Hl. James Mt 20, 20-28

Posted on 22. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

If we stop for a moment at the picture that hangs on our main altar, it is a picture that does not express any real scene from the life of St. James because St. James was a bishop in Jerusalem, that is, in the place where the Lord Jesus died and rose from the dead. He didn’t go far. He cared for those who were in that city. And here is the depiction as we see it is just so symbolic. He is wearing a cloak, a water container, and he is carrying seashells and a staff. All this was a pilgrim’s equipment in the Middle Ages. And actually, for about a thousand years, people have been going to the tomb of St. James in Composted, Spain. On the way, which takes quite a long time from us, they have the opportunity to think, to remember the events from the life of St. James and to think about what it meant for James, to think about what it means for the people who are on the way.

I actually know that Shell petrol company also chose this seashell as its emblem, it is from the Jacobean seashell, and it reminds us that for every journey, you need to be well-equipped so that you don’t faint on the way, that you don’t run out of strength, that you don’t run out of energy.

As we see in the picture, the muscle was used for collecting water in the Middle Ages. But for the first time, we encounter the depiction of a shell in the catacombs, i.e., in the burial places of the first Christians. On the one hand, it was a marker for relatives to recognize where their relative was buried because it was dark in those catacombs, but the seashell symbolized the grave. When it is closed, then to the closed tomb, when it is open, then to the tomb that was opened on Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead. So a reminder that death will not have the last place, the last word, but that on the contrary, it will be life and reunion.

Let’s go back to that pilgrimage, to those thoughts, how we should look at the life of Saint James and compare it with our own life. We know he came from Galilee; he was a fisherman. His brother was John, the apostle John, who stood under the cross. Their father’s name was Zebedee, and their mother’s was Salome; here is the woman who asks for those honors. And they did not follow Jesus alone. Jesus had to challenge them. Some disciples came alone. They came, for example, because John the Baptist sent them. But James and John were washing their nets when they returned from fishing, and Jesus called them. So they were not the ones to flock to Jesus from the beginning, but when they were called, they went. And apparently, it took them longer before they somehow clung to Jesus, before they added to him internally. The truth is that together with the apostle Peter, he forms a trinity that is present at all important events, at all important moments. So Jesus takes the three with him even to places others must stay outside. It is at the moment when he goes to resurrect Jairus’ daughter, it is at the moment when they are on Mount Tabor, but it is also at the moment actually in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus struggles to accept the task of savior by way of the cross.

So Jakub was there for all of this. James was the person who was then put in charge of the first church community in a place where it was not easy; where on the one hand, there were several thousand disciples; on the other hand, there were Pharisees, Sadducees, enemies of Jesus. And these enemies kept trying to denigrate the disciples of Jesus in some way; they tried to provoke various conflicts and frictions, and they were responsible for the fact that the deacon Stephen was killed. Deacon Stephen is the first martyr, and the death of Saint James right after him is documented.

Within happened sometime around the year 42, and he was executed by the grandson of Herod the Great, Heroes Agrippa, a man who grew up in Rome and was labeled a playboy in Rome. And he tried to please the Jews, precisely those Pharisees and Sadducees. And from how it is described, it appears that they accused James of conspiring against the Romans because he was killed in the Roman manner. Of course, it was made up, none of it was true at all, but he could see that she liked it.

Herodes Agrippa was a man who did what he saw he liked. It’s called acting for effect. Sometimes it is called opportunism or pragmatism in a foreign word, simply what is convenient, from which I will benefit in some way. That Herod Agrippa was somehow not religious. On the one hand, he behaved like a Roman, like a pagan, but he tried to please the Sadducees and Pharisees.

And we heard in the Gospel how the mother of Zebedee’s sons Jacob and John also takes advantage of the situation. Jesus is somewhere near Jericho, and he is going to Jerusalem, and she thinks to herself, “Now would be a good time to get something for my sons. Jesus often takes them with him, so why not use it so that everyone can see them and that everyone admires them.” It’s also acting for effect, an attempt to show off in some way at the expense of others. And Jesus doesn’t accept this; Jesus says: “I’m not about showing off, I’m not about showing off, it’s about something else. It’s about who deserves those places, who gets them with their attitude. Every person can get a place at Jesus’ left and at Jesus’ right. Jesus proved this by having two criminals crucified on his left and right on Good Friday. Humans can have one on the left and the other on the right. But right here in this religious logic, each of us can be there if we stand for it, if we strive for it, if we somehow deserve it.

