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Brothers and sisters… when you walk across Charles Bridge in Prague, you will find over 30 statues and groups of saints—and among them the oldest, the iconographically legendary statue of Saint John of Nepomuk, which has stood in its place since 1683. And although it has stood there silently for so long… it still has something to say to everyone who passes by daily.

It is such beautiful symbolism – the saint does not stand in a quiet church but in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this world, on a bridge over which a huge number of people pass daily. He stands in the middle of the world in priestly garb – he has a clear identity, publicly declares his allegiance to the Catholic Church,Whentime, but and hides nothing… and this is precisely in such an atheistic country as our neighbors are. So the first thing this saint inspires us with is courage – the courage to be readable at first glance… the courage to bear witness to Christ… the courage not to merge with this world.

Another thing we can notice is how he is portrayed. Saint John has his finger on his mouth… because he knew how to speak at the right time but also how to remain silent at the right time. In the era of the rise of mass media, where we are bombarded with one piece of information after another from all sides—via the Internet, radio, newspapers, or television… we lose our sense of what to share – what to move forward with, and what to feed our hearts with because of what to develop into topics in conversations. And so, in the place of the greatest tourist traffic, Saint John has his mouth closed but both eyes and ears open, as if he wanted to tell us, “Be quiet! Listen to God’s voice and do not close your eyes to His care; let your words be guided by love for the truth.

However, John’s silence also applies to the mystery of confession, for which he underwent a martyr’s death. And so, with his silence, he clearly speaks of the amazing gift of God’s mercy that God has placed in holy confession.

And finally, the saint is often depicted with a cross in his hands, which he looks at with love and fear… as if he wanted to draw our gaze to it and reveal to us where we can find the source of life and happiness. So let the memory of John of Nepomuk lead us to self-reflection and to the questions we need to askAsAndSomeone. How often do I spend time in silence—the silence that is necessary for hearing the voice of God? Can I keep a secret someone confides in me… and not spread others’ mistakes? Can I be discreet?

God did not intend to create puppets.

Sometimes we meet people who do not believe but are sincerely interested in what we actually believe and why. Talking to them can enrich both parties. We get rid of prejudices against them, and they, on the other hand, can confront our experience of faith with their deepest life questions.

The German priest and theologian Jan Loffeld, in his well-known book “When God is Missing,” states that the gradual extinction of faith in God is (at least in the European environment) a natural consequence of social development. We Christians have proclaimed our faith, even if we do not always act flawlessly. Rather, it is necessary to “take the dignity of man and his freedom seriously. God did not intend to create puppets.

My impetus for this discussion is the consideration that a loving God loves believers and non-believers equally and grants everyone the freedom to turn to him with faith or not to count on him in their lives. And therefore, even nonbelievers can live a fulfilled life. Faith in God is our free choice; if there were no alternative, there would be no choice.” Would it still be a loving God? 

But Jesus says, “Eternal life is defined: that they know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). Even if we admit the possibility of free choice, does this statement not mean that the rejection of faith in God can lead to the loss of eternal life? Let us look for the answer in our experience. We know many who do not believe in God, and yet they are good people: they raise their children with love, work responsibly, actively participate in public life, help those who are discriminated against or marginalized for various reasons, and honestly seek the truth amidst a barrage of misinformation. We meet them at school, at work, participate in joint projects, and share our personal and family concerns.

Sometimes we understand those who have not found their way to God better than some believing Christians. Are we to think that a person must end up in hell just because of their unbelief? Does that God, who loves all people, condemn many of them to eternal punishment even though they have done nothing wrong? Would that still be a loving God? Jesus’ statement does not necessarily mean that eternal life is a reward for people who have believed in God in this life. We can also understand it in this way: it is precisely by entering eternity that a person truly “will know the only true God and the one whom God has sent, Jesus Christ.” Some will know him already here on earth. Others will not know God in this life but will encounter him only in the transition to eternity. This full, intense, complete knowledge of God, meeting him, dissolving in him, is not even possible in this life. However, it This is the essence of eternal life. Support for faith comes only from the experience of faith.

But is it advisable for him to bear witness to faith and ‘preach the gospel’? What if, even without accepting God in this life, we can accept him in the next? You may have had different experiences with good people. Sometimes they simply dismiss our faith, sometimes they like to discuss it as an exotic intellectual topic and sometimes they are genuinely interested in our beliefs. Such a conversation can enrich both parties. We can overcome our prejudices towards them, and they can confront our experience of faith with their deep questions about the meaning of life, good and evil, pain, eternity, and so on. Through these conversations, we learn to delve into the core of our own experiences. As Loffeld says, ‘The support for faith today is neither tradition nor Christian culture, only the experience of faith.’

In the High Priestly Prayer, Jesus refers to his disciples — people who have shared his experiences and come to know God on earth through his teachings. He asks his Father to keep them united in love so they may meet him in heaven more profoundly. Jesus is deeply concerned for those who believe in him and want to live with him here on earth. Because it is such a great gift, they must share it with others. They must bear witness to their faith.

Who does Jesus have in mind here?

At the same time, however, we can consider John’s style of expression, which is often figurative and symbolic. When Jesus speaks to the Father in the Gospel about ‘those you have given me,’ does he mean only those who have believed in him? Or does he also mean those who will believe later thanks to them? Or perhaps he means those who will not explicitly believe in him but who will have a desire for truth and love in their hearts, i.e., a desire for God? The Bible does not give us a clear answer to these questions. But it does say one thing clearly: God loves everyone equally, believers and nonbelievers alike.

The Christian’s place is in the world, where he must proclaim Jesus, but his eyes are fixed on heaven, where he will be united with Him. The Scriptures give us three words, three points of reference for the Christian pilgrimage. The first is memory. The risen Jesus tells his disciples to go to Galilee, where they first met him. Each of us has our own Galilee, that is, the place where Jesus first appeared, where we came to know Him and received the joy and enthusiasm of following Him. To be good Christians, it is essential to remember this first and subsequent encounter with Jesus constantly. This is the grace of memory, which gives us certainty in times of trial.

The second point is prayer. When Jesus ascends to heaven, he does not separate himself from us. Physically yes, but he remains constantly united with us to intercede for us. He shows the Father his wounds, the price he paid for us, for our salvation. We must therefore ask for the grace of contemplation of heaven, the grace of prayer, a relationship with Jesus who hears us and is with us. Then there is the third: the world. Before his departure, as we heard yesterday in the Gospel of the Ascension, Jesus says to his disciples: “Go into all the world”. Go. The Christian’s place is the world, to proclaim the Word of Jesus, to announce that we are saved and that Jesus came to give us the grace to take us all with him to the Father.

This is the topography of Christian thought. Three points of support for our life: memory, prayer, andto missionary mission; three words for our journey: Galilee, heaven and world. The Christian must move in these three dimensions, asking for the grace of memory and saying to the Lord: “May I not forget the moment you chose me, may I not forget the moments when we met.” Praying and looking to heaven, because there He intercedes for us. And then the mission. This does not mean that everyone has to go abroad. Going on missions means living and testifying to the Gospel, letting people know what Jesus is like. And this is through testimony and the Word, because if I talk about what Jesus is like and what the Christian life is like, but I live like a pagan, it is useless. Such a mission is useless.

However, if we live with memory, prayer, and missions, the Christian life will be beautiful and joyful. And this is the last sentence of Jesus from today’s Gospel (John 16:20-23): “On the day you live as a Christian, you will know everything, and your joy will not be taken from you. “Noto one, because I have in my memory the encounter with Jesus, the certainty that Jesus is now in heaven, interceding for me and with me. I pray; I dare to go out of myself, to speak to others, and to testify with my life that Jesus is risen from the dead and is alive. Memory, prayer, mission. May the Lord grant us the grace to understand this topography of Christian life and to move forward with a joy that no one can take from us.

Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Today, men in white robes, heavenly messengers, address us with the same words. The Son of God has accomplished the work of salvation for which he took on human nature. Jesus Christ, the God-man, fulfilled the promise that the Creator made in the earthly paradise to the first people after sin: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Christ finally triumphed over Satan; redeemed man from the slavery of sin at the price of his most precious blood; and when he rose from the dead, he opened the gates of heaven for us. Now Jesus Christ, the God-man, takes our human nature to heaven, to the Father’s house, and shows that the ultimate goal and fulfillment of human life is eternal happiness, heaven.

But do we really want to go to Heaven? Are we aware that eternal happiness is worth striving for? How often do we ask the Lord God in our prayers to help us reach heaven? Or are our intentions, efforts and plans more connected to securing happiness in this life? The temporal equivalent of happiness is paradise. The ultimate fulfilment of human life in eternity is heaven. Today, let us ask ourselves whether we desire heaven or paradise more. Are our daily efforts directed towards creating paradise on earth, or are they intended to lead us to heaven? What is the highest value of life for me? ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be’ (Matthew 6:21).

The Creator placed Adam and Eve in an earthly paradise. They were given perfect conditions for life and development. They were given a clear command by the Lord to develop, be fruitful and enrich themselves: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it’ (Genesis 1:28). According to God’s plan, life in paradise was to be one of love and peace, free from disease, suffering, cataclysms and injustice. Humanity was to develop harmoniously and subdue the earth. Unfortunately, the sin of pride and disobedience deprived the first humans of their earthly paradise. ‘Therefore […] through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin’ (Romans 5:12). Man was deprived of paradise, and life forces each of us to work hard for our daily bread and face adversity and human weakness. We all experience the imperfections of human nature through illness, suffering and death. However, through hard work and sacrifice, we conquer the earth and strive to build a replacement for the biblical Garden of Eden here on earth. We are trying to build a paradise on earth. Each of us wants to be happy, fulfilled, and secure in life. We all have different ideas about what makes us happy, but that is what we are all about in our everyday lives..

