In the so-called Reformation, the Devil encourages Christians to hate the Eucharist, the Church, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This means that these three things, in turn, are crucially essential for us to be Christians; the devil doesn’t hate them for any reason!
The Eucharist, because it is a drawing into the Trinitarian life of God, the Church because it is God’s family, heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem, and Mary because she is the embodiment and realization of domesticity, the domestic family life, the hearth, the atmosphere of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. Christ is the Head and the Body, Jesus and Mary, Jesus as the Head, Mary as the Body’s representative, the communion of saints. “The Lord my God, and all his saints with him.” (Zech. 14:5) This is God, not without His saints, and they do not without God: one Body, one Christ. Therefore, Mary, as the first of the Body, is the first among the saints of the Lord.
Christ is Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, but He is still Himself.
(like the grain of wheat in His parable), not yet a Family, not yet brought harvest, has not yet become the Kingdom of God. Only when the Body is associated with Him and His saints is Christ complete, Head and Body. Those who reject Mary, reject with her, both practically and theoretically, Heaven itself, that is, this very Body, limit Christ as the Head and ignore His Body, accept Christ as Lord and Redeemer, but no longer as the Head of the Heavenly Family, as the Kingdom of God, which He creates in His Body. No wonder subsequent in this Kingdom do not live in it, do not know it, or enter it. In short, it is impossible to receive Christ without His Body indeed,
which is Mary and His saints in Heaven and the Church here on Earth. Without this, one can only encounter, glimpse, fleetingly, walking beside the multitude. But no more.
Jesus and Mary side by side, He deifies, she is revered, He gives, she
receives, but still side by side. Mary thus points to the dignity of the saved and, at the same time, shows our pride, our place not as servants, enslaved people, but as friends, standing beside Christ on the same plane as Christ, not of ourselves, only by the sheer grace of Christ, but on the same level lifted and exalted to Him, besides Christ, with Christ, in the very Christ, Body with Head, One Christ. Not to receive Mary and the saints is not to accept the Kingdom of God, to remain before its gates. For they already live in that Kingdom, to enter the Kingdom is to live with them. Not to live with them is not to be in the Kingdom. And so the Mother of God – with her all the saints, the already saved people – are their way, the “Gateway to Heaven.” Just as we are redeemed in Christ and Christ alone, we are dedicated only and only in communion with Him in the midst of them. Or, to put it another way, Jesus is God, Mary, and the saints, and all who are already with them here on Earth are His Kingdom, as the Scriptures teach: ‘By his blood, he has set us free.’ from our sins, and hath made us a kingdom.” (Rev. 1:5-6) To reject one or to leave the other always means the same thing: to stay outside, beyond the door of the Kingdom.
Therefore, the Church, which accepts both, lives in the Kingdom of God. Thus, Protestantism rejects the other and does not even think of living in the Kingdom …does not suspect. For the devil, this is quite enough. As Scripture teaches, faith without works is dead. What is the point of believing in Christ if we subsequently reject salvation?
The devil also believes but is not saved… Seeing how the Devil has made many Christians believe that living with Jesus in God’s kingdom is blasphemy and idolatry is admirable.

Little is said about the fact that Christians underestimate the devil’s existence. Only Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus does not reveal the future to anyone. However, Jesus acts decisively when dealing with the devil. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus has the power to cast out evil spirits and thus free a person from their influence. The devil calls out from the possessed: “You are the Son of God.” What do you do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24). It is enough to say to Jesus: “Shut up and come out of him” (Mk 1:25). Jesus does not need a crystal ball, a computer, various pendulums, pyramids, séances, diplomas that we can see in psychotherapy offices. Jesus does not need advertising, supposedly scientific and professional education, awards, or knowledge from para psychological seminars and meetings. It is necessary to know.

What does it mean to be possessed by the devil? This means that the devil controls the human heart, will, reason, and feelings so much that a person does evil without fighting against it. We tend to say it more gently; it is an evil passion. And it can be different. A person can be passionately addicted to alcohol, sex, lying, gossiping, stealing, drugs, or playing slot machines. The doctor will say that it is a sick person. It is a severe situation we cannot escape on our own. We can talk about one more activity of the devil: various movements and sects where opium is subtly presented, which destroys gradually, sometimes very quickly, and a person becomes enslaved.

Let us consider the genesis of how the devil takes possession of the human heart. It is necessary to tell yourself immediately that the devil does not possess a person all at once. The devil is a tactician. First, he recognizes a person’s weaknesses. Like Eve in Paradise, a lousy idea is presented as good initially. You are a free man. You have the right and obligation to try it once. He admits that it is against God’s commandment, but it is an idea where you can experience something pleasant, unusual, strange… At first glance, temptation does not look like something terrible. Anyone who engages in conversation flirts with temptation, admires others, or compares himself with others starts the second stage in himself, which is already a harbinger of something great evil. Man is prone to make light of things. What could go wrong if I do that? At this stage, a person ceases to judge correctly, see things, evaluate the situation, and take a critical attitude. I’m in the right; I have to avenge the insult…? One drink won’t put me down. Then comes the battle stage. All it takes is a thought, a look, one deed, and the devil catches his prey. How hard it is to fight back then. Resignation begins, fear is given up, concessions are made, and the wrong idea has already settled in the mind so much that it no longer wants and does not want to go out.

Temptation. When a person weakens, it becomes more difficult to fight against him, and the attraction returns and grows more robust.

He learned wisdom under the cross from the crucified Christ. And the knowledge of life; Jesus also wants to teach us today with his word. “Everyone was amazed, and they said to each other: “What kind of word is this…” (Mk 1:27)? Evangelist Luke writes about Jesus, who proves his power, mission, and name that he is The Messiah. His speech is disarmingly and shockingly clear when he teaches in the synagogue at Capernaum. It is a different speech than the multitudes heard from learned men in synagogues. He speaks as one with full power, “Greek – extrusion echo.” Jesus says as the one who knows why he came. He brings the teaching of the gospel, the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. Jesus opens the eyes of souls with his teaching to see what God expects from man. This is also proven by the incident when the unclean spirit cried out: “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Son of God” (Mk 1:24). We note that only the weaker could speak in this way to the stronger. The unclean spirit speaks the truth about the power of Christ. It presents Jesus as the Holy One of God. The words reveal a hopeless and desperate attempt to neutralize the power of another. The devil knows that his power is incomparable to the power of Jesus. The devil does not have the power to win over Jesus. Jesus proves his power when he says clearly and decisively: “Shut up and come out of him” (Mk 1:25)! It is not just the power of Jesus’ word. How many give orders and orders and regulations, and those to whom they are addressed do not carry them out? The power of Jesus’ talk will be realized immediately. An unclean spirit breaks a person to see in it a particular struggle for a person and, at the same time, the defeat of the devil, who is not silent but must come out of the man with a cry. Screaming didn’t help the devil. It just reveals that Jesus has the power before which the power of evil capitulates. 

The Church received from its founder the role and duty of teacher and prophet, thus continuing and fulfilling the work of the Lord Jesus. The teaching-prophetic mission of the Church has always been necessary to guide thinking, awaken conscience, and watch over human hearts. When we want to implement the words of Jesus, it is right to realize that the priest should never personally take on such work that can be entrusted to laypeople. Let the laity offer their abilities, knowledge, experience, talent, and education where God has them. It is a downright sin when a priest does not allow lay people to realize the gifts they have received from God. 

We have already been deceived by many with their clever speeches, promises, proposals, and false arguments, but their power, although it has lasted for decades, lasts and will last, is final. We are not silent today and do not want to be quiet because we believe in the power of the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus.

What experiences do we have with the testimony of faith? Haven’t you noticed that even “Christians” are ashamed to confess their faith? The man was talking about his co-worker. One day, this co-worker visited me. As I spoke, I asked him, “Have you ever heard the Gospel?” “No,” he answered, “but I have seen it.” I know a man who was the terror of the whole neighborhood. He was an alcoholic and a drug addict; he was as dangerous as a wild beast. But he was utterly changed by the influence of the gospel. Now he is kind and good and has given up alcohol altogether.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus was not accepted by his natives because the words came out of his mouth: “You will remind me of the words: Physician, heal yourself!” We have heard all that happened in Capernaum; do the same here, in your homeland” (Lk 4:23). The Lord Jesus comes to his people, and they know him: Joseph’s son. They recognize him as their countryman, of course – and as such, he is not attractive to them, and they show him no recognition. They know him as their countryman – but not as the Messiah. As such, he wants to introduce himself to them when he reads the Messianic passage from the prophet Isaiah; the prophet points to him, but they do not accept it in mind or heart. When we look at the example of those Nazarenes, we can understand what it means to know Christ. It means to come out of darkness, from the darkness of error, deception, and insincerity. To know Christ means to free oneself from egoism, avarice, pride, sensuality, and comfort; allowing yourself to tell the truth – above all, the truth about yourself; it means accepting the truth – even if it’s unpleasant, complex, or inconvenient. Lord Jesus will not spare us such facts, even though we are his own for him – precisely because we are his own.

When he became man, Christ found his homeland among us; let him be a rare prophet in this country, even if he reveals brutal truths to us; for these truths, for our liberation from darkness, he sacrificed his life. No one is a prophet in his own country. The proverb can be misused. Jesus asks us to bear witness to the truth in this world, in the environment where we live and work. That is, to resist the false currents of the present, showing in one’s life that it is possible to live in a different, more beautiful, and perfect way. This will make many around us question the meaning of life.

Our testimonies with preaching about faith can be different. It is necessary that we first look carefully at our life. We do not want others to do what we do not do. The father says: The son drank, he also hit me… I once shouted at him: “Did they teach you that in religion and church?” He answered me: “Shut up! I never saw you as a Christian.” That day, I entered my conscience and changed my life.” From each other and for each other, I need to live the testimony of faith. 

Let us be responsible for everything that God has entrusted to us.

Jesus reminds us of this in the parable of the talents: “For to everyone who has, more will be added and he will have more. And from him who has not, even what he has will be taken” (Mt 25:29). Our task in life is to fulfill the will of God and thus gain a share in the kingdom of God. they received. Jesus compared the gifts from God to talents so that the listeners would better understand the magnitude of the facilities. Talent was the most significant financial unit in Asia Minor. To create a correct picture of the value of the talent, let’s remember that the Jewish talent was divided into 30 minas or 3000 shekels. One mina weighed about 436 g of silver, the shekel 8.4 g. It took about 15 years of work to earn one million. A talent was equal to 26 kg of silver, which meant that for the average Jew, wealth was practically unattainable. In today’s situation, one talent would be worth 70 thousand US dollars. This means that whoever receives more will rightly be asked for more; if expectations are not met, a harsher punishment comes. The parable of the talents does not exclude anyone from God’s love. Everyone gets talents. As humans, we were given health, beauty, family, various smartness, skills, talents, and how have we dealt with them so far?

When Edison was asked what he owed to his discoveries and inventions, he answered: “One percent talent and ninety percent hard work.” Louis Pasteur, the inventor of the cure for rabies and the discoverer of pasteurization, spoke similarly. As Christians, we received gifts in the sacraments – baptism,  confirmation, reconciliation, the Eucharist, marriage, and the priesthood. We must not only turn our attention to him regarding rights, but we also have obligations. The world admires Blessed John XXIII, who amazed those around him with his moral, human, and theological principles. Those who read his “Diary Soul” know that he worked on the values ​​he possessed gradually and slowly, from his student years until he died Pope; he worked on himself again and cooperated with graces from God.

Talent is not only a gift but also a task, an obligation. Sv. Augustine realized the principle: “God, who created you without you, will not save you without you, without your cooperation.” Talent does not only require natural, physical work but also spiritual and mental engagement. In the parable, Jesus is concerned with our cooperation. We do not want to be like the servant who buried the talent and returned it as it was received. It is not enough to produce; when God wants more, we are obliged to fulfill the task with which we have been entrusted. The righteous, dishonest servant deserved the statement and the follow-up: “Throw away servant out into the darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 25:30). Man need not fear God the Judge when he lives as God expects him to.

Symbol of oil▪ The lamp does not burn without oil. So, it is a symbol of death. When does death occur? Even doctors distinguish between so-called clinical death and the natural end of life. There are sure signs that life in the body is ending. Is it over? But with death, we don’t even know the beginning. According to a Spanish song, one begins to die at birth. But this is about natural bodily life. We Christians believe in eternal life but also the eternal death of sinners. When do they start? Life here is equated with grace, symbolized by the lamp’s oil. So when does a person die? He loses energy in the truest sense the moment he loses sanctifying dignity. That is why grave sins are also called “mortal sins.” Although the sinner continues to live on earth, it is only like the flickering of the last remaining oil. Bodily death will reveal what was inside. So there is a big difference between people. Wolves are all wolves; sheep are sheep, writes Pseudo-Makarius. They look the same and are the same. However, people only look the same on the outside. There are sheep or wolves inside; they carry life or death.

Arrival in the middle of the night▪ The oil is stored in the lamp but lit when it gets dark. That is why all lamps look the same during the day, whether they have oil or not. When does it get dark? In the complete sense, only at physical death. But already in this life, there are many moments in which it seems to us that it is getting late, that we are in a fog, that we have lost our way. In these moments, one already recognizes that someone has or does not have the light of grace. It is a light that does not burn brightly but still enough so we do not lose the right direction. Even great saints sometimes experience periods of anxiety. It seemed to them that heaven was closed to them. Theresa of Lisieux also had such an impression before her death. But she had one certainty, and all believers have it: the certainty of faith, of trust. We cannot see ahead, but we still feel that our path is the right one and that we cannot leave it. Pseudo-Macarius, who we just quoted, explains these states by using the example of someone walking with a lamp against the wind. The fire blazes in all directions, but it does not go out. That’s why we value it all the more and are sure it will flare up thoroughly when the wind dies down and there is calm.

I expect a groom. ▪ Faith is like a leap into the dark. At least, that’s how it seems to the great converts when they finally decide to accept the faith. But why does he finally leap? One of them explained it nicely. We don’t understand anything at that point. The darkness is complete. But we feel that it is not empty. Someone is standing there, and we know that they will catch us, that we will not fall or hit each other. Oil is a symbol of eternal light. But what would be the use of lighting the house if it was empty and no one was waiting for us there? The comparison to the virgins and the bridegroom is appropriate in the biblical tradition. Scripture is the message of the living God. His life is not in time, not in place. However, there is an eternal meeting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three persons in unity, in an inaccessible light. Nevertheless, we have been given access to this. Therefore, we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in blessed hope.

As James Pitre says, to worship something as a god is to bring to it sacrifices. “And Jacob made a vow: ‘If God is with me, if he will protect me on this journey, by which I now walk if he will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, and if I return happily to my father’s house, then Yahweh will be my God, and this stone I have set up as a monument will be God’s house. And, of all things, I will give you tithes” (Gen 28:20-22).
This is the first and primary form of sacrifice. Where is your tithe going? Because that’s where your God is. That is who you worship. “Mortify therefore your earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry!” (Col 3:5) “Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and shame is the glory of those who the earthly-minded.” (Phil 3:19)
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Faith, hope, and love…
Do you believe that to be like Jesus in Heaven, you must be like Him
like Him on earth because He is the same Jesus and the exact likeness and unity? Do you have the sure hope that in the power of God’s grace, you really can? And especially love – do you want it? Do you like Jesus and desire to be like Him? Not just in His abilities (power, immortality – who wouldn’t desire that?), but also in His qualities such as love, mercy, and goodness, because one without the other does not exist.
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The more we immerse ourselves in Christ, the more our inner man.
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In the Church, you will encounter two kinds of people: the native and the stranger. Strangers attend the Church but do not live or work in it, for it is foreign. Domestics live and work in it, for it is theirs. By this, you will know them from one another.
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There are two ways to approach Scripture. The first is to take Scripture as a foundation and, on that basis, as some detectives, start deducing and looking for the Messiah and all that and everything that goes with it. That’s what the scribes and rabbis did at the turn of the century. But the result was that they had Jesus crucified, and Bar Kochab declared Messiah… The second is that the foundation and starting point is Christ – and in His light, we approach the Scriptures, and they are revealed to us because they are illuminated to Christ. So it was that the Emausite disciples first experienced this when Jesus “opened to them the Scriptures” and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, expounded to them the things concerning Him in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Since then, the Church has done just that
and continues to do so to this day. There is no sola scriptura, but only one truth: Jesus Christ. He is the Alpha and Omega, no one else, nothing else. After all, even Scripture testifies that “no one can lay any other foundation, but then that which is already laid is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11).
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Be like a child. To be born again. To be a new creation. Scripture describes the depths to which we must go, leaving behind the ideas and patterns of our thought to accommodate the reality of Christianity, God, and the real world. To see things in a whole new way. Truly. As they are, not twisted by the illusions of the world. Also, one must leave, or rather, legally leave the human family of the world when he chooses to live that way. This, too, the Scriptures call our attention to as the price of the new life, including the hatred of the world, which is terrified of what is taken from it that differs from it, that it does not understand, that it cannot control, and that which transcends it. Sometimes, we call it mysticism and think it is unique
for the few. The opposite is true. What else is Heaven but mysticism?
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To pray is to dwell in God’s world. That is why prayer is so important
(though not only for this reason): to get used to God and the things of God and God’s world can only be done by dwelling on it as much and as intensely as possible. The community in which this world materializes has a similar function, and we also learn to live it and live in it by unlearning each other, by inspiration, and by example.
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Not only the Eucharist as such, but also the liturgy of the Eucharist itself is Heaven at Earth – precisely because it is not anything but liturgy. Whoever loves Heaven loves the Liturgy of the Eucharist because, in it, he experiences it. He who loves the Liturgy of the Eucharist loves Heaven because he already knows what it tastes like.
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When one sees all the barrenness to which many separated brothers
grow up, one understands better why Jesus did not leave us here with the book of Scripture in our hands but chose to stay with us on earth, clothed in the Body of the Church, which He created for this purpose.
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We prefer to flow with reality rather than flow with ideas.
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Rejection of God and His actions – whether atheists or separated brethren – is similar to conspiracy theories. As a friend wrote to me atheist on Lourdes, “The commission was investigating whether a kind of healing was a miracle – I’m not going to discuss that; I don’t believe in miracles; the whole idea is absurd.” You don’t need to know anything. You don’t need to know anything at all to use reason. Just repeat the magic words “demagoguery” over and over again, “absurd,” “I don’t believe,” “bullshit,” “the Church is a criminal organization,” “Religion has caused all the wars,” etc. The problem, then, is that while knowing the facts and drawing logical conclusions require courage, some effort, and even the art of correct thinking,  The latter involves nothing – and yet it is also convenient because we are confirmed in our ideas, which gives us a sense of importance (I’m the one who knows how it is, not those stupid sheep) and comfort (I don’t have to change anything about myself or undergo no effort of thought). Therefore, in the end, attempts to show similar people the reality essentially ring hollow – because their problem is not ignorance; it’s just a consequence of their laziness and their feeling of superiority over the rest of the filthy “plebs.”
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Adulthood is about self-actualization – I know who I am! – and transcendence – I know who I serve! Both are autonomic.