*Prayers God Will Answer at Once

1. "I am sorry that I have sinned against you. Pleases forgive me and take away my sins."
2. "Please help me become holy to serve you." 

      The Lord will answer these two prayers exactly the way you wanted without delay.

Shaping Our Own Destiny

           In Matthew 24 (and Luke 21), Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." You can be sure that what he had said would come to pass. What he had not said could change, depending upon how we behave toward him. We are free to choose to obey or rebel against God. We get to shape our own destiny.

**Reflections at Mass

          Went to the outdoor Sunday morning 10:30 Mass again. Another beautiful day; couldn't believe that the temperature was above 60 F in the middle of the winter. I felt good that we could enjoy such peace in the Lord, then I immediately saw the most horrible evil we were capable of doing to God. All you need to do is look at history and what has happened in this country now. We can be holy as the Lord or evil like the Devil. It all comes down to this. 
           The sky was light blue and cloudless with the low bright winter sun shining right in my eyes. Then I remembered I had seen such a bright sun with absolutely no glare three time before. The sun just looked like a pure white consecrated host, pulsating as if it had a living heart. I saw this miracle in Texas, Medjugorje, and Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, a group of us pilgrims were together, yet some of us saw the miracle and others couldn't because of the intense glare of the sun. This itself was a miracle. Anyway, it became clear to me that God was real! 

*One Who Knows Everything

        Did you ever notice in the Gospels that when Jesus talked to someone or a group of people, he already knew what's on their mind? Sometimes he asked them a pinpoint question, knowing what they were thinking. And he knew of his own coming Crucifixion and Resurrection. He is so far ahead of us that I feel absolutely safe and secure to put my whole future in his hands. The omniscient Lord is the one to keep and treasure for all eternity!

***Know Whom You Belong To

        Today's second reading comes from 1 Corinthians 6. Paul writes, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body." If you already follow Christ, know that you now belong to him. Therefore, treat yourself as God's most precious belonging, and keep yourself clean and blameless!

****Secret to Union with God

           Excerpts from Psalm 40 at Mass today: Sacrifice or offering you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts or sin-offering you sought hot; then said I, "Behold I come. In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, to do your will, O my God, is my delight." We see that obeying the Lord, doing his will, is what he desires the most. Let that "dictate" everything else we do, sacrifice, offering, etc., all included. This is the secret to union with God.

**God be with You

        In today's first reading from 1 Samuel 3, the Lord repeated called Samuel. When he finally realized that it's the Lord, he answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening. Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. It is so good to have the Lord being with you. This way you can't go wrong in what you do and will be his effective servant. He is with you when you belong to him totally. Attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist and you'll know that he is with you and in you.

***Sinners Being Called!

        The Gospel reading at Mass comes from Mark 2. When some scribes saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this and said to them, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." All you sinners, raise your hand. Jesus is calling you right now.

**God's Living Sword

        Today's first reading comes from Hebrews 4. Here is the first verse: The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. If you truly know the Lord and have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, you would feel the word of God cutting you heart and penetrating your soul, illuminating your conscience and guiding your thoughts. Definitely an exhilarating experience! You also know that the Lord dwells within you and whatever you experience can only come from him. You can bear witness to it, but not prove it. It is faith that enables us to know and become one with the Lord.

**Happy Living in This World?

        Whether something is good or bad for us becomes clear when we ask what if everyone does it. For example, casting one false ballot may not look too bad, but if every citizen of the nation does it, we won't have a republic anymore. Again, not believing in God may not seem to be a big deal, but if everyone on earth is an atheist, the whole world would surely go to hell (pun not intended). Similarly, whether you can be truly happy living in this world becomes clear when you ask what if you don't die and get to live in this world forever. As long as the world remains, sinful, godless, and chaotic as it is, I don't believe you'd be happy spending eternity here. I'd much prefer spend my brief time on earth and return to my Father to spend eternity with him in heaven.

