predication.net

Jesus often comes into contact with the scribes and Pharisees. We hear that even today, he addresses them: “Woe” (Mt 23 27). The Pharisees demanded the observance of many rules derived from tradition and unreasonably limited personal freedom. By interpreting certain parts of the law, they imposed on the people such obligations that they secretly overlooked and even deliberately avoided. They saw their primary mission as ostentatious piety. Nothing was too holy not to serve this purpose. God told Moses about His commandments. These words have a deep meaning. If a person thinks about God’s word and lives according to it, he is exalted by nature. God’s law’s principles will manifest in just and compassionate action. Man will not succumb to bribes and various other seductive temptations.

Thus, you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who killed the prophets(cf. Mat 23,29-31). The Jews were very eager to decorate the tombs of the prophets to show their respect for them. However, they did not heed their messages and words of warning. In the time of Christ, superstitious attention was paid to the graves of the dead, and their decoration required considerable expense. It was idolatry before God. By their indecent worship of the dead, people showed that they did not love God above all, nor their neighbors as themselves. Much of the same idolatry can be observed today. They widen their prayer straps and enlarge the fringes on their robes. They like to have the leading places at banquets and the first seats in synagogues, greetings in the squares, and even when people call them Master! Jesus says: But do not let yourselves be called Master, for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth father, for one is your heavenly Father. Do not even be called leaders, because one is your Leader, Christ (cf. Mat 23,5-10). Here, the Savior revealed their selfish ambition, striving for a position of power, and exposed their false humility, under which a heart full of avarice and envy was hidden.

Jesus warns when, on festive occasions, the guests were seated according to rank, and those given the most prominent places were the center of attention and unique favor. The Pharisees still sought this honor. Jesus condemned these customs. He also reprimanded the vain desire to be addressed as rabbi and master. What is it like to be the guest of honor at a lavish banquet? You enter the banquet hall door, and your host gives you a big smile and leads you to the place of honor behind the top table. When is a person proud? How to distinguish pride from pride in the work done, which is only a natural reaction? A person should know his gifts and strengths and be healthy and proud of his accomplishments. There is only a tiny step between healthy pride and pride. It is in the view of others.

Who are you, Salome? Young, beautiful, talented, and somewhat inexperienced. Sometimes, it is more visible, less. Salome had an excellent opportunity to show herself. Perhaps she thought that her potential husband was among the diners. So she wanted to establish herself in her best beauty. And she succeeded. They noticed her. The king, who was her stepfather, tried to repay her. After all, she became his stepdaughter, so he saw an opportunity to gift her. And he was truly generous. Half a kingdom is not enough. Someone will say that he has gone crazy – for one dance. Herodias was worse off. She wasted a great deal. She also impoverished her somewhat naive daughter with her egoistic act. And it was great, after all. Beautiful “tinsel” for unwrapped and showed emptiness.

It would be easy to judge us… Salome is in each of us. We are young (80 years to eternity), beautiful, talented, and inexperienced. Sometimes more, sometimes less. We like to show off because profit is helpful for us. And we can enjoy generosity. And there are always kings who jump on our “honey.” They want to get us. And so they promise us something. They are successful in this – they call us drunk with dry bread. Then, we will also waste more significant offers than “half the kingdom.” The problem is not only in the menu but also in the fact that we are willing to sacrifice anything for the “dry roll.” We are so glad that we even offer the heads of our neighbors. This is the emptiness that convicts us. It would be easy to judge us… but God does not judge us… He wants to forgive us… Do we want His mercy?

Come to the deep: How do I react to the various offers of the world? How long will I be here on Earth, and how long in eternity? Am I paying adequate attention to this fact? Am I thinking about God’s offers?

Tip for you:  Let’s try to do something for those worse off than us. But let’s not do it because they are miserable, but because they are people like us. We are equal.

