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to be great saints.</i> <i>Don't miss the opportunity!</i> (applause) Mother: Well, it seems to be ages since we've been together. It dawned on me that some of us don't understand that we have a very human life by our Baptism, by our Confirmation--we're in the year now of the Holy Spirit. We have to, as Catholics, as Christians, live a supernatural life. So I would just like you tonight before your phone calls are to take with you tonight difficult parables. We can't take all of them but there are a few that we don't understand. Well, let's look at a couple here. I think I've got them marked right. One is the parable of the laborers. Now, see, the reason I'm bringing these up is because we have to think the way God thinks. If I hate my brother, that's not how God thinks. If you lie or cheat, that's now how God is. If you have a hot temper, if you're proud, arrogant, if you find it hard to forgive and forget--that's not like God. What does that mean? It means you're not acting like God. It's foolish to think that you're going to die and pop right into Heaven when you hate half the people there. Your mother-in-law you still hate--"May she rest in peace," but you hope she doesn't. All these people you don't even like, when you're under the impression that death suddenly takes all that away and bang, there you are enjoying the awesome holiness of God. Psst! Down. What does it mean? You've got to be purified. Most of us live rather imperfect lives. Why? Because we don't think like God, not that we have to think infinite thoughts. We're not. We're finite. The best of us, well, we don't measure up to God but we need to make the effort. I'm going to go through some of these parables, a couple you'll understand. I think this one you're going to say, "Yeah, I don't like that one." That's why I'm taking it because you don't like it. But you have to understand this is how God thinks. So many of you have hatred for people and it's for years over some silly, silly thing, silly thing. It's been a long time since I've said this and some of you have heard it and many of you have not. I think one of the silly things that happened I want to share with you. A woman came to me one time and she said to pray for her two daughters because they hadn't spoken to each other for two years. How do you like that, huh? Hadn't spoken to each other for two years. You say, "Wow! Something terrible must have happened". I said, "Well, what happened?" She said, "Well, my mother was very wealthy and she died. She left half to one and the other half to the other." "What's wrong with that," I said, "and why haven't they spoken? They got half and half." She said, "Well, they're arguing over a commode." (group chuckles) I said, "A what?" She said, "They're arguing over a commode." I said, "You mean a <i>commode</i> commode?" She says, "Yeah, a <i>commode</i> commode." She said, "You don't understand." I said, "No, I don't." (group chuckles) She said, "It's an inlaid commode." "Oh wow! "An inlaid commode. I mean, that has to be kind of special." She said, "But one thought she should have it, the other thought she should have it." I said, "You go and tell them Mother Angelica said they should take turns putting their heads in it." (audience laughs) Can you imagine going to Hell and somebody comes up to you and says, "What are you in for?" (audience laughs) And you say, "Well, I got in here over a commode." (audience laughs) Now you see, hatred is a terrible thing. When we do not act like God, when we don't act like God, you can't be happy, number 1; and number 2, we're miserable; and number 3, we run great risks. Obviously we're not growing in holiness, we're not growing in goodness, we're not growing in love or joy or compassion or selflessness--all of these beautiful virtues that Our Lord died for that we would have grace to practice. This just flitters out the window. So this parable I think is one we don't understand. Why? Many of you who have not been to confession for years, I'll make a bet it's on nothing. You're ashamed. There's nothing you can tell a priest he hasn't heard before. You don't want him to know who you are. Go to another city, go to another state! Who's going to know who you are? God knows who you are. So all of these things that we're so afraid of-- people's opinions. That doesn't mean anything. Do you know what Our Lord said about other people's opinions? "The opinion of men means nothing to Me." I always wondered how the liberals are going to interpret that inclusive language. They wouldn't dare say that the opinion of women mean anything to me. It must be the opinions of people. Whatever it is, opinion meant nothing to Him. Why? Because we vacillate, we operate from a lack of knowledge, a lack of understanding and many times, a lack of love. Now, here's a parable. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven," now we're talking about going to Heaven, right? "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers. He made an agreement with the workers for one denari a day," okay. Is that a lot of money? Well, it wasn't then but it was, according to how they lived. So, and "He sent them to His vineyard. Well, going out about the third hour, he saw others standing around, didn't have a job." Now, you can go to any city today, in certain sections of the city, there are people just standing there, especially construction people. When we built this monastery, we went to those places and got a truck and filled the truck up with these men and they dug ditches, they poured concrete--they didn't have any job. So this man is going around and he sees some more standing there and he says, "Look, you go in My vineyards, I'll give you a fair wage." Now, that is a problem, isn't it? Because in our human mind, we would reason, well, he told the first ones that he's going to give them a denari and they said, "Ooh, wow!" But these people, He didn't say that to. He just said, "A fair wage." Now, I would have thought if I started half a day, I'd get half a denari, but if I'm hungry, I'll take it. That's how these men felt. So he went about the sixth hour and again the ninth hour, he did the same." So now, early dawn, the third hour, the sixth hour and the ninth hour. I mean, way getting towards dark. Now, at the eleventh hour, he went out and he found more men standing around," oh, "and he said, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' "And they said, 'Because no one hired us.'" "He said, 'Well, you go into My vineyard.'" Now, he didn't even tell them what they were going to get. He didn't say a fair wage. He didn't say anything. But say it would be a half of a half of a denari, it's better than nothing. These men were humble. Today you couldn't say that. They would say, "Well, now, look here, wait a minute! "What am I going to get? Do I have a coffee break?" At the eleventhth hour you want a coffee break? "Do you have a 10 minute rest?" We ask all these kinds of questions because we are not so interested in the work as we are the benefits. Aren't we interested in benefits? Well, now, here comes the difference between God and you and I. He said, "Call the workers and pay their wages, now starting with the last." Okay, they worked maybe an hour. What's an hour? He gave them one denari. They worked one hour. I hear what you're saying, "Unfair! Unfair! Unfair! Unjust!" Now, when the first came, they expected more. They said, "Oh wow, they got a denari, I'll bet we get five." They grumbled at the landowner. Now, remember, the landowner is Jesus. They said, "The men who came last have done only one hour and you treated them the same as us, though they have not done a heavy day's work in all this heat. " I'll bet you there's not one in this room who wouldn't think the same. You don't want to say it but I'll make a bet, you'd think the same. "He said to them, 'My friend, I am not being unjust to you. 'Did you not agree to one denari? 'Take your earnings and go. 'I choose to pay the latecomer as much as I pay you.'" Oh, labor unions wouldn't be very happy with that, would they? Wouldn't they raise a fuss? He said, "Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious, jealous because I'm generous?" Now, what is the real story with this parable? We'll say, for example, a child dies at 6 years old, goes straight to Heaven. Wonderful. Somebody else dies at age 85, goes to Purgatory and then goes to Heaven. Isn't that a similar thing? You say, "Hey, wait a minute, by golly, I got the same degree of glory as this kid." But that's what the Lord says, you see? The sinner can go to Heaven --maybe not straight to Heaven, they have to be purified--but the greatest sinner can go to Heaven and the most innocent child goes to Heaven. There's not a high Heaven and a low Heaven. There is Heaven. They have greater degrees or lesser degrees of holiness but they're in Heaven. They both got the denari. The one had to live till they were 85 and the other 6, but they both went to Heaven, you see? God's mercy follows us, follows us everywhere in our lives. You say, "Well, this child didn't do anything. "They didn't have a temptation, didn't have all the problems, didn't have to make a living, didn't have to worry about gas, electric, telephone. "They didn't have to do anything, and that child's in Heaven?" Yes. "And this 85 year old woman is in Heaven?" Yes. Degrees of glory are different. One suffered more perhaps and maybe that 85 year older just bucked the Lord so long and maybe she got the same degree of glory as the 6 year old because we don't use the opportunities God gives us to be holy. Like this parable, we don't think like God. We don't think like God. That's the beauty of, of our religious life but that's also the beauty of your daily life. Now, we're going to take something that most people understand, another parable here, about the unforgiving debtor. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants and when reckoning began, there was a man who owed him 10,000 talents." Do you know how much that is? Let's see, what's it say here, $9 million! You can't even count that many zeros. Nine! Can you imagine carrying that load around you all day long? "I owe the master $9 million." "But he had no means to pay." You wonder what he did with it, don't you? He must have lived it up. "The master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all of his possessions to meet the debt. "At this, the servant threw himself down at his master's feet and he begged him, 'Oh, give me time!'" How many people who give loans say that? They hear that every day, "Give me time, give me time." "'…and I will pay you the whole sum.'" Well, the master felt sorry for him and he let him go, and what did he do? He canceled the debt. Oh! Can you imagine your joy if you owed somebody $9 million and he felt so sorry for you and he said, "Ah, forget it." Oh, (chuckles) I'd drop dead right there. (group chuckles) "Now, the servant…" Now, we're going to see how God thinks so different than we do. "The servant went out and he saw somebody that owed him 100 denarii." Do you know how much that is? $15, 15 miserable dollars. Here's someone who owes 9 million. Here's somebody who owes $15. Oh! Nine million to $15. Nothing, absolute nothing and what does he do, though. Well, he said, "Pay what you owe me." And his fellow servant, now, you see, this is a fellow servant. Here we have the master forgiving the debt of a servant. Now, we have a servant owing another servant. And he says, "'Pay what you owe.' "And he says, 'Give me time and I will pay you,' but he would not agree. "He had him thrown into prison until he paid the debt. "His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what happened. "They went to their master and reported this affair and the master said, 'You wicked servant, I canceled your debt and you appealed to me. "'Were you not bound then to have pity on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'" Oh, now do you see the point? When you offend God, that's a pretty big thing. So if you have been forgiven unbelievable sins-- hidden sins… You think nobody knows. I bet they do. That backyard fence holds many a story and the telephone sizzles all day long. In this day of communication, my friends, you can't hide a thing. If their neighbor doesn't know it, your face shows it. That's pretty clever, isn't it? If your neighbor doesn't know it, your face shows it. Thank You, Lord. Because, did you ever look at yourself in the mirror after you've been on a drunk? Are you telling me that you can go downtown and nobody knows? Wow! You look dissipated, you've got bags under your eyes, you can hardly see, you're still walking like this, somebody asks a question, you have no idea what he said and you have no idea how to answer. You're in a fog. Are you kidding? Nobody knows? Oh, yeah. They may not say anything but they know. And what's it say here? "Now he said in his anger, the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay his debt." That reminds you of Purgatory, doesn't it, handing you over to the torturers until you pay your debt? And now here's the clincher. You know every parable has a clincher, "…and this is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you, unless you forgive your brother," how? "From your heart, from your heart." If you demand from your brother and that demand gets bigger and bigger and greater and greater, well, I can guarantee the Lord will treat you the same way. So we wonder sometimes why it is. That parable is difficult for us, many times, because we've got the same problem. We do have the same. You tell me somebody that maybe did something to you 20 years ago and in your heart you haven't forgiven yet. But see, because we don't think of God, because we don't understand, that I have to be, before I get to Heaven, I have to be like my Father in Heaven. I have to think like He thinks. I have to be like this master who forgave generously, most generously and that's what sin does. Sin divorces us from God until we pay. We have to pay. Some people pay for it everlasting punishment because they will not ask forgiveness and some people pay in Purgatory because they never use this life to cleanse their souls. I look upon every difficulty --I try, I don't say I always make it--but I try to make every difficulty an opportunity. Some difficulties make you humble; some make you forgive, which is pleasing to God. Our Dear Lord Himself said on the cross, "Father, forgive them. They don't what they do." Have you ever said that to your neighbor when you forgave them? So we have to understand that when our Dear Lord forgave, He forgave a lot more than you're ever asked to forgive. One sin. Oh! One mortal sin. What would have happen if some of you who are not converted and living good holy lives, what would have happened to you if Our Lord took you in a state of grievous sin? Do you know where you' be? () I saw a Geographic thing we got for Christmas, a National Geographical hour program on volcanoes. I tell