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Four types of prayers, according to St. Paul.
St. Paul (1 Tim 2: 1) calculates four kinds of prayers: “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving *. Greek words are not enough to determine what species of prayers the apostle had exactly in mind. Christian authors (Origenes, St. Thomas Aquinas, and others) define a little artificial. For example. According to Origin, the first species means «Prayers that someone sends to achieve what he needs *. So, in short, it is supplicating to pray. In the second place is «prayer with the giving of praise for things above *. Then comes the prayer that means «A request to God, to which the one who has the greater dares trust in God *. The last kind, Thanksgiving, needs no explanation. However, if we read quite simply, we can say that there are actually only two kinds of prayers: praying and giving thanks.

Prayer and thanksgiving prayer
The first prayer we know from life and the Scriptures in prayer. A person feels weak, exposed to security, so he asks for help higher, more powerful being, God. According to St. Basil, it is a prayer “a prayer through which pious people turn to God *. We read examples of such requests on almost everyone’s page of the Old Test, yet there are differences. There is something impersonal, official in the Egyptian cult. In fact, the people of Bologna praise the deity with many celebratory tulles to incline it. Jews, on the other hand, are aware that their relationship with God is something special. The LORD hath made a covenant with Aura and is willing to help him whenever the people turn to him. They often turn to God and individuals, even in the small difficulties of daily living. However, in the Psalms, which are the official prayers of the Jewish cult, they are mostly asking for greater gifts: wisdom, God’s fear, trust in danger, the forgiveness of game breeding, etc.
The Fathers of the Church like to show us how to pray for the feeling of scarcity, misery, weakness. To whoever would have him did not feel, answers St. John from Chrysostomus: «Are you saying that you don’t need to pray? That’s why you need to pray to yourself looks like you don’t need it. ”  It seems, then, that natural disasters, such as floods, crop failures, hunger, are not such great evil. They awaken in man consciousness of need, they turn their minds to God, and therefore they are even by the gifts of God. In a Christmas message from 1955, he shows Pius. XII., As, on the contrary, a deceptive feeling of security diverts from God: «The fact that people in the so-called industrial era are used to praying is a sign of supposed self-sufficiency, which makes a modern man squirm. Many do not pray today, feel confident, and think that technology has already overcome the request that the Lord has placed in people’s mouths: Give us every day our bread!
The prayer of gratitude is the opposite of praying. Who got it? Thanks. Interestingly, no word in Hebrew corresponds exactly to our “thank you.” Semite expressed his gratitude by praising the donor, his mercy, goodness, love. Therefore, the so-called Praise prayers, of which there are many in Scripture, actually belong to the group of metal prayers.
A. Fonck thinks that praise and thanks are two differences, not feelings. Thanks for something we got. Praise is no more greedy. We praise God’s greatness in itself. Despite, however, this can be said to be related. Everything that God reveals is a gift to people. It expresses it nicely in verse of the Mass part of Gloria: «Thank you for your great glory. » Clement of Alexandria, therefore, exhorts Christians to thank God in the first place for the gift of knowledge for that they can understand the greatness of God. The more she understands it, the more thank you. On the contrary, the bigger our gratitude, the more God reveals His glory to us. In today’s breeding language, we would say that he should thank God above all for the gifts of grace: for that, we know the Christian truth, for baptism and sanctification grace and for the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and for all that helps us in the growth of life in Christ.

The most monitored information includes the weather forecast. Accordingly, we can arrange many things for better satisfaction, or we can avoid inconveniences and difficulties.

This gospel also has the character of information. Jesus told his disciples, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into the full truth …” (Jn 16:13).