What does it mean, and how do we imagine living in God?
God is a unique being. If nothing else, he is invisible, for example. Why? Is he playing hide and seek with us? Or is the cause somewhere else? Scripture whispers an exciting insight. First, it tells us how the world exists: “The earth came into being by the word of God…[God] sustains all things by his mighty word” (2 Pet. 3:5; Heb. 1:3 ). And then he says where this world exists, “[God] is not far from us.
For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27-28 ). If we put the two together, an exciting picture emerges: the world, the Universe, which exists as an idea in the mind of God. God imagined us – and thus created us. God thinks of us – and we live. If He thought of us, God forgot us – we would cease to exist. We would cease to exist.
Nowadays, we can liken it to something familiar: a computer game. When you play a computer game, there is a real world: there are mountains, there are rivers, there are cities, there are people; this world of the computer game has laws that govern its running and functioning. But it is a virtual world. Compared to us, it is unreal. It doesn’t exist in reality; it exists only in the memory and the computer’s processor. In a way, we can imagine ourselves in relation to God. God is spirit. You might also think to yourself as you say this that it means God has nobody. He is not material, as if he lacks something we, unlike Him, have. The terms “body” and “spirit” in ancient Hebrew thought, which permeates the Scriptures, mean the exact opposite: God is spirit, that is, the real, the real, the true, the One Who Is. This also means His Name, JHWH: the One Who Is. And we humans, the Earth, the Universe, are just a body, just something like the world of a computer game in a computer. The computer is real, it’s hardware, whereas the game world is just virtual, it’s just software. God is the spirit, the “hardware,” the real one – and we are just flesh, just “software” running in His Mind. So God is not even somewhere in the Universe, as Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin thought when he flew up a little over three hundred kilometers above the surface of our planet and said: “I have been in space, but I have not seen God there”; nor somewhere outside Universe, somewhere beside it or above it, whence he looks on like some researcher on a petri dish with his experiment, but it is the Universe that exists in God.
This has exciting implications.

