predication.net

In which area did Leo XIV correct Pope Francis’ decision?
What communication channel is the Pope creating with the media,
and what impression did the new bishop Pavol Šajgalík make?
Pope Leo XIV has already made a series of his first serious decisions, correcting his predecessor in one matter. In Slovakia, the Church was busy with the episcopal ordination of the new bishop of the ordinary, Pavol Šajgalík, as well as with legislative proposals concerning church and private schools. 

These and other topics were discussed in Vatican Seven, which resumed its video format after a month.

The Pope’s horse. Although in television news, the so-called “animal at the end” usually appears at the end of the news block, in our case, we devoted it to the beginning. It is a white Arabian stallion named Proton, which Pope Leo XIV received as a gift from a Polish breeder.

“It may have been a bizarre event from our point of view, but it caught the attention of Catholic internet users around the world. It was really very nice to see the Pope leading him by the reins,” who recalled that after the conclave, photos of missionary Robert Prevost sitting on a horse in the Peruvian mountains had already been circulated.

The deputy editor-in-chief of the daily Post added that horses were once essentially the papal Popemobile. “Pope Pius IX, for example, was a passionate rider in the 19th century. Simply put, popes and horses somehow go together. So we’ll see if, in addition to tennis, the pope will have a new hobby in Castel Gandolfo, namely riding Proton,” 

If we could describe the first months of Leo’s pontificate as a cautious trot, the last month looked like a brisk gallop.

Just look at the events surrounding the new pope’s first serious steps. 

The first significant document, the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You), was published. The first crucial episcopal appointment concerns Vienna, where the Pope has appointed Josef Grünwidl, who has served as the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Vienna for the past few months, as Cardinal Schönborn’s successor.

The Pope also had his first meeting with victims of abuse, and his first foreign apostolic journey was announced, which will take him to Turkey and Lebanon at the end of November. At the same time, we saw the Pope’s first apostolic visit to the Apennines Peninsula, accompanied by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. And we could go on.

Francis’s first correction. In addition to the events mentioned above, there were at least two that deserve special attention. The first is the fact that Leo XIV corrected his predecessor, Pope Francis. “This is a specific matter of an economic nature,”

During the reform of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis decided that all investment activities should be the responsibility of the Institute for Religious Works, also known as the Vatican Bank. Leo XIV has now overturned this decision with the issuance of the motu proprio Coniuncta cura on the investment activities of the Holy See, and he has decided that responsibility in this area should be shared. 

“In other words, the Vatican Bank will no longer have a privileged position in investments, but several Vatican offices will decide on investments. Simply put, responsibility will be spread more widely and will be shared.” 

The Durbin case. The second event resonated particularly in the United States, as the American pope unexpectedly entered into a sensitive controversy that was being debated in the US church.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich decided to award Chicago Democratic Senator Dick Durbin a prize for his life’s work, especially for his contribution to the care of migrants, which was met with intense criticism not only from some lay people and priests, but also from some American bishops, who pointed out that Durbin is a well-known pro-choice politician, i.e., he supports abortion. 

Journalists asked the Pope about this case, and he pointed out that it is necessary to consider not only the issue of abortion, but also the senator’s entire life context, as he helps migrants and thus also protects human life, and is also against the death penalty. 

Among the critical reactions to the Pope’s statement was that there is a hierarchy of truths in the sense that defenseless children in their mother’s womb cannot defend themselves and must be protected, simply because they are the most vulnerable. “So you could see what a controversy erupted around the Pope’s statement,”

“Ex Gandolfo.” The Pope’s statement on the American case took place during a format that was unfamiliar to us under Pope Francis. Since the beginning of September, Pope Francis has been spending Tuesdays at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo, returning to the Vatican on Tuesday evenings. A group of television reporters awaits him in front of Villa Barbering, asking him questions mostly about current events.

“It is possible that the Pope was looking for a way to stay in touch with journalists. We will see if the tradition of statements on board the plane will continue, as he will not be going on his first foreign trip until the end of November,” , who recalled that this type of statement was also called “ex aereo” under Francis, meaning from the air, from the plane. These were the Pope’s answers, which also made the headlines in the media. “I took the liberty of playing with words a little and saying that in the case of Leo XIV, we are seeing something like ‘ex Gandolfo’ for now.”

