****Submission Power

         When we are submissive to God, we receive great power from him. Now we are directly linked to him and he listens to our pleas, concerns, and questions. We can now influence the Lord and get things done for his glory for us.

*Muslims Converting

        An interesting video from Dinesh D'Souza.

****Secret to Union with God!

        Let God love you and you'll fall in love with him. Let God know you and you'll know him as never before. Let God possess you and he is all yours as well. Be wide open to the Lord to become one with him.

*****Fate of Our World*****

        The fate of our world depends entirely upon how much we obey God. It is in our hands! 

**Gratification Now or Delayed

        In this life, many worldlings do their utmost to earn admiration and praises from other worldlings, while some followers of Christ focus upon pleasing the Lord God only. Your get rewarded in either this life or the next.

*The Way Is All Clear for Us!

        Today is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. In the first reading from Romans 10, Paul writes, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." If you believe that Jesus is Lord and ask him to save you from your heart, he cannot possibly say no! Never forget that he has already died in our place to save us. Be grateful and rejoice, for you are now free to return to the heavenly Father!

**Becoming Beautiful to God

        As you know, I understand music quite a bit, especially classical piano music. When a pianist learns a new composition, there are so many aspects of it to explore. A good pianist finds all sorts of nuances in a score, and as a result he brings them out and makes the music sound beautiful. As disciples of Christ, the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the many spiritual nuances as we follow the Lord. As we let the Lord perfect us, we become more beautiful to him.

***Our Most Crucial Choice***

         Today is already the last day of November, 2021. As long as I continue growing closer to the Lord, I don't mind how time flies. The Lord God is everlasting, the Alpha and the Omega, and remains the same forever. Everything in the universe depends upon him. Our existence and all-around well-being depend upon him. We must know, love, and hold onto him! If you miss him, you lose your freedom forever!  

***Liberated from the Earth

        Way back when I was in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, I felt that my physical freedom was somewhat restricted, since I wasn't able to drive as fast as I could back home in California and I couldn't go as far away as possible either, as you just go around an island. Since then, I had traveled around the whole country and abroad, but I still felt the restriction imposed on me by the gravitational force—not being able leave the earth for good. After knowing Christ the Lord most intimately, these restrictions no longer bother me, as I am now with him at all times. So there is no desire for me to go anywhere anymore. When I leave this world, my spirit will be ready to soar to wherever he is. Yes, I've been totally liberated from this globe. And it's a joy!

*God's Holiness Purifies Us

        Today is the First Sunday of Advent. Here's my Communion experience. Where Jesus dwells, no evil can exist. The Lord entered me and I became clean and blameless. 

**Letting God Change You

        The Lord can overcome any obstacle in our way. If you put your trust in him, he can change you and/or things for you. More often than not, we are the obstacle. If you have trouble getting along with someone, let the Lord change you first. Should the problem persist, let him take care of the rest. Yes, he can make us new. Let him do that every chance you get and you grow holier and happier.

**How to Eradicate Divisions

        There are divisions everywhere. Among Christians, we have the Catholics, the Orthodox Christians, and the Protestants. Take the Catholics of whom I am one, there are traditional Catholics, more liberal ones, cafeteria Catholics, lapsed Catholics, and totally hypocritical Catholics. Even among all devout ones, some are more on fire than others. You can almost say that no two Christians are exactly the same. Of course, such divisions greatly weaken the Church. But by bonding ourselves to Christ, we can become one and be strong. I am talking about attaining union with the Lord so that we become just like him. This is the only way we can wipe out the divisions among us. This is also another reason why we should seek to attain union with God.

***How to Remain Pure

        Just make sure that every motivation you have is pure. That is, in whatever you do, you aim to please God and never yourself. This may sound harsh, but the peace you experience definitely makes it worthwhile! Besides, when you retain peace, you know you are doing God's will!

**Holy Greed

        When you petition the Lord, ask for as many favors and blessings as possible for you to become holy, fruitful, and be filled with joy, for his riches are infinite and will gladly give you whatever you need for your sake and his glory. How can a Father who loves you to death be otherwise?

**To Be Super Ready

        Today's Gospel acclamation from Luke 21:36 Jesus said to his disciples, "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." It means to me that we should pray that we may have the strength to stand before the Lord not only when we see him after we die or at his next coming, but also right now.