This information about the Holy Spirit is valuable to us believers for several reasons. Especially since we knew very little about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus spoke more often about the Holy Spirit, but today he speaks in more detail. The Holy Spirit will make not only the disciples, but we also know the fullness of the truth and become its teachers. Therefore, in many things, the apostles and believers were not ready to accept and understand in the beginning. Only with the advent of the Holy Spirit are major obstacles removed, such as unstable faith and fear-filled hearts. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will do nothing to contradict the teachings of Jesus Christ. He will not speak for himself, but only what he has heard from the Father and the Son. Thus, he is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, and therefore he cannot begin to teach a new doctrine that the Lord Jesus would not have preached. Its mission will be to make people aware of what is to come, that is, to give people a sign of the times so that the teachings of Jesus must be interpreted correctly and acceptably in the spirit of the times, for the needs of the times, because every time wants to find for a satisfactory answer to difficult questions and pains from the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and that will be the task of the Holy Spirit. In this way, the Church will increasingly understand the message of the Lord Jesus and present it better and better in changed conditions.

When we think of the Church’s history, we see the admirable vitality of the Church, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. We see that the teachings of the Lord Jesus have already satisfied the ancient man. Jesus became the pinnacle in the Middle Ages as well. That is why the Holy Spirit works so that he wants to engage the whole person at all times: his thinking, desires, desires. Therefore, nothing new under the sun when we witness that the teachings of Christ attract the attention of a modern man as well. Nothing prevents a person from devoting himself to his art, sports, science, and politics, only let it be for his eternal salvation and also of other immortal souls.
It would be ridiculous to teach the teachings of Christ in the spirit of antiquity, or in a medieval way, in today’s atom. But even today, the Holy Spirit directs the Church and her superiors so that they do not proclaim errors, but the truth, because even today’s man has a role to play in the Spirit and the truth. That is why today we still talk about the current freedom and dignity of man, about his goal, the content of life, about the place of man in God’s plan.

Today, a believing Christian is not impoverished by being a believer; on the contrary, he differs from an unbeliever by the wonderful idea that he believes in eternal life. This means that he does not live only for this world, but in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, he directs and corrects his actions so that he can pass life successfully, pass the test of life, and thus deserves eternal life.

Nothing has changed in the words that the saint recorded for us:
– We are in the world to know the Lord God, to love him, to serve him, and so to come into eternal life. –

The man spoke these words differently and under different circumstances in the early days of Christians, then in the scientific and technical revolution, and differences in the 21st century. And yet, in its basic features, we still have to keep orders. We must realize that today. God wants us now, here, in these conditions. Here is our place; here we decide our eternity. However, we have the help of the Holy Spirit, promised to us by the Lord Jesus, who leads, directs, and administers the visible head of the Church, the congregation of bishops, and the whole Church.

Information about the Holy Spirit is therefore welcome for us, and we often remember the Holy Spirit. So may our regular life includes a regular prayer for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

It is said that more than one enemy of Christ broke his teeth in the Church or broke his bonds. There may be some truth to that. Many wanted death, the demise of the Church, which is the work of Jesus Christ, but which is guided by the Holy Spirit through the visible head, the hierarchy of the Church headed by the Pope. There were also periods in the Church that many believers fell into despair and fear for the Church. However, they forgot that the Church is not a work of man but God. Therefore, it does not hurt us today to reflect on the Gospel’s passage and strengthen ourselves in our faith.

“It’s better for you to leave. For if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you. But when I go, I will send him to you “(Jn 16: 7).

These words must have surprised the apostles when they heard them from the Lord Jesus. He wants to leave them. They do not understand and do not understand. Therefore, he explains to them that when he leaves, it will only benefit them and the future Church until the end of the world because they will only gain by doing so, precisely by the action of the Holy Spirit. Although after the resurrection of Jesus, the apostles could see even more convincingly about the mission of the Lord Jesus, they had a different idea of ​​Jesus under the influence of the environment and especially the long wait for the Messiah. Many places were still unclear to them, and therefore his absence after leaving would cure them of the earthly understanding of the teachings they had received. This will come to them through the “proponent,” through the third Divine Person – the Holy Spirit, who is the true God with the Father and the Son. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the world will know that it is not the Lord Jesus but the world that has committed a crime, unbelief, so we can understand that he who does not believe condemns himself because he does not cooperate with the one who not only created this but also redeemed it. The world realizes that the death of the Lord Jesus is not a defeat for us; on the contrary, a victory and that the resurrection of Christ is the greatest defeat for the unbelieving world.