Jesus asks them and says: “Can you follow me even in the difficult, to drink the cup that I will drink?” These are difficulties; these are efforts. And they a little hastily, without thinking about what they are saying, say: “We can,” because they believe and say to themselves: “This will move us higher, so we promise him something, and he will honor us all the more.” And Jesus says: “Okay.” He knows very well that they do not know what they are talking about and are promising something that is probably not in their power at the moment. But they both grew up for it. James was the first to die a violent death, while John was the last of Jesus’ apostles and died in exile on the island of Patumos. So he did not die a violent death, but throughout his long life, he bore witness to the gospel, to the fact that he belonged to Jesus Christ.

And I would sum it all up in some way, end it. Saint James grew like this when he was with the Lord Jesus. He grew primarily; we would say, spiritually. He was a man who, as I said at the beginning, was not used to changing principles, his cloak was not where the wind was. When he somehow stuck to Jesus, I remind you again, at the beginning, he was invited, he did not rush anywhere, but when he joined Jesus’ disciples, he took it as his own. Then it was he who was relied upon, and then he persisted in it, in what he recognized as right and good, so he persisted in it even at the moment when it actually cost him his life.

Brothers and sisters, we live in a time when people often change their minds. May the constancy of the apostle James be a model and strength in our lives.

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The sign is Jesus. In what and how Jesus is a sign.

Posted on 22. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

More people seek fortune-tellers or psychics. Why? They want to know what they are not entitled to from God. What will happen, and how will it turn out…? It also stinks of crime. Jesus teaches about faith in truth and love, which is good for man. In the Gospel, “some scribes and Pharisees” asked Jesus: “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you” (Mt 12:38).

The prophet Jonah was sent to Nineveh with a clear mission. He disobeyed and ended up in the middle of stormy events – in the belly of a whale. He was in it for three days. Here Jesus says what will happen to him. His death will last three days in the bowels of the earth. They didn’t understand him. Today we know that this happened. Jesus died on Friday and rose from the grave on Saturday. Jesus became a sign until the end of time. To believe in Christ’s rapture is the greatest sign of the times. That is the only unique sign that will enrich every person. It is greater than the case of Jonah and greater than the actions of the queen of the south, who came to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. Jesus is “greater than Solomon” (Mt 12:42).

Believing in the divinity, in the power of Christ, is the most accurate and valuable sign of all time. The other, greater, more valuable, without sin, a person cannot receive from God. Everything else can be attributed to chance, other circumstances, or a connection with the devil. Some people reach out not just for fun, to play with others. It’s not fair. In big things, it is against the teaching of Jesus, that is, sinful. Only God knows what will happen and how. God can announce something to certain people because of their love for God – holiness. The saint never has it to earn money or another honorarium. God’s love is a sign that the dreamer surrenders to God’s will: “God’s will be done” Christians pray and thus accept Jesus as the Father’s gift to people.

What is seducing us? Our desire to know something in the future is stimulated, which man is not supposed to know, which God himself will reveal at the right time. We must learn to accept God as our Lord with all our surrender. Jesus cannot be compared to Jonah. Jesus is God, and Jonah is a man. In the same way, Solomon and the queen from the south were human. Our faith is also manifested by our understanding of the Holy Spirit, who supplements today what we need for the salvation of our souls.  No one has seen God; only the Son came to tell us everything we require for salvation.

Jesus told us everything necessary for our salvation. He would have told us if we were to know what we are looking for in fortune-tellers or other people with the alleged power of a clairvoyant. 

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Sunday A, on the 16th week.

Posted on 21. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

I believe that God is a just Judge who rewards the good and punishes the bad.

Who among us does not know the struggle between good and evil? Although we tend to read fairy tales to children that end with the victory of good over evil, we believe that God is a just Judge who rewards the good and punishes the bad, which is one of the six main truths of our religion. Only man can consciously and voluntarily act good and evil.
Every act of kindness is the progress of the one who performed it. It is the victory of humanity over the base inclinations of our nature. Benevolence is not a special virtue, it is rather a rare collection of virtues. It manifests emotionally through kindness, friendliness, willingness, and tenderness. So what is charity? The inner disposition of a person to want and do good for others. It has its roots in the depths of the soul. The supreme sign of benevolence is selflessness, which places only the good of another before a person’s eyes. Another sign of benevolence is modesty. It does not dazzle like the flight of great spirits, and it does not dazzle like military masculinity. The good is not worth less because it casts less luster. 
And on the contrary, the more bad deeds are committed, the more the ability to do well weakens, and the more often one decides to do evil, the more the position of evil is strengthened in him and the more the ability to do well weakens. Therefore, those who often and for a long time make bad decisions will spontaneously behave badly. Therefore, a wise person will not rely on him; on the contrary, people without honor will seek him. One tends to philosophize.

