In an old joke, Móricko boasts that the best food is bread and butter. He didn’t eat it himself, but his brother saw it in a color photo. When we laugh at it, it’s only because food is a practical matter for every family, and not just a pious theory.

It can tire us. Theories about politics, hockey, and religion. People today are sensitive to whether we have actually experienced what we testify about. John Damascénsky expressed it succinctly when he talks about the taste of honey. People will immediately recognize whether we ate it or just saw it in a photo.

Apostle John, the author of today’s Gospel, claims to taste God’s honey. He aptly expresses this with the conjunction “what our hands have touched, we proclaim.” This is his style, because he experienced such love in the community of the apostles and under the cross of his Teacher.

Knowing God is not a theoretical question, it cannot be realized at an academic desk. Access to God is not the fruit of human effort. Access to the Light is not a matter of a person’s skill, intelligence, or will. Nor is it the fruit of ascetic practice.

That is why already in the Old Testament we find specific natural phenomena behind which God’s revelation is hidden. When we open the First Book of Kings, we find in it a cycle about the prophet Elijah. When God appears there, the four elements follow in succession: wind, earthquake, fire and light breeze. Only in the last one does Elijah meet God’s majesty.

How to humanly explain it? We must humbly admit that we are getting a little lost in it. Once God appears in the burning bush and is absent in the fire during the theophany with Elijah. When the Decalogue was handed over to Moses on stone tablets, the whole earth trembled – and here God is not in the earthquake. Nor is it in the wind, although the wind will one day resemble the activity of the Spirit. So how is it?

God likes to reveal himself through natural phenomena, but he himself is above them. That’s why he uses them at times and bypasses them at other times. And it hides, surprisingly, behind a gentle breeze. A perceptive reader of the Bible will remember the scene from the book of Genesis, when Adam walks with the Creator in the presence of a gentle wind. This is a contradiction that wants to name the unnameable. The chosen people would know how to talk about it. During his journey to the Holy Land, God appears to him sometimes in a cloud, sometimes in light.

This play of God continues in the Gospel of John. The first words that John the Baptist says about Jesus are not a theoretical treatise, distant from life. John tells us about Jesus that he is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.

With the image of the lamb, John addresses every Hebrew who knows this animal intimately. It is known from the annual Passover ceremony in the Jewish family and also from the daily sacrifices in the Jerusalem temple, offered for one’s own sins. Thus, knowledge of God is bound up with experience. Personal and community-related.

When we are already used to the image of the lamb, which will accompany us until the last pages of the Holy Scriptures, Jesus surprises us when he turns into a shepherd. The Lamb who becomes the Good Shepherd. Both are united by the fact that they like to give their lives for others.

This is the key to our decision making. Let’s look at a young person who falls in love. It’s good if he gets to know not only his beloved, but his whole family. A person who has tasted the honey of God’s love has an advantage. Just like one girl who, after visiting her future in-laws, finds that the people in this family argue and do not respect her. She noticed it very quickly because she hadn’t seen this at home…

The experience of others giving their lives for us protects us from naivety. What is true love? The one who gives life. Not one that uses others or steals life. If recognized love takes away our energy, it is not God’s. A boy whose performance deteriorates after falling in love and coughs on his friends is proof that love has become a vacuum cleaner of positive energy.

“God likes to reveal himself through natural phenomena, but he himself is above them. That’s why he uses them one time and bypasses them another time.’

The opposite is love with the image of a high jumper. If we normally jump one meter high and suddenly we can jump two meters, people will notice. It shows that doping is allowed. About love that gives wings. These are the people who passed through Jesus as if through the gate to a new life. In this view, the coronavirus pandemic also played something positive in our communities: that which is not of God, which only worked with human forces, ended. That of God remains and has been strengthened through the pandemic.

The Good Shepherd also leads us to think about empty priestly seminaries. What do they want to tell us? Maybe it’s that the frightening example of the priest is mentioned in the families rather than something positive.

