**Dulling of the Conscience

         I corrected a mistake in yesterday's post "Warning, Miracle, and Punishment."  Listening to Conchita again told me that she knew the date on which the miracle would happen, not the warning. Then I am still not sure if God had already told her the date or would let her know when the time comes. Anyway, it should be on the way. I was impressed by what she said about the dulling of conscience with today's generation. It is true that morality has fallen so low that sins are no longer considered sins. I have lived long enough to see the decay taking place. People have always sinned, but they felt the shame before. Now the consciences have gotten so muddy that sinful behaviors are accepted as norms. The coming warning should give us new hope, but it's still up to us to accept God's mercy or not.

**Conversion Reminder

        We pray for the conversion of the whole world, but forget to pray for our own conversion! If we are not totally converted yet, we won't be very effective in converting others. Here, it's OK to put yourself first.

**About the Illumination of Conscience

         Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries also speaks about the Illumination of Conscience, so you may be interested in listening to him. I have known about Ralph since the days of Charismatic Renewal in the Church. I've heard him speak and read some of his books. He is Spirit-filled and inspiring and I respect him a lot. 

***Warning, Miracle, and Punishment

         Today I came across this newly posted video made in 1980 showing an interview with Conchita, one of the four seers to whom Virgin Mary appeared in Garabandal, Spain, in the early 1960s. The seven minute video tells about the message, the warning, the miracle, and the punishment. It has English captions, but they were poorly translated from Spanish and contain many misspelled words. Besides, they go by too fast and become distracting. So I am posting the full interview lasting three and a half minutes longer with no captions so that you can concentrate on listening to Conchita speak. You may not catch all of what she says, but you'll get the gist of it. Since Conchita already knew the day the miracle is going to take place and will announce to the world eight days in advance, and she's already 72, things could happen anytime now. (You can find a video on the entire Garabandal story listed in the right column of my blog page under Good Websites, Blogs, Videos  . . .) 

****God to Be Experienced!*

         God has created us in his image. He once became one of us to appear on earth and many got to know him well. Even today, we can seek and attain union with him most intimately. So my message is that we can and are expected to experience him. He is not an abstract being or a figment of our imagination; he is more real than anything you see, hear, touch, or know, for he created all of them. And most of all, he loves and desires to know you totally. If you do not experience him, that's because you don't expect to ever experience him. To begin with, you need to have some humility. Cast aside all your doubts and desire to know him. Then open up yourself to him sincerely and you'll experience him. Once you experience him, you'll be so glad that you don't ever want to remain the same again. To shut him out of your life is to cut yourself off from the source of all life.

*****What You Must Realize!!!!!

          God (and heaven) are more wonderful than you can possibly imagine. Satan (and hell) are more horrible than you can possibly conceive. (If you think hell won't be all that bad, you'll be in for the shock of all eternity.) Know all this now, for you don't want to find it out later. If you have God, the God of Christ, you can forget all about Satan and hell. I am giving you the best possible information I have now.

***Obedience Begets Peace

          The Lord God does great things through us who are obedient to him. We do not know what he specifically wishes to accomplish nor how things are going to turn out. They do not concern us. Remaining obedient to him is all he asks of us. This is great, for it brings us peace. I am sure that in heaven all will be revealed to us.

God Strengthens Us

        The Lord loves us and tests us at various times.  He knows our strengths and weaknesses and will test us to strengthen us, not to fail us. So if we love and trust in him, everything becomes bearable and even a joy, no matter what we go through.

*Faith and Prayer Inseparable

         Some say that if you truly have faith, you would just pray for something to God, believe that he heard and will answer you, and that'll do. It sounds logical. Besides, it'd surely simply the spiritual life a lot. Then Jesus told us to pray and believe, and persist in prayer. He did not teach us the Our Father to pray just once. Besides, we need to keep communicating with the Lord through prayer to maintain an intimate relationship. Prayer is sharing ourselves with the Lord and nourishes the soul. We stifle the Holy spirit if we stop praying often. So we pray to the Lord because we trust in and love him. Pray unceasingly and our faith grows stronger too. Faith and prayer are indeed inseparable.