Film highlight. In Vatican Seven, you will also learn why the series Task on the MAX platform (formerly HBO) about a motorcycle gang intrigued you and how spiritual life is related to the main character of the series—the head of the FBI unit, played by the well-known actor Mark Ruffalo. 

4 November
Monument
Position: bishop
Death: 1584
Patron of: Borromeo; bishops; spiritual advisors; catechists; the sick; priestly seminaries; Diocese of Lugano
Invoked against: plague; digestive diseases
Attributes: cardinal’s clothing; Eucharist; sick; rope around the neck; cross; skull; prominent curved nose
Biography:

He came from a critical Lombard family. He studied law, and after his uncle became Pope Pius IV, he called him to Rome. There, at the age of 21, he made him his secretary and appointed him cardinal-deacon. After three years, he received priestly and episcopal ordination. He played a key role in completing the Tridentine Council and implementing its reforms. At the age of 25, he became archbishop of Milan. He led an ascetic, determined, and selfless life. He convened synods and held pastoral visitations, during which he showed interest in everyone. He revived the spiritual life of the diocese and took extraordinary care of the poor and sick, especially during plagues, without contracting the disease himself. He died exhausted at the age of 46.
BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

A REFORMER WHO STARTED WITH HIMSELF
He was born on the 2^(nd. 10. October 1538 in the castle above the town of Arona, on the southwestern bank of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. He was the second son of Count Gilbert and Margaret of Medici.

At the age of seven, at his father’s request, the Archbishop of Milan accepted him into the clerical order, and at 12 he was given his first benefice — the permanent right to the office of abbot, from which his pension, known as a ‘brow’, immediately flowed. However, Charles declared that he would donate the benefice to the poor.

At that time, he was studying Latin in Milan, which his father had sent him to after his mother’s death. She died when he was nine. In 1552, aged 14, he began studying law at the University of Pavia, although he was expected to study theology. In August 1558, his father died and was buried in Milan. Charles devoted himself to his studies with great care, but had to interrupt them more than once due to exhaustion. He finished on the 6th. 12. 1559, obtaining a doctorate in both civil and ecclesiastical law with excellent results. That same year, his maternal uncle, Pope Pius IV, summoned him and his older brother, Federico, to Rome. He appointed Federico commander of the papal army and entrusted him with statesmanship. Karl was appointed on the 31^(st). Cardinal and Deacon of Santa Prassede, as well as Administrator of the Archbishopric of Milan, with the duty to remain in Rome, where he held the position of Secretary. At the same time, he became involved in the most crucial church matters. Karl proved himself to be exceptional, excelling in perseverance and modesty. He contributed to the reconvening of the interrupted Council of Trent in January 1562, as well as to the prompt approval and implementation of the Pope’s council decisions within the Church. The importance of bringing the council to a conclusion is better understood when considering its duration: it lasted 18 years, interrupted by the 13th. 12. 1545 to 4. 1563.
In November 1562, Charles was affected by the death of his brother Federico, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He decided to receive the sacrament of the priesthood, conscientiously preparing for it the following year with spiritual exercises under the guidance of Fr. Ribera (TJ), who remained his spiritual leader. It is said that he received the sacrament in private on 4 December 9 1563. In the same year, on 7 July, he was ordained a bishop in the Sistine Chapel and was subsequently appointed Archbishop of Milan on 23. On January 3, 1564, he received the pallium, and in June, he was appointed to the titular church of Santa Prassede. The Pope allowed him to leave Rome to fulfill his duties in the Curia until January 1st. 9. 1565 and 23rd September. A ceremonial inauguration took place on 9 September 1565 for the archbishopric in Milan.

Cardinal Archbishop Charles Borromeo, acting as papal legate, had the authority to hold episcopal synods. The first was immediately convened at his request. Borromeo appointed Ormaneto vicar general soon after becoming archbishop, preventing him from going to his diocese, and entrusted him with establishing a seminary.

Archbishop Card. Charles reportedly had fifteen bishoprics in Lombardy, Liguria, and Piedmont in his ecclesiastical province. The archdiocese comprised over 750 parishes, with more than 2,000 diocesan priests, 1,200 religious priests, 1,000 religious brothers, and 3,400 nuns. There were also 886 religious associations and 740 catechetical schools. Furthermore, 24 charity centers assisted more than 100,000 of the poor, 16 shelters for those in the greatest need, and homes for abandoned and fallen women, helping them to lead better lives. These data concern the tenure of Cardinal Karl. Karl are included in the time period of his tenure, during which they changed somewhat.