you, all this fire just came out of that mountain from way down, poured out, red fire. Well, that gave us all a good idea. You say, "Oh Mother, for goodness sake, you're pre-Vatican." (heavy sigh) Look, sweetheart, Hell is Hell for you in the past and all you pre-Vatican people and all you pro-Vatican people, all you people before Vatican II and all you people after Vatican II, if you don't shape up, down you go. Now, you may not believe it but I'd hate to have you find out by going there. You've got to face reality. There is a Heaven. There is a judgment. There is a Hell. There's a Purgatory. There's a Particular Judgment when we die. There's a General Judgment at the end of the world. Now, that judgment doesn't change your status, it just tells everybody why you went where you went or how you got there. "Unfair! Unfair!" (chuckles) Listen, all of us are going to be lucky we got there. Why? Because all of us did or do things that are not right and our Dear Lord one day had about enough from all of these people and what did He do? Well, you look at St. John's Gospel and He went to the temple and He found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons. Well, what's wrong with that? You had to have these animals to make sacrifices. And people came from all over parts of the east, the world, whatever was known at that time and they had to, they had to exchange money like you do in an airport. So there they were selling cattle, sheep, pigeons--and moneychangers sitting there. What did Jesus do? "He made a whip out of cord." Do you know how long it took to make that whip? It wasn't string. It must have taken at least a few hours to make that whip. And what happened? "He drove all of them"--He took a whip and boy He started, pow!--"and He drove them out of the temple, the cattle, the sheep, He scattered all the money, the moneychangers' coins, He knocked over their tables and He said to the pigeons, "I have mercy on the pigeons." He said, "Take all this out of here. Stop turning My Father's House into a market." Then His disciples remembered what the Father said in Scripture, "Zeal for Your House has devoured me." Now, some of us have gone and chosen the wrong path. Sometimes it's our fault, sometimes it's not our fault. Whatever it is, I ask you now, the beginning of a new year, not only to repent and go to Confession but to determine you're not only going to live a good life, you're going to live a holy life, a holy life. You're going to try and think about Jesus, you're going to try, and when the opportunity comes to forgive, forgive readily, when the opportunity to show compassion to your neighbor. Do it for Jesus. Do it like Jesus. When the opportunity comes in the darkness of faith, we don't see the end of the tunnel. Put your trust in Jesus. Say, "Jesus, I don't see the end of this tunnel but I trust in You. I trust in You." All of these things that happen to all of us all day long are only opportunities from God to purify us, purify us. We don't know the time when God will call us. We have to be ready every moment and if we've goofed up a little bit, we've got to, boom, say we're sorry, repent, go to Confession and start all over again. Then when we meet the Lord, He will say to us, "You have done well. Enter into My Kingdom." It's like the brides. Ten were very, very fervent and had oil in their lamp and they had a little extra oil. Here were ten that didn't-- they had oil in their lamps but no extra oil. Here the bridegroom is coming and those who had just the oil in their lamp all went out. They said, "Give me some of your oil," and they said, "Hey, we can't, lest we too run out." Now, the first thought in your mind is, "They're uncharitable. Why didn't they share?" Right? I know what you're thinking. I thought the same thing. But see, when we die, my friends, when the Bridegroom calls you and me, there's no more time to get oil. You've had five years, 10 years, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80. You've got to repent. You've got to go ahead of time and put oil in that lamp. So I hope I have you a little sample. Sometimes the parables in the scriptures we don't understand. But they're all given to us by the Lord to make us understand in our daily lives some things seem unfair but God permits them for me to grow in holiness. We have a call. Hello. Male Caller #1: Hi Mother. How are you? Mother: Great. Where are you from? Caller: I'm from the Scranton area. Mother: Wonderful. What is your question? Caller: You were talking about, you were talking about hatred at the beginning of your program... Mother: Yeah, yeah. Caller: And, well, I have a situation that I work with a fellow at work that's not a very good situation at all. There's a lot of hate between both of us. I've tried to rectify the situation. I've tried to go up to him and apologize to him but he's not the type of person that accepts apologies. He's sort of cold-hearted. I pray a lot and I keep him in my prayers every morning. I ask God to help the both of