If I make it to heaven, I will probably lose the glory for any good work that I bragged about. At least that's what seems clear when Our Lord says at the beginning of chapter 6 of St. Matthew: Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father Who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.—Mt 6:1-2.  But [...]

I went out with a Filipino friend for Korean dumplings today and our server was a 30-year-old woman who barely spoke English. I gave her a Miraculous Medal (with a chain on it, of course) and explained that it was Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus promises lots of graces for anyone who wears it. She happily accepted it and she told me she was a Catholic. I asked if she was a Korean (thinking that, since there are lots of Korean Catholics and because we were in a Korean restaurant.) She told me she was Mongolian. Now, I've met Catholics from all over the world, but this truly [...]