1. INVISIBLE, BUT ALL THE MORE REAL.
A character from a computer game cannot “jump out” and look at the computer in which it exists or at the programmer or player. Therefore, The computer is essentially invisible to her and cannot be visible because it exists on a completely different plane from the computer game world. Although the computer itself is “invisible” to the virtual world of the computer game, it is nevertheless actual – more accurate than the game and its world!
In the same way, God is inaccessible to our senses, and we cannot meet Him “face to face” like some other creature in this world. He exists on a completely different plane of reality than our created world. Because of this, God is “spirit” and not just “flesh.” In the complete sense of the word, he is the accurate – the most real of all that we consider fundamental.
“Lord, what is man that thou shouldest confess him, and the son of man that thou shouldest think on him? Man is like a mirage; his days are like a flying shadow.” (PS 144:3-4 )
2. “HE WHO IS MANIFESTED IN THE FLESH
Suppose the programmer wants to somehow “manifest himself” in his created game. In that case, he can do so in various ways, for example, by using an “avatar,” or character, to represent him or herself in the game. This is, after all, how computer games work: the player is defined in the game world by the character through which he plays the game. But  It would still be true that he and the feeling that represents him are not the same thing: the player is NOT an avatar; he APPEARS to be one and thus makes himself “visible” to the game world!
Similarly, God sometimes reveals Himself through “visions” – often very symbolic “characters” or other visible phenomena, through which He makes Himself visible in our world and, simultaneously, reveals something of Himself (that’s why they are symbolic).
3. ALL THINGS
The computer and the programmer have complete sovereign, absolute power over everything they create. The programmer creates the very world and the laws of the computer game, which apply absolutely to its characters and world. But at the same time, the programmer himself can, at any time and in any way, do anything in the game (program) that can change, break, or bypass and is not bound by anything in the world of the game he has created. Similarly, in many games, players can do the same thing, called “cheating”: they put some code into the computer or press a secret key combination and cause a “miracle” in the game. There is nothing that a computer (and, through it, a programmer) cannot do, create, make, or cause within the world of a computer game – if only because it runs on the computer and only as the computer determines and “allows” it to run.
Likewise, by the very nature of things, God has absolute power and sovereignty over all He creates and exists in His mind. He makes the very natural laws of our world but is not bound by them himself. He can act outside them at any time, he can bypass them, he can change anything and in any way, in precisely the same way as the programmer of a computer game. When God “cheats” in this way, we call it “miracle.” “For you can always exercise your great power. Who can withstand the power of thy arm? All the world before thee is like powder on balance and like a dewdrop that falls to the earth before the dawn.”(Wisdom 11:21-22 )
4. THE ALL-FATHER
Anything that exists and happens in a computer game and its world exists only because it is constantly maintained and created by the computer’s processor, which is thus present in everything – down to the last pixel – and “permeates” everything. Without this “presence” of the computer, nothing in the game’s virtual world could not exist. Similarly, God is present in everything and permeates everything – from giant supergalaxies to the last quark – simply because of this,
if it weren’t in God, in God’s mind, if God wasn’t thinking about it, and if it weren’t “present” in this way in everything that exists – then it simply would not exist. Whatever exists only exists because it is in God, and God is in it that way. “God “sustains all things by his powerful word.” (Heb 1:3 )
“Whither can I flee from thy spirit, and whither can I escape from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I descend into the underworld, you are there. Though I pin my wings to my eyes and find myself on the farthest sea, even there, thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say to myself: “Perhaps the darkness will hide me, and instead of light, the night will cover me,” for thee even the darkness will not be dark, and the night will brighten like the day.
To thee, the darkness is as light. For thou hast created my bowels and woven me in my mother’s womb.” (PS. 139:7-13 )
5. OMNISCIENT (ALL-KNOWING)
The computer perfectly, accurately, and infallibly knows everything in the virtual world of the computer game it creates. In its very essence,
there cannot be anything in this virtual world of the computer game that the computer does not “know” – simply because the entire game exists only in its memory, and everything that happens in it happens only in its processor. If the computer didn’t “know” about something, it couldn’t even exist because nothing can exist outside of its memory, and nothing can happen outside of its processor.
Similarly, God not only knows but, in a way, “co-exists” with everything that happens in the Universe, including the fate of
every single human being. If He didn’t know about anything, it couldn’t exist because everything exists only in God’s mind and only because God thinks about it. So if God does not know about something, it is only because He is not thinking about it, and it is not in His mind. But in that case, it is neither does not exist. “Lord, you are testing me, and you know everything about me… You have perceived my thoughts from afar … all my ways are known to You. Though the word is not even on my tongue, you, Lord, already know what I want to say. You surround me front and back and lay Your hand on me.” (PSALM 139:1-5 ). Can we somehow “meet” this God at all? Based on all of this, it would seem that God can act at will in our world, and we can experience His Power on ourselves – Can we also encounter Him? Doesn’t that seem somewhat impossible from the above?
Everything in our world corresponds to the corresponding sense with which we perceive a given thing. We can see colors but not hear them. The music we can listen to but not smell. We can smell a scent but not feel it. But there are other, stranger senses. For example, why do we perceive the three-dimensionality of the space we live in? Sight shows us objects and the world – but how do we perceive three-dimensionality? Or beauty, aesthetics – by what do we perceive it? These, too, are forms of the senses we have. On the whole, we can formulate the following conclusion:
 Each reality corresponds to an appropriate way of perceiving and knowing it: colors to sight, smell to smell…
 We know some facts beyond the traditional five senses: beauty, three-dimensionality, mathematical truths,…
 Each reality is generally knowable in only one way and not in others – we can only hear music, we can only see the light, Mathematics can only be understood – it doesn’t deny its reality. Is there any similar sense by which we could “see” or perceive God? C. S. Peirce, philosopher and mathematician, said: “To see God, we have only to open the eyes and the heart, which is also a sense organ.” In our common parlance, we tend to identify the heart with Feelings. But Peirce uses the term heart differently- similar to how various mystics speak of the “depth of the soul,” the “tip of the soul.” all of which terms consistently describe the same experience: there is a sense within us that ‘heart,’ ‘tip,’ ‘depth,’ capable of perceiving God in the same way that the ear perceives music and the eye perceives colors. And this perception is just as accurate. The light does not become unreal because we perceive it only with our eyes and not otherwise. Nor is music fake because we only hear it but no longer see it, nor can’t smell it. Mathematical truths do not become unreal just because we also perceive them with a unique sense, while neither seeing them nor hearing them nor anything like them. In the same way, the perception of God is reliable, accurate, and confident because we also perceive Him with the sense by which we are equipped for this purpose – and it is in no way diminished by the fact that from the very nature of the thing itself, God, such as He is, can be within the world, neither to see with our eyes, nor to hear with our ears, nor to feel with our hands, nor to smell, much less to taste…
“There is an organ of knowledge of God which perceives Him in its way, just as there is a mental faculty that makes us agree with the principles of mathematical reasoning, but which does not coincide with another faculty, reason, by which we can deduce the proofs of propositions.”