Although many people do not want to admit it, it must be acknowledged that our lives are getting better and better thanks to hard work and effort. People complain all the time. However, the amazing fact is that the more a person has, the more they invent and demand. The desire to live in an earthly paradise will never be satisfied. Material things will never make a person fully happy. We will always want more. The rush for the lost paradise is happening before our eyes. People have never lived as well as they do now, and I do not know if they have ever been as greedy and demanding as they are today. We want paradise here on earth. Yet we do not fully know what that paradise should be. Yet we push away the truth about spiritual life, human transience and the completion of human life in eternity.

The outstanding film director Andrei Tarkovsky said: ‘If a person lives without knowing the reasons for their existence, without knowing why they came into the world or why they have to live here for several decades, then the world will reach the position in which we are now.’ Since the Enlightenment, humanity has become excessively interested in material things and has allowed the desire for knowledge to dominate it’Therefore,. If, at the same time, humanity had yearned for spiritual values, it would have developed in a more harmonious way, guided by spiritual principles. Today’s civilisation has reached a dead end. People and politicians have become slaves to the system they themselves created. Computers have taken power over people. To stop this process, we need spiritual work and enlightenment from above. Only this can save us.

We live very comfortably and in abundance. We never go hungry. Perhaps most of all, however, we lack gratitude and appreciation for everything we have and have achieved in life, and the joy that should accompany them. However, despite all the beauty in this world, we mustn’t forget that heaven awaits us — eternal happiness after our temporary life ends. Everyone who comes to this world will someday leave it. In death, no one will replace us. We cannot take the earthly paradise with us. So let us enjoy life and not lament, but instead enjoy the fruits of our labour. At the same time, let us work for heaven. Let us not forget eternity. Let us undertake spiritual work with faith in order to achieve eternal salvation. We were called to life and came to this world primarily to achieve this. We will leave the paradise we have laboriously built over time. We will leave everything we have gathered behind. Everyone knows this, yet many people are reluctant to acknowledge this truth. This cannot be done. Even the death of their loved ones will not convince them. Neither will their own fatal illness. It is a drama that the Lord Jesus speaks about in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus: ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’ (Luke 16:31).

Therefore, St Paul prays: ‘May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him’ (Ephesians 1:17). Let us strive to be wise in life. Just as we are prudent in temporal matters, so should we be wise in matters of the spirit. ‘May the eyes of your heart be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints (Ephesiansit 1:18). Let us strive to see the hope of our calling to eternal happiness. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins by dying on the cross. When he rose from the dead, he opened the gates of heaven. St Paul says of this: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ (1 Cor 2:9).

No earthly paradise, however perfect, will ever satisfy the desires of the human heart. We all experience this truth. We earn, buy, furnish and repair, and then we start thinking about what new things we could introduce into our lives. Material possessions, work achievements, entertainment and pleasures will never make a person truly happy. What each of us needs most is love. Those who have found love no longer search for it but enjoy the stability and fulfillment that it gives. Without love, an earthly paradise becomes hell. Conversely, where there is love, even in modesty, paradise is created.

Heaven is infinite, loving happiness. ‘We who have believed have come to know the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them’ (1 John 4:16). It is good that we conquer the earth. However, we will never build a paradise here that satisfies our desires. We must remember this. Jesus’ ascension to heaven shows us the ultimate purpose of human existence. Heaven is the communion of the saved people with God in the Holy Trinity, one forever and ever. Therefore, let us strive for heaven more than for an earthly paradise. The earthly paradise will pass away, but heaven will be eternal. Amen.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Virgin Mary of Fatima, which reminds us of the appearance of the Virgin Mary with three small shepherds, Lucia, Hyacinte, and Francis. We could say that this apparition hurt timeless.

As Pope Pius XII already pointed out, the great hierarchy of modernity is the loss of meaning for hierarchy. This world suffered and still suffers from the worst wars in the history of humanity. Never before had the people been tortured by a hierarchy, except in the 20th century. Joseph Ratzinger, the most humble Pope Benedict XVI, spoke aptly about this: „no previous time did not also experience cruel and bloody wars like our time. There were more mountains than a caddy before the.“ team And as John Paul II led the Pope: „God is merciful, the Father of goodness, who does not abandon us, even though we may have deviated significantly from his vole. Right in this world „horror and Holocaust, God wanted to please the people. One of them also had the appearance of the Virgin Mary.“

At the end of the 19th century, the apparition in Lourdes was highlighted; at the beginning of the 20th century, the Fatimid apparition stood out. These facts point to different visual parallels. On the one hand, the investigators of the Virgin Mary have always been very young people, of simple condition, and even illiterate. However, they were willing to submit to the yoke of the heavenly Father. She recognizes Jesus as her brother, sister, or mother. Our Lady’s call to prayer, as well as reconciliation for human sins, penance, and prayer for sinners, