“Pedagogue to Christ” (cf. Gal 3:24) ▪ The content of the Old Testament is schematically summarized in two words: Law and Prophets. All events of Jewish history have a prophetic character, pointing to the future, with the expected New Testament significance. The attitude of Christians was different when it came to the regulations of the Mosaic Law. Already in the Acts of the Apostles, we read St. Peter’s statement that these norms no longer bind Christians. They served as preparation for the coming of Christ. However, the latter debate was intriguing. Christians were no longer just converted Jews, but the majority of them came from a pagan background. Did God not prepare you to come to Christ? The Alexandrian intellectual Clement, the author of many writings, took a position in favor of the pagans. He came from Greek culture and knew that there was much that was beautiful and true there, too. He declared that Plato was to the Greeks what Moses was to the Jews, an educator of Christ. Today, we gladly adopt his idea in a missionary and ecumenical spirit, recognizing that this approach encourages dialogue and understanding among different cultures and faiths. We try to appreciate all good wherever it is found, because everything leads to Christ in the hands of God’s providence.

Christian development
What happens in the development of the world also affects the development of each esthetic, as societal changes and cultural shifts influence personal growth and the understanding of faith. Each of us goes through various stages. Each of us begins with the Old Testament and gradually moves on to the New Testament. Kierkegaard distinguished three phases in the religious development of humans: the aesthetic, the moral, and the religious period in the true sense of the word. Initially, we are attracted to the church by an “aesthetic” feeling. We see something different there, something that sets it apart from everyday life, and this attracts us. Over time, however, we discover that singing, reading, and liturgical life are not the most important things; we realise that we need to change ourselves, keep God’s commandments, and become morally blameless. However, even this stage cannot be the final one; otherwise, we risk becoming Pharisees. In the third stage, a person seeks intimate contact with God through prayer. Christians believe that this can only be achieved through Christ and in Christ. Thus, the previous stages have reached their goal and have not been realizelled,’ and man has reached ‘the full measure of Christ’ (Ephesians 4:13).

Opening prayer

We are once again setting out on the difficult path to the Cross of Christ. We often measure and compare it in our minds. Perhaps we already know all the stops by heart; we have heard all sorts of reflections, and yet this path constantly captivates us with something, stops us, and asks us: “Don’t you judge yourself?” How did you accept your cross? Do you meet your mother? Does anyone help you? But do you help yourself too? Have you also been deprived of many things in life? Do you also fall? And have you learned to forgive?… However, the Way of the Cross is not only full of questions but also answers; it is a kind of examination of conscience, the conscience that we would sometimes prefer not to hear. Despite everything that is in us at this moment, let us embark on this path and notice not only Christ, but also ourselves, where we would be at that moment, and what we would or would not be able to do. First, however, let us ask him with those familiar words:

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also over the souls in purgatory.

1st Station – The Lord Jesus is condemned to death

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you have redeemed the world by your cross.

We know how this trial ended – the judge failed, and the accused died. But let us now briefly try to relive this trial and allow Pilate to ask us the same question he asked then: “What accusation do you bring against this man?” (John 18:29). I think that even today, thousands of accusations would be made against Jesus: Where were you when my child was dying? Why did you not listen to me when I begged you so much? Explain to me how you can look at so much suffering in the world and do nothing about it?… And to this long list of human accusations, Pilate would add his famous last question: “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” (Matthew 27:13). And what about Jesus? Just as he did then, he would remain silent now. But it is precisely Jesus’ silence that scares us. What if it is all different from what we think? What if someone else is supposed to sit on the dock? Are we not judging the righteous? Might we truly consider subjecting him to such harsh treatment once more? Or would we rather wash our hands of him and have nothing more to do with him? In life, we will find ourselves in similar trials many times, where man will be the judge and Christ the defendant. Are we ready to be his defender or accuser? Jesus, you yourself once said that when they judge us for your name, we should not worry about what we will say at that moment, because it will no longer be we who speak, but the Spirit of our Father who speaks in us (cf. Mt 10:19-20). Strengthen our faith, then, at the moment when we will have to confess you before the world.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

2nd Station – The Lord Jesus takes up the cross on his shoulders.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For by your cross you have redeemed the world.

