**Dealing with Prophecies and Apparitions

      Jesus came to cause division among us. Mother Mary has also caused division. So have all the prophets. I've come across one website which lists all the prophets that are credible or questionable or false, beginning with Prophet Joel (c. 800 BC) to the self-proclaimed prophets of today. That would be absolutely impressive if the information were accurate. Anyway, we should always use our discernment. Regarding current prophets, I get suspicious if a prophecy contains specific detailed instructions, as prophecies are usually general warnings. But many of them do give us good timely advice which I can totally accept. 
    Regarding the Marian apparitions at Medjugorje and Garabandal, the Church has not approved or disapproved them yet. I've been to Medjugorje three times and experienced great joy and uplifting of the spirit there. Nonbelievers always point out some of the scandals (not involving the visionaries) or the disapproval given by some high church official, but the good fruit is obvious with so many conversions happening there, not to mention the miracles witnessed by many (and myself). As for Garabandal, I believe that the Church never really investigated the apparitions with an open mind. There were those high in the Church who did not wish to see them approved from the very beginning. The Church was already fractured in those days. The video I am giving you below is a little over an hour long. But if your are interested in the Garabandal apparitions, you should find it enlightening. 

**Sticking to the Father

        In today's Gospel reading from Matthew 18, Jesus gave us the parable of the lost sheep. He told his disciples, "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, he rejoices more over it than the ninety-nine that did not stray. In the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these littles ones be lost." Know how much we mean to the Father and stick close to him so that we may never become lost.

***Advice on Spiritual Growth*

        We should never compare ourselves with anybody else. If you follow Christ and don't judge anyone, that should take care of that. Basically, what anyone (yourself included) thinks of you doesn't matter in the end—it's what God thinks of you at any moment alone that matters. So you should focus only upon making sure that he is always pleased with you.

***God's Unique Love

        Strictly speaking, only God's love qualifies as true love. Our own so-called love for people and things is never 100% pure. We fall for them for our own pleasure and enjoyment; that's more desire than love. When we love God, we love him with his love. We know this because we become selfless in loving him and others. This is love on an entire different level, for it sets you free and you are never the same again!

Living Our Last Day

         It's been said that we should live each day as if it were our last day on earth. I see the merit in that. If I were living my last day now, I would just not worry or be anxious about all my unfinished business anymore.

***Faith Saves Us!

        Jesus often told those who had been cured or whose sins had been forgiven by him that "Your faith has saved you." Faith is essential for our salvation and experiencing God's wondrous deeds. In my own experience, I can say that as long as I have faith and believe, the end or outcome is not affected by the means I use. Let's suppose that I touched someone serious ill with a relic pertaining to some saint and prayed that he be healed and he got well quickly. This would be because I put my faith in God's power, not in the relic by any means. I could have used some other object; as long as I believed, the outcome would have been the same. Let's remember what Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, if you have 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."

**Praying for Ourselves First

         While praying the Our Father, I came to "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and saw that for everyone on earth to do God's will, it must start with us first and then we pray that the Lord will convert the rest of the world to do his will. We must make sure that we are not deficient of what we wish others to have ourselves. If we put our own house in order first, then we'll know better what the rest of the world needs.

****Secret to Spiritual Triumph

        Cast all your burdens upon to Lord to become carefree. If you don't do this, you become his burden! Letting God carry you every step of the way is the way to spiritual triumph. 

**No Concern About Second Coming

        Jesus has come to us and will come again to judge all nations. If we remain in union with him now, we won't need to be concerned about his Second Coming anymore. 

*God Our Permanent Rest

        I attended Vigil Mass yesterday. Communion experience: the Lord made me see that he's the only one in whom I can find true rest for now and all eternity.

**God Our Great Giver

        God first gave himself up fully to saving our souls. Then he gave himself to us in the Holy Eucharist to be with us always. And he is giving us all the time we need to turn and return to him in our life on earth. 

**Story with the Happiest Ending

        I just saw a video on YouTube. It's a true story that happened in China. A mother's two-year-old son was kidnapped and she never stopped looking for him since. Now, 32 years later, with the aid of DNA testing, he was found and the dramatic reunion took place. It was a sad story with a happy ending. I mention it here because I see how fortunate we can be by attaining union with God the heavenly Father so that no one will ever be able to snatch us away from him. Yes, we can always end our story with the happiest ending!

*The Little Boy or Girl in Us

        No matter how old we are or how mature and poised we appear to be, we all still have that little boy or little girl in us. In situations when our security is threatened, fear and worry often make us wish that we can turn to a father or mother who can protect and comfort us. For the Christians, they no longer have this problem, for they have their most powerful and mightiest heavenly Father to turn to at any time.

**God Exalts the Humble

        When you decide to become a nobody before God, he changes you into somebody pleasing for him to behold. Submit yourself to the Lord and he always changes you into a more beautiful person beyond all expectations.

**Knowledge That Leads to Life

        I love Christ because he loves me and is my Savior. To anyone who doesn't know him, all the sufferings he underwent probably doesn't make much sense. But to those who already knew him, it makes them want to love him even more. Understanding the Passion of Christ is the gateway that leads to eternal life.

***All Because of Sin*

        Today I realize that I love Jesus because I am a sinner. If I were a holy, sinless person, I would not need God to save me anymore. I believe that because we innately realize that we are sinners, we are innately attracted to Christ. And when we find out that he is truly the one for us, we fall in love with him.

***The Shroud Says It All*****

        Right after I blogged about how God died for us in the last post, I saw this video about the Shroud of Turin which provides all the evidence you need to see that it is the shroud of Jesus who suffered and rose from the dead just as the Gospels tell us. This is a video all should watch, especially the nonbelievers. How Christ suffered for us! Knowing that we are sinners, how can we possibly not love him?        

***God Loves Us Rightly*

        Jesus has said to his disciples, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The Lord God is all holy, while we are notorious sinners. If we love the Lord, it makes sense that we should die for him. Yet the Holy Lord has sacrificed himself to die for us sinners! This doesn't seem right until you realize that he loves us so much that he sees us as his best friends.