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Every person longs for love. Someone more, more insistently, more often, quietly, without words, with a request to love, to be loved. Love is the greatest blessing for man. That is why people long for love. Not only men long for love. God, who is love, desires to be loved by his creation – man. Everything God does is an expression of his love. All God expects is love. Even after man’s sin, God did not stop the loving man.

In his third appearance to the apostles, he asks Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these” (Jn 21:15)? Do these words seem meaningless? Unnecessary? Unnecessary? Why are these words addressed to Peter? What do we, and should, they remind people until the end of time? After the third answer of the apostle Peter in the presence of the other apostles, in which Peter confesses: “Lord, you know everything, you know well that I love you” (Jn 21:17), Jesus says to Peter: “Feed my sheep!” (Jn 21:17). Peter receives the commission of a shepherd who, for the sake of the salvation of the people, he is supposed to catch, not like fish, but to bring them to Christ. With these words, Jesus reminds Peter, and the apostles present that the mission of the shepherd, who does everything out of love for his brothers and sisters, service is inherent. The greatest commandment is the commandment of love. Love for God, our neighbor, and ourselves should be a daily thing, not only a duty but also a task. The Church must, and has and wants to – teach love. Thus, he fulfills the will of Christ. Love is the basis for following Christ and once obtaining eternal life. 

On the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, in thought, where the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter is located, a statue of the handing over of the Primacy to Peter is erected near this church. The apostle kneels before Jesus, with one hand timidly reaching for the staff that Jesus hands him and raising the other hand towards Christ. The whole position of Peter is very dynamic; on one side, Peter takes the lead, but on the other hand, he trembles and imploringly raises his other hand to Christ as if to indicate his request for help. This statue reminds us of the Pope’s mission today as the successor of the Apostle Peter and the representative of Jesus Christ. Love for God is the first step to human happiness. Peter from the Gospel is an example. He betrayed but came back. Genuine regret for personal and common sins and tears of repentance help us to be forgiven by God and people. Praying for each other helps strengthen the love between us. Here is a call for husbands and wives to pray together, to pray for each other. Families must pray together. It should go without saying that children pray for their parents and parents for their children. Prayer for neighbors, co-workers, and siblings… helps to build friendship and love between people. Jesus also asks us, like Peter: “Do you love me?” (Jn 21:17) – I DO.

COMMENT:
Is it good to be a person of faith? Well, how about this… There are many faiths in the world. We Christians believe that there is only one God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jews also believe in one God, but they believe there is only one Person, the Triune JHWH, who loves them and has chosen their nation as His own. Muslims also believe in one God, except that He is called Allah, hating the Jews and calls for the killing of infidels. Hindus believe there are many gods. Buddhists believe that the question of God does not is important, especially if one reaches nirvana, that’s all that matters. Agnostics believe that no one can in any way to know if a god really exists or not. Atheists nevertheless firmly believe that no God nor gods exist. And the Rwandan Hutus believe just as firmly that if they eat a forest dwarf, they gain an extraordinary ability to navigate the bush – which is why to this day they have slaughtered and eaten most of the pygmy population on their land… Good gallimaufry, eh? And there are many more of those beliefs!

The world encourages us to treat all of these beliefs as equal. Every man according to has some beliefs, no one’s beliefs are better or worse, we have all beliefs and opinions therefore accept them with equal respect and tolerate them equally. We Christians, then, are even more prone to add, as it were, “after all, they’re religious people too” (except atheists, of course), because “in something they’re up” and that’s great, because first of all that’s why they get saved after death, since they’re already believing people they are, aren’t they? Just… Imagine this situation: four friends get together and want to go to the movies. One believes, that the movie The Shack is showing at the Smile Cinema for 10€ at 8:00 p.m., another beliefs it’s at 4:00 p.m., the third believes it’s at 4:00 p.m. it’s at the Partisan Cinema for 15€ and the fourth believes it’s free and therefore doesn’t take any money with them. Are their beliefs equivalent? Of course not! Either one arrives too early, or the other too late, or one arrives at the wrong cinema, or the other doesn’t go to the film because he can’t afford the ticket. Only the one who believes the right information – that is, the truth, and therefore his belief is true – has no problem. The others, at best, have issues and inconveniences, at worst they miss the film altogether…

