Anthony de Mello in the book “Bird’s Song”  presents short stories and writes: “A certain man found an eagle’s egg. He took it and put it under the hen in the chicken coop. A little eagle hatched with a flock of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle behaved like a chicken in the yard, thinking he was a domestic rooster. He was raking the ground looking for worms and worms. He chattered and chattered. He could even flap his wings and hover several meters in the air. After all, isn’t that how roosters fly? Years passed, and the eagle grew old. Once he noticed a beautiful bird high above him – in the clear sky. He flew elegantly and majestically in the middle of the air currents, barely moving his powerful golden wings. The old eagle looked up in amazement. “What is it?” he asked the hen standing next to him. “It’s an eagle, the king of birds,” replied the hen. “But don’t think about it.

Do we know what we are here for? Let’s remember it with the words of the Lord Jesus from the Gospel: “As the Father loves me, so I love you. Remain in my love” (Jn 15:9).

These words are particularly relevant also because we remember the Ascension of the Lord Jesus. The words sound like a testament. Jesus knows that his mission ends on earth. Human eyes will not see him again until the time when he comes into the world as the Judge of the world. However, he wants to be with each of us, connected in silence and purity of heart through the most beautiful human feeling – through love. It indicates the conditions under which this contact from our side must be maintained. “If you keep…” (Jn 15:10). Here Jesus is talking about the greatest love, which is manifested in our loyalty to God and love for our neighbour as for ourselves, just as he kept his Father’s commandments. If we want to be his true friends, only when we do what he has commanded us. Then his love will be complete in us. It is a challenge.

Is it love when a singer sings love words and transgresses God’s commandments? Is it love when we confess our love to another person with words and deeds, and is it a sin? It is love when we recite a prayer when we are at Holy Mass, and we approach the sacraments, and we harbor in our hearts’ resistance to certain truths of faith, and commands, when we do not want to leave the path of sin, the opportunity to sin, in relation to things, persons, feelings. ..?

Yes, the difficulty is also in the fact that we are not persistent in love. That is why we identify with Jesus’ words: “If you keep…” (Jn 15:10). “Caritas oblige – love obliges”! Those who live love, and fight for love, often have to suffer more, even though they are less popular. They don’t give up He is cautious in his emotions, he prefers the truth and remembers human weaknesses, he rises above insults, he knows how to forgive, and he forgets the evil done to him.

Have you ever seen trees after a heavy storm? A tear falls from many an eye at that sight – uprooted trees, broken branches… We can observe something similar in spiritual life. For example, preventing someone from contacting God. Setting a bad example, being a scandal… Lord Jesus reminds us: “I am the vine…” (Jn 15:1)The parable of the vine branch is relevant even today. With the image of the “vineyard”, which was known to his listeners and comprehensible to us today, Lord Jesus points to the truth announced by Jesus and everyone who believes his words. In the allegory of the branch, Jesus follows not only a well-known matter from the life of nature, but in the context of an Old Testament prediction, he touches on the image in the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah about the “vineyard of the Lord”. “What else should I have done to my vineyard that I did not do to it” (Isaiah 5:4)?

Through Jesus and him, we receive graces and gifts. Only direct contact with him is a guarantee of a harvest. “He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). The text says that each of us who have been incorporated into the Church through baptism is a branch. God is already in the Old according to the law, he plants, protects, and cleans his vineyard, but he also expects a harvest from it. The Gospel does not present just some image. It is a living image and it appeals. What it says shakes our conscience: “Without me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15, 5). The Catechism reminds us in article 755 that the Church is cultivated land, God’s role. The true vine is Christ, who gives life and fruitfulness to the branches, that is, to us who, through the Church, remain in him, and without him, we can do nothing.

In an old joke, Móricko boasts that the best food is bread and butter. He didn’t eat it himself, but his brother saw it in a color photo. When we laugh at it, it’s only because food is a practical matter for every family, and not just a pious theory.

It can tire us. Theories about politics, hockey, and religion. People today are sensitive to whether we have actually experienced what we testify about. John Damascénsky expressed it succinctly when he talks about the taste of honey. People will immediately recognize whether we ate it or just saw it in a photo.

Apostle John, the author of today’s Gospel, claims to taste God’s honey. He aptly expresses this with the conjunction “what our hands have touched, we proclaim.” This is his style, because he experienced such love in the community of the apostles and under the cross of his Teacher.

Knowing God is not a theoretical question, it cannot be realized at an academic desk. Access to God is not the fruit of human effort. Access to the Light is not a matter of a person’s skill, intelligence, or will. Nor is it the fruit of ascetic practice.

That is why already in the Old Testament we find specific natural phenomena behind which God’s revelation is hidden. When we open the First Book of Kings, we find in it a cycle about the prophet Elijah. When God appears there, the four elements follow in succession: wind, earthquake, fire and light breeze. Only in the last one does Elijah meet God’s majesty.

How to humanly explain it? We must humbly admit that we are getting a little lost in it. Once God appears in the burning bush and is absent in the fire during the theophany with Elijah. When the Decalogue was handed over to Moses on stone tablets, the whole earth trembled – and here God is not in the earthquake. Nor is it in the wind, although the wind will one day resemble the activity of the Spirit. So how is it?

God likes to reveal himself through natural phenomena, but he himself is above them. That’s why he uses them at times and bypasses them at other times. And it hides, surprisingly, behind a gentle breeze. A perceptive reader of the Bible will remember the scene from the book of Genesis, when Adam walks with the Creator in the presence of a gentle wind. This is a contradiction that wants to name the unnameable. The chosen people would know how to talk about it. During his journey to the Holy Land, God appears to him sometimes in a cloud, sometimes in light.

This play of God continues in the Gospel of John. The first words that John the Baptist says about Jesus are not a theoretical treatise, distant from life. John tells us about Jesus that he is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.

With the image of the lamb, John addresses every Hebrew who knows this animal intimately. It is known from the annual Passover ceremony in the Jewish family and also from the daily sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple, offered for one’s own sins. Thus, knowledge of God is bound up with experience. Personal and community-related.

When we are already used to the image of the lamb, which will accompany us until the last pages of the Holy Scriptures, Jesus surprises us when he turns into a shepherd. The Lamb who becomes the Good Shepherd. Both are united by the fact that they like to give their lives for others.

This is the key to our decision making. Let’s look at a young person who falls in love. It’s good if he gets to know not only his beloved, but his whole family. A person who has tasted the honey of God’s love has an advantage. Just like one girl who, after visiting her future in-laws, finds that the people in this family argue and do not respect her. She noticed it very quickly because she hadn’t seen this at home…

The experience of others giving their lives for us protects us from naivety. What is true love? The one who gives life. Not one that uses others or steals life. If recognized love takes away our energy, it is not God’s. A boy whose performance deteriorates after falling in love and coughs on his friends is proof that love has become a vacuum cleaner of positive energy.

“God likes to reveal himself through natural phenomena, but he himself is above them. That’s why he uses them one time and bypasses them another time.’

The opposite is love with the image of a high jumper. If we normally jump one meter high and suddenly we can jump two meters, people will notice. It shows that doping is allowed. About love that gives wings. These are the people who passed through Jesus as if through the gate to a new life. In this view, the coronavirus pandemic also played something positive in our communities: that which is not of God, which only worked with human forces, ended. That of God remains and has been strengthened through the pandemic.

The Good Shepherd also leads us to think about empty priestly seminaries. What do they want to tell us? Maybe it’s that the frightening example of the priest is mentioned in the families rather than something positive.

When I heard about great priests in several parishes, I asked the young people why they did not follow their example. They admired them, but they did not choose the priesthood. Feeling behind it the immaturity of the children, who remain enthusiastic about the pretty, smart and well-dressed teacher, but do not want to learn. They remained only in admiration.

Spiritual vocations are connected with families. They don’t fall from the sky. Good families will bring quality professions. Weird families generate weirdos in the Reverend. Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is a rare example of the combination of nobility, wisdom and faith. Czech journalists still had time to interview his mother Eleonora, who died a year ago at the age of 101.

She offered a nice testimony when they did not break even after being expelled from Moravia. Her son became a Dominican priest. And when he was considered a hot candidate for pope in 2005, she prayed he wouldn’t become one, just so she could visit him. And where did she get the strength to cope with life after being expelled from her native land and after the divorce?

I would say that I have a deep faith. And I know that God has taken us into his arms and everything will be according to his will. When a person feels God’s will in himself and follows it, he is happy in the world, even if it is difficult. Sometimes a person asks himself:

Why must I endure this and have such a fate? I never asked that. I told myself that it is so and I will be careful to move on. The main thing is to have confidence that the situation, no matter how bad, has hope that it will change. Seeing things in such a positive way is the main thing in my life.”

In such a climate of love, new professions will also be born.

Should our faith be: visible? Is only a baptismal certificate necessary for faith? A lot is written and spoken about by Christians. The story of the three gold diggers tells that after a long time of failure, one of them found a strange stone and when he broke it, he found gold in it. Since then, they only looked for such stones and found gold. They decided to buy tools in town to get to the gold more efficiently. They made a promise not to reveal anything to anyone. On the way back, they discovered that several dozen men were following them. When they asked them what they wanted, they got the answer that they also wanted to come to the gold. Then one of the trio turned to his friends with the question: “Which of you revealed the secret?” The answer was not given by the friends but by one of the men: “None of you said anything. Your faces revealed it.”

Our faith should be reasonably visible. The world needs our testimony of faith.

Jesus also reminds us: “… I am going to the Father…” (Jn 14:28). Jesus said these words in his farewell speech in the supper room. Jesus gives the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit, whom he calls “Parakletos – Comforter.” The term “Comforter” is not the most appropriate, because it does not express the most serious role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an advocate, a representative, a witness … The Holy Spirit is the main Witness of Christ’s resurrection. The Holy Spirit is to teach the world what sin is, to adopt the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, and prepare the world for the second coming of Christ to the world. When Jesus goes to the Father, he does not leave the world without help; he gives the promise of the Holy Spirit, with whom we are to cooperate in love. The Apostle John often writes about love. He reminds us of the way to practice love. To love simply means to keep God’s word.The Comforter – The Holy Spirit is supposed to open the doors of our hearts, the minds of our actions. Jesus reminds us that whoever does not prevent the Holy Spirit from working in us, the Father will also love us when we love God. With these words of Jesus, the Church prepares us for Jesus’ Ascension. The Easter season is not only the resurrection of Jesus, but also the ascension of the Lord Jesus, which we will remember this week. The departure of Jesus from earth to the Father is a promise to maintain peace and prepare for the sending of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. The Holy Spirit will continue the mission in which the Son of God, Jesus Christ, began.

We are aware of the importance of the Holy Spirit – Comforter for the whole world. Even though we had no right to claim the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit as an instrument of peace. Therefore, we, believers, are obliged not to remain silent in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

Let’s find respect for ourselves again. Don’t put down a broken reed, don’t put out the fire of grace, don’t give up and don’t resign… On the contrary, Mary also speaks in the name of her Son so that we can take advantage of this time of grace. Let’s decide to live more intensively with Mary, and spend more time with the one we know loves us, we will grow in love with her.

We all know that it is the month of May. What and who do we associate the month of May with? I have a question: Why does the Virgin Mary teach us to love?
Let’s imagine that our life is like a vessel. And we consciously and voluntarily put everything that is connected with true love into that container. And that despite our weaknesses… Let’s answer ourselves: What will that vessel, our life, be filled with? Let’s answer each other: “With love!”

And what does Jesus remind us of in the Gospel? “Whoever loves me will keep…” (Jn 14:23). We have no doubt that the Virgin Mary implemented these words to the greatest extent in her life. Who kept the words of Jesus in their heart as much as she did? And her love for her son was rewarded. That is why today, we rightly remember the attributes that we give to the Mother of God in the Loreto litanies. Virgin Mary, who knows what it is to love God, what it is to be loved by God, who is glorified with body and soul, crowned as the queen of heaven and earth, not only does she remind us in the Gospels, she teaches us to follow her in love for the Holy Trinity, for her and our God the Father, she is his daughter and we are his sons and daughters.

We worship only God. And because the consequences of original sin are weighing on us, God gives us him and our Mary as an intercessor, helper, protector, guide. However, we honour, respect and love Mary because of what she does for us. We know that she loves us and that is why we run to her; we confide in her, we ask her to intercede with her Son. And when in weakness we forget about it during the year, we remember it, especially now in the month of May.

It was never heard that someone who fled under her protection… would not meet her love. A challenge for us, a hand offered by the Mother, to try to live our lives through good deeds, prayer, and work on ourselves. Our heavenly Mother, Mary wants us to meet and know her son Jesus. She comes to us as Mother and friend to bind up our wounds and lead us to her Son. Let’s try to listen to what the Mother tells us today, this week, and this month. It will certainly be the words in this context: “I love you with an immeasurable love.”

When the visionary Mária Pavlović was once asked which message of the Virgin Mary is the most beautiful, she answered: “When the Virgin Mary tells us: I LOVE YOU. Because feeling and experiencing her love is something indescribable.”

May each of us accept and experience this confession of hers. If someone tells us “I love you”, if we live next to someone we know loves us, our life is immediately easier, more beautiful, fulfilled. We are unafraid to open our hearts to the one we know loves us. The Lord sends his Mother to earth to help us open our hearts for him with her motherly love. Maria helps us with love.

I have heard when we pray the Our Father, the hands are to be open with the palms up so that the rays of love pass through the palms. How is this correct? The Our Father is the most intense prayer. First, it is a biblical prayer, and second, it is the prayer of the Lord Jesus Himself. He said. You shall pray like this. He didn’t say. I would like you to pray this. It is a model of proper prayer. Of course, the gestures and the inner frame of mind are interrelated. They are like connected vessels. We know this from sports broadcasts. When a team scores a goal, many spectators jump up, automatically raise their hands, and shout. Goal. Whatever one is full of it makes itself known. But sometimes, even a gesture helps us to take a stand. For example, when we want to concentrate, we put our head in our hands. Even in the liturgy, we use different gestures. For example, we beat our breasts to express our regret. Gestures help us to experience our inner state better. Sometimes we can choose other gestures and people sometimes need help determining which gesture is the right one, for example. Holy Communion. On the mouth,or the hand. It is not decisive whether we receive on the mouth or the hand. It is the inner attitude that is decisive. What is my relationship with God. Many do not read sin because they have no connection with God. In doing so, they think that everything is fine. For them, the decisive thing is that they have done nothing wrong. But imagine spouses who do not talk or communicate with each other, and yet they will claim that their marriage is good because they have done nothing wrong. Such a marriage is in crisis, and what usually follows if there is such a relationship? That they start looking for another partner who understands them, loves them, and understands them. Love has to manifest itself somehow. Words, deeds, etc. Even a relationship with God has to manifest itself somehow. Like prayer, going to church. How many Christians have been baptized but never pray, never think of God, live without God. Who has such a relationship with God there? Such a person can make any gestures, it has no meaning. Gestures should always be an expression of the inner state.

The baptismal priesthood does not mandate a believing man and woman to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus. A woman cannot be a priest. Yet, many things that believing lay people can do; they do not use. The baptismal priesthood entitles you to active participation in the spiritual life, in the celebration of the Mass and the liturgy. Thus, here is the root of where the obligation to be present at Holy Mass every Sunday and on the commanded feast day comes from. Are you a Christian Catholic? Then you have an obligation to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, that is, to be present at Mass. And not just passively, by being present in body and spirit. Today you need to live the Holy Mass. The responses, the gestures, the singing, and the attentiveness are not everything. The Christian has the right to read the Scriptures at Mass, that is, the first two readings. The general priesthood implies that you may recite prayers and petitions, offer the sacrifices, read the commentary on the liturgy, sing the psalms and accompany by playing a musical instrument, sing at Mass, and have the boys’ minstrel. In some instances, to distribute Holy Communion, even to bring it home to the sick. In some cases, admittedly with the permission of the Ordinary, even other acts such as laying out the Sacrament for adoration, but not blessed with the Sacrament.

Jesus says: “If you ask me for anything…” (Jn 14:14). The general priesthood has the right and duty to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. What we feel, what we experience, what simply belongs to our life, you are to offer to God. As Jesus, the Son of God, offered Himself to God the Father.

Sunday Mass cannot just be a time devoted to God that we participate in Holy Mass. It is to be an offering, that is, to place ourselves, our petitions, our apologies, our thanksgiving, on the altar. Baptism in the universal priesthood addresses us to commit ourselves for our salvation and the salvation of other brothers and sisters. The preparation for the Mass, the actual celebration of the Mass, is necessary for the believer to be able to give more witness and example to his faith. We realize that our duty is to spread the Kingdom of God on earth in human hearts. Neglecting one’s responsibilities as a Christian is no small thing at all. Baptism commits us to the service of faith for the sake of the Kingdom of God within us.

The life of believing Christians – the laity, is inherent in the Church. To Philip, Jesus said: “Whoever sees me sees the Father” (Jn 14:9). A good Christian realizes that he is not to live his faith only in church, but always and as best he can. A girl knows how to educate her future husband. A neighbor can be an apostle to a neighbour or a friend to a friend. A good believer does not expect that everything must be done by a priest. He will offer his abilities, strength, skill, talents, and time, thus gaining invaluable merit for himself, as well as the joy of a job well done.

We have parishes where churches shine with cleanliness thanks to caring women. It is a blessing when a priest has a churchwarden on whom he can rely, who is often like a chaplain in the parish. You know yourself how it feels when there is nice singing in church, pleasantly accompanied by organ playing.

Did the same thing happen to you? What about a friend? He lost his way in a foreign country, and when he found out, he asked a passing man: “I’m sorry, I’m lost. Can you help me?” “Where are you going?” asked the man. “I’m going…” and said the name of the city and place. The man smiled and replied, “Then you are not lost. You know where you are going. I will be happy to show you the direction, and I believe that you will reach the destination of your journey without any problems.”

To Thomas, to the question: “Sir, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?!” and not only to him Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father. You already know him and have seen him” (Jn 14,5.6-7).

The dialogue took place at the Last Supper and is a certain instruction by which Jesus gives the disciples hope that although separation awaits them, he promises them eternal life in his kingdom. The Holy Spirit has not yet descended on the disciples. Therefore, Jesus’ words seem incomprehensible to them. They have a hard time understanding them. Jesus fulfilled his mission on earth. He announces to the apostles that he will leave, but only so that “you may be where I am.” And you know the way I am going” (Jn 14:3-4). Jesus assures them that everything they have seen and experienced in his school will be enough for them to realize all this with their lives and thus be able to participate in Jesus’ kingdom.
In this situation, Jesus wants to help the disciples and at the same time explain to them the meaning of what must happen. “Let not your heart be troubled! You believe in God, believe in me too” (Jn 14:1). Regarding that goal and the way, Jesus makes a statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father. You already know and have seen him” (Jn 14,5.6-7).
The path and the destination cannot be separated from each other. Jesus himself is the way, the approach to God. However, it is also the goal, truth, and life. Therefore, God’s truth is not some teaching but a person, truth is life. A person can understand this truth to the extent that he can be captivated and transformed by it.
Being a Christian does not mean having some doctrinal system or some morals. Believing in Jesus Christ as God and fulfilling everything he taught is essential. It means meeting him in his word and the sacraments, in the “mystery of faith”.
If Christianity were just a sum of rules and regulations, it might be easier to understand and fulfill but also easier to replace and replace. But Jesus says: I am… He is the Rock. The basis. He is the Shepherd who preceded us through death to life. He is both the Life and the Way. Those who follow him experience God’s joy, his freedom already on the way. He no longer knows fear, he is hidden in God’s truth and faithfulness.
When Jesus leaves, he does not leave his people alone. Whoever believes in Christ should try to seek him and fulfil his will. Even if the path to Jesus is difficult, no one stays on the way – life alone. Jesus promised to be with us all the days until the end of the world. Jesus is hope. The resurrection of Jesus is hope. “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

We receive what man would never be entitled to because of his sin. Jesus gives assurance that we can become God’s children. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me” (Jn 14:11).
Man is looking for his place on earth. He does it not only in a physical, material, and material sense but also in a spiritual sense. It is not difficult to meet people without meaning and purpose in life. Many are disorientated by life, small-minded, and therefore they can be mistaken, they throw themselves into alcohol, sex, drugs, money, and nothing is sacred to them, they will not stop at anything, they cannot be discouraged, intimidated… Why is there so much sadness, hopelessness in their life, eyes, and behavior? A life rooted in earthly values ​​is desolate and empty.
Only Jesus can give real meaning and flavor to life. “I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2). The meaning and goal of life should be heaven. Defining heaven is not easy. What can we say about heaven? Perhaps simply put: heaven is the state of the greatest happiness after death, which we do not know on earth; we cannot even imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. For others, it is enough that heaven is the fullness of Truth, boundless Love, absolute Peace, Joy without end. How do we know that? Jesus said: “If not for other things, at least for these works believe” (Jn 14,11).
Only through Christ and with Christ, when we fulfil his words, can we obtain the promised state of which Jesus says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions… I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2).
Pope Paul VI. said: “Today’s world listens to witnesses rather than teachers, and listens to teachers only if they are also witnesses.” The words apply perfectly to Jesus, who not only teaches the truth, but only he can say about himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life ” (John 14:6). Only in it can a person find, know the true life, the right direction, a specific goal of life. Jesus’ words: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). No one can remain neutral, unbiased, impartial before Jesus. One will either serve him, or fight against him, or love him, or hate him. And so a person is the mastermind of his own happiness, eternity, salvation. It is a man’s eternal tragedy if the tempter, the body, or the world can seduce him. On the contrary, devotion to Jesus is a guarantee of values ​​unimaginable on earth, which a person will receive as a reward in heaven.

You don’t have time to wait, to put it off until later. It’s time to act. Good luck to the brave. If the farmer does not sow, will he reap? It is spring, for our enrichment and understanding of God’s word, let’s imagine a scene:

One thing he says to himself: “I want to grow.” I want to sink my roots into the depth of the earth under the house and let a shoot grow through the crust of the earth that is over the house… I want to spread my buds like flags to grow and one day bring a harvest.’ Two seeds are lying next to each other in a fertile field.
The second seed said to himself: “My fate is terrible! I’m scared. When I sink my roots into the earth that is my home, I don’t know what I will encounter in the darkness. If I push through the hard soil above me, I might injure my tender shoots… What if I open my buds and a slug eats them? And what if I bloom and some person rips me off? Not. It will be better to wait until there is no danger.” And it waited. And this speck on the surface of the scroll saw a bird. It took off – and one bite was all it took.

Each of us has an immortal soul. We received it from God, as we received physical, natural life, and all gifts… All this is rightfully requested to be returned to God multiplied. Every day is only one. It cannot be repeated. Repair is not possible. Therefore, it is right to live in harmony with the will of God. Life, deeds, words, and thoughts should be used correctly to glorify God on earth, to recognize God in created things, revealed things, in one’s neighbours. In our everyday life, we should act in such a way that those around us see us as Christians.

Yes, as long as we live on earth, we can go astray as friends. Because our country is in the heavens. Even if we go astray, let’s keep our awareness of where our goal is and where we want to get to. In the Gospel, Jesus shows us the way, like a man to a friend.

We witness different approaches to God, the Church, spiritual and material things. You also know people who are baptized say “we believe” and their life reveals something else. Jesus told Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Jn 14:6).

In the Easter season, we read from the Gospels, especially from those parts where the apostles’ faith matures. Thomas called Didymium said: “Unless I see the marks of the nails on his hands and put my finger into the nail wounds and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25). And on the eighth day, “Jesus said to him: “You have believed, because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:28-29). Here, too, we see that reproach is not just reproach. Thomas was experiencing great disappointment. We already have many comments on the words of the Lord Jesus. We have heard many interpretations of the Gospel texts. We have become convinced that Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd and the “gate to the sheep” (John 10:7). The apostle Philip was also reprimanded at the last supper, when the Lord Jesus said goodbye to the apostles. Yes, he witnessed the teachings and miracles of the Lord Jesus for three years. He has not yet matured in faith. Jesus had not yet died and risen from the dead, and especially the Holy Spirit had not yet descended upon him. And yet Jesus reproaches Philip – he did not cooperate with God’s grace – which is what the Lord Jesus wants to remind us.

We are taught, explained that it is necessary to cooperate with God’s grace. Faith is a constant struggle between good and evil as long as we live on earth. However, we are not dependent only on our own strength in our battles and works of faith. Jesus reminds us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled! You believe in God, believe also in me” (Jn 14:1). Jesus sent us the promised Holy Spirit. Not only the apostles on the fiftieth day after his resurrection, but we also received him, especially in the sacrament of confirmation and many times before after receiving the sacrament. No one will come to the Father who wants to bypass Christ. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14, 6). The path means orientation, meaningful direction, constancy, certainty. This is what Jesus gives to the person who believes. When the Bible speaks of God’s truth, it means God’s faithfulness and reliability, on which man can unconditionally rely, on which he finds his salvation. And life – life is the gift of Jesus. This is not about natural life, supernatural life, or salvation. Whoever accepts Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life comes to the Father. Fellowship with the Father is the ultimate goal and complete fulfilment of human search and desire. So our life acquires meaning and security when we rely on Jesus. Therefore, unnecessary fear and anxiety have no place in our lives. It is true that life sometimes brings sorrow. For example, when a loved one leaves us. However, death is not the end. It is just a change, a transition from earthly life to eternal life.

In his book Through Your Eyes, Michael Quist writes: “Do the dead exist? No, there are no dead, Lord. They are only alive on our earth and in eternity. Death exists, Lord, but only for a moment, it’s a moment, a second, just a step, a step from the temporary to the eternal.” We will also hear in the liturgical texts that for those who believe in God, life is not taken away, only changed. And the holy apostle Paul encourages us: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2, 9). Jesus says to his disciples: “And the way I am going, you know” (Jn 14, 4). In the Easter season, we should remember the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in faith. Today’s Gospel text wants to remind us to prepare for the feast of the Sending of the Holy Spirit. In the early times among Christians, the power of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested themselves more visibly. This does not mean

The words of the Lord Jesus do not lose their relevance and meaning today and until the end of the world. It is up to us to cooperate with God’s grace. It started at our baptism. Through baptism, we incorporated ourselves into Christ and became members of the Church, and accepted the role of the general priesthood. We recognize a dual priesthood. The first is baptismal, when by accepting the sacrament of baptism we participate in spiritual goods. The second priesthood is sacramental, that is, the sacrament of priesthood. One cannot exist without the other. Each has its role and mission. Apostle Philip was overcome by reproach. Today, Jesus wants to show us his love even more.