*** Holy Spirit's Gentle Test***

        The Holy Spirit is a most gentle spirit and his word to you can be a mere whisper. As a result, his voice is easily squelched by anyone without a sharp conscience. Therefore, we know that those who hear his voice and respond are truly being called by God. This is somewhat similar to the fact that someone who believes in God like a child becomes a true disciple of the Lord.

***Staying on the Right Path

         To believe in Christ as your Lord is one thing, but to follow him correctly is another thing altogether. For in today's world, there are myriad gurus spreading diverse messages every which way according to their own interpretation, and great confusion has also arisen from within the Church. As a result, one can easily be lead to false beliefs. For Catholics, we need to seek to attain union with the Lord thru the Holy Eucharist and adhere to the catechism of the Church—this is the safe way of securing our soul.

*****Time to Choose Sides

        In these end times, it is so urgent that we choose to follow Christ. If we don't, we risk being swept away by Satan in the end. I see divisions everywhere: divisions among both those who follow Christ and those who don't, divisions in our government, our society, and each family. Evil has infiltrated not only the largest corporations, but also some of the well-known charity organizations. The Church no longer listens to the Holy Spirit. Humanity is totally fractured! There is only unity among those who hold fast to the Lord in all circumstances. Belong to this remnant group to let the Lord protect you from all evil and keep your soul safe!

****God Not for Emergency Only****

        We meet various people in life and what we see, even within our own families, is often a microcosm of our society, our own country, or even the whole world. A lot of people, Christians not excepted, are interested mainly in things and affairs of the world, are concerned about their physical health much more than their spiritual wellbeing, get stressed out by what they try to achieve in this life, and do not seem to realize that they will die and have a soul to take care of. Here's the only thing you need to do to correct all these issues. It is that you surrender yourselves to God to let him take complete care of you, beginning with your soul. Many people may laugh at me. Laugh all you want, but you really shouldn't until you have tried it to see if what I've said is true or not. 

*Our No. 1 Concern

         Communion experience. How can I possibly not submit to the Lord to have him make me become like him? It should be our #1 goal that we be like him so that he may be pleased and glorified.

***Most Intimately Related to God

      Not only has God created us in his own image, he has also redeemed us with his own blood! Imagine how closely and intimately we must be related to him.

**Clinching Eternal Life

        In today's Gospel reading from Luke 17, ten lepers met Jesus and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" He said to them, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned to Jesus, fell at his feet and thanked him. Jesus said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." We see that faith is essential to being saved. Then if you continue remaining humble, your salvation is assured. Faith and humility are the one-two that can clinch eternal life for us.

**Thanking God Especially Today

        It is Thanksgiving Day and I was happy to see many people at Mass this morning. What do I have to be thankful for? First, I am thankful that God loves us so much that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Next, I am thankful at Mass that he again gave all of himself to be one with us in the Holy Eucharist. It's a no-brainer.

*Equal Before God

        We are all most important to ourselves as we know ourselves best and try to take care of ourselves first. Everyone feels that way, so before God we are all equally important to him. Before him we are not superior (or inferior) to anyone else. Therefore, we must not judge or look down on anyone. This is to see everyone as God does.

**Test of Our Love

        In Luke 6:32, Jesus said to his disciples, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them." The test of love is whether you love those who do not love or even hate you. The love of God is pure and blind; you just love. If people don't appreciate our "love" and turn against us, of course that would turn us off, but we should never view them as our enemies, for the love of God is devoid of any hate or bitterness.

**Heavenly Advice for Us

        Today's Gospel acclamation, Revelation 2.10c: Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. This advice the Lord gave to the angel of the church in Smyrna we also need to know and follow in these times of great evil.

**Thanks to Sin

        Because I realize how ugly all my sins are, I come to realize the awesome holiness of the Lord God. This is the only good thing I can say about sin.

*****Stunning Realization!*****

        I was asleep, woke up, and realized that I know the Lord God better than anyone I see on earth—this is absolutely stunning and I was filled with joy! It has to be the Lord's doing! So how can anyone say that we cannot know God? He's been waiting all our lives wanting to know each of us badly and we just shut him out. God wants to love us—let him do it! He wants to save us so that we may live happily forever—let him do it! First of all, he wants to know us, so welcome him with open arms for a change! Are you afraid of him because of your sins? If you don't have a better reason, all the more you need to open up to him! For heavens's sake, let's stop being so blind, so spoiled, so prideful, and so stupid! Being a sinner is bad enough to start out with. To me, to remain unbelieving in the one who truly loves and can save us borders on insanity if I may say so.