The Hebrew and the Greek word for faith (the Scriptures are written in these languages) both have the meaning of certainty – something that we have convinced ourselves is true and so we can make it absolutely reliable and unreservedly accept it. In other words – faith is only faith in the Christian sense if it is true. Faith in something that is not true is worthless, even harmful – and from the perspective of Scripture Holy Scripture, it is therefore no faith at all, for certainty cannot be false or untrue! It is not important that I am a “religious person” and “believe in something” – I must believe truthfully and truly! Only then is it is true faith, and it has value – precisely because of the truth I accept by it and that is all that matters! That is why Jesus said: “If you continue in my word, you will truly be my disciples, 32 knowing the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:31-32 ). Notice, not “believing something will set you free” but “the truth will set you free”! He also says that “foolishness … defiles a man” (cf. Mk. 7:22-23). He also says the parable of the virgins, where the wise enter the wedding and the unwise – in the original, literally foul, dull – stay out, in the darkness. In the parable of the sower, he repeats that while the evil heart does not understand the Word of God, a good heart is one that not only hears it, but truly understands it. And it neither not to mention Peter, who loves Jesus, sincerely wants only the best for Jesus – and yet his Jesus rubs it hard in his face, “Get out of my way, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you have no sense of the things of God, only of the things of men” (Mt. 16:23 )! In other words – your faith is false because it does not correspond to God – and that makes you, Peter, though caring and loving, my Satan, that is, an adversary and enemy of God, because out of ignorance you pursue things that are contrary to God!

As we can see, it is extremely important that we not only “believe in something” but that our belief is clear, understood, clear and certain, indeed true, that it be a true vision and understanding of the world, of ourselves, of life, of God, of everything as it really, truly, and objectively is. In this, however, we are also many Christians are reprehensibly reckless! How many times have you too surely heard someone, even a Catholic, say: “I believe it this way…”, “I think it’s somehow…”, “I feel this way…”, “To me, it’s this way I was taught and this is how I believe it…”, “It’s good enough for me…it suits me…” – without verifying it in any way, if that’s really the case! In that most important question of life and death, eternal life and eternal death, in that the only thing Jesus is talking about: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and himself lose or destroy himself?” (Luke 9:25 )-they are blithely content with feelings, with assumptions, with uncertain conjectures and superstitions, and they don’t mind at all that they have no certainty! Terrible, isn’t it? Let’s be therefore very watchful and attentive, lest perhaps we ourselves fall into something so reckless!

The evangelist Saint Luke commented on the reactions to Jesus’ words after his resurrection: “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Who among us will count the prayers, holy masses, communions, confessions, window displays, and alms that we have sacrificed for the church? …and our faith is correspondingly so strong?

After the resurrection, Jesus makes direct contact with the apostles to help them that he is not a spirit, that he has a body, that he really rose from the dead, that he has a body that they can touch, that they can see the wounds of the nails and the spear, and since he is still he says to the disciples: “Do you have anything to eat?” They handed him a piece of baked fish. And he took it and ate it in front of them (Lk 24:41). This is how he wants to strengthen the disciples’ faith. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus was not a return to life on earth, as it was in the cases of those he raised from the dead. They did not have glorified bodies. So the young man from Naim, the friend Lazarus or the daughter of Jairus, had to die once more. In the case of Jesus, we see the transition from death to a new, eternal life. In this, we can see the work of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus gives the disciples proof of the goal of human life, that life does not end with death. What he taught and predicted is being fulfilled. In Jesus, the predictions of the Prophets, the words written in the Law of Moses, and also the words in the Psalms are fulfilled (cf. Lk 24:44). We know that the testimony of two or three was an argument with the Jews. Jesus presents a condition that binds those who believe in him, that they are bound by the mission “to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Lk 24:48). And this activity should be manifested as Jesus himself defines it: “You are witnesses of this ” (Luke 24:48). He invites the disciples: “Touch me and see for yourself” (Lk 24:39). These meetings have their gradation in the life of the apostles. At first, they are afraid; they are so scared, but gradually they become convinced that Jesus is among them.