**Amazing Power of Faith

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 2, Jesus was preaching in his own town to a packed crowd so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door. They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, "Child, you sins are forgiven." (Later, he healed him too.) The lesson here is that if your faith is strong, believe in him firmly, and try your hardest to reach him, he's ready to forgive all you sins! Such is the power of faith! Let's exercise that faith and watch miracles happen.

*Clear Conscience Required to Be Smart

        To be considered smart, one must have a clear conscience. One can be very sharp intellectually or very shrewd in business, but if his conscience remains muddy, he is still a fool (in my book).

**Grave Oversight*

        In Luke 17, Jesus spoke to his disciples about the day of his coming. He said, "As it was in the days of Noah: they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed." This passage came to me as I learned that someone I know was very excited about finding others related to him through DNA testing. We often spend much time engaging in trivial or mundane activities and forget all about preparing ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ or our judgment day. This has been one of mankind's gravest oversights.

****Our Key to Glory

        In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, a leper came to Jesus and begged him to make him clean. Jesus, moved with pity, did just that. Then the Lord told him not to tell anyone about his healing. But the man went away and and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. We have a case of someone what did not obey the Lord but followed his own inclination. Perfect obedience to God means casting aside our own feelings and emotions and following his command alone. It is the key to becoming holy and one with God and entering heaven afterwards.

**Happiness is Relative

         Everything is relative. I have not been to heaven, but I know that if I spend one minute in heaven, I'll never want to come back to earth anymore. As the Lord is infinitely greater than we, the joy in heave will be infinitely greater than any happiness we experience on earth. Only fools will attach themselves to the world.  Only fools will think that they have only one life to live,

**Spineless Cowards

          It's sad to see that so many people today don't act on principle. They would change their stand or switch allegiance so long as it would benefit them. This is happening with many politicians and big corporations right now. They show themselves as hypocrites. The Lord is keeping the day of his Second Coming a secret, so no one will be able to switch to believing in him on learning that he is coming. Those without principles will surely lose big time.

***The Art of Doing God's Will

         We have the well-known book The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump and the classic The Art of War by Sun Tzu. What about the art of doing God's will? Well, you don't need to read any wordy book to learn that. Just abandon yourself completely in God and you'll know how to do his will perfectly. 

**Our Choices of Freedom

        If you truly follow the Lord, your faith will be tested continuously. You may have to pray hard constantly to get though all your trials and tribulations. Outwardly, this may appear unpleasant, but deep down you'll always have the Lord's peace. After you leave this world, your'll experience complete freedom for all eternity. On the other hand, the evildoers appear to have the freedom to do whatever they want in the world, but they have essentially fallen into Satan's trap. After this life is over, they will be imprisoned with no freedom whatsoever for all eternity. Going against God is never a good idea. 

***World's Fatal Mistake

        Reading 1 has been coming from Hebrews. Paul glorifies the Lord in his epistle. In today's reading, Paul writes that Christ is the one for whom and through whom all things exist. We recall that the Apostle John wrote "All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be" about Christ at the beginning of his Gospel. These are all huge statements! That the world doesn't look up to anyone so meek and humble as Christ has to be its fatal mistake. The humble and the wise see the truth, believing that Christ was with God in the beginning and is God (John 1). As God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth, our highest praises still fall way short of God's true greatness.

****God Calling Us Unceasingly

         In today's Gospel reading from Mark 1, Jesus called Simon and his brother Andrew and then James and his brother John to follow him, and they complied right away to become his first disciples. God calls us too. Whether he calls us aloud and in a whisper, it's the same Lord. Anytime you entertain a thought, say something, or perform a deed and lose inner peace, the Lord is calling you. This is the time to turn to him for help and guidance, not hide or run away from him. It's a moment of grace. In your lifetime, you'll probably have hundreds of thousands such moments, unless you are already quite saintly. If you ignore the Lord every time he calls you, you need his help for sure. Don't forget that our time on earth is limited.

***Our Lady of Victoria Novena***

        Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B., has urged all to start praying this Novena beginning tomorrow January 11 for nine days to beg God and Our Lady to reverse the deceitful "results" of the recent fraudulent presidential election. You can read her letter here. You'll find the link to the novena in that letter. I invite you to join her and me to pray this novena, for nothing is impossible for God.

**Perfecting Our Union with God

        Today's Communion experience. I received exactly what the Apostles received at the Last Supper, the first Mass. This Most Blessed Sacrament perfects our union with God.

***Making the Lord Feel Free in Us

        I attended the Sunday 10:30 AM outdoor Mass. Since it's the only on-site Mass scheduled for the weekend, the parking lots were quite full with cars. Again we all wore masks and sat apart. It was another nice dry day during this supposedly wet season. Early during Mass, the Lord made me see that to let him enter us, we must be open to him. But to give the Holy Spirit complete freedom to operate within us, we need to go beyond being open—we must not judge, hold any grudge against, or look down on anyone; that is, we must be like the Lord, his heart filled with love for everyone. If you do not feel at peace for any reason, you restrain the Holy Spirit. Be like the Lord so that he may feel free dwelling within you.

**Magnificent Truth

        John 1:29, today's Gospel acclamation: John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him, and said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John knew then this magnificent truth, that Jesus was the Lamb to be sacrificed to save us from our sins. Now we all know and should believe.

****Most Precious and Glorious Faith

         Today is The Baptism of the Lord. One of the second readings comes from 1 John 5. The Apostle writes "The victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" That's why our faith in Christ is so precious and glorious! We who firmly believe that he is the Son of God and our Savior possess the "secret" of living everlastingly with him! My oh my, this is pretty incredible, yet so simple. I am going to rejoice every moment of my life over this.

*Test Question for Getting into Heaven

        The Lord: "How much time did you spend doing things for my sake on earth?" 

**Seeing Your Own Sins

         To face our own sins is to face reality, as we are all sinners. If you think that you are holier than you truly are, then you'll be in for a shock when you see God, for he knows sins you are not even aware of or have forgotten. It's much better to humbly acknowledge that you are a sinner needing God's mercy. This should incite you to become holier. Later, it'll be good to hear God tell you that you are better than you think you are. Great saints saw themselves as most wretched sinners before God and the Lord greatly exalted them.  

*How A Christian Lightens His Burden

        When we carry a heavy burden on our heart, we normally try to forget it. We may listen to some soothing music, go traveling, or even visit a bar to get intoxicated. These are all forms of escape and do not offer a solution. What should a faithful Christian do? A good Christian would not run away from anything but temptation. Whatever problem he has, he goes to the Lord to seek help. If you give your heavy burden to him, he will help you carry it. Doesn't Jesus say in Mark 11:28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest"? United with the Lord, you'll find the strength and guidance to deal with the problem and consolation. Every burden shared with the Lord will draw you into deeper union with him.

*To Be Watchful and Alert

         In Mark 13, Jesus told his disciples to remain watchful and alert, for they would not know the time of his Second Coming. To be watchful and alert is to be ready, and the best way for us to be ready is to follow the Lord and become holy and blameless. Then he can come anytime.

****Warning We Must Heed****

         We have a pandemic going on now which has caused many deaths around the globe. We've had wildfires destroying many homes and propeties in my own state of California. Floods are now inundating many countries. Earthquakes continue shaking up various regions worldwide. And I can never forget how terribly tsunami waves wiped out so many villages and towns along the coast of Japan not that long ago. I must mention the wars started by man that had ruined so many countries and killed people. All these occurrences were horrible, for they destroy lives. But they are nothing compared to what's coming, especially for those who reject Christ now. At the Second Coming of the Lord, we'll all be judged and sent to either heaven or hell for all eternity. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." Jesus has given us the warning and we must not ignore!