When I heard about great priests in several parishes, I asked the young people why they did not follow their example. They admired them, but they did not choose the priesthood. Feeling behind it the immaturity of the children, who remain enthusiastic about the pretty, smart and well-dressed teacher, but do not want to learn. They remained only in admiration.

Spiritual vocations are connected with families. They don’t fall from the sky. Good families will bring quality professions. Weird families generate weirdos in the Reverend. Viennese Cardinal Christoph Schönborn is a rare example of the combination of nobility, wisdom and faith. Czech journalists still had time to interview his mother Eleonora, who died a year ago at the age of 101.

She offered a nice testimony when they did not break even after being expelled from Moravia. Her son became a Dominican priest. And when he was considered a hot candidate for pope in 2005, she prayed he wouldn’t become one, just so she could visit him. And where did she get the strength to cope with life after being expelled from her native land and after the divorce?

I would say that I have a deep faith. And I know that God has taken us into his arms and everything will be according to his will. When a person feels God’s will in himself and follows it, he is happy in the world, even if it is difficult. Sometimes a person asks himself:

Why must I endure this and have such a fate? I never asked that. I told myself that it is so and I will be careful to move on. The main thing is to have confidence that the situation, no matter how bad, has hope that it will change. Seeing things in such a positive way is the main thing in my life.”

In such a climate of love, new professions will also be born.

Should our faith be: visible? Is only a baptismal certificate necessary for faith? A lot is written and spoken about by Christians. The story of the three gold diggers tells that after a long time of failure, one of them found a strange stone and when he broke it, he found gold in it. Since then, they only looked for such stones and found gold. They decided to buy tools in town to get to the gold more efficiently. They made a promise not to reveal anything to anyone. On the way back, they discovered that several dozen men were following them. When they asked them what they wanted, they got the answer that they also wanted to come to the gold. Then one of the trio turned to his friends with the question: “Which of you revealed the secret?” The answer was not given by the friends but by one of the men: “None of you said anything. Your faces revealed it.”

Our faith should be reasonably visible. The world needs our testimony of faith.

Jesus also reminds us: “… I am going to the Father…” (Jn 14:28). Jesus said these words in his farewell speech in the supper room. Jesus gives the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit, whom he calls “Parakletos – Comforter.” The term “Comforter” is not the most appropriate, because it does not express the most serious role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is an advocate, a representative, a witness … The Holy Spirit is the main Witness of Christ’s resurrection. The Holy Spirit is to teach the world what sin is, to adopt the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, and prepare the world for the second coming of Christ to the world. When Jesus goes to the Father, he does not leave the world without help; he gives the promise of the Holy Spirit, with whom we are to cooperate in love. The Apostle John often writes about love. He reminds us of the way to practice love. To love simply means to keep God’s word.The Comforter – The Holy Spirit is supposed to open the doors of our hearts, the minds of our actions. Jesus reminds us that whoever does not prevent the Holy Spirit from working in us, the Father will also love us when we love God. With these words of Jesus, the Church prepares us for Jesus’ Ascension. The Easter season is not only the resurrection of Jesus, but also the ascension of the Lord Jesus, which we will remember this week. The departure of Jesus from earth to the Father is a promise to maintain peace and prepare for the sending of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. The Holy Spirit will continue the mission in which the Son of God, Jesus Christ, began.

We are aware of the importance of the Holy Spirit – Comforter for the whole world. Even though we had no right to claim the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit as an instrument of peace. Therefore, we, believers, are obliged not to remain silent in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

Let’s find respect for ourselves again. Don’t put down a broken reed, don’t put out the fire of grace, don’t give up and don’t resign… On the contrary, Mary also speaks in the name of her Son so that we can take advantage of this time of grace. Let’s decide to live more intensively with Mary, and spend more time with the one we know loves us, we will grow in love with her.

We all know that it is the month of May. What and who do we associate the month of May with? I have a question: Why does the Virgin Mary teach us to love?
Let’s imagine that our life is like a vessel. And we consciously and voluntarily put everything that is connected with true love into that container. And that despite our weaknesses… Let’s answer ourselves: What will that vessel, our life, be filled with? Let’s answer each other: “With love!”

And what does Jesus remind us of in the Gospel? “Whoever loves me will keep…” (Jn 14:23). We have no doubt that the Virgin Mary implemented these words to the greatest extent in her life. Who kept the words of Jesus in their heart as much as she did? And her love for her son was rewarded. That is why today, we rightly remember the attributes that we give to the Mother of God in the Loreto litanies. Virgin Mary, who knows what it is to love God, what it is to be loved by God, who is glorified with body and soul, crowned as the queen of heaven and earth, not only does she remind us in the Gospels, she teaches us to follow her in love for the Holy Trinity, for her and our God the Father, she is his daughter and we are his sons and daughters.

We worship only God. And because the consequences of original sin are weighing on us, God gives us him and our Mary as an intercessor, helper, protector, guide. However, we honour, respect and love Mary because of what she does for us. We know that she loves us and that is why we run to her; we confide in her, we ask her to intercede with her Son. And when in weakness we forget about it during the year, we remember it, especially now in the month of May.

It was never heard that someone who fled under her protection… would not meet her love. A challenge for us, a hand offered by the Mother, to try to live our lives through good deeds, prayer, and work on ourselves. Our heavenly Mother, Mary wants us to meet and know her son Jesus. She comes to us as Mother and friend to bind up our wounds and lead us to her Son. Let’s try to listen to what the Mother tells us today, this week, and this month. It will certainly be the words in this context: “I love you with an immeasurable love.”

When the visionary Mária Pavlović was once asked which message of the Virgin Mary is the most beautiful, she answered: “When the Virgin Mary tells us: I LOVE YOU. Because feeling and experiencing her love is something indescribable.”

May each of us accept and experience this confession of hers. If someone tells us “I love you”, if we live next to someone we know loves us, our life is immediately easier, more beautiful, fulfilled. We are unafraid to open our hearts to the one we know loves us. The Lord sends his Mother to earth to help us open our hearts for him with her motherly love. Maria helps us with love.

I have heard when we pray the Our Father, the hands are to be open with the palms up so that the rays of love pass through the palms. How is this correct? The Our Father is the most intense prayer. First, it is a biblical prayer, and second, it is the prayer of the Lord Jesus Himself. He said. You shall pray like this. He didn’t say. I would like you to pray this. It is a model of proper prayer. Of course, the gestures and the inner frame of mind are interrelated. They are like connected vessels. We know this from sports broadcasts. When a team scores a goal, many spectators jump up, automatically raise their hands, and shout. Goal. Whatever one is full of it makes itself known. But sometimes, even a gesture helps us to take a stand. For example, when we want to concentrate, we put our head in our hands. Even in the liturgy, we use different gestures. For example, we beat our breasts to express our regret. Gestures help us to experience our inner state better. Sometimes we can choose other gestures and people sometimes need help determining which gesture is the right one, for example. Holy Communion. On the mouth,or the hand. It is not decisive whether we receive on the mouth or the hand. It is the inner attitude that is decisive. What is my relationship with God. Many do not read sin because they have no connection with God. In doing so, they think that everything is fine. For them, the decisive thing is that they have done nothing wrong. But imagine spouses who do not talk or communicate with each other, and yet they will claim that their marriage is good because they have done nothing wrong. Such a marriage is in crisis, and what usually follows if there is such a relationship? That they start looking for another partner who understands them, loves them, and understands them. Love has to manifest itself somehow. Words, deeds, etc. Even a relationship with God has to manifest itself somehow. Like prayer, going to church. How many Christians have been baptized but never pray, never think of God, live without God. Who has such a relationship with God there? Such a person can make any gestures, it has no meaning. Gestures should always be an expression of the inner state.