Have you noticed how little is said about pride? It is a pity that we forget that the essence of satisfaction lies in self-deception. St. Terezka would tell us to take a realistic look at ourselves and reality as soon as possible and remind ourselves of what we live because it speaks of our value in life. And Jesus invites us to this kind of thinking and reflection when he says: “Whoever is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Mt 23:12).

These words of Jesus are not so much directed at the Pharisees as a group of people who are hostile and alien to Jesus, but he points to Pharisaism as a danger residing right in the Church, in us, from which we cannot protect ourselves by any external separation, but only by that we will test ourselves to see if we act like the Pharisees. Pride controls the inside of the Pharisee. And then, there is a division between learning and action. They teach the commandments as the commandments of God, but their actions are actions for the eyes of men only. In the Gospels, we most often see Jesus full of love and mercy. In the “Magnificat,” the Virgin Mary says: “He scattered those who think proudly in their hearts” (Lk 1:51). The opposite of pride is highlighted by the apostle James: ” Draw close to God and he will draw close to you…Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:8, 10). Humility in people before the Lord is the source of many blessings. Let’s not be mistaken! Because Pharisaism as such did not die out. It is not only in our surroundings, but is it not also in us? Humility lives actively. As he accepts the applause for his successes, he lets the laughter his failures cause ring in his ears. He is healthy and dissatisfied with himself, which helps him grow in his apostolic work. He does not forget that even average people can sin with excessive self-confidence. A humble person is aware that his sadness can be a cloak for his pride if he does not drive it away. He who is proud does not triumph over himself and does not mortify himself. Pride distances us from Jesus, and humility makes us close to Jesus. It is fitting that we want and can give up our opinion. It is difficult, but dear to God. A humble person does not look at what others are like but at himself and what he should be. The meek is not similar to the “whitewashed grave” because he cares about the relationship with God and the fact that as many souls as possible belong to God. He is not held up as a role model and example. He lives his faith not only in words but also in deeds. A humble person realizes that it is necessary to maintain an objective view. Pride, especially in volatile people, arouses aggression. Pride is the beginning of other sins.

It is fitting that we are aware that pride’s power, which awakens falsehood, is at the birth of untruth and destroys an objective view. Satisfaction consists in the fact that a person takes credit for himself and forgets that he received all good things from God. Pride opposes God. Lucifer and his ilk got everything from God, and we know they rebelled against God.

Many of you know that when someone is sick, we often have to encourage them to eat and drink more fluids. The ill person is fighting back; he doesn’t want to, yet you don’t give up. Talk to the sick person, encourage him… And at the same time, no one objects or says, Why don’t you respect the free will of a sick person!? The patient needs to be helped. All the more so when we feel something more towards the ill person, love, friendship, and seeing him as a child of God.

The Lord Jesus comes to a sick world marked by original sin and personal sins of people. He comes as our brother to help us understand the command of love in our lives. We should remember “which commandment in the Law is the greatest” (Mt 22:34). When a man sinned, he became ill. However, even then, God did not stop loving people. He sends prophets, leaders, and teachers to his people, who inform and teach the people the commands of God. It happened that there were 613 commands. They began to divide these into big and small. And also into “commandments,” which were 365, like the days of the year, and “prohibitions,” which were 248, according to the time understanding as much as there are limbs or parts in the human body. There was still a rich commentary on these commands. The question arose from this, with which they also came to Jesus: “Teacher,

They ask Jesus about the “greatest” commandment. Jesus repeatedly fought with the teachers, Pharisees, and scribes. It was not only in the case of whether it is permissible to heal on the Sabbath but also whether it is permissible to do so on the Sabbath, like the apostles who passed through the grain field on the Sabbath and ate grains of grain. On these and other occasions, Jesus emphasized at least his freedom by relegating the other commandments to the commandment of love. Therefore, the pressing question became where to look for the measure and what is the “chief commandment” to which all others must submit. Those who come with the question to “tempt” him know very well that the first command is the command to love God, and they also know it because God often pointed to the command to love one’s neighbor. We must not be surprised that there were also what in the labyrinth of many orders they did not know. The answer of Jesus in the Gospel is nothing new, which would be unknown to His adversaries.