Today, none of us doubt that the Holy Spirit is active among us. Although Jesus – our Redeemer and Savior has departed from us, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the whole world can progress more and more and know the person of the Lord Jesus more deeply.

We can say that although we did not meet the physical Christ as a human being, our faith is no less weak, precisely because by the departure of the Lord Jesus to the Father, not only then in Jerusalem but also today; we have become able to receive the Holy Spirit. Under his influence, we can grow in faith and love.

How many times the mystery of the Eucharist is a wonderful impulse of faith for us. Furthermore, the reminder that the Holy Spirit is in me, in my brothers and sisters, powerfully strengthens me in faith in one God in three divine persons. We do not see the Lord Jesus face to face here on earth is not an obstacle at all. However, we believe that Jesus promised us such a meeting. So when he has fulfilled his words about his passion, death, and resurrection, we believe that our resurrection will not be a problem for Jesus.

Yes, although we often do not quite understand this context with our reason, because it still exceeds our comprehension today, we work and learn to know as much as possible about it and give further testimonies. One day these difficulties will pass for us, and our faith will not be a difficulty for us but a joy of glorifying God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit foretold and announced is for all who turn to him in faith, strength, and light on the way to eternity.

We boldly put aside our fear for the future of the Church. Although we do not see it in the colors of pink, even though we encounter wonderful resistance and hatred towards the Church, the words of the Lord Jesus apply, which have proven themselves many times over two thousand years: “… the gates of hell will not overcome it” (Mt 16:18).

Today, Jesus calls on each of us, “Remain in my love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might be in you, and that your joy might be full. “(Jn 15: 10n).
Today it is obvious how Jesus calls us to remain in his love. Jesus already clearly indicates to the disciples his departure – through death, he goes to the Father. Jesus went to prepare the way for us. After all, he himself is the Way to the Father, but he is also the Way and the Life. So God’s truth is not a teaching but a person. Each individual will understand this truth to the extent that it can be captivated and transformed by it.
The reality of the joy that Jesus wants to pour into our hearts should be trust in his love. This trust encourages us to have here who laid his life on the cross, freed us from sin, and carried us into his light. Jesus wants to show us that joy is a gift that we feel alive in moments of fulfillment by his grace. Each of us must realize that we cannot live without God and His commands. Jesus wants us today to keep ourselves completely to him by keeping his commandments.

In her words, Mother Teresa calls us: “Joy must be a fundamental feature of our lives. We may have nothing to give, but we will always be able to give joy that flows from the heart that loves God. Joy is always contagious. Whenever you go to the sick, be full of joy. “

So we, if we follow Jesus’ commandments, experience joy, peace, and we can say, as St. Augustine: “I believe who I have believed.” Jesus wants to give each of us his love, but it is certainly clear that he wants us to fulfill his request – to keep what He has commanded us. Many times we also want to gain something, but without conditions. We will look at Jesus: he had to keep what God commanded him, he too was “subject” to God, and only he who remains in God will be filled with joy.

Every day we should ask ourselves, “Did I fulfill everything God wanted from me? Did I keep his commandments? “We need to ask the Lord for help every day to remember His commandments. Jesus Christ came down to heaven for us, to be imprisoned and sentenced to death, so that we may, they could be set free from sin. Wine Jesus wants a radical decision from us The apostles have also been faced with the question of decision many times; they were the ones who made the first serious decisions for the future of the Church, for no one has more love than the one who sent me, Only God is the one who is the greatest friend of us all, we need to trust and turn to him in our weaknesses, and only then will the awareness of his faithfulness grow in our hearts and this knowledge will change us.

A mother with a large family had to be photographed. She looked very festive. But the photographer told her, “Please smile.” Her mother tried. But the photographer keeps saying, “Don’t look stern and sad, as if your house is on fire.” And as she tried to look more pleasant, the photographer added: “Don’t think about your home worries, lie about the honor and well-being of being the mother of the family. Think of the reward God will give you. “
Click! And done. “Thank you!” When she saw the photo, she exclaimed, “But I’m a ton 10 years younger!” “Not at all, but you have a happy look you should always have because you have every reason to do so.” These words stuck in the mind of the brave lady. They were repeated every day — morning and evening as she worked and rested. days after that, her husband said, “It seems to me that you are younger every day. Are you taking anything, or have you found some” iron? ” The man was right – the cheerfulness of the mother is the source of true family well-being.

