***Our Journey*

        When you are one with the Lord, you experience his agony along with him, and that places a heavy burden on your heart. Yet knowing that he is with you, you never lose hope. Suffering is always a part of following the Lord who also gives you unspeakable joy. As Ascension followed the Lord's Passion, we will also see his glory after our agony expires. Our world has gotten so godless that I believe that the illumination of conscience, our mini-judgment, as prophesied could happen anytime now. Pray for the mercy of God on all unceasingly. Remember that we are only passing through this world and our permanent home is to be with our Father in heaven. 

**The Just and the Wicked

         From today's reading from Psalm 1, we learn that the wicked are chaff which the wind drives away; for the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes. We know that the wicked won't be able to stand the Lord, while the just are blessed by him always. God is in full control of everything, but we who are finite easily forget this and start to worry when times get tough. Christians who know that they are returning to their Father in heaven live in freedom and with great joy. Similarly, those who know that God is in full charge pray hard, but do not worry, in troubled times. Final victory belongs to the just and faithful, not to the wicked whose way will vanish altogether.

Sign of End Times

        The total lack of repentance. We see evildoers continuing to lie and deceive unabatedly even after truth has exposed their frauds, scandals and other misdeeds.         

*Maximizing Your Happiness

          If you appreciate that God loves you so much that he even died for you on the cross so that you might have eternal life, you would appreciate that he has created you and be happy with yourself. So if you are not happy with yourself, you do not know God yet. To become happiest, seek to attain union with him through the Holy Eucharist.

**Requisite to Entering Kingdom of Heaven

         In Matthew 7:21, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Does this mean that a basically good person may not make it to the kingdom of heaven? I see at least two instances in which this can happen. (1) You don't obey God in all things. For example, you find it difficult to forgive someone. Whereas you should go to God to seek help, you decide that you are just not going to forgive that person. This is deliberately going against the Lord. (2) You believe that you are a good enough person and that it's OK to commit some small sins now and then. This lack of humility can also keep you out of the kingdom of heaven. The bottom line, we need to do the will of our Father in heaven as best we can.

***Distinctive Union Benefits***

     Since this blog is all about attaining union with God through the Holy Eucharist which the Lord ardently desires, I'd like to pause and again list the three distinctive benefits you receive in the state of union.

1. God becomes more real than someone you see, hear, and touch.
2. God takes away your tendency to sin.
3. Your fear of death vanishes.

     There are many other more general graces which I won't get into here. 

***Evildoers Are Biggest Losers

         In Mark 8:36, Jesus asked, "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" This is the question all evildoers need to hear. First of all, evildoers are pretty obvious to all. Even if they are not at first, they get exposed eventually. Of course, they can never hide from the Lord. Secondly, they may enjoy doing their deeds for their own gain, but they cannot possibly have inner peace. Thirdly, being evil puts them on the path to hell. You can't help feeling sorry for them for not knowing that the Lord God loves them and they only need to repent their sins to get on the path to heaven! An unawakened evildoer has to be the biggest loser. 

**Christ, the One We Need*

       Without or with not much of Christ in your life, you try to find happiness on your own. Since we live in an imperfect, sinful world, you encounter obstacles, setbacks, and even make enemies along the way. Then the sorry experiences and hurts you feel start to affect you mentally, making you hate the world and even yourself; you feel like giving up altogether. All I want to say is that you will not find happiness on your own. Then you let Christ into you life and everything changes. Living becomes meaningful. You are now free from the world, as serving him gives you so much joy and satisfaction. Yes, you know exactly where you are going and look forward to that day. The Lord guides you through every moment of your life. And there is much more. The God of Christ is exactly what we sinners need.

***The Brown Scapular

        On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I'd like to bring up wearing the Brown Scapular. I wear both the Brown Scapular and the Miraculous Medal and can testify to the abundant blessings I have received from the Lord. Mary promises that whoever dies wearing the Brown Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. I am posting two videos about it below. Fr. Goring's came out two years ago and Jerome Chong's, recently. The two presentations complement each other. To learn all about the Brown Scapular and what you need to do before wearing it, visit the Sisters of Carmel.

***Perfect Model Response

        Today December 8th is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Gospel reading from Luke 1 tells the announcement of the birth of Jesus. The angel Gabriel came to Mary and informed her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and she would conceive in her womb and bear a son to be named Jesus and called the Son of God. He would be great and the Lord God would give him the throne of David his father, and he would rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there would be no end. Mary's response before the angel departed was "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." This is the perfect response for us to emulate whenever we hear the Lord asking or feel the Holy Spirit prompting us to do something.

