I watched today's Fr. Mark Goring video titled St. Joseph Was Deep. There is one line he said that struck me: "Every moment carries the weight of eternity." It is true that how we live every moment on earth affects our eternity. If we live every moment wrong, then when we face the Lord, we'll have nothing worthwhile to show and realize that we have wasted our entire lifetime. On the other hand, if we live every moment right, we know that at the end we'll have no problem whatsoever getting into heaven. Yes, how we live every moment determines our eternity.
Monday, March 21, 2022
**Liberating Communion Experience*
Communion experience. A most intimate union made possible by the Lord between a mortal creature and its immortal Creator. He also made me see all my imperfections and and it's most liberating!
**Our Spiritual Enemy
I believe the reason so many of our generation have abandoned God is because materialism has gotten hold of them. The advances in science and technology have made people believe that they are gods. They are now so enthralled by their own inventions, feeling like they're living in a magic world. They are due for a rude awakening.
Sunday, March 20, 2022
**God Loves Sinners
Communion experience. A poor sinner receiving the greatest (most tender) love from the holy God!
***What We Must Realize
If we submit ourselves to Christ now, acknowledging him to be the Lord, we'll have nothing to fear at judgment time. If we don't, we'll have problems for sure later. Later could be 50 years later, 20 years later, 10 years later, next year, next month, next day, or next hour. This is something we all need to realize, for we all will have to answer to the one Lord.
**"About Jesus" or Just "Jesus"
Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. Anyone can know all about Jesus and still not be a Christian. An Arab tour guide I once met in Holy Land comes to my mind. Preaching about Jesus is not the same as preaching Jesus either. How do you tell one from the other? In general, the former does not draw you any closer to Christ, while the latter does. Bible study classes are similar. I once attended a class that treated Christ like an academic subject, easily putting me to sleep; and another one lead by a wise priest focusing mainly upon the Lord, and I felt spiritually uplifted.
**Simple Journey to Heaven
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus calls us to repent and bear fruit in order not to perish. When you repent, you open the door to salvation. Then you bear fruit as you journey on. Now you are sure to reach heaven at the end! There's nothing complicated here at all.
***God's Awesome Holiness
In today's first reading from Exodus 3, Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, came to Mount Horeb. There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire out of a bush. Moses was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. He decided to go over to look at this remarkable sight. The LORD called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses! Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." My thoughts are that since God is most holy and ever present, we really should live as if we were standing on holy ground. The Lord sees us and knows exactly what we are up to at all times, so let his holiness purify us, inspire us, and renew us. There is no better influence than that.
Saturday, March 19, 2022
*****Dearer than My Own Soul*****
God created all of us—that's why we call him "Our Father." Being our creator and Father, he is closer to me than anyone else! Only he knows me and understands me perfectly. Above all, he loves all of us with an everlasting love! Without him, there would be no me. So he is dearer to me more than my own soul. If you don't know him yet, you are neglecting your own soul.
Friday, March 18, 2022
***The Way to Sainthood
Sometimes we wish that we can convert a lot of people for Christ—a nice thought, but maybe unrealistic. When Jesus saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and a poor widow putting in two small coins, he said to his disciples, "This poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." (See Luke 21:1-4 or Mark 12:41-44.) So quality counts, not quantity. Following St. Thérèse's Little way, we can become saints if we do everything with great love for God. This should be within our reach. I may not be called to openly convert a lot of souls, but I can always do every little thing in secret to please the Lord. The little thing can be a thought, a smile, a gesture, or a simple act such as cleaning up the mess someone has created. This is the way for all of us to become great saints and we should rejoice about it.
**God's Unique Peace
The peace God gives us is unique and beyond our understanding. We experience this peace only after we have reconciled and surrendered ourselves to him, abandoned ourselves in him, or attained union with him. This is how he has made us! No one else in the world can give us this peace. If you experience it, you've been chosen for heaven.
**Possessing the Lord
Communion experience. The Lord entered me and he is all mine! I felt fulfilled, elated, and grateful.
***We Can Be Beautiful!
The sanctity, love, mercy, and glory of God are all so awesome and most beautiful. The Lord can make us beautiful too. Today he made me see that we become beautiful when we surrender ourselves completely to him.
*****Healing Power of the Holy Eucharist
This morning at Mass, the Lord made me see that the healing power of the Holy Eucharist can reach beyond the heart all the way to the soul! How good it is to let the Most Blessed Sacrament make your soul whole again! When your soul is healed, your entire being is healed. And no one can do this to you except the Lord our creator and Savior.
Thursday, March 17, 2022
***Relating to the Heavenly Father
How should we relate ourselves to the heavenly Father? Of course, we must love and obey him. Since we are finite and prone to sin, we must remain most humble before him, But we are most precious to him too! In fact, he absolutely desires that we become saints and go straight to heaven after we die. So we must not undervalue ourselves. Instead, we should focus upon his love, his wishes, his mercy and power, and not upon our weaknesses and imperfection. If he thinks we are good enough, then we are good enough. He can surely make us live up to his expectations.