After Jesus was led from the government building to be scourged and humiliated, they placed the cross on his shoulders. The Apostle John reminds us that “he himself carried the cross” (John 19:17). Only now did the true journey of the cross begin. He carried the instrument of torture and execution. However, one could say that at that moment, he carried death on his shoulders on Calvary. At that time, almost no one suspected that it would not be Jesus who would end, but death. Death would be destroyed forever. Or as the Church of the East sings: Christ has conquered death by death! Thus, the cross became not only a sign of victory, but also a sign of salvation for all. Therefore, if you have the cross, you have a sign of salvation. If you bear the cross, you carry the sign of salvation. If you take up the cross, you take upon yourself the sign of salvation. Do not give up on him, for only in this sign will you triumph. Jesus, I ask you for strength not only for the crosses of today, but also for tomorrow.
on
V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

3rd Station – The Lord Jesus falls under the cross for the first time.

V. We worship you, Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you redeemed the world with your cross.

This first fall was to be expected. The legs buckled, and the heavy wood of the cross of Jesus dragged him to the ground. No matter how we imagine this fall, it was certainly the most difficult moment on the way to Calvary. But was it only a “moment”? Who knows how long that moment of the first fall lasted?! What did it cause? How many new blows did it provoke with the whip, add kicks, and with quick, insensitive touches did it lift the wood with the beaten man? And what do I experience at the moment of falling into sin? Does it hurt me? In that moment, the same thing is triggered that was at the time of Christ’s fall: a multitude of excruciating remorse is provoked that torments a person, literally whips him, and insensitively drives him somewhere further… At this pause, Jesus, please forgive me those sins that can very quickly break my knees and make the cross even heavier. Forgive me these sins!

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

4th Station – Jesus meets his mother.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For by your cross you have redeemed the world.

All four Gospels are silent about this encounter between Jesus and his mother on the Way of the Cross. However, the logic of love says that in this procession of death and life, the one who stood by him, not only when he came into the world, but also when he left it, could not be absent. And finally, what human hand could describe what a mother experiences when she loses her child and what a child experiences when they are not allowed to be with their mother?! Even the most sensitive words are not very sensitive, and even the most carefully chosen sentences cannot capture this moment of pause on the Way of the Cross, where the mouths remained silent and only the eyes and hearts spoke. This moment from the Way of the Cross emphasizes how important the encounters are between those who give life and those to whom they have given it. Parents and children. Let us have mutual respect for one another, because as the Old Testament book of Sirach reminds us: “He who honors his mother acts as if he were storing up treasures. He who honors his father will find joy in his children and will always be heard when he prays” (Sir 3:5-6).

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

5th Station – Simon of Cyrene helps the Lord Jesus carry the cross.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For by your cross you have redeemed the world.

Many have noticed this help from the man from Cyrene. However, the evangelist Mark made even more effort and discovered that the “man returning from the field” was a husband and father of two sons, whom he named Alexander and Rufus. Perhaps you—wives—can best imagine what a wife goes through when her husband does not come home from work for a long time… The first question that immediately comes to mind is, did something bad happen to him? Who knows what Simon was talking about at home when he finally entered his house after these difficult moments? What would we say if we experienced something similar? And yet we have already had the opportunity to experience something like this in our lives. After all, haven’t we also had to change our plans and our paths because of someone? Or haven’t circumstances forced us to do something completely different in life than we wanted to do? Just as Simon of Cyrene had no idea who he was helping, we did not realize that, in that moment, we had actually changed our plan according to God’s plan: we did not do what we wanted, but what God wanted of us. Lord, remind us of this man of Cyrene at the very moments when we want to quicken our steps, so that we do not see the one who needs something from us.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

6th Station – Veronica gives the Lord Jesus a towel.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you have redeemed the world with your cross.

