***Bonding with God

         Some years ago, I had to deal with a difficult matter and one person was always with me. She always supported me and spent a lot of time doing a lot of work for me. The matter was finally resolved after several years. Since she and I went thru so much together, a strong bond was formed between us. Bonds are always formed among those who do things together. Now, if we share everything with our Lord and experience the same joys and sorrows with him, we form a strong bond with him too. In fact, this has to be the most rewarding of all possible bonds, for our partner is no other than the Lord God himself. How satisfying it is to know that he is your closest friend, your most trustworthy ally, and your very soulmate!

***Spiritual Breakthrough

        When we abandon ourselves in God, we break through to freedom and joy. This has to be a turning point in our spiritual life, for we break out of self-imprisonment and begin the non-arduous part of our journey to union with God.

***We Are Malformed!

        We are shaped by what we experience in this world. In this secular, sinful world, we are influenced so much by all the impure and evil things happening around us that we don't even realize the pitiful state we are in. Hence, we need God who can make us see our sorry state and make us pure, whole, and beautiful for him to behold again. Last but certainly not least, we get to go to heaven too!

***Endearing Yourself to God

        Every prayer said straight from the heart endears ourselves to God. So let him draw you right to his Most Sacred heart by sharing everything in your heart with him. After all, he is our most loving Father.

***Skipping Purgatory

        I saw this Fr. Mark Goring video that came out in June of 2019. Here are some of my thoughts. Purgatory is where we get ourselves purified before entering heaven. You are going to heaven anyway, right? But both the severity of suffering in purgatory and the duration vary, depending upon the state of the soul. If your time in purgatory would last till the end of time, that definitely won't be a pleasant experience. I am saddened whenever I hear someone who has done something sinful and casually say "I'm going to purgatory anyway." Such an attitude will surely worsen his experience in purgatory if he does get there. Listen to Fr. Goring's message. I agree with him that our aim should be to get ourselves totally purified in this life. If you do this and truly long to see the Lord, chances are you'll go straight to heaven. The attitude should be that even if we do go thru purgatory, we willingly accept whatever the Lord wants to do with us. Total submission to the Lord and loving and longing for him can assure that your time in purgatory will be zero or minimal.

**Awareness of Death

        We all know that everyone is going to die one day. But since many people, being still relatively young, don't know when that day will be and have gotten themselves attached to the many things of the world, they live as if they are never going to die. I am sure that should they know the exact date of their death already, they would live their lives differently. You could say that they are now temporarily being deceived by the unawareness of their certain death. I'd advise that we think about our death in advance and start living right, before we get old and realize that death is near. For we may not get that opportunity.

***God Needed More than Ever

       Last night I emailed a petition to many of my friends to sign. It was to call on the president of the Catholic Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles to cancel a scheduled fundraiser on behalf of Planned Parenthood on campus. Catholics now openly promoting abortion! Because many Christians have not been vigilant, evil has succeeded in infiltrating much of the world and even the Church. To sin in a secular, materialistic, godless society filled with temptations is just too easy, as easy as going down a slide. Without a strong faith in God, conscience is our only weak brake. We always need God, but now we need him more than ever in these last moments! 

**Discipleship Requisites

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 14, Jesus addressed the great crowds traveling with him. He said, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Jesus is basically saying that we must put him ahead of everything else. We must be detached from everyone else, including ourselves. Of course, this doesn't mean that we do not love our family members and ourselves anymore. Once we follow the Lord, we'll know how to love all others properly with his love, a love that's pure and truly selfless. His last saying here tells us that we must also accept our crosses.

**Sign of Total Conversion

        If you totally obey the Lord God of Christ in all things, you have totally converted.

**Don't Create Disorder

        God is totally meek and humble. So if we are haughty and full of pride, we create disorder. Naturally, our infinite almighty God is to be glorified. If we finite creatures start glorifying ourselves, we also create disorder. Be humble following God and we'll enjoy peace now and be happy for all eternity!      

**Be Heirs to God's Kingdom Now

        Matthew 25:34, today's Gospel acclamation: Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. This is what you'll hear the Lord say to his faithful sheep at his second coming. Happy indeed are those who will hear him say this to them! Start enjoying the Lord now and let your joy increase to that day and beyond.

**How to Understand Truth

        Today is All Souls Day. From the first reading from Wisdom 3, verse 9 reads "Those who trust in God shall understand truth...." This simple statement is very beautiful! God is the truth. When you trust in him, he reveals himself to you and you know the truth. And, of course, the truth sets you free. If follows that those who trust in God are free!

***Christ Never Boring!

        Christians feel about Jesus differently. Believing in him with a strong faith no matter how you feel is always a great blessing. Personally, I find knowing and following Christ most exciting and exhilarating. He is the same always, yet I can never get bored. For he is the truth, remaining forever new and refreshing, and he makes me new and refreshing to him too! He is the one I greatly look forward to spending eternity with!

**Our Business and Challenge

        Instead of minding whether others love the Lord God or not, we should mind first whether we ourselves love him enough or not. By the way, we can never love God enough, and that's the challenge for all of us on earth.

*Christ as Our Teacher

         Have you ever noticed that the Pharisees of Jesus' days only cared about following set rules for all to observe, while Jesus always spoke spiritual truths aiming at people's hearts? 

***Lord's Prayer Revelations****

        In praying the Our Father this morning, I saw that the plea "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" truly is the key to our salvation, and the following plea "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" ultimately tests our our love for the Lord (and our obedience). 

***Only One Thing We Need to Do

        I have been posting quite a number of videos lately to help spread some of the urgent messages of our times. Although many terrible events were prophesied, one central message was that if we convert, pray hard, and hold onto Christ and his Holy Mother, we'd have nothing to fear. I think this is really the most important message. It's good to know what might be coming in the near future, but that should never lessen our focus upon the Lord. In fact, no matter what kind of times we are in or how badly things seem to have turned, we only need to abandon ourselves totally in God and our soul will be safe and secure.

**Following Christ or Ourselves*

       The God of Christ has a specific plan for each of us who was uniquely created by him. If we believe in him and do his will, we follow his plan and will end up in heaven for all eternity. But if we choose to follow our own plan, we no longer understand all the things that happen to us and lose all assurance of going to heaven. It's that simple.

**Complete Satisfaction

        Communion experience. There is no greater satisfaction that knowing that I have found the exact one I need for all eternity! He and I even belong to each other!

***Evil Generation

        A sad thought at Mass this morning. The Lord who loves us has done all the work necessary for our salvation, but this generation continues to crucify him.

**How to Love God

         Let God love you first, then you'll be filled with his love. Now you love all others with this love. 

***God Easier to Know than Math

        When I studied math in graduate school, the class was often given difficult problems to solve as homework. One time we were give a theorem to prove. It was so hard that I spent a whole weekend working on it, racking my brain like never before. I finally got a brief glimpse of the solution and quickly wrote it down. I knew that if I didn't, it would flee me forever. Now, God is an infinitely more complex subject than math. Yet, if we open ourselves up to him, he reveals himself to us and we know and understand him effortlessly. Proving a difficult mathematical theorem can be most satisfying, but know God is a lot easier and a pure joy.

*Extreme Joy and Sorrow

        In union with the Lord on earth, the joy can be so great that it practically crushes you. You can be sure that the joy in heaven will be much greater. Now, you can also be sure that the sorrow in hell will have to be most unbearable.

**Complete Compatibility with God*

        Complete compatibility is only possible with the Lord our God and impossible with any other human being. That's because only the Lord God understands us perfectly and can transform us to become like him.

**Ideal Way of Living

        Enjoying the Lord as we serve him as best we can without any anxiety, as we approach the day of meeting him in person.

***Love Alone Shines

        In these end times, the Lord is sending us so many urgent messages through a great number of prophets. What strikes me is that he always asks us to pray for the conversion of those who have fallen away from him and not to judge or attack anyone, not even the greatest evildoers. It's love alone that shines through. Let's remember this so that we may triumph over and not fall prey to the evil one.

***Remaining New in the Lord

         When you are in union with God, he renews you continuously and you remain a new creature. This is what makes being in union with God so exhilarating.

****God's Will Only

        It is not always easy to distinguish what God wants us to do from what we want to do, especially what we want to do is something good. To make sure that we do only God's will, we need to rid ourselves completely of our own ego, listen intently to the Lord, and are ready to go against our own grain if need be. That's why abandoning ourselves totally in the Lord is central to living the Christian life. God first and we don't even appear on the list.

**Our Mission in Exile

        Let us realize that we who love and follow the Lord are living in exile on this earth. For we do not belong or fit into this evil world. Our permanent abode is in heaven with the Father. While here, our mission is to glorify him by saving as many of his children as possible.

***No Excuse for Committing Sins

        We've all been given a conscience by God to distinguish good from evil. Now that Christ has come and is with us, good and evil are made clearer than ever to us. So there's no excuse for committing sins anymore. If you seek to attain union with God, he'll even give you a super sharp conscience to keep your soul pure and spotless. 

***God's Profound Peace*****

        When you do everything for the sake of the Lord and never for your own sake, that is, your motivation always remains selfless and pure, you experience the most profound peace. That tells me all I need to know about my God!

**Sin of Presumption

        All the great saints consider themselves to be most wretched sinners. So if anyone thinks that he is a pretty good person and quite sure that he'll go to heaven, he doesn't know what he's dealing with. With God you can't be so casual about such matters; you'd better be 100% sure. When the Lord says yes, he means yes, and when he says no, he means no. We should get his yes first and not presume that we'll have it. Presumption is a sin too. St. James warns about that in James 4:13-17.

**Prayer Focus

        If you pray for some favor for someone or yourself, do not focus on that someone or yourself or that favor. Instead, you focus on the Lord alone when you pray. You do your part and it's now completely in his hands. You neither wonder what'll happen next nor hope that he'll answer you in a certain way. Show the Lord that you possess both humility and trust. 

***The Basic Question

        Luke 13:22-30 is today's Gospel reading. I'll just quote the first four verses. Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Here's the Lord describing a poignant scene. In end times like ours now, this is what we particularly need to hear, take seriously, and ponder upon. The basic question: Do you want to be be saved or not? 

***Possessing God's Glory

        2 Thessalonians 2:14, today's Gospel acclamation: God has called us through the Gospel to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can possess the glory of Christ! Be with Christ and everything the Father has becomes ours! (Luke 15:31)

**Holy Spirit for All

        The Holy Spirit is the Lord who sets your heart on fire and uplifts your spirit. He does not make you complacent, but calls you to action. This seems to be a gift not all the faithful seek or receive, causing division among them. But I do believe that we can all receive this gift if we are open-minded and truly desire it. 
         Just finished blogging the above and I read today's first reading from Romans 8. This is what Paul wrote: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will. So the Holy Spirit as Lord God is a most personal Spirit.

***Great Words from Our Mother

        Two older messages, but more relevant than ever. Specifically, we were told that judging people is a sin, and we must not judge anyone but let God judge everyone. This should be easy to remember; we only need to obey the command.

**The Best Is Yet to Come

        In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul writes, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us." In this world, we undergo many sufferings. I am not being pessimistic. Relatively speaking, this sinful, godless world is not a happy place to be in. But we know that the glory to be revealed to the faithful Christians will make them forget all their present sufferings. This is the good news from our Lord. All you need to do is to remain patient and persist just a little longer.

**A Great Feeling

         Knowing that you are with the Lord God and that he is with you!

**Cherish and Enjoy Your Prayer Time

        We can pray from our hearts and make Almighty God listen to us and do things for us! Make your daily prayer time the most cherished and enjoyable time of your day.

***God's Monumental Triumphs

         When Jesus died for us on the cross to redeem us from the clutches of sin, it was a monumental triumph for God and all of us. When he comes next to judge all the nations and put Satan in his place, it'll be another monumental triumph, but this time for God and only his sheep.

*Mending Relationships with Others

        Mending relationships with others is necessary but not always easy. The most important relationship we need to mend is our relationship with the Lord God, our maker. Once that is made whole, you'll be able to mend all other relationships with ease. 

**Dealing with Your Enemy

        Today is the day to pray the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. There is much to learn from how Jesus took the Passion he underwent. He remained meek and humble, and perfectly obedient to the Father. He even prayed for those who crucified him. When we are attacked unjustly by someone in any way, we get upset and tend to defend ourselves as best we can. Sometimes I think remaining silent is the best policy, especially when it's obvious that you cannot "convert" the attacker. Again, take your burden to the Lord is the way to go. Be like Jesus and not your enemy.

***Made Anew by Christ

        I was going thru my old papers and found something I wrote in preparation for attending an inner healing workshop in 1976. I recalled and wrote down all the things I wanted the Lord to heal. After reading all twelve pages (yes, it's that long), I felt I was reading about someone else. I was then truly a different person, very much like anyone else in the world. To find happiness, I tried so hard to fit myself into the world. The result was I found more unhappiness and little happiness. Today I follow the ways of Christ only and I no longer need to compromise myself, for he has made me anew, set me free, and made me forget all my poor past. In him, I remain new and content.

**Getting Ready to Meet God

        I remember watching the British TV sitcom Waiting for God in the 1990s about a pair of aging delinquents living in a retirement home, which was pretty funny. Since I am aging too (but no delinquent, thanks be to God), I don't think "waiting for God" is good enough. "Getting ready to meet God" would be more appropriate for oldsters. What I am happy about is that if this is what you desire, the Lord will actually prepare you for meeting him, and you can be sure that he'll do a bang-up job on you. 

***Bearing Burdens Together with God

        From today's Psalm 68, I read "Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens..." It is true that God bears our burdens. He even died in our place on the cross for us. Every burden we feel he feels. And he wants to carry our burdens for us so that we may have some rest. Such is our loving Lord. By the way, bearing burdens along with the Lord is a most beautiful way to bond with him.

***Fleeing from God Impossible

        The enemies of God ignore, reject, or even attack God, but they don't realize that they will not be able to escape his judgment! No one can flee before the Lord, period. And whatever they do to others will come back hitting them like a boomerang a thousand times harder. We should let the love of God alone draw us to him. If we wait until we feel God's wrath, we should know that we are now being given our last chance to make peace with him.

**Suffering with God

        In today's first reading from Romans 8, Paul writes that we become heirs of God if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. To suffer with God is to feel or experience his sufferings. This unites us to him as one! The glory we receive will be joy now and heaven forever later.

Prayer Battle

         You ask the Lord to do a good thing and wait for him to respond. You know that he wants you to persist in asking, so you pray even harder. You don't give up until he gives in. Now, prayer becomes like a battle between God and you. Unless what you ask for is clearly wrong, I don't believe that the Lord minds.

**Response to Communion

         Today's Communion experience. I was speechless. Total submission was all I could think of.