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I overheard a conversation about children with children’s power speeches not long ago. Little Janko remarked: “If I had the strength like daddy, I could do it too, but when I grow up, I can do it too!” Why do I mention this thought? We are often adults like children. We have solid words and often say: “..if, if…” The boy grows up, but what about the adults? The boy gains strength.

We, believers, can and should also talk about power, which is also the main idea of ​​the gospel. The apostles asked the Lord Jesus: “Why couldn’t we cast him out?” (Mt 17:19). They did not know how to heal the sleeping boy. And then the Lord Jesus said to them: “Because of your little faith… If you have faith like a mustard seed …” (Mt 17:20). The apostles could not heal the boy because they did not have strong enough faith. The evangelist Matthew points out how much emphasis the Lord Jesus places on our faith. What should it be like so that it can affect things impossible for human reason – such as healing an incurably ill person or moving a mountain to another place? Disciples are to have at least as much faith as a mustard seed. This means a faith that is small on the outside but firm on the inside, that develops in greater trust in God and leans more and more on him. Such set faith is not some initial agreement of reason and conviction that the Lord God is correct. Still, faith has proven itself in trials, suffering, and illness when it was underappreciated, unrecognized, and persecuted. Whoever proves himself in such situations can place everything in God’s hands. He has faith that he can do more than move mountains.

Why is our faith so ineffective in life? Why can he do so little? That’s because we didn’t develop it, we didn’t make it strong in the heat of trials and obstacles, and we didn’t make it a kind of control lever – a steering wheel in our life. We can often be compared to a driver – a beginner who convulsively holds the steering wheel in his hand. He is inexperienced. In our case, we have to realize that someone with more experience is the best expert, and that is our God. So let’s leave our worries to him and sit beside him as a passenger. The primary duty of a Christian is to develop faith. And not only in moments when we feel good but always and under all circumstances to learn to trust God. With God as our guide, counselor, and teacher, we can pass even the most challenging part of our life. Let’s trust in God! Let’s not say: if it were a different time, circumstances, or things. The Lord wants us here, at this time, under these circumstances. Here and now, we must improve and strengthen our faith.

A child can grow up and become empowered. He will be strong like his father and no longer say: “…if, if…” Let us also learn to trust God always and everywhere.

Those who live with Jesus have no fear.

Who and what are we afraid of? Children of darkness and evil people. Adults bad people and their mistakes. Students of exams or disappointments in love. In addition, we fear illness, failure, job loss, old age, and death. Many fear for their lives, savings, and property.

I remember a woman, a mother, who was lying for six months with a high-risk pregnancy. She was apprehensive about her child, although she already had four children at home.
I know a father who calls at least briefly every night to see how his family is doing when he is away from his family.
In the religious program Prameň (STV, 22 November 1992), there was an interview with international students about faith in God. Daniel Dalohoun, a student from Africa who came to us to study medicine, confessed: “When we were leaving, our parents told us: You can forget everything but Jesus!” There is no fear like fear. The history of fear goes back to the event of Adam’s Sin and Eve. They hid from the Lord God in paradise. The genesis of corruption at the end speaks of the justification of fear.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, they excitedly said: “Myth!” And they cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately told them, “Get up. It’s me, don’t be afraid” (Mt 14:26-27).

Jesus urged the disciples to leave as soon as possible the place where the miraculous feeding of the crowd with five loaves and two fish took place. And he knew why. The group quickly realized their idle satiety and wanted to make Jesus king, which would suit them best (cf. Jn 6:14). Jesus is worried about the disciples, that under the influence of the miracle and thoughts about the earthly Messiah, they could get into a lousy enthusiasm. Jesus is known to go into the silence of prayer so that at the end of the day, he would meet the Father in prayer.
Jesus prepares the disciples for a new experience of faith. Man often finds himself in a situation where Jesus is invisible. It is a lesson in trusting the invisible God. Jesus is invisible, yet close. Although most of the apostles are fishermen, the situation in which they find themselves weighs more. In the middle of the sea alone, at night, in a storm, in the wind, with big waves. Isn’t it supposed to evoke fear and awareness of danger?
Isn’t the life of Christians similar to this situation? Anxiety, fear, and restlessness creep into hearts. The Christian is not freed from worries and mortal concerns about the world. When a Christian finds himself in any difficulties, trials, or threats, although he believes God knows about everything, he must do everything in his power. God can send help, give help, provide salvation, and nurture hope. However, a Christian must never claim a painless course of his earthly life. That is why even a Christian suffers, fears, and fears the actual values ​​of body and spirit.
The disciples were tough men, they were fishermen, they did everything to save themselves. How could people become convinced that Jesus is far from them. Often only later, even after tragic events, do we realize that God has the right to remain silent in man’s need. A person proves himself even in situations where everything is at stake. An accident, even if a person loses his life, is not the greatest tragedy. Behavior is appropriate to the inside of a person. It is also subject to the pressure of the environment, the state of the situation, but the spirit can win over the body. You can talk about fear in everyone, but there is a difference between fear and fear. The life of a Christian is a life of faith. Faith manifests itself in different ways. In faith, the experience with Christ in need and distress manifests itself in a different way. Faith and fear have gradation and decay. The proverb says: “When the need is greatest, God’s help is closest”. Even those who do not believe in God are aware of this. They pray, beg, promise. Where all else has failed, rescue often comes. When a person cries out in fear: “Matoha!”, the answer comes: “Get up! It’s me, don’t be afraid” (Mt 14:27)! Nothing can stand against the power of God, only man with his “Non serviam!” “I will not serve!” God’s ways are incomprehensible to man. God stands by man even in the most difficult trials, even in dying. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God will not pass away. God created man to live forever. A person should think about his soul. We cannot condemn anyone who, in difficult situations and in death, calls out to God, begs God, reconciles with God. It is a gift when a person sees God in need. Nothing can stand against the power of God, only man with his “Non serviam!” “I will not serve!” God’s ways are incomprehensible to man. God stands by man even in the most difficult trials, even in dying. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God will not pass away. God created man to live forever. A person should think about his soul. We cannot condemn anyone who, in difficult situations and in death, calls out to God, begs God, reconciles with God. It is a gift when a person sees God in need. Nothing can stand against the power of God, only man with his “Non serviam!” “I will not serve!” God’s ways are incomprehensible to man. God stands by man even in the most difficult trials, even in dying. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the word of God will not pass away. God created man to live forever. A person should think about his soul. We cannot condemn anyone who, in difficult situations and in death, calls out to God, begs God, reconciles with God. It is a gift when a person sees God in need. reconciles with God. It is a gift when a person sees God in need. reconciles with God. It is a gift when a person sees God in need.
Situations of danger open the eyes of the body to realize the value of the world, but they also open the eyes of the soul. Conversions after life-threatening, near-death experiences are proof. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (Mt 14:28). Faith means going to Christ. Faith is a risk. Faith is not a leap into the dark, a risk of uncertainty. Peter does not go into uncertainty. He goes to Jesus, after all. Jesus calls him. The darkness is breaking. Jesus rightly asks to detach himself from his boat, the way of life, people, attitudes, opinions, and relationships he has lived until now. Faith always means detachment. God becomes the only certainty. Every other assurance must give way. Jesus’ “Come” (Mt 14:29) is not yet a victory. The return to the old life, and its values, is solid; it seduces and questions the conversion. It is not surprising that after a while, even a short time, the ground under one’s feet is lost again, the state of health deteriorates, they leave their strength, and Peter’s cry remains: “Lord, save me” (Mt 14:30)! The love of God is incomparable to human sin. God helps. Even if the righteous God must say: “You of little faith, why did you doubt” (Mt 14:31)? Apparent silence, well-being, return of health, success know how to do their thing, make a mistake. Silence can do many evils when the conversion to God is not decisive, true, apparent peace.
However, God has power over little things, human hearts, and living and non-living nature. God’s love will not leave as long as there is a grain of love for God in a person’s heart. Everyone does not have to experience the struggle for the bare existence of life. The words will always apply: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).

Friendly, encouraging thought! Belief in God has an essential place in a person’s life. That’s why we also have to ask ourselves: What place does God have in our lives? Do we believe in God in all circumstances, or only if it costs nothing?
R. Wurmbrand, in his book Believe, but Why, quotes the words of master Eckhardt: “If you are looking for something for yourself, you will never find God, because you make God a candle with which you look for something.” When you find it, you throw away the candle. Some desire to love God as a man loves a cow… for the milk, the cheese, and the benefit he gets from it.
” Christians do not love God for what they can get from him, but they love him because he is. Those who left him never knew him.
We must always know what place God has in our lives. It is faith in God, which we need not only on Sundays and holidays but also in our daily worries. True Christians are always faithful to God, even if he seemingly forgets them… The Old Testament sufferer Job says that even if God kills him, he will still believe in him: “I am convinced that my Defender lives… My eyes will see him …” (Job 19, 25; 27). Jesus also addresses the question of a healed blind man: “Do you believe in the Son of Man” (Jn 9, 35)? Our answer should be the same as his: “I believe, Lord” (Jn 9, 38).
The world will always be just as full of fear. Like the apostles on a stormy sea, the devil is always ready to fill hearts with fear. Jesus is willing to help us, to save us. We are not to be overcome by the hopelessness of fear. With him, we will be invincible. Without Jesus, we are nothing!

The French writer Francois Mauriac said: “At the end of my life, I feel no remorse… I have never stopped trusting in Christ; I have never been ashamed of Jesus and my faith.” Thank God!”

This example of a person who was and is considered a personality is also a challenge for us: not to sit back when we have to build our faith. Work on your relationship with God even when you are comfortable, and don’t put it off until tomorrow. Tomorrow, we don’t know, there may be a storm, a wave, a gale, or rain, and we may be alone at night. A life of faith is not a life of fear. It is suitable to build your life on the fear of God. Let God have an honorable and first place in our hearts, duties, and anxiety.

A martial arts student sat over a cup of tea with his teacher. He said, “I have mastered all that you have taught me. I would like you to teach me one more thing. To understand God’s ways.” The teacher didn’t say a word. He took the teapot and began pouring tea into his student’s cup. The cup was quickly full, but the teacher did not stop running. The tea spilled out of the cup, spilled over the table, and flowed onto the floor. The student said, “Enough! Enough! The tea is spilling! The cup won’t fit anymore!” The teacher looked at him and said, “You look like this cup. You are full of yourself, so there is no room for God in you. You cannot understand God’s intentions until you learn how to make room for God in yourself.”

A woman is also an opposite example and role model of a believer:

At first glance, there lived a pretty ordinary woman in one district town. But she had one exceptional ability. She could subtly enter other people’s lives and change them for the better. He always seemed to be there to help. She knew how to say the right words to those who couldn’t decide. She subtly encouraged the children when disappointment made them lose their courage. She was able to recognize the valid reasons for tension in the family, at the workplace… and find a cure for them. And at the same time, she remained inconspicuous, quite ordinary. At the end of the year, when the local newspaper announced a poll for the «Woman of the Year in their city,» her daughter decided to nominate her. When this woman heard about it, she was very touched. But she said to her daughter: “Thank you. I appreciate it. But I don’t think I would be the right candidate. I’m not doing anything special. I only do

What about our testimony of faith in God in moments of fear? Therefore, Let us be encouraged by the words that the parents said to this African student: “You can forget everything but God.” Let these words be an excellent lesson for us. Then, at the end of our life, our conscience will be clear and without reproaches. Parents are right to fear for their children. But when they give them God, they entrust them to God; they strengthen them with the gifts that God gave us, such as prayer, the sacraments, and an example of life, and they don’t have to be overly afraid.

Have we ever been tested by actions, people, and circumstances? What kind of Christians are we? Did we know the correct answer?

Jesus asks us, like Peter: “And who do you think I am” (Mt 16:15). The surroundings of Caesarea Philippi gave Jesus space to withdraw into silence. Jesus performs miracles, signs, and wonders before the eyes of the apostles. He teaches and explains what they need help understanding. The apostles grow in faith. Their relationship and view of Jesus mature. It is here that Jesus asks them fundamental questions. People also asked themselves many questions about Jesus: “Who do people think the Son of Man is” (Mt 16:13)? They answer: “Some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Mt 16:14). The disciples do not agree with people’s opinions. They cooperate more with the Spirit. Jesus devotes himself more to them. And that is why he asks the second question: “And who do you think I am” (Mt 16:15? Peter answers. Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah: ” You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). The answer goes beyond the previous view of the apostles and people on Jesus. They realize that the words of the prophets apply to Jesus.

In Aramaic, Messiah means that Jesus is the One, the Unique. An eloquent and conscious contrast can be seen in the whole answer of Jesus. In the naming “Son of the living God,” one can see something extraordinary and unheard of until then. Peter receives an assurance from Jesus that Peter will mean strength and steadfastness for Jesus’ Church, where Jesus himself will be the cornerstone. Jesus himself places Peter as a rock, the Church’s foundation stone. Although even today, some theologians and churches do not accept the teaching of Rome that Jesus entrusted the whole Church to Peter, Peter is the first among the apostles. He receives the promise of power: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 16:19). These words indicate that Peter is the true representative of Christ on earth. Peter’s primacy passes to Roman bishops, popes.

Who do I think Jesus is? Words are not enough. Our life, actions, attitudes, and opinions, daily without realizing Jesus’ question, say who Jesus is for me. A high school professor was on a week-long trip with his class. The students were next to him. They knew him from school as a moral, well-rounded, brilliant teacher who knew how to explain and evaluate correctly. They did not know his life outside of school. Now they knew him as a person and a Christian. It took their breath away when, after dinner, before the program they had for the evening, he asked them if they would like to pray the rosary. Many did not even know the secrets of the rosary. Then, during the evening program, he entertained them, made them laugh, and at the same time, did not utter a single vulgar, ambiguous word or insult to anyone. That Sunday, many of them were happy to be in the church for mass after a while. And when they saw him go to communion, several boys from the class said to themselves that they had to be like him, and several girls said they wanted to have a man like him. The teacher did nothing extraordinary, just what he did every day.

Indeed, I must be holy or separated from the world – and especially from the world in myself, from pride and the desire for something of my own, different from God and not of God. This world within me then desires a world outside of me, where it seeks its own – possessions, recognition, power, or at least entertainment and pleasure of the flesh.
As long as I am even partially a part of the world in this way, I am also a part of its struggle and the struggle of men for these worldly things. And while I am a part of all this, I cannot at the same time desire these things and compete with other men for them, and at the same time be merciful and forgiving like God and therefore love like God.
One contradicts the other. As long as we live in lust for worldly and
earthly things and are concerned about them, we cannot live God’s Life of love manifested in the perfect, unconditional, unconditional and never-ending receiving and sharing of forgiveness and mercy.
Only when we have indeed left the world behind in our hearts are we free from everything – from things, from the judgments and opinions of the world, from the demands and expectations of people, from their approval; we are even free from our earthly health, life, comfort, everything. Not in some Stoic indifference but in the freedom of God’s children, which Christ has won for us by the Father in Him “delivering us from the power of darkness and into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:13-14). In this freedom, standing firm on the rock of Christ and nothing else but Him, we can finally accept and live the Life of God.
For this is the mystery of God: he has nothing in common with us, the people of the world overlapping interests that He has to fight over with us. He does not desire anything that we have, nor anything that the world offers, as he says at one point flatly: “Do I eat beef or drink the blood of goats” (Ps. 50, 13)? And we humans, in turn, do not have the power to take away nor harm nor diminish nor in any way affect anything of what He is, that He should have to worry about it and to fight with us about it, as the Scriptures also say: “Exalted is the Lord above all nations, and his glory above the heavens” (PS 113:4). This is the holiness of God, the first, perfect separation from the world. In it, then, He can be – and He chose to be indeed He will be – merciful and forsaking, unchangeable, permanently, to everyone equally and indiscriminately, for to Him there is no in-between in this respect. “For God despises no one” (Rom 2:11).
Therefore, the words to which I return again and again are valid: “Do not drag the yoke with unbelievers! For what part has righteousness in iniquity? Or what has light to do with darkness? … Wherefore come out from among them, separate yourselves, saith and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and will be your Father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2Cor 6:14, 17- 18), “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, he is not in its Father’s love. For nothing in the world, neither the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, nor the boasting of riches, is not of the Father, but the world.” (1Jn 2:15-16). How deeply and all this is true! What does it need to hear? Do we need help understanding? Do we need to see?

The Christian is a man with his whole heart removed from the world and moved into Heaven, to the Kingdom, to God. That’s what baptism is all about. “By baptism, then, we are buried with him in death, that we, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, shall live a new life. If we have been made new with him and become like him in death, so shall we be like him in the resurrection. For we know that our old man was crucified with him, that sinful flesh was destroyed so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. He who has died is justified from sin” (Rom 6:4-7).
This is the starting point and presupposition of the entire Christian life. Without it, it is impossible to be a Christian and live the Life of God. This is the first thing: to move and leave the world behind. Jesus also says: “Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give it away as alms! Make for yourselves purses that shall not be worn out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where the thief cannot enter, and the moth does not destroy. For where your treasure is, there where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Lk 12:32-34)! Therefore, it is infallibly true: “Whoever loves his [present worldly] life will lose it, and whoever hates his life in this world will save it for eternal life” (Jn 12:25).
At the moment when our heart is entirely in God, when we do not desire anything of this world, and thus our desires and interests are no longer in any way anything with the people of the world overlap, there is no longer anything for which we have to compete with them, nor anything for which that we have to fear them for and that we have to fight for in the world to worry about; therefore, if by this first holiness, we are holy like Him, we are after the pattern of God, we are also prepared to be merciful like Him and to forgive like Him, and thus proving that we have genuinely become His sons and daughters – and this is the second holiness, perfection in love, “without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12, 14). “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7) – because that is precisely how the Life of God
is lived: not in inner tension and agitation.

We can sit in a sought-after restaurant and stay full. And home cooking is enough, and we are happy. Today’s Gospel tells about one such event – about the multiplication of five loaves and two fish in a desolate place, where a large crowd was fed, and where they collected twelve full baskets of crumbs; the Gospel says: “They all ate and were filled” (Mt 14:20).

The Eucharist is the most significant manifestation of Love and the living presence of the Lord Jesus under visible signs. It is a fundamental truth about the Eucharist bearing the divine seal of authenticity. After all, Jesus said: “As the living Father sent me, and I live from the Father, so he who is mine will live from me” (Jn 6:57). Jesus teaches clearly and comprehensibly that whoever wants to obtain eternal life that without communion (that is, by rejecting this bread), he cannot gain this life. Once, Jesus said he would not retract anything. We see that this is something significant because the Lord Jesus does not use alternatives. Indeed, the mystery of Jesus’ body under the form of bread is connected to difficulties, but Jesus insists that we accept this mystery and live from it.

On another occasion, he said: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:29). Yes, we can be happy when we receive Jesus in this mystery of love, with which he miraculously feeds us in our souls, as he fed the hungry crowd on the desert with loaves and fishes. God himself, Jesus Christ, prepared food for us, his own body when, for the first time, parting with the apostles, he took bread and wine and said: “Take and eat: this is my body…this is my blood” (Mt 26,26-27). This event was preceded by other events during which Jesus prepared the disciples for a fundamental matter.

The crowd, where there are only about five thousand men and women and children, forgets the need for the body and food while listening to Jesus. Jesus does not ignore this fact, either. The apostles see only the lonely place where they are. There is no such thing as a hopeless situation for Jesus. Jesus’ wish is for the event to remain deeply in the memory of the apostles so that they will forever remember that there is no such situation in which Christ cannot help. Faith is needed. How does a priest need to have confidence when the bread becomes the Body of Christ in his hands? The incident from the desert teaches about the inexhaustible treasure of the Lord Jesus. He always has, even if he gives away a lot; Jesus will never be missed. If priestly activity were based only on human wisdom, it would be exhausted quickly, but it is based on God’s word. Whoever cooperates with God, who thinks more of God than of himself, can never recognize a lack, a bottom, a bottom. Just like the Body of the Lord Jesus, thanks to God’s grace, it can never be exhausted, but the further it goes, the more it can be convinced of the love of the Lord Jesus. A priest who faithfully represents his Master will never find himself in a situation where his hands are empty. His hands will always have something to offer, gift, and enrich. Whoever believes in the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes will never experience a state of need and crisis.