***Learning from a Saint
I just finished reading the book Maryam of Bethlehem. She lived from 1846 to 1878. Her parents were half Lebanese and half Syrian. They settled in a tiny village in Galilee, not too far from Nazareth, when the little Arab was born. She entered the Carmelites and received the habit in 1867. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1983. You can find out more about her here. I'll just share something about her humility. She was always content, finding delicious whatever share Jesus gave her. She welcomed everything that happened to her as coming from the hand of God. She said that humility doesn't get upset about anything and is content with everything. Thus she never complained and was always happy. She's a great example for us to follow.
***Most Appropriate Thing to Do
For us, it's loving Christ with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. For this will restore order in God's whole universe.
Pity the Wicked
From today's reading from Psalm 1, we have "The LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes." Yes, the wicked seem to prevail over the world right now, but if they do not change their way, they will be totally driven away by the Lord in the end. They are to be pitied.
***Sowing with the Best Return
Compared to eternity, our life on earth doesn't even last as long as the blink of an eye. But if we follow Christ the whole time on earth, our reward will be rich beyond words. Here's a case in which we sow for a short while and reap eternal life!
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
***Private Joy in God***
On earth, we face problems, whether caused by sin or not, all our lives. We get to enjoy life a bit only when we temporarily forget all the problems. So the earth can never be our paradise. But nevertheless, we can live a joyful life on earth. Get to know the God of Christ most intimately and you'll have your private joy in him at all times. This is a foretaste of heaven and you now know you are on your way to paradise.
**Our Greatest Shortcoming
Christ has to be the most under-appreciated person among us. He's all pure, selfless love, and has sacrificed himself to save us. How do we repay him? Not very well or none, I'd say. This is being grossly unfair to the only one who deserves all our love. Only because his mercy is infinite, many of us will be saved.
**Sacrifice Suggestion
It's the season of Lent. If you wish to make sacrifices to please God, may I suggest that you consider sacrificing your own ego first?
***Our Ideal Goal
Our ideal goal should be to become like Jesus. Since Jesus is willing to lay down his life for his friends, we should be willing to do that too.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Washington Corruption***
Normally, I do not want to get into politics, but this news is so shocking that the world needs to know. The pro-abortion House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, still openly claims that she is a Catholic! Washington D. C. is so corrupt that we "deserve" God's chastisement right now. I believe that the Warning as has been prophesied will happen after 2023, based upon what I have personally learned so far. Anyway, surrendering ourselves to God and praying without ceasing can change things for the better. That God will ultimately triumph is unquestionable. (This video may not last long onYouTube.)
**What Do You Not Understand?
From today's first reading from Isaiah 1, we heard "Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you." The message is clear as a bell. God can take away all our sins. If we obey him, we will live. But if we don't, we will die.
Monday, March 14, 2022
***Appreciating the Holy Eucharist***
How joyful it was for the followers of Jesus to see him again after he's risen! They couldn't help telling everyone "We have seen the Lord!" For those of us who have not seen Jesus but have received him in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we can surely proclaim "We've received the Lord!" with equal joy, if not greater!
**Returning God's Favor
Communion experience. The Lord has given all of himself to me. Such a favor is impossible for me, who is nothing, to match. All I could do is to not ever go against him. And I saw that's exactly what he desired from me.
**Another Good Feeling . . .
when you no longer try to impress others, put on a false front, act unnaturally, or are hypocritical in any way. You are now the genuine honest you.
**God-Inspired Desire
Once you realize how beautiful God's holiness and love are, you just want to surrender yourself completely to him to let him transform you into a new creature most pleasing to him.
****Choosing How to Be Treated by God
In today's Gospel reading from Luke 6, Jesus said to his disciples, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Out of love, the Lord tells us exactly how we can expect to be treated by him. At the same time, he is humble enough to let us choose how we wish to be treated, as Fr. Stephen pointed out in his homily this morning.
***Healing of the Soul
We have all experienced the healing of our body, but we need to experience the healing of the soul! I experience that every time I receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist. This is healing at the spiritual level, way beyond the physical one. Physical healing makes you more fit for living in this world. It's spiritual healing that prepares you for living the everlasting life that's to come!
Sunday, March 13, 2022
*Remedy for Loneliness
There are a lot of lonely people around, especially if they live alone. But they might basically feel lonely even if they live with other people. To cure loneliness, get to know Christ dearly. Once you know that he is with you, you'll never feel lonely again, whether you are alone or not.
*Our Love like God's Love
In an earlier Fr. Mark Goring's video titled What Near Death Experience People Say is Most Important, he said that some people who died and came back described that God's love is like our human love in its purest form and infinitely greater. Perhaps it'd be more correct to say that our love is rather like God's love except that our love is less pure and is finite. This is not surprising, since we are made in God's image. So let the Lord purify and increase our love, and we should do OK.