The baptismal priesthood does not mandate a believing man and woman to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus. A woman cannot be a priest. Yet, many things that believing lay people can do; they do not use. The baptismal priesthood entitles you to active participation in the spiritual life, in the celebration of the Mass and the liturgy. Thus, here is the root of where the obligation to be present at Holy Mass every Sunday and on the commanded feast day comes from. Are you a Christian Catholic? Then you have an obligation to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, that is, to be present at Mass. And not just passively, by being present in body and spirit. Today you need to live the Holy Mass. The responses, the gestures, the singing, and the attentiveness are not everything. The Christian has the right to read the Scriptures at Mass, that is, the first two readings. The general priesthood implies that you may recite prayers and petitions, offer the sacrifices, read the commentary on the liturgy, sing the psalms and accompany by playing a musical instrument, sing at Mass, and have the boys’ minstrel. In some instances, to distribute Holy Communion, even to bring it home to the sick. In some cases, admittedly with the permission of the Ordinary, even other acts such as laying out the Sacrament for adoration, but not blessed with the Sacrament.

Jesus says: “If you ask me for anything…” (Jn 14:14). The general priesthood has the right and duty to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. What we feel, what we experience, what simply belongs to our life, you are to offer to God. As Jesus, the Son of God, offered Himself to God the Father.

Sunday Mass cannot just be a time devoted to God that we participate in Holy Mass. It is to be an offering, that is, to place ourselves, our petitions, our apologies, our thanksgiving, on the altar. Baptism in the universal priesthood addresses us to commit ourselves for our salvation and the salvation of other brothers and sisters. The preparation for the Mass, the actual celebration of the Mass, is necessary for the believer to be able to give more witness and example to his faith. We realize that our duty is to spread the Kingdom of God on earth in human hearts. Neglecting one’s responsibilities as a Christian is no small thing at all. Baptism commits us to the service of faith for the sake of the Kingdom of God within us.

The life of believing Christians – the laity, is inherent in the Church. To Philip, Jesus said: “Whoever sees me sees the Father” (Jn 14:9). A good Christian realizes that he is not to live his faith only in church, but always and as best he can. A girl knows how to educate her future husband. A neighbor can be an apostle to a neighbour or a friend to a friend. A good believer does not expect that everything must be done by a priest. He will offer his abilities, strength, skill, talents, and time, thus gaining invaluable merit for himself, as well as the joy of a job well done.

We have parishes where churches shine with cleanliness thanks to caring women. It is a blessing when a priest has a churchwarden on whom he can rely, who is often like a chaplain in the parish. You know yourself how it feels when there is nice singing in church, pleasantly accompanied by organ playing.

Did the same thing happen to you? What about a friend? He lost his way in a foreign country, and when he found out, he asked a passing man: “I’m sorry, I’m lost. Can you help me?” “Where are you going?” asked the man. “I’m going…” and said the name of the city and place. The man smiled and replied, “Then you are not lost. You know where you are going. I will be happy to show you the direction, and I believe that you will reach the destination of your journey without any problems.”

To Thomas, to the question: “Sir, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?!” and not only to him Jesus says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father. You already know him and have seen him” (Jn 14,5.6-7).

The dialogue took place at the Last Supper and is a certain instruction by which Jesus gives the disciples hope that although separation awaits them, he promises them eternal life in his kingdom. The Holy Spirit has not yet descended on the disciples. Therefore, Jesus’ words seem incomprehensible to them. They have a hard time understanding them. Jesus fulfilled his mission on earth. He announces to the apostles that he will leave, but only so that “you may be where I am.” And you know the way I am going” (Jn 14:3-4). Jesus assures them that everything they have seen and experienced in his school will be enough for them to realize all this with their lives and thus be able to participate in Jesus’ kingdom.
In this situation, Jesus wants to help the disciples and at the same time explain to them the meaning of what must happen. “Let not your heart be troubled! You believe in God, believe in me too” (Jn 14:1). Regarding that goal and the way, Jesus makes a statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father. You already know and have seen him” (Jn 14,5.6-7).
The path and the destination cannot be separated from each other. Jesus himself is the way, the approach to God. However, it is also the goal, truth, and life. Therefore, God’s truth is not some teaching but a person, truth is life. A person can understand this truth to the extent that he can be captivated and transformed by it.
Being a Christian does not mean having some doctrinal system or some morals. Believing in Jesus Christ as God and fulfilling everything he taught is essential. It means meeting him in his word and the sacraments, in the “mystery of faith”.
If Christianity were just a sum of rules and regulations, it might be easier to understand and fulfill but also easier to replace and replace. But Jesus says: I am… He is the Rock. The basis. He is the Shepherd who preceded us through death to life. He is both the Life and the Way. Those who follow him experience God’s joy, his freedom already on the way. He no longer knows fear, he is hidden in God’s truth and faithfulness.
When Jesus leaves, he does not leave his people alone. Whoever believes in Christ should try to seek him and fulfil his will. Even if the path to Jesus is difficult, no one stays on the way – life alone. Jesus promised to be with us all the days until the end of the world. Jesus is hope. The resurrection of Jesus is hope. “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