This woman’s deed was so insignificant that almost no one noticed it. If this Veronica were to declare herself the heavenly patroness of someone, she would certainly become the patroness of all those who do small, inconspicuous, good deeds, but with great love. For God notices and rewards every good deed. Not even the smallest is forgotten. For “God himself looks upon him who does good, remembers him in the future, and finds support when his downfall comes,” says the Old Testament writer Sirach (Sir 3:34). Lord Jesus! Just as you have not forgotten this insignificant act of love, you do not forget our deeds either. Grant that we may always think that whatever we do, even to the least, we do it as if we had done it to you.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also over the souls in purgatory.

7th Station – The Lord Jesus falls a second time under the cross.

V. We adore you, Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you redeemed the world with your cross.

Falling again. He could not do it again. The earth drew him closer to himself more powerfully than heaven. But even at this moment, Jesus did not want to stop thinking about heaven. He had to get up, pick himself up once more, and reach the Golgotha ​​of the world, so that from there he could open heaven for all. There is a great lesson in this pause: If you have fallen again, get up! If you fall again, get up again! If you keep falling, you must keep getting up! Heaven is for rising from sin, not for falling. You will gain heaven only if you get up. Lord Jesus, stand by those who cannot stand. Support those who keep falling, so that despite their weakness, they do not lose the final goal of their life’s journey—heaven.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

8th Station – The Lord Jesus rebukes the weeping women.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you have redeemed the world by your cross.

Who knows how many women have been able to express their compassion for the Son of Man in this way? It would be good for us too if someone could sympathize with us; even if compassion does not heal wounds, it only softens them. However, Jesus does not accept this soothing remedy for wounds either, but directs his attention to where wounds can arise: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but for yourselves and for your children” (Lk 23:28). Jesus did not want us to feel sorry for him simply, but rather to feel sorry for what causes him much greater pain, which is our sin. Each of us knows very well the birthplace of our sin: we know where it is born, where it grows, and where it overcomes us. This is the real place of weeping. Lord Jesus, let me always think of the real cause of your pain.

V. Jesus crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

9th Station – The Lord Jesus falls under the cross for the third time.

V. We adore you, Christ, and we bless you.
R. For with your cross, you have redeemed the world.

And again on earth. With your face to the ground, as if to give a “last kiss” to this earth that can no longer wait for his blood. Despite the cruel pain, despite the weak legs, despite the weakened arms, despite the thorns pressed into his head, that is, despite everything that is against him, he must rise, he must not stay; this is not yet the end of this bloody journey, even though everything already indicates it. How many such situations in a person’s life would very much like to convince us to give up and not to make any more efforts, even not even to try – an incurable illness, a life disappointment, a failure, or the death of someone very close to us… We think of this stoppage, which was far from the last. Let us be able to move on, even if it is sometimes with our last strength.

V. Jesus crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

10th Station – The Lord Jesus is stripped of his clothes.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For by your cross you have redeemed the world.

They have stripped him. Now they have stripped him not only of the cross, but of everything he still wore. They have humiliated him before the eyes of all, before those who admired him, and before those who hated him. Such is the man without form and face… The prophet Jeremiah wrote about him long ago. But he humbly accepted it, he also accepted this public disgrace. Do we still want to be like Christ? Can we endure shame and humiliation for Christ? Do we want to be like him even in the humble impoverishment of losing everything? Our way of the cross will one day deprive us of everything. It will strip us of everything: our position, our respect, our health, our ranks, our plans… It will leave us nothing. Almost nothing. But we should never let ourselves be stripped of one thing: our faith in God! Let us pray for this one thing, that we may never lose this gift of God.

V. Jesus crucified, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

11th Station – The Lord Jesus is nailed to the cross.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For with your cross, you have redeemed the world.

