[music] Man: "Mother Angelica Live!" brought to you from the Eternal Word Television Studios in Birmingham, Alabama. [music] <i>Mother: See in you the love,</i> <i>the compassion of Jesus.</i> <i>The most glorious work of all,</i> <i>to praise God in His Kingdom.</i> <i>Anyone moved by the Spirit...</i> <i>Anyone who lives in love,</i> <i>lives in God</i> <i>and God lives in Him.</i> [music] <i>What a wonderful thing</i> <i>is our Church.</i> <i>This whole network</i> <i>is built on trust.</i> <i>The essence of evangelization</i> <i>is to tell everybody,</i> <i>"Jesus loves you!"</i> <i>We're all called</i> <i>to be great saints.</i> <i>Don't miss the opportunity!</i> (applause) Well, thank you so much. I'm a little late. Well, I made it a minute ahead. So that's not too bad. It could have been 30 seconds, or something else--but anyway, here we are together. We have a wonderful crowd of our family here tonight and we want to welcome them. Do you know what I thought we would talk about tonight? I'm going to tell you, because there was a funny incident that happened. Last Friday, no, it was last Thursday--it was one of my bad days. Do you ever have a bad day? Anybody here never have a bad day? (group chuckles) Nobody, Thank You, Jesus! Everybody's had a bad day. Well, last Thursday was one of my bad days and I got very angry with some contractors over electric-- electricity and electric lights and why I couldn't put up this light when I wanted that light and I couldn't put it up there. So they were telling me. Anyway, I blew my 75 year old stack. (group chuckles) It was just as hot as it would've been when it was 17. (group chuckles) So, I did have a hard day. Well, that night when I came home, there was a little note on my table at refectory. I was in a hurry and I just read--it was folded, see, and it said, "Lucifer called." (group chuckles) I looked at that paper and I said, "What?!" They said, "What's the matter?" I said, "Who said "Lucifer called?" (laughs) (coughs) I forgot to turn it over, you see, and it said, "Lucifer called God a liar." (all laugh) And I thought… (laughs) I knew I didn't do the right thing but I didn't think it was that bad (laughs) (group chuckles) that Lucifer had to call. But I thought we'd talk about that tonight, that lucifer did call God a liar. And why was it? What really was the first sin? We'll say pride. Good. But I think the first sin was jealousy, jealousy. Lucifer--the highest, the most beautiful, the most intelligent of all angels, the leader of them all-- began to think he was greater than God, that God had no right to His throne, totally forgetting he was himself a creature, that he was created by God. That was all for God. So he said, "I will ascend to the throne of the Most High!" But why would he do it? You say, "Well, that was an act of pride." Yeah it is, but why would he want to do that? Because he thought he was greater than God. We come up what I call the Luciferian Sin--"I will not serve." That's what he said. The great test came along when they found out that the Eternal Word, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, would become Man. "Man? Oh, you've got to be kidding! Man--part spiritual and part animal--He's going to become Man?" Well, then he went a little further and realized that not only would He become Man, that inferior nature, but His Mother would be their Queen. Oh, that was insult upon insult. No, no, no, no, no. So what was the battle? Was it a battle of swords? No. We're talking about spiritual being. It was a battle of wits, intellects. So one-third of the Kingdom was influenced by Lucifer. He convinced them it was unjust of God for the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity to become Man--and then His Mother be their Queen?--oh, too much. Well, what happens? "I will not serve." Michael comes along and says, "Who is like God?" The perfect question. That was the end of jealousy, because there is no one like God, no one. There's no one before Him, no one like Him, no one after Him. He always Was, Is and Always Will Be. Well we've got a lot of that today, "I will not serve." We don't believe the morals of the Church, that the Church preaches. St. Paul speaks of it very, very plainly in Galatians. Do you ever read Galatians? It's a very interesting little book, only five chapters. Here we go, I went past it. Anyway, in this fifth chapter, he called self-indulgence. What does that mean? It means I'm going to do what I want, when I want, how I want. That's a kind of "I will not serve." Today I read an article in the paper. Well, it wasn't really a newspaper, newspaper. It was part of the garbage sisters were throwing out. (group chuckles) It's strange how garbage newspaper is always the most