 At the end of the parables of the Lord Jesus about wheat and tares, as well as the mustard seed or another parable about leaven, with which Jesus compares the “kingdom of heaven”, Matthew notes: Jesus “did not say anything to them without a parable, so that what the prophet foretold would be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will speak what has been hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt 13:34-35; Ps 78:2).

When we harvest the crops from the fields, and most of us spend our holidays, the Church reminds us of the parable in which the farmer makes the tares grow next to the wheat, that the Church has always consisted of sinners and saints. Where is the dividing line between good and evil? All three parables deal with beginnings and endings. Something starts somewhere, and something ends. Even in the Church, there is a time of sowing and reaping. Sowing is the life of every person filled with his values. The harvest will occur on the day of judgment when the good will be sorted out from the evil. The fact that someone is baptized, that he declares himself to the Church, to Christ, is not a sign that he acts as a Christian. The essential thing is that he fulfills the will of God. Not all who live in the Church are chosen and permanently secured. Even though God is patient and forgiving, which is what the parable of the good seed and the tares says, the master does not allow the servants to pluck up the tares that the enemy had sown in the wheat while the wheat was growing, the farmer expresses himself clearly: “At harvest time, I will say to the reapers: Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Mt 13:30).
Parables have meaning. Jesus explained that the role is the world. After original sin, the world is at war between good and evil. God has repeatedly shown the will to people not to commit evil. The church is also a role in which wheat and tares grow. St. Augustine asks: “How many sheep are outside and wolves are inside?! God wants us to be children of light, sheep in the basket of the Church, wheat. That is when we want when we cooperate with God, his gifts, his graces. God does not divide people into good and bad, but each person decides for himself. In all this, we should not presumptuously rely on God’s mercy. God wants to say that the wicked are to return to him, and the good is to help them do so. This is how the kingdom of God is built on earth.
The kingdom of heaven is compared to a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, and God will make a big tree grow from such a seed. Anyone who only looks at the size of the seed with human eyes cannot imagine the bushy tree that is supposed to grow from the seed. Nothing is impossible for God. God can make a tree grow from even the smallest seed to surpass all the surrounding trees. The simile in the contrast of a tiny seed and a big tree wants to present today’s tiny, what we live, are, and own, to what will be manifested in full power, greatness, and glory one day at the end, when the Son of God comes to the world as Judge, on the day of the harvest. God does not promise those who love his power, glory, and other things on earth, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. So God promises an eternal reward in his kingdom. Worldly power, and worldly fame, will all pass away. And the little that Christ sowed will manifest itself as a glorious Church, on which there will be no spot or wrinkle because it is holy and undefined (cf. Eph 5:27). We are to proclaim this kingdom. We are to live our mission.
The parable of leaven follows this in today’s Gospel. It also points to the contrast between the beginning and the end, the smallness of the beginning, and the greatness of the end. The idea of ​​yeast speaks of the great power of leavening. “Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole dough” (1 Cor 5:6)? Seemingly little, but it can do a lot. The proverb says: A seemingly insignificant case could become important for the full. The parable of the leaven wants to indicate to the followers, the followers of Jesus, that even if they are few, those who are connected with Jesus have power, power over the world. The faith of believers has a dynamic and penetrating power, the power of proclaiming God’s word. Although it appeals even with the shedding of blood, the power of the testimony of faith raises questions and subsequent conversions. In this way, Jesus always gives his people the courage to resist the full world and its hostile powers.
And so the words from the conclusion of these parables can be understood, as noted by St. Matthew: “He spoke nothing to them without a parable, so that what the prophet foretold would be fulfilled: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will tell what has been hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt 13:34-35; Ps 78:2).

