit "zapped" me and I was never the same person again. If you wish to snap out of your lukewarm state, just ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit or pray to the Holy Spirit directly. This is a gift many of us neglect to ask for, but it's essential and most precious, for you'll be amazed how the Holy Spirit can make you holier in no time. To this day, I still remember the joy and excitement I experienced. The Holy Spirit is real and is to be embraced and enjoyed! Do not miss the opportunity of receiving this life-changing, life-saving gift. Remember that God can do anything with you, and when you let him do what he wants with you, it's instantly accomplished.

**Compelled to Choose

        In today's entrance antiphon, we hear "O Lord, 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." We either believe that the Lord is the Lord of all or he is not the Lord at all. We are compelled to make a choice here with no third choice available. Not to make the choice is an option, but that'd be the same as not believing that the Lord is the Lord of all, which is the same as believing that God doesn't exist. 

**Blessed Carlo Acutis

         Fr. Mark mentioned Carlo Acutis in the video I just posted. Carlo was a saintly boy who died at 15 in 2006 and will be beatified this Saturday, Oc. 10. He loved the Lord since he was a little boy. This reminds me of St. Thérèse, The Little Flower. He was known for documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world. I encourage you to watch at least one of the many videos about him on YouTube. I love his saying: "The Eucharist is my highway to heaven." Indeed, if you are a Catholic and don't know and believe in the Eucharist, then you are a Catholic in name only. Carlo Acutis is a shining example for all of us. Praise Jesus!

***Believe in the Holy Eucharist!

        Another Eucharistic miracle. 

***Christ Alone Fully Suffices

        Once you have Jesus, you never look back anymore. You don't wish that you should have done this or should not have done that. You no longer remember all your sufferings nor ever compare yourself to others. Christ alone now overflows and fulfills you. 

**God Anticipates Your Action

         I posted about the Holy Rosary without realizing that today is the memorial of Out Lady of the Rosary. I posted about the Lord's prayer and the Gospel reading from Luke 11 turned out to be about how the Lord taught his disciples to pray the Our Father. I picked up my new Testament, intending to look at the reading in Luke 11, and the book opened exactly to the page that showed the reading with the prayer. God is amazing!

On Unfinished Business

         There will always be unfinished business for us to finish in this life, so finish what you can and don't let any unfinished business bother you. When you leave the world, you'll have to leave all your unfinished business unfinished. Finish only your business with God on earth.