***Christ Taking Care of All Things

        If Christ can secure our eternal life, surely he can and will take care of everything else for us! A perfect logical conclusion. 

****Our Most Important Concern

        Let's be realistic and talk basics. If you believe that we all possess a soul and the soul lives on forever, then the most important thing we should do in this life is make absolutely sure that we get to heaven. Of course, Christ has already made it known to us that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. So you must look into him unless you can find someone else who can promise you the same even more convincingly. Time is running out for all of us. Here's the best of luck to all.

**Only Way to Change Ourselves*

        Today I realize that we are complex sinful beings that only God our creator can fundamentally change. We can change ourselves on the surface only. This is a basic fact we need to recognize if we ever hope to change ourselves to experience the freedom, peace, and joy in God. It shows that we fundamentally need Christ.

**The Sin Situation

        We cannot take sin lightly. Anyone with unremoved sins is like sitting on the edge a precipice and can fall off it if he's not careful. When Christ removes your sins, it's like he's placing you on level ground with no precipices in sight anymore.

**Communion Experience

        Today is The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. I received my King in the Holy Eucharist, the food of immortality! There is nothing I lack anymore.

**A Simple Observation

        Sin is the main cause of the corruption, the disorder, and the suffering in our world. If you recognize this, especially in evil times such as ours now, all the more you should turn to Christ to ask him to make you as holy as possible. 

**Letting God Be Our Refuge

        Things come up in life that seem to disappoint or discourage us, setting us back in some manner. This is the time to seek refuge in the Lord to restore our perspective. In the overall scheme of things, most things that happen are quite trivial, and good might even come out of theses experiences. The Lord is where you can go to gain understanding of all things and receive guidance. Of course, this is also where you can get consolation and encouragement. Whenever the world tear us down, the Lord can build us up even more. Let God whom nothing can overcome and to whom everyone must succumb be your refuge, rock, and stronghold.        

***Faith Without Questions

        In today's Gospels reading from Luke 20, the Sadducees questioned Jesus about the resurrection. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and the scribes were always asking Jesus difficult questions in an attempt to trap him, but they failed each time, for he knew all the right answers. We should trust in our Lord, knowing that he has all the right answers to all our questions. Therefore, belief in him steadfastly and never let what you do not know stand in the way.

**Believing in the Lord

        Even as ones who follow Christ, we still tend to hold onto our own beliefs when it comes to issues such as administering justice to criminals, forgiving others, turning the other cheek, etc. I don't have all the answers, but I do believe that if I love my Lord, he will never put me to any test that I cannot pass.

**Solution to Division Among Us

         Jesus has told us that because of him, there'll be division on earth. Even among those who follow him, there's much division, let alone those who do not follow him. I see division practically in every family with distinct characters holding individual beliefs, not getting along with everyone else. Large models of division are our government and the Church. We are far from surrendering ourselves completely to the Lord—it's this disunity that weakens and can destroy us! Turning to and surrendering to Christ is our last call, for there's no other recourse available. He's our only hope and the one we need. True unity can come only thru uniting with him. Thus, union with Christ is the solution to restoring us to peace and harmony with God and fellow human beings.

*****Most Satisfying Relationship Possible

        The Lord God is invisible to us and many don't even sense his presence, yet we can form the closest possible relationship with him. How so? First, being our creator, he knows everything about us and understands us perfectly. He can take away our sins, heal our souls, and make us anew. Secondly, by seeking union with him thru the Holy Eucharist, you come to know him most intimately and he becomes the ideal perfect soulmate you have always wanted. Now he is more real and indispensable to you than anyone else. Rejoice that the Lord has made you this way for him!

