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Modern psychology comes to the aid of those indulgent in human sins. How many components operate in a single act, from heredity to climate influences? It seems a man could not even consider what he does. Even Christ in the Gospel is manifested very much from the faithful to sinners, in whom he sees only weakness and not wickedness. Some moral preachers, e.g., even St. John Chrysostom}, occasionally allow themselves to be carried away to direct judgment, which seems inhuman and Pharisaical. The fervor of eloquence partly explains this. But there is another reason. This severity stands out in places where the Fathers wish to emphasize a fundamental Christian truth: man’s free will is the only real cause of sin. It depends on
us, whether or not we want the good, or anything else.

Wrongly, of course, this principle was understood by some ancient sectarians who claimed that a perfect man needs no longer fear any environment or temptation. He is said to be strong enough to resist everything. Indeed, he didn’t want to go as far as any faithful preacher would go. Therefore, they correct their first statement about the strength of the human will, giving it the correct value and measuring it by challenges of the opposite character. They recommend avoiding all temptations as far as possible. For we are frail. For even the angel in heaven and Adam in paradise sinned, how much more have we humans on earth? Therefore, We are to know our weaknesses and not expose ourselves to danger arbitrarily or through carelessness. The point here, moreover, is something similar to the sins of ignorance. Weakness justifies sin, but the reverse is the case, with voluntary sins being the cause of our weakness. It is not possible, therefore, to be wholly excused.

The gravity of venial sins
Morality tries to distinguish well between sin in the proper and complete sense of the word, that is, grave sin and so-called light or venial sins. This distinction is, understandably, of great importance for life. For we could not otherwise live! For none of us can get away with light sins. Those who do not know how to discern rightly here will either fall into laxity and carelessness or scruples and unreasonable anxiety. Morality gives three circumstances, even one sufficient to regard sin as light: 1. Ignorance or want of attention; 2. Lack of free pressure; 3. the slightness of the object, the minor importance of the transgression of the law. Spiritual writers, understandably, do not deny this, what moral science teaches. They assume, however, for the most part, that everyone already knows these distinctions. But they are not concerned that the expression “light” or “venial” sin might lead them to regard it as a trifle, something normal, something to be we don’t have to worry about.
They show, therefore, what a severe obstacle to perfection even small mistakes are, especially if they are entirely voluntary: minor dislikes, lies, selfishness, etc. St. Basil even seems to show more remarkable disregard for God by one who disobeys in a small matter than by one who forgets a grave duty. In this connection, he also speaks of the great pains of Purgatory, which is the punishment for venial sins. It is also pointed out that a grave sin is eventually committed by someone who has not cared for minor sins for a long time.

In the biographies of the saints, we read how bitterly they reproached themselves even for minor offenses, which seem to us to be outwardly
uncommitted. For they experienced their relationship with Christ vividly and personally. We know how sorry we are for even the smallest infidelities regarding a true friend. In this sense, the words heard in the apparition of St. Margaret of Cortona can be understood: “In truth, I tell you that my true friends feel every sin as mortal. For whoever wants to to follow me and to dwell in thought on something that is darkness and h ow it h a s not reached out and against my will, offends me greatly by his abiding… ”
There is scarcely a day when we do not make a mistake through inadvertence, distraction, or a burst of bad temper, i.e., lack of control of mastery. According to the assurances of many mystics, God easily forgives us of these imperfections. He even deliberately deliberately leaves them to make us more humble. But he is said to judge and punish very severely even the little things that are fully conscious and well considered, such as revenge and unkindness towards others, which are prepared beforehand.

Through baptism, we have been given participation in the life of God. But how does God live? In what does his life consist? Jesus Christ told us something about this when he revealed that God is one but three-personal. Jesus made visible the goodness and love of the heavenly Father. He lived to do His Father’s will to the uttermost, even to the cross. He also spoke of the Spirit who proceeds from the Father, who receives all things from Christ and communicates them to us. The Spirit of God guided Jesus in fulfilling his mission, and Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.

From these few hints, we may suspect that the life of God is the life of each person and one for the other. Their relationship is so strong and deep that it is also a living person, the Holy Spirit. From this brief hint of what constitutes the life of God, we can suspect that we, too, as baptized persons, are called to cooperate in the growth and development of the life of God within us. Practically, this means that we are to develop our relationship with the triune God and our relationships with people and human persons.

It is on the theme of these relationships with people, and in quite concrete, practical situations that we heard in today’s reading from the Old Testament. These are challenging demands. They require overcoming our selfishness, striving to respect the other, and doing good to him. As a motive for such efforts, God challenges us, “Be holy, as I, your God, am holy.” Holiness is God’s perfection. Practically, it means the challenge to grow in the likeness of God. We are to express this likeness in our relationships with people.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives us yet another motive for such an endeavor: the other person, the person in need and suffering in various ways, the person who requires our service and the overcoming of our egoism, is the person with whom Jesus Christ himself identifies: “What you did – or did not do – to one of the least of these, you did – or did not do – to me.” There could not be a stronger motive for doing good to one’s neighbors, for showing love to people. And in His caring love for us, Jesus reveals that we will be judged from these very acts. For acts of serving love in our neighbors, Jesus will reward us by welcoming us into direct and full participation in the life of the triune God – or, God forbid, exclude us from that participation if we have been oblivious to the misery and suffering of people and have closed ourselves off to our selfishness. When we reflect a little on these words of the Gospel of the Last Judgment, we realize how little we cooperate with the development of God’s life within us and how, in our daily circumstances, we must increase our efforts to show concrete and practical love for our neighbors – following the example of Christ himself, who loved us to the uttermost, even to the point of total self-sacrifice. But it was precisely this total self-giving for our salvation out of love for the Father that brought Jesus, even as a man, to participate fully in the life of God at the moment of his resurrection.

Practical Instruction: acts of serving, attentive love toward our neighbors, motivated by the belief that we are serving Christ himself in them.

Prayer: Merciful God and our Savior, turn our hearts to you and instruct our minds with heavenly doctrine so that we may be perfected by Lenten repentance in the Christian life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit throughout all ages of ages.

Hyperflex
This term means .excessive suffering with suffering”. It is the overly prolonged and unpromising constant thinking about what is troubling us. Often, it’s about overestimating unimportant details, such as illness, or psychological stress, such as depression. One is too concerned with these details intensely and for too long in mind, negatively affecting his general attitude and state of health. Such a person is focused entirely on himself. He observes himself too much and imagines himself as the worst. It makes him fearful and frightened. It’s a folk saying about “painting the devil on the wall.” Hyperreflection is typically aroused by a tactlessly or carelessly spoken word, remark, or non-verbal communication (e.g., a doctor’s facial expression communicating the result of an examination). Other times – as was the case in the story of the biblical Job – “fuel to the fire” is added by ..wannabes.” friends.
Self-pity
It is only a step from hyper-reflection to a more profound insight into
my suffering and self-pity. The truth is. That is a suffering person for whom people feel sorry. No wonder, then. …that he then transfers that pity to… to self-pity. He laments “his fate” and what has happened to him and what has befallen him. This self-pity also hurts the patient’s attitude. It can even become. the patient eventually begins, “What a poor man I am,” and gets angry at the people who encourage and help him out of his hopeless attitude.
Masochism.
This term describes people who enjoy the suffering of their own volition – they make themselves miserable. They don’t do it for that reason because they want something good and something wrong. These are people who, of their own volition – or rather “will” – inflict pain or tear a wound so it won’t heal as quickly. The masochist falsely regards misfortune as happiness.
The drowning out of suffering.
In many sick people, we observe an attempt to banish thoughts of
suffering with sleeping pills, painkillers, and pills “for well.”… Basically, this is an attempt to escape reality. The “happiness” is, in a negative sense, an escape to the so-called Schopenhauer nirvana.
There are times when pain exceeds all limits, and its pharmacological and surgical relief is in order. In many other cases, “crying through the night” is the remedy for the grieving person’s medicine. It allows him not only to “vent” his inner tensions and negative emotions but also to come to a new perspective on the situation. However, he will not succeed in doing so by such “narcotizing.” This problem is only temporarily removed from direct consciousness. Such a patient may treat the problem troubling him as “invisible” for some time. And does not hear”, but he will not escape the matter and will be no closer to a solution.
Panic.
There are situations when suffering exceeds a tolerable limit, or the uncertainty lasts too long, and the person gets desperate. Panic sets in. This sometimes takes the form of. “Nothing can be done,” “all is lost” or “There is nothing to do but lay down our arms.” It awakens fatalism – the idea that everything is governed by blind “fate” and, therefore, has no to try anything. The truth is that there are situations
where nothing can be done, where the term “nothing” means, in medical terminology, “causal therapy” (treating the cause of the disease and thus eliminating the disease). But this brings us to the issue of accepting the unacceptable.