***God First, We Second
We must love God foremost—there is no question here. It follows that we should become like him, meaning that we must be concerned about becoming holy. This makes God first and we second. What about the others? Well, everyone of us will answer to God and be second to him on his own. Once you have perfected yourself, you'll know exactly how to love others. God only expects you to respond to him alone, nothing more. So there'll be no third.
**God's Healing Words
I've been watching some Ocean Conservation Namibia videos showing how its members rescue seals entangled in loops of fishing lines or pieces of fishing nets. Sometimes they even find fishing hooks piercing the face or the mouth of the seal. The injury often causes deep cuts around the seal's body. Of course, each seal has to be caught with a net or by hand first. This is the unpleasant part of the ordeal for the seal. Once the entanglement is cut and removed, you could sense the seal feeling relieved. The lead me to the following thoughts.
The Lord's words work in a similar way. They can cut you to the heart when you hear them. But like surgical instruments removing cancers and tumors, they restore the health of your soul. Deep down you now feel liberated and grateful. When love wounds you, it heals you.
**Don't Let Satan Target You
If we remain in the Lord, then Satan cannot do a thing and we are completely safe. But if we do not have the Lord, we become Satan's easy targets and are led into sin. Should Satan be of concern to us? That depends upon us. Personally, I'd rather remain in the Lord and forget all about Satan.
Saturday, March 12, 2022
***Be Clear About Our Role
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus told his disciples to love their enemy and pray for those who persecute them that they might be children of the heavenly Father. He commanded them to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. This is a key teaching. The Father loves us all equally and we are to be like him, loving everyone, friend or foe. Each of us shall answer to God the Father alone and has no business of judging anyone. Our only business is to love, obey, and serve the Father. Let's be clear about our role.
Friday, March 11, 2022
**How Far Apart Are We and God?
If we were truly aware of our sinful state and need for salvation, we would be prostrating ourselves before the Lord God, repenting of our sins, and begging earnestly for his mercy. If Christ were truly No. 1 in our life, we would be thinking and talking about him most of time instead of all the other things of the world.
**Why Do We Get Angry?
In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples, "I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother is liable to judgment." Why do we get angry? Many things can make us lose our cool, but I can see that we get angry basically because we lack humility. Being angry with someone is liable to judgment, precisely because it manifests the presence of our ego and pride.
***God Is Fair
Today's Psalm response from Psalm 130: "If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?" If the Lord judges us to be guilty, we are guilty indeed. But his mercy is infinite. He made it clear to Ezekiel in the first reading today that he does not derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked man, but rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live. He is on our side and for us. He only wishes to save us, not condemn us. By choosing to commit iniquity, we choose death ourselves. God's way is totally fair. We must not let our pride and the world blind us so that we no longer see the truth!
***The Only One
There is only one person to whom we need to get close to know most intimately, and that's Christ the Lord!
*****Test of Your Love for God*****
At Mass this morning, the Lord made me see that loving him is measured by how much we don't judge and how much we forgive others. If you truly love God, you would not judge anyone and always forgive everyone.
Thursday, March 10, 2022
**God Confirms My Trust in Him
Right after I blogged my last post God ANSWERS Our Calls, I just turned to the readings for today's Mass and found the response to Psalm 138 to be its verse 3a: "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." This is a confirmation from the Lord. How perfect God's timing is! He fills me with more joy!
*****God ANSWERS Our Calls!
On January 21, 2021, I first posted Fr. Jim Blount's video Three Days of Darkness. Then a moment ago I just posted his video on the Flame of Love Unity Prayer. I explored more of his videos and found this inspirational talk by him. It's 40 minutes long, but I think you'll enjoy every minute of it. It's inspiring because it shows that we could trust God with every little thing and should trust him with all things. Yes, God is absolutely relevant to us. No trust and you experience no wonders. Full trust and you experience all the wonders! It's that simple. (The talks ends at 40:56.)
****Power Prayer That Blinds Satan
Yesterday I discovered the Flame of Love Movement of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (https://flameoflove.us/). The movement was started by Our Lady thru Elizabeth Kindelmann, a laywoman from Budapest, Hungary, who died in 1985. It has now spread worldwide. I found a Fr. Jim Blount video explaining how the Flame of Love Unity Prayer has the power of blinding Satan. Now I see that we can pray it to keep Satan out of any situation. You'll find the words of this powerful Prayer below the video. (The talk ends at 8:07.)
My adorable Jesus,
May our feet journey together.
May our hands gather in unity.
May our hearts beat in unison.
May our souls be in harmony.
May our thoughts be as one.
May our ears listen to the silence together.
May our glances profoundly penetrate each other.
May our lips pray together to gain mercy from the Eternal Father.
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