us, try to help us to rectify the situation but he still has, doesn't want anything to do with it. Mother: Do you work together or just the same...? Caller: We work together. We work in the same department. We work in an industrial plant. Mother: Yeah. Caller: And we do work in the same department and it's not a good situation at all. At times, I feel that it may even become physical, you know. So it's not good at all. Mother: Why don't you get another job? Are you there? Caller: I've been there almost 28 years. Mother: You've been there 28 years? Can you go to another department? Caller: Yeah, I could. I could. That could be something I could do. Mother: Oh, you need to. You, see, the fact that you're praying, though, and the fact that you've tried-- you've tried to ask for forgiveness, or you received, you've told him you're sorry, now your duty is done. Now, you may have this hatred in your heart, but see, this is where you need to go to Jesus and look at your Scriptures. How did Jesus act when they did so much unfair, hateful, mean things to Him? He forgave. In fact, He even excused. I would suggest--and when you say it could be physical, that's a very serious kind of hatred--you cannot go to bed with that on your heart. You need to go to the company and say, "I would like a change. "This man and I cannot get along, I'm afraid something very terrible is going to happen one day, and I'll take a job, even if it's lower pay. I just have to get away to save my soul." You need to do that. Keep praying for the man and give that hatred, say, "Jesus, take away this hatred." But see, you're keeping yourself in a position that you can't handle. That's not the right thing to do. That's like an alcoholic going to cocktail parties every night. Well, what do you expect, for goodness sakes? He may not drink the first two or three nights but I'll make a bet by Sunday night, he's crocked. So you put yourself in a very bad position that you could get out of. Please, go to another department. Have peace of mind in your heart, don't allow that person to occupy your mind from morning till night, and then go to Confession. We have another call. Hello. Female Caller #1: Hello, Mother. How are you? Mother: Oh, fine. Where are you from? Caller: I'm from Cleveland, Ohio. Mother: Wonderful. My home state. and what can I do for you? Caller: You're talking about difficult parables in the Bible. Mother: Yeah. Caller: In two of the Gospels there's the story where Jesus walks past the fig tree and we're told that the fig tree is not in season. Mother: Right. Caller: He's hungry and wants some figs and since there are no figs, He curses the tree and it dies. Mother: Yeah, the next day. Caller: And that's difficult for me to understand. Mother: Yeah, okay. It was difficult for the Apostles, if you remember. The next day they went over and that tree was bruup! Was a shrub. They said, "Master, look at the tree You cursed." Now, what did that parable mean? That parable meant that we must bear fruit in season and out of season. There's no excuse. The grace--we used to call it actual grace. It's still actual grace. This man who just called, you see, he has to bear fruit out of season. He hates this guy and the guy hates him but he's got to bear fruit. He's got to forgive, forgive, forgive and pray for him to get out of that situation. A lot of people today--and I'm not saying some people are right--but we blame our relatives and our families. "Oh, I had a terrible childhood." Well, what does that mean, you had a terrible childhood? But they use that experience to excuse their hot temper, their hatred. That is past. It's gone. You're an adult now. You've got your own mind, your own family, your own way. You cannot hold this crutch, "Somebody made me do this." Oh, come on! You've got a will and you made yourself do that. When our Dear Lord cursed that, He did it for a reason. He wanted us to understand. "Oh, I got a headache." "Why are you so grouchy?" "I've got a headache." That's an excuse to be grouchy? Take some Tylenol or something. "Why are you so irritable?" "I'm fasting today." Well, go eat a hot dog. (group chuckles) If fasting makes you irritable, go and eat. Who wants to live with you? "Oh my father is not bearable." "Why?" "He stopped smoking." If you're stupid enough to smoke, it's better--and I'm going to say nobody's going to like--go take a smoke, get cancer in your lungs and then maybe you'll calm down. See, we do, we do senseless things. Some people are in a situation--and I know, I was one of them--misfortune is a part of their life. (heavy sigh) That is not an excuse. You're out of season, you don't feel good but you still have to be loving and kind. Somebody is terribly unjust to you, you can't be unjust to someone else. In season and out of season means whether I feel consoled by God or I feel abandoned by God, I am still called to what? Bear fruit. I am still called to bear fruit. If it's a cross, I must bear it patiently. If it's a joy, I must be grateful. If someone