WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:05.860 I want to share a letter with you. And then you 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:09.400 and I are going to have a good heart -to -heart 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:15.539 talk about something that's close to my own heart. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:21.100 The letter begins, Dear Catherine, I'm going 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:24.800 to have a heart -to -heart talk with you. And 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:30.859 the word you is underlined. I am a Roman Catholic 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:34.899 and a born -again Christian. I have attended 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:38.039 your services at the shrine since last December. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:42.780 All this time I have wondered what the Catholic 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:46.380 Church would say about my attending your services, 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:51.920 but I have kept it locked up in my heart as my 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:55.500 heart told me it was all right for me to go. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:01.560 Then last Sunday, my prayers were answered. When 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.819 you had the Catholic priest go on stage, I kept 00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:09.659 my eye on him. And after the services, I asked 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:12.620 him what he thought of you. And he said that 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:16.099 you were spirit -filled and that you had never 00:01:16.099 --> 00:01:19.640 said anything against the Catholic Church. I 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.739 asked him if it was okay to come and bring Catholics 00:01:23.739 --> 00:01:30.609 to your services. And he said, yes. The tears 00:01:30.609 --> 00:01:34.209 flowed for quite a while after that. I was so 00:01:34.209 --> 00:01:40.870 happy that I just couldn't stop crying. I thank 00:01:40.870 --> 00:01:44.930 God that he made you, Catherine Cooman. Oh, you'll 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:47.269 never know how many hearts are empty, how many 00:01:47.269 --> 00:01:51.390 hearts are hungry, and how they are filled with 00:01:51.390 --> 00:01:55.590 the spirit by going to your services. I'm writing 00:01:55.590 --> 00:01:59.370 this letter because I want you to know the importance 00:01:59.370 --> 00:02:04.310 of not saying anything against any religion. 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:08.150 I think preachers turn many people away when 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:12.129 they start ranting and raving about how such 00:02:12.129 --> 00:02:16.550 and such a religion and the wrong things that 00:02:16.550 --> 00:02:21.409 this or that religion is doing. People just tune 00:02:21.409 --> 00:02:24.530 them out, and that's the end of it. any good 00:02:24.530 --> 00:02:30.229 the preacher could have done. As a last comment, 00:02:30.629 --> 00:02:34.590 I would like to tell you that I stood about two 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.530 seats behind the Catholic priest in the Shrine 00:02:37.530 --> 00:02:40.849 Auditorium, and I saw the wonder in his eyes 00:02:40.849 --> 00:02:45.909 as teenager after teenager went on stage for 00:02:45.909 --> 00:02:49.349 the altar call. And then when I talked to him, 00:02:49.509 --> 00:02:54.770 it seemed like two light bulbs. were lit within 00:02:54.770 --> 00:03:01.770 his eyeballs. He was absolutely aglow with the 00:03:01.770 --> 00:03:05.610 love of God. Thank you, Catherine, a million 00:03:05.610 --> 00:03:09.449 thanks, and we will give all the praise to God. 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:13.710 May he bless you and protect you and keep you 00:03:13.710 --> 00:03:17.449 from all harm. With a heart filled with love, 00:03:17.509 --> 00:03:20.969 I am, and in the writer of the letter that I 00:03:20.969 --> 00:03:25.810 have just read, signs her full name, gives her 00:03:25.810 --> 00:03:30.289 full address, which I shall keep in confidence. 00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:39.389 I learned my lesson a long time ago, and I had 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:45.889 an experience I shall never forget. I think of 00:03:45.889 --> 00:03:50.469 it over and over again, and it was those last 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:56.729 days. When Mama was in the hospital in Kansas 00:03:56.729 --> 00:04:01.969 City, Missouri, just before she went home to 00:04:01.969 --> 00:04:05.770 glory, it was the Catholic Hospital in Kansas 00:04:05.770 --> 00:04:16.550 City, a very fine hospital. The head nurse on 00:04:16.550 --> 00:04:21.889 the floor where Mama was a patient was a lovely 00:04:21.889 --> 00:04:30.490 thing. I can see her now in her spotless white 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:38.709 dress, robes, uniform, whatever you desire to 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:45.350 call it. She was about my age. Her coloring was 00:04:45.350 --> 00:04:51.329 about the same as mine. And when I would go to 00:04:51.329 --> 00:04:54.350 the hospital early every morning to see Mama, 00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:01.459 She was always on duty. And I don't know whether 00:05:01.459 --> 00:05:05.139 Mama ever knew it or not, but I never went to 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:09.279 see Mama. Never in my life. Whether it was at 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:15.879 home, in Concordia, Missouri, wherever it was, 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:23.180 I always dressed up. I always wore my best clothes. 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:31.050 I always wore a hat because I was my mama's daughter 00:05:31.050 --> 00:05:37.370 and I wanted her to be proud of me. And so when 00:05:37.370 --> 00:05:41.569 I would go to the hospital, I would always wear 00:05:41.569 --> 00:05:46.389 a hat. It was summer and I liked big hats with 00:05:46.389 --> 00:05:51.629 lots of flowers on them. And I knew mama would 00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:56.689 appreciate it. I wanted her to be proud of me. 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:04.170 In those days, I think I spent more time getting 00:06:04.170 --> 00:06:08.829 dressed up just for Mama than any other time 00:06:08.829 --> 00:06:11.490 in my life. And when I would come to the hospital, 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:16.730 this lovely Catholic sister would say to me, 00:06:16.810 --> 00:06:21.949 Good morning, and here comes the lady with the 00:06:21.949 --> 00:06:26.639 beautiful hat. And then she would stand there 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:34.540 and smile, look at my hat. She appreciated the 00:06:34.540 --> 00:06:37.740 beauty of the hat. But it was more than that. 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.680 I think we both were appreciating each other. 00:06:44.259 --> 00:06:49.639 She could feel my love for her, and without saying 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:56.329 a word, she sensed what... I sensed. And each 00:06:56.329 --> 00:07:02.769 morning, I could see myself in her uniform. And 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:06.750 I would say, if I had been brought up a Catholic, 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:12.350 if Mama and Papa were Catholics, I probably would 00:07:12.350 --> 00:07:17.389 be doing what she was doing. Had I been brought 00:07:17.389 --> 00:07:21.800 up a Catholic in Concordia, Missouri, Because 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:26.459 of my love for souls, my love for humanity, my 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:31.480 love for the Lord, wanting to be in service for 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:38.120 Him, I probably would be doing exactly what she 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:53.600 was doing. Beloved, sometimes we fall. Sometimes 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:58.740 I think that man's intolerance of his fellow 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:04.439 man, the lack of understanding, is one of the 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:11.300 biggest sins in the world today. We forget that 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:17.279 a man can be Roman Catholic, a woman can be Roman 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:24.089 Catholic, and still be born again. a child of 00:08:24.089 --> 00:08:29.310 God. It's the same Heavenly Father. And God had 00:08:29.310 --> 00:08:36.590 only one Son, Jesus Christ. And there is only 00:08:36.590 --> 00:08:43.669 one Holy Spirit. There are just as many born 00:08:43.669 --> 00:08:48.230 -again men and women in Catholicism as we have 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:55.529 in the Protestant Church. We forget that. So 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:58.549 many Protestants think that just because one 00:08:58.549 --> 00:09:02.049 is a Catholic, they're doomed and damned and 00:09:02.049 --> 00:09:05.450 on their way to hell. And what is true of Protestants 00:09:05.450 --> 00:09:10.450 is true of Catholics. You'd be amazed how many 00:09:10.450 --> 00:09:13.570 Catholics feel and have felt for generations 00:09:13.570 --> 00:09:17.649 that there is only one church, the Catholic Church, 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:23.409 and they stand in judgment regarding a Protestant. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:30.299 Just because one is a Protestant outside of the 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:33.919 Catholic Church, that they're doomed and damned 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.799 and couldn't possibly go to heaven, couldn't 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.419 possibly be an heir of God and a joint heir with 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:48.120 Christ Jesus. Remember something. It's that new 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:53.929 birth experience, whether you're Catholic or 00:09:53.929 --> 00:10:01.710 Protestant, whether you're Jew or Gentile, it 00:10:01.710 --> 00:10:09.230 is still that new birth experience that makes 00:10:09.230 --> 00:10:15.450 you a Christian. Any man, any woman who will 00:10:15.450 --> 00:10:19.049 meet the condition that the Word of God has laid 00:10:19.049 --> 00:10:22.899 down. If we confess our sins, he is able and 00:10:22.899 --> 00:10:28.279 just to forgive us our sins. If we come boldly 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.220 before the throne of God and in the wonderful 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:36.480 name of Jesus, we confess our need of Jesus. 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:42.159 When we confess that we needed the blood of Jesus 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:46.700 Christ to cleanse us from all sin, all unrighteousness. 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:51.139 regardless of who that man, that woman might 00:10:51.139 --> 00:10:55.600 be. In that moment, the blood of Jesus Christ, 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:57.919 God's Son, will cleanse that one from all sin. 00:10:58.580 --> 00:11:02.779 In that moment, when that glorious spiritual 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:06.940 transaction takes place, we call it the new birth 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:12.980 experience. In that very second, the mighty Creator 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:18.009 becomes that one's Heavenly Father. Jesus becomes 00:11:18.009 --> 00:11:25.330 that one's great high priest. Whether you are 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:31.970 Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile, through 00:11:31.970 --> 00:11:37.330 that wonderful transaction, Jesus becomes our 00:11:37.330 --> 00:11:45.629 great mediator, our advocate, our great high 00:11:45.629 --> 00:11:52.009 priest. To him we confess our sins. Know that. 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:59.750 No man can forgive sins but the great high priest. 00:12:01.149 --> 00:12:04.549 For all have sinned and come short of the glory 00:12:04.549 --> 00:12:09.350 of God. We can talk our troubles over with each 00:12:09.350 --> 00:12:15.840 other, but there's only one. who has the power 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:25.039 to forgive. And that one is Jesus Christ. In 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:31.559 that moment, that one is born into the body of 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:39.080 Christ. Born into his church. And when we have 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:43.350 the great catching up, And when we say the church 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:45.669 and the Lord Jesus Christ will be caught up, 00:12:45.830 --> 00:12:50.850 we're not just talking about Protestants. We're 00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:56.230 not just talking about Gentiles. We are talking 00:12:56.230 --> 00:13:02.610 about men and women who've been born again. Members 00:13:02.610 --> 00:13:07.169 of his body. There'll be Roman Catholics in that 00:13:07.169 --> 00:13:10.049 great catching up. There will be Jews in that 00:13:10.049 --> 00:13:13.580 great catching up. Protestants in that great 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:18.960 catching up. God knows no such thing as nationality. 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:24.639 There'll be Russians in that great catching up. 00:13:25.220 --> 00:13:35.240 There'll be Germans, Italians. Why? God knows 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:41.559 no such thing as nationality. He knows no such 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:47.600 thing as a great church system that has nothing 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:56.100 to do with one's born -again experience. Do you 00:13:56.100 --> 00:14:01.600 know that today in Russia there are literally 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:07.600 thousands and thousands of wonderful born -again 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:14.389 Christians? saints of God and yet how often we 00:14:14.389 --> 00:14:20.330 are guilty of referring to Russia as the great 00:14:20.330 --> 00:14:24.850 communistic nation and we take for granted because 00:14:24.850 --> 00:14:30.549 of our intolerance that everybody in Russia is 00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:35.690 communistic and deny the deity and divinity even 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:40.080 the very existence of God Almighty. There are 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:45.139 literally thousands of saints of God in Russia 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:49.559 today and in communistic nations throughout the 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:58.100 world. Yes, beloved, man's intolerance of his 00:14:58.100 --> 00:15:07.500 fellow men has down through the ages caused more 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:14.700 hatred, and war than anything I know anything 00:15:14.700 --> 00:15:18.440 about today. And today it threatens to wipe mankind 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.200 off the face of the earth, our ignorance of others' 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:26.519 aims or virtues, failure to discover them, our 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:33.340 refusal to tolerate them. Misunderstood long 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:39.340 enough, people and nations become demons in our 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:45.279 eyes. and we in theirs. And the ugly thing looms 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:51.240 larger and larger, and it has gotten way out 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:55.820 of proportion today. We need to do something 00:15:55.820 --> 00:16:03.139 about it. When you get to know a fellow, know 00:16:03.139 --> 00:16:07.120 his joys and know his cares, when you've come 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:10.919 to understand him, and the burden that he bears, 00:16:11.139 --> 00:16:15.580 and when you've learned the fight he's making 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:21.779 and the troubles in his way, then you find that 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:26.299 he is different than you thought him yesterday. 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:31.840 You find his faults are trivial, and there's 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:35.659 not so much to blame in the fellow that you jeered 00:16:35.659 --> 00:16:43.799 at knew his name. You're quick to see the blemish 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:48.220 in the distant neighbor's style. You can point 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.779 to all his errors, and you may sneer at him the 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:56.899 while, and your prejudices fatten, and your hates 00:16:56.899 --> 00:17:00.799 more violent grow as you talk about the failures 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:07.009 of the man you really do not know. But when drawn 00:17:07.009 --> 00:17:13.230 a little closer and your hands and shoulders 00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:20.430 touch, you'll find that the traits you hated 00:17:20.430 --> 00:17:26.890 really don't amount to much. When you get to 00:17:26.890 --> 00:17:30.490 know a fella, You know his every mood and whim. 00:17:30.730 --> 00:17:34.069 You begin to find the texture of the splendid 00:17:34.069 --> 00:17:37.769 side of him. You begin to understand him, and 00:17:37.769 --> 00:17:43.170 you cease to scoff and sneer. For with understanding, 00:17:43.690 --> 00:17:49.369 always prejudices disappear. And you begin to 00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:54.230 find his virtues, his faults you cease to tell. 00:17:55.109 --> 00:18:00.829 For you seldom hate. a fella when you get to 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:08.170 know him very well. When next you start in sneering 00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:15.329 and phrases turned to blame, no more of him you 00:18:15.329 --> 00:18:19.769 censor than his business and his name. For it's 00:18:19.769 --> 00:18:22.589 likely that acquaintance would your prejudice 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:27.970 dispel, and you'd really come to like him. him 00:18:27.970 --> 00:18:33.750 if you knew him very well. When you get to know 00:18:33.750 --> 00:18:37.109 a fellow and you understand his ways, then his 00:18:37.109 --> 00:18:43.130 failures won't really matter. For you'll find 00:18:43.130 --> 00:18:52.809 an awful lot to praise. And when it comes to 00:18:52.809 --> 00:18:58.910 this thing of religion, Remember the scripture. 00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:09.349 Follow after love. We know the Ten Commandments, 00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:17.250 but Jesus gave the Eleventh. A new commandment 00:19:17.250 --> 00:19:22.970 I give unto you, that ye love one another as 00:19:22.970 --> 00:19:28.890 I have loved you. that ye may also love one another. 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:34.869 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, 00:19:35.009 --> 00:19:43.890 if ye have love one another. Love is still the 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:50.789 greatest force in the world today, and the greatest 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:58.259 need in the universe this hour. is a love. His 00:19:58.259 --> 00:20:06.400 love. For it is his love that gives understanding.