predication.net

Everything that happens down here is because the Almighty wants it. Whether by allowing it or by doing it himself. There is no doubt that God does well even when He allows evil, for even evil happens only when it is God’s intention, and God’s intentions are always good. Although evil itself is not good, it is good that it is good and evil in the world. Why are they wrong? This is how the good often asks those who have to endure the bad. St. Augustine answers. Do not think that the wicked are in vain in the world and that God cannot extract good from this fact. Every evil one lives either to be corrected or to test the virtue of the good. A sinner today can become a great saint of tomorrow. St. Augustine gives us this example. Even if evil people do not improve and are a burden to us, let us protect ourselves from hating them because we cannot know whether everyone will persevere in this anger until the end. It is scarce for a person to give his work a certain degree of perfection, and if he fails to do so, he breaks the job and begins again. God has given man an excellent gift of freedom. Freedom means that a person can degrade, do something wrong. But God will not destroy man. It gave him a chance to correct himself; he started again—the bigger the evil, the more excellent the good that will be gained from it.

When we admit that evil triumphs over good numerically, it does not mean that it is equal in weight, a single act of virtue transcends all sins so much. There are no such crimes that often do not have a providential mission. They strengthen fluctuating virtues, teach patients, allow love to prove heroic. Delusions help to find the truth. Revolutions remove great iniquities. There is also the difference between God and man. A person is guilty of allowing to commit a sin that he could have prevented. Even if God does not prevent evil, even though He could prevent it, he remains holy. Human justice is not equal to God’s righteousness. It is up to God to act as God and to man as man. God acts as God when He acts as the first cause, the Almighty, which uses both good and evil. That is why God is not bound to prevent evil. He can get sound out of him, for example, from the crime of the Jews, the sacrifice of his Son, whose perfection and merit are endless. Thus, as he cannot be deprived of the power to prevent evil or the ability to extract sound from it, he uses both according to a rule which may not be known to us.

Whoever wants to follow me, deny yourself, carry your cross every day and follow me “(Luke 9:23). Until we take up our cross and follow Jesus, we gain significantly by self-denial little. By the cross, I mean the burden of pain, sorrow, or sacrifice that we could put off, but we prefer to keep them because of others. These are things that we would otherwise naturally put aside.
However, we continue to carry our cross voluntarily because we know that there is no other way to bring it salvation, deliverance, and healing for lost, sick, and suffering humanity. “Staring at Jesus, who guides our faith from the beginning to the end” (Hebrews 12: 2). Jesus did not have to endure the cross. In the evening, when he was arrested, he said he could even at the last minute to pray to the Father, and he would have at his disposal twelve legions of angels who would save him from his fate (see Matthew 26: 53,54). But Jesus came to the cross because he decided in his heart to fulfill the Scriptures. When he endured whipping and sacrificed as a lamb without spot and blemish, a lost and sinful man, has been delivered from two curses: sin and diseases.
Moses also had a shared in the Spirit in this Spirit when he abdicated the Egyptian throne and identified with his brothers – with the race of slaves – so that he could bring deliverance through his suffering and sacrifice to his people (see Hebrews 11: 24,26).
Paul obeyed his heavenly vision, left his place on the council of elders, and joined in the persecuted sect of Christians to bring deliverance to the Gentiles. When Paul, said: ‘Now I am going to Jerusalem because the Spirit is forcing me, and I do not know what will happen there. I know only so much that the Holy Spirit announces to me from the city that bonds and suffering await me. But I attach no value to my life other than to … preach the gospel of God’s grace. ” (Acts 20: 22-24), he followed Jesus and carried his cross.
Charles G. Finney raised his cross as he left the promising job and entered services – for untested fields for which he was not particularly prepared. Nevertheless, raising the cross is not enough. We have to take it DAILY! We have to take him willingly and bear faithfully and without hesitation. It is relatively easy to decide to carry your cross during inspiring calls for consecration to God. However, much fail their cross again the next morning. Christ never took time off from his cross. He took the cross with him on vacation! Although at times, he stepped back into seclusion to rest, still carrying a heavy burden.
Jesus was once in Samaria, tired and hungry. His disciples went to the city to shop for food, and Jesus sat by the well. Yet, he had the time and strength to lead one soul to salvation, and thus began a revival that swept almost all of Samaria into the kingdom of God (see John 4).
When Jesus faced one of the most significant losses of his life – the sudden and violent death of his cousin and dear friend John the Baptist – he wanted to step aside for a moment. But some people took it they found and followed him even then. He was filled with compassion when he looked at them; he set down his grief, raised his cross, and began to heal the sick and meet their needs (see. Matthew 14: 13,14).
The cross was not an accident that happened to Jesus at the end of his life. He was born, lived, and died in the shadow of the cross. He knew about him all the time, but he never pushed him aside. Never did he not forget to take up his cross every day. There was never a day when he said, “Today is mine day. I will not take care of my Father’s business again until tomorrow. “He has never experienced a moment in his life. He said, “This is my time of rest, and people must wait until I rest. Then I will go after them and I will fulfill their needs again. “Even in a moment of grief, he could not say,” My grief is too much
big. I’m entitled to a little comfort. Let them serve me a little. “
One night, Jesus was to be betrayed. He continued to serve his disciples; even though he knew he was false, the disciple who betrayed him sat among those he served. He rose from the table to his disciples
washed his feet. He illustrated to them something he had spoken of earlier: “Not even the Son of man he did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many “(Mark 10:45).

