**Spotting the Smart One

      In Matthew 21, Jesus told the parable of the two sons to the chief priests and the elders of the people. "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The nan came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, "Yes, sir," but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered correctly, "The first." 
       I thought of this parable because I want to ask a question in a similar way. Say you have two people. One is very good at trading or doing business with others and becomes rich. Meanwhile, the other lives for God alone, quietly storing up treasure in heaven. Which of the two in your opinion is the smart or wise one?

**Shock for the Proud

        All the great saints humbly saw themselves as most wretched sinners before the Lord God, whereas today many lukewarm Christians and nonbelievers see themselves as pretty decent people that the Lord will surely forgive them. In Matthew 23 and Luke 14, Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." So for all those who think they are good enough and are not contrite or don't try to become more humble, they'll be in for a big shock when they face the Lord either at the time of the Warning or after they die. Only a fool will take a chance with God.

***Ultimate Freedom, Peace, and Joy

          It is the Third Sunday of Advent. Today's Communion experience: my quest for ultimate freedom is over.
       Freedom, peace, and joy mark the true Christian. There are all kinds of freedom, peace, and joy out there, but only the freedom, peace, and joy of God surpass all understanding. To me, they are the ultimate freedom, ultimate peace, and ultimate joy. If you don't possess Christ, you are not truly free, let alone experiencing his peace and his joy.

**How God Teaches Us

         The Lord God is always trying to perfect those who love and are receptive to him. It is in learning from him that he becomes dear to us. There will be dry moments or periods, so don't think that he has abandoned you. It may just be a transient test or signify the beginning of a new phase of your spiritual life. We must never let our feeling affect our faith. Psalms 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

*****Greatest Favor!

        Prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosaries today and realized that the Lord God actually died for my sins so that I might live—this is absolutely the most anybody could possibly do for me. It is hard to believe that God should love me this much—I feel elated and most grateful to him. Soon I'll be with my most beloved Father forever! Try to top this. 

****We Are the Culprits**

        We see how evil the world has gotten to be. Christians clearly see the fierce battle being waged by Satan against God. You may wonder why Almighty God doesn't just wipe out Evil to bring us peace. We must remember that the Lord's hands are tied because of our disobedience. If all of us repent of our sins and surrender ourselves to God, Satan instantly loses the battle and we'll have order and peace. So, you see, we are the ones fanning the spiritual war, giving the Lord God a most difficult time. He is doing his utmost to save us and we keep resisting him! Rebelling against God is surely the path to self-damnation; it's so very logical and clear.

**Mary Our Best Ally Against Evil

         Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lord had chosen this immaculate handmaid to bear his divine Son first and is now letting her spearhead the campaign to crush the Devil. No doubt her Immaculate Heart will triumph in the end. Allow the Holy Mother to help us crush evil in our own lives.

**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.