***Time for Weeping***

        These verses from Luke 23 came to me. As Jesus was lead away carrying his own cross to be crucified, a large crowd of people followed him, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do no weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.' At that times people will say to the mountains, 'Fall upon us!' and the hills, 'Cover us!'"
        During these dark day when the future of this country and mankind in general appears bleak, we need to weep for ourselves for having forsaken God and allowed evil to infiltrate the world, our societies, and even the Lord's own Church. I myself am already an old man, but I do fear for our children and grandchildren if they do not turn to the Lord. We are near end times. Be aware of the big awakening that's coming from the Lord.

*Measuring How Much We Love God

        In today's reading 1 from 1 John 4, the Apostle writes, "Whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. Whoever loves God must also love his brother." These two statements are contrapositive to each other. In logic, if one of the statements is true, the other has to be true. Since God is love, we know that if we love God, we would love all others. Then it is clear that we can measure how much we love God by how much we love others. Now we see where we stand in loving God.

***Sharing God's Sorrow and Joy

        This is how Jesus changes our sorrow and joy. Before I knew the Lord, I was a self-centered person. For example, when my beloved grandmother died, I was saddened more because I lost someone who had been a great consolation to me; I wasn't thinking for her sake. Now, if someone one passes away and I know that person's soul is going to God, I feel joy, not sorrow. I would feel sad only if the deceased were clearly evil, for the Lord would be feeling sorry for that soul. In other words, you now feel sorrow and joy as Christ feels them. When times are evil, I feel the agony along with the Lord. People tell me to relax and not let it affect you so much . . . just trust in God, for he is in control and knows what he is doing. Christ knew that too, but he still underwent his Passion. I am not worrying nor losing my peace; I am just experiencing agony and spiritual suffering. The former keeps you away from God, while the latter unites you to him. If I suffer, it's for the sake of Christ and not for myself. I know that the Lord is in control and knows what he is doing, but you need to care about how he is feeling for our sake. At any rate, joy always underlies whatever sorrow you feel when you remain in the Lord. 

*Such Is Our Life

        When I was young, there was the whole world to explore. I made up a whole list of things I wished to learn: swimming, skating, horse riding, etc. Death couldn't be further from my mind. My focus was on the immediate future. Like everyone else, making a lot of money was the No.1 dream and goal. Of course, we grow old fast. But because we'd been conditioned by the world for so long, we easily remain unchanged. So we don't consider God seriously until we are in our last years. This is tragic in a way, but we can still return to God if we reconcile ourselves to him. Such is his mercy.

*Clear Vision of Life

        As I age and after living long enough to see so many things come and go, I now have a crystal clear picture of what life is all about. We are all going to leave the world one day. God has created and loves us, and we'll never be happy until we have reconciled ourselves and returned to him. Everything in this life passes. Attaching ourselves to things of the world is a waste of time. We need to love and obey God and build up treasure in heaven in the brief time allotted to us on earth. Such an understanding and vision will help us get through life with aplomb.          

**Suffering Along with the Lord

          When you experience agony along with the Lord, you are drawn ever deeper into union with him and that becomes a great consolation.

Petition to Protect Election Integrity

          If you are a U.S. citizen and feel that we need to protect election integrity, please click here to sign this petition.        

***The Apostle John on God's Love

        Today's first reading comes from 1 John 4. The Apostle writes, "Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us." We can learn quite a bit about God's love here. Anyone who hates obviously does not know God. When we love, we are born anew in God. Since God is love, when we love, we become like him and one with him. God has made us in his image and loves us to death—this is one of the greatest revelations. For this alone, we can rejoice forever! So he first loved us, we realize it and love him back—it's us returning all the way to God. 

***Fit to Be God's Abode

         We have two lives to live, a physical one and a spiritual one. The latter is hidden, but a lot more important, for living it right will make living the other one right too. As we are "trapped" in the physical body, physical action is unavoidable. Spiritually, we need Christ to purify our hearts and souls to make us holy. Then all thoughts, all words, and all deeds coming out of us will be pure too. Now, we are fit for God to dwell in us. 

**God Forbid Such a Wish

        We often wish that we'd done things differently. For example, you wish that you had bought a stock whose price has just skyrocketed. Way back, I wished I'd accepted a different job offer when the one I chose didn't work out too well. But missing such opportunities is not the end of the world. We wish we had been friendlier to someone who passed away suddenly. This is a more serious case, for we cannot correct the situation anymore. Now, there is one wish you must never ever let occur to you. That is, after you die, you'd wish that you had accepted Christ as your Savior when you were on earth.

**More on Illumination of Conscience

        I've posted about the illumination of conscience which had been revealed to various mystics, visionaries, and seers, and which I believe to be imminent. Here's a video that further illuminates this subject.

**Certainty in the Lord

         I am more convinced than ever that if we place our trust in the Lord completely, no matter how tough times get, our soul will be secure in his hands and we'll get through and emerge victorious in the end. 

**Sure Way of Finding God

        If you look for God but don't know how to or don't find him, then you need God's help. Just assume that he exists and you ask him humbly to help you find and know him. To give you a head start, go straight to Jesus and ask him for help, as I already know that he is the true God. And you'll have your breakthrough!   

***God Completing Our Joy

            Communion experience. I attended the only Sunday Mass scheduled at 10:30 AM. Again, it was held outdoors with everyone wearing a mask. It was a beautiful cool sunny day, not windy at all. I received the Lord in the Holy Eucharist again and felt that it was the most precious, intimate union with God one can possibly experience on earth. You become one with the One who created you and loves you to death! This is the life-changing fulfillment we all need! This is God completing our joy, you could say.

*Revelations for Us

        Today is the Epiphany of the Lord. God has revealed the mysteries of his kingdom to the prophets, the holy Apostles, and many of his holy servants. But he reveals truths to all ordinary humble and devout folks too. We may not receive anything startling or new, but often the Lord makes us see old truths anew, uplifting our spirit and bolstering our faith. So remain open to the Lord always to let him reveal his mysteries to you.

***How Much You Love God

        God has already died on the cross to show how much he loves you. If you love him and believe that you ought be willing to die for him too, then you are saved. But if you love him and are actually willing to die for him, he will exalt you to the max.

**Why I Pray

        I pray extra hard nowadays. I may pray too fast or too slow, be too distracted or too sleepy while praying, but I know that if my desire is intense and heartfelt, the Lord hears me and will respond to me. Today as I was praying, I wondered why I prayed to him so much. The answer came to me: it's because he is our only hope and nothing is impossible for him! That's the reason.

**Belief in Christ

        In today's reading 1 from 1 John 2. the Apostle wrote, "Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist. Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well." John and the other Apostles, not counting Judas Iscariot, followed Jesus for three years, watched all the great miracles and deeds he performed, and saw him risen from the dead and ascend into heaven. Since John and the other Apostles had become totally convinced that Christ is the Son of God and is one with the Father, I can totally believe in him as they did. I don't need to see him in person now. Also, my personal experience with the Lord alone is good enough for me to believe in him with all my heart and with all my soul.

**Most Sorry and Pitiable State

          We who believe and follow Christ know that God is always with us. Even though we go through darkness, we still trust in him and know that we'll emerge victorious in the end. Enduring suffering and persecution is part of the process of attaining eternal life. On the other hand, those who don't believe in God have no truth to guide them or rely upon; they just do what they want to do to please themselves. When things don't work out their way, they panic and go completely insane. There is no sorrier or more pitiable state than being lost and on your way to losing your soul forever. [Jesus asked in Matthew 16 or Mark 8: "What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" People can get it, but choose not to.]

***Our Spiritual Battle***

         While God and Satan fight for our souls, we fight ourselves. To help God win, all we need to do is to make him No. 1 and ourselves No. 2. When God wins, we also win. (Note that when Satan wins, we lose.)