interesting. (group chuckles) Did you ever read garbage newspaper? You never did? You ought to try it. The most interesting articles are right there before they wrap the garbage in it. This one said that now all organ donors really should give up their organs before brain death. What's that say to you? Well, I'd tear up my little card. (group chuckles) You get the impression they're looking at you and saying, "Oh, what a liver. (group chuckles) Wow, look at that brain, big forehead--ooh. (group chuckles) We can forget the bald head but I bet there's something inside of there." (group chuckles) It scares you to death. Now, they talk about "before death". One time I was sitting outside. I was going to have some x-rays and I was sitting out there waiting my turn and the one x-ray technician came out and said, "What do you got out there?" He said, "One kidney and three livers." (group chuckles) It made every human being seem suddenly so small, like it didn't matter who you were; it's what you've got and how healthy it is. That's where we are now, isn't it, huh? That's where we are. Pius--or Paul VI prophesied that, didn't he, in "Humane Vitae"? He said, "Once you begin birth control, then you have abortion and then you have euthanasia, then you want to kill off the young, the old." Now what? Now we only look at people to see what organ they might have that would benefit my neighbor. Now, that is a contradiction in terms. That's a spirit of rebellion that kind of says, "Anything goes, anything goes." St. Paul guessed it real good in his day because when I say, "I will not serve," that means you're open to every kind of sin, every kind of sin. And since we're in the time of the Holy Spirit, you have to know is your spirit the kind that says, "I will not serve, I will not do this?" "The Church says this is wrong." "Well, I'm going to do it anyway. No one's going to tell me what to do." Well, that's an act of will. God gave you free will. That's not news. This free choice business is... (sighs) God gave us free choice. That's not new either. But there are many things we cannot choose. St. Paul says very well in the 5th Chapter of Galatians. He called it self-indulgence --it's the opposite of the Spirit, opposite of the Spirit. He says, "When self-indulgence is at work, the results are obvious." Fornication--you say, "Oh, what's fornication?" (laughs) I hate to have a nun tell you what fornication is. (group chuckles) Just doesn't seem right. (group chuckles) It's when you horse around before you're married, (group chuckles) that's what it means. (group chuckles) Now, if you don't know the facts of life, I'm not going to tell you. Ask your mother or your father or somebody. But that's what he says, it's fornication. All you teenagers, oh, you're wasting your life, your time, your soul. Now, teachers will come to me and tell me the wildest things and they're all true --13 year-olds having affairs in classrooms. I mean, (sighs) it's so bad, you know. Well, we call that self- indulgence--you're going to do what you please. But he said, "When that's at work, gross indecency." Well, nobody knows they're half naked anymore. It always amazes me that women walk around half naked and men, they just walk around natural. I mean, they're always dressed. Well, it seems funny to me. I'm glad you are, believe me. (group chuckles) I'm glad you're not following women around and their way of dressing. I mean, it's terrible. We don't any sense of modesty. I don't know what makes some of you think anybody wants to see it. (group chuckles) Anybody have legs like I saw this afternoon, (group chuckles) I'd put them in a box or something. I mean, why-- (group chuckles) why do you want to walk around half naked looking like that? I don't, I don't get it. That's what he's saying. He didn't get it either. St. Paul says here, "gross indecency." Well, it's pretty gross. One side of your hair is yellow, the other, green. I think that's gross. I mean, I wonder if you have a mirror. Maybe we need to buy mirrors and put them on street corners and say, "Here is how you really look." It might be good. But it's like I don't want to look like God made me to look. To destroy your human nature is so gross and that's what Paul says, "gross indecency." "Sexual irresponsibility, idolatry." Oh, there's a lot of that today, idolatry. That's the worship of false gods. But there's a lot of idolatry that's not a false god. Some of you are so concerned about making more and more and more and more millions. Well, what do you do with all of it? There has to come a point you can't spend what you've got, right? I could help you. (group chuckles) You just wonder about all these people, they never do anything for the Lord. You wonder. I read about