Matthew presents Jesus as the greatest preacher, and although he came among his own people, they did not accept him. Even for us, images, events, and people play an important place in our faith, and whoever has his eyes open, sees and wants to hear, hears what others cannot see or hear, because their eyes are covered and their ears are deaf, they are people of sin. The battle between good and evil continues.
Good in its pure form does not exist in the world, nor our personal life, nor in the Church. No one has the right to judge anyone. But we are to do good.
We have been able to split the atom, only the way of thinking of man has not changed. Man chases after comfort, power and does not care about the good. Aren’t we headed for disaster? Self-indulgence, hedonism, sex, consumerism… The sin of man. That’s a cockroach. That doesn’t build a bushy tree. That’s not yeast. And yet today, we are more aware of the good in our surroundings.

The poet Torqato Tasso was a modest and good person. His hater has done him much harm. His friends told him to take revenge for his many misfortunes. And what did he answer them? “I do not want to take his life, nor his property, nor his honor. I want to take his anger with patience and kindness” (J. Jurko: Come, Spirit of love and peace. Poprad 1998, p. 4).

Malice will never drive out malice. The principle applies: Even if someone harms you, do him good so your good deed overcomes his malice.

When three-year-old Alexei begs his sister to read him a fairy tale about a bad wolf, the ten-year-old sister opposes him: “There are no bad wolves in the world, only unhappy wolves.”

Jesus’ words, “Let both grow until the harvest” (Mt 13:30) are a call to let God be God. Let us not fear evil but do good. Forcefully removing evil can cause damage to good as well. Admonishing everyone may not bring a good end. As long as man lives on earth, he is neither perfect nor so bad.

Heinrich Heineg, a German poet and writer, is known from his literature. He was known for his bad nature and behavior, especially against the Church. In one of his works, he wrote: “We no longer want God, the punishing tyrant, we are no longer children, we can do without the paternal care of God.” What has happened? Five years before his death, he wrote in his will. “I die in faith in one God, the eternal Creator of heaven and earth. I am begging for his mercy for my immortal soul.” Those who did not judge him for his blasphemies but prayed for him and begged God to be merciful to him begged him for this.

Today we all have a chance. Good and evil is reality. But we have a God who is Love. He gives us faith, hope, and love. We must not forget that even if we do not immediately understand something, and it seems that evil is winning over good, let us not lose our heads, let us not lose heart. Not the devil is the final victor, but we belong to Christ and to Christ Jesus.

It’s time to philosophize. It’s time to discuss. It is also time to pray:
Lord, help us understand that the Church you founded is not only a community of the good but also of the bad; it is hope for us sinners. Protect us from the judgments of others. Help us keep your word: Do not judge! Because we are asking for mercy so that we are not judged. We believe you are and want to faithfully fulfill what you ask of us.

 
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Christ the person. Christ’s enemies do not know who Christ is.

Posted on 19. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

Do you have an enemy, a hater, a person who can’t stand you? What about him, what about them? Don’t we treat someone the same way? Jesus is the Son of God and had, has and will have not only friends, but also enemies. Some of them even took his life. We read: “The Pharisees went out and consulted about Jesus, how to kill him” (Mt 12:14).

It was not only Herod, Pilate Annas… but also the Pharisees, scribes and others. Jesus became their remorse, competition… And so it is today. Who did Jesus want or want bad…? To nobody! Some scourged him, others crucified him, and today many do not and do know him, and take his name in vain. They make fun of Jesus and they don’t know why, for what reason, he simply gets in the way. The personality of the Lord Jesus is significant. As a personality, Lord Jesus – the future Messiah, was significant even before his birth. The Lord Jesus himself confirms this in the Gospel with the words when he quotes the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen…” (Mt 12:18).

The Gospel explains why he applied these words to himself: “Many followed him and he healed them all, only threatening them not to betray him.” Thus was fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah said” (Mt 12:15-17). Isaiah’s words are part of a song in which the Old Testament singer sings about the future servant of the Lord. Catholic exegetes, but also many other religious scholars, still hold the opinion that the servant The Lord who is spoken of in these songs is the Messiah – Jesus Christ. The ancient Jews also interpreted the Messiah. This is how the Chaldean Targum, the Talmud, and many others interpret them. We can say that everything that the songs say about the Servant of the Lord, it was fulfilled in detail in Jesus Christ. The similarity between the Servant of the Lord and Jesus Christ is so great that it cannot be ignored. And besides the Lord Jesus there is no one who can embody a person,

The person of the Messiah is known to Isaiah and he often presents it to us in his prophecies. The Pharisees want to kill Jesus. That is why Jesus retreats to the background, and at the same time orders those whom he healed to be silent. They do the opposite. That is why the Lord Jesus gets into difficulties, and this is also the reason why later they ask for the death sentence for him from Pilate. It is strange that such an unenviable life, which the Lord Jesus had to lead, became the center of attention and the meaning of life for people until the end of time. This is the gospel penetrated – the glad tidings. We will understand the actions of the enemies of Christ when we understand the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus in the light of God’s revelation.

The words about Jesus are true: “He will not groan or cry out… He will not break a broken reed, He will not extinguish a burning wick…” (Mt 12:19-20). We feel that this also belongs to us. What is our humility? We can see in Is there anything good in the behavior and actions of others? Do we not extinguish by contempt, by rejecting the other’s attempts at good? Are we really disciples of the Lord Jesus? Can we be still and silent? 

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I was the meaning of Sunday. Nothing is lost by celebrating Sunday but gained.

Posted on 19. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

What are my values ​​in life? Every person has a hierarchy of values; it’s simply part of life.

“The disciples do what is not allowed on the Sabbath” (Mt 12:3) what is not allowed” (Mk 2:24)? But he said to them: “The Son of Man also lords over the Sabbath” (Mt 12:8)? Many people think about the meaning of celebrating Sunday and keeping it. We heard that the Pharisees caught Jesus’ disciples plucking ears of corn because they were hungry. We see how they verbally attacked Jesus. They always found something imperfect in people and immediately blamed them. In this way, the meaning of the Sabbath was completely lost in trivialities. In this way, they kept reducing the value of the Sabbath, and the meaning of rest was completely lost. It became a ritual for them and a burden for the people.

Now let’s try to look at this problem from a different point of view, as today’s people perceive it. How do people look at Sunday today when witnessing a great boom in business activities? Let’s take such an example. We often hear how Sunday has become professionalized after many shops are open. Various Carrefour, Hypermarkets, Polus centers and Tesco have become a modern temple where everyone can meet and talk to each other. It is already becoming a certain rule, how best to spend Sunday time. Sunday as a holiday has become a thorn in the side, especially for those who want to bind people with new forms of slavery. We have even heard such an opinion that the Church should transfer services to shopping centers. It is an interesting idea how this issue could be solved. The employees’ reluctance to deal with such a situation results from a simple reason.

The more I work, the more I earn; everything revolves around that. What will the Church do, or what has she already done in this situation? Pastoral letters and even a joint statement to the government were written. We are witnessing that it is difficult to move anything in this matter. People don’t seem to see or don’t want to see that the Church has always been concerned with people’s spiritual and material well-being. Therefore, this challenge is much more current and necessary. God always wanted the best for people. Christ does not hide this even from the Pharisees, even though they always condemned him. Today’s man must realize that no one can change the natural law in himself. God commanded man to subdue the earth, rule the world in righteousness and holiness, and center himself and the universe around God. Then we see that God gives people the Sabbath as a day of “rest” when they should contemplate the work of God. It is not just sweet idleness but the relationship dynamic between God and man. When Christ redeemed all mankind, the day of rest became Sunday, the first day of the week. The Lord’s Day also appears to us as the Church’s Day.

We thank God for the whole week we worked for ourselves, for people, and for God’s kingdom. The day of the Lord always directly connects with the day of man. Rest is a sacred thing for every person, and it is necessary to break away from the cycle of earthly duties. Amen.

 
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Let’s learn from Jesus. Live an exemplary life.

Posted on 18. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

Can we believers talk about uncomfortable faith? Can faith make us uncomfortable? Jesus would not change his teaching, retract his words, ask us for an opinion or opinion to improve, perfect, or omit something in his teaching. Even today, the words: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt 11:30).

We notice the pronoun “my.” Jesus requires one to “take the yoke upon oneself”, which cannot be compared with the requirements that the Law imposes on a person. This imperative completely grows out of the indicative of the previous words, “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you I will strengthen” (Mt 11:28). It can be seen that Jesus does not ask without first giving. He gives so that a person can fulfill the requirement that follows from the strength of the gifted. And in the request itself, there is promise and power again.