*Our Personal Lord

         Today Friday I prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary as I walked, meditating upon the Lord's Agony in the Garden, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, and  Crucifixion. Naturally, I felt bad that he went through all that and couldn't help asking him why, and I heard his tender voice saying "For you" in my heart. Of course, I already knew that, but to hear his personal voice answering me was deeply moving.

***Path to Freedom

          "We are not free until we abandon ourselves completely to God." This truth reveals why sinners do not feel free as well as the exact remedy they need. When we pray for someone to convert for a long time and nothing happens, we begin to get discouraged. It shows that we haven't totally abandoned ourselves to God yet. God wants us to abandon all those we love and everything else to him in order to be his alone. This is how you become free in him. It is the beautiful paradox: the more we become slaves to God, the more we become free. God must have made us this way.

***Disposing of Satan

        Satan is battling God for our souls, so we must choose sides. If we choose to go with the Lord, he wins and we dispose of Satan for good. In other words, submit ourselves to God completely and we don't need be concerned about Satan anymore.

**No Happiness Outside of Christ

        I had a fruitful walk this morning as the Lord gave me a number of thoughts to post. But I'll start with this one which I had before the walk. I have not seen many people who are truly happy in this world—they are busy looking for happiness all right. Instead, we see so many families that are dysfunctional or broken, for love no longer exists among the members. And we have many people looking for happiness chasing after money and fame. Corrupt worldly influences do not come from God, for they cause us to fall further away from him. This I can tell you: we'll never find true happiness outside of Christ, for he is the Light and our one and only Savior!

*****Incredibly Satisfying Realization***

         Today I suddenly realize that I am a tiny creature in this vast universe, living for a very brief moment on this planet earth. I have not seen the creator of this universe who also created me, yet he has revealed himself to me so well that I know him more than anyone or anything else. I am connected with him and and even belong to him! Through receiving the Holy Eucharist I got to be united with him both physically and spiritually. And soon I'll return to him, see him, and remain with him for all eternity! This whole realizations is incredibly satisfying!

***Keeping the Lord Company (No Lack of Trust)

        People tell me that if I trust in the Lord, I should just pray to him and not worry about anything anymore, since he will take care of all things. This is correct in theory, but in reality it's not always so simple. If you already know the Lord to the point that you are right aware that he is with you, you can't help thinking of him and feeling the sorrows we have caused and are still causing him and the terrible sufferings we have inflicted and are still inflicting upon him. You do not worry, but do grieve and suffer along with the Lord. It'd be impossible to leave him alone. In no way does this show that you don't trust in him enough.

**Greater than You Think

        That's our Lord God. His power of creation and his wisdom are infinite. His love and mercy for us are beyond our comprehension. Heaven is more beautiful than we can possibly imagine. His proximity to us is closer than we think. He is greater than we can think in every way. I am just so happy that I have such a great God to worship and trust in.

**Forgiving Others

        Someone on Facebook just posted a picture of Pope John Paul II (now Saint John Paul II) showing him forgiving the man who shot him. The poster also supplied the following text: Keep in mind that forgiveness is not for others. It is for you. Forgiving is not forgetting; it is remembering without anger. It frees up your power and heals your body, mind, and spirit. Forgiveness open up a pathway to a new place of peace where you can persist despite what happened to you. Then I also saw Fr. Larry Richards posting the same picture on Pinterest with these words: "Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil" (St. John Paul II). "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13). Forgive others and show them mercy and you will know God's mercy! When you become an instrument of mercy, you will have the peace you seek. Forgive and be at peace. Amen.

Realistic Assessment of Our State

       We are all on a spiritual journey. As of any moment, we have those who are heaven bound, those who appear doomed, and the rest teetering between these two extremes. Of course, the Lord does not condemn us until after we die, and things can change at any time. But what I have described is a realistic picture of all of us. Being aware of it can help us do the right thing while living. It is right to always do the best thing for ourselves spiritually.