We can add that to follow Christ and remain in his love is: to be the happiest person. Only a person who experiences the love of Christ daily can bear witness to it.

Lord Jesus, fill our insides with your peace, and let us keep your commandments forever. Fill our hearts with love so that we can pass on your joy to all the surrounding people.

When God speaks, the only appropriate attitude seems to be to listen and fulfill his will. However, the first prayers we commonly know from our lives and the Scriptures are praying prayers. Man feels weak, exposed to security, asking God for help. That’s where it comes from the definition of prayer as suggested by St. Basil – “a request about the appropriate thing with which pious people turn to God. “
Here and there, voices rise against this “begging of favor” in heaven. In ancient times, Marcus Aurelius already criticized this attitude: “We should not impose our will of God, but, unconditionally accept the will of his. ” In a Christian setting, this sentiment the Quietism leaned forward. Their reason is valid when they think that God is only a general law or immutable idea. There is no discussion with laws or ideas. These require complete subordination.

On the contrary, relationships with a person are necessarily dialogical. And a real conversation presupposes a hearty chat and submission of suggestions from both sides. It’s big the privilege we have been given: God created us to talk to him; not only does he address us in words, but he also listens to what we call him and wants to hear our pleas. We read about examples of such requests on almost every page of the Old Testament. It will stand out even more, when we compare biblical prayers, especially grief, with Babylonian or Egyptian prayers. Literary criticism points to many external similarities. And yet, there is a significant difference. In the Egyptian cult, he was very impersonal, official.

The Babylonians celebrated the deity with many celebratory titles. The Jews, on the other hand, we’re aware of their special relationship with God. Yahweh closed with Abraham, the covenant, and is always ready to help his people if they turn to him. To better understand the mystery of the divine. Fatherhood, we must have the basic principles
of the incarnation of the Son of God before our eyes. By becoming a God-Man, did not diminish the value of man but rather improved it.
Human dignity includes free will. Primitive the church fought as a delusion the so-called monotheism, which he assumed that Christ did not have a human will, that is to say, was replaced by divine will.

In modern times, N. Berdyaev writes against the “too much servile “concept of God’s will in the sermons. God is The Creator; man is his image, so he must be creative with him. Like a true father from us, God expecting proposals, plans. He accepts them categorically and is willing to cooperate to realize if they can join a large mosaic image of the universe.
In simple words, this situation is expressed in the Gospel the following challenge: “Ask, and you will receive; look for, and you will find; knock, and it will open to you! Because everyone he asked received and that seekers are finders, and he knocked, it will open. After all, who is among you that will give your own son a stone when he asks for bread? Or if he asks him for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If so, you, though evil, can give to your children good gifts, the more your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him ”(Mt 7: 7-11).

He who has decided to follow Jesus must often be convinced that love is persecuted by hatred. It is the sad consequence of inherited sin. People who hate God also hate those who try to live for God with love. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a man to repay herself for love and goodness with hatred.

Today’s gospel also speaks on this subject. The Lord Jesus wants to draw the attention of his darlings to something great. This means the apostles and all his brothers and sisters to the end of the world, who in their lives carry out his command of love. Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you” (Jn 15:18). And it will immediately explain why this hatred is: but because ye are not of the world, because I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you ”(Jn 15:19).

These words belong to the second part of the farewell speech of the Lord Jesus at the Last Supper. And in particular, a disharmonious tone crept into the message of love, preparing him to prepare his apostles for the fact that although they will try to sow love around them, they will gather the hatred of the world for this effort because not everyone has a leader in Jesus. Those who do not hate Jesus, and because his disciples belong to Christ, will be overtaken by a wave of hatred as Christ himself. Apart from the fact that Jesus chose them from the world, that is, from the power of evil, they no longer belong to the world, and the world can take revenge for this because the world loves only what belongs to it, which does not transcend its boundaries, principles, and way of life.
Therefore, the world’s revenge for friendship with Jesus is most often manifested in the persecution of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus warns them of this and at the same time wants to please them, to encourage them that the world has repaid himself to him in this way. At these words, the apostles begin to realize the union, the bondage with Christ, that they will have to suffer from Christ and know the joy of the success they will receive in spreading the gospel of Jesus. Because many people accept faith and believe in the Lord Jesus, the number of Christians will increase.

Similarly, we must consider that we will not avoid the hatred of the world because of Jesus’ teaching. Therefore, we must reckon with the world’s injustice, we will experience humiliation, and we must even reckon with persecution for Christ. All this is a tax that a Christian pays for his obedience and fidelity to Christ. We must come to terms with this and not look for an escape route.

We realize that when there are confrontations with evil in our lives, this is also necessary for the Christian life. The Church’s history tells us of a myriad of those whose worlds hated and had to lay down their lives for God.

After all, at this time, we remember St. Stanislav, Bishop of Kraków, whom the king has executed as an uncomfortable man. We remember Pope Martin I, who leads the Church in difficult times, Peter’s boat. Although he had to sacrifice his own life, he did not betray. We remember Juraj, who as a soldier and commander can consider a senior officer, so he prefers martyrdom.

However, not everyone died a martyr’s death. We have a long line of believers: Dominik Savio dies young, but the day’s motto when he was on the first st. Communion, he kept: Better to die than to sin. The bishop of Athanasius often had to face a joke, and yet he won. He remained faithful to Christ, even though he had to live in a cemetery for a few months and so on … They are an example for us not to lose peace in trouble, to persevere faithfully in our duties. He who endures to the end wins.

Let us not be afraid when the world will hate us for Christ. Because then we are to thank the Lord Jesus for recognizing us as worthy to bear witness to his teachings – LOVE

Today, it is common knowledge that streams of words flood the world. The language of propaganda and advertising is how powerful and rich in words, where it is offered, sells goods, and everyone wants to sell, get as much as possible. In fact, people also build on their careers, talk, talk, often deceive, see only profit, their material gain, and wealth here on earth. Therefore, let us not be surprised that one also betrays words that have nothing to do with one’s business in this multitude of words. These words mean something much more valuable, more beautiful than just enrichment, material, and material gain.

These words include the word – LOVE. This word is spoken, sung, and talked about in various forms, variations, but often to our detriment and falsely. After all, we should all long for the real content of this word. That is why we must not remain silent. We must speak, but without pretense, deception, falsification of the content of this word.

Let’s ask right at the beginning: Even in my case of a Christian, isn’t the concept of the word love just something soulless? Above all, as Christians, we are obliged to realize that to love man means that we must be united.

The main topic of today’s liturgical readings at St. Mass is the word love. It is mainly about love for another person. But we cannot talk about the love of the neighbor when we are not talking about the love of God. Readings warn us that only then will we truly love God if we will also love our neighbor. The Lord Jesus says, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).

Addressing Jesus to active love of neighbor has its justification and place. These words were spoken by the Lord Jesus shortly before He left this world. It is an excerpt from his beautiful intercession with his disciples. When Jesus spoke thus in farewell to his disciples, he certainly cared a lot about it. Jesus wants them to love one another. But as? He answers himself to this question: “… as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12). And as Jesus loved us: “No one has greater love than he who lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). ). From this, we see that our love for our neighbor must be as it is for Jesus. Let us try to stop and consider the main features of this speech of Jesus.

We meet the command to love one’s neighbor in the Old Testament. However, this command had different content. At that time, it was true that it is enough to love one’s neighbor in about such a range as a blood vessel or a native. This order did not apply to aliens. The new law already expresses a new understanding, such that we love all people, all nationalities, skin color, and the like.

This command also applies to the love of enemies. We have a lot of evidence for this from Jesus’ teaching. Perhaps you, brothers and sisters, would also like to speak discreetly with Jesus on this subject. Should we really love our enemies as well? But we realize that when Jesus said that, we should not doubt it. Such is his will, and so is the teaching of Jesus. He knows best what to do and what will benefit us the most. Therefore, let us trust Jesus.

Loving the other person has its basis already in natural causes, but also supernatural learning. Above all, it results from respect for the other person. After all, all people are equal. Everyone is human and has the right to be treated as a human being. That is why we should see a brother in every person. Whether he is black or white, has ordinary or slanted eyes, he is human. Therefore, a warm and friendly environment should be created between people. If we also remember that every person is created in the image of God, that he has something of God in him, the more he has the right to our love.
The Lord Jesus loved all people because he saw the image of his Father in their faces. He went so far in his love that he knelt before the people, as he had done in the case of the apostles when he’s kneeling washed their feet. But let’s see when he died on the cross for all of us. He could then rightly say, “No one has greater love than he who lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Only Jesus and no one else has given us a more beautiful proof of love. All such examples of sacrificial love are only a weak following of Christ. However, they are followable if we do them for Christ.

What does it mean to remain in the love of Jesus? That means taking on the needs of other people. To love – it is not just to speak, but to do deeds as well. True love of neighbor is humble. It has signs of suddenness and delicacy. She doesn’t want to be known, celebrated. He is happy that he is unobtrusively fulfilling his mission. Thus, by the Scriptures, love applies: We feel happier when we give than when we take. We can compare true love to a river into which new tributaries are constantly flowing. As the waters fertilize the vast landscape, so true love enriches many. It is known that not a single act done out of love remains unanswered, but a new act of love is born immediately. A person who loves a neighbor does not grow old because he still feels the joy of the happiness of others.

Honey, this is something for us. Everyone wants to be happy. And in Jesus’ words, we find the recipe: “This is what you say. I say that ye love one another “(Jn 15:17). In other words, make others happy! When we read about what made the saints famous, we find that they are not great buildings, rare works of art, but a simple, humble love that often grew into heroic courage and brought them to the level of the altar. Let’s remember Maximilian Kolbe, prisoner no. 16670 of Oswiecim, a search for Pro of Mexico from the time of the persecution, Damian de Vester of the island of Molokai, who died among the lepers, to the Jew Edit Stein tortured in Oswiecim and the like. These and others proved to be one in common; they loved their neighbor according to the words of Jesus: “No one has greater love than he who lays down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Can we love our neighbors like that? We must realize that love is a true sign that we belong to Christ, that we are Christ’s. If there is no love between us, there will be no Christ.

In 1889, the steamer Remus was drowning near the Philippines. There was panic on the ship. Many jumped into the water to save their lives. Only two – missionaries, Paul Raimond and Dorado, helped the elderly and children get into lifeboats. In the end, there was only one place left in the boats. Raimond knelt and began to pray. Dorado sat on the boat. The steamer also dropped below the surface with Raimond. The lifeboat was already away from the tragedy when one of those who jumped into the sea emerged from the boat and begged to be taken with them. However, there were no places. Only if someone released him. Dorado willingly got up, made room for him, and jumped into the sea himself. These are the words of Jesus lived traditionally.

L. N. Tolstoy can also teach us what mercy and love mean: Two friends went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On the way, they walked around a house. The first of them entered the bottom to drink some water while the second continued on his way. But he saw a terrible thing in the house. The family was starving. He stayed there; he helped, he shared with them his food. He even went to a nearby village, brought everything necessary, and treated them until they healed. He then wanted to set out on a journey, but he returned home as he missed all his possessions and supplies.
But the other came to Jerusalem and went into the temple to the tomb of God. There were many people there, and he couldn’t get to the grave. As he stood at the door and prayed, he noticed his neighbor praying directly on God’s tomb. It seemed to him that there was a great glow around him. He was waiting for him outside. He waited, waited, but in vain. He returned home. When he got home, he told everything he saw and experienced. Here he understood that the Lord God accepted his neighbor’s sacrifice more than his pilgrimage to Jerusalem to God’s tomb.

Really, if we don’t have love, nothing will help us. Only love makes us happy and content. It is not difficult for us Christians to live in love because we have a Teacher who has taught us not only by word but also by an example of how to love one another. God’s love is the foundation and model of our love. Away with anger, mischief, hatred, greed, selfishness, egoism, judgments, statements, exploitation, hostility …