***Minding God Alone

         God is the only one who can judge us, so whatever other people say about or think of us doesn't matter; we answer to God alone. If I draw a picture, I would show a line linking each of the billions of us to God with no linking among ourselves at all. It's how we live for God alone that matters. By the way, this is also how we can experience freedom from the world and not let anyone rob us of peace.

***God Bless Fr. Altman

        The second video by Fr. Goring is about Fr. James Altman. It's sad to hear that his bishop wanted him to resign. He needs our support and prayers. And don't forget to pray for his bishop. You may want to watch John-Henry Westen's presentation of Fr. Altman's case to find out how you can help.

*****Pentecostal Power!

          I'd like to share some videos again. Two were made by Fr. Mark Goring. I'll post the first one first, a talk about the power of the Holy Spirit. I experienced it in the 1970s and the fire that kindled by the Holy Spirit in me is still burning today! (Pretty amazing.) Every Christian should seek Baptism in the Holy Spirit to know what it feels like to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.

**Be True to Yourself & God*

        It is clear from the Gospels that the Lord is most displeased with hypocrites. He said "Woe to you" many times to the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites. They were all religious people. So for a Christian to be a hypocritical, it's no light matter.  

***WE NEED GOD!

        As I walked early this morning, I saw that the number of things that needed our prayers was absolutely staggering! This shows how much God is needed by us! No doubt that without God, we would be doomed. And with God, we need to go all out to trust in him to get all the help we need.

***What Are You Waiting For?

         My oldest granddaughter just graduated from college and is waiting to start her new job soon. My oldest grandson in college is now on a short break at home, waiting to return to his campus. Day by day, we are always waiting for something. We usually know what we are going to do next, but ask yourself what you are really waiting for? The farthest thing I can think of is to be in heaven with God. It's farthest, but it's definitely worth waiting for. Since heaven is eternal, it is the end for us too. If you are waiting for something you can go beyond, then you still have a long way to go. But to those who are wise and farsighted, they've already secured a place in heaven, and that's their next stop. 

***A Super Sharp Conscience

        One blessing when you are in union with the Lord is that he sharpens your conscience to the point that you feel sin acutely, whether it's yours or someone else's. To experience inner peace, a clear conscience is a must-have. This is how God has made us. A clear conscience is also a great joy, for you know that you are pure and pleasing for the Father to behold. So, our top priority is to surrender to God to have him cleanse us thoroughly. Once you are made clean and possess a clear, sharp conscience, you'll never want to go back to your former state again, this I can tell you!

*Dream and Faith

        I had a bad dream early this morning. It's caused by some experience that had haunted me in the past. I thought of faith which works quite the opposite way. Faith enables me to believe in something I do not see, yet fills me with joy and hope. Dreams deal with the past and last briefly, but faith looks to the future and can last forever. Do not live in any dream world, but be filled with real faith. All in all, hold onto God alone who exists forever, and cast all else aside.

**Living with Imperfections

        I realize that being human, no matter how obedient we are to God despite our best intention and effort, we still fall short of being perfect in many ways. I believe that the Lord judges us on how hard we tried and less on how well we succeeded. Both intention and sincerity count. This should make us all the more want to follow the Lord. It's best that we set our mind to it and not let any imperfection deter us.

***Don't Miss Eternal Life

         If you believe that there is life after death and we go either to heaven or to hell after we die, then your top priority now should be making sure that you get to heaven. If that's not the case, then you must not believe or are not sure about life after death and all that. In this case, you need to look into it, for what if there is an eternal life to live? Christ came to us from heaven 2,000 years ago precisely to make it possible for us to have eternal life. To show that he meant business, he sacrificed himself on the cross to save us from eternal death, then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. What more convincing do you need?

***Jesus Appeals to Us***

        Here's part 1 of Jesus' appeals to us through Sr. Anna Ali.