A halt that is very difficult to look at. A halt in which even the last shred of humanity is lost. A halt that stops a person’s breath. It is the true halt of the Way of the Cross. Jesus’ hands and feet have stopped. They are alive, but they do not move. They are ready to die, but first they must bleed to death. A cruel pain about which it is very difficult to say or write anything meaningful. Jesus, we are here before you, and we try to reflect on what you were experiencing at that time. We will never fully understand it, even if we stood at this halt all day. In this, we are your debtors. We beg you, may we not be nails in your hands and feet, but those who can at least slightly alleviate your pain in our brothers and sisters.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also over the souls in purgatory.

12th Station – Jesus dies on the cross.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you have redeemed the world by your cross.

For three hours, he hung like this on the wood of the cross between heaven and earth. As if for a moment, he belonged neither to earth nor to heaven. Three hours of complete rejection and humiliation. Three hours of struggle with pain and approaching death. However, during these three hours, he cares for his mother and the youngest apostle, opens heaven to the repentant criminal on the cross, asks the Father for forgiveness for all, and gives up his spirit to the Father. Although it seems that he could do nothing more, he did a great deal. Not even the nails prevented forgiveness. This is a great lesson from the cross. Forgiveness can always be given, even on the cross. Therefore, it should not only be an act of God but also of man. After all, Christ was not only true God, but also true man. Surely he himself best remembered the words he said to Peter: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Even on the cross. On any cross, especially the one others have put us on.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Even on the souls in purgatory.

13th Station – The Lord Jesus is taken down from the cross.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For with your cross, you have redeemed the world.

They took down the battered and nailed body of Jesus. This was a moment without pain. However, those who stood around him felt the pain: his mother Mary, his mother’s sister, John, Mary Magdalene, Salome, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea… But there were also those who, with Jesus’ last breath, also breathed deeply. It was as if a stone had fallen from their hearts. However, they had no idea that the real stone would fall in just a few days, and they would have to breathe in his presence again. Even at this very moment, many in this world are being taken down from their crosses. Incurable illnesses and cruel pains tormented them, but also wounds that no one saw, because they ached in secret, somewhere in the heart. This pause is full of silent pain. It is for those who make others out of the crosses of life to reflect on who among them actually suffered and completed in their own body what was still lacking in the suffering of Christ.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

14th Station – The Lord Jesus is buried.

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. For you have redeemed the world with your cross.

Everything will eventually end in the grave. Only one who sees no further than the earth can speak like this. Jesus’ empty tomb is twofold news for us: good and bad. Good news for those who not only believed in him, but also lived in such a way that they could meet him and take the place that he has prepared for them for ages. But it is also bad news for those who, even though they have denied him their whole lives, will still have to meet him one day. What will that meeting be like? We leave it to Christ. Now we must live the remaining journey to our own grave as well as possible so that the next one from the grave will be a joyful welcome to the one who is our Way, Truth, and Life.

V. Crucified Jesus, have mercy on us.
R. Also on the souls in purgatory.

Closing prayer

What we have been thinking about for these few minutes will haunt us throughout our lives. Many of us know what it is to bear the accusation against ourselves. We also know what it is to take up our cross every day and follow Him. We all know very well what it is to fall, but also what it is to get up. We may also have experienced waiting for help when no one is there to help us. And some of you here are those who have only recently experienced the Calvary of your loved ones and had to follow the coffin to the place of their final physical rest. Lord, we do not know which stop on this Way of the Cross will be our closest. But we ask you to accompany us on this journey, for you yourself have already walked it once.
R. Amen.

Prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father

Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father.
Lord Jesus Christ, hear the Holy Father Pope Francis, your Vicar, so that he may obtain all that he asks in your name from the heavenly Father. For you live and reign forever and ever.
R. Amen.

CURRICULUM VITAE

She was the kind and exemplary wife of the nobleman Lorenzo de Ponziani eing an excellent mother to her children. Beneath her magnificent dress, she wore a garment made of horsehair. She helped the poor greatly and lived a virtuous life, especially practicing humility and patience. She experienced enormous tragedy when two of her children died, her husband was mutilated in the war, and her son was taken hostage. She set an example of extreme dedication and bravery. In 1425, she established a community of oblates based on the Rule of St Benedict. She became the abbess of the monastery she had started after becoming a widow.