For reflection:
“Whoever does not accept in life what people fear will only go through life on its edge. Once the final word is spoken, he will not be considered neither alive nor dead. He will never be the empowerment promised to man.” R. M. Rilke
“The meaningfulness of life can also be seen in the fact that man inwardly overcoming the misfortune into which he has fallen and that by coping with the difficult situation, he grows and matures internally, even in places where many denied, which others can enjoy in fullness.” V. E. Frankl

It is necessary to distinguish whether an ordinary person or a priest rejects it, claims the church lawyer

“I do not recognize this pope. Francis is not the real pope,” echoes from Catholics on the Slovak Internet as well. What is the problem?

The rejection of Pope Francis by some Catholics is no longer unusual. However, a report from Italy at the turn of the year shows how far the fierce opposition to the Argentine pontiff can go. 

It was Sunday, December 31, 2023, when pastor Ramon Guidetti celebrated mass in his church on the anniversary of the death of Benedict XVI.

Roughly in the middle of the sermon, he recalled: “the lightning that struck the dome of the Basilica of St. Peter on the night when Benedict XVI. announced his resignation.” Subsequently, the 48-year-old priest narrated the incident with another lightning, which allegedly took place last December 17 in a sanctuary near Buenos Aires. 

Father Guidetti added that he “will not name” who the archbishop of that city was, and then went on to say that lightning struck the statue of St. Peter there and burned two things – the halo and the keys. 

“Peter is not a saint, and he no longer has the keys. Indeed, Peter is not a saint because there is a Freemason, a Jesuit Freemason connected to the powerful globalists, a usurping antipope. He doesn’t have the keys, because good Benedict holds them,” Catholic priest Guidetti said at the mass.

The video of the sermon is available on the Internet, not only that. The decree on the excommunication of this priest was also published. 

The Diocese of Livorno in Tuscany issued a decree on January 1, in which it announced to the faithful that the priest Ramon Guidetti “publicly committed a schismatic act” during Mass and ipso facto earned “latae sententiae excommunication, “i.e., automatic excommunication.

Bishop Simone Giusti informed that Catholics should not participate in any Mass celebrated by an excommunicated priest; otherwise, they also “expose themselves to the severe penalty of ex-communication.”

The bishop referred to Canon 751 of the Code of Canon Law, which defines schism as “the refusal to submit to the Supreme High Priest or the refusal to unite with the members of the Church who are subject to him.”

According to local newspapers, the bishop met with the priest Guidetti before Christmas to discuss his controversial views. It proceeded to issue an official decree of ex-communication after what happened on December

Former priest Alessandro Minutella comes from Sicily and has been excommunicated since 2018. He calls the current pope invalid and, like Guidetti, claims that Freemasons control the Catholic Church.

According to Minutell, whose videos are watched by tens of thousands of people in Italy, attending Mass in unity with Pope Francis is a grave sin.

Minutella gathered around him several excommunicated or suspended priests from different countries. His followers are also in Slovakia; they meet in Šaštín. Former Slovak Salesian Róbert Benko leads them.

He was expelled from the religious order in December 2021, and, according to the Salesians, he is currently administering the sacraments illegally, without spiritual effect, since “a priest who was expelled from the religious order and who was subsequently not accepted (incarnated) by any bishop into his diocese may not perform acts of sacred status, i.e., nor administer the sacraments.”