****Seeing What's Coming

      In today's Gospel reading, Luke 19:41-44, Jesus laments over Jerusalem: As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will smash you to the ground and your children within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." As evil is trying to take over the world, I see the worst coming for the Church and its members. There'll be increasing persecutions against all Catholics and the Eucharist may even disappear, according to some prophecies. Of course, we are not obliged to believe in such messages coming from private sources, but at the same time we should not ignore them either. The fact that there are so many prophecies coming to us now shows the urgency of our times. And the fact that they, coming from so many different sources, are very much in agreement with each other adds to their credibility. I do feel the urgency to do whatever extra we are called upon to do. Christians must recognize the signs of our times. Sure, we'll be all right if we trust in God and God will triumph in the end, but we still need to take action and do what's necessary to save as many souls as possible. If you are only lukewarm, you'd better get hot! If you are already hot, you can get even hotter! God now needs us more than ever.

*****Highest Form of Prayer

        Praying that God's will be done has to be our foremost and only goal! Of course, sometimes his will is ours too. So we can say that we should always pray for God's sake and not for our own. Know that God's foremost goal is to save us. So if we pray that his will be done, we are praying for the best for ourselves! To abandon ourselves in God is to let him do whatever he wants with us. Submission to God glorifies the Lord and is truly our highest form of prayer.

***Living in the Present

        Whether you follow Christ or not, the best way to live is to live in the present moment. For the Christian, it's a lot easier. You simply trust in God, asking no questions, never look back, and have no anxiety whatsoever about the future. We live for Christ every single moment, for he is with us every single moment. This is how we live in his peace. Jesus lived in his every moment in union with the Father and never rushed out to proclaim the Kingdom of God until he was ready. Always enjoy God and never rush things. One clarification: this doesn't mean that you don't feel the urgency to pray and fast even more in evil times like ours. We feel the urgency and remain vigilant and alert, but still remain in peace every single moment.

*****Jesus' Unique Suffering

      When I see people suffering physically, I just feel sorry for them and pray for their healing. Today as I saw the cross on my Rosary and realized how Christ had suffered so terribly for our sake, I also saw that all the most painful physical wounds he carried as sweet balms to my soul, for he suffered out of pure love for us to save us from eternal damnation. I'll forever be grateful to him.

***Our Greatest Blessing

        If you love God, he will always bless you. So focus upon loving God and you don't need to ask for his blessings anymore. Even better, attain union with the Lord, and he, our Greatest Blessing, is now with you as one.

***Spoiled Generatioin

        Jesus has said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." To deny yourself and take up your cross is to be willing to suffer for the Lord's sake. Indeed, this tests if we are truly his disciples or not. Our generation is a totally spoiled generation; it seeks physical and material comfort and is not willing to endure any suffering, and Satan knows that and exploits it to his advantage. To accept your cross and offer all you sufferings up to God leads to liberation of the spirit, for you are no longer your own slave. You thus triumph over Satan and become united with Christ who has suffered for us and is still suffering for us. The Little Way of St. Thérèse the Little Flower teaches us that we can become saints by doing every little thing with love for God. Our crosses are little compared to what the Lord carries. So if we are willing to take up all our crosses for the sake of our Lord, we become saints.

***All About Loving God

        Jesus gave us the greatest and first commandment: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." The following are equivalent to fulfilling this commandment: keeping the word of Jesus, total obedience to God, total abandonment in the Lord, not wanting to sin anymore, longing for Christ with all your heart, to be willing to suffer form him, remaining in union with him, and last but not least loving your neighbor as yourself.

**An Unprofitable Activity

        We can be hot or cold for God, but there is also a lukewarm area we must not fall into. It's so easy to spend a lot of time talking idly about other people or things, which doesn't result in any changes. This doesn't bear any good fruit nor advance the kingdom of God. It may make you feel good, but essentially you waste valuable time of your life when you can store up treasure in heaven. If I sound rather strict, ask the question "What if we all do this our whole life?" 

**Praying for Souls

        We need to pray hard unceasingly for the salvation of all souls, for our own souls are at stake.

***Breakthrough to Knowing God

        Sharing everything with God from your heart is opening yourself up to him completely, beyond what you ask of him. Normally, we tell the Lord what we want him to hear and not mention what we do not want him to hear. You should reverse the order to show that you truly trust in him. This should be a breakthrough to greater intimacy with your Lord God, and you'll experience great freedom and joy. You now enjoy him more than ever. 

**Relying upon the Perfect One

        Today's Communion experience. Great joy in realizing my utter dependence upon the Lord, the one who can make me perfect.