CV FOR MEDITATION

HER THOUGHTS WERE DIRECTED TO WHAT PLEASED GOD

She was born in 1384 in Trastevere (Zatibeří) in Rome to a wealthy family. At the age of 13, she was married to the nobleman Lorenzo Ponziano, although she wished to enter a religious order. She was modest, delicate, and pious, careful about purity. She was a perfect wife to her husband, attentive to his wishes. He was pious, respected her, and admired her virtues. Frances submitted to the customs of wealthy families in terms of society and external clothing, but under her beautiful clothes, she wore a haircloth belt. With this ascetic detail, out of love for Jesus, she helped her thoughts always be directed to what pleases God. She was courteous and modest around men, but serious and cautious when speaking to women.

After a painful illness, during which she reportedly received a visit from St. Aleš, who announced the end of her life, she stopped dressing ostentatiously with her husband’s consent. She gave the money she had saved for clothes and feasts to the poor. Later, she would often beg for the poor and sick in remote places where she was unknown, helping them greatly. She had the grace to see her guardian angel and received other mystical gifts. She was attentive to the religious duties of everyone in the household and would not tolerate any defective books. She lived in humility and patience in all circumstances.

Biographies do not agree on the number of her children. At the age of 16, her first son, John, was born, and within four years, she had about three more children. Her daughter died at the age of six, and the second boy at the age of seven. Her children were killed by a plague epidemic. When she had only her eldest son left, he was taken as a hostage during the last war with the supporter of the defiant pope, Ladislaus of Naples from Durazzo, who attacked and sacked Rome three times in the years 1404-1413. She had the Ponziani family palace plundered during the last attack and had the seriously wounded Lorenzo, who was the commander-in-chief of the papal army, expelled from the city. He was only able to return when the Neapolitan invaders left Rome.

It was a very difficult time for Francesca. However, her piety and kindness shielded her from despair, enabling her to reach out to those facing even worse circumstances. Perhaps their faith was not as helpful as it could have been. She distributed the remaining provisions to the poor and went to help the sick in three Roman hospitals. She treated them, led them to repentance, and prayed with them and for them.

The example of the selfless Francis also appealed to other Roman women, who then, in 1425, formed with her an association of Benedictine Oblates, spiritually connected with the Roman Benedictine monastery of the “Mount of Olives.” Until 1433, they lived in their own families, and only then did they form a community in one house, called the Oblate Monastery of Tor de’ Specchi. Francis moved there only after the death of her invalid husband in March 1436. She lived there for four years and died at the age of 56.

She was buried in the church of Santa Maria Nuova above the ruins of the ancient Roman forum. She was canonized in 1608.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will think more about my guardian angel today, even though I can’t see him as Francis does, and I will pray to him.

God, you have shown us that loving you and our neighbor fulfills your commandments. Help us, like Saint Francis, to always strive to see the needs of others, serve them willingly, and thus enter your kingdom. Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.

CURRICULUM VITAE

He was a missionary from Ireland. He worked as a wandering monk. In France, in Poitiers, he retrieved the remains of St. Hilary from the ruins. He founded churches and searched for the place to which he had been called in a dream. It was an island in the Rhine, where he built a temple and a double monastery near Säckingen.