Notice the word “yoke”. It is a tool that allows animals to pull loads. This picture reveals more truths. The yoke is designed for work. Jesus requires work from his disciple. A disciple is only a disciple when he does not live only for himself. The student has to endure everything that the teacher has determined for him.Yoke is a tool that makes work easier. Can we imagine the work of an animal without a yoke? The yoke helps. And the yoke that Jesus points to makes the believer’s work easier, and only he – Jesus – makes a person capable of carrying out his mission. The yoke clearly sets the goal for the one who carries it. An animal without a yoke would not reach its destination. But the one who guides the animal with the yoke will lead the animal to its destination. With the help of the yoke, God leads the Christian to a clear and correct goal. One can imagine a double yoke. Two animals in one yoke pull the load more easily. It is possible to explain this comparison that Jesus walks with us and helps us bear the burden. He teaches us to be his followers with a “quiet and lowly heart”. Gentleness and humility in the life of the Lord Jesus become all who decide to take the yoke of evangelization – reinforcement. Whoever accepts the imperative of Christ will find peace in his heart. That peace is not always immediately apparent on the outside because even a disciple in his time, marked by the signs of the times, does not always have to defend himself against pressure. When he perseveres with Jesus, he receives peace of mind. The gift of Christ helps him bear the yoke of life.

The yoke is not a superfluous thing, nor a thing that gets in the way, but it is very useful. Useful for the wearer because it gives him support, help, purpose, and meaning. However, it is also useful for the cause of Christ the Lord, who is building his kingdom with these “yoke people”. This is also the gift that Jesus gives us. This is why we know the word “grace” in today’s Gospel. What can we do without God’s grace? In the life of a Christian, we cannot understand the yoke as something enslaving. On the contrary! Christianity brings to man what the world cannot give.

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Quiet and humble in heart… God not only makes himself known, but he also becomes an eternal reward.

Posted on 18. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

Many have not forgotten that the people around them are not just strangers. They are not silent. They include paramedics, paramedics, various uniformed brothers and sisters. Jesus reminds us: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little ones” (Mt 11:25); he asks for us to learn his words in our lives: ” Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mt 11:29).

The message he brought to the world that we should adopt and follow in our Christian life. He calls those who adopt his little ones. Jesus is not against wisdom and reason, but he is against pride and conceited wisdom, often just plain stupidity. Several times Jesus encountered this kind of behavior of people who, with their indifference, stubbornness, and inattention, not only hurt his heart but also misled and scandalized others around him. They were the ones who saw and managed the nation. He did not reproach them for their science and learning but for their pride, which prevented them from accepting the truth. Pascal writes: “The heart has reasons that reason does not know”. Jesus does not despise courage, learning, wisdom, and diligence, but what is connected with pride, such as arrogance, exalting oneself, underestimating others, and recognition. Pride closes a person’s path to the truth. A person can be wise like Solomon, but if he does not have the simplicity and innocence of a child’s heart, he closes himself from the truth, and in the end, he can be worse for the house than a simple person without education, but who is honest, humble, and open to the truth. Jesus declared himself to be the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6).

It doesn’t take much, and we understand the words “learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart” (Mt 11:29), because they are a sign of God. As Jesus sees the Father, so when we see Jesus act, we should learn to act according to him; that means that when we are toiled and overburdened and act in his spirit, quietly and humbly, our yoke will become easy, and our burden light because he will be with us. Our earthly and eternal happiness is tied to whether we follow Jesus’s example. That is why he addresses us with the words: “Learn from me” (Mt 11:29). It is the wish of Jesus that humility and quietness of heart should also become our virtues. St. Bernard sees humility as the foundation of every Christian virtue. He says: ” There is no other virtue in the spiritual life without humility.”.” It is not enough for us to know the theory but to implement the words of Jesus about humility and silence in practice. In a world of haste, tension, and material burden, human qualities such as humility and silence lose their value and are relegated to the past; they have their place and justification. Some personalities do not gain admiration, respect, and seriousness by broad elbows, verbosity, violence, and the like but by their heart, manifested by qualities rooted in silence and humility. 

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What is going on with the “eldest daughter of the church” 

Posted on 16. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

Catholicism in France may soon become a minority but more orthodox

The trend of decline could be quickly reversed by a revival of traditional faith.

Catholicism in France may soon become a minority but more orthodox

Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral.

The recent announcement of the resignation of two French bishops suffering from episcopal burnout and the release of a potentially devastating report on allegations of sexual abuse in the French Community of Saint John has brought renewed attention to the fragile state of the church in France.

Is Catholicism in France, the “eldest daughter of the Church” and homeland of Saint Louis and Saint Joan of Arc, on the verge of extinction?

Studies on the development of the religious composition in the country already indicated this in the past months. The most recent one shows that Catholicism is the religion with the most significant decline in members and the lowest rate of transmission of faith within the family.