Let us pray for ourselves, for Christians, and all people so that we can always open ourselves to the command of love. Just as you, Jesus, our God, Savior, and Redeemer, taught us to love in word and deed, we also want to help each other because we are all marked by sickness and sin against love for God and neighbor as well as ourselves. 

His wretchedness has become his greatest gift – for as a wretch, he is allowed to be gifted by God. It is the brokenness of Peck’s emptiness – only it is not the fruit of the agony of struggle but of surrender to God’s love and tender greatness. And it is not temporary, but permanent, forever. It’s being carried to the extreme with God’s giving of himself in Heaven. This wretchedness, accepted in Christ without despair, is, with Christ’s grace, the foundation of the freedom of God’s children and the uprightness and truthfulness of everything. It is the foundation for the sonship of God and the communion of the Church.
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It is not that the Catholic Church owns the truth. It is just the opposite; fact holds the Church. How else? It is, after all, the Body of Him who is Truth, the Way, and the Life!
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Adoration and intercessory prayer belong together so much that they are one. To intercede for others in profound union with Christ and to bring them to Him, before His Face, into His Nearness. Both are one.
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Asceticism is possible when our heart already lives elsewhere, higher, above the lusts and desires of the flesh – and the meat is already, like that rebellious donkey, only pulling by the harness where the soul, the heart, already dwells in joy and freedom.
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Disposition means that we desire the sacrament to do in us precisely what it does in us to make it come. The Eucharist is there to unite us entirely to Christ so that we are transformed into Christ and become Christ, with all consequences. Disposition to Holy Communion means to desire and long for this transformation, to cease to be oneself and to become wholly and in all Christ.
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“For when there is jealousy and strife among you, you are not carnal and do not live after humanly? When one says: “I am Paul’s,” and the other, “I am Apollos’,” does not are ye not men?” (1 Cor. 3:3-4) Paul accuses the Corinthians of still being human. And who should they be if not human? Well, angels! According to the words of Christ: “Those who are counted worthy of that age and the resurrection are no longer living, nor marry. Neither can they die anymore; for they are as angels, and are God’s sons.” (Luke 20:35-36) Christianity is about becoming angels and teaching us to live the life of an angel because that is what we live in Heaven, and therefore, we crave it. We long for it: ‘For we know that when this tabernacle – our earthly house – falls apart, we have from God a dwelling not made with hands but an eternal house in heaven. For in this, we groan and long to put on our heavenly dwelling.” (2 Cor. 5,1-2)
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Becoming Christ is not about what I have to leave and forsake. It’s about it’s about, oh, a whole new, huge, unique, extraordinary world that I can dive into! How exciting! Honestly, I expect nothing but great things! The awe of God is born not only from beholding God’s greatness but also…from the consciousness of one’s guilt and sinfulness. It is also carried out by looking at what and who God is. Until then, we thought we were good, capable, friendly, excellent…
Suddenly, we see God – and in Him a glimpse of what we were meant to be before sin in God we were. And suddenly, we are flooded with pain, sorrow, and shame that we are wrong, crippled, ugly in comparison, and extremely ragged and miserable.
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It’s like a sick person with us. Until a man realizes he is well, we can do nothing to make him well. And when he finally admits he’s sick, we don’t tell him: “Hey, you are sick, very sick, you are sick!” but take him by the hand and say, “Don’t worry! We will cure you, and you will do more and great things!” This is how God deals with sinners: “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ feet and said: “Lord, depart from me, For I am a sinful man.” For terror seized him and all who were with him at the catch of fish which they had taken. So also of the sons of Zebedee James and John, who were Simon’s companions. Here Jesus said to Simon: “Do not be afraid; from now on, you will no longer catch men.”  And when they drew the ships to the shore, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:8-11)