***Holy Face of Jesus

        There have been many images drawn of Jesus' face, based upon the image on the Shroud of Turin. Even computer technology had been used to reconstruct the whole head of the Lord. I have seen and am now taking a closer look at the photograph of Jesus given to Sister Anna Ali of Kenya by Jesus around three decades ago. To me, it portrays the one who is both the Lord and love well—I love the image, wondering how I can get a copy of it. You can view the image here. The messages Jesus gave to Sr. Ali were published in the book On the Eucharist: A Divine Appeal. Unfortunately, the paperback is out of print and available copies can cost you over $100. You can find more about the Sr. Ali online.

***God Knows Our Sins

        To be our final judge, the Lord has to know everything about us. When the illumination of conscience comes, he will make us see every sin we have ever committed up to that time. This means that he knows exactly how we feel whenever we commit a sin, perhaps even more than we. It is awesome!  I rejoice that our all-knowing Lord can truly guard us from evil and save us from damnation!

**Going-to-God Hesitation

         Thought I had this morning while walking. If i must go to the Lord now, the only unfinished business that might make me hesitate would be that I still have not finished converting some of the people yet. Then I heard the Lord say to me that if I were to abandon myself to him, I must include all the unfinished businesses too, no matter how important they might seem.

**Anther Sign of God's Existence

         It's another May 23. The earth has been spinning about its own axis, giving us day and night, and at the same time revolving around the sun giving us a May 23 every year. This has been going on for a long time, perhaps several billion years. This in itself is a great miracle, showing the existence of God. I don't believe that all the scientists and engineers of the world put together will be able to built a small working model simulating such an action. (That some us are still trying to control the world is absolutely laughable.)

*****Another Reality to Be Aware Of

         The only time to work out our salvation is now, for right following this life, we either go to heaven or to hell. So get on with it!

Reality Check

         Let's be realistic. Evil is real and there will be many souls lost. No doubt that God will triumph in the end. We need to trust and obey the God of Christ to get to heaven. 

**Our Only Proper Response to God

         Communion experience. To God, our only proper response is to submit ourselves to him completely. This is choosing to belong to him alone. On this Pentecost, I renew my submission to God the Holy Spirit. 

***Key to Being Baptized by the Holy Spirit

        Today is Pentecost Sunday. I attended the Vigil Mass yesterday. Three parishioners were confirmed at the Mass. We all prayed "Come, Holy Spirit" for them. My thoughts are that the focus really should be more on the candidates. Here's why. God the Holy Spirit is ready to enter any baptized person who desires him. So it all depends upon how receptive you are. If you don't know this and don't expect anything, ask all you want and nothing will happen. (I saw one confirmed person and her sponsor left the Mass early.) But if you remain wide open and desire the encounter with Holy Spirit, believe me, you'll witness wondrous things happen!

***Our Infinite God

        Jesus is such a rich, inexhaustible subject that you can teach about him, proclaim his kingdom, and praise him without end, for he is the God of the greatest love. 

**God Empowers the Weak

        Since the Lord knows all your weaknesses, if you love him, he will never test you to fail you, for he only wants to strengthen you. And he'll never send you suffering you wouldn't be able to bear. So love and trust in him confidently to let him make you strong. The Lord loves empowering the weak!

***Back to the Basics and Reality***

          It's good to hear the basics preached again, which many of us have almost forgotten. God bless Fr. Corapi.

***Incredible Knowing God***

         I had eggs for breakfast this morning. I saw the cracked shells and realized that the chicken egg has such a perfect shape that it cannot possibly somehow came into existence by itself. This alone showed me that God exists. In fact, I intuitively know that without God, there would be absolutely nothing—no you, no me, no anything, not even nothing! God has to be a being who always exists with no beginning nor end. Now, whatever I do not know no longer bothers me, for God knows it all. The incredible part is that not only I know that God exists, I also know him most intimately!

**Only God and No Self

        Ego and the lack of humility are closely related. I can't think of any sin we commit that has nothing to do with the two. If we are like the Lord who is holy, we would be totally selfless and most humble. Sometimes I say something I thought was justified, but not realizing that it could hurt someone's feelings. This ultimately comes down the lack of humility on my part. To kill the ego entirely and become humble, we'll have to submit ourselves even more to God. "Only God, no self" should be our ultimate goal. By the way, this is also how we get ourselves completely liberated by the Lord.

***Only Christ Can Bring Us Peace

         Perhaps there is not a single family in which all members get along with each other perfectly because we are all different from each other and not saints. That is why we need Christ in our lives to make us as perfect as possible. The motto "The family that prays together stays together" is right. Unfortunately, many Christians don't even pray enough on their own. Also, the good practice of examining your conscience everyday before you go to bed is pretty much forgotten. In sum, only by letting the God of Christ into our lives can we expect to achieve peace in the family, or for that matter, the nation and the world.

**Some Temporary Good News?

***God Desires Union with Us!***

         In today's Gospel reading John 17:20-26, Jesus prayed to the Father ardently that all those who believe and will believe in him and he and the Father may be one and in each other. He left no doubt that he wants us to seek and attain union with him. This is also the way to fulfill his command that we be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. 

*Patience in Following God

          To follow the Lord, we need to be patient. I've learned that zeal can cause us to rush ahead of the Holy Spirit and end up losing valuable time. Jesus never rushed around in a hurry. Surely we face urgent issues, but we still need the Lord to show us the way. To be patient is to stay calm and not worry, while we pay utmost attention to his guidance.

***Our Bright Hope

        I just finished taking my morning walk. It was again a delightful day. I received both happy and sad thoughts from the Lord. He first made me see that he is the creator, meaning that he makes new things. We make new things too, but we can only make them from things that have already been created by him. So God is the original creator, in a sense the only true creator. He has created us, surely he can make us anew! This is our bright hope! Let the Lord have his way and we are transformed into new creatures, beautiful for him to behold and fulfilling all our desires at the same time. 

Sorrow of Parting

         In today's first reading from Acts 20, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus. When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all. They were all weeping loudly, for they were deeply distressed that he had said that they would never see his face again. I know that we have all experienced the sorrow of parting. But we have one great consolation awaiting us, that we'll see the Lord in heaven and many other departed ones we once knew up there again.

*First-Rate Thinker

          When you truly know the Lord, you learn everything from him, understand his ways, and think as he thinks. You are now a first-rate thinker.

*A Time for stopping All things

          Life on earth always comes to an end, so there is a time for stopping all things. If you are wise, you'd start detaching yourself to everything. On your own, this would be impossible to do, but with God, all things are possible. I'd start knowing the Lord as soon and as much as possible so that before it's time for you to stop everything, you are fully ready to leave without ever looking back.

*True Peace Only in One Place

         Earlier I watched a short video showing all the places in Scotland worth visiting. I must say that some of the landscapes, rock formations, castles, monuments, etc., looked fantastic. It's like being a fairyland world. I understand that many scenes in the Harry Potter movie were shot in Scotland. It'd be fun to visit those places, but I realize that true peace can only be found within oneself in union with the Lord.

*Bless You All!*

         Bless all of you who read my blog regularly. Seeking union with God is not something everyone wants to listen to or even consider. Otherwise, this blog would have gone viral a long time ago. I still remember the time I couldn't bear reading the spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis—I wasn't spiritually ready. But now everything he wrote in that book sounds sweet and beautiful to me. Let the Lord God change us to become the happiest, freest creatures on earth. So God bless you and let's remember each other in prayer. A happiest time will be when we see each other in heaven!

***Most Satisfying Feeling***

         There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that God the Father is satisfied with all you do. Always do the will of the Father to be happy with him together. This is to be in and one with him.

***Nice Knowing God

        If Christ, the Holy Mother, an angel or some saint should appear before me, I would be delighted, but not surprised nor excited, for I already know the Lord. And I'll be going to him not as a stranger, but as a member of his family returning home.  

***Great Consolation

         I walked this morning again. The wind was rather cool and brisk in my face, but the sun gave me overall warmth. Then I realized that all these things were external and passing, only the Lord is internal and dwells within me forever. What a great consolation!

**To Be Weak Is to Be Strong

        To know yourself is the key to knowing God well. First, you must realize that you are a sinner and need him to save you. Then to be strong in God, you must acknowledge that you are so weak that only he can make you strong. This is how you receive power from him, for his power will only enter those who humble themselves before him. Now you can be as strong as you wish. Always ask the Lord to give you whatever you need.

***Living an Exciting Life

        It's exciting to see that things or people change in amazing ways. Look at how technology comes up with ingenious devices and some people accomplish incredible feats. But it's even more exciting to discover that the Lord God can actually change you fundamentally! This is something many are not aware of because they don't try to change themselves and don't know God. As a result, they live a superficial life. When you are excited about God, you have finally found God and connected with him.

**Purgatory Justice

            It makes perfect sense that purgatory exists. Say you have a saint, living a holy life. He dies and goes straight to heaven. Then say you have a most evil person, committing heinous crimes all his life, but repents just before he dies. Since God is most merciful, he is saved too. It would seem unjust to have him go straight to heaven too. This would be like letting a criminal go free without serving any time in jail. So God sends him to purgatory to get purified before entering heaven. God's justice is now fully served. 
        By the way, on May 14, I posted St. Gertrude's prayer for the souls in purgatory. I have shortened that to make it easier to remember and say. Here it is. "Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the souls, both living and deceased. Amen."

***Joy Completed

        Jesus had wished that the joy of his disciples might be complete (John 15:11 and 16:24). Today I thought about how he had called me, revealed himself to me, taught me daily, and given me so much joy, and the fact that I am going to him for all eternity, my joy is more than being complete!

**We Are Not Alone

              We do not physically see God, but he is with us always. So we are never alone. This makes you happy or afraid, depending upon your relationship with him. If you are happy that he is always present, then you should rightly rejoice, for you must be on good terms with him. If you are afraid that he exists and is watching you, you need to be concerned, for you must be trying to hide your sins. Then he is exactly the one you need to set you free from sin.

***Our God of Joy!

         My friends, you may not believe in the Lord Christ Jesus, but it is impossible not to feel the joy once you believe in him. In him are love, light, hope, and the best possible news. A gloomy Christian is not a true Christian. We who believe in him rejoice and exult in him, as we head for heaven where we'll be glad for ever!

***Achieving Purity of the Soul

        Purity and charity are two separate things. We must "strive" for purity first and at the same time always do good deeds. It is much better to become as pure as possible in this life to please the Lord and reduce or even bypass our suffering in purgatory. Pure souls enjoy special peace and joy from the Lord. Seeking union with God through the Holy Eucharist is the path to attaining purity of the soul. We'll have to meet the Lord anyway, so we might as well look as best as we can before the meeting. 

**Jesus' Final Instruction for Us

        The last instruction we give before any departure is usually what's most important to us. Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave this instruction to his disciples: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned." This should be easy enough for us to remember.

**Pathetic Recipients

         This is an image I had this morning when I was taking the walk. God's mercy is like a rain shower falling upon us, yet some of us do not feel a single drop of it. How pathetic can you be?

**Loved by an Omnipotent God

         Time is of no barrier to God. He can make you see all you've done in your life in a few minutes when the illumination of conscience comes, and he can heal all the wounds you suffered in the past. You could say that everything is like an instant to him. You could also say that since he exists forever, time stands still for him. Anyway, our omnipotent loving Lord knows everything about us, and we should rejoice for that alone. 

***Going All the Way with God

        Every day, not just Sunday, is a holy day. We are to worship God every day and be holy at all times. Again, with God it's all or nothing. If you love him, then love him with all your heart. If you abandon yourself to him, then go all the way. If you believe that he is leading you to heaven, then don't ever drag your feet. "Here I am" and "Here I come" are what the Lord wants to hear from us.

*****Time Getting Late!

         Another Fr. Corapi video, a little bit longer, but as good as always, telling it like it is. 

*The Guide We Need*

         In today's Gospel reading from John 16, Jesus said to his disciples, "I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." Don't you see that we have all sinned and gone astray, and Jesus is exactly the one who can lead us back to the Father?