**Praying the Holy Name of Jesus

        Since my house is set quite a way back from the nearest public road, I try to exercise by walking from my house to that road and back, weather permitting. It takes about 20 minutes to complete three round trips, just enough time to pray five decades of the Rosary. But I find it hard to concentrate on praying that, as I am moving all the time, sometimes going uphill and sometimes, downhill. So I switched to mainly calling on the Holy Name of Jesus. Since I only need to focus upon the name "Jesus," distractions are no longer invasive. And I sincerely believe that when I pray thus fervently, the Lord already knows everything that's in my heart without my having to tell it all to him. A simple prayer is also worth a thousand words or more.

*Intimate Fellowship with the Lord

        When I go to bed to sleep every night, I feel like I am going home to the Lord. That's because when I lie in bed, all relaxed in darkness with no distractions, I feel most close to him. I could bare all of myself, letting him see everything that's in my heart. It's enjoying a most intimate union with my Lord and my God before I fall asleep. Psalm  23:4 appropriately comes to my mind: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me.

**Faith and Forgiveness

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 5, some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him before Jesus. But not finding a way to do it because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles in the middle in front of Jesus. They must have made quite an impressive entrance. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "As for you, your sins are forgiven." It seems that how ready the Lord is to forgive you depends upon how much you believe in him. Here, the paralytic believed in him so much that he didn't even have to confess all his sins first. It was an eager childlike belief that the Lord valued. At the opposite end, we can have people with such weak faith that even after they confess all their sins, they may not be completely forgiven. 

**Knowing We Are Sinners

        If we are holy and blameless, there would be no need for Jesus to come to save us. The fact that we can feel so grateful that he had come so that we might have eternal life and be moved to the point of even willing to die for him is proof that we basically know we are sinners and need salvation.

***Christ Is All to Us***

         John 1.3 speaks of Christ: All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. Wow! And in John 14.6, Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Another wow! In reciting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, we say, "Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." It is through Christ that we get to atone for our sins and through his suffering that we dare to ask for mercy. St. Gertrude was told by Our Lord to pray to the eternal Father by offering him the most precious blood of His Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world for all the souls, living and deceased. Again, it is through the death of Christ that we are saved. And Christ knows everything about each of us, our heart and our soul. In the end, we'll have to answer to him about everything we've ever done, for he is our final judge.

**Letting God Shape you

         When you are attentive to what the Lord wants you to do and you obey, he is also shaping you. I was not aware of this at first when I received messages from him to post; I thought that they were for my readers. Then I realized that he was teaching me too, in fact, teaching me first. In other words, I wasn't just to relay what he'd said; he wanted me to learn the lesson from him first. So it is good to know that every time the Holy Spirit prompts you to do something, the Lord wants you to receive the same benefit. Obeying him is the best way to grow spiritually.

***Living the Simple Christian Life

          In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9 & 10, Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. Then he sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, make the proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." I like that last statement I underlined. We simply depend upon the Lord and serve him—that's it. This is how we should live the Christian life. It's not complicated at all.

**Waiting for the Lord

         Today's response to Psalm 147 came from Isaiah 30: Blessed are all who wait for the Lord. There is no doubt that Christ will come again as he had promised. The goal of life for all should be to prepare ourselves for that day as we wait. We Christians look forward to the Second Coming, as final justice will be served to all on that day. 

*God Our Amazing Creator

        I am amazed by the various forms of life God has created. Look at a plant, for example. It doesn't have a brain nor a heart, yet it grows and can flower or bear fruit. It may be deciduous or evergreen. Most likely, it has no feelings, yet instinctively in many cases, it consume bugs. For a vine, it also knows how to climb high. And I see ourselves made in the image of God. We instinctively understand good and evil and sense that we will one day return to our creator. And we do not find rest until we come to know him. Among all the animals, we know that we are his highest creations. 

**Imperfect Faith

      In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 9, Jesus healed two blind men. They cried out to Jesus to have pity on them. Jesus asked them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. 
       Here we see that the two men had faith in Jesus and the Lord listened to them, but they did not listen to him. Faith is necessary, but obedience is important. Without perfect obedience, faith is made imperfect.

*Key to Entering Heaven

        Today is the memorial of St. Francis Xavier. The Gospel reading came from Matthew 7, in which Jesus said to his disciples, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Everyone who listens to theses words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock." The bottom line: action counts, not necessarily words; and obedience to the Father is the key to entering heaven.

***What You Must Not Delay

         Isaiah 55:6 is today's Gospel acclamation: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call him while he is near. Even if we live to 100, the time we have to find Christ is limited. When we leave his world, our opportunity of finding him is gone forever. Do not delay seeking and calling the Lord, for you do not know how long you will live in this world!

***Challenge for the Christian

        We want to live inside of Christ, not outside of him. This is our challenge and goal. Either he is truly our Lord or he is not. To succeed here, you only need to abandon yourself to God. But this is the stumbling block for many, for great humility is required. The good news is that if you can do it, you'll experience total freedom and joy on the other side and never want to go back to where you were before. 