We receive what man would never be entitled to because of his sin. Jesus gives assurance that we can become God’s children. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me” (Jn 14:11).
Man is looking for his place on earth. He does it not only in a physical, material, and material sense but also in a spiritual sense. It is not difficult to meet people without meaning and purpose in life. Many are disorientated by life, small-minded, and therefore they can be mistaken, they throw themselves into alcohol, sex, drugs, money, and nothing is sacred to them, they will not stop at anything, they cannot be discouraged, intimidated… Why is there so much sadness, hopelessness in their life, eyes, and behavior? A life rooted in earthly values ​​is desolate and empty.
Only Jesus can give real meaning and flavor to life. “I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2). The meaning and goal of life should be heaven. Defining heaven is not easy. What can we say about heaven? Perhaps simply put: heaven is the state of the greatest happiness after death, which we do not know on earth; we cannot even imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. For others, it is enough that heaven is the fullness of Truth, boundless Love, absolute Peace, Joy without end. How do we know that? Jesus said: “If not for other things, at least for these works believe” (Jn 14,11).
Only through Christ and with Christ, when we fulfil his words, can we obtain the promised state of which Jesus says: “In my Father’s house are many mansions… I am going to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2).
Pope Paul VI. said: “Today’s world listens to witnesses rather than teachers, and listens to teachers only if they are also witnesses.” The words apply perfectly to Jesus, who not only teaches the truth, but only he can say about himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life ” (John 14:6). Only in it can a person find, know the true life, the right direction, a specific goal of life. Jesus’ words: “No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). No one can remain neutral, unbiased, impartial before Jesus. One will either serve him, or fight against him, or love him, or hate him. And so a person is the mastermind of his own happiness, eternity, salvation. It is a man’s eternal tragedy if the tempter, the body, or the world can seduce him. On the contrary, devotion to Jesus is a guarantee of values ​​unimaginable on earth, which a person will receive as a reward in heaven.

You don’t have time to wait, to put it off until later. It’s time to act. Good luck to the brave. If the farmer does not sow, will he reap? It is spring, for our enrichment and understanding of God’s word, let’s imagine a scene:

One thing he says to himself: “I want to grow.” I want to sink my roots into the depth of the earth under the house and let a shoot grow through the crust of the earth that is over the house… I want to spread my buds like flags to grow and one day bring a harvest.’ Two seeds are lying next to each other in a fertile field.
The second seed said to himself: “My fate is terrible! I’m scared. When I sink my roots into the earth that is my home, I don’t know what I will encounter in the darkness. If I push through the hard soil above me, I might injure my tender shoots… What if I open my buds and a slug eats them? And what if I bloom and some person rips me off? Not. It will be better to wait until there is no danger.” And it waited. And this speck on the surface of the scroll saw a bird. It took off – and one bite was all it took.

Each of us has an immortal soul. We received it from God, as we received physical, natural life, and all gifts… All this is rightfully requested to be returned to God multiplied. Every day is only one. It cannot be repeated. Repair is not possible. Therefore, it is right to live in harmony with the will of God. Life, deeds, words, and thoughts should be used correctly to glorify God on earth, to recognize God in created things, revealed things, in one’s neighbours. In our everyday life, we should act in such a way that those around us see us as Christians.

Yes, as long as we live on earth, we can go astray as friends. Because our country is in the heavens. Even if we go astray, let’s keep our awareness of where our goal is and where we want to get to. In the Gospel, Jesus shows us the way, like a man to a friend.

We witness different approaches to God, the Church, spiritual and material things. You also know people who are baptized say “we believe” and their life reveals something else. Jesus told Thomas, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Jn 14:6).

In the Easter season, we read from the Gospels, especially from those parts where the apostles’ faith matures. Thomas called Didymium said: “Unless I see the marks of the nails on his hands and put my finger into the nail wounds and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25). And on the eighth day, “Jesus said to him: “You have believed, because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (Jn 20:28-29). Here, too, we see that reproach is not just reproach. Thomas was experiencing great disappointment. We already have many comments on the words of the Lord Jesus. We have heard many interpretations of the Gospel texts. We have become convinced that Jesus is truly the Good Shepherd and the “gate to the sheep” (John 10:7). The apostle Philip was also reprimanded at the last supper, when the Lord Jesus said goodbye to the apostles. Yes, he witnessed the teachings and miracles of the Lord Jesus for three years. He has not yet matured in faith. Jesus had not yet died and risen from the dead, and especially the Holy Spirit had not yet descended upon him. And yet Jesus reproaches Philip – he did not cooperate with God’s grace – which is what the Lord Jesus wants to remind us.

We are taught, explained that it is necessary to cooperate with God’s grace. Faith is a constant struggle between good and evil as long as we live on earth. However, we are not dependent only on our own strength in our battles and works of faith. Jesus reminds us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled! You believe in God, believe also in me” (Jn 14:1). Jesus sent us the promised Holy Spirit. Not only the apostles on the fiftieth day after his resurrection, but we also received him, especially in the sacrament of confirmation and many times before after receiving the sacrament. No one will come to the Father who wants to bypass Christ. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14, 6). The path means orientation, meaningful direction, constancy, certainty. This is what Jesus gives to the person who believes. When the Bible speaks of God’s truth, it means God’s faithfulness and reliability, on which man can unconditionally rely, on which he finds his salvation. And life – life is the gift of Jesus. This is not about natural life, supernatural life, or salvation. Whoever accepts Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life comes to the Father. Fellowship with the Father is the ultimate goal and complete fulfilment of human search and desire. So our life acquires meaning and security when we rely on Jesus. Therefore, unnecessary fear and anxiety have no place in our lives. It is true that life sometimes brings sorrow. For example, when a loved one leaves us. However, death is not the end. It is just a change, a transition from earthly life to eternal life.

In his book Through Your Eyes, Michael Quist writes: “Do the dead exist? No, there are no dead, Lord. They are only alive on our earth and in eternity. Death exists, Lord, but only for a moment, it’s a moment, a second, just a step, a step from the temporary to the eternal.” We will also hear in the liturgical texts that for those who believe in God, life is not taken away, only changed. And the holy apostle Paul encourages us: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2, 9). Jesus says to his disciples: “And the way I am going, you know” (Jn 14, 4). In the Easter season, we should remember the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in faith. Today’s Gospel text wants to remind us to prepare for the feast of the Sending of the Holy Spirit. In the early times among Christians, the power of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifested themselves more visibly. This does not mean

The words of the Lord Jesus do not lose their relevance and meaning today and until the end of the world. It is up to us to cooperate with God’s grace. It started at our baptism. Through baptism, we incorporated ourselves into Christ and became members of the Church, and accepted the role of the general priesthood. We recognize a dual priesthood. The first is baptismal, when by accepting the sacrament of baptism we participate in spiritual goods. The second priesthood is sacramental, that is, the sacrament of priesthood. One cannot exist without the other. Each has its role and mission. Apostle Philip was overcome by reproach. Today, Jesus wants to show us his love even more. 

But who among you will be willing will be your servant.Matthew 20:26
A leader’s generous vision is serving others – family, customers, colleagues, the country, and humanity. This noble ambition to do is one of the fruits of the wonderful the virtue of humility. Since humility is often misunderstood, in the next section, we will try to clarify the nature of this virtue. “Humility,” says the German philosopher Josef Pieper, “is not primarily an attitude that concerns man’s relationship to man: it is man’s attitude before the face of God.  Humility is a religious virtue. It encourages man to acknowledge his condition, the condition of man as a God-created being. The idea that God is everything and man is nothing does not disturb the humble man. On the contrary, he is uplifted by the idea that God has chosen to call him into being.

The ancient Greeks highly esteemed the virtue of generosity. Still, they failed to grasp the true meaning of humility because they needed the concept of creatio ex nihilo – creation out of nothing. The mystery of creatio ex nihilo contributes to the Judeo-Christian tradition, although it can also be derived by natural reason. Humility enables man to relate to God; it is the habit of living in truth – the truth of one’s metaphysical disposition and virtues and weaknesses. Humility is an attitude that enables one to relate to other people. Through humility, leaders gain spontaneous respect for what is divine in every creature. This reverence encourages service to others. Leaders serve God present in people. If they act consistently, they develop a habit of service.
The opposite of humility is pride, the fruit of which is not life in truth, but a life of error; its fruit is not service but selfishness. I lose touch with reality if I fail to understand the fundamental truths about myself and others. Pride turns our inferiority into fiction, makes us blind to the beauty of service to others. People who succumb to this existential blindness need what the Greeks called metanoia – a true conversion of the heart. Metanoia (literally “beyond the mind”) pushes us beyond our ordinary thoughts and feelings, leading to a complete change of perspective, a new formulation of life’s goals, and a modification of life itself. Modern psychology calls this a “paradigm shift” or “breakthrough”. Neither of these terms, however, do not do justice to the magnitude of the transformation that is required to overcome the existential alienation caused by pride.

Humility and generosity
Generosity (striving of the spirit for great things) and humility (humility before God and what is Godly in others) go hand in hand
hand in hand and cannot be separated. Jesus Christ did not need to strive for greatness during his ministry on earth, as we perceive it from our human perspective. In Him, the but God met with man so that man could achieve lasting happiness. Nor did he need to humble himself before God and what is God in other people, but as it turned out, that was part of the fulfilment of his extraordinary mission for humanity: he took on the nature of a servant who died on the cross and offered his body to humanity as spiritual food. Unfortunately, humility has, in the meantime, taken on pejorative connotations. The humble person is often considered to be without ambition and nobility, undeserving of respect. Many Christians, by their behavior, promote a false understanding of humility. Some are too prone to give in to “fate” or the judgment of the wicked; they do not realize that deep respect for what is Godly in others is not the same as servility to authority. Some need more courage to strive for excellence in their personal and professional lives. They ignore Jesus’ call to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

They pretend it is better to sin.

In modesty” then “in pride” to strive for perfection, as if sinfulness has nothing to do with pride and self-improvement has nothing to do with humility. This false humility is a refuge for the small-minded.
It is not a virtue. It is self-castration and grossly contrary to human dignity, See Phil 2:5-7. Mŕ5,48 . It is the kind of “humility” he had at
Nietzsche had in mind when he described Christian morality as the morality of enslaved people. People who are falsely humble have no interest in God, society, or even themselves. They fail to fulfil their
and shirk their responsibilities: “This false humility is convenience,” Escrivá writes. “In such humility, you give up rights that are really duties.” The humble person sees himself as he really is. He acknowledges his weaknesses and shortcomings but,  on the other hand, has his strengths and abilities. “To despise the gifts God has given us is not humility but ingratitude,” writes Thomas Aquinas.
The word humility comes from the word humus, which is essential to soil fertility. Indeed, humility is fertility, not sterility. “Humility and magnanimity,” says Pieper, “are not only are not mutually exclusive, but are, in fact, neighbours, even relatives…

 Some people know how to passionately talk about someone they know who means a lot to them and is significant in science, art, or sports. The result of such a committed witness is that we want to see and hear that person, or at least buy his book or some CD.

