**Repentance Urgently in Order

        This is my most urgent plea. We do not know when Jesus will come again. Nor do we always know when God is going to chastise us for straying away from him. The threat of the coronavirus is real, but hell is infinitely worse and I pray that no one will ever go there. Since God is infinitely merciful, it is never too late to repent of your sins as long as you are still alive and capable of thinking clearly. Chastisement or no chastisement, repentance is in order to keep the soul safe to show how grateful we are for the love and mercy of our Father. May we all return to him to live forever with him!

**Getting Ready to Meet the Lord

        To be ready to meet the Lord, we must not attach ourselves to the world so that when the time comes to have to give all things up, we'll be happy to let them go. Let us train ourselves for that day. Time can run out quickly. While you may still have a lot of unfinished businesses to deal with, don't ever let them tie you down. If you still drag your feet about detaching yourself from this world, you are not ready to meet the Lord yet.

***Wake-Up Time!

        Fifty teams of epidemic experts including those from universities across the world have predicted that in the worst-case scenario, the coronavirus death toll in the US could hit 1.7 million. The Lord God definitely wants us to wake up from our sinful state. We must ask ourselves if we are ready to die. If not, then why? I heard that some elderly people still go out everyday to have a good time, figuring that they are going to die anyway. Such foolish thinking! If you are attached to Christ only, you should be ready to die. Clinging to the world is like staying with a sinking ship. In this case, you are most likely to sink before the ship completely sinks. 

**Learning from Coronavirus

        So far, thousands of people around the world, including less than 100 in the US, have died from the coronavirus virus, and people are scared and starting to predict the worst that might happen. They are oblivious of the fact that worldwide, about 154,000 unborn children loose their lives daily each day! Might the coronavirus be God's warning to us for our committing this horrendous sin? Now my country is doing its best to stop this virus and protect the economy. I feel it's more important to stop the virus and protect the life of the unborn and raise all moral standards. Otherwise, something worse than the coronavirus will surely happen to mankind again.

*Purgatory Not Good Enough

        I heard someone say that he just couldn't be holier and wouldn't mind going through purgatory first. This attitude is worrisome to me, for it amounts to saying that God cannot make one holy. If you don't aim high, you may not even make purgatory! So, believe that God can make you holy with your permission. Aim high and you'll be assured of getting into purgatory or even getting into heaven without going through purgatory altogether!

*** Messages Coronavirus Brings

        As this virus is now pandemic, the message from God is loud and clear. It is that we need to turn to him to repent of our sins. It just seems most difficult for most people to deal with their own sins. In the worst cases, they are not even aware that they are offending the Lord. As the Second Coming of Christ approaches, we seem to be falling away from God even further. Here is a calling for those who do believe in the Lord to double or triple their effort in praying for all falling sinners.

*How to Fight Evil

        To fight evil, we normally go after and actively attack it in whatever ways we can. But there is the superior way. It is that we go before God, confess our sins, ask him to make us clean, and then beg him to crush the evil. If every one of us does this, there won't be any evil around. To be realistic, we still need to actively fight evil at this point in time, but we must let the Lord make us holy first so that we may rely upon him to crush all evil. 

***Pure Love from Us

        We can love many things or persons in the world. We may love music, stamp collecting, traveling, fine food, our pets, or someone who attracts us. Such love are in general self-centered and can enslave us, so they are really not pure. Then we can love God. Is this love different? I believe so. You see, God is already unconditionally loving us. When we love (or more correctly, fall in love with) him, we are set free by his love. We are not self-centered because we can't help wanting to please him only. Love for God is the purest love we may possess, for it is in fact his pure love that makes us love him.  

**Source of Our Living Water

        Since I did not go to Mass, I read today's Gospel reading John 4.5-42 at home. It's all about Jesus asking a Samaritan woman to give him a drink at Jacob's well. I have heard this reading many times before. Today, as I read it myself, I was astounded by the many things Jesus said. Now, if you do not see him as the Messiah, you would be confused like the Samaritan woman was at first. Today I saw him as the Lord and was amazed by the amount of truth he reveals to us. I do encourage you to read these 38 verses yourself to let him speak to your heart. 

