Without the advantage of a home environment.

Posted on 10. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

Without the advantage of a home environment
Illustration photo: pixabay.com

The stadium is filled, and the home team plays there. Spectators create an electrifying atmosphere as if the athletes have an extra player. They enjoy the home environment.

Something that Jesus had not experienced for thirty years. He lost the advantage of his home environment earlier. That’s when we „ fell“ from the sky because of us. Today, it will only be confirmed. We find him in the desert, where he waits for a Landlord“, who would also like to win the Son of God on his side.

Even believers do not have the advantage of a home environment in society. The voice of faith is not a defining theme in many areas. There is no need to cry over it because, in such an environment, the vitality and creativity of today’s Christians are verified.

Jesus will describe his lifelong attitude, which we still see today, during the final walk to Jerusalem with these words: „ Listen well and remember what I tell you: The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men.“ Marriage is associated with adventure. It was experienced by everyone who went to the open sea instead of swimming ten meters from the shore. Or the one who, even in old age, goes to education because he realizes what he doesn’t know…

We also see the marriage in the dying Pope Francis. It was released when he left the safe environment of Buenos Aires twelve years ago. During that time, he never visited his native country.

We also see Francis’ allegiance in media attacks from the right and left, most recently from American politicians, when he prophetically commented on their behavior towards immigrants. „ Leaves the poor to pay the bill for uneven distribution. This is not how things are solved,“ we read in his letter.

We see Francis’ marriage live today when it is in the hands of Roman doctors. His last whispered words so far are not lamentation of diseases or resignation. We see in them his gratitude and love.

We also remember the attacks against him from within the Church when he started new processes that responded to the signs of the times—such as the concept of a field hospital, the synodal process, and attracting people on the peripheries to the faith. Likewise, we remember his encouragement in Bratislava not to look at the world from Bratislava Castle but to become the leaven of our streets.

Likewise, we see his extradition live today when it is in the hands of Roman doctors. His last whispered words so far are not lamentation of diseases or resignation. We see in them his gratitude and love.

The second temptation is the suggestion to which elite Christian communities are subject ( schools, movements, sororities), which, in their arrogance, could succumb to the illusion that they are spiritual enough that they can also use spiritual abuse techniques.

The third step is to unmask the lie that we know truth and goodness well and that we need to defend them at all costs—even by force and by forcing others to do so.

Salesian Ladislav Heryán, in the book Exot Alphabet, sees this in the attitude of people who have cut corners on several occasions on what Jesus will do. According to him, they are still among us today.

„Some people wait for every word they could grab a person by. Or for an attitude that could make them reject him. It is enough to comment on something somewhere, be photographed somewhere, and write a person off forever.

We will cut so that we are not caught or exposed. We will cut because we do not wish the other what we do not have ourselves, perhaps his inner freedom,“ adds a long-haired priest, biblical scholar, and musician.

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Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy› Lv 19, 2.

Posted on 9. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

I’m sure you’ve heard more than enough about holiness. There are many films and a few more books devoted to this topic. And maybe, even if you have already seen all the Holiness movies and read all the Holiness books, There will still be priests who know something about holiness. A short story is also connected to one such story. There was a priest who taught religion to children. He asked them once: who wants to be a saint? All the children raised their hands except for one boy. He looked uninvolved, downright incomprehensible. Nevertheless, the priest tried to encourage him: You don’t want to be a saint? – he asked him. No, I want to be… just normal. – replied the boy. The priest thought and, after a while, answered: That’s precisely what it is. To be expected, the way God created you.

I don’t know how the story goes, but are we enough to be expected? The kind God created us to be? In His image? Holiness has become an unattainable goal, and I dare say it is not. Holiness is not the goal; it is the foundation. The basis of me. The foundation of you. The foundation of Our God. Think about where you see holiness. I see her hidden in the little things of every day. In a smile, in an embrace, in forgiveness. Waiting for a classmate who will make you miss the bus. In taking the suitcase up the stairs, even if you don’t know the person and suspect them of having stones in them. I also see holiness in sharing food. Her day seems a little better in a relaxed seat on the tram or in the praise you give to the saleswoman. You can see holiness differently, and that’s perfectly fine. Take what you consider holiness and try to be like that today. We encourage you and the Lord to do so.

Prayer: Lord, you encourage us to be saints because You, Our God, are holy. We thank You for being our example, foundation, and rock on which we will try to build holiness today. Amen.

Questions to ponder: What does being a saint mean to you? Do you want to be a saint? What prevents you from doing so?

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Do not fast as you have today, so that your voice may be heard on high › Is 58, 4

Posted on 7. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

Thinking about fasting during the first Friday of Lent is entirely appropriate. You may have given up your favorite treats or drinks, unnecessary words, or social networks. Maybe you’re trying to limit the amount of overtime that deprives you of family time. But today’s first reading invites you to look deeper into God’s intentions with fasting. Fasting is not only about self-control and strengthening the will. Fasting should also open us to God’s love. In other words, when you are almost from something, you allow God to free you for something else: a more generous reception and giving of love. 

If you fast from sweets, you probably feel how much you want dessert. If you fast from unnecessary or sharp words, you are probably starting to perceive how easy it is to say hurtful words. And if you are almost from social networks, you probably realize how often you reach for your phone. 

All this shows you that you cannot almost independently; you need God’s help. And that’s when your heart can soften the Holy Spirit – both about the Lord and to the people around you. So when you fast, let the Lord help you harden your will. And ask the Holy Spirit that your fasting will help you do some concrete good. 

If you fast from eating in restaurants, consider in prayer how you could use the money you save like this. Maybe you could bring a lunch menu to a lonely or sick neighbor. If you fast from sharp words, ask the Spirit to give you words that will not hurt people but encourage them. Or, if you are exhausted from activities that compete for your time with your family, let the Holy Spirit show you how you could build faith in God or love for the poor together. Allow the Holy Spirit to use your fast, whatever it may be, to transform your heart. And then ask him to pour out God’s love through you and on the people you live with.

 

 

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Let’s be honest and fair.

Posted on 6. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

Lent has just begun, and many believers (finally, as it should be)are trying to experience it as a spiritual preparation for Easter, a time of repentance and fasting. And so, if they take their efforts seriously, they won’t avoid the question, „what exactly is fasting?“and „how to experience it?“Perhaps even more important is how to organize it. I think there are enough treatises and instructions on this subject, not only from spiritual literature but also from the practice of today’s church, and in general, a lot has been written and said about the post.

But today, we don’t have to go far for an answer; it’s enough for us if we listen carefully to the words of the prophet Isaiah in the first reading. Let’s put them in historical context. The Israelites experience their first years after returning from the Babylonian captivity; they have returned full of enthusiasm, but they find a plundered land, a ruined temple, full of difficulties they did not count on, and their enthusiasm begins to wear off, and their strength fades… What is more straightforward and seemingly more logical than to cling firmly to what has kept them spiritually afloat for decades, giving them strength? Namely, to the Law, its regulations, and commandments. But, instead of the norms and rules that lead them to life, they made idols out of them and absolutized them – so the result is a thorough and consistent fasting drill, but without contentment, heartless.

Isaiah feels how the life-giving content of the law disappears, and, therefore, as if through the mouth of the Lord, he instructs, stirs, and calls for true fasting. And it begins with what is easier to understand – not by further refining and chiseling Lenten commands, but by pointing out what fasting is not. At the same time, he helps himself with examples of misunderstood Lenten behavior: demonstratively fasting, theatrically pouring ashes on his head, showing himself in public in sackcloth, and chatting in the middle of ashes. Perhaps it is to increase the effect of punishing yourself with reprimands, but at the same time – and this is important! – to remain the old person with a complex and proud heart. Performing a fasting exercise that touches the body but inside, in the heart, does not change anything. Instead of transformation and reversal, only external cosmetic treatment. And what about the Lord’s prophet: „Thou shalt call this a fast, a day dear to the Lord?“

He then adds examples from the level of interpersonal relationships. You can also play Lenten theater and behave like a heartless, selfish person. Lent and repentant action are not, for example, to be angry, grumpy, and intolerant of one’s closest relatives in the family, just as being unfair to one’s co-workers, superiors, and subordinates and arguing, sobbing, resentment, envying, slandering, cursing, using violence. Or, to put it another way, eagerly looking for business, looking at where to rip off someone and where to crack something, is also not compatible with Lenten’s behavior. The Lord says again through the mouth of the prophet: „Is this the fast that I like, the day in which man is deadened?“And the lesson continues this time positively, with examples of fasting. Lent means being most just, helping others in their difficulties, accepting them as they are, and not wanting to manipulate them. Not to oppress anyone and not to despise anyone. Feed the hungry and dress the naked. Being the second brother in everything…

According to the Lord, this is the true Lenten, repentant and humble action. Its correctness is as if underlined by a promise: „Then your light will come out like a Zora, and your scar will soon heal. Your righteousness will go before you, and God’s glory will follow you. Then you shall call, and Yahweh shall answer you, shouting for help, and he shall say, Here I am.“

This promise fully balances God’s demanding demands. If we are honest and our inner attitudes and thoughts correspond to our deeds, we can count on God’s help in all situations and moments of our lives. God will become our companion and protector. And that’s not exactly enough.

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First Sunday of Lent, Year C Luke 4,1-13

Posted on 5. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

At a time when a person thinks more often about the quality of his life. When does he dive inside and learn the truth about himself? He throws away the mask with which he is taught to live and sees himself truthfully: good and bad sides, his greatness and smallness, virtue and sin. These are days and moments of special favor from God; therefore, one should make good use of them. Among them are the days of Great Lent, which we began to experience. Every Sunday of Lent, we can look at our life from a different point of view. From what angle will it be today? The angle of our thinking about ourselves helps us create Jesus. His encounter with the devil directs us to reflect on a problem as old as humanity. It is the problem of the struggle between good and evil, the problem of temptation.

Let’s think deeply about why Jesus was tempted; when we think about it purely as humans and when we want to do a perfect psychoanalysis of this event, we will eventually come to the realization that no man could write this Gospel story. Man would never have come up with the idea that the Son of God would allow the devil to approach him. This is written by the inspiration of the Spirit of St. and Jesus allowed it so that we would be instructed. If by chance, we do not want to believe the words of the apostle Peter: “Be sober and watch! Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat” (1 Pt 5, 8). Or we wouldn’t want to believe Paul’s words:“ Whoever thinks he stands, let him be careful not to fall” (1 Cor 10, 12), so that we don’t accidentally talk, that we do not know about these things, Jesus himself presents us with his experience with the devil. He warns us that the devil is not a being from fairy tales but a spiritual reality with great power, courage, and refinement. The purpose of its existence is destructive activity. It consists of a permanent desire to destroy the harmony between God, people, and the world. It is clear from Jesus’ experience that the devil attacks three sensitive places of a person.

The first sensitive place is the question of physical needs. The devil wants to make Jesus the “baker of the world,” the servant of the stomach, matter, and enjoyment:“ If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus’ counter to the devil is clear:“ Man lives not only from bread”. He did not come into the world to prepare feasts for people or to open miraculous bakeries. He is not a baker but a savior.

Furthermore, he came to feed souls hungry for God, truth, and love. Writer Pappini said that if he turned the stones on the road into bread, the dogs would also come to his feast,” but our souls would remain hungry and empty. A person needs to feed his bodily needs, but if the soul is starving, our life resembles a withered flower in a nice pot.

The prominent sensitive place of a person is the problem of property, ownership, wealth, and social status. The devil showed Jesus all the world’s riches and said:“ I will give you all their power and glory… if you bow down to me”. When the devil failed to make Jesus a baker, he wanted to make him a millionaire. He has only one condition: to take his side, the side of evil. Goethe once said that“ are people who have been striving for nothing all their lives but to get a chair higher.” Such people can be dragged down to all intrigues to reach that chair. They can humiliate, blackmail, and even kill others just to fulfill the devil’s command: become powerful and famous. They sell their honor, family, and faith to rise higher and higher. We also see it in the behavior of well-known and unknown people in our society, of whom there are more and more. It is an old human experience that whoever stops worshiping God begins to worship himself. He must make himself a god at any cost to have a reason for this.

A person’s sensitive place is the desire for excellence. The devil is attacking this place, too. He wants Jesus to jump off the temple. He failed to make him a baker or a millionaire, so he wants to make him a gambling stuntman. Jesus also rejects this offer:“ You shall not tempt the Lord your God!” It’s undoubtedly remarkable when someone can do a stunt. But often, stuntmen pay with their lives for their courage. But even someone who does “stuntman`’, for example, in the moral area of his life, can pay with his life. Who dares not keep God’s commandments, who dares to reject the sacraments even on his deathbed, who teaches others to commit grave sins? Such exceptionality causes a person’s soul to perish and sometimes premature death. Let’s remember, for example, last year’s murder of the world-famous fashion designer Versace. Perhaps he was a good designer, but his moral life was a big gamble (homosexual), and that’s why he died prematurely.

Since the devil allowed himself to tempt the Son of God, he will undoubtedly allow himself to tempt us, too. It is just a temptation, but it is not a sin. It is even a sign that we belong to God. If the devil stops tempting us, it is a dangerous signal that he no longer needs to do it. We’ve already listened to him…. And we also don’t think that when it comes to temptation, you must immediately think about the 6th and 9th—God’s commandments. The devil did not think of these commandments when he tempted Jesus. He thought of such temptations, which, when a person succumbs, means that he will almost legitimately sin against these two as well. May our daily prayer help us always to be strong enough internally against all the subtle ways the devil will use to win us over to his sinful kingdom. Someone said whoever goes to the inn with the devil must pay the bill. I believe that none of us will let him invite you.

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Choose your life.

Posted on 5. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

The keyword of today’s Holy Scriptures texts is „life. Through the mouth of Moses, God calls his people: „Choose your life.” Each of us carries within us a desire for life, for a happy life. However, the problem is how to achieve such a life. It is clear to us that we have to do something about it. The prevailing opinion is that importing as much money as possible is necessary because we can treat ourselves to whatever we want to be happy with it. However, observing people’s lives more closely reveals that this is not the way to lasting happiness. So what should we do if I want to choose life?

Moses says to his people: “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God, walk in his ways and keep his decrees, commandments and statutes, you will live… because he is your life and long age…“ With the help of scientific research, we know more and more perfectly what living beings, a living cell, consist of. But we do not yet fully understand the very fact of life; it remains a secret. When it is true of biological life, the more it is true of a person’s personal life because it is too complex, mysterious a fact, rather than being able to create it ourselves and thus organize it so that we permanently experience ever fuller happiness.

As in many other areas, we follow experts’ instructions; if we want to work towards a successful goal, it is more accurate in our lives. The time of our earthly existence is too short to afford to experiment with our lives. Those who try to do this seek happiness according to their wishes once there and then elsewhere, usually at the end of their earthly life they are like disappointed castaways. If we are wise, we should trust God, who is not only the creator of life but also gives us guidelines for our decisions in his caring love. Whenever we follow them, we choose life.

In the Gospel (Luke 9, 22-25), God speaks directly to us in the person of his Son. He calls us not to cling to our ideas about life but to follow him, that is, to follow his example and word, to be faithful to him despite the difficulties and sufferings that may result from this in this real world, marked by evil and disrespect for God. According to his example, we should be so faithful to God that we are also willing to lose our earthly, carnal life. Jesus guarantees that it will not be a loss but a complete salvation of our lives. The period of Great Lent is supposed to be a time in which we resolutely step on the path to Jesus Christ in the certainty that we are thus moving towards our ever fuller life.

Practical instruction: I will ask God to strengthen my trust in him as the source and giver of life and my willingness to make decisions faithful to Jesus Christ and his truth.

Prayer: Almighty God, precede our actions with your inspiration and accompany them with your help so that we can start and complete all events with you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit for all ages. 

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Ash Wednesday Mt 6,1-6.16-18

Posted on 4. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

We rise from the ashes with God, but without Him, we are dust.

„Behold, now is the time fitting; behold, now is the day of salvation! (2 Cor 6,2). This statement of the apostle Paul helps us enter the spirit of Lent. Lent is a favorable time to return to the essentials, get rid of what weighs on us, reconcile with God, and rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit, who dwells covertly among the ashes of our fragile humanity. Return to the essential. It is a time of grace to put into practice what the Lord asked us to do in the first verse of the Word we heard: “Turn to me with all your heart” (Jl 2,12). To return to the essential, which is the Lord. The Cinderella ceremony takes us on this return journey and addresses two challenges: to return to the truth about ourselves and to return to God and our brothers.

Above all, we are to return to the truth about ourselves. Cinderella reminds us of who we are and where we come from and leads us back to the fundamental reality of life: only the Lord is God, and we are the work of his hands. We have a life while He is life. He is the Creator, while we are the fragile clay in his hands’ shape. We come from the earth and need heaven, His; with God, we rise from the ashes, but without Him, we are dust. When we humbly bow our heads to receive the ashtray, let us remember in our hearts this truth: we are to the Lord, we belong to Him. For he „kneaded man from the dust of clay and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life“ (Gn 2.7): we exist because he breathed into us the breath of life. And as a gentle and merciful Father, he also experiences fasting because he longs for us, waits for us, and expects our return. And he always encourages us not to despair, even when we fall into the dust of our fragility and sin, „for he knows what we are made of, he remembers, that we are just dust“ (PS 103,14). Let’s hear it again: He remembers that we are just dust. God knows it; on the contrary, we often forget it and think we are self-sufficient, strong, and invincible without Him. We use make-up to think of ourselves as better than we are, but we are dust.

Lent is, therefore, a time when we remember who the Creator is and who the creature is when we proclaim that only God is the Lord, only He, when we get rid of the pretended self-sufficiency and eagerness to stand in the center and be the winners, when we take ourselves off the idea that only thanks to our abilities can we be the protagonists of life and transform the world around us. This is a favorable time to convert, to change our view of ourselves above all, to look within ourselves: how many distractions and superficialities distract us from what is essential, how many times do we focus on our appetites or what we lack, move away from the center of our hearts and forget to accept the meaning of our being in the world. Lent is a time of truth, discarding the masks we wear daily to look perfect in the eyes of the world; Lent is a time to fight falsehood and hypocrisy, not in others, but within ourselves, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel. They need to look in the face and wrestle.

However, there is a second step: the ashtray also calls us to return to God and our brothers. If we return to the truth about who we are and realize that our ego alone is not enough, we will find that we exist only through relationships: the original one with the Lord and the vital ones with other people. So, the Cinderella we receive on our heads today tells us that every assumption of self-sufficiency is false and that the deification of one’s self is destructive and locks us in a cage of loneliness. We look down in the mirror of supposed perfection, imagining that we are the center of the world. Our life, on the other hand, is above all a relationship: we received it from God and our parents, and thanks to the Lord and those who stand by our side, we can always renew and regenerate it. Lent is an opportune time for the revival of our relations with God and with others: to open ourselves in silence to prayer and to come out of the firmness of our closed ego, to break the shackles of individualism and, through meeting and listening – not through isolation – to rediscover those who walk beside us every day and learn to love them again as brothers and sisters. 

Brothers and sisters, how can this be achieved? To make this journey happen and return to the truth about ourselves, God, and others, we are called to follow three main paths: alms, prayer, and fasting. They are classic means, but there is no need for news on this journey. Jesus made it clear: alms, prayer, and fasting. But it is not external ceremonies, as the Lord said, but gestures to express the renewal of the heart. Almsgiving is not a quick gesture to purify the conscience that would somewhat offset the internal imbalance, but means touching with one’s own hands and tears the suffering of the poor; prayer is not a ritual, but a dialogue of truth and love with the Father; fasting is not just a pious renunciation, but a powerful gesture that reminds our heart of what matters and what passes away. Jesus’ „ admonition retains adequate validity even for us: external gestures must always be matched by the sincerity of the soul and the inner connection of action. What is the use of tearing a garment, indeed, if the heart remains far from the Lord, that is from goodness and righteousness?“ (Benedict XVI, Ash Wednesday Homily, March 1, 2006). Too often, however, our gestures and rituals do not touch life, they do not form the truth; perhaps we do them only so that others admire us, to applaud us, to take credit. How many times does this happen? Let us remember this: in personal life, as in the life of the church, it does not matter the external appearance, human judgments, and pleasure of the world; it only depends on the point of view of God, who reads love and truth in it.

If we humbly stand before his gaze, then alms, prayer, and fasting will not remain external gestures but express who we are: God’s children and brothers to each other. Alms and merciful love will show our compassion for those in need and help us return to others; prayer will make our inner desire to meet the Father sound and make us return to him; fasting will be a spiritual gym to joyfully renounce what is useless and burdens us to become more free internally and return to the truth about ourselves—meeting the Father, inner freedom, compassion.

Dear brothers and sisters, let’s bow our heads, accept the ashtray, and brighten our hearts. Let us embark on the path of love: we are given forty opportune days to remind ourselves that the world is not to be enclosed within the narrow confines of our personal needs and to rediscover joy not in things which we are to accumulate but from caring for those who are in need and tribulation. Let us embark on a journey in prayer: we are given forty opportune days to provide God with the primacy in our lives again, to dialogue with him with all our hearts, and not in the rest of time. Let us embark on fasting: we are given forty opportune days to rediscover ourselves, to limit the dictatorship of the planning diaries, which are always full of things to do, the demands of an increasingly superficial and cumbersome ego, and they choose what matters. 

Brothers and sisters, let us not dispel the grace of this holy time: let us look at the cross and go; let us respond generously to the substantial challenges of Lent. At the journey’s end, we will meet the Lord of life with greater joy, who gives us to rise from the ashes.

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Eternal life.

Posted on 3. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

Target: to point out the reality of eternal life

God’s word

„But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people destined for possession, to proclaim the glorious deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his admirable light. Once you were not even a people, and now you are God’s people; you who have not achieved mercy have now achieved mercy.“ (1 Pt 2,7-10)

„Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him.“ (1Cor 2,9)

„There are many dwellings in my Father’s house. If it wasn’t for that, would I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you?! When I leave and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself so that you too can be where I am. And you know the way I’m going.“ (Jn 14,2-4)

„Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God! Verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth not the kingdom of God as a child shall not enter into it.“ (Lk 18,16-17)

„Verily, I say unto you, There is none that for the kingdom of God shall leave house or wife or brothers or parents or children, lest he receive much more in this time and in the age to come eternal life.“ (Lk 18,29-30)

„And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. After all, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not judged. But whoever does not believe is already condemned because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.“ (Jn 3,14-18)

„For it is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.“ (Jn 6,40)

„He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. As the living Father sent me and I live from the Father, even he who is me will live from me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, and not what the fathers ate and died. Whoever this bread is will live forever.“ (Jn 6,54-58)

„And eternal life is in knowing you, the only true God, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.“ (Jn 17.3)

„Father, I want those whom you have given me to be with me where I am, to see my glory which you have given me, for you loved me before the creation of the world.“ (Jn 17,24)

„Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Consider: If the householder knew at what hour of the night the thief would come, he would surely be awake and would not allow him to enter his house. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour of which you do not know. Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom the master has appointed over his family to give them food in due time? Blessed is the servant whom the master finds doing so upon his arrival. Verily, I say unto you, He shall appoint him over all his possessions. But if the evil servant said in his heart: „My master does not go“ in any way and starts beating his fellow servants, eating and drinking with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on the day, when he least expects it, and at an hour he does not think, he will separate him and give him a portion among the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“ (Mt 24,42-51)

„Then the kingdom of heaven will resemble ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were unreasonable and five were wise. Unreasonable, they took their lamps, but they did not take the oil with them. Wisely, they also took oil in containers with lamps. When the groom was not coming, everyone started to doze off and fell asleep. At midnight, a scream broke out: „The groom is coming, meet him!“ All the virgins woke up and were preparing their lamps. Here the foolish virgins said to the wise: „ Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.“ But the wise replied: „ So that maybe neither we nor you are short, go to the sellers and buy!“ But while they were going to buy oil, the groom came and those who were ready entered the wedding with him and the door closed. Finally, the other virgins also came and said: „Lord, Lord, open to us!“ But he said to them: „Veru, I say to you: I don’t know you.“  Therefore watch, because you know neither the day nor the hour.“ (Mt 25,1-13)

„For you are saved by grace through faith; and it is not of you, it is God’s gift: not of works, so that no one should stand. After all, we are his work, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared for us to do.“ (Ef 2,8-10)

„He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that not a single murderer has eternal life in him“ (1Jn 3,14-15)

„For the wage of sin is death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.“ (Rom 6,23)

„For life has appeared and we have seen, testify and proclaim to you eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us.“ (1Jn 1,2)

„He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow; there will be no more lamentation or pain, for the first has passed away“ (Rev. 21,4)

„ Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John with him and led them into solitude as a high murderer. There, he was transformed before them: his face shone like the sun, and his clothes turned white like light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared to them and talked with them. Then Peter said to Jesus: „Lord, we are well here. If you want, I will make three booths here: one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.“ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: „ This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.“ When the disciples heard this, they were afraid and fell on their faces. But Jesus approached them, touched them, and said to them: „ Get up and don’t be scared!“ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus. As they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them: „ Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man rises from the dead.“ (Mt 17,1-9)

„ However, their mother is unusually rare and worthy of admiration, as well as a famous monument. After all, she saw seven of her sons die in a single day! But she endured it evenly because her mind was strengthened by hope in the Lord. Filled with a noble mindset, she encouraged each of them in their mother tongue. She strengthened her female mind with male courage and said to them: „ I do not know how you rose in my womb; I gave you neither breath nor life; I didn’t even arrange the members of the artist to create each of you. Therefore, the Creator of the world, who causes man to arise and makes the being of all things, will again give you breath and life out of his mercy, as you do not value yourself now because of his laws.“ (2Mach 7,20-23)

„He was a specific rich person. He dressed in purple and linen and feasted sumptuously day by day. At his gate lay a kind of beggar named Lazarus, full of ulcers. He longed to be satisfied with what was falling from the rich man’s table, and only the dogs came and licked his sores. When the beggar died, the angels carried him to Abraham’s womb. The rich man also died and was buried. And when he lifted up his eyes in hell in torment, he saw Abraham and Lazarus in his bosom from afar. And he exclaimed: „Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, let him at least dip the end of his finger in water and moisten my tongue, because I am troubled in this flame!“ But Abraham said: „Son, remember that you received all the good in your lifetime and Lazarus only the bad. Now he’s happy here, and you’re worried. And besides, there is a significant gap between us and you so that no one – what they would like – can cross from here to you or cross from there to us.“ He said, “I beg you, Father, send him to my father’s house. For I have five brothers; let him swear to them so that they, too, do not get to this place of torment.“ Abraham answered him: „ They have Moses, and let the Prophets listen to them.“ But he said: „No, Father Abraham. If someone from the dead comes to them, they will repent.“ He answered him. If they don’t listen to Moses and don’t believe the Prophets, even if someone rises from the dead.“ (Lk 16, 19-31)

„Watch, therefore, for you do not know when your Lord will come. Consider: If the householder knew at what night the thief would come, he would surely be awake and would not allow him to enter his house. Therefore, be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not know. Who then is the faithful and wise servant the master has appointed over his family to give them food in due time? Blessed is the servant whom the master finds doing so upon his arrival. Verily, I say unto you, He shall appoint him over all his possessions. But if the evil servant said in his heart: „My master does not go“ in any way and starts beating his fellow servants, eating and drinking with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on the day when he least expects it, and at an hour he does not think, he will separate him and give him a portion among the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mt 24,42-51)

„ When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on the throne of his glory. Then all the nations will gather before him, and he will separate one from the other, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He builds sheep on the right and goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right: „ Come, blessed of my Father, occupy the kingdom that has been prepared for you since the world’s creation. For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a traveler, and you snuggled me; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.“ Then the righteous will say to him: „Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you as a traveler, snuggle or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?“ The king will answer them: „Veru, I say to you: Whatever you did to one of my least brothers, you did to me.“ Then he will also say to those who will be from the left: „ Depart from me, cursed, into the eternal fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give me food; I was thirsty, and you did not give me drink; I was a traveler, and you did not snuggle me; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.“ Then they also will say to him: „Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a traveler or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?“ Then he will answer them: „Veru, I say to you: Whatever you did not do to one of the least of these, you did not do to me.“ And these will go into eternal torment, while the righteous into eternal life.“ (Mt 25, 31-46)

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Conversion of the heart – inner repentance.

Posted on 2. March 2025 by Peter Prochac

We often hear priests call for conversion and repentance. Many may ask themselves: What does it mean to turn and repent?

The call to repentance is one of the essential elements of the biblical reference. The concept of repentance was formed simultaneously with the concept of sin. Originally, sin was understood together. All misfortunes were considered punishment for the chosen people’s infidelity to the covenant. They understood repentance as a means of alleviating God’s wrath and limited it mainly to external actions (weeping, lamentation, dressing, marking the head with ashes, confessing sins).

The New Testament sees repentance as a means of inner transformation. St. John the Baptist calls for people to confess their sins and change their actions. He urged the listeners: „Bring fruit worth repentance“ (Lk 3,8). The first message that Jesus told people was a call to conversion. Jesus admonished: „ If you do not repent, you will all perish similarly“ (Lk 13.5). From this call to conversion, the apostles began the proclamation of the Gospel. (Acts 2,37)

The fathers of spiritual life say that one of the causes of a person’s spiritual stagnation is the lack of courage to turn away from sin and cling to the Truth and Light, which is Christ. Although we love God, know His will, and try to fulfill it, something in us distances us from God, and we rebel against Him. As a result, we act and choose on our own. A free decision against the order of nature that God gave weakens our love for God and, consequently, begets sin. Through sin, we lose the beauty of the soul, wound the heart of the Savior, move away from God, and, above all, expose ourselves to the loss of eternal life. That is why God calls us to conversion and repentance.

The catechism teaches that „ Jesus’ call to conversion and repentance does not apply primarily to external actions, to „bag and ash“, to posts and mortifications, but to the conversion of the heart, to internal repentance. Without him, acts of repentance remain fruitless and deceitful. Inner conversion encourages this attitude to manifest itself in visible signs, acts, and acts of repentance“ (KKC 1430)

God does not ask us to put on a sack as the inhabitants of Nineveh. He wants us to end sin, confess it at confession, and fulfill spiritual and physical acts of mercy. Working on oneself involves examining all areas of one’s life and making order about a goal such as God. Man alone cannot do this. He needs God’s help. „Conversion is above all the work of the grace of God, who causes our hearts to return to him“ (KKC 1432) A person who repents must wholeheartedly desire to do good, otherwise live, and change his actions, because „Inner repentance is a radical reorientation of the whole life, a return, turning to God with all your heart, leaving sin behind, turning away from evil, associated with resistance to evil deeds“ (KKC 1431).

Let’s remember: Conversion is the decision to completely cling to God and accept a new life path. By cooperating with God’s grace, man experiences inner transformation. When he turns away from evil, he tries God’s mercy and forgiveness. Outward ones should come from inner conversion.




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Why did God create me?

Posted on 28. February 2025 by Peter Prochac

On the sixth day of creation, God did something He had not done before. When He created the world and everything in it, He merely spoke it all into existence (Genesis 1). But on the sixth day, He reached into the clay and formed a man. He then “breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The breath of God created an eternal soul in man. God made mankind in His image; Adam and Eve were more like Him than anything else He had created (Genesis 1:27). Humans would live forever, just as God will. He told the first couple to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it (verse 28). He had created them for a purpose, and all the people who came after them were created for a purpose, too.

Scattered throughout the Bible are hints about the reasons God made us. Our first hint is in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:15 says that God took the man He had created and put him in the garden to tend it. God had made a caretaker for His earth. He gave man dominion over everything else, and a job to do (Genesis 1:28). Man’s first job was naming all the animals (Genesis 2:19–20). God could have called the animals Himself, but He enjoyed working with Adam the way a loving parent enjoys watching her preschooler learn a skill. So we were created for work, but not work in the way we usually define it. Work was designed to be a fulfilling way to experience God by working harmoniously with Him to accomplish His goals.

We know from Psalm 139:13–16 that God formed us while inside our mothers. We are His masterpieces, created by Him for unique purposes (Ephesians 2:10). God is intimately involved in our creation: “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:4–5). That statement alone should overwhelm us with wonder. The God Almighty, Creator of the universe, chooses us individually and creates us exactly as He wants us to be. Scripture clearly states that God created every human being for His pleasure and purpose (Colossians 1:16).

If we are going to fulfill our purpose, we need to consult the Bible. The Bible tells us about who God is, who we are, and how we should live our lives. Many people try to find purpose in happiness, fun, or popularity because they are unaware that God has a greater purpose for their lives. Sadly, they end up empty and frustrated. But they don’t need to. God has given us His Word (the Bible) so that we can learn who He is and who we are. When we consult it for direction, we have opened the roadmap that leads to our purpose.

One thing we learn is that God loves us and proved that love by sending His Son, Jesus, to show us what He is like (John 14:9). Although God loves us, our sins have separated us from Him (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Jesus came to earth and offered Himself in our place. He took the punishment our sin deserves (2 Corinthians 5:21). God raised Him from the dead three days later, proving that Jesus is Lord over everything, including death (Romans 10:9–10). Then God decreed that everyone who trusts Jesus will be forgiven and enter a relationship with Him (John 3:16–18). So God’s first desire for every human being is that we come to know Him through faith in His Son. When we understand who He is, we can discover who we are.

God’s goal for each of His children is that we take on a family resemblance. He wants us to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). He gives us spiritual gifts that enable us to serve Him in supernatural ways (1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 12:7–11). We live our purpose as we learn to walk in harmony with God and use our gifts to serve others.

God created us for a purpose, but that purpose will look different for every person because we are each unique. To be made in the image of God means that we were created to be mirrors of God’s glory—one-of-a-kind mirrors that reflect the diverse aspects of His nature. A mirror serves no other purpose than to reflect something else. A mirror is useless when covered in mud; likewise, when we are covered in sin and turned away from God, we are not living out the purpose for which we were created. But when we respond to God’s offer of salvation and allow His Holy Spirit to clean us up, we turn toward our Creator, and His glory is reflected in our lives. It is not our light or beauty the world needs to see, but His (John 8:12; 9:5).

Micah 6:8 tells us what God expects from us: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” God created us to walk with Him, talk with Him, discover His attributes, and bless the world from that perspective. To act justly is to hold ourselves to a higher standard than our old sinful natures (1 Corinthians 10:31). We seek to learn God’s commands to obey them. To love mercy is to become channels of the same compassion and grace that rescued us (Titus 3:5). We offer forgiveness to those who offend us and leave final judgment to God (1 Corinthians 4:5). We walk humbly with our God when we stay close to Him in good times and bad, thanking Him for every good gift and running to Him when we feel threatened (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Proverbs 18:10). When we walk humbly with our God, we store up treasure in heaven as we seek to know and follow His will. By living our lives on earth for His glory, we can one day step into His presence, knowing that we have fulfilled the purpose for which He created us (1 Timothy 6:18–19; Matthew 6:20; Luke 19:17).

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