Questions may be asked: Why does the Risen One care so much that the disciples become convinced that he is not a spirit? Why does he specifically manifest his bodily rapture by taking food? The answer will be that we do not limit our faith to spiritual things, only to the historical Christ, while forgetting the meaning of his bodily rapture. A man should seek the final goal of his life: the resurrected Christ. It would be a fundamental mistake for anyone to approach their mission on earth superficially, irresponsibly, and badly. Doesn’t a person have an obligation to search for a reasonable meaning of his existence, where death is not the “last word”?

The resurrected Jesus teaches us to accept theoretically and through everyday life that life does not end with death. We believe that the soul does not die. We believe that even our mortal body will have a time when it will rise to a new life. Let us not be surprised that even in our life, it is up to us to show with our lives that we believe in the resurrection of our body to a new life.

The Risen One makes himself known to us in not rare events, and our hearts burn. The Emmaus two disciples say about their encounter with the resurrected Jesus during the breaking of bread: “Didn’t our hearts burn when he was talking to us on the way and explaining the Scriptures?” (Lk 24:32).

The experience of the Emmaus disciples shows that the resurrected Jesus will take care of the growth of his disciples’ faith. We have no witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. None of the people were there and did not see when and in what way the Lord Jesus won over his death and rose to a new life. However, Jesus cared for the witnesses who saw him after the resurrection and met him, by whom he could be recognized. Among them is Cleopas and the second disciple, who leave Jerusalem on Sunday morning for Emmaus, about twelve kilometers from Jerusalem. We call them Emmaus disciples after the place where they met the resurrected Christ during their fellow pilgrimage. The disciples were probably among the seventy-two disciples who accompanied Jesus on his travels during his three years of ministry.

On the way, they talk about Jesus, “who was a prophet… how the high priests and leading men had him condemned to death and crucified” (Lk 24:19-20). In the words of the women who returned from the tomb before dawn and “claimed that angels appeared to them and said that he is alive” (Lk 24:22-23), they did not believe what their journey proved. Jesus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, explained to them what was related to him in the whole Scripture” (Lk 24,25,27).
The event experienced by the disciples of Emmaus is more than just a simple discussion. Still, it is like a Eucharistic catechesis, a “liturgy of the word,” followed by a “liturgy of the Eucharist,” where they recognized Jesus in their fellow traveler – “neighbor.” Jesus’ words can be understood as a model for announcing the good news of Jesus’ teachings. The fact that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead becomes the core of the gospel, which will be talked about, proclaimed, and died for this teaching until the end of time.

Already, the first Christians approached the reading of the Holy Scriptures as a sacrament. St. Jerome says: “We receive Christ not only in the Eucharist, but also in the Scriptures.” And St. Augustine clearly states: “The true Christ is both in the word and the Eucharist… I say that Jesus is no less present in the Word than Eucharist.” Not only did the first Christians hold Christ in the Eucharist in great esteem, they built tabernacles – shrines, but the Scriptures were always kept in a place of honor. We see what God gives us to know himself. And to experience the closeness of God is an experience for which it is worth doing much more. The Easter season offers us more witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, whose hearts burned when they discovered the love of Jesus.

Reading from the Acts of the Apostles»On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jews: (36) “Let the whole house of Israel know with certainty that this Jesus, whom you crucified, God has made both Lord and Messiah.” (37) When they heard this, pain pierced their hearts, and they said To Peter and the other apostles: “What shall we do, brothers?” (38) Peter said to them: “Repent and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (39) After all, that promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far away, to all whom the Lord our God calls.” (40) And with many other words he swore and encouraged them: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation! ” (41) They accepted his word and were baptized; and about three thousand souls joined that day.

When we use the phrase Lord Jesus Christ, we rarely realize the consequences of what we are actually saying. These three expressions are not just a dull part of our Catholic greeting, which seems so long to us and therefore tends to be shortened to a minimum in the form of “commend”. They hide a depth, part of which helps us explore today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles; right in its introduction, all three are found. The meaning of the name Jesus – God is salvation – perhaps there is no need to elaborate. It is a little different with the terms Lord and Christ.

The two Easter readings so far from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 10; Acts 2) have led us to the knowledge that Jesus is the messiah/anointed one (Gr. christos; and hence our Christ). Isaiah’s prophecy about the anointing of the spirit (Isaiah 61) applies to him, as well as the psalmist’s words that his body will not decay in the grave (Psalm 16). Israel’s messianic expectations and ancient promises were thus fulfilled in Jesus. But he is not the messiah/anointed one for himself; he wants to share the anointing with the Spirit and the experience of a new life. This dimension of the person of Jesus is repeated by Peter even today: God made the crucified Jesus the Messiah.

Along with the title of Messiah, Peter gives Jesus the title of Lord. The word Lord (Gr. Kyrios) is the biblical designation of God. Peter actually says that God made Jesus God (Kyrios). Not that Jesus was not God (the second person of the Holy Trinity) before that, but let’s realize that from the point of view of the Acts of the Apostles, the clear formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity and precise Historically statements will lead to a relatively long way.

When Peter says that Jesus is Lord, he is making a connection for his listeners with the prophet Joel. He quoted from it a little while ago the prophecy about the outpouring of the spirit. He ends his quote with the words: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21; Joel 3:5) The Old Testament prophet was thinking of the name of the God of Israel. From the Acts of the Apostles, we know the practice of invoking the name of Jesus (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 19:13; 22:16). Again we see an ancient text being applied to Jesus to reveal something of his divine identity.

There is one more reference to Joel’s prophecy in today’s reading. Here we are talking about the promise of the Spirit, which belongs to “all whom the Lord our God calls” (Acts 2:39). Who is it that calls and distributes the Spirit? It is of course the God of Israel that Joel writes about. But it is also Jesus, Lord and Messiah, in whose face we recognize God’s face. Let us give thanks today and rejoice that the selection of candidates for the gift of the Holy Spirit is not made by some person or committee, according to their criteria, based on nepotism, bribery, or the weather, but that it is in the hands of Jesus – God with a human face and a man with a divine face.

What does an ostrich do when it gets scared? He hides his head in the sand and waits to see how the situation develops, no matter what. He does not realize that he may lose his life. We also react in this way in some life situations. We don’t want to or are afraid to face the truth. Even if we realize that we will have to do it one day. No one will do it for us. And yet we save it for the last minute, like this animal. We underestimate the spiritual life, which forms an essential component of our life.

Is it stupidity, desperation, or audacity on our part? To wait for your salvation at the last moment, when Jesus shows us the way of salvation with his resurrection, the truth, which is pure, unadulterated, and without fear.

Jesus preached the truth, but the chief priests and elders questioned it. Jesus’ resurrection was and can be disputed by assumptions and rumors. Saint Matthew the Evangelist writes: “They took the money and did as they were instructed” (Mt. 28:15). Who are they? These are the ones who wanted to remain faithful to lies, half-truths, and darkness, because they benefited from it. They did not want to open the door of their heart to the resurrected Christ and let themselves be penetrated by the brightness of his light. But at the same time, they are so far-sighted that they did not let the brightness of this light even into the hearts of others. People were kept in half-truths, fear, and darkness. Therefore St. Matthew emphatically emphasizes that such accusations against Christ are false.

We too desire the truth, but we often let ourselves be seduced by half-truths, and they negate the truth in us. This causes darkness, pain, and fear. This fear manifests itself in different forms: what will others say about me when I differ from the established custom? I may suffer from an inferiority complex – I don’t accept myself as I am. After all, they are better than me. Or I’m afraid to show my limitations and weaknesses. Another manifestation of fear is aggressiveness. I am aggressive when the other person is interested in me and I imagine that they want to control my actions. Or sometimes I pretend to be a perfect individual and I don’t even realize that I am showing a lack of my freedom. The last manifestation of these most common fears is the fear of failure, everyone sees me in a bright light, but only I see myself in black colors. These forms of fear express only one thing, that we have not accepted ourselves and are afraid of ourselves. We believed half-truths about ourselves. Why? Because we benefit from it. And it doesn’t even occur to us to look at our own life with open eyes, because if we did that, we would have to give the truth many times to our neighbors and not to ourselves. This untruth about us also has several other advantages: e.g. financial and material security, career… These cause us to become comfortable not only in this material world but also in our spiritual life. In a word, we become frivolous egoists who have stopped seeking, receiving, and giving. We always desire to have more and always to be less. We become children and not adults. Only words come out of us: give, give, give, or I, I, I, but not the ones that should: you, you, you, or you, you, you. We don’t want to become responsible people who give ourselves entirely to love. Let’s not be surprised at the young that they are what they are because today’s time is full of perversion. Let’s start with each other first, open our hearts to God and our neighbor, and let the light of Christ’s resurrection penetrate us. Only when we accept Christ into our lives, we can accept ourselves, we can accept our neighbor, we will not believe in half-truths and we will not be afraid of the darkness, i.e. death. After all, Christ conquered death! He broke the chains of death! The shackles of our weakness, sin, and fear of it. Only through dreams are we able to live this early life in joy, even if not without suffering. And with him, we will also go into eternity, where we will rejoice together that we have reached the ability to see God face to face through the risen Christ. After all, that is our goal here on earth. and let us be penetrated by the light of Christ’s resurrection. Only when we accept Christ into our lives, we can accept ourselves, we can accept our neighbor, we will not believe in half-truths and we will not be afraid of the darkness, i.e. death. After all, Christ conquered death! He broke the chains of death! The shackles of our weakness, sin, and fear of it. Only through dreams are we able to live this early life in joy, even if not without suffering. And with him, we will also go into eternity, where we will rejoice together that we have reached the ability to see God face to face through the risen Christ. After all, that is our goal here on earth. and let us be penetrated by the light of Christ’s resurrection. Only when we accept Christ into our lives, we can accept ourselves, we can accept our neighbor, we will not believe in half-truths and we will not be afraid of the darkness, i.e. death. After all, Christ conquered death! He broke the chains of death! The shackles of our weakness, sin, and fear of it. Only through dreams are we able to live this early life in joy, even if not without suffering. And with him, we will also go into eternity, where we will rejoice together that we have reached the ability to see God face to face through the risen Christ. After all, that is our goal here on earth. of sin and fear of it. Only through dreams are we able to live this early life in joy, even if not without suffering. And with him, we will also go into eternity, where we will rejoice together that we have reached the ability to see God face to face through the risen Christ. After all, that is our goal here on earth. of sin and fear of it. Only through dreams are we able to live this early life in joy, even if not without suffering. And with him, we will also go into eternity, where we will rejoice together that we have reached the ability to see God face to face through the risen Christ. After all, that is our goal here on earth.

But this requires us to let ourselves be penetrated by Christ’s life and to stop believing in half-truths, superstitions, and all the lies with which we justify our actions. If we don’t do that, we will never move forward. We will always languish in lies and fear.

I would like to share an experience I had on Easter Monday last year. After St. mass on the way home, I stopped at the cemetery, where I wanted to pray in silence for the deceased residents of my native village, relatives and acquaintances. As I was walking, a grieving man was sitting by one of the graves. So I thought, at least I’ll greet him. And so I directed my steps towards him. I approached him and said hello. He looked at me and asked me: “Father spiritual! Can I ask you something?” I was taken aback because I’m only a theology student, but when he addressed me like that, I left it at that. I answered: “True.” He looked at me and said: “I don’t believe in the afterlife, there is no life after death!” Everything ends with death!” I was at a loss as to what to say now. Lord God, help now, because that person has lost hope. After this question, I thought about it and tried to bring a little light into his life from the joy of the resurrected Christ, because I knew that he goes to St. mass and approaches St. reception. I told him not to despair because man is a being created by God. We came from him if we return to him after our journey here on earth. Our body must return to the grave because it was created from the earth. But a person does not consist only of a body, he also has a spirit, which will return to the one who breathed it into him – to God. There we will see God face to face with our glorified body, which was glorified by the precious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our bodies will be conformed to his glorified body. However, this requires us to use all the means we possess as a gift from God to improve ourselves. In order to better understand ourselves, why we are in the world and where our path leads. Our journey should be a journey of service to our dear ones in the family, at the workplace, friends and enemies. That should be our sanctification and goal, nothing else. When we build our existence on something else, everything falls apart and we start to despair. Our goal is to be the resurrected Christ, who destroys all our half-truths, lies, so that we are not afraid, but believe and have hope for eternal life. When I finished, the gentleman smiled at me and said thank you. I also thanked him, we greeted each other and I went to thank God. who destroys all our half-truths, lies, so that we do not fear, but believe and have hope for eternal life. When I finished, the gentleman smiled at me and said thank you. I also thanked him, we greeted each other and I went to thank God. who destroys all our half-truths, lies, so that we do not fear, but believe and have hope for eternal life. When I finished, the gentleman smiled at me and said thank you. I also thanked him, we greeted each other and I went to thank God.