To the eyes of this world, it might seem that it was only on the dark day of Golgotha ​​issued as he was crucified (John 19:16). But Jesus constantly carried his cross as he served the people. He was poor, despised, lonely, and misunderstood. Still, he willingly went around towns and villages, and he healed all who the devil oppressed to bring many sons with his fame.
The world does not have to see and understand our cross. However, each of us has a destiny from God’s cross, whether we want to carry it or not. It is not a disease that we cannot put off on our own. These are not unpleasant life circumstances around us, whether we serve God or not. It is something we accept willingly — as a personal sacrifice to ourselves — to obey God and blessed others.
Have you ever praised the cross you carry? Or was it a matter for you to feel pity for the life circumstances it brings you? Or did you willingly take on burdens and the sorrows of others so that you can help them and bless them? And bring them salvation and deliverance?
If you desire the miraculous power of God, you must pay the price. You are willing to take on EVERY DAY your cross and follow Jesus all the time? If you follow Christ completely, you will go with him to the place filled with the Spirit, then to the desert, where he spent hours fasting and prayer. You will experience hours of unappreciated service, misunderstanding, and persecution. You will spend lonely nights in prayer. You will follow him into the garden and carry his burden for lost. You will think that someone by your side feels with you that he found that the others had fallen asleep in the end. Then you stand in the courtroom for fake and unjust accusations. You will be whipped by a “nine-tailed cat” (a whip with nine strands), and eventually, they will offer you vinegar bile. Even before the pain and suffering with the cross, you must not take a step back. You might say, “Sounds like I should lose my life altogether.” Exactly. But Jesus said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it; who, however, he will lose his life for me and for the gospel, he will save it” (Mark 8:35).
Such is abundant life – POWER life! It is a life of true satisfaction. You will know that you did not live your life in vain! Such a life is worthy of every sacrifice. It’s lovely to know that. We followed in the footsteps of the Son of God.

Objections to religion.
Since the 19th century, for the natural sciences, it has accumulated against religion that they have become a real obstacle for people on the path to God. Only visible and tangible were considered realistic. Physics has long-buried this primitivism. There are still people who want to see everything. They only recognize what they see. As if humanity did not have a whole other range of cognitive paths. Maybe the time will come, the time will come when people will not believe only what they see. We can’t see everything. We do not see whether the water in the soup is salty or sweet as we do not see whether the iron is magnetic, whether the wires are charged with electricity, or whether there are electromagnetic waves in his room. There are things of the spirit that cannot be seen and touched, although they undoubtedly exist. There is no worse prejudice than that really is only what can be ascertained by the natural sciences.

Academician Charvát wrote. When someone demands strict proof of God, it is as if he is asking for something daring. May God be God in some evidence. Are we not treating God then as a physical object? Maybe by proof to reach God? Is it possible to grasp God by evidence ?. For the natural sciences to know means to mean at the same time points to control, submit, get into one’s power, or use. This is how we know the laws of nature, subdue them, hold them and use them. And all this kind of coldly and impersonally. Knowing God is something completely different. We cannot know God by controlling Him, by submitting Him. We cannot know God impersonally and disinterestedly. We can know God only as a living person, with confidence in openness and love. To prove the existence of God is, therefore, something other than to prove something in geometry. Above all, one must know God for oneself and get to know him as a living person. When I proved God logically, I still lacked something important; I may not have found him as a human being yet. He can remain indifferent to me. I can know a person if I have not seen him for myself, and I often do not note his existence. Only when I start to like a person can I feel that he exists.

The natural sciences give us cold and factual knowledge. And they give us, especially the ability of details. However, the amount of detailed knowledge about the material world that science offers us is not enough for our lives. A pile of more information doesn’t have to be worth more than a pile of bricks from a collapsed building. The natural sciences do not know the beginning of things. Therefore, they cannot give us exact data about their origin. Science takes things as given. And we’ve been asking ourselves questions for ages. From where? and why? Where is the man from? And why is he human? A certain intoxication of science and technology has long blocked our path to God. The embarrassing arguments against God by satellites are known. If we are rightly proud of our science, which has revealed the complex laws and ingenuity of the world, we should realize that we are only syllabifying existing things here; we are telling them. But we have not invented this ingenuity or these laws.

Quite interesting is the question of what idea he lives with the collective consciousness of God’s presence. We all know that God is a spirit, that He is everywhere. Nevertheless, we must imagine him as a person, or at least as a symbol, so that we can think of him. The favorite performance of St. Ignatius is the one he knew from the court life of his time: the Lord on the throne amid His saints. We eat in front of him and kneel. Similarly, Cisneros writes to the monks: “When it rings bell, go straight to the choir and say to yourself, ‘The big one is calling me the king!’… When you enter the choir, sprinkle with the saint in the duo, renounce Asperger me hyssop, bow deeply before the tabernacle … Then stand in your place, be in the spirit and express your intentions … »
In a letter to the Bishop of Osma, who seems to be small after the meditation negotiations, St. Theresa: «Make the cross and then accuse even the smallest of them before God errors since the last confession. Try to disengage from everything as if you were at this very moment to die … Then say, ‘I am coming, Lord, to yours school to learn something there, not to sew … ‘Imagine with your inner and outer eyes of the crucified Jesus Christ, look at him, watch
him in every detail, with mental peace and love … »
The so-called method of Hesychasts, Greek monks from the top Athos, on the other hand, does not trust any external image of God. That, as they say, moves away from the true feeling of God’s presence. If we still have God somehow to imagine, then it is better to think about how he lives in our own heart, feel the place where God is, and identify with the Holy Spirit, who here calls Abba, the Father (Gal 4: 6). So, he writes, e.g., Simeon the New Theologian: “The saints of the Father finally left all other forms of piety and devoted themselves only to concentration in the heart. They worked in the field and became worthy to eat manna in their hearts. »

Physical posture during contemplation
The so-called fourth appendix speaks briefly of bodily posture in prayer. However, the text of the Exercises assumes certain positions that could be eccentric in our environment. But the principle itself is correct and moderate: «We are approaching to look either at the knees or lying face down on ground or face to face, but always with intent look for what i want. We will keep two things in mind: after
first, if I find what I want on my knees, I will not advance further (so I will not try another position), and if I find it lying down face, too, etc .; secondly, if I find it what I want, at one point (that is, one idea, substance contemplation), I will remain without fear of having to drink to the next point until I do not satisfactorily. “
These are practical notes. Their purpose is, above all, to calm down the unfocused, anxious, nervous. Why, e.g., kneel when it’s the effort that distracts? Why did you think that we must take as much substance as possible in contemplation? The less, the better! Just let it be something to us directly touches. Then let’s never forget the best
condition for contemplation is peace of mind. In that sense, writes St. Ignatius in another place: «Before I give up into prayer, I will make sure that I am completely at ease by sitting down or walking. Then I kneel or sit down, depending on how it works better for me in piety, I close my eyes or fix them motionless. to a subject. »
It is, therefore, nothing special that we find in the clergy books on a wide range of advice on which position is most appropriate for reflection. According to Gerson, it should stand with its eyes lifted to the sky. Dionysus Carthusian advises the other way around, eyes close. William of Paris found that he was most comfortable with his left-hand so that his heart would be at peace. Cisneros recommends strong gestures, so whoever he prays shows on the outside what he meditates on. He raises his hand with Aaron, kneels with Solomon. When he meditates on Christ vi in ​​the Garden of Gethsemane, he will kneel like him. You sit down At the feet of Jesus as Magdalene, he shall turn his eyes to the earth published or will look to heaven as apostles at the ascension of the Lord. Cisneros also draws attention to the fact that another method is suitable for beginners and another for
advanced. Beginners should pray on their knees, so eyes downcast, arms crossed, with frequent clones. The avant-garde also pray on their knees, but their hands and eyes are raised to the sky. They are perfect
pray standing, eyes turned to heaven, kindled by the flame of desire with sighs of love. Eventually, those who are valid will sit quietly at Jesus’ feet. Interestingly, none of the author’s names for walking while meditating. Maybe he considers it less reverent for one who perceives the presence of God alive. Perhaps there is another reason. Intense concentration requires some sort of sensory immobility. The Eastern Hesychasts, who also used the so-called physical methods: motionless sitting in a dark corner of the cell with his head tilted to his chest, with his right prolonged and delayed breathing.
In modern times, some adapt. Eastern yoga prayer. Theoretically, of course, he cannot be an objection. It is good to make every effort to ensure that the body, position, and function serve as best they can.

He asked such a question to Theophilus of Antioch, and he answered it. Show me your soul, and I will show you, my God. That is, show me the eyes of your soul, whether they are not blind, whether the ears of your heart hear. Those with healthy body eyes can distinguish an object from light from darkness, white from black, beautiful from ugly. It is similar to the ears. If they are healthy, they recognize sounds sharp, delicious, fake. It is also necessary for our mental eyes to be okay. So that we can look at God and hear him, God will show himself to those who can see him, that is, those who have their eyes open. Everyone has eyes, but some have them covered with a screen, so they can’t see the sunlight. But if the blind, do not see the sun, it does not cease to shine. If the blind, do not see the sun, let them not blame the sun but their eyes. Therefore, you also blame yourself if your eyes are covered with sins and evil deeds. You have to keep your soul as clean as a mirror. If the mirror is dirty, one cannot see one’s face in it.
Similarly, if there is sin in man, he cannot look to God. Show whether you are not fornicating, you will not steal, you will not curse, or you are not envious. For God will not appear like that. It all obscures the view. Well, if you want, you can be cured. Please give it to a doctor who will treat the eyes of your soul. Who is this doctor? He is God. He provides health and life through His Word and His wisdom. If you understand this and live pure, holy, and righteous, you will be able to see God. God is not the cause of sin. Sin comes only from our anger. God knew the danger to the general order if a man would be free. He saw the falls, the sins of man, and heroic virtues—good triumphs only when evil stands against it and attacks it. Sin thwarts the Creator’s plans. How God could tell stupid virgins, I do not know you when He knows everything and knows everything. Sin is the only thing God has no idea about. For sin is not his work. God is not his cause. He is beyond his omnipotence. This must be a terrible monster that God has no idea about. I don’t know you. After all, a man who becomes evil moves away from the idea that God had of him.

Every priestly and religious vocation is different, especially. There are cases when God calls man directly to the priesthood; it is always a unique path. Most of the time, however, it works through the people and circumstances we experience. However, it is also true that not all who feel called to the priesthood will achieve this. Sometimes they lose it through their fault; sometimes, they are prevented from doing so for various reasons. More specifically, in former Czechoslovakia, many felt called to be priests, but when the Communists came to power, many were not allowed to study theology. For me, the priestly vocation has gradually developed. As I look back on my life now, I see that God has not only called me to the priesthood, but has led my life so that I can attain the priesthood. When I was in eighth class, my parents enrolled me in religion. One can ask oneself why only in the eighth class, why not earlier? At least in Bratislava, this was not possible at that time. When I went to eighth class, the political situation began to change. Dubcek came, and many things that were not allowed before were suddenly allowed. Although the priest who taught us religion was older, he taught us very interested, and above all, he knew how to awaken our interest in religion. That’s when I got the idea that I would like to administrate. I must say that the priest who taught us religion was called Peter Lajcha, who did not call anyone to minister with him. The idea came by itself. So, I started ministering in the Church where Father Lajcha was pastor. I think this is where my priestly vocation was born. There was a very vibrant Christian community in this Church. The theologian Miloš Vojtíšek impressed me very much with his deep religion. The community organized various lectures, films were shown, excursions were made, and pilgrimages were organized. People took part in actions in large numbers. I don’t know if I would have a priestly vocation if I had seen empty churches and the people who had no interest in the Church. Maybe yes, maybe no. I have to mention something else here; people had great respect for the priests.