CV FOR MEDITATION

IN THE DESIRE TO SPREAD THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH

He came from an old noble family in Ireland. From his early youth, he longed for a spiritual life. After the death of his parents, he distributed his inherited fortune and became a priest, preaching the word of God without a permanent job in the Irish countryside. In the Lord’s Prayer, when he heard the words “Thy kingdom come,” he thought of the regions outside his homeland where Christ was not yet known, and he wished to contribute to his fame.
He saw God’s call behind the desire of his heart, set out across the sea to Gaul, and came to Poitiers, the former place of activity of Saint Hilarius. Out of respect for him, he searched for the ruins of his church and monastery, which had been destroyed by the Visigoths in 409. Fridolin then spoke to the Bishop of Poitiers, to whom he confided a dream in which Hilarius had called on him to search for his grave and also to begin rebuilding the church. He received not only a blessing for this, but also the promise that he would become abbot of the future monastery near the church. To obtain the necessary funds, they set off together to ask King Clovis I for help. He received them politely and gave them the amount they needed. During the excavations, they were fortunate enough to discover Hilarius’ tomb and recover his remains.

During the construction, Fridolín received a call in a dream, instructing him to leave the building’s completion to two brothers. With some of the relics he had found, he travelled to the Alemannic island in the Rhine and worked there as a missionary. Although he did not know exactly where it was, he obeyed the call and set out to find the island. His journey is marked by small churches dedicated to St Hilary, which he built during his longer stops. The first was by the Moselle River, between Koblenz and Trier; the second was in Strasbourg; then he travelled through Burgundy to Chur, where he built the third. He preached the gospel everywhere he went.
Finally, he sailed down the Rhine and discovered the island he was looking for, located between Basel and Zurzach. He anchored at Säckingen, which later became the spiritual centre of the Upper Rhine. He traveled to the nearby island of Sekkinky. While searching for a suitable place to build a temple, he was attacked and suspected of being a thief who was stalking herds. He was mistreated and banished. Fridolin then turned to the Frankish king, Dietrich, for help. Dietrich gave him a letter granting him full power to build a temple and monastery on the island. Returning with his escort, he began building the temple. During the dry season, when the river was low, it was possible to cross from the left bank to the island to build the monastery. It is said that Fridolin calmed the growing opposition to the construction by diverting part of the river’s flow into a dry riverbed using massive spruce trees that had been felled.
He established fruit gardens around the monastery. He encouraged sports at the monastery school. He was kind and cautious. Thanks to his efforts, the island became an oasis of peace and prayer. Parents were happy to entrust their children to a Christian education there. Fridolin travelled widely in Alemannia, zealously preaching the Christian faith and converting many pagans. Missionary activity in the region gained great momentum.

About the attribute, it is worth noting that, according to legend, Fridolin resurrected the dead nobleman Ursus, from whom he had previously received a large plain for the construction of a temple, and brought him to court as a witness. He had to go to court because he was denied the right to the temple land, which he had probably already received while searching for the island. The result is the canton of Glarus, whose coat of arms depicts Fridolin resurrecting a dead man from the grave.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will pray to know God’s will for me and ponder it.

God, you called Saint Friplandolin to follow your Son in poverty and humility and to serve your Church through his preaching and example. Help us, through his intercession, to remain faithful to your call and to follow the path that Christ has shown us. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever.

While nature awakens in spring and everyone is preparing for new life, the cuckoo is not at all concerned. Rather than looking for twigs and soft wood to build a nest for its young, it impudently lays an egg in the dwelling of another bird, leaving its worries behind. The cuckoo’s young, hatched from the egg, are very voracious and aggressive. Even though they are still blind, they push their bird siblings out of the nest, who usually fall out and die. This procedure requires the adoptive parents to exercise maximum care. The confused birds lose their offspring and must also feed the impudent intruder until it leaves the nest. Similar practices also appear among people. Those who only care about themselves do not perceive or register anything except themselves.

The rich man did not notice the poor, sore-covered Lazarus. He neither harmed him nor helped him. And Abraham answered him accordingly: ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them. If they ignore Moses and the prophets, they will remain unconvinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:29–31).

How many people today are fully occupied with learning how to pack a suitcase? They are very noisy, talkative, critical, and interfering. They sit in their comfortable nest and chirp shrilly like a cuckoo’s chick. They want everything at the expense of others. They do not see that others are there too. They say that everyone should strive and be clever. In their whirlwind of activity, they cannot hear God calling them to open their hearts and hands.