this woman whose only desire was to be buried in a gold Cadillac. So they buried her in a gold Cadillac. I thought, "Does she think she's going to drive up to the gate?" (group chuckles) What? I mean, (group chuckles) I bet that Cadillac isn't there anymore but I bet she is. (all chuckles) Can you imagine somebody in Hell and they'd say, "What are you here for?" "I came in a gold Cadillac," or "I dug up a gold Cadillac." All this is so foolish. Isn't that foolish? And it happens--it happens. So now, that's a form of idolatry, see, to glorify oneself is a form of idolatry. A scientist who is so absorbed in his science that he forgets his family, his loved ones, his God, has idolatry--you worship what you do. Anything that takes your mind totally away from God, from family, from friends is a form of idolatry. Drinking, I think, is a form of idolatry. Now, watch me get the letters tomorrow, whoa! But a lot of things are a form of idolatry. Lust is a form of idolatry. You worship pleasure. We don't realize some times what we're doing today. Now it says here, "Sorcery." Oh, that's so bad, and there's so much evil, devil worship everywhere, everywhere. Watch your young children. Watch what they read, watch who they play with, watch what they wear and watch the music they listen to. "Feuds," oh, how many wars in this modern age, so cruel because of a feud--a feud over religion, a feud over territory, a feud over nationality or color. All of these are not of God. "Envy"--oh, envy of people's talents or things, mostly things. Jealousy is of people and envy of things. "I hate that person that just bought a new house. It's bigger than mine." There's more to clean. What's wrong with you? (group chuckles) I don't understand that kind of thing. They just bought a Rolls Royce. Oh, so, you have a Ford. You're both going to get there the same time. Well, what's the difference? "Drunkenness"--that's self-indulgence. You say you can take one drink. Well, everybody knows you can't. You're flat on the floor after five or six, see. One woman told me one time she really wished her husband would get drunk. I said, "Why?" She said, "He's so nice and sweet." I said, "He is?" "Yep. As soon as he washes his feet, he's sober again." (group chuckles) I thought somebody that gets drunk ought to try that in ice water. So there are a lot of strange things happen in the world. "Jealousy"--now, that's. I think the first sin. Lucifer was jealous of God. Do you know what's so strange? To this day, to this day, he still entertains the same thoughts. With all the pains of Hell he has not changed his mind that he is better than God and that God has his place. How you like that for a strong will? Watch your will and what you're doing with it. "Bad temper," (group chuckles) and that really has a lot to do with nationality. (all laugh) Oh dear. I don't know if any of you have had the privilege of eating at an Italian dinner. I was at an Italian house, oh, some years ago when I brought one of my sisters and the food was absolutely phenomenal. But when Italians eat, they're family. They, they don't feel they have to be polite. They, they don't think of saying, "Would you pass the chicken, dear?" "Hey, what's the matter with you? "Are you, crazy? "What do you mean, 'Pass the chicken, dear?' "What do you have with this 'dear' business? (group chuckles) What do you want?" (group chuckles) That's Italian. (group chuckles) Anyway, they were doing that and I enjoyed it. I mean, I hadn't been at a good Italian fussing dinner in years. Somebody would say, "Hey, what, are you going to eat all those potatoes? "Pass them over here. (group chuckles) What, are you a glutton or something? (group chuckles) Give me those potatoes." (group chuckles) Well poor Sister was over there like.... (group chuckles) She couldn't' eat a thing, not a thing. So I said to her, "What's the matter, are you sick?" She said, "Well, do they always talk like that?" I said, "Like what?" (group chuckles) I didn't get it. She said, "Do they always fight at dinner?" I said, "Who's fighting? " (group chuckles) She said, "They were fighting." I said, "They're just having dinner. That's Italian." "Do they do that all the time?" I said, "Well, if you have a nice big dinner, you're sitting there for two or three hours, what are you going to do? (group chuckles) You've got to make it interesting." (group chuckles) So bad temper kind of goes with nationality and you've just got to control it. "Quarrels"--oh, do you know one of the sad things today? I talked to a psychiatrist some years ago, lived up the road from us and he said to me something I heard today. He said, "If people learn to forgive and allow themselves to be forgiven or forgive themselves, psychiatrists would be out