*Survival Rules

           Essential survival rules for the Christian in these troubled times. (1) Shut out all fake news. Stop listening to lies. (2) Do not look back on you past, especially if it's not a happy one. Let the past go forever! (3) Focus upon Christ only. Place all your hope in him alone. Truly let him be your Lord! In fact, if you follow rule 3 to the letter, you won't need any other rules.

*The Truth not Realized by All

        Today's Gospel acclamation: Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him. Those who prepare themselves to meet him are the ones who realize the truth that we are all  sinners and need salvation. Those who do not prepare themselves are the ones who do not realize this truth and are to be pitied. They are the evildoers and those who are simply asleep spiritually, for Satan has pulled the wool over their eyes.

*****Miraculous Transformation of Oneself*

          Let Jesus, ask him to, look at you; and you won't be the same person again! 

****Connect with God at Deepest Level

        Jesus commands us to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. Of the three, heart, soul, and mind, the soul resides the deepest within us and is the closest to God. Therefore, when we call on the Lord, pray to him, or just converse with him, we must let everything come from our very soul! That is, we always connect with the Lord at the deepest level! And your spiritual life will be astoundingly rewarding!

**Working Hard as We Age

        Many people enjoy working hard, often on some favorite project, as they age. This is admirable and so much better than remaining idle most of the time. My only concern is that if all your work is self-centered, you may lose the time you need to secure the salvation of your soul. When we realize that our time on earth is limited, it's time to work more for the Lord and less for ourselves. As we get closer to meeting the Lord, we need to improve our relationship with him as much as possible. The wise would start to seek union with the Lord from the very outset.

****Good Enough to Believe in Jesus

        In John 20, after Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus and believed, Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." For us, we can say that we are blessed who have not seen nor heard him and have believed. All that matters is that he sees and hears us!

***My Greatest Blessing

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 10, Jesus said, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." God has given me so many blessings in this life: loved ones, caring friends, all kinds of good things that fulfill my needs, etc. But the greatest blessing of all is that Christ has revealed himself and then the Father and later the Holy Spirit to me so that I now know all of God most intimately. 

*****Secret to Peace*****

         If we will all submit ourselves to the God of Christ, our loving Father and our creator, Satan will fall and have no power over us whatsoever and there will be complete peace in this world. I am telling you the absolute truth here. Follow Christ alone and we save ourselves and the whole world. (If you have not paid much attention to Christ yet, you owe it to yourself before you die to look into how he can give you inner peace as well as eternal life.)

**Jesus Is Lord

        Today is the feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. In today's Reading 1 from Romans 10, Pauls starts out with "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." We must never hesitate to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and should proclaim it as much as possible. A Christian who does not confess that Jesus is Lord for whatever reason only shows that Jesus is not his or her Lord yet. Even if you can say it, you must live to prove that you mean it. Otherwise, you are still not genuinely a Christian. To acknowledge that Jesus is Lord is acknowledge that is foremost in your life.

***Begin Anew with Christ

          I have moved into my house for about 15 years or so and notice that some of fixtures and things have begun to show their age. I recall the various subcontractors I had to deal with, some were excellent and some not so good. The bad ones left me with bad memories. I know we all have had unpleasant experiences with others that can haunt us. Then I see Christ and know that he can and will liberate me from everything negative. The Lord is like a filter. When we go through him, all that is unclean, disordered, destructive, or distracting will be filtered out. He is our end and in him nothing that hurts, haunts, or enslaves us can possibly exist; we become liberated, new creatures in him! So let nothing disturb you now, but let Christ alone fill you with his peace. 

***My Greatest Blessing

        It's having Christ who is most loving, most merciful, most understanding, most beautiful, most holy and perfect as my Lord! There is not another being who can possibly satisfy and fulfill me as Christ does!        

***Amazing Graces

        Do you realize that we can connect with the Lord God our creator and savior instantly and at any time? What a wonderful grace! And that we can also repent minor sins directly to the Lord and more serious sins through the sacrament of reconciliation, and be forgiven and become all clean again? Another amazing grace! Thank you, thank you, and thank you, Father. 

****Highest Exaltation

         In Matthew 23, Jesus said, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Here's the proof. When you humble yourself before the Lord, realizing that you are nothing and you need him, you open yourself up and the Lord enters you fully to dwell in you—you and the Lord are now one. This has to be highest exaltation you can possibly get from the Lord in this life. Rejoice, rejoice, and rejoice!

***Jesus' Second Coming

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 13, Jesus told his disciples to be watchful and to be alert, for they did not know the time the Lord would come again. Jesus made it clear that he will come again, and this time to judge us. How do I know? Well, if there won't be any judgement, then we really don't need to be watchful at all. For those who have always been faithful to the Lord or are already in union with him, they are ready for anything. So this is really a warning to those who are not yet ready. Since those who do not believe that the Lord had come the first time will have no reason to believe that he will come a second time, there is no point in letting them know when the Lord will come again. Besides, keeping the time and day unknown will help separating the true believers from the true unbelievers.