**Is Life Meaningful?

        Suppose you live in a beautiful place in a most comfortable house with a most beautiful view. Let's even say that the weather is always perfect. And you have no problem whatsoever financially and can enjoy anything you wish. And you have perfect health always as well. Everyone loves you and thinks highly of you with no one ever giving you any trouble. Then you die and become nothing. Would you say that you have lived a meaningful life? If yes, where's the meaning? Let's now look at a case at the other extreme. You born poor and lived all you life in a miserable condition. People look down on you and treat you badly. And you are always sick and suffer pains all your life and you wish to die. You do die and become nothing. All that suffering for what? Is your life now meaningful? For most of us, we lead a life between these two extremes. So what is a meaningful life we can realistically live? 

       For us, life becomes meaningful only if we see a higher purpose and know that we'll have a better life after death. The reality is that all things beautiful on earth are earthbound, evil is real, and suffering unavoidable. God is the eternal reality and wants in fact to deliver us from this world that imprisons us. Life on earth is a test. If we believe in Christ, we shall pass this test and head toward eternal life. So we can live right and make our life completely meaningful, as we enter the most beautiful final part of our existence.

*Missing Sunday Mass

        Two days ago Friday, the bishop of my diocese finally granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday for all members of the Catholic Faithful. It's sad not to go to Mass. Although I could still go, but being in the high risk group, I didn't want to take the risk and end up affecting all my family members. I just watched a video on the city of Nanjing in China which claims that the number of cases of coronavirus infection there has dropped to zero. The control is strict and thorough alright, but it seems to me that what has helped the most is not letting people get close to each other. So, what can we do if we stay home on Sunday? I urge you to listen to Fr. Mark Goring on this video which came out yesterday.

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***Supreme Advantage of Being in Union with God

        I just watched a very good podcast. The speaker made it clear for all Christians that this is the time to go all out to battle evil for God. In the first half of the talk, he brought up various things for us to follow. I'll just mention a few. (1) First of all, be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect, as Jesus had commanded. (2) We must deny ourselves and take up our cross to follow Christ. (3) Do not presume that you are going to heaven. (4) You must have faith and also works. (5) Do not remain complacent. These are all good things to remember, but if you try to follow them all, it may not be easy. That's why you should gain access to the power that can help you accomplish all these and more first. This is done by attaining union with God! When you are one with the Lord, you'll automatically do these things without thinking about them. Besides, you would know that the Lord is taking you with him to heaven!

*A Decision We Face

        Today's Gospel reading from Luke 15 is the best-known parable of the lost son. We learn that sin saddens our Father greatly, but admitting to him that we have sinned cheers him up greatly, so much so that the whole heaven rejoices. That a simple choice by us can affect God so much only shows how much he cares for us. We need to decide whether we continue sinning or repent. 

Trust in God Best

        God will be our final judge, casting all evildoers into hell in the end. How should we approach him? All we need to do is to trust in his mercy, for he wishes to pardon us and delights in his clemency. If we would just follow the Lord in full confidence, there's really not a thing to worry about.  

*Seek the Lord, Not What's Peripheral

        I've always been attracted to the Carmelites and their spirituality, St Thérèse of Lisieux being my favorite saint. I thought that visiting Mt. Carmel in Israel would be an exciting adventure, then I realized that I could enjoy the Lord every moment anywhere. It's experiencing the Lord, not anything that's associated with him, that should be central to us.  

***Most Extraordinary Soulmate!

        By definition, a soulmate is a person with whom one has a strong affinity, shared values and tastes. Obviously, when you are God become one, you become soulmates. But wait, this is no ordinary relationship, for God happens to be your creator and truly knows all about your soul. So that makes him the most extraordinary and fantastic soulmate you can ever have!

***The Greatest Feeling***

        It's so great to be one with the Lord. Of course, it goes without saying that the Lord and you are now completely open to each other, with you in him and him in you. You pray to him, but you are really speaking to him right within your heart and soul. And you know that you are absolutely safe in him. Praise be to him, your most beloved!

***Church Needs to Repent

        Outside of China, Italy has been most affected by the coronavirus. The current lockdown has made Rome look like an abandoned city. During this Lenten season, I feel that the Lord is calling all Church leaders, beginning with the Holy Father, to publicly renounce their sins to inspire the whole Church to follow suit. If they can humble themselves like this, the Lord shall surely bless them and the whole Church abundantly. This is the way to avoid divine chastisement. For reinforcement, watch Fr. Goring's new video "Pachamama & Coronavirus" below.