Let’s realize that rising from the dead means accepting Christ into your heart. Let’s get rid of the gods in our lives. We all have many of them in our lives. These are our half-truths that lead us astray, so we lose hope and fear death. Let us believe that Jesus rose from the dead. When we believe, only then will we be able to be His witnesses to this world. So that we and others can say about us, like Blaise Pascal: “I believe in the witnesses of the risen Christ.”

Let’s not be like an ostrich that waits for the situation to develop. Let’s try to witness the resurrection, that is, life and truth. Let’s believe the truth, let’s get rid of fear, and be people of hope. A hope that is needed in today’s age of sin and half-truths. Hope that will help our neighbors with whom we come into contact to rise so that they believe in Christ through us. So that one day it can be said about us: I met a witness of Christ’s resurrection.

The greatest miracle of Jesus Christ brings a new light for eternal life to every believer. If so, there are more of us who, at the empty tomb of Jesus, do not dream of the impossible but of the absolute, even certain: a life without end, a life where natural laws will no longer apply, where we will live in a glorified body, in a state of absolute peace, perfect harmony, the greatest happiness, in the certainty of seeing God face to face. Through his resurrection, Jesus guarantees a new life for

We no longer have to dream of infinity under the starry sky. We don’t have to despair in illness. We don’t have to lose hope in fear. When our dearest ones leave us in the hour of death, faith in the risen Christ assures us that we will soon be reunited, where there will be no more crying, no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more parting.

St. Paul, who met the resurrected Christ at the gate of Damascus, writes from his own experience: “So if you have risen with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God!” Think of what is above, not what is on the ground! After all, you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, your life, appears, you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:1-4).

The certainty of a new life began quietly and still in the dark on Sunday morning at the empty tomb of Jesus. Although Jesus spoke about his resurrection several times, they did not understand what he was talking about because they could not understand what “rising from the dead” meant. A new era of human history begins on Sunday morning. Humanity in darkness receives light. The women who approach the tomb with fear find a stone rolled away and an empty tomb. Then Mary Magdalene runs to tell the apostles: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (Jn 20:2). Mária Jakubová and Salome have an experience. The angel in white robes tells them about the most significant event that humanity can experience: Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: “He rose as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him” (Mt 28:6-7). And when they run away from the tomb, filled with fear and equally with joy to announce this message to the apostles, they meet Jesus, who makes himself known to them and confirms the angel’s words. The message of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus triggers an unforeseen and unexpected sequence of events. After the words of Mary Magdalene, John, and Peter rush to the tomb. John modestly writes about himself that “the other disciple ran faster, overtook Peter, and came to the tomb first. He bent down and saw the sheets laid there but did not step inside. Then came Simon Peter, who followed him and entered the tomb. He saw the sheets and the scarf Jesus had on his head. But it was not with the sheets, it was rolled up in another place. Then the second disciple also entered, the one who came to the tomb first, and he saw and believed” (Jn 20:4-8). On the other hand, the deception machine,

At Christ’s empty tomb, humanity began to realize a joy to which nothing can be compared. Today, this is confirmed by the two-thousand-year-old tradition of Christ’s resurrection. “Death has been swallowed up by victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting” (1 Cor 15,54-55). Christ has won over death, and a new eternal life opens up for everyone who believes in Christ’s resurrection and shows devoted loyalty to God in his life.

Easter morning drives away sadness with its “hallelujah” and brings joy. As in nature, spring comes after winter; even if winter does not want to give up its power, it must give way to spring. From the empty tomb comes new fire and light, the water of baptism, and a radically new life of love. The baptism by which we were incorporated into the Church and by which we became branches on the vine, which is Christ, is the joy of Easter morning. “Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him in death by baptism, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have grown with him and become like him in death, then we will also be like him in the resurrection” (Romans 6,3-5).

We already know today what every person will have to accept one day, even if only at the hour of death when they meet Jesus, their Judge. He indeed rose from the dead. When we have this certainty that we will be resurrected in Christ, let us respond with our “hallelujah” by singing and the deeds of life. Just as Christ’s resurrection changed the first witnesses, so today it is our turn. It is not enough to know about the resurrection of Christ and to understand the teachings of the Church, but this morning we are offered to adopt the reality of Christ’s resurrection in our own lives. As the women left the tomb to the apostles with the message that the tomb is empty and Christ has risen from the dead, we are called to go to our brothers and sisters and prove our faith in the ascended Christ with our lives.

Even today, faith will bring us personal difficulties, questions, uncertainty, doubts, and fear. We have an example in Peter and John. Let’s hurry to the empty tomb! The Church has taught the same thing about the resurrection for two thousand years. They say time will tell where the truth lies. Two thousand years is a long enough time to get right about our own life of faith. Today, we create a spark in the chain of trust, and we have a responsibility both to those who came before us and to our contemporaries, but also to those who will come after us so that we do not break the chain of faith, truth, teaching about Christ’s resurrection. We should also take this task as an honor towards our brothers and sisters of all times. When we betray, God will find another way for the resurrection to be proclaimed and lived until the end of time, but we would be excluded from eternal life by our wrong approach. It is up to each of us to benefit those around us with our faith. We cannot say that it is harder for us, nor that we have it more accessible. Today, God has placed us to fulfill his will under these circumstances. If we are the Christians we are meant to be, we will ignite our surroundings with true faith. Jesus believes in us. Let’s place the candle of life modestly on the candlestick. May our life always be light and salt of the earth.

Many Christians indeed have an opinion, hold the idea that it is difficult to believe, that the commandments cannot be wholly fulfilled, and that the teachings of the Church prevent a person from living fully. Let us realize right now that the most important Christian holiday was not when God gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, nor when he gave the commandment of love. Still, the day of Christ’s resurrection is the opportunity to establish contact with him. Our life does not end with death, but we also have hope for a new life with Christ’s resurrection. It is necessary to accept and live Christ’s resurrection. Learn to cooperate with Him, and then with Him, we will be able to fulfill even those commands that we consider problematic and impossible and accept those that seem to prevent us from true happiness and joy on earth. Jesus is our security. If he requires something, he only wants it for our good. Even though it requires the greatest sacrifice, our own life, we are to believe and accept,

John Paul II., in 1994, declared blessed Gianna Mollová, who was born in 1922 and who, as a 40-year-old doctor, was faced with the decision. She was expecting a second child, and her colleagues – doctors stated that she would decide for her or the child’s life. Gionna has no illusions, but she will not allow abortion. He chooses the life of the child. A beautiful and healthy child was born. Before her death, she and her husband give him the name Emanuel – God with us. She was happy. Tíško fell asleep in God’s hands. She died in the faith of the resurrected Christ. She died for her dedication. At the beatification in Rome, her husband, her older son, and her daughter, for whom she chose life and not death, were present. At the same time, however, she decided on eternal life for herself.

For the world to receive the light of Christ’s resurrection, none of us who have received baptism can escape difficulties. We must always look at our life with a view to eternal life. Then things and events take on clearer outlines, and we recognize the will of God.

Carl Zuckmayer (1896 – 1977) describes a scene in the drama The Rat: A religion teacher who discusses the problem of death with his students. Then one student asks if it is not the same with death as with birth. Before a child is born, the child is surrounded by their mother, but the child does not know about it. Birth is a shock for the child, but only then can he see his mother for the first time. Thus, the omnipresent God surrounds us during our earthly life and receives everything from God, but we cannot see him. Only after death will we see him face to face.

Today, on Easter Sunday, we realize that even such an image, perhaps more biological but suitable, on which we can recognize the imperfection of the image comparison and, at the same time, inspiration how to understand and accept Christ’s resurrection. God leaves us the freedom of decision and reason, which makes us similar to God, a kind of partner with God, in that we can and wants to accept the resurrection of Christ to participate in eternal life. Especially today, on the day of resurrection, we are more aware that only in God can we find eternal life. And so is the fact that “whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). And we genuinely want to belong to God.

Man often dreamed and dreamed of a new life, eternal life. Today’s Easter “hallelujah” fulfills our desire for true eternal life. Let us rejoice that Christ rose from the dead. Let us ask each other for grace so that we may all share in eternal life with Christ, our Redeemer and Savior, and ask for forgiveness for our sins, which are the only obstacle to our eternal life.

Jesus rose from the dead! (Mt 28,1-10)