The children were set a task at school: ‘What warms and pleases you the most?’ One boy replied: ‘I feel warmest when we chase each other.’ Another said: ‘When I sit by the stove at my grandparents’ house.’ Another said: ‘When I sit on the radiator.’ Another boy said: ‘When we froze on the climb to Magura and Dad gave me a glass of slivovitz.’ One girl said, ‘When Mum says something nice to me and hugs me.’ The church offers us the warmth of God’s word. It hugs us and notices even the little things that are given out of love.

CURRICULUM VITAE

He came from the Jagiellonian royal family in Poland. He found greater joy in being a child of God than in his noble lineage. In 1471, he was elected king by the Hungarian nobility, but he did not ascend the Hungarian throne because he refused the bloody struggle, without which it was impossible. He preferred a life of seclusion. He was distinguished by moral purity, Eucharistic and Marian reverence, and outstanding charity.

He died in Grodno, Lithuania. He was declared a saint in 1521.

CV FOR MEDITATION

HE LEARNED WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, WHAT HAS GREATER VALUE

He was born in Kraków on 5 October 1458 as the son of the Polish and Lithuanian king Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Habsburg. He was the third of 13 children. The queen considered it most important to lead children to piety and to adopt the correct order of values. Casimir was quiet, kind, and serious-minded from an early age. When he was less than 13 years old, his eldest brother, Vladislav, was unanimously elected king of Bohemia at the Kutná Hora Diet and accepted the election on 16 June. In the same year (1471), a conspiracy of disgruntled nobility against King Matthias Corvinus (Huňadov) ripened in Hungary, and the Polish king was asked to give young Casimir to the Hungarians as king. Casimir left Kraków on 2 October with his army and, after a month, stopped at Hátvár near Buda. Matthias withdrew his army and divided his opponents so that no one joined Casimir’s army after his entry into Hungary. Thirteen-year-old Casimir considered that too much blood could flow in a decisive battle, and therefore withdrew to Nitaskingra. He left the main garrison there and returned home with part of the army by the shortest route. He told his parents that he did not want any crown that would be stained with the blood of his subjects, and that he would rather strive for the crown of Christian virtues. His father was very dissatisfied that his plans in Hungary did not work out, and Casimir therefore withdrew to a distant castle, where he devoted himself to a pious life and considered his future. He despised luxury and began to live an ascetic life. He slept on the ground, wore rough penitential clothing, and fasted in various ways. Even before the church opened, he could sometimes be seen kneeling at the entrance. The more he prayed and attended church services, the more he desired to live only for Jesus and his mother, for whom he had great respect and love.

He also decided not to marry and took a vow of chastity. He had great respect for the Blessed Sacrament and loved to meditate on the Passion of Jesus. He considered chastity to be the most beautiful virtue and rejoiced in his vow. In vain did his father try to talk to him about the benefit he would bring to the royal family by marriage, and the doctors pretended to him that marriage would prolong his life.

Casimir was prudent in speech and avoided unnecessary words. He moved with dignity in noble society. With his wisdom, he helped his father rule and shared his regal concerns. He cared for his subjects and helped oppressed people achieve justice. To the objections that it was not fitting for a prince to so condescend to the common people, he had the answer that “Christ, the Son of God, the King of all kings, descended from the throne of heaven and became poor benefitss. By word and life, the Savior taught us that whoever serves the poor serves himself. ” Therefore, Casimir loved the poor as a father and was happy to serve them. With all his holiness, he was always a very humble penitent.

He was often ill and died of tuberculosis in Grodno, Lithuania, at the age of 25, during his last high fever.

After 120 years, his grave in Vilnius was opened, his body was intact, and on his chest lay a preserved and handwritten hymn to the Virgin Mary.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will meditate on Casimir’s virtues and his example and pray a hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary.

Almighty God, to serve you is to reign; guide us, through the intercession of Saint Casimir, to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.