of business." Now, isn't that interesting? Isn't it interesting that if we learn to forgive, really forgive from our hearts and allow ourselves to be forgiven by others or forgive ourself--how many of you out there listening tonight, isn't that your biggest problem? You've gone to Confession, you know God has forgiven you but you can't believe you did what you did and you don't forgive yourself. I'll tell you, you could take all the pills you want but it's not going to go away until you forgive yourself. To forgive somebody who may have offended you and has not asked for forgiveness and doesn't want to - but that's their problem. That's not your problem. That's their problem. You must forgive. I bet St. Peter and all the Apostles' mouths fell right open when Our Lord said, "You must forgive." Peter thought he was doing a big thing. He said, "Lord, shall I forgive seven times?" Oh, that's pretty good. Peter thought it was great, Our Lord said, "No 70 times seven a day." Oh, there's nobody here who has forgiven anybody 70 times seven a day. You say, "Once, twice, three times?" Well, we don't even go as high as Peter. "You got me three times. You're not going to get me again!" Isn't that what we always say? But really what's wrong with us? Why is it we have that inner vacuum, vacuum? We say, "I can't get close to the Lord." Maybe it's because we have not forgiven. Do you have to feel it has to be justified? Well, Our Dear Lord was crucified and He was a Just Man. This poor priest that was killed, where was it? Tortured and murdered. There are many priest martyrs today and bishops and religious. Why? Just because they believe in Jesus. That's a hatred, see, racial hatred, religion hatred. We just are not; we don't want to be like Jesus. We don't want to be. We're doing all of these things today, so much that it's awesome. Now, "disagreements," oh wow. I don't know anybody that doesn't disagree with somebody. Well, like my new boots, (group chuckles) I think they're great. The reason I think they're great that after 44 years not having shoes, I think they're wonderful. But some people think "Boots? Can't you find something else?" Well, I suppose I could if I looked, but I'm not looking. I think they're comfortable. You say, "Well, you don't look like a Mother Abbess with boots." (group chuckles) Well, if I put my habit on the tip of them, now you don't know what I'm wearing. (group chuckles) Right? So you don't have any ideas whether I've got slippers on or boots. So my solution is wear a longer habit and you won't know what I've got. (group laughs) Now anyway, he goes on to say, "orgies and similar things," I always wondered what the similar things were. (group chuckles) Now when he says, "The Spirit brings," now look at the difference; I want you to, I want to paint a picture for you tonight. Who is calling you? Is Lucifer calling you? That's what I just read. He called God a liar. "Well, what do you mean he called God a liar?" Well, to say to God, "You have no right to have the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity to become Man" and the Lord said, "Yes, I do." If he says, "No, You don't," then he's calling God a liar. St. John says in his gospel, "If you say you have no sin, you call God a liar." We do that today. You say, "No, we don't." Well, sure you do. You accuse the Church of judging. They're not judging. They're telling you in the Name of God that this or this or that is wrong, sinful and very dangerous for your eternal salvation. That's not judging, that's telling you the truth. That's why Our Dear Lord said to the Pharisees one day, He said, "You're like your father, who was a liar from the beginning." What was he talking about? Lucifer. Our Lord doesn't say, "this proud angel." He called him a liar because his jealousy was a lie. The Father has every right to design that His Son would become Man. He has every right, He's God. To say He doesn't is to lie. That's what jealousy does. If you have jealousy and you suffer a lot from jealousy, ask Our Lady to help you, huh. It's all a lie. You say, "This person has offended me and they have no right to be forgiven." That's a lie. They have a right to be forgiven. You have a right to be forgiven. We have to be very careful. Now, this is the difference. I have painted a very dark picture. This is the way of Lucifer who was a liar from the beginning. Now, here is the way of the Spirit. Paul says, "What the Spirit brings is very different-- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness." Do you trust everybody? You say, "Oh, I can't trust." Sometimes that's true but what is human trust? Human trust is very faulty. The trust you must have is in God. He's always there, always ready to forgive, to have