does me a grave injustice, then I have to bear that, too. God's Will must be my life, your life. So, what Our Lord is saying, He bore fruit in season-- healing the sick and the blind--and He bore fruit out of season--hanging on the cross. What did He do? He forgave and excused them --in season and out of season. We have another call. Hello. Female Caller #2: Hi. Mother: Hi, where are you from? Caller: New Jersey. Mother: And what can I do for you? Caller: I have a 15 year old son who's giving me a lot of trouble. He won't go to church, he won't go to Confession. I would just like to know how to deal with him. I'm a single mom and I'm going through a pretty nasty divorce. Mother: Well, I know what that is. Many times our children are not taught right in school and maybe they're not even taught right in their Catechism. They don't know Jesus loves them. They don't understand sin. He may be angry because of the divorce. You must bear fruit now-- not only the trauma, the trauma of a divorce but the trauma of a son who's not doing what he should. That's a double-header, you know? That's a real heavy cross for you. Before God it's important that you bear with him, that you love him, that you give him good example, that you advise him, tell him where he's wrong. The worst thing in the world is not to correct your children. Correct him, but lovingly and with that knowledge, he may not hear you. Not nagging, just every so often, "Son, you're going to get in trouble doing this. You're going to have to love your father no matter what." You concentrate on being the one example. Even if he doesn't listen now, one day he will remember. If you pray with all your heart and trust in the Lord-- your son needs grace, he needs light. You can't give him those things, only God can give it to him. Pray to Our Lady. I feel that you'll get an answer to your prayers, maybe sooner than you think. Just don't lose heart. It's a, it's a hard thing, no question. You have to be a child of divorced parents to understand. I understand. So, you be the example. Give him to Jesus and go before the Blessed Sacrament sometimes and say, "Lord, I'm helpless. "I don't know what to do. I give You my son." From then on, be sure you're THE example and we'll pray for you. The sisters and I will pray for you. We have another call. Hello. Female Caller #3: Hello, Mother Angelica. Mother: Hello, where are you from? Caller: I'm calling from Rhode Island. Mother: And what is your question? Caller: Well, I'll just sum it up real quick. Seven years ago I was the victim of a violent crime, just weeks prior to my preparing to spending time with a religious congregation of sisters. The crime was so heinous that I abandoned the Lord and the Church for many years. But I thank God I recently came back. Mother: Thank You, Jesus. Caller: And I did it all the right way. I watched your program faithfully and not only watching you but I listened and I acted upon all your advice and I went to Confession regularly, I sought a spiritual director. I'm now preparing to go and spend a weekend with the sisters who I was supposed to go with seven years ago. Mother: Wonderful. Caller: And praise God, despite the fact I still have a disability from my injuries and it's not really their policy, they told me that they're still interested in meeting with me, and they love me and they want me to come and see. That's what I am preparing to do. So I'm just wondering if you could give me any advice on different things that I should do the rest of this week to prepare for this weekend. Mother: I would just pray, honey, have joy in your heart. You've come Home. The most wonderful gift in the world is to come Home. God is Your Home. the Lord is Your Home. Heaven is your real home. This is our testing ground, that's what it is. We were created by God to be with God and it's so important that I say "yes" to God in everything. I think you should be prepared to, to look at this as a new opportunity, as a new opportunity, as a new life hoping. We will pray that they accept you and that you can live religious life. But go in with a purpose to always accept and to accomplish the awesome Will of God. Let Him guide and He will guide you, He will guide you. Thank Him that you were able to forgive and forget this person who injured you so badly and be happy again. That's a great grace from God. People take years and years and years and years to forgive something that bad that injures you. So I would just prepare by seeing, just enjoy the fact that you're going to have this weekend. Say, "Jesus, give me all I need, all I need to accept this way of life and to live it well." And I know our Dear Lord will bless you. He's already blessed you. We have another call. Hello. Caller #5: Mother? Mother: Hey. Caller #5: How are you tonight? Mother: Where are you from, dear? Caller #5: I'm from Brooklyn, New York. Mother: Uh-huh. Caller #5: God bless you. I enjoy your show, for the brief times that I have begun to see it, I enjoy it very much. Mother: Thank