These findings led historian and sociologist of religion Guillaume Cuchet to hypothesize that in a few decades, Catholicism could become a minority, overtaken by Islam, evangelical Protestantism, and, above all, people of no faith.

At the same time, it is likely that this trend will be accompanied by a more traditional and ceremonial behavior of Catholics in the minority.

If these predictions are confirmed, the face of France, whose 1,500-year history began with the baptism of King Clovis by Saint Remigius, will fundamentally change, as will Catholic culture itself.

This decline of Catholicism, of which Cuchet has often warned in recent years, has accelerated dramatically since 2008, as shown by the Trajectoires et Origines 2  (TEO2) survey commissioned by INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research). The results of the survey were published in April 2023.

According to the Trajectoires et Origines 1 survey, in 2020 only 25% of French people aged 18 ̶ 59 professed to be Catholic, compared to 43% in 2008. Meanwhile, the number of people with no religion rose from 45% to 53%, the number of Muslims increased by 37% over the same period, and according to another study, Muslims now make up about 10% of the total French population. 

This data led the sociologist to theorize that Catholicism could one day (probably soon) become the country’s second or even third religion.

For the historian Yann Raison du Cleuziou, an expert on contemporary Catholicism and the author of the book Qui sont les Cathos aujourd’hui ? (Who are today’s Catholics?), this theory is almost mathematically self-evident.

Catholicism is the religion with the most significant decline in members and the lowest rate of transmission of the faith within the family.

Based on the 2018 European Values ​​Study , which found that 15% of young people aged 18-29 identified themselves as Catholic, compared to 13% of young Muslims, du Claudio notes that in the young Catholic and Muslim generations already there is an equalization of the number of believers.

In an interview with the Register, he said that although the TEO2 survey only confirmed long-term trends, its contribution was that it showed that family culture is the basis for the preservation of religion ̶ an area in which Catholics are the least successful of the main French religious groups.

The rate of generational reproduction of religion is 91% for Islam, 84% for Jews and only 67% for Catholics.

“In Western societies, the belief has spread that the very values ​​of religion determine its social success. But from a societal point of view, religion is primarily an inherited culture meant to embody the general population,” said Raisin du Claudio.

From the Second Vatican Council to the abuse crisis

At the same time, this change in religious composition is undoubtedly exacerbated by the steady increase in migration to France in recent decades (according to 2021 data, 10.3% of the population was born abroad, compared to 6.5%, according to 1968 data), which has fueled the rise Islam and evangelical movements.

However, most experts agree that the decline of the Catholic religion and its transmission in the family dates back to the mid-1960s.

In his 2018 book Comment le monde a cessé d’être chrétien (How our world has ceased to be Christian), Cuchet outlined the upheaval that followed the Second Vatican Council, stating that “the end of the pastoral insistence on the obligatory nature of the practice of religion that came together with the council, played a fundamental role on a collective level in the schism’, which led to a significant decline in the practice of the religion from 1966.

According to Raison du Cleuziou, this phenomenon continued and inexorably worsened until the COVID-19 crisis and the 2021 ” Sauvé Report ” on sexual abuse in the church accelerated the existing trend of decline even further.“Each new crisis, more so on divisive issues like sexual morality, encourages mass exodus; only the hardiest remain,”

Priest Michel Viot talks about his critical book in which he deals with the report of Jean-Marc Sauvé. This fall 2021 news rocked…

According to the historian, today we often find the greatest tenacity in the more traditionalist Catholics, precisely because, since the 1970s, they have developed a relatively critical attitude towards the church institution and its decisions in the post-conciliar ministry.

This theory is also confirmed by a recent study by the newspaper La Croix , which showed that these traditionalist and relatively conservative families, unlike other believers, “successfully” ensure the transmission of spirituality and carefully prioritize the religious socialization of their children.

Raison du Cleuziou explains this as a consequence of the minority functioning of these conservative religious communities, which, like other groups, such as Jewish communities, are more aware of their uncertainty and possible demise.

“When a group is in the minority, it tends to be demanding on the level of conviction of its members to ensure its survival, which depends not only on the free adherence to principles and rules but also on the transmission of a faith that preserves rules and ritual as much as possible,” he said.

Today, we often find the greatest tenacity in the more traditionalist Catholics.

“This is precisely why Catholics who strictly adhere to religious principles have established themselves best in France because they have maintained codes, prohibitions, and clear boundaries between what is okay and what is no longer okay,” he added.

According to him, such a trend is completely contrary to what the French Church has promoted since 1700 with an attitude that is quite typical of the weakened majority ̶ focused on openness and friendliness and undemanding to socio-cultural norms and codes, which undoubtedly mark the identity of the church.

Cleuziou is therefore convinced that Catholic France will soon change significantly and, at least for a time, be anchored in a strong affirmation of the importance of dogma in religious experience.

Traditionalism, the future of the French Church?

Père Danziec (Father Danziec) also agrees with this opinion – a well-known pseudonymous commentator of the French Catholic media, who warns of the impending collapse of the hierarchy of the French Church.

According to this priest from the traditionalist Institute of Christ the King High Priest, the recent sex scandals that have rocked the church have particularly accelerated its decline.

“To face the challenges of today’s society, you have to be really strong in every way, and the French clergy seems to have been completely stunned after the publication of the Sauvé report,” he told the Register, drawing a parallel with the atmosphere that preceded the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

However, the general dissatisfaction with Catholicism, empty churches and the wave of closing seminaries in France is also accompanied by a strong attachment to traditionalist movements, especially among young people, as evidenced by another recent study , which lends credence to the hypothesis of a gradual change in the direction of the church and a tightening of the practice of religion.

In May, organizers of the annual Christian pilgrimage to Chartres, where Catholics gather to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass, had to close registration for the first time in 40 years about 10 days before the event because the 16,000-person capacity was filled.

Pilgrimage organizer Jean de Tauriers said in an interview with the Register that there is about a 10% increase in participants each year and that more than half of them are under 21 years old.

“Many of them are so-called ‘recommencers’, who return to religion or at least ask questions, driven by a desire for spirituality and religious anchoring,” he said at the end of the pilgrimage on May 29, 2023. “In addition, I see in these participants a desire to high standards, as our three-day pilgrimage is also marked by physical and spiritual strain.”

He also pointed out that the participation of diocesan priests is also increasing.

These facts lead Père Danziec to believe that although Cuchet and Cleuziou’s predictions of the continued decline of the Church in France are very likely, this trend could be quickly reversed by a revival of the traditional faith.

“More and more people are attracted to the triptych of coherence, transcendence, and demandingness and are convinced that if a person is to be a Christian, he should be one in every aspect of his life.”

 

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If.

Posted on 16. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

If miracles had happened in Tire and Sidon,… they would have repented long ago. People often sigh: if I had the conditions, if I had health, if I had time – I would do something. And they lament: I had no chances to achieve this or that, no chances were given to me; they are begging someone: at least give me a chance. And in general, they blame their failures in life on a lack of chances, that is, a lack of possibilities, opportunities, economic conditions, etc.

Let’s be clear: if the Lord God calls a person for a certain direction, to fulfill certain tasks, he will always give him opportunities for this. If someone can say with his hand on his heart that he does not have these possibilities – then it simply means that God is not calling him for those tasks. Of course, with a sensitive heart and an attentive eye, we see many tasks that need to be done around us – but this does not mean that they are all meant for us. But on the path of his profession, everyone gets every chance; the misfortune is that not everyone uses them properly. Lord Jesus strongly condemns those cities that wasted their chance. That chance was his presence in Bethsaida and Capernaum, who were given to hear Christ’s teaching and see the miracles that happened there. This was a chance for acceptance of the Gospel and conversion. Unfortunately, the personal meeting with Christ, his rather long stay there and extraordinary events became a wasted chance for the people there. Are we making proper use of the chance that Christ’s presence is in our midst: his presence through faith in our hearts?

Let’s ask ourselves a question: Who cares about the salvation of his soul today? Who is afraid of the judgment of the Lord Jesus today? We should realize and seriously approach it in practice that we must not be indifferent to what will follow after our death or how we use the gifts we receive from the Lord Jesus. We say that God is good. Yes, he offers us his gifts even today, but he is also waiting for our answer. However, this means that we humbly and lovingly fulfill the duties that he expects from us. Let’s realize that God is all-knowing and will not tolerate just some tinsel, or superficiality. We must not waste the graces offered and given in this way of life. Otherwise, we rightly expect a more severe punishment and Jesus’: “Woe!”

Even in our surroundings, we see a lot of sin, evil, and scandal. Some are public, some are secret. Difficulties and problems in our family are like a stormy sea.

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St. Bonaventure

Posted on 14. July 2023 by Peter Prochac

 

St. Bonaventura

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