compassion. Now, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. He said, "There is no law against these kind of things." Now, here's the clincher-- it says, "You cannot belong to Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires." Ooh! You want to read this? Well, just go to Chapter 5 of Galatians. I'd read from 16-26 --wake you up. It won't give you a good night's sleep but it will wake you up, because we need this. What in your life is not like God? Ask yourself that question and now we're going to go for calls. Hello. Male Caller #1: Yes, Mother. Mother: Yeah, where are you from? Caller 1: This is Michael and I'm calling from Bay City, Michigan. Mother: Good. What is your question? Caller 1: It's not Lucifer calling. Mother: (laughs) I'm very glad. Caller 1: Although my mother may take exception at this. Mother: (laughs) Okay. Caller 1: Sister, a few weeks ago you were talking about Purgatory. Mother: Yeah, a nice place. Caller 1: And you related about the three little children, you mentioned that one of their friends found out that she… Mother: Fatima. Caller 1: …has to be there until the end time. Mother: Yeah. Caller 1: And so my question is, "Is there not degrees of punishment in Purgatory?" Mother: Yes, because God is Just. That's the children of Fatima, and a lot of people knock that out of the book. But I think if Our Lady said it, we ought to read it. You've got to have the courage to read whatever it is She said. So, you ask yourself, "What could that poor kid do?" Well, I don't know. Don't ask me but whatever it was, it must have been a terrible hardness of heart, hardness of heart, something. But there will have to be degrees, degrees of Purgatory because not everybody dies with the same degree of sin. Some may not have any mortal sin at all, or maybe they've gone to Confession often and the sins are imperfections, but they're still not like the Lord. They still don't have that purity of heart and mind to be able to face God. That's what we don't understand. It takes a special grace to be able to face God. It's called "the light of glory." When you die and you're purified, only then are you able, are you capable of seeing God face-to-face because He's so Awesome, see. I think we can understand that a little bit. It's like looking at the sun. You cannot look at the sun without going blind. Your eyes were not made to look at the sun. Now, an eagle can but you cannot do that. You would have to have something very special to be able to look at the sun. Well, then it should not be hard for us to know that I need something very special before I can see God face-to-face. My human nature, my human soul has to be ready, ready, able, capable of seeing God face-to-face. That's the reason for Purgatory. So I would think there are as many degrees as there are people because everybody doesn't suffer the same-- no more than in Heaven. We're not all on the same level, see. We're in different levels because our heart, the amount of love I have at death is the amount of love I will love for all eternity. So even in Heaven, there are degrees. St. Paul has a nice way of putting it. He said, "Well, some of you put up a straw and wood and jewels and silver and gold." Well, that was his way of saying, "We're not all going to be the same in Heaven." Sorry folks, but that's the way it is, see. You're not all the same here. You don't all like the same food; you don't all like the same weather. Some people think it's terribly hot, hot here. It's only 101. If you're a Southerner, you don't mind. If you're a Northerner, oh, the air you breathe is hot. But if you're a Southerner, it's just part of your life and you take it, see. So there are degrees of everything. I don't like cold weather, I mean really cold and some of my sisters love it, you know. "Oh, it's 10 below! Wonderful!" (group chuckles) So we're not the same, Thank God. We're all different. So it is in Purgatory. We have another call. Hello. Hi. Yoo hoo. (dial tone) Are you there? You're not. You are. Does somebody know what they wanted to ask? "Hold, please." Okay, we'll hold. But, no, what? () (group chuckles) Doesn't he look funny when he says that? (group chuckles) This is a signal for a call. There is one? Thank you. (group chuckles) You're more entertaining than the little guy. (all laugh) We have another call. Hello. Female Caller #1: Hello. Mother: Hello. Where are you from? Caller: Hi, Mother, my name is Marie and I'm calling locally. I'm here from Birmingham. First of all, I'd like to tell you that your money is in the mail, as it is every single month. Mother: Thank you! Thank you, thank you. Caller: I would like to talk to you tonight about neighbors. You guys have been a great neighbor to this whole community. Mother: Thank you! Thank you. Caller: I was in a discussion with my neighbor this past Sunday and I'm a Catholic and she's a Presbyterian and we've never had any problems until we started discussing religion. She more or less told me that I was kind of stupid and a fool for believing in the Eucharist. She said I could not possibly believe that that was really the Body and Blood of Jesus. I said, "I'm sorry, I do believe that with all my heart." She proceeded to tell me after that that I was terribly wrong and I needed to be straightened out on my beliefs. I told her, I said, "Well you know, if I did not believe that this was the Body and Blood of My Lord and Savior, there would be no point to my faith." She said, "Well, there isn't any point to your faith because it's just a symbol." We ended up with a heated debate and, as you said earlier, I almost lost my 40 year-old temper. Mother: (laughs) Well, tell her if she doesn't mind reading Chapter 6 of St. John's Gospel, Our Lord is very… You see, the problem a lot of people find is they make it a symbol. But do you realize everybody listening to Jesus at that moment walked away? Now, Jesus is God, Son of God. So He was God, is God, always will be God, and He took on our human nature but He never ceased to be God. Now, as God, when you have everybody turn around and walk away--as she does or did--then you'd be obliged in justice, Jesus is obliged in justice not to allow all those people to walk away because they misunderstood. He's obliged in justice to say, "Now, wait a minute! I'm speaking symbolically." But He didn't do that. Let's see what He did. "I tell you solemnly..." Now, when the Lord says "solemnly", you better listen--"if you do not eat My Flesh, the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you." Now, He says that three times--three times! "Anyone who does eat My Flesh and drink My Blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day but he who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood"--it's repetition, over and over and over--"lives in Me and I live in him. So whoever eats Me will draw life from Me." Now, "He taught this doctrine." There's only two times in the whole Scripture where the use of "doctrine" is used. "He taught this doctrine at Capernaum in the synagogue." Our Lord would not lie. You cannot ever say Jesus lied without being satan. "After hearing this many of His followers said, 'This is intolerable language.'" Whoa, now, Your friends said that, huh? "How could anyone accept it?" Is that what she said? "And Jesus was aware that His followers were complaining about it and He said, 'Does this upset you? What if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?'" Now, you tell her to read that. He said, "There are some of you who do not believe"-- ah, you've got a friend who does not believe--"for Jesus knew from the outset who did not believe. He went on and He said, 'What about you? Do you also want to go away?'" Do you realize our Dear Lord was willing to put aside His entire 33 years, all of His ministry of three years, He was willing to lose all of His disciples? He turns around; the only ones He has left were 12 men. He's willing to put aside His entire ministry and all of His chosen ones, "Will you also go away?" And Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe You are the Holy One." Ah, do you see? Well, my friend, you go on believing, because you have the truth. Now, we have another call. Hello. Female Caller #2: Hi, Mother. Mother: And where are you from? Caller: I'm from Ports, New Hampshire. Mother: Oh, wonderful. Caller: My name is Denise. Mother: What is your question? Caller: I was calling... When you talked about forgiveness, it really bothers me that people don't know how to forgive and sometimes they judge you and believe what other people say. Then you call to say, "I'm sorry if I've hurt you or anyone else," and they can't forgive you. I don't understand what to do with people like that, because I just recently tried--I'm going to make this brief--tried to help someone and I thought I was doing what that person wanted me to do, what we had discussed. Mother: Yeah, well... Caller: And it turned into something horrible. Mother: Well, if you've asked for forgiveness and they refuse to forgive, then you have nothing else you can do. Our Lord said we should go back three times. Well, sometimes even after three times, you get someone else to go for you, you go back again. After that, you have to drop it and just leave it to the Lord. The important thing is that you forgive--you forgive their non-acceptance of forgiveness, of repentance. There's just nothing you can do. I would just go my way and pray for them. Misunderstandings are difficult things because both sides