****Church Doesn't See End Times

         Many of us sense that we are near or in end times. There is a plethora of signs and prophetic messages coming to us from heaven. The urgent call to prayer and conversion you just don't hear coming from the official Church with the exception of Archbishop Vigano and a few other good bishops I know of in this country. The handful of brave priests who spoke up all got cancelled by their bishops. At most parish churches, social events are held as usual as if nothing is going wrong. It's been like this ever since things started going bad decades ago. It is very sad to see evil getting the upper hand all around the globe. We reap what we sow, and if we do not change, what we are going to reap won't be nice. Watch Fr. Mark Goring's video here about Catholicism being watered down. 

**Feeling of Freedom

         Trust in God completely with total absence of your own ego and you'll feel the freedom in the Lord.

***Prayer Power

           In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said to the disciples, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Again, in Luke 17:6, he said to the apostles, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Of course, what's commanded to take place here is all done through God. It just shows the great power we have in making God do things for us. Have faith and trust in God is what we need to know and practice. 

***Our Perfect Model

        Reading about Jesus in the Gospels, you see that he was perfectly obedient to the Father, did everything selflessly with love, practiced everything he preached, and always spoke the truth forthrightly. Forget that he is also God, as a human being alone he is worthy of our respect and admiration, one for us to imitate and learn from. Add the fact he is our Savior and he becomes indispensable for me to know and embrace.

***Wonderful Things Happen . . .***

when you and God are one, on the same wave length, in perfect harmony. (This is just a periodic reminder.) 

*God's Good Feeling

         When you want to be good or do something good, you feel good. This is God's doing. Imagine how good you will feel when you become one with him.

**New Awakening Needed

         Here's what I read from the 1st reading from 1 Timothy 6. "If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains." We should be content if we have enough food and clothing. Then I see that the world has fallen into the trap of wanting to be rich and is pretty much out of control. Everybody is in the game; becoming rich is now the the accepted goal and way of life. Man has strayed further away from God.
       The reading continues on. "But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith." To make the change, submitting ourselves to God is the only answer. Since chances don't look too good, I believe God will do something big to wake us up. 

*****Disabling Satan

        Because we have inherited original sin, we all tend to sin. Satan knows that and he exploits that in his fight against God. So if we have God take away our urge to sin, then Satan loses all his power over us. Seeking to attain union with God will help us accomplish just that. Be one with God and he becomes your refuge and shield against all evil.

**How to Be Real Heroes

        We enjoy watching films and videos showing Superman or some hero or a bunch of kids with super powers saving the world from being destroyed. Of course, they are all fictitious characters. But we can be real heroes in saving our real world. We simply become saints and do God's will only. Then God will save the world and all of us from eternal damnation. Now we are heroes in God's eyes. This will sound fictitious only to unbelievers. For those who have faith, it's a no-brainer.

***Thanking Mary*****

        If you had read my post "A Jewish Convert Story" of Nov. 8, 2018, you would have learned from that amazing story that Mary's favorite prayer is the one she asked St. Catherine Labouré to inscribe on the Miraculous Medal she ordered her to strike, which reads "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse for thee." So many of us ask her unceasingly to pray us. Today I realize that she loves us so much that she prays for her children anyway. So it's time to thank her and to tell her that we love her. What a joy to have such a beautiful, caring mother! God is love, and Mary is our Mother filled with that love.        

***Our Ultimate Call from God*****

        To be like God, we need to know his ways and his thoughts, and then follow his will thoroughly and throughout. And the best way to achieve that is to attain union with God through the Holy Eucharist. This is the Lord's ultimate call for every one of us and is completely within our reach because it is what he wants for us. Say yes to God and it'll done for you! 

*****Our Concerns Now

        Our fundamental concern is the safety of our soul. With the coming of the illumination of conscience or our own death, our immediate concern should be our readiness for either of these events. The time to be ready to stand before the Lord is right now.

***God Is Hope*****

        As I prayed the sorrowful mysteries of the Holy Rosary this morning, the Lord gave me these thoughts. (1) When Christ suffered agony in the garden, only the Father alone was there to console him. Think of it, the only one who can truly console us in any agony is also our heavenly Father. (2) Christ knew all along that he's going to suffer and be killed for our sake, for he is God. Thinking about the Passion, how can you possibly not love him, I ask you? (3) After the Crucifixion, all the disciples thought that they were finished. Their Messiah was dead, what could they possibly do? Then we had the Resurrection and saw that the Crucifixion was a total triumph of the Lord. Yes, God is our hope!

**Division, the Natural Outcome

        In Matthew 26 or Luke 19, Jesus taught that "to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Does this sound unfair to you? I see this to be fair if you understand how one become someone who has or who has not. The one who has is the one who works hard and bear fruit, while the one who has not is the one who is lazy and does not bear fruit. Of course, one will grow rich and the other one lose everything. These are natural outcomes. This is how at the Second Coming, you'll chosen either as a sheep or as a goat. This is the division Jesus talked about.

****Praying freely to God

         There are many good prayers, the Lord's Prayer, the Holy Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc. But when you pray something long, the mind tends to wander. So I sometimes just pray the holy name "Jesus" or simply dwell upon the Lord silently. Such simple prayers makes it easy to focus upon the Lord and are just as efficacious as any other good prayer. I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit guide you in inspiring you to pray however he wishes you to pray to the Lord. The important thing is to feel free with the Lord as in union with him. After all, the Lord God is your home, your refuge, and your most beloved. 

***Satan Dumber than a Dog

        My neighbor's two small dogs barked a lot whenever they saw me walk by the low wired fence on the property line. Then I hung up a DogSilencer which emits an ultrasonic tone when activated by the barking. This sound which only dogs can hear apparently is unpleasant to them. In a short time they stopped barking. Here I see that dogs can learn to accept defeat, but Satan keeps on fighting God even though he knows he can never beat God in the end. In this way, Satan is not even as smart as a dog. This also tells you a lot about those who follow Satan.

**Another Christian Joy

         If you know Christ, know that you are in touch with reality and rejoice! 

***What the Lord Will Surely Do***

         Thoughts on the Lords's Prayer. The Lord personally taught us this prayer which I consider to be the most perfect prayer. He wants us to ask him (1) to give us our daily bread, (2) to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, (3) to lead us not into temptation, and (4) to deliver us from all evil. Unquestionably he shall do all these things to us if we ask for them.