The political recession did not last long. Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia, gradually Reformed Communists who wanted socialism with a human face were removed, and the Church regained state control and began to restrict its activities again. The truth did not go from day to day, but gradually. However, he was mistaken if anyone believed that the Church, especially in Slovakia, could be silenced. The Church has partly come into legality, and hundreds or even thousands of people have done everything to make Christ known to children and young people. Many people knew they were at risk of losing their jobs or even going to jail, and some even went to prison. But that didn’t deter them. I think this circumstance has also influenced my priestly vocation. I was proud to be a member of a courageous and vibrant Church. I will never forget the atmosphere I experienced at that time. At that time, I already felt called a priest. At that time, it was only possible to attend the seminar with a high school diploma. Whether I would be admitted to high school was not certain because even there, the number of students who could be accepted was limited. Sure, I could have gone to another middle school, but I couldn’t study theology from that school. The second question was whether I could study at all because of the family circumstances that prevailed in our home. Probably very difficult. But a solution has been found. I went to my grandmother and godmother in Hlohovec, where I was admitted to high school without any problems and had suitable study conditions. It was a coincidence that a classmate at the high school sat down with me, who did not come from Hlohovec, and I quickly learned that he also wanted to be a priest. It was a coincidence or God’s providence. Together, we encouraged ourselves to become priests. Unfortunately, he did not become a priest. His brother, a great communist, finally put a spanner in the works: After graduating from high school, I wanted to study theology; it was not at all certain whether I would be accepted. The number of theology students was limited, the numerous so-called class. Thus, every fourth candidate could accept theology. In this respect, I was lucky. In Bratislava, in the Church where the parish priest, where I used to be a ministry, was transferred, a priest was vice dean at the Faculty of Theology. Him I also ministered with him, mainly through the holidays; I had protection to be accepted to theology. Also, in Hlohovec, I ministered to a priest who had previously taught at the faculty of theology. So, I was accepted with their help. There was a military regime in the seminary. There were twelve of us in one room. The beds we slept on were over a hundred years old, as was furniture from the last century. The food was also quite poor because the state did not contribute enough to the seminary. But that didn’t bother us. We were eagerly awaiting to become priests. After the fourth year, I did two years of military service. It was demanding military service. We built bridges over the river, even if it was minus twenty degrees below zero. We have also participated in various military exercises. I remember an event. The night we shifted in heavy cars, not on the road, but through various forest gorges. The car driving in front of me crashed into the gorge; due to the snow, it was not to be seen that there was a ravine there. The crew of the car suffered serious injuries. Then I thought I could also sit in this car. Yes. I experienced the second serious event when a drunken soldier started shooting from a submachine gun, and the bullets flew about 10-15 centimeters around me. But nothing happened to me. After my military service, I continued to study theology and was ordained a priest in 1979. In conclusion, I would like to say that I have never doubted whether I should become a priest or not. I felt that God the Lord had called me to the priesthood, and I am grateful to God the Lord for allowing me to become a priest.

Today, the Church commemorates the birth of the Virgin Mary. We do not find any information about the conception of the Virgin Mary in any of the four Gospels. And yet, the long series of names we read in today’s Gospel is named Mary at the end.

We know that the genealogy of the Jews was very much followed, mainly because of the promise that God made to the ancestor Abraham that the foretold Messiah would emerge from his family. From this time, it arose that a woman who had no child was considered punished by God for some sin because no other descendant appeared from her womb, thus the hope of fulfilling the promise. We can read about the birth of the Virgin Mary from the parents of Joachim and Anna in Jacob’s Proto-Gospel, which originated in the middle of the second century. Although this work was attributed to the Apostle James, the Church did not accept it in the list of so-called canonical books, that is, in the number of 72 books of the Scriptures. We know that in addition to the canonical books, there are dozens of books, letters, and gospels ascribed to essential personalities, especially the apostles, but they have not written them. However, these books do not contain any errors or delusions. There is much more good than evil in them, but the Church has reservations about them. The birth of the Virgin Mary is not a commanded holiday. He does not commit to attending Mass under sin, yet it has become a fantastic holiday in the Church. In addition to the feast of the Nativity of the Lord Jesus and the Nativity of John the Baptist, we also remember the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. We do not place another birth in the Church. The feasts of the saints are memories of their deaths – second birth – birth for heaven.

Today, it is up to the worshipers of the Virgin Mary to draw new strength in the spiritual life. We know that the Virgin Mary already enjoys the reward of Jesus. We know that she was taken to heaven for her faithfulness and also crowned Queen of Heaven. We do not add anything to the Virgin Mary by our prayer and participation in the Holy Mass. She already has everything to the highest degree of fame. And yet, our participation in Holy Mass and our approach to the sacraments makes her happy. Today, Mary does not forget her worshipers and asks the Son for the necessary grace for us. On her birthday today, attending Church is a source of new graces and a multiplication of the gifts we need most. Someone remarked on today’s sidelines: If a natural mother can enjoy a visit to children, how much more will our heavenly Mother! Children never leave their mothers without attention. When the Mother has distributed everything materially, she will enrich her children with her smile, caress, a blessing on the forehead. And so, it is with the Mother of all mothers on the day of her birth.

Many people like certain types of flowers. When they want to make them happy, they show their love to them with these flowers. We are different in skin color, language, age, height, gender, education, and the like. We are different, and yet today, we all want to offer one flower. Let it be a white flower – the purity of our souls. We liken this color to her holiday. Mary, immaculate, conceived Mary, who did not consent to sin, wants to accompany us today with the blessing of her Son. And this is the “best” for us to say goodbye on her holiday. Mary says: Thank you for coming. Don’t forget, come again!

Why does one deny God, the basis of one’s existence? One sometimes does not respect reality. He is considered more than he is. He is proud. He pretends to be more than he is. He pretends to be the master of the universe, but he is not. Pride directly kills the ability to learn.
Andrej Frossard, in his book: God exists, I met him, wrote how far a man could go in his rejection. The perfect atheist was no longer a man who denied God, but who no longer even questioned the existence of God. It is difficult to answer the question of what all contributes to the formation of such an attitude. Sometimes it can be upbringing, other times some vice, or social conditions. From a specific life, we ​​know that the denial of God is not always as deep as someone pretends and that it cannot withstand the actual trials of life. For many who deny God, it would be necessary to ask a question. If it went tough, I’m sure I don’t believe it. I do not think it might turn out in a different form. No, I can’t believe it, but I want to avoid considering it. And a substitute for faith in God? Sometimes it is human ideas; sometimes, it is emptiness. Everyone has the confidence they deserve. There are many obstacles on the way to God, but one of the main obstacles can be oneself. The more he deals with himself, the less truthfully, he sees others and other things. Its horizon is too limited. Such a person overlooks many things. We only come across God when we are at the root of things. Only an attentive and thoughtful person will discover God. K. Jasper, a German philosopher, said that man must first discover himself to find God. When a person loses himself, he also loses God. Many moderns no longer find themselves. They have a sense only for the outer layer of sensory experience, understanding experiment, and technique. However, they cannot descend into the depths of their interior. And the result? Man is superficial. He lost his depth. Looking for a distraction, she feels empty. He is not happy. St. Augustine speaks. What you value attracts you. Trait on her volunteers. What attracts you reveals what you are. Some are attracted to art, others to truth or knowledge, but some to worse things. One must be willing to seek God and ready to find. He who is more interested in not finding God will hardly find him. One must have somehow trusted and love God. Love and knowledge complement each other. Love cannot be forced, even by arguments. What drove the modern man into this situation, he denies God. He rejects God, though he cannot get rid of the thought of Him. Sometimes he talks about him seriously; other times, he talks about him recklessly or even contemptuously.