think they're right. That's what causes a feud, a feud. Many times there's no reason for it. They go on from generation to generation and nobody just sits down and investigates, "Now, what is this all about?" I remember one time in our order, we used to say a very long psalm at night and finally I thought to myself, "I wonder why we say this?" And I kind of went back and back and back and back and found out that at a certain time in one monastery, they had an orchard and a very high wall and some of the kids were coming over and stealing apples. The Mother Abbess was very concerned that they'd fall off the wall and kill themselves see. So she started saying this long prayer at night. It was supposed to be for nine days. In the middle of it she dies, and we said it for 50 years I think, (group chuckles) and it just went on and on. Well, that's how sometimes people don't forgive, it just goes on. It goes on from one generation to the next and if you asked the sixth or seventh generations, "Why are you so angry with this family," they don't have the slightest idea. "Well, why are you doing this?" They don't know. Racial prejudice is like that. Religious prejudice is that way, religious hatred. We don't know why. We live in it, we're trained to do that and we don't know why. So you've done your best. You have asked forgiveness, you've given forgiveness. I would leave it to the Lord now because sometimes the more you go and the more you do towards that, the worst it is. So I would drop it. There are many things in life we just can't explain. There are many things people say. If I saw or read things about me personally that other people read, I wouldn't like me either. I wouldn't because they're terrible things, stuff I never thought of doing-- some stuff not too bad, (all chuckle) but so far, I haven't thought of it. But you can't, you can't believe what you read. Did you ever have an article written about you? I have to admit, here in Birmingham and Hanceville and Cullman, there are really good articles. But most of the stuff written about me is so far-fetched that I don't recognize me. My sisters said, "Who's that?" (group chuckles) It's like the woman who called one day, she said, "Is it true?" I said, "What?" "That Mother died this morning." I said, "I don't think so." "Are you sure?" I said, "Yeah." "Well, how do you know?" I said, "I'm talking to you." (group chuckles) Rumors, rumors, rumors-- you just wonder how people make up stuff. So take everything you hear with a grain of salt--and a third of what you read. Neighbors are different because you can't convince them sometimes that you didn't do what they think you did or you didn't mean it. If you've asked forgiveness, just remember God forgives quickly and forgets. Your neighbor isn't always that way. He doesn't even believe in forgiveness seven times a day, let alone 70 times seven. It's only important to know, really, what God does. You can be sure that when you go to Confession, it's gone. That to me is awesome, awesome! If you ask the Lord that very moment what you did, He would say, "I don't remember." I mean, that's how awesomely beautiful is the compassion of Jesus and the Father. That's what's important. Sometimes your neighbor doesn't understand that. Well then, just pray for them, have no anger in your heart and know nothing malicious. This was so wonderful about Padre Pio. Terrible things were said about him, terrible things and some of the Popes believed it and silenced him and really he suffered a lot. But that was part of his sanctification and he is now ready to be beatified. I really do want you to have this little card. You just write to me and ask for the card on Padre Pio and I'll send it to you free. (all chuckle) It's terrible to have this reputation. (group chuckles) This is one reputation that that's the absolutely factually true. (group chuckles) That when I offer anything free, I have some other thing behind it--your gift, you're right. But then, I've got to keep this place going. Gas companies and electric companies and telephone companies are not donors. Surprisingly (group chuckles) they are not donors. You pay them--they don't pay you. That's why I need you, just to keep everything going. Now, the Lord is blessing us in such an awesome way. We're going further and further into jungles where the Word of God has never been, into desert where the Word of God has never been. And even if no one listens, the very sand, the very ground, the very trees will benefit from hearing the Word of God sent by you. There is no other. So, God bless you and tomorrow night we'll be together again, hopefully with something a little bit more cheery. In the meantime, God loves you and so do I. 'Bye now. (applause) [music]
