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Even today, let’s start with the proverb: “There has not yet been born one who would suit everyone”. of his fellows: We whistled to you, and you did not dance; we lamented, and you did not weep” (Mt 11:16-17).

Another proverb instructs us as follows: “Whoever wants to fight, always finds a stick”. So it is in this case too, whoever wants to oppose the truth, always finds an excuse to avoid the truth. At that time, no one knew how to speak to the Jews to their heart’s content. , because they did not want to submit to the truth. Christ’s silence and mildness did not suit them. John’s severity did not suit them either.

The deeds of John the Baptist are pleasing to God. John, with his strictness, represented the relentlessness and harshness of the Old Testament, while the Lord Jesus, with his mildness and kindness, represents the good of the New Testament. Both ways were wise and fair. After the feast of the Sending of the Holy Spirit, we can be guided by the Holy Spirit, who helps us with his gifts, if only we ask for them. The seven gifts also include the gift of wisdom and the gift of understanding. We should ask for these gifts so that we do not become like the Jews whom Jesus rebukes.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are to live in the constant presence of God and fulfill his will, which is hidden in his commands and words. Our lives will grow and be enriched daily for the future reward that we all long for and that God will personally give us on the day of our meeting. We are not all the same. We have to know our pros and cons. To consider the circumstances in which we live so that we can fulfill the will of God. Not everyone who has healthy ears can listen correctly and well. For this, he needs goodwill, but also a motive to enrich him. People often approach life like children approach entertainment. And we know that life is often a harsh reality. A child does not pay bills for fun. Our life will one day be subject to strict control, where every mindset will be revealed, and where every manifestation of our common will and reason will be evaluated. We know that when a child is immersed in a game, he devotes himself to it with such enthusiasm,

What does this mean for us? If we approach our duties as believing Christians with a sincere heart, we will share them with someone or something, so even the difficulties will become easier and our meeting with God in our duties, we will not take as a burden, a burden, but it will turn into something, which will bring satisfaction both mentally and physically.

It’s a pity that we lack the purity of a child’s thinking, which does not know falsehood, pretense, hypocrisy, and sin. What impoverishes our life? 

Please, let’s try to get past the concern of boredom in heaven to earth. Sometimes we get the idea that if all the people on earth were good and if none of us sinned, it would be monotonous, uninteresting, and boring. For evil, sin, and various imperfections – this view says, to bring variety to life, life is interesting and richer because of it. I am afraid that if someone says this, then either he does not know, or he judges by himself: he is inwardly empty and cannot imagine life without constantly seeking ways to break out of this emptiness.
For what is boredom? I can think of two answers to this question that are worthy of consideration. First, boredom is a sign of inner emptiness, a fragmented personality, of an uncrystallized identity. This is how he defines boredom and the constant attempts to escape it, among others, Arthur Schopenhauer. He writes about “inner emptiness whose traces are etched on countless faces and evidenced by the attention focused on all the most trivial events of the external world.

This emptiness, which is the main source of boredom, always requires external stimuli, just to set the mind and the emotions in motion. It is indiscriminate as to the means, as is evidenced by the miserable fun to which people resort, the nature of their mutual relations and manner of conversation, and also the many people who are constantly standing in open doors or looking out of windows. It is this inner emptiness that is the main reason for the pursuit of the company, for entertainment, for pleasure.”

The flight from boredom must of course be unsuccessful, for..it does not fill one up internally, but only drowns out the emptiness. It acts like a narcotic that intoxicates but does not change anything in a positive sense; on the contrary, it reinforces the state of emptiness and makes one less and less capable of change for the better. Meanwhile, boredom – and who among us is not subject to it? And we must not waste it. For it is truly God’s gift that emptiness disturbs man, disgusts him, and makes his action. Boredom is a disease of the soul. Just as the disease of the body alarms the organism, and announces a state of danger, so is boredom one of the alarm bells ringing that it is threatening the soul. It is not right to kill boredom because in doing so I remove the alarm bell and allow the inner destruction to continue already unhindered. The voice of the bell does not invite me to distract myself more and more, on the contrary, it calls me to focus, to seek my identity, and to become more and more myself.

The voice of this bell should be respected, and we should usually try to turn it off. Also, the second answer to the question of what is boredom is probably directed to the heart of the matter. Namely, boredom is evidence of a lack of love. A. Karpinski wrote about it: “Love is the opposite of boredom; boredom is the feeling that arises when we want to escape from some environment, but we can’t. Boredom tires because we are about to escape but are unable to realize it. One never gets bored with the person one loves, because love attracts, while boredom repels. The feeling of boredom is a sensitive indicator of our emotional relationship with our surroundings.” In the end, both concepts lead to essentially the same conclusion.

After all, the more we are ourselves, the more and more truly we love others; the more we distract ourselves and waste time with trivialities, the less we want to or can love. For to concentrate is not only to close our eyes sometimes (even though that is also very necessary) but above all, it means to open our eyes to our neighbor. On the other hand, it is possible to open your eyes and not see, look and not notice: the more truly I will see and love others, the richer I will be inward. My answer to your query is therefore directed as follows: We must look truthfully at the problem of boredom on earth, and then we shall see the whole absurdity of the fear that perhaps in heaven there will be boredom in heaven. After all, take a good look at all three of these
symbols of eternal life that you mentioned in your letter.

Constantly dwelling with the Lamb – heaven will therefore be an everlasting love. Where there is love, there is not and cannot be boredom. Love drives away boredom as light drives away the darkness. And yet it is love for someone infinite, someone infinitely rich; yet this love need not fear a lack of reciprocity, because he loved us first and his love is enduring. In eternal life, we shall be filled to the full with love, and therefore the happiness of eternal life is beyond the present possibilities of our imagination. In the beginning, however, we may experience this state already on this earth. And it is also interesting that people who are already here on earth are experiencing how much happier life with God and according to God, are not afraid of being bored in heaven.

You go on to mention the symbol of the banquet – and that is a symbol of fulfillment, a picture of a state in which one lacks nothing. This is not a matter of consumerism, of course. Eternal life, that is the state of full humanity, man will finally and forever be SOMEONE; for that is what love makes of us, union with God, the giver of love, union in God with all who are worthy of love, and with all that is worthy of love. Or the symbol of eternal reign or eternal freedom. Eternal life means freedom from all those external and inner bonds that now cripple our various good powers. Here on earth, we cannot even imagine what it means to be completely free from sin, what glorious landscapes of the spirit that opens up before man. Only those who can imagine those who have experienced the satisfaction it gives a man even that indefinite victory over sin which is possible on this earth. But the most important conclusion of these reflections should be this: Let us strive to respond to boredom in the right way – not to drown it out, but to triumph over it.

In the world of rush, tension, and material burden, human qualities – such as humility and silence, lose their value and are relegated to the past, they have their place and justification. We see it in the example of John the Baptist. Jesus also said about him: “Among the children of women there has not been born a greater…” and continues “…Even the last in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he” (Mt 11:12). There are personalities among us who do not gain admiration, respect and seriousness with broad elbows, for example, verbosity, violence and the like, but with their heart, which manifests itself in qualities rooted in silence and humility.

We realize that a person who gets into the power of pride usually becomes a source of conflict. He is not critical of himself. He does not accept words of truth. He likes flatterers and their ilk. He sees enemies in those who want to help him. It’s a pity that today such people don’t have clowns like the rulers of the past. The jester could tell the truth to the master, even if he often earned a fight for it.

In his love, Jesus thinks of us when he places the virtues of humility and silence on our hearts. Humility is a difficult virtue; therefore, its acquisition requires a lot of strength on our part. And yet, Jesus turns to everyone with a challenge: “For now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and violent people seize it” (Mt 11:14) because only with Jesus every yoke and burden becomes pleasant and light.

The Lord did not choose the wise men of this world as his instrument for leading his people and interpreting his revelation. God still chose the weak and small of this world for his service. It was like that from the beginning. He chose an almost hundred-year-old man and a barren woman, for example, Zacharias and Elizabeth, who was over eighty years old, to become the parents of John the Baptist. David to defeat the giant Goliath. Why did you choose these people? To show the power of God acting on them, through human trifles. There is no trace of contempt in Jesus’ words. They are only a reminder of God’s generous gift that we cannot seize the secret of life by our power of knowledge alone. We will understand God’s secret only if we open ourselves to him in humility. Humble simplicity is the best prerequisite for pardon. Christ’s words “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

We will end with St. Augustine, who says: “We know God through his love.” And today Jesus presented himself to us again as “quiet and humble”.

A few sayings at the beginning: “Not all that glitters is gold.” “Until you opened your mouth, I thought you were a philosopher” and others… Even in Advent, the following applies: “The yoke is made for two, you on one side and Jesus on the second. A burden carried in pairs is much lighter…” Jesus specifically says: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your soul. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30).

Even in Advent, Jesus reminds us of the message he brought to the world, which we should adopt and follow in our Christian life. He calls those who embrace his little ones. Jesus is not against wisdom and reason, but he is against pride and vain knowledge, often just stupidity. Several times, Jesus encountered this kind of behavior of people who, with their indifference, stubbornness, and inattention, not only hurt him but also misled and scandalized others around him. They were the ones who saw and managed the nation. He did not blame them for their science and lead ring but for their pride, which prevented them from accepting the truth. It is a reminder that not the head but the heart is the true home of the gospel.

Pascal writes: “The heart has reasons that the mind does not know.” Jesus does not despise courage, learning, wisdom, and diligence, but what is connected with pride, such as arrogance, exalting oneself, underestimating others, and recognition. Pride closes a person’s way to the truth.A person can be as wise as Solomon. Still, if he does not have the simplicity and innocence of a child’s heart, he closes himself from the truth. Ultimately, he can be worse than a simple person without education who is honest, humble, and open to tfacfactualsus declares himself to be the truth (cf. Jn 14:6). It doesn’t take much. We understand the words “learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29) because they are a sign of God. As Jesus sees the Father, so when we see Jesus act, we should learn to work according to him; that means that when we toil and overburdened, and act in his spirit, quietly and humbly, the yoke will become accessible, and the burden light, because He will be with us.

Our earthly and eternal happiness is tied to whether we follow Jesus in his example. That is why he addresses us with the words: “Learn from me” (Mt 11:29). The heart of Jesus – quiet and humble, also shows us the model of what kind of heart we should have, what mindset we should adopt, what philosophy of life we ​​should implement.

Humility and quietness of heart should also become our virtues. Sv. Bernard sees humility as the foundation of every Christian’s integrity. He says: “Without humility in spiritual life, there is no other virtue.” It is not enough for us to know the theory but to implement the words of Jesus about humility and silence in practice. The word humility hinders many; they become deaf and blind as if it does not exist for them.

This holiday is close to each of us. Children are happy. They get sweets, and pa; rents are so glad because their children are happy. The atmosphere of St. Nicholas is imbued with benevolence. It is almost impossible to resist this atmosphere because good is arduous. However, we must realize that the feast of  Saint Nicholas invites us to cultivate kindness today and throughout our lives. Christian charity is a gift of the Holy Spirit. It comes from God. It was fully manifested in Jesus Christ. If we live by faith, we are to realize God’s goodness in our lives. We are to be penetrated by God’s goodness, which the Holy Spirit develops, as the fruit of His presence in us. In benevolence, we glorify God above all. We realize his image and likeness in ourselves. Benevolence is also an apostolate that effectively touches the hearts of those far from God.

F.W. Faber wrote: “Goodness is catchy. He has the right to fertility. A good deed leads to more good deeds. A single act of kindness sends out roots in all directions, from which new shoots sprout and new trees grow. This fertility is not limited only to ourselves… This is how benevolence spreads in all directions. An act of benevolence may never die but spreads the invisible waves of its ebb and flow throughout the centuries.” On the way to mastering the benevolence of life, we must recognize the dangers that can stop us. It is primarily pride. A proud man is seldom kind. Pride spoils our spiritual endeavor and turns it into a mockery. A particular writer must have met many Christians infected with this spiritual disease when he wrote this sentence: “Religious people are the most unloving of all people.

Many religious people neglect the cultivation of benevolence because they do not care about its price. Many are charitable but not benevolent. They mortify themselves, but they do not know how to be hospitable. They pray a lot, but they are not very generous. They are also merciful but without benevolence. A reasonable person does not look in the other person’s face to see what is wrong but acts almost spontaneously. This is precisely the nature of this virtue: to do good as soon as the opportunity presents itself or the moment’s necessity requires it without expecting any recompense. We should practice kindness every day. Parents should lead their children to benevolence with all seriousness by their example because they give them a precious gift in life. Perhaps this story will encourage us to cultivate kindness: A 70-year-old ship captain died. His life was fused with the plague. A lamp was burning by his bed. He slept little at night during his illness. He fell asleep now. He had a beautiful dream, manifested externally by the brightness on his face.

In their dreams, he sees the sea in front of him. His ship rested in the harbor Awaiting the captain’s order to set sail and ply the ocean. When the captain got on the boat, it seemed to him that many acquaintances were traveling with him. They all surround him and say, “Today, we will go with you.” In the back are several girls whom he snatched from the claws of the soul sellers. The girls shouted, “We’re going with you today.” There were dozens of guys he secured jobs for. They also called, “Today , we will go with you.” Many people came who were helped in some way by him. Everyone shouts, “We’ll go with you today!” The ship moves, and the captain wakes up from his dream. Sitting next to him is a friend who has come to visit him. She tells him about her dream. Then he smiled briefly, bowed his head, and died. His ship landed on the other shore of life. He had with him intercessors whom he helped in life. (František Dancák gave us an example, 14ththe  amendment, Kružlov 1996, p. 90.) Well, let’s decide to cultivate kindness and ask St. Nicholas to accompany us on this journey with his intercession with the heavenly Father.

Let’s try to think about which people are closest to us. Which people do we like the most, or which people, maybe friends, do we meet the most in our surroundings and let’s try to think about how much we care about them, how much we love them….?

“Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:7-8). Go and preach, said Jesus. Preaching is one of two ways of witnessing. The other is seeing through life. Today there is a lot of talk about the need to proclaim through life, not. Otherwise, the testimony is not authentic. And that is true. But it is also true that Jesus said, “Go and preach.” Why am I saying this?

Because the testimony of life sometimes becomes an excuse for us. Because if I do not proclaim Christ with the word, then at least I take comfort in the fact that I testify with my life. I ask, if I swear with my life, does my testimony drill into someone’s head. H’s anyone noticed that my life is somehow different? And not only that he is different, but he is also attractive and joyful and has something mysterious in him, such as the mystery of Jesus Christ.

Over Christmas – increased number of suicides. And into this darkness, we Christians are invited to bear witness to Christ, to bring the light of Christ, his hope, salvation, and redemption for this life and, later, eternal life. Some people have never heard of Jesus; no one told them about him, so they have been darkness all their lives. They never saw a glimpse of Christ’s light. Some parents have never told their children a single word about Jesus.

What do we talk about with our loved ones, with the people we care about the most? Do we tell them about Jesus, or do we cover everything else? Because if we do not announce Jesus to our loved ones, we not only risk that they will not be saved but that they will be damned. Parents today work from morning to night so that their children can have everything they think of, but they do not tell them about Christ and risk that those for whom they have lived all their lives will one day be damned. And they will not see God’s face. Their life suddenly appears senseless when their loved ones, children, siblings, grandchildren, and friends are excluded from eternal life…

What do we talk about with our loved ones? If we look at the world today, people there have no problem announcing anything. They have no problem promoting a promiscuous lifestyle. Promote pornography. Promote alcohol, promote drugs… but we have trouble telling a friend about Jesus. Why? Because we are ashamed. Because we would look strange. Because we would be different…? Who are our closest? And what do they live on? Have they heard of Jesus? Have they ever had a profound encounter with Jesus? Did we survive it to pass it on? Amen.