you. Caller: You're welcome. Mother, answer my question. I'm the youngest of four children. I'm not a kid, I'm 44, but I'm still a kid at heart. Mother: Yeah. Caller: But the question I have is that I haven't spoken to my brother in about 15 years and it was kind of a family breakup when my father had passed away. He had a big business. Not to sound like the righteous one, because we all have sin, but I'm kind of the kind of guy who discovered Christ at a very young age, as soon as I could reason, I guess. I've always forgiven very easily and I forgive in a second, anybody and anything --just about. But with my family, the problem with my brother is that money got in the way. And if I may say this, which is a little harsh, but it's a reality in this world that we're living in that I've learned, is that the evil one, who is in each one of us; and it's just a matter of who we decided to to, to rule with or to go with constantly, which is an everyday battle for all people, he basically is, the greed has overwhelmed him, with money. So we haven't really spoken and I wanted to make the first move to contact him, maybe send him a letter or call him. Mother: Does, does he live near you? Caller: No, he lives, not far away. About an hour away, I would say, by drive. Mother: And he has a lot of money, is that what you're saying? Caller: Yeah, well, that was the thing. It was really over money. Greed grabbed him. Mother: Yeah. Caller: And he felt I was kind of a threat because it was a business altogether. I just went off on my own and did my own thing. Mother: Yeah. Caller: And we have families 15 years later. We both have our own different worlds, but I can't see leaving this world without making the attempt to… Mother: Well, what I, you know what I would… Caller: To lay the sword down. Mother: Yeah, what I would do is write him a real nice letter and just say, "We haven't spoken all this time, and I just don't think it's good for us. "I don't think it's pleasing to the Lord. "I just want you to know that I would like to forgive and forget and I pray that you also forgive and forget. "I just wonder if you could come over and see us sometime or maybe me and the family could come over and see you. It's been so many years." Now, after that, you're right with God. You've made that attempt. Now, what if he doesn't answer at all? Well, that's okay. It's okay for you; it's not okay for him. If he writes and tells you, hey, get out of his life, well then, pray and say a prayer for him right away. Say, "Dear Jesus, I tried, but he's not ready. "Because he's not ready, I don't know what else to do." (coughs) I've done pretty good so far, haven't we? I need some more water, please. Anyway, if he doesn't accept your forgiveness, then say a prayer for him immediately. Here, they know I need water, I wouldn't worry about it. (group chuckles) Thank you. People have to go under cameras and go like this every time I need water, see but they don't want you to know I'm getting water. (group chuckles) And it is water! But it's okay. You wouldn't want it to be okay, but you should be at peace after that, just be at peace. If he says, "Hey, I've been waiting for a letter. I've thought of it myself but I didn't have the guts," now, that could be wonderful. Go on like nothing happened. Give each other a big hug and bring your family there and have a good time. One of these things for sure is going to happen. Be ready to accept anything. If it's negative, say, "Jesus, forgive him," and, well, you're okay with God. So, thank you. I want to thank all of you this evening for being so generous. I do appreciate it. We're going to have a big direct television in Europe in another couple of weeks where we will reach thousands and thousands of people. This was a big grace from the Lord and I shall thank Him forever. Your help and your, your encouragement and your funds, your donations have helped. You have built this for Jesus and Jesus is going to bless every one of you. All of you that give every month, please, keep at it because I feel time is getting short. Oh, I don't mean the world's going to fall apart. It's already falling apart. (laughs) I mean, it's going down fast. I just feel Our Dear Lord who loves us so much is going to do something. It doesn't have to be drastic; the world doesn't have to come to an end. God can do what He wants, when He wants and how He wants. But thank you and keep it up. It takes a lot to go around the whole world 24 hours a day. But this is the greatest evangelistic tool that I think God has ever given us. We can reach people in jungles, in deserts, on mountain tops, in crowded cities, in apartments, in hospitals, on navy ships and army forts. And we can reach people that live in caves yet, that we can reach the whole world and say, "Jesus is Lord and He loves you." What a gift God has given us. So please be generous, continue to be generous because together we shall present the world to Jesus and say, "Lord, here it is." God bless you! (applause) [music]