A former Salesian leads a group of believers that does not recognize Pope Francis.

Slovak believers do not avoid stiff resistance, even outright rejection of Pope Francis. 

On one traditionalist blog, the author of which identifies himself as a Catholic, one can read the following statements from him: 

“Currently, Rome is occupied by a non-Catholic group of heretics, the anti-Church of the Last Days (Fornication of Babylon), which is not the Catholic Church. Francis is not Pope because he is not Catholic: and as traditional Catholic teaching and the teaching of all the Fathers explains, a non-Catholic cannot be elected Pope or hold any other office in the Church.”

And in another place on the same website: “He is an apostate antipope.” The Church teaches that heretics cannot hold offices in the Church.”

Social networks on the Slovak Internet are also examples of anti-papal statements and attitudes. The following statements (which took a few minutes to find) come from discussions on the Facebook social network under the texts of the World of Christianity: 

“Bergoglio will destroy the church from within!”

“That can’t be a real p are wars, disasters, and earthquake aches everywhere.”

“For me, the only pope in this world was John Paul, I don’t recognize the others…”

“This installed Francis is anything but a holy father.”

Ecclesiastical lawyer: It makes a difference whether an ordinary person or a priest rejects the pope

As the example of Reverend Ramon Guidetti showed, the question of rejecting the Pope is directly related to canon law. 

Ecclesiastical lawyer and priest of the Bratislava Archdiocese, Radoslav Šaškovič, points out that excommunication is perhaps the most severe punishment in canon law. 

“Although a person under such censorship does not go to prison or pay a fine, he is forbidden to have any active participation in the celebration and reception of sacraments, shrines and other ceremonies of the liturgical cult, to perform church offices, tasks, services, and functions,” Šašković explains for the World of Christianity. 

However, the excommunication does not have to be definitive; after fulfilling the prescribed penance, the person’s excommunication can be lifted.

In the case of the priest from Italy, the bishop mentioned “latae sentence ex-communication.” What does it mean? 

Ecclesiastical lawyer Šaškovič clarifies that canon law distinguishes between the punishments that the relevant church authority imposes at its discretion after executing the criminal procedure and the punishments that the guilty person falls into by committing the crime itself.

In the first case, the relevant ecclesiastical authority, within the limits of the law, will issue its judgment, lat. ferendae sententiae, while in the second case, he establishes the previously given judgment, lat. latae sententiae.

“Each judgment is issued in written form. The publication of the decree on the excommunication of the priest also has an informative and pastoral character,” adds Šaškovič.

In other words, the mentioned priest himself was excommunicated for his act, while after a proper investigation of the case, the bishop only stated this fact.

Since we also see similar expressions in the Slovak environment, when some – Catholics – express themselves about Pope Francis as someone who is not the Pope, the question is whether they are committing an act that would lead to ex-communication.

“If any Catholic lives in the error that the duly elected Holy Father is not the true pope, it is useful to patiently try to lead him out of this error,” responds the church lawyer.

At the same time, he emphasizes that when assessing whether someone falls into excommunication, one must always keep in mind a specific person and ask why they think or acts in a way that appears to be close to schism. 

“It also makes a difference whether a person who brings us mail or drafts beer thinks and acts this way, or a person who serves us the sacraments and thus bears a greater degree of responsibility. In addition, canon law recognizes many mitigating circumstances and emphasizes moderation in the application of punishments,” says Šašković.

According to him, being a member of the Catholic Church means actively living in unity with its earthly head, i.e., the incumbent Pope. 

“If someone has difficulty with that, they have the right to freely decide to join another church. It would be more honest than having to worry about the internal rejection of the Pope for a long time,” Sašković thinks, adding that even freely leaving the membership in the Catholic Church automatically results in falling into pre-declared excommunication based on one’s own choice. 

In this context, it is also essential to perceive the difference between the rejection of the Pope and a critical view of him. 

“Criticism of the Pope, which does not turn into his rejection, is not the fulfillment of the factual essence of the schism,” states the church lawyer who was contacted. 