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The consciousness of sinfulness that accompanies even the saints springs from, among other things, this: that although we are righteous and good people, indeed perfect people, we are still only human. Our goodness, our righteousness, our perfection is human. God is totally different, totally different, intrinsically different from us. Even when we outwardly imitate Him, we only imitate what He is. And this difference is the essence of sinfulness, which can only be removed by a new creation, a new birth; no law or rules are not enough. Therefore, no one will ever be saved by works of the Law. That is why Jesus says of the righteous people of his day: “If your righteousness will not be greater than the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).
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How is this possible: “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, are we prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast out evil spirits in your name and wrought many miracles in thy name?” Then I will declare to them: Never I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:22-23). We have received gifts from God – beauty, strength, intelligence, talents, abilities, and in time, status, influence, power, and possessions. And when we believe, we add charisma and other gifts as well. But basically, it is still the same thing: Whether we enjoy
gifts for Him and in service to Him and out of love for Him, or whether we will cling to the facilities
themselves and not put them before God. Similarly, in experience.
We experience joy, contentment, and success. When we believe, we add inner consolation, the experience of the Kingdom, the mysticism… But again, it’s about what is more precious, whether we hold these experiences dearer before God or God before them. That’s why mystics and saints have said not to fixate on these experiences, not even to not pay much attention to them, not to long for them, but to cling to God. It is similar to the gifts and abilities, including charisms (one of them).
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Usually, we are afraid to depend on God and God alone. But when it comes down to it, when we experience our weakness and see that God is the only one who holds it together – he is. Strangely enough, it feels immensely relieving, lovely, accessible, and beautiful… It’s probably like this: “I have lifted a burden from his shoulders and a heavy basket from his hands.” (Ž 81,7)
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During adoration, I sometimes feel like just being silent before the Lord, letting myself be filled by Him. The Rosary, the Jesus Prayer… seems to me rather like a disturbance of this beautiful silence, of the experience of God. But that is why we can do the opposite: to renounce lying down in the presence of God and instead take up the chotki, to take the rosary and offer a sacrifice to God. An offering of praise, an offering of intercession. Not for but for the salvation of the world, for God Himself. It is something of the rule of the saints and mystics who also said: do not follow spiritual experiences and consolations, don’t cling to them, don’t long for them, don’t even pay much attention – notice God, cling to Him, follow Him!
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Fasting is the power of prayer.
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Christianity means to burst into life.
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It is so that the deeper we go into Heaven, the holier we become. We become. Heaven transforms us – and we are transformed by the same
by the very act of entering it. It’s not that you’ll be in Heaven if you’re holy. It’s that if you’re in heaven, you’re a saint.
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Indulgences that God’s healing grace is, on the one hand, on the other hand, a person who desires to receive it and expresses it by humbly accepting the way God presents it to him in the Church. By taking the form, he confirms his humility and obedience as a sinner and a Christian and his desire for healing and love for Christ by the act itself. An excellent example of indulgences in the N.T. is the story of Naaman (quite exemplary) and, in the NT, the level of Zacchaeus. Or even Jesus.’ words, make friends out of sinful mammon… Even there, the principle well rings true.
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To pray the rosary is to be allowed to approach Christ through Mary’s maternal heart and to love Him and to adore Him with the love of Mary, over and above which there is no other in this world. Mary’s relationship with Christ is unique and blissful, and she leads into this intimate relationship.
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It is not about what “function” Mary and the saints have in our lives and salvation. That would be a very selfish view. They are in Christ, the communion of saints, the connection of the blessed; they are already fully living in Heaven. To enter Heaven is to join them, to become part of their lucky community.

False humility is an obstacle to spiritual growth. On the other hand, having real courage to prove something in spiritual life is also necessary. It is inappropriate for a believing Christian to state that I am only sinful and weak. I cannot live for a long time without sin. I can’t control myself, control myself, etc. In such a case, the Christian himself puts even more obstacles in his spiritual growth and in advancing for Christ.

Saint Bartholomew offers us help in this area. John calls him Nathanael. Philip met him and told him: “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the Law and the prophets, Jesus, the son of Joseph in Nazareth.” Nathanael said to him: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?!” Philip answered, “Come and see!” (Jn 1,45-46).

Nathanael was impressed by Philip’s invitation. Jesus did the rest. It sounds enjoyable. At the same time, we imagine ourselves in that situation. Yes, it concerns us, too. Jesus has different ways to attract other disciples to himself. He uses people who have already met him as a tool. That’s it. During the meeting, Jesus also said to Philip: “Follow me!” (Jn 1:43). Philip has such a wonderful experience as Ondrej with Ján. After all, when he meets his brother Simon, Ondrej also cannot keep it to himself and brings it to Jesus’ brother Simon. Jesus changed his name to Peter. Even Nathanael is so powerfully addressed at the first meeting that he cannot forget this meeting until his death. He knew the prophets and the Messiah would come, but he did not know that Jesus had already come from insignificant Nazareth to address the world.
The first words that Jesus speaks to Nathanael are actual. “This is a true Israelite in whom there is no guile” (Jn 1:47). Nathanael is an orthodox, sincere-minded, and believing Jew waiting for the Messiah. Even though he knows that what Jesus says about him is true, he is still curious, and that is why he asks: “How do you know me?” (John 1:48). Jesus describes to him the situation that happened shortly before when they were arguing about Jesus in a quiet conversation with Philip. No one saw or heard them. And Nathanael believed that this man before whom he was standing was the Messiah, which he also expressed with the words: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel!” (Jn 1:49). For this, Nathanael received a particular lesson: “You will see greater things than these” (John 1:50). And not only Nathanael remembers this meeting, but also John the Apostle in the Gospel.

Nathanael underestimated Philip’s report. But it was true humility. Today, the Church gives us more than Philip gave to Natanael then. Today, we have a two-thousand-year-long tradition. And in the same way, many people doubt and underestimate themselves today. And so it is appropriate for us to do what Nathanael did in the words of Philip: “Come and see!” (Jn 1:46). Put aside speculation, your weaknesses, personal and bad experiences with your life and try again; go for With Jesus and with Jesus. Away with underestimating yourself! Saint Augustine was in a similar situation today and said: – If so-and-so could do it, why couldn’t I? – And today? We have Saint Augustine, not a sinner Manichean.
It is necessary to decide again. It is up to us to help each other. Each of us should be Philip, who did not keep the experience of the encounter to himself and called others to Jesus. It is the same for us today. Let’s name, address and convince! However, not only with verbal arguments but with your life – others and others following Jesus. “Verba movent, exempla trahunt” – “Words move, but examples attract!” Let’s not forget the couple: Filip and Natanael.

Natanael was philosophically minded. Thoughtful, but also open and educated. We know Natanael under the name Bartholomew. After Jesus’ ascension, he went to India and later to Armenia, where he died under King Astyages, who tortured him for converting King Polymers. According to tradition, he was flayed alive and crucified upside down.

Among the apostles, his statue appears most often in our churches. He is considered a patron; when other saints cannot help, he will help.

And for us, it is a beautiful appeal. When we have already broken the stick on ourselves many times, they concluded that we would not be better; let’s look at Bartholomew today and follow Jesus again. He sees, hears, and knows our difficulties, obstacles, and defeats, yet he waits for us. Let’s decide to go after him again. Meeting him was a wonderful experience for us.

Today it is appropriate when we say to ourselves: Stop underestimating yourself! Jesus does not reject any of us. Everyone dear to him starts repeatedly, not seven, but seventy-seven times. It’s hard to start over, but it’s saving for us. No one will give us greater strength at this moment than Jesus himself. Through the mouth of Philip, he also says to us: “Come and you will see!” (Jn 1:46). We have already convinced ourselves of the truth of these words many times, and today, we gratefully accept them again. Yes, I want. Yes, I am going. We realize that Jesus likes our humility. We are aware of our sinfulness, but we believe even more in Jesus’ love, mercy, and forgiveness. So we want to use today, encouraged by the behavior of Saint Nathanael-Bartholomew, to follow Jesus again. Even though we are nothing in the eyes of the world, in the eyes of Jesus, we mean a lot. After all, Jesus died for our sins. Jesus wants to save our souls, too. Jesus also prepared a place for us with the Father in his kingdom. And that’s why in the silence after Holy Communion, when we welcome Jesus into our hearts, we say again: We want to follow you and with you, Jesus. Jesus will gladly accept our plans and resolutions, done in humility and with love.

When Jesus trusts us, shouldn’t we do everything to make him happy? Today, we want to start again, and we want to help others.