Before O. Kard. He became acquainted with the state of his diocese, but was then called back to Rome to be with the seriously ill Pope. The pope died in his presence on the 9th. 12. 1565. Charles was only able to return to Milan after the election of Pope Pius V and the settlement of necessary matters in Rome. According to some records, this occurred on 5 April 1566, after which he immediately began implementing reforms. While familiarising himself with the diocese, he witnessed desolate churches and a decline in faith and morals among the people, as well as some of the clergy. It was clear that Milan had been without a bishop for 80 years.

Cardinal Charles Borromeo tirelessly won the trust of the people. He began to reduce the size of his residence. He allegedly obtained 30,000 thalers by selling expensive cutlery and other equipment, which he gave to needy families. He began by making a visitation of the diocese. He established a seminary and entrusted its administration to the Jesuits. He reformed the organization of the pastoral ministry by dividing the archbishopric into twelve districts: six in the city and six in the countryside. He abolished some redundant parishes and established new ones. At the same time, he took care of all church facilities, such as schools, associations, and charity centers, to ensure they fulfilled their purpose as effectively as possible, and established new ones. He undertook visitation trips on foot or on horseback more than once, visiting parishes in distant Alpine valleys. He took an interest in the order of baptisms and marriages, and the deposition of unworthy priests, as well as the recovery of believers who had converted to Protestantism.

He preached from the pulpit every Sunday and on public holidays. He had to overcome a speech impediment he had had since childhood. Even when his father sent him to Milan as a child, some believed that this defect was related to his speech impediment. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the greatest preachers of the 16^(th century. He also preached during Masses at St. Peter’s, which he celebrated during his visits, and administered the Blessed Sacrament. He had an extraordinary respect for her, which he encouraged others to share.

Among other things, Archbishop Card. Charles Borromeo reformed the nunneries and convened six diocesan assemblies. He was particularly concerned with implementing the Tridentine reform. Those against this reform included the Humiliati from the monastery in Brera, a semi-religious organization that was abolished in 1571. Four of them were involved in a plot to assassinate the archbishop. On 10 November 1569, they attempted to assassinate Archbishop Borromeo in the archbishop’s chapel. From this group, Girolamo Farina Donati shot at him from behind while dressed as a layman during prayers. Although the bullet penetrated the archbishop’s clothes, he was not injured.

Under Pope Gregory XIII, who declared the Holy Year of 1575, Cardinal Charles Borromeo is said to have canceled all Vatican expenses for the carnival, dedicating the saved money to the hospital for pilgrims instead. Four years later, he quarreled with the governor over the carnival in Milan because he was promoting it even during Lent. The dispute was also brought before the Pope and King Philip II. (to whom the Duchy of Milan was subject). Both agreed with Borromeo.

In August 1576, while the archbishop was away on visits, an epidemic of plague broke out in Milan. While the governor and other high officials fled the city, the archbishop hastily returned upon learning of the calamity to help the victims. Without fear of contagion, he administered the sacraments, comforted the victims, and sought assistance from various sources. He also had a hospital hastily built and provided everything necessary. The epidemic claimed 18,000 lives in Milan. However, despite the long-term strain of constant contact with the sick, Cardinal Borromeo did not contract the disease.

He saw the epidemic as a warning and took it more seriously. Although he had led a fairly ascetic life before, from 1577 onwards, except during holidays, he was said to eat only once a day: bread, water, fruit, and vegetables. He continued his pastoral mission zealously. In 1580, during a visit to Brescia, he stopped about 30 km from Castiglione delle Stiviere to prepare for the first reception of the Eucharist by the twelve-year-old Alois Gonzaga (memorial day 21 June).

Cardinal Karel Boromejský celebrated the occasion on 10th November 1584, when he was 46 years old. The effects of many years of hard work were already evident in his health, although he did not outwardly show it, and he felt that his time on earth was coming to a close. From 20th October, he was at Sacro Monte di Varallo. On the 10th, he held exhaustive spiritual exercises, and on the 28th… He still traveled to Ascona, Switzerland, on the 10th for the opening of the new college. Only then did he return to Milan. Due to health problems, he stayed in a monastery in Arona, after which he visited the church in his hometown. On the 11th, he celebrated his final Mass. He traveled to Naples by boat and died on the evening of 3 November, surrendering to God’s will.

At the funeral, 7. On the 11th, great multitudes of those he had served came to say goodbye to him. Many believers went to his grave bearing gifts. During the preparation of the canonization process, his coffin was opened in the presence of two bishops on 3 March 1606, and his body was found to be intact. After temporary storage, on March 3, 1607, it was placed in the original coffin and returned to its original place.

He was beatified in 1602 by Pope Clement VIII and canonized on 1 November 1610 by Pope Paul V.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

If I want to reform, for God’s sake, I will begin with my own sacrifices, as Bishop Charles did. For now, I will help those in greatest need according to my means.
God, you filled St Bishop Charles with the riches of your grace. At his intercession, look upon your Church and renew it constantly, so that it may be a living image of Christ and show the world the way to salvation through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

He was born around 690. Rome, the British Isles, and Spain are considered likely places of birth, so his origin is unknown. However, we know that he became a missionary bishop and abbot in the diocese of Guntur (Latin: Dioecesis Aguntiensis). He was active in Argentoratum, the ancient name for Strasbourg. He preached the Gospel in regions where Alemannic dialects were spoken, as well as in Bavaria. Furthermore, he is primarily remembered as the superior of the monastery in Hornbach, Germany, and as the founder of monasteries in the Upper Rhine region.
Legends tell us that, as early as 711, he restored a monastery in Dissentis, Switzerland, which had been vandalized by the Avars, and then founded an abbey in Players. He began working as a missionary Bishop around this time. 720. He had previously been in Rome, where he had received the Pope’s approval and blessings for his missionary work, as well as recommendations for King Theodoric. In 724, he founded a monastery on the island of Rathenau (at the western end of Lake Constance, near the Swiss border) and equipped it with a library. Karl Martel gave him the island. Pirmín’s association with snakes as a symbol of paganism, which he had to combat, relates to his initial work on the island. After some time, he was reportedly expelled from the island by Duke Theobald and traveled to Alsace, where he founded a monastery in Murdoch in 727. He travelled to the Strasbourg area via the right bank of the Rhine. His activities in Ragaz, Switzerland, as well as in Niederaltaich, Bavaria, are also documented. He was abbot of Hornbach, located 10 km south of Saarbrücken, until his death at the age of over ninety. It is said that this was the last monastery he founded.

He left a manual for educating the people to his followers.

Miracles and healings at his grave in Hornbach led to a growing respect for him, and people began making pilgrimages. It is said that his remains were later transferred to Speyer, and then, in 1576, during the Reformation, to the Jesuit church in Innsbruck.

Unforgettable are the words of Jesus, with which he expressed what prepares the coming of God’s kingdom.  After all, the beatitude of Jesus praises the happy poor, because the kingdom of God belongs to them. For the poor and suffering, the first beatitude brings a source of hope. These people are mostly inaccessible to the values of the world and history, which they were either deprived of or did not have access to. The image of the poor is represented in the psalms: You protect a humble people from extinction and humiliate the eyes of the proud (Ps 18, 28). Blessed is he who remembers the poor man; in the day of calamity, the Lord will deliver him. The Lord will protect him, keep him alive, and make him happy on earth. (Ž 41, 2-3). Well, I am a wretch and a poor man; God, hurry to me. You are my help and my liberator, Lord, do not delay! (Ž 70, 6). 

The term „poor ghost“ is also ambiguous in itself. Definitely not „poor in spirit! That is, people with intellectual weakness, because the Lord apparently did not come to call only fools and primitives to the kingdom of God – we see this from his preaching and in his first disciples. The poor in spirit are Christians who are humble before God; that is, they know they are poor, needy, small before the Lord, and therefore feel like beggars before God in every life situation, whether they are socially high or low, healthy or sick, learned or uneducated. The poor in spirit are Christians of a simple life view, that is, people who have achieved internal independence from property, honor, and power, whether they are socially significant or not, rich or poor, powerful or weak. 

Saint John of the Cross says in the book Ascent to Mount Carmel that it is necessary to burn and cleanse oneself from everything created by the fire of love for God, so that all things are lost sight of, any pleasure arising from lust for any things. It is necessary to overcome the darkness of the night and come to light to see and mortify lust, such as curiosity and the desire for unnecessary things. For when a man takes pleasure in lust for any things, he remains in darkness and without anything. Therefore, as visual power is nourished and satisfied through light by objects that can be seen, which when the light goes out are not visible, and thus a person is satisfied and nourished by all things through desire, which he can try with his powers; when this lust is subdued, or somewhat mortified, one ceases to indulge in any things, and thus remains as far as lust is concerned, in the dark and without anything. 

During this purification, an evil spirit that has power in a person’s soul is banished when a person clings to carnal and temporal things. When a person gets rid of all sensory objects, hobbies, and everything that can please the senses of sight, his soul remains even in this power of darkness, and without anything. And when he gets rid of the hobbies of all the pleasant smells that a person can enjoy with the sense of smell, no less remains even in this power of darkness and without anything. And when he denies himself the pleasures of all foods that can please the tongue, the soul of a person will remain equally dark and without anything. And finally, when a person is deadened in all the pleasures and satisfactions that the meaning of touch could reach, his soul will remain in the same way in this power of darkness, and without anything. So, about a person who would deny and reject his hobbies in anything and mortify his lust for them, we will be able to say that he is like at night, in the dark. And this is nothing but that he is emptied of all things and then ascends higher and remains alone in faith, without excluding love or other knowledge of reason, which is a thing that is not subject to sensory perception. In this way, the soul of man opens itself to God’s grace; God divides himself to man so covertly and intimately that, for him, this is union with God’s wisdom and bliss. The soul of man is not occupied or harmed by the things of this world when they do not consume it.   In this beatitude, Christ speaks of the spiritual life and the new knowledge of God. God is the loving, wisest, and almighty Father to whom a creature can entrust itself with complete surrender. Christian piety, therefore, means above all a child’s personal relationship with the Father, personally understood trust, living intimate prayer, and life, by no means, only formal agreement to the message of heaven, with fear of the Almighty. Even in the Old Testament, God is sometimes called the Father. Still, he is always the Father of the nation as a whole, or the Father as the representative of the country, as the king of Israel – but never as the Father of man, individual. In the Old Testament, God is the relatively infinite Yahweh, before whom it is necessary to cover his face and take off his shoes, as Moses did. Christ does not speak of a social issue in this beatitude; among the disciples of the Lord, there were also rich people, such as Lazarus of Bethany, Joseph of Arimathea, rich women Mary Magdalene, John, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuz, Suzana, and many others, and the Savior did not ask them to give up their property. Only from the narrowest circle of disciples did the Lord ask them to free themselves from worries about property management and follow him with complete freedom (Lk 18, 22), and the Savior could rightly ask these at the end of his life whether they lacked something they needed to live and whether God’s providence took care of them (Lk 22, 35). He can also ask every bishop, priest, religious, and every believer why they take such careful care of their material security. Do they lack poverty of spirit? Do they lack faith in God’s care? Don’t they have little trust in God? 

Perhaps tribulation, anxiety or persecution, hunger or nudity, danger or sword?… And I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor present nor future nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from God’s love, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord » Rom 8, 35, 38-39.

M. There should be no stronger bond between people than love, M. ‘Love is stronger than death…’ There is no greater love than that of Christ for humanity. Will the answer be the same for a person because Christ overcame death? Who will separate us from Christ’s love? I’m convinced that neither death nor life… This is the conviction of someone who has already tasted the immense love of Christ and experienced what it means to love Christ.

‘Are you so sure, Paul?’ Peter, you were so sure when you said, ‘Even if everyone betrays you, I will never betray you.’ Tribulation, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, and the sword are enemies from without. They can tear many away from Christ. But when they fail, they bind even more tightly. Common afflictions unite people more firmly than everyday joys.

No attention! Can a person believe in themselves so easily? Internal enemies are more dangerous. It is a place of great persecution and small passions, but they are still present and alive. Instead of torture, there is small infidelity, which repeats itself and thus sells out great love in small things. It is the passions that most easily separate us from Christ’s love, imperceptibly. First among them are the small passions that are patient and eternally alive when we give them enough time to grow.

No, I can’t say that so easily. Who will separate me from the love of Christ? Not even death. When I’m tempted to think that, I’ll always consider those tiny enemies in my heart first. Oh, how petty, unworthy, and stupid it is to allow such things to slowly and invisibly ‘separate’ us from Christ’s love! What a poor substitute we choose instead of Christ’s love!!

Even if I were to take a wrong step or experience betrayal, let your love come to life in me and prevent me from negotiating with anyone. Then I will be more certain that enemies from outside will not threaten her. Trahe me ad cor suum miserans. Et a Te numquam separari permittas… Draw us to Your merciful heart. Don’t let me ever move away from you.

God created humans perfectly holy and happy.. Man was endowed with noble abilities and was mentally balanced. As a perfect being, he lived in harmony with God. He had pure thoughts and holy intentions. Man lived in paradise, in the region east of Eden, where God himself settled him.  So a person comes into the world internally calm. He feels no guilt and does not even know what guilt is, what sin is. Disobedience reversed these facts, and love was replaced by selfishness, peace by restlessness, everything positive by everything negative. People noticed that they were naked. They wanted to hide from the Lord God, but it is impossible to hide from him. There is only one thing that applies before the Lord God: acknowledging guilt, repenting of our transgression, and correcting what we have corrupted, as the first people did.

By transgressing the law, the nature of man became so weak that he could no longer resist the power of evil by his own power. He became a slave to the evil spirit, which interferes with the process of a man’s physical and psychological development. But not only to development, but to the whole life, to its actions, as well as to rest. Man has become a slave to the evil spirit. Understandably, the slave will see what happened to him very quickly.

The first transgression against God’s law worries a person, just as it happened to the first parents, when, after transgressing the prohibition, they noticed that they were naked, restlessness entered them. It is the same with a person, as soon as he understands with his mind that he has done something that he should not have done, restlessness enters his conscience and pursues him until he corrects his mistake. There is no other way to restore inner peace. Conscience will not leave any man alone until he corrects an error that cannot be so hidden that it does not come to light, and the culprit is not punished.

God, in his love for his creation, established for man the possibility of correcting a mistake and regaining his lost inner peace. God is not asking for some horrible acts of correction. He only wants the renewal of man’s love for him, the removal of what separated him from God, what caused him restlessness in his soul, to turn away from evil, to recognize his guilt and correct it.  Here, too, God is more proactive than man. He is the first to call a person, and if a person longs for true inner peace, he follows the voice of the Lord.

Simon, passionate about the Lord … ↔ TODAY WE CELEBRATE the Feast of the Apostles Simon and Judah Thaddeus, who share a date in the calendar because they are always mentioned together in the New Testament when the list of the Twelve is given. Furthermore, according to some ancient traditions, both preached and were martyred in Mesopotamia, an area of the Middle East located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to which coincides with some areas of today’s Iraq and Syria.

Luke’s Gospel says that Simon’s name was „Zealot“ (Lk 6, 15), which literally means „“avid“ in Aramaic. It was also used to refer to those who belonged to, or sympathized with, a movement then in vogue in Israel that opposed Roman rule by, that it supported non-payment of taxes and promoted various types of rebellion. It is quite possible that Simon shared the ideas of this group. His nickname suggests that he was characterized by a zeal for Jewish identity, and therefore for God, for his people, and for God’s law. If this is the case, Simon is the opposite of Matthew, who, on the contrary, as a customs officer came from an activity considered completely impure. It is a clear sign that Jesus is calling his disciples and collaborators from the most diverse social and religious classes, without exclusion. He is interested in people, not social categories or stickers.

Despite their differences, the apostles knew how to live together because they found in Jesus the reason for their cohesion: in him, they were all united. „It is a clear lesson for us, who often tend to emphasize differences and perhaps opposites, forgetting that in Jesus Christ we receive the strength to overcome our conflicts“. For this reason, the prelate of Opus DEI calls us to live a Christian brotherhood that avoids „discrimination in mutual relations that could arise when differences are noted. In fact, this diversity is often a wealth of characters, sensibilities, interests, etc.“ The figure of Saint Simon shows us that it is possible to love others beyond natural sympathies or antipathies, to love „ each other as true brothers and sisters, with kindness and understanding of one’s own, who form a close family“.

 SAINT JUDAH THADDEUS, whose nickname means „generous“, he asked Jesus the question at the last supper: „Lord, how come you want to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?“ (John 14, 22). It is a question that we could still ask today: Why did the Lord not appear resurrected in a more magnificent way? Why didn’t he show himself victorious over his opponents? Why did he choose only a few disciples to witness his resurrection?

Jesus’ answer, although it may seem mysterious at first glance, introduces us to the mystery of God’s relationship with people, as well as to the deeper meaning of his death and resurrection: „Who loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our abode with him“ (John 14, 23). On the other hand, the Lord adds: „He who does not love me does not keep my words“ (John 14, 24). „ This means that the Risen One must also be seen and perceived with the heart so that God can make a dwelling place in us. The Lord does not present himself as a matter of course. He wants to enter our lives, and therefore his revelation presupposes an open heart. That’s the only way we can see the Risen One.

Sometimes we might want Jesus to intervene in a more visible or immediate way in our lives, as well as in the great events that have marked the history of the world. Indeed, he could do so, as he had the opportunity to do during his earthly tenure. But that is not God’s way. Jesus Christ, dead and resurrected, presents himself to us as radiant and at the same time discreet, challenging our sensitivity, our ability to open up and recognize Him in what constitutes our day, in beauty, which goes unnoticed, even in the pain that seems to have broken out, as well as in the comings and goings associated with the care of personal relationships. In everything, Jesus offers us his helping hand to magnanimously expand his kingdom of love. We understand that „ thirsts after reign in our hearts of God’s children. But let’s not imagine any human kingdoms,“ preached Saint Josemaría, „Christ neither controls nor tries to assert himself, because he did not come to be served, but to serve. His kingdom is a kingdom of peace, joy, justice. Christ, our king, expects not only empty words from us, but deeds, because not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he, who does the will of my Father who is in heaven“.

Total love freedom … ↔ SAINT JUDAS THADDEUS, he is traditionally considered the author of one of the letters of the New Testament. It is one of the so-called Catholic letters, because it was addressed to all Christians, and not only to those from a certain city. Judah sends him to those who are called, loved in God the Father and preserved for Jesus Christ„ “Jd 1, 1(. After this greeting, he draws the attention of Christians to some moral and doctrinal deviations that were introduced into the Church and that caused a split. Many of these problems related to the false understanding of Christian freedom, which „ confuse the grace of our God with eccentricities“ (Jd 1, 4).

In common parlance, freedom can sometimes be reduced to a person simply doing what they want and as often as they want. However, „selfish freedom to do what I want is not freedom because it turns against itself, it is not fruitful. It is the love of Christ that has set us free, and it is also the love that frees us from the worst slavery, from our own self; therefore, freedom grows with love. But beware: not with romantic love, not with soap opera love, not with a passion that simply seeks what we like and love, but with love, which we see in Christ, with love: this is the truly free and liberating love“. Therefore, Saint Jude Thaddeus ends his letter by encouraging Christians to remain in God’s love (. Jd 1, 20), that is, to always act like Jesus: they served others and gave generously, because he understood from the Master, that it is possible to give up your own life and accept „death in full freedom Love“

„Freedom takes on its true meaning,“ commented Saint Josemaría, „only if it serves the truth that liberates when it eats in search of God’s infinite Love, releasing us from all our addictions“. This is how Simon and Judas Thaddeus lived. They show us that a life focused on Christ and on serving our brothers leads to a deep happiness that frees us from the slavery of sin. The Virgin Mary can help us live with the freedom of God’s sons.

Today’s reading reveals the essence of Christianity: the childhood of God. Those who are justified receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within them. The presence of the Spirit of God shows that the baptized person has become a partaker in God’s nature and is therefore a son of God. Just as the Spirit of God caused the Son of God to take on human nature, so sanctifying grace works to make us adopted sons of God and brothers of Jesus Christ. If a baptized person lives a life in accordance with God’s will, they are free, have nothing to fear, and can rightly call God their Father. The Holy Spirit himself confirms that this is not a vain imagination: ‘We are God’s children’.

The heart, blessed with the infused virtues of faith, hope and love, and the moral virtues and their gifts, gives our soul irrefutable peace and certainty that God dwells within us and that we are his sons and daughters. Everyone can experience the presence of God in their heart and be convinced of this. If we are indeed the adopted sons of God, then we are also God’s heirs and co-heirs with Christ to his glory, for we have followed him on the path of suffering. Just as the Son of God had to suffer and enter into his glory, so must we, his adopted sons and brothers of Christ, follow the same path. Anyone who wants to be a co-heir of Christ’s glory must first be a co-sufferer of his pains.

God is our Father and we are all brothers! That is the essence of Christianity. Our honor and glory lie in being sons of God. St. Louis, King of France, preferred to sign ‘Louis of Poissy’, after the place where he was baptized and became God’s son and heir to the eternal King. Let us cherish the grace of baptism, renewing and multiplying it weekly through the Eucharist and daily through acts of love!