However, according to him, if someone believes that the Pope is wrong about something and does not have the opportunity to ask him for an explanation, which is probably the majority of cases, he has the chance to put his doubts into prayer, asking for the grace to understand and know the truth about what and why the Pope speaks and acts.

“Not everyone has a doctorate in theology, so a certain humility is in order here,” he concluded.

 Jesus answered: “Can the wedding guests mourn?… But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast.”

Verily, we are not in a position of marital joy. One of the reasons is that our homeland is also close to war, and we have war refugees here. That is also why Pope Francis called for prayers and fasting for Ukraine. If we pray well, we cannot stop at prayer because worship should lead to action. Actions, that’s fasting. In the prayer after the offering (preface) during Lent, we pray to imitate God’s goodness by sharing the bread. We also help materially war refugees, especially women and children. Many Ukrainian men remained to defend those who could not escape. Many have run out of gas; trains are not running… Terrible situation.

The question is, should we also help them in defense, for example, with weapons? We can think from this point of view: Imagine that someone attacked your children and family. You would defend them. Let’s move it: Someone attacks the neighbor’s family. You should probably help. Let’s expand it: There is a big family of Slavic brotherly nations: Greater Russia and weaker Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine. Children, women, and civilians are also dying. Should we watch or help?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church can help us with the answer, which is text number 2265: “Justified defense can be not only a right but also a serious duty for those responsible for the lives of others. Defending the common good requires neutralizing the unjust invader. For this reason, the rightful representatives of power have the right to use weapons to repel the invaders of the civil society entrusted to their responsibility.”

In text number 2308, we read: “Every citizen and every government official is obliged to contribute to the avoidance of wars. As long as there is a danger of war and there is a lack of a competent international authority equipped with adequate military power, governments cannot be denied the right to legitimate defense if all means of peaceful settlement have been exhausted.” I will also remind you that Ukraine is not a member of “a competent international authority equipped by adequate military power.” Does she have to defend herself?

Many understand the term repentance as “turning away from sin.” This is not the biblical definition of repentance. In the Bible, the word repentance means “to change one’s opinion or thinking.” The Bible also tells us that true repentance will result in a change of behavior (Luke 3:8–14; Acts 3:19). Acts 26:20b declares, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and do works worthy of repentance.” The full biblical definition of repentance is a change in thinking that leads to a change in behavior.

So what is the relationship between repentance and salvation? Acts seem to focus primarily on repentance rather than salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). To repent about salvation is to change your mind about Jesus Christ. Peter ends his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2) with a call to repentance (Acts 2:38). Repentance of what? Peter calls the people who rejected Jesus (Acts 2:36) to change their thinking to recognize that He is indeed “Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). Peter is calling people to change their minds from rejecting Christ as Messiah to believing in Him as Messiah and Savior.

Repentance and faith can be understood as “two sides of the same coin.” It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior without changing your mind about who He is and what He has done. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind. Biblical repentance to salvation is changing one’s mind from rejecting Christ to believing in Him.

We must understand that repentance is not an activity that we do to earn or obtain salvation. No one can repent and come to God unless God draws him to himself (John 6:44). Acts 5:31 and 11:18 indicate that repentance is something God gives—it is only possible through His grace. No one can repent unless God provides repentance. The result of all salvation, including repentance and faith, is that God draws us to Himself, opens our eyes, and changes our hearts. God’s patience leads us to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), as does His kindness (Romans 2:4).

Although repentance is not a work by which salvation can be earned, repentance to or for salvation results in works. It is impossible to truly and fully change one’s mind without it being reflected in actions. In the Bible, repentance leads to a change in behavior. This is why John the Baptist called people to “bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). A person who has truly repented from rejecting Christ to having faith in Christ will have visible evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19–23; James 2:14–26). Correctly defining repentance is necessary for salvation. Biblical repentance changes your mind about Jesus Christ and turns you to God in faith for salvation (Acts 3:19). The definition of repentance is not turning away from sin; that is just one of the results of sincere, faith-based repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ.