For two hundred and fifty years, Christians were persecuted and murdered in Japan. In the mid-nineteenth century, the era of persecution of followers of Christ in the „land of the rising sun“ ended. For which reason? Why did Christians stop being enemy number one?

Was this for at least two reasons? First, Japan was almost completely isolated from the world, and no one came into it from outside new ideas, so there was a belief that Christians succeeded in eliminating or at least pacifying. Second, at one point, power felt unchallenged.

Conviction, however, some rulers managed to get rid of Christ’s followers in Japan misguided. He stated I would like one interesting comparison: When the Portuguese came to India in the middle of the fifteenth century, Vasco da Gama heard the question: „Why the hell did you come to us?“. Sailor, he replied: „ We came looking for Christians.“In the nineteenth century, when the era of isolationism ended in Japan and the Europeans coming to the country were certainly not looking for Christians there, it was a massive shock for them when they found out that there were Christians in the country after all. Za Some people began to arrive at Europeans, asking them if they had a statue of the Virgin Mary or whether they were obedient to the Holy Father in Rome.

They spread there are rumors that a large part of Christians in Japan did not believe in the arrival of Europeans, and she continued to wait in hiding for some other, more convincing sign, after which she would dare to come out of the underground.  

How did Japanese Christians react to the end of isolationism?  Reports of how they reacted have been preserved, for example, to celebrate Holy Mass by a priest.

Japan, including France, was allowed to operate foreign diplomatic missions. It should be borne in mind that France, which was part of the other empire, was friendly to Christians. Finally alone, Napoleon III. believed that he was the successor of privileges dating from the time of the Valois, that is, that he was the protector of Catholics in the mysterious East and, therefore, also in Japan. Thanks to the measures taken by the French, Japanese Christians began to leave the underground.

However, there is a great danger associated with it because anti-Christian regulations were not repealed. Although in Japan, in the nineteenth century, Christians were no longer murdered, conversions to Christianity continued to be considered for high treason. A curious coincidence arose at one time. Japanese elites decided to carry out a mental revolution in the United States, and they sent a big message to Europe.

Na The West was often asked how the government treated Christians in Japan. Sure, at the moment, they found their way and realized that the persecution of Christians was lousy advertising for their country. And so, in 1873, they were anti-Christian regulations repealed in principle. I’m talking basically because the question of how to reconcile Christianity with respect cannot be answered and shown to the emperor, and what is this respect? Is it respect to the office, part of the monarchical system, or is it a religious cult? This it became clear only in 1945.

There was one more thing. At that time, the mad hunt for the modernization of Japan began. There were also extreme ideas, such as renouncing the Japanese language and introducing the English language to make the country modern. They also intended to abandon Chinese characters and introduce the Latin alphabet. They thought of giving up rice and replacing it with bread, not because it is tastier, but because civilized people eat bread. At one point, the idea arose to adopt Christianity as the state religion.

Why was this last request not implemented?

OF for an unfortunate reason. Japanese elites traveling the world came to believe that the elites in Western countries are no longer honest Christians and that it is in the fashion of believers among Western intellectuals in Christ, instead to mock, among them especially the popes, than „pleated persons“.

Aj, when some representatives of the Japanese elite staying in the West accepted Christianity, they got their bearings very quickly when they saw that they could work even without it in the world. Even if someone says that he has become a Christian out of conviction, others look at him as a freak.

The Japanese eventually concluded that, in that case, they did not need Christianity. 

Despite this shameful situation in the second half of the nineteenth century, Malo Christianity in Japan is a chance to develop?

It developed sa in the sense that it came out of the underground. Christians could pray openly, parishes were established, and the Japanese were ordained priests and even bishops.

Pope Pius IX beatified and canonized the first Japanese martyrs, including Sts. Pavel Miki and his companions. Too bad that this did not happen earlier, although we do not know whether, with the impermeability of the Japanese, it would be possible for the world at all. Information that Japanese martyrs are canonized and respected throughout the Christian world could have been important to the Japanese underground Church.

In this regard, the Church in Japan developed. Nevertheless, it is impossible to get rid of it, and they are under the impression that the best moment for the Christianization of Japan was the sixteenth century. In the second half of the nineteenth century, it was created in Japan’s centralized state, and it turned out that Europe could also be imitated without Christianity. He was behind the basic principle and then accepted the cult of the emperor. For example, the obligation to bow before was introduced a portrait of Emperor Meij during the recitation of his work „O návove“. Christians, those who rejected this gesture, were immediately fired from their jobs.

Some European missionaries claimed that such a bow could be shown (even though it is necessary not only for the emperor himself but also to pay tribute to the moral one with bow literature such as the work above. 

So, the best moment for the Christianization of Japan passed, and the conversions of the essential Japanese personalities, even representatives of the imperial family, did not make much of an impression on anyone. In other words, whether they are true or rumors don’t matter. This is best described in the personal drama of Emperor Hirohito, the grandfather of the reigning emperor, who is said to have considered converting to Christianity. Even if it happened, would it mean a breakthrough? Undoubtedly, for Hirohito’s soul, yes. And for the world? Perhaps this would be bombastic news, but would it shake Japan and Poland the baptism in 966 accepted by Mieszko I.?

While is he an emperor to the Japanese?By God?Officials?Lord over life and death?

Constitution Japan says that the emperor is the primary power source in the country, and everything that happens in the country happens through him. However, there is a gap between the provisions of the Constitution and political practice.

If you have read, for example, the Constitution of Great Britain, because this country, despite widespread opinion, has a constitution, but not in the form of a booklet, but a library, you would learn that the queen exercises the leading power in the state, that she appoints it for the prime minister, whoever he wants, she is the supreme commander of the army, etc. Britain, however, has an entirely different political reality.

Is emperor to the gods for the Japanese? First, you need to be clear about your understanding of divinity. Not for nothing, as I mentioned before, the first missionaries compared the Japanese religion to the religion of the ancient Romans, especially with that „really“ religion of ancient Rome before it became similar to the religion of the ancient Greeks.

I can say that it was a huge problem, especially for Christians who did not know how to react. In 1921, Crown Prince Hirohito was introduced to Pope Benedict XV. then, the question of the emperor’s divinity appeared. At the time, Hirohito said it was known from a European perspective that it was nonsense, but it could not be denied so that ordinary Japanese people would not be offended.

So, was ecumenism already in full swing then?

No, please. Benedict XV was an old-school man who did not want to harm Christians in Japan. Therefore, he accepted this rhetorical reversal.

Pope also counted on the fact that he would be able to get along with Dobra with such gestures as a message to members of the imperial family and convert them to Christianity. The problem turned out to be more complicated when people from the environment of Emperor Hirohito asked if the Emperor-Christian could perform Shinto rites.

Here, the question must be asked: Who is the ruler? It is well known that there is no such thing as a secular king because if someone is titled a secular king, as in Scandinavia, he is not a king, just a jester who does not believe himself to be a king. Swedes, at least, are consistent when they banned the coronation because it isn’t a secular ceremony.

In Japan, it’s completely different. Certainly not during enthronement coronation) is performed in several rituals.

Why enthronement and not coronation?

Because the ruler of Japan does not have a tiara, there are three types of cover heads and other insignia. So the question arises whether the Christian can participate in something like this, and what it would all mean for him. The answer is not simple.

Miscellaneous persons from the imperial family were suspected because it was never officially announced, from the fact that they converted to Christianity. Still, it always concerned extended family, empress, or imperial wives. 

An example is Empress Michiko, who abdicated with her husband on April 30, 2019. It is interesting to mention that she is a former student at the School of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She represented the school as a single at congresses of Christian schools in Europe. But she was Christian? No one officially asks this question in Japan.

The problem for Christianity in Japan, what it is after all in the West: growing indifference. 

Once upon a time, I read on one of the eastern portals that one of the emperors openly said that he converted to Christianity. Japanese media had to explain to people that it meant nothing because the emperor was god and could say what he wanted and convert to what he wanted…

This situation never happened because no emperor, even though he converted to Christianity, did not publicly admit it, and no one asked him about it.

Were there but such rumors?

Of course. Rumors were regularly repeated at different times and concerned at least two rulers and one empress.

Let’s start with Hirohito – the most famous ruler of Japan. They say that his mother was a Christian woman, but the evidence in this matter is circumstantial and inconclusive. Of course, this should have happened long after the Hirohite’s birthday and her husband, Emperor Taisho, died in 1926. It seems, however, that this alleged evidence is wishful thinking.

Unless this is about Hirohito, his conversion should be evidenced by events from the American occupation. Then, as a result, he would say I am – for personal reasons, including shock caused by defeat in war and by subsequently executing some of the imperial ministers as war criminals, he had the emperor is said to be interested in the conversion.

Next, the rumors concerned Hirohito’s successor – Emperor Akihito. His relations with a profoundly religious person, even if his religiosity was specific, because I mean the American commander MacArthur, were minimally complicated. The fact is that Akihito was under the supervision of an American educator – a Protestant from a group of Quakers – a deeply religious person.

But even if it had happened, neither Hirohito’s nor Akihito’s conversion to Christianity was officially announced. 

Why?

Usually, there are two reasons for the adverse decisions of the Japanese rulers. The first is that if the emperor did it, it would explain that he did it out of fear and that it was collaboration and humiliation on his part. He praised democracy and the occupation, and now he praises Christianity.

Second, the lost war strongly threatened the throne’s position. V If a converted emperor were to sit on the throne, it could cause too much upheaval for the very institution of the Japanese monarchy.

Is it is known that Hirohito corresponded with Pope Pius XII, thanks to which they began to spread more crazy rumors on this topic. We know that he visited Nagasaki – the center of Japanese Christianity and at the same time, the city was destroyed as a result of a nuclear attack. It is also known that he suggested they pray together at meetings with his son’s Christian teacher, but do we know if he turned? We don’t know. Probably nah.

And what do we know, Professor?

Hirohito had two sons – Akihita, who recently resigned, and Prince Masahito. Unless it is about the prince, there is some evidence. Still, unfortunately, it is not convincing that during his stay abroad, he became a Christian and regularly believed that he practiced. It was never announced in Japan ex-cathedra.

Fortunately or unfortunately for the system in Japan, religion is relegated to a background completely different than, e.g., in the British royal family. There, it is clear that the consequence of conversion to Catholicism is the loss of the right to the throne, which is quite amusing because discussions remain as to whether an atheist can be the head of the Anglican Church. However, if we consider contemporary Protestantism, the answer can be heard more and more often: „Why not?“

It is also certain that Emperor Akihito married a Christian woman, even though he tried to deny it. 

What do you mean by that?

V in 1959, Akihito married a person from the people. In the future, although Empress Michiko came from a wealthy family, she was from a family without aristocratic titles, and in addition, she was a Christian – horror of horrors. It went about the first such case in Japan’s history.

Negotiated about it in the parliament as much as possible, but a representative of the imperial court said it was no problem because despite her parents being Christians, Michiko was not baptized, so the fears were irrelevant. 

It is. However, it is doubtful that Christian parents in the thirties did not have their daughter baptized when the empress came into the world. Why wouldn’t they have done that? Maybe they were already counting then because she would become the bride of the heir to the throne?

Her affiliations among Christ’s followers are evidenced by much circumstantial evidence, e.g., an audience with Pope John Paul II in which the Empress kneels and kisses his ring, so he makes a gesture before which Pope Francis was recently reluctant about hygiene reasons. 

Except for Michiko’s question, which, according to her, was the most crucial event in the history of Japan, she answered without hesitation: Visit the Holy Father in our country.

In connection with this, we can assume that the empress converted to Christianity your man – Emperor Akihito?

Even if that were to happen, I repeat: these questions are not asked by anyone in Japan. Drama consists of even if the emperor ( the former emperor!) Akihito became a Christian; it would not impress anyone more. It would be a great shame for the Japanese government and the imperial court, but nothing more.

But after all, the current Japanese government is breaking all kinds of taboos. Some time ago, the constitution was voted on, according to which the Japanese armed forces can participate in foreign missions, which caused fierce disputes in the local parliament because it meant a change of more fifty-year ban…

No these are no taboo topics, only politically sensitive issues. Tabooed the topic is, for example, finding an answer to the question of whether Japan committed aggression during World War II or whether he surrendered at Yasukuni Shrine in respect of war criminals.

You are talking about political gestures that can be beneficial or unhelpful. 

According to you, the Japanese government would react if the future Emperor Naruhito said: Am I Catholic?

That would be a problem for her. Mainly because some politicians of the so-called debating class would start thinking out loud about who the emperor is, what the monarchy is, and what the state is.

The Japanese constitution does not clearly say that the emperor is the head of state. Even with a bit of malice, it is also possible to conclude that, in reality, this is not the case. It is written there that the emperor is a symbol of the state and the unity of the nation, but such problematic questions arose, for example, whether the emperor has the right to receive credentials from ambassadors (a receives…), i.e., when he is not the head of state in the technical sense of the word.

Indeed, whether the emperor-Christian can perform all Shinto rituals would be debatable. Even so, we have a problem – on whose behalf does it do it? Is it state celebrations or his private activity?

But why is it so important? After all, a person has the impression that Japan is essentially a secular state…

Aj Sweden is a secular state, but the king there is the head of the local church. The church is limited to tax collection there, but let’s imagine it would happen in Sweden if the king became Catholic or the monarch converted to Catholicism. Bol would also be the head of the Lutheran Church, or he would have to replace him in this one. Are there any civil servants? Or would the Catholic king of Sweden continue to appoint bishops, archbishops, and pastors? System in Sweden, such issues are not dealt with and avoided. Equally, the Japanese system also avoids them. If the emperor is Catholic, he should keep it to himself. If he doesn’t believe in Shinto rites, so let him not believe, but let him speak loudly about it doesn’t speak.

Let’s introduce that on January 1, 1946, by order of General MacArthur, Emperor Hirohito said he was wrongly considered a god. „I’m a person like any of you,“ he declared. How was it interpreted? Japanese hardcore traditionalists first said that the emperor never said he was a descendant of the gods, except that he was not. Mon, the second – emperor, can be wrong because it is only his opinion.

Do you think there is a chance to convert Japan? What do you think they can do about these hierarchies? What can the Church do?

Something different needs to be done than before. Must stop telling people empty passwords like: „Basically, we all believe in the same God, so you don’t have to be a Christian to be they were saved. So don’t come to me asking for baptism, because not only I’m not worthy to give it to you, but I seem to be he did something inappropriate that I brought you to faith“.

Like this, many priests and hierarchs advance toward Muslims who want to live in France and, therefore, come to churches. There are dozens of cases of frightened priests asking them: „Why don’t you like Prophet Muhammad, who was a wonderful person? Yours intentions can harm ecumenical dialogue…“.

Equally, it’s in Japan. 

But what’s next? I don’t know. Fortuna is variable, and God is Love. Even though in the sixteenth century, Christianity had promising prospects in Japan, it was all over persecutions, pogroms, apostasy, and descent underground for hundreds of years.

In the 20th century, Christianity had good prospects in China, but communists came. However, it cannot be ruled out that during the day, hour, or even minutes, everything will not radically change, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary will eventually win.

It seems that the best solution will be to stick to the words of Scripture, that we should be hot or cold but never lukewarm. If we believe that the salvation of Japan is not, it is our business. The only thing that unites us is the protection of the landscape and the environment; we can’t get far, especially when the Japanese are the only ones killing alongside the Norwegians „na scientific purposes“ whales, which significantly decreased in the eyes of Pope Francis.

Whatever perfection we can imagine with human reason, we will find it with God without end or end.

That is why we say that God is the perfect being. He is from eternity, knows everything, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinitely wise, holy and just, reasonable and merciful, truthful and faithful. I explained these qualities of God one by one; the other time, I said that God is holy and just. Now, according to the order of the catechism, it follows that God is benevolent and merciful.

Angels best know the infinite holiness of the Lord God, therefore enchanted by the holiness of God unsteadily – forever sing like this: „Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.“ The infinite goodness of the Lord God is best known to us humans; therefore, we hear most from the mouths of humans: „God good, oh my God kind, benevolent!“The holiness of God is unattainable, at the same time his benevolence cannot be exceeded. Let’s think!

During the time of Emperor Vespasian, it was once discussed by the Roman Council, which most decent title (men) belongs to God. One wanted God to be called a wise God; the other preferred to call him an almighty God. There was also one who recommended this name: „Rich God.“ When they could no longer decide, the wisest counselor stood up and said: „I, for my part, do not recommend any of these names. Because if God is the God of wealth, he ignores the poor. If he is a God of wisdom, he would not be a protector of the unconscious. If he is a God of omnipotence, he would only like influential people, but he would forget low-class people. That’s why I so think that God best owns this name: „Good God.“ Everyone liked this wise speech, so they brought out the law that from now on, the name of God would be this: „Beneficent God.“

That was a pagan who spoke like that. I, as a Christian and an ordained priest, would not know how to give God a more beautiful name than this pagan said: „ Beneficent God.“ But also the apostle of Jesus, St. John, could say the most about God: „God is love.“

I could express this kind of goodness of God in a few words like this: „God only wants us well and only does us good because he loves us immensely. As the sun has the role to shine and warm, the nature of God brings with it to love and do good. Not as many hearts in Heaven and Earth can love as God.

There is no father; no mother is as sufficient to love as the heavenly Father loves us, his unworthy children. St. Scripture mentions Jacob’s love for his son Joseph as an example. The brothers sold Joseph. Joseph became a great lord in a foreign land, he took his father James to him. When old Jakub could see his son Jozef again after many years, he could not speak a word of joy; he fell around his neck and just cried and wept. – Scripture St. an example mentions King David’s love for his son Absalom. When they brought him the rumor about the death of his son, King David just cried with grief and repeated in unison: „If I had died in your place, Absolón“ (2Sam 19,1). That’s how one earthly father loves, from that we can understand a little the love of the heavenly Father. Would a kinder heart be found in the world above the father’s heart? It would be seen that the love of the mother’s heart is perhaps even warmer! The mother watches over the cradle of her baby. She loves him when she cries and laughs with him when her child rejoices; she is also looking for her baby’s grave; she travels to his little cross, and the dust of the lovely flower from her breast is also watered with tears.

This is motherly love. What do you think? The good God who created the heart of the mother, who grafted the love for the children into the parent’s heart, how much this kind God can love us, his creatures. We learn this from himself when the God of the prophet Isaiah asks: „Will a woman forget her infant and have no mercy on the fruit of her womb? Even if she fails, I won’t forget you!“ (Iz 49,15)

A sure Christian youth, after many accidents, came to Egypt among the pagan people. He settled there. He settled there so much that he fell in love with the daughter of the local pagan priest and asked her for a wife. The pagan priest, according to the custom there, asked the statue of the idol in which the devil dwelt whether he should give his daughter as a wife to this Christian. „Don’t give, – answered the devil, – until he denies his faith.“ And the unfortunate man denied his faith. Then the pagan priest asked the devil for the second time: can he give him his daughter as his wife? „Don’t give it to him even now, the idol replied – because he left his God, but God hasn’t left him yet.“ God’s immense benevolence so penetrated this young man’s heart that he embarked on a loud lamentation, mourned for his sin calling to heaven, and spent his whole life in sincere repentance for the denial of his faith.

So it is: an ungrateful sinner can leave and deny God, but God will not leave anyone.

O God, my benevolent God, thinking of Your abounding deep divine love, I fall on my knees, I fold my hands to prayer, and with St., I call David: „What is the man that you remember him, and the son of man that you take him in? You created him only a little smaller than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor and appointed him ruler over the works of your hands“ (Ž 8.5–7). My benevolent God, you watch over us at night; you accompany us during the day. Three hundred and sixty-five times a year you dawn on us, you take care of the flower of our life with a careful hand, you protect it from the cold draft of death, so that it does not wither before time. You give us strength and health. To the earth, our blessing, you grant success to our works. You serve us the bread that we feed on, you send us a spring to quench our thirst, you give us a garment to clothe our bodies.

And what should I say about the glorious mental gifts of God? It gives us victories in temptations and patience in tribulations. He created our soul in his image and parable, received us into the bosom of his saving Church, and showered us with his graces. He made us happy when we cried. He hears the wailing of widows, the lamentation of orphans, the burning of the unfortunate. God will not leave, he will not reject anyone, because if the benevolent Lord God hit you with some accident, he is powerful enough to send his comforter angel to you. Therefore, trust that you have heard that God is infinitely benevolent. That blessed hand that draws a rainbow in the sky of heaven after a storm, that blessed hand hovers over you, wants you well and turns your sorrow into joy, an accident into a blessing. Instead of grumbling, fold your hands, and the greater the pain in which your heart is gripped, the more fervent your prayer floats to the heavens: „Our Father, your will be done!“

First, you will count the stars in the sky, the grains of dust on the earth, and then the graces and blessings with which God has sprinkled us. Did he endlessly grant you no more than all the treasures of the world, even so much that he could not even grant you more himself? Or what more excellent thing should he have given you than his only begotten Son? Did he not deliver him to the terrible death of the cross for you?

Even now, his most holy Body is ready for food every day! „ And God’s love for us was manifested in the fact that God sent his only begotten Son into the world so that through him we might have life“ (1Jn 4,9), live forever in the glory of heaven, where there will be no more pain or sorrow, but only joy and cheerfulness, endless and incomprehensible bliss.

What would we thank forever, even then we would not thank God enough for his multiple blessings.

Feast day: 3 February

* 2. 2nd half of the 3rd cent. 2.2 Feb. 2nd century. Se baste, today Sivas, Turkey

† c. 316 (?) 

Attributes: crossed candles, book, pig’s head

Patron saint of otorhinolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat doctors), wind instrument musicians, wool merchants, tailors, shoemakers, hatters, weavers, tanners, bakers, millers, masons, plasterers, stonemasons, soap makers, wax makers, night watchmen; pets; for good confession; for sore throats, coughs, laryngitis, diphtheria, bladder diseases, flatulence, bleeding, ulcers, colic, toothache, plague

The life of St. Blaise was described very late after his death. It is written more as a legend, so the facts are unguaranteed. According to it, Blaise was not only a bishop in Se baste, Armenia (now Sivas, Turkey), but also a physician. The co-rulers of Emperor Constantine, who gave freedom to Christians, did not respect it and persecuted Christians further. Because of this, even Bishop Blaise took refuge in a rock cave. Legend has it that when the hunters arranged a hunt, the animals fled in one direction, namely to the cave of Bishop Blaise, who lived there as a hermit, his only company being the animals. The hunters thus discovered him and denounced him. The governor gave orders to bring him to trial. Deputy Agricola urged him to sacrifice to the idols. When he failed to do so, the judge had him tied to a pole and flogged. He was then taken to prison and sentenced to death in 316.

An unconfirmed story tells that a widow, weeping, brought to Blaise her child, who was left with a fish bone sticking out of his throat and begged him for help. Blaise prayed fervently, blessed the child, and the boy was healed. After his death, miracles of healing also took place. A tradition developed that on the feast of St. Blaise (February 3), the blessing of St. Blaise is bestowed – the blessing of the throat. St. Blaise was among the fourteen helpers in need. He is highly venerated. In Rome alone there are five churches dedicated to him.

From the feeling of independence from God and self-sufficiency, other sins grew, but man could not wholly exclude God; He was inscribed in his soul. Man had to invent gods and false, illusory gods, those who did only what man wanted. The ever-generating surplus was the water to the mill of the early farmers’ sense of self-sufficiency. This surplus germ of wealth could be our biblical apple. The surplus creates in man a sense of strength, independence, and the ability to be on his own without the help of supernatural forces. Excess and wealth replace God. But excess is a double-edged weapon.
At the same time, man becomes a slave to his wealth. He finds it extremely difficult to give it up and is willing to do anything to gain it. This is still true today and will remain accurate as long as sin reigns. God has taught the giving up of surplus from the beginning. The sacrifices of the Old Testament are clear proof of this. God does not need meat, sheep, goats, or bulls. He needs men to be able to give them up. The sacrificial animals must not be defective. They must be first class, for these are the very animals man did not want to give up. Remember Cain and Abel. Cain probably used what he would have thrown away anyway for sacrifice; Abel used a valuable sacrifice, and God looked upon it. About 10,000 years before Christ, there was an unexpected cooling. It lasted more than 500 years. The man was faced with a dilemma.
Survive or perish. Plants suitable for consumption, too. The man threw all his energies into agriculture, saving him. Agriculture meant a great flowering of humanity, significant surpluses, and thus the emergence of civilization, but also a departure from God. What to say in conclusion. The claims of the devil, in the form of the devil, that you will be like God were a lie. We could not do without God in the love of man for man. God saves us; we are still drowning in our pride, resentment, and hatred. The devil lied about what this means—simply admitting to myself that I am not enough. That is the first step of returning to God. We must humbly accept our weakness and powerlessness to do good. Twelve thousand years ago, we pushed God away with words. Please leave us alone; we have enough on our own. We are like You. Humanity expands ever more than energy.

A Neanderthal needed just as much energy to exist as an ibex. Man, at the beginning of the agricultural era, only about half as much. By the time of Tutankhamun and Moses, it was already 4 times more. The Romans already consumed 9x more energy than an equal-weight ibex. The man of the 19th-century industrial revolution has already surpassed the ibex by 30x. Today’s man consumes 50x more energy for his existence than an ibex. Where will this lead? Scientists are making it clear that we are on the brink of an energy and ecological crisis that will grow into a catastrophe if we do not tackle it. Greed and recklessness, a market economy in economic terminology, are the root cause of all today’s global problems. It is up to man to solve them

John Bosco, popularly called Don Bosco, was born on August 16, 1815, in the small mountain settlement of Becchi in Italy. Becchi belonged to the town of Castelnuovo d’Asti in the Piedmont region. His father was Francis, and his mother was Margit, née Occhien. His father was married for the second time because his first wife died. He had a son, Anton, from his first marriage, and Josef and John were born in the second. When little John was 2 years old, his father died of pneumonia at the age of 33. So Margita’s mother raised them alone. The youngest, John, had great talent. As a boy, he did all kinds of acrobatics and witchcraft tricks, which made many people in the village like him. In addition, he had an excellent memory. An old priest taught him to read and write, so he often read books to other villagers or repeated sermons that he heard in the church. As a nine-year-old, he dreamed of seeing many children screaming, cursing, and acting naughty. He saw himself there. At first, he talked to them, but then he threw himself between them and started beating them to stop. But suddenly a mysterious figure approached him and said: „No so! Not by force! Only kindly if you want to win their friendship!“ He said to himself, and suddenly, the antics were as tame as lambs. The voice of the mysterious figure further told him: „Take your shepherd’s staff and lead them to the pasture. Later, you will understand the meaning of this vision.“ Even later, Don Bosco remembered it as his first impulse to devote himself to the youth, especially those nobodies cared about. Since there were problems at home with his half-brother Anton, to whom it seemed that John was promoting himself, he preferred to go into service on a peasant property, where he spent two years. After returning, when he was 15 years old, he started attending school in Castelnuovo, about 5 km from the settlement. He walked, sometimes twice a day. A year later, he started going to the city of Chieri, which was about 20 km away. He could no longer commute, so it was bitterly challenging to find a cheap sublet, where he stayed, saying that he helped as a servant in the family of householders. He could finish elementary school and gymnasium in four years thanks to his talent, extraordinary memory, and strong will. During his studies, he founded an association called Allegri- cheerful, whose goal was to detach friends from sinful pastimes and lead them to God. After graduating from high school, he wondered what to do next. He wanted to be a priest but didn’t know whether to join a religious order or go to a diocesan seminary. He eventually became a diocesan priest. After his ordination, he studied for a while and wanted to penetrate deeper into the sacred sciences.

At that time, in 1841, he began to gather around him boys, urchins, whom no one cared about. They came themselves and sensed a love for him that they had not known until then. Some of them were not even fourteen yet, others almost twenty. Bosco’s principle was: Be cheerful, play, have fun, don’t sin. He was still among them; he could skillfully mix something from the catechism into the game. Well, not everyone liked it. The noise of the boys having fun disturbed people; some priests even thought he was crazy. They even wanted to take him to an asylum, but they failed. Soon, Don Bosco had several hundred boys around him. He knew he had to find someplace to be home. With the help of benefactors, it was possible to buy Mr. Picardi’s shed and house in Turin in the Valdocco district, which was famous for its bad reputation. His mother, Margita, became a housekeeper not only for him but also for the boys. She helped him selflessly until her death. Buildings and a church gradually grew on the poor plot, and elementary and vocational schools with workshops were established. Don Bosco also founded a printing house that still operates and is one of Italy’s largest and most modern. Don Bosco himself wrote several books. God kept telling him through dreams. He strengthened him so that he would not stop and be disgusted. On December 18, 1859, a new company was born. It was formed by priests Don Bosco, Don Alasonatti, and young clerics. Approval was given to the company ten years later – on March 1, 1869. He considered Don Bosco the main patron of the Virgin Mary’s Help of Christians. He dedicated his events to her and the main temple of the Salesian society, which he built in Turin. After a while, he founded the Association of Salesian Associates, which lived worldwide and worked for his ideas. In 1872, together with Maria Dominika Mozzarella, he founded a women’s religious society, which they named the Daughters of Our Lady Help of Christians. Their main content was to take care of raising girls. Even during his lifetime, the Salesians spread to many countries worldwide. He was characterized by tireless work to the point of exhaustion. He built several temples, e.g., in Rome, the temple of the Divine Heart of Jesus (Sacro Cuore, near the Termini) railway station. His life was interspersed with various wonders and miracles. Don Bosco died in Turin on 31 January 1888. He was seventy-two years old. More than a hundred thousand people attended his funeral. He was declared a saint in 1934.

Burning candle – a symbol of Jesus.
Today’s holiday is spent in our hearts on something from the Christmas magic. Both holidays, today’s and Christmas, have something in common. At Christmas, the child Jesus lies in a manger and his mother Mary and Saint Joseph bow over him. On today’s Feast of the Sacrifice of the Lord, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph bring the child Jesus to the sanctuary to be sacrificed to God. This sacrifice of a child to God has ancient origins. When the Jews were in Egyptian slavery for many years and their lives there were difficult because the Egyptians used them for hard labor and had a favorable labor force in them, God had mercy on their difficult fate by committing the heaviest calamity on the Egyptians after minor calamities, that he caused all the firstborn sons in Egypt to perish on the 7th night. Because the king of Egypt’s firstborn son also died, then the king finally set the Jews free. The Jews withdrew from Egypt, and since they tried the great love of God, that when all the firstborn perished in Egypt, their firstborn sons remained alive, they remembered this miraculous intervention of God so that, that from then on they brought their firstborn sons to the temple on the fortieth day after birth to be sacrificed to God. And so the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph sacrificed the child Jesus to the Lord God in the temple. And during this religious ceremony, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the religious old man Simeon also participated, who took the little Jesus into his arms and exclaimed in the Holy Spirit that he could already die, for he lived to see with his own eyes the one who will become the light of the nations.

This prophecy of St. Simeon about Jesus, that he will be the muscle of nations, is commemorated today, on the fortieth day after Christmas, so that candles are blessed in our churches, symbolizing the Lord Jesus. This means that the burning candles represent to us with their fire the four excellent qualities of the Lord Jesus. First, fire is the source of light. It shines in the dark so that all the darkness of the world cannot overcome the light of one candle. The Lord Jesus is also a light for us. He shines into our lives with his word and his example. And the world’s darkness will never prevail over him because he said: „ I am with you until the end of the world.” Second, fire is a source of power. All powerful engines of Earth vehicles, ships, aircraft, and space rockets are moved by fire. And the Lord Jesus is also our strength in the spiritual life. He said: „ Without me, you can do nothing. Only he who abides in me, and I in him bears abundant fruit.” And therefore, the apostle Paul wrote: I can do everything in him who strengthens me. Third, fire is a source of heat. He warms us and warms our dwellings so that we can live joyfully. Without heat, we would catch a cold and die. Also, the Lord Jesus fills us with the warmth of his love to experience true joy and happiness in our lives; Windows says: “Stay in my love… that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

Of these three properties of fire, let us recall the fourth, most moving property of the burning candle. Ork serves people so intensively that it keeps getting smaller, burns itself, and sacrifices itself. Also, the Lord Jesus sacrificed his life for us out of love. After all, he said in advance: „Nobody has no greater love than the one who lays down his life for his friends.”(John 15,13) And at the Last Supper, the apostle announced his death on the cross with these words: „ This is my body, which is sacrificed for you”. And „this is the cup of my blood that is shed for you”. (Mass canon) Behold, these beautifully four qualities remind us of burning candles. They remind us that the Lord Jesus is our light, our strength, our love, so much love that he sacrificed his life. And from such reflection, a warm personal relationship with the Lord Jesus can be formed in our hearts: „ You are my light, you are my star, you are my love, you sacrificed your life for me. Strengthen me to love myself more and more and become more like you. This warm attraction to the Lord Jesus is reminded of burning candles. May our heavenly Mother, the Virgin Mary, who had the warmest relationship with the Lord Jesus and all the people in the world, help us with her example and intercession. 

How will catch the elephant lion? You probably assume that such a mountain of meat is simply invincible. In some parts of Africa, however, lions hunt in packs, isolate one of these monstrous animals from his herd, and thus can overpower him with several times the power. We, too, are the weakest and most vulnerable when we separate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in Christ. Throughout its history, God’s people were considered to belong to each other through shared prayer, keeping the Sabbath, or celebrating holidays and festivities in the temple.

However, the faithful to whom this letter was addressed were strongly tempted to go it alone and neglect the Eucharistic service and common prayer, which was supposed to be a regular part of their lives. And so the author challenges readers: “Let’s be afraid of love and good deeds… Let’s not leave our gatherings…, but encourage ourselves” (Hebr 10, 24 – 25). As such, Christianity is not destined to live in isolation. We are all members of the body of Christ, and only through this body does accurate blessing flow. The more we separate from each other, the more vulnerable and prone we are to temptation. Without the testimony of fellow believers, our perspective can be blurred, and we can lose sight of everything that God has already done for us in our lives.

After all, even the silent testimony of families or individuals at Sunday holy masses speak, raise our hearts, and encourage us in the constant search for the Lord. St John Chrysostom said: “You cannot pray at home as much as in the church community… in the unity of mind, in a harmony of souls, in a bond of love, in the prayers of the priest.” Other church community members encourage us, but we can do the same for them. Let’s focus on what happens when we celebrate the Eucharist. Nothing compares to the blessing of true fraternal fellowship. Through the gathering of believers, the Lord abundantly gives blessings – even eternal life (Ž 133, 3).

Adam lived happily with his wife, Eve, in Eden. He enjoyed the fruits of Eden and the animals for his direct sustenance. Man did not work at that time. God only says this to Adam after he has sinned. Cursed be the ground for you. With toil shalt thou feed upon it. Thorns and thistles shall bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herbs of the field. Did God thus predestine man for agriculture? I suppose so. The sin must have been committed sometime just before the beginning of man, the farmer. Suppose we assume that the biblical paradise on earth was probably at the source of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers as far as Lake Van in modern-day Turkey. In that case, we are in the land of earliest agriculture, even according to archaeologists. This area is considered to be the cradle of agriculture. If we look at the archaeological sites from this area and the Book of Genesis, the fall of man into sin can most likely be dated between 10,000 and 9,000 years before Christ. What led man to sin in the first place?

The Book of Genesis says. The serpent was more crafty than all the beasts of the field and told the woman. Did God say you can’t eat from any tree of Eden? The woman replied. We may eat of the fruit of the trees of paradise, but we must not eat of the fruit of the midst of paradise lest we die. But the serpent said. No, you will not die. God knows that the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Him. What’s the point? The plain biblical text tempts us to look for the cause of sin in temptation and disobedience to sin. Just why was man obedient for such a long time? All of a sudden, he rebelled. The cause must have been some extraordinary discovery. What a discovery it was. The serpent in the Garden of Eden speaks plainly. Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.

What does the tempter want to accomplish? Disobedience? Hardly. We know that disobedience is a transgression that brings discord and unrest, but only temporarily. Love remains. Satan needed something much more. He needed to convince the man that he was enough on his own. That is why God is God, and he is enough for himself. And the temptation is directed toward this feeling of man. I am enough for myself. I don’t need God. If I believe this, the logical conclusion follows. If I have everything by myself, I can do everything I need to live, so God does not exist. In this reasoning lies the whole mystery of original sin.