**Our Goal in Life

        In today's second reading from 1 Corinthians 1, Paul wrote, "God our Father will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." I see that our whole goal should be to become irreproachable on the day we face Christ. The way to achieve that goal is to become irreproachable now before that  day arrives unless you have the magic of becoming holy instantly. 

**Letting God Make You Beautiful

        Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Reading 1 comes from Isaiah 63 and 64. The last verse reads, "Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands." The image that we are the clay and the Father is the potter is a beautiful one. To acknowledge this is willing to let the the Lord mold and shape you to his heart's content so that you become most beautiful for him to behold. 

**Getting into Heaven Is Easy

        On our own, we can never be good enough to get into heaven. But if we let God help us, the problem is no more. As Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 19:26, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible." Besides, the Lord wishes and desires that we all get into heaven.

***Sober Warning and Advice

          This is today's Gospel reading, Luke 21:34-36. 

        Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."

        We may not carouse or even be drunk, but may very well be anxious about something. Since the day of the Lord's coming will catch us by surprise, to be vigilant at all times is truly the appropriate advice. It would indeed be horrible to have the Lord catch you in the midst of spreading fake news, cussing at someone, committing an impure act, or doing ballot stuffing. I personally see attaining and  remaining in union with the Lord as our best preparation, as you'll already have the Lord dwelling in you.

***God Is Our Life

         In yesterday's 1st reading from Revelation 20, the book of life was mentioned. In today's 1st reading from Revelation 22, an angel showed John the river of life-giving water, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On either side of the river grew the tree of life. In John 11:25, Jesus Said, "I am the resurrection and the life." In John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life." So simply, God who is the source of all life is life. For us, to know the Lord is to have life eternal. It was also revealed to John that the Lord is coming soon for all his servants and that night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light. Surely it is this light that will sustains our life for all eternity.

***Knowing Enough to Be Saved

        The Gospel reading at Mass continues with readings from Revelation. Many people have tried to interpret the book Revelation and arrived at different conclusions. I am content to learn just what's clear and leave the many mysteries alone. From today's reading from Revelation 4, I learn that anyone whose name is not written in the book of life will be thrown into the pool of fire, the second death. Of course, i do not know when this will happen or exactly what the second death is all about, but I do know that I need to make sure that my name is written in the book of life. Again, I don't need to know exactly what the book of life is, but I know without a doubt that I only need to be in Christ to have my name written in it. This is good enough for me.

**Praying Without Doubt

        You have two choices after you ask for some favor from the Lord. (1) You feel unsettled, always wondering if he is going to grant you what you've asked for or not. (2) You know that the Lord has heard you and will answer your prayer, not wondering about how he's going to do it. I think the second option is much better, for it shows that you have faith and you leave the door open for God to surprise you.

****Are You Honest with God?

        We must be completely honest with God, sharing everything and hiding nothing. This is absolutely important if you truly want to know the Lord and be in total harmony with him. This is also the key to experiencing freedom in the Lord. "Honesty is the best policy" works with God too.

**Not Shocked by Evildoers

         They lie to the American people daily and now try to steal a national election by fraud. What can you expect from anyone who has no qualms whatsoever about killing the unborn? When you rebel against the Lord, you instantly become the greatest loser in the world. Even if you gain the whole world, you still end up losing your own soul. May God have mercy on them.

***Feel It for Jesus!

        To be one with the Lord, we must feel what he feels. If he suffers, let's suffer along with him. If he is joyful, let's be joyful too. To be united with our Savior is to have life eternal, and is our greatest joy!  

*****Warning of Second Coming

         In today's Gospel reading from Luke 21, Jesus spoke about his Second Coming to his disciples. That's right, he was still living among them. He told his disciples, "When these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand." We must be prepared and look forward to this day of our redemption. If we don't, what could happen to us would be unthinkable. 

***Christ Is Joy!***

        Today is Thanksgiving Day in USA. I thank the Lord for all he has done for us. I especially thank him for having turned everything into joy for those who follow him. The Lord has given me freedom, peace, and joy, more or less in that order; yet joy comes to my mind first whenever I think of him. It must be because freedom and peace are experienced quietly and joy can be truly overwhelming. Anyhow, the Lord is the source of our joy. The Resurrection, Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit fill us with joy. Heaven is all joy. Follow Christ and you'll have joy forever!

**Complaining Is Not Christlike

         Even though it's not Friday yet, I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary for a special intention. I realized that the Lord suffered so much and died on the cross for us willingly and that we who trust in him really should not complain about anything in life anymore! The Lord does not wish us to ever worry or be anxious about anything. Complaining only reveals our self-pity and lack of trust in God.