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Jesus ​​promises the coming of “another Comforter” (Jn 14:16), who will always be with us. “Comforter” is a typical expression in the Gospel of John and, of Greek origin, designates a person who comes to comfort, defend, or help. Jesus announces the arrival of another Comforter after his departure, because the first is himself: Sacred Scripture tells us that Christ in heaven is “our advocate with the Father” (1 Jn 2:1). The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, remains with us forever on earth, accompanying and comforting us, protecting and defending us. He is the way to Christ because he reminds us of his words (cf. Jn 15:26); he gently and discreetly directs our hearts to Jesus Christ. “He who is drunk with the Spirit is rooted in Christ,” said Saint Ambrose.

“To teach and to remind: that is the task of the Holy Spirit. He teaches us to enter into the mystery, to understand it a little more. He teaches us the doctrine of Jesus and teaches us how to develop our faith (…). Faith is not static; doctrine is not static: it grows. It grows like trees, always the same but bigger, with fruit but always the same, in the same direction (…). And another thing that Jesus says the Holy Spirit does is to remind: He will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you (Jn 14:26). The Holy Spirit is like a memory; he awakens us: Remember this, remember that. He keeps us alert in the things of the Lord and also leads us to remember our own lives: remember that time, remember when you met the Lord, and remember when you left him.

(…). The Holy Spirit guides us in this remembrance; He guides us to discern what to do now, which path is right and which is wrong, even in small decisions. If we ask the Holy Spirit for light, He will help us make the right decisions, both the small, everyday ones and the bigger ones. He is the one who accompanies us, who sustains us”.

The Holy Spirit leads us to the truth…

FOLLOWING Jesus leads us to want to live in the truth, fascinated by the fact that we seek it with devotion, accept it, and love it. Wanting to accept the truth means truly loving Christ. In this effort, “the Holy Spirit teaches the Christian the truth as a principle of life and shows him the concrete application of Jesus’ words in his life”[3]. At least three times, Jesus calls the Comforter “the Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). Although different from Jesus, the Holy Spirit perfects Jesus’ presence in us.

We know that “Jesus Christ is the truth that is a Person and that draws the world to himself. The light that Jesus radiates is the radiance of truth. Every other truth is a fragment of the truth that is him and refers to him. Jesus is the pole star of human freedom: (…) with him freedom is rediscovered, recognized as created for good, and expressed in charitable actions and conduct (…). Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of truth, draws the heart of every person to himself, expanding it and filling it with joy. Indeed, only truth is capable of penetrating the mind and making it fully joyful”.

This love of truth, which drives our intelligence, is the work of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it fills us with humility before creation and before the capacity of our own knowledge, which will always be small compared to the mysterious action of God. “Strive to make humility of mind your principle”, advised Saint Josemaría. “The desire for truth is part of human nature, and the whole of creation is a great invitation to seek answers that open the human mind to the great answer that it has always sought and always hoped for.

The gift of strength… THE

The HOLY SPIRIT works in the soul through his gifts, “distributing them to each one as he wills” (1 Cor 12:11). One of his gifts is the gift of strength, which drives us to great goals and sustains us in our weakness. Saint Josemaría referred to the Christian experience when he recalled that “all our strength is borrowed.” This gift is necessary to seek the truth constantly and to embrace it throughout our lives. It can certainly be tiring, especially because our abilities do not always align with our desires and because the truth is sometimes difficult to accept and does not always coincide with what seems to us to be the best option. Often, we must humbly open ourselves to other answers and ways of acting, even if we have long thought we were right.

This is precisely why the gift of strength must be the fundamental tone of our Christian existence, because it keeps us faithful in our search. Love for the truth binds our lives, and strength gives us the necessary firmness. In this way, we can “face problems with courage, without fear of sacrifice and the heaviest burdens, taking on our conscience and our personal responsibility.”

Jesus says: “You also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning” (Jn 15:27). The Christian is called to be a reliable witness to the humble and sincere search for the truth. Christ warned his disciples of the persecution that awaits them for their witness. These men, having received the gift of strength at Pentecost, become courageous witnesses. They were truly strong in the face of adversity, in the face of unexpected events that came into their lives, in situations that could have disrupted their plans and projects. Mary’s tender accompaniment protects us: she listens to our invocations so that the Spirit of truth “illuminates our minds and strengthens our wills, so that we may always be accustomed to seeking, speaking, and listening to the truth.”

In today’s Gospel, a personal dialogue takes place between Jesus and Peter. Jesus asks Peter if Peter loves Him. This question, asked after the denial, sounds very cruel… But Peter, after looking into his heart, says, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Perhaps if this meeting had not taken place, Peter would have stopped believing in himself and thought his love was not real. But Jesus rose from the dead not only for everyone, but also for each one individually. Peter again sees love and friendship in the Master’s eyes.

His heart immediately responds to this look. He understands his connection with Jesus is something greater than just pleasant memories… Jesus asks a second and a third time, wanting to make Peter look deeper into his heart: “Do you love me?”. “Lord, you know everything, you know that I love you,” Peter answers fervently. He looks at Jesus again and cannot say anything else. Yes, regardless of everything, love is alive. Standing before the one who knows everything, he confesses love again. In response, Peter hears the call “Feed my sheep.” With these words, Jesus awakens Peter to a new life. “Feed my sheep.”

Brotherly care not only revives Peter’s love but also makes it life-giving. Then follows the prophecy of martyrdom. These words reveal Jesus’ trust in Peter. This statement means that love destroyed his denial. His request to follow Jesus was even heard. What he was not at all prepared for was fulfilled later. Of course, Peter may be afraid again. But this fear can no longer destroy his happiness. Jesus rose from the dead, and everything was resurrected:dialog possible his love, his desires… Such a dialogue can take place with each of us. It can cleanse each of us from all falls and betrayals. He can renew our love and make it stronger in this world. What is asked of us? To believe we can respond to this call we have heard in our hearts. The joy that we feel in the depths of our hearts responding to Him will be the confirmation: yes, it is truly Him

Position: priest, monk, and mystic OPraem
Death: 1241 or 1252
Patrons: mothers, children, and watchmakers
Attributes: boy, apple, Jesus Christ with Mother, inkwell, chalice, key, Premonstratensian, writing implements, rose
CURRICULUM VITAE

He was born in the 12th century. Redemonstrate in Cologne and from childhood was subject to mystical visions. Originally he was supposed to be a watchmaker, but then he entered the Premonstratensian order, where he became a priest. The abbot entrusted him with the care of the food of his brothers, in which he proved himself patient and obedient. In his spiritual life he is said to have achieved a mystical marriage. Finally, he was a sacristan, composing hymns and an interpretation of the Song of Solomon.
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REWARDED TRUST
He came from a poor family in Cologne. He went to school from the age of seven and hurried to church afterward, where he spent hours in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus. He spoke to them in a childlike, intimate way, as if they were not statues but real beings. He told them what he was thinking and loved to share it. Legend has it that he once gave an apple to the baby Jesus, and the baby Jesus reached out and took it. This reminds us that what we can truly think is truly accepted and rewarded by the loving God.

He called the Virgin Mary his mother and his rose. He often recalled Jesus’ poverty on earth and his humiliation and suffering. Then he rejoiced in his poverty, especially in the possibility of reproach. The world seemed to him like a sea of ​​temptations, and at the age of 12 he decided to enter the Premonstratensian monastery in Steinfeld. Perhaps precisely because St. Norbert had entrusted the order to the protection of the Mother of God and a flame of love for Herman burned in his heart. Around that time or later, he trained as a watchmaker.

After receiving the white robe of the order, he was sent to the monastery of Frisco for further education. There he studied well, but he did not like the writings of pagan orators. They allegedly gave him a musty smell. On the other hand, he felt a sweet delight in the writings of the Church Fathers. After his studies, he returned, took religious vows, and was ordained a priest.

Someone entrusted him with the care of food, shattering his dreams of remaining in contemplative prayer. He willingly and humbly provided it and served at the table. He himself preferred to fast on bread and water, and when he complained to Fr. Mary that he could no longer remain in prayer for long, she reassured him: when he performs the duties assigned to him by serving his brothers as if he were serving Christ and God, he offers the most beloved sacrifice.

After some time, he was appointed sacristan, with responsibility for the temple, sacred vessels, and liturgical vestments. Thus, the desire of his heart was granted so that he could devote himself more to meditation. Occasionally, he spent the whole night before the altar. Perhaps because he excelled in purity, love and reverence for the Mother of God, the brothers began to call him Joseph. His humility and modesty prevented him from accepting the name of the betrothed of St. Mary, until she allegedly appeared to him with an angel, who announced to him that the Most Holy Virgin was betrothed to him, as she was betrothed to Joseph, and that she wished him to accept his name.

Due to frequent mystical experiences with Mother Mary and especially an exaggerated ascetic life, Herman Josef became physically weak and then seriously ill. He blamed himself for being unable to serve his brothers. And the Virgin Mary brought him out of his despondency by begging for his health. One biographer wrote that he was like a grain of wheat ground by two millstones, one by pleasures and the other by sufferings.superiorscompanions

He also belonged to the worshipers of holy friends in heaven. In honor of St. Voršila and her companions, he composed a hymn, including a melody to it based on the singing of the virgins during a mystical experience. At that time, they also found their remainssuperiors, and Heřman Josef begged the superioress Voršila for the skull of St. Gertrude.

Among his remarkable virtues was touching humility. He behaved as the least and most unworthy, contented himself with an older patched monastic habit, and was perfectly obedient to his superiors. He also administered the hours in the monastery and radiated a special charm. In his later years, he began to write a commentary on the Old Testament Song of Solomon. His work had the best qualities, thanks to Father Maria’s encouragement. While working on his writing, he experienced pleasure and distanced himself from everything earthly.

In his last years, he prepared for the death he had predicted, as well as for the grave. He lived out his life in Hoven, near Zülpich, in a monastery where the Cistercian nuns had called him to perform the Easter rites. When they welcomed him there, he pointed with his staff to the place where he would be buried. Eventually, with great pomp, his body was transferred to Steinfeld. Miracles were performed at his grave. Two dates of indistinguishable authenticity have been preserved for the year of his death. He was canonized in 1960.

CURRICULUM VITAE

He came from Siena. The foundation of his spiritual life was worship and veneration of the Virgin Mary. The strength of his love for his neighbor was especially evident during the plague, when he himself treated the sick. He entered a Franciscan monastery and became a priest. He renounced everything and sought only God. With love and zeal, he spread reverence for the name of Jesus throughout Italy. He was accused of heresy, but his innocence was always recognized. He died in L’Aquila at the age of 64.

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HEROLD OF CHRIST

He was born on September 8, 1380, in Massa Maritima near Siena in central Italy. When he was three years old, his mother died, and three years later, his father, who was a mine owner, died. Bernardino was cared for by his father’s relatives in Siena. His grandmother taught him to love God and to be devoted to Mary. His extraordinary talent led him to enter the university very early. He was popular there for his friendly character and generosity. In Siena, he studied literature, law, biblical studies, and theology.

From about age 17, he was in the Virgin Mary brotherhood, which sought to lead its members to perfection through service to the needy, poor, and sick. When the plague broke out, he and his companions cared for the sick and dying, and he himself became severely infected. By the grace of God, he recovered and, for some time, helped his sick aunt. During his illness, he decided to become religious and considered the Augustinian and Franciscan orders, which he ultimately chose. He entered the Franciscans in Siena at the age of 22 and joined the strict branch of the Observants. After a year of novitiate, he took religious vows, and in 1404, he was ordained a priest.

In his early years, he further deepened his knowledge by studying theological, ascetic, and mystical writings, especially those of Franciscan church writers. The superiors allowed him to live for a while on the hill of Capriola, where he turned the hermitage into a small monastery and lived a very mortified life in fervent preparation. From 1417, he began his preaching and missionary work in central and northern Italy. At first, he felt incapable because of his weak voice, so he turned to the Mother of God, who helped him. He then spoke in a clear, resonant voice, which won the hearts of his listeners. He was equally proficient at preaching in the vernacular to quite simple peasants as well as to university listeners. He presented the deepest Christian truths to everyone in an appropriate manner. For many listeners, he often preached in the open air. His sermons sometimes caused a sudden shortage of confessors and dispensers of the Blessed Sacrament.

Contemporary chroniclers said of him that his influence was like the arrival of spring. It was a time full of hatred, marked by hostility between noble families and common neighbors. Italy was divided not only into principalities and city-states but also into political factions, and the sight of this torn world was depressing.her But Bernardine did not speak of disasters but of Jesus and his divine love. He said, “In him is contained everything that God has ordained for human salvation.” He pointed to him as a “burning light” and proclaimed the crucified Jesus, the divine physician of soul and body, as the answer.

He preached the need for forgiveness and reconciliation, and, with that aim, he also preached respect for the name of Jesus. He created an image of a shining sun with the monogram JHS; these are the first three letters of the Greek word “Jesus” (also an abbreviation of “Jesus, the Savior of the people”). Above the middle letter H was a cross, and a new coat of arms was created, drawing attention to the mystery of salvation. During Bernardine’s time, this symbol spread widely throughout Italy, especially to the houses of Christian brotherhoods, and it was also inscribed on the facades of public buildings. Bernardine carried a tablet bearing this symbol with him and placed it on the altar, where he celebrated Holy Mass before preaching. After preaching, he raised the tablet high and was blessed by it.

Finally, Bernardine was arrested and accused of heresy because the spread of such veneration displeased some theologians and humanists. The church court examined his accusations three times, the last time at the Council of Basel in 1438. John of Capistrano is said to have been one of Bernardine’s effective defenders. Bernardine did not take advantage of the emperor’s favor either, and in the end, his orthodoxy, pure intentions, and holiness of life were always recognized. On the other hand, the Pope offered him the episcopal office in Siena, Ferrara, and Urbino three times, but Bernardine always refused, preferring the path of preaching.

He also successfully defended the poor. Some inhabitants were expelled from a village for debts, and he fought relentlessly for each until they could return.

In 1438, Bernardine became the superior general of the Franciscan Observants and helped expand their order. As superior of the order, he participated in the general council in Florence. In the monastery of Monteripido near Perugia, he founded a theological school, where he himself taught, and in Siena, he established a higher theological teaching institution from which the religious professors were drawn. He tried to complement the Franciscan simplicity with intellectual maturity.

In 1442, he felt his strength diminish and resigned from the office of superior. The governor of Siena then asked him for some diplomatic services, which he successfully performed. He then tried to continue his apostolic work, but on the eve of the Ascension, while at San Silvestro near L’Aquila, his strength left him, and he died there in the monastery.

He was canonized by Nicholas V in 1450, and in 1474 his remains were transferred to a new church in L’Aquila, built in his honor.

CURRICULUM VITAE

He came from Tuscany and was the son of Constantius. He became archpriest at St. John Lateran and was elected pope on 13 August 523. In Rome, he restored the church of St. Felix and Adauctus on the Ostia road. He introduced the Christian calendar, dating historical events according to the year of Christ’s birth. The initial year was calculated by the monk Dionysius the Younger, and later calculations revealed that he was probably mistaken by 4-7 years and that the birth of the Lord occurred earlier.

John, I am the first pope to travel to Constantinople. He was forced to do so by the aging Ostrogothic king Theodoric, who ruled over Italy and who wanted the emperor in Constantinople to abandon all anti-Arian actions and even to return those who had become Catholics from Arians. The pope refused the Arians’ demands but was willing to continue negotiations. The king had the pope put on a ship with some bishops, including Ekklesius of Ravenna and the pope’s noble entourage from Rome.

In Constantinople, the people and the clergy welcomed the pope, and Emperor Justin I knelt before him, accepting him as Peter’s successor. The pope presented Theodoric’s demands, except for those concerning the Arians. On Easter 525, he celebrated a glorious Latin mass and crowned the emperor. The pope received significant priority everywhere, even over the patriarch. When the pope returned to Italy after Easter, as soon as he set foot in Ravenna, King Theodoric had him imprisoned and subjected to various tortures, including starvation. The pope was probably already sick from the journey, and mental and physical suffering overcame him so that he died in prison in Ravenna the following year.

He was buried outside the walls of Ravenna. At his funeral, according to the chronicles of Maximian, a man possessed by an evil spirit was healed. After the death of Theodoric, who became an enemy of Rome and all Catholics, the remains of Pope John I were transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica and buried in its portico. The inscription on the tomb read: “High Priest of the Lord, you fall as a sacrifice of Christ. This is the way in which the popes obtain the promises of God.”

Brothers and sisters… when you walk across Charles Bridge in Prague, you will find over 30 statues and groups of saints—and among them the oldest, the iconographically legendary statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, which has stood in its place since 1683. And although it has stood there silently for so long… it still has something to say to everyone who passes by daily.

It is such beautiful symbolism – the saint does not stand in a quiet church but in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this world, on a bridge over which a huge number of people pass daily. He stands in the middle of the world in priestly garb – he has a clear identity, publicly declares his allegiance to the Catholic Church,Whentime, but and hides nothing… and this is precisely in such an atheistic country as our neighbors are. So the first thing this saint inspires us with is courage – the courage to be readable at first glance… the courage to bear witness to Christ… the courage not to merge with this world.

Another thing we can notice is how he is portrayed. Saint John has his finger on his mouth… because he knew how to speak at the right time but also how to remain silent at the right time. In the era of the rise of mass media, where we are bombarded with one piece of information after another from all sides—via the Internet, radio, newspapers, or television… we lose our sense of what to share – what to move forward with, and what to feed our hearts with because of what to develop into topics in conversations. And so, in the place of the greatest tourist traffic, Saint John has his mouth closed but both eyes and ears open, as if he wanted to tell us, “Be quiet! Listen to God’s voice and do not close your eyes to His care; let your words be guided by love for the truth.

However, John’s silence also applies to the mystery of confession, for which he underwent a martyr’s death. And so, with his silence, he clearly speaks of the amazing gift of God’s mercy that God has placed in holy confession.

And finally, the saint is often depicted with a cross in his hands, which he looks at with love and fear… as if he wanted to draw our gaze to it and reveal to us where we can find the source of life and happiness. So let the memory of John of Nepomuk lead us to self-reflection and to the questions we need to askAsAndSomeone. How often do I spend time in silence—the silence that is necessary for hearing the voice of God? Can I keep a secret someone confides in me… and not spread others’ mistakes? Can I be discreet?