Jesus’ apostles witnessed that for their Teacher, the most important relationship was with God, whom he called his Father. He knew how to spend whole hours, even whole nights, in a deeply experienced conversation with the Father; he did everything in accordance with the Father’s will, and he drew strength from Him for deeds that exceeded natural possibilities. Jesus was aware of the complete harmony of his life with the Father, and therefore, at the end of his earthly life, he announces to his apostles that whoever sees Him, His life, and His deeds, can see in Him, as if in a mirror, what the Father is like. That would be something! The apostles will show interest at last in seeing Him to whom their Teacher had such a deep relationship, for whom He lived and under whose guidance He did such great and beautiful works.

Jesus responds to this concern of theirs with a surprising statement: “Whoever sees me sees the Father.” What does this visibility of the invisible God the Father consist of? In the conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus clearly said that “God is spirit” (Jn 4, 24). So, this similarity is not in the color of hair or eyes, the height of the figure, and the appearance of the face… So what? Again, Jesus himself makes it clear: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me. If not for other reasons, at least for those works, believe!” So Jesus does everything in perfect unity of love with his Father. Therefore, through His works, through His attributes, we can perceive the attitudes, characteristics and manifestation of the heavenly Father himself. Jesus is the “face” of God throughout his life.

We also know from our human experience that a person’s face also says a lot about a person’s worth. On the one hand, appearances can be deceiving. Someone has a pretty and nice look, but in reality it’s just a deceptive facade, behind which an evil inside often hides. And on the contrary, a person with an ordinary, unattractive face – yet, when we talk to him and get to know him, we are surprised by the goodness and nobility that radiates from him, which arouses our respect, admiration, and love for that person…

On the Shroud of Turin, we have preserved the image of Jesus’ tortured face, about which Isaiah’s words apply: “He has no form or beauty for us to look at him, and he has no appearance for us to desire him” (53, 2). And yet, when we think about the martyrdom of Jesus based on the Gospel, when we notice His attitudes and expressions – how he asks for forgiveness for his tormentors from the cross, as he promises paradise to the penitent criminal, as he surrenders his soul into the Father’s hands – so it must arouse admiration, respect and grateful love in us. From that tortured body and disfigured face radiates the beauty and glory of God himself. This was also felt by the centurion under the cross, who responded to Jesus’ death by exclaiming full of admiration: “This man was truly the Son of God” (Mk 15.39).

This is how the Apostle Paul understood the meaning of his action – also the one we heard about in today’s excerpt from the Acts of the Apostles: “We do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ, the Lord…For God, who said: “Let light shine out of darkness,” also shone in our hearts for the illumination of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4, 6-6).

But why was – and still is – such a different reaction of people to the mediation of God’s glory, which shines from the “face” of Jesus Christ, that is, from His life? Why do some see this glory of God and are happy about it – while others consider the fact that Jesus should be God’s image an insult, a blasphemy against God?

We have the answer in a passage from the Acts of the Apostles: “all who were predestined to eternal life believed.” This is something similar to artistic talent. Michelangelo saw a beautiful sculpture in a block of stone, while it was just a shapeless boulder for others. The ability to see by faith is primarily a gift of God. We cannot understand who gets it and why. However, it is certain that God wants to give the grace of faith to everyone. If someone doesn’t get this ability to see God in the face of Christ, it may have been caused by himself to a large extent, the environment, upbringing, may have deformed him, maybe he doesn’t have this gift now, but there is hope that God will give it to him in the future…

It is, therefore, suitable to use what Jesus assures us at the end of today’s Gospel: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask for something in my name, I will do it.”

So let’s ask our risen Lord to ask the Father for the gift of the light of faith for us, for everyone we care about, and for the people of our time, so that we can experience the joy of God’s goodness and beauty radiating from His “face” – and that by following Him we too become people whose lives radiate at least something of God’s presence, beauty, and goodness into our world.