June 5, 1998

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

How are you? It is nice to communicate with you again before our summer holiday begins. During the month of June, we encounter four great feasts of the year, i.e., The Holy Trinity (June 7), The Body and Blood of Christ (June 14), The Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 19), and The Immaculate Heart of Mary (June 20).

As a quick overview, we can observe "the love of God" at work again. It is indeed God's unfathomable love for us that the Most Holy Trinity, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as the Immaculate Heart of Mary are revealed and given to us freely. No one deserves Them, but everyone is called to respond in love, however imperfectly. One way to do so is to make fitting reparation for our countless offenses against Them.

As many, e.g., Time Magazine (June 8), are taking stock of the great worldly events in this century, we are supplementing their efforts by examining our relationship with Heaven. While every sin is an offense against Heaven, and therefore against the most loving Heart of the King of Kings and that of the Queen of the whole universe, there has never been a century in which the Hearts of Jesus and Mary are pierced more ruthlessly and numerously than the present one. Countless sacrileges, conflicts, murders, crimes, abortions, sins of the flesh, etc., have been committed, often with a false, deformed and self-righteous conscience. Even if we are bathing in God's boundless mercy, our love of God and the Heavenly Family demands us to make some reparation for our uncountable offenses on behalf of our imperfect selves and human family. As a reminder [to you and me], many of us seem to have forgotten to make reparation and to console not only the Father and the Holy Spirit, but also the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. We are often so concerned about social justice, what about divine justice also? As we know, God is both infinitely loving (or merciful) and just. There are many simple yet effective ways to do so. 1) We may offer up to God any of our inconveniences. 2) We may receive the Holy Eucharist with this intention. 3) We may say a special prayer daily. 4) We may make a special act of corporate mercy regularly. 5) And we may practice unconditional forgiveness (unceasing by nature) of those who have harmed us.

If our much-afflicted God have countless people to forgive daily, shall we not forgive just the few whom God has allowed in our life? After all, are these few individuals not giving us a "perfect opportunity" to develop some most heroic, God-pleasing virtues, as well as to make some much-needed reparation and consolation? We may even learn to thank them later. Happy are those who can see it.

Moreover, we are now organizing a series of public seminars in the Fall entitled "Visions 2000: Christian and Secular, East and West." This is our second (since 1994) St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Gregory Palamas Public Lectures. For further information, please click here. The lecture on The Celestine Vision is hence postponed. Thank you for your pardon and understanding.

Yours sincerely in Jesus and Mary,

The editor

P.S.1 The postponement of the lecture on The Celestine Vision is to our benefit. The speaker is taking his time to do a comparison between the two types of theology of energy. It will also become a part of vol.3 of A Handbook of Theology of Energy. (June 11, 1998)

P.S.2 To celebrate the feast day of Corpus Christi, presented here is a note on the Holy Eucharist which our visitors may enjoy reading. To do so, click here. (June 13, 1998)

P.S.3 As a little token of our love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we present here some personal promises of Jesus given by the Lord Himself to St. Margaret Mary. To know these promises, click here. Let us then, as some saint has suggested to us, begin to love Jesus with the Heart of Mary, and love Mary with the Heart of Jesus. (June 19)

P.S.4 Today is the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul, a traditional day for the ordination of priests. Let us pray for priests without whom there is absolutely no Holy Eucharist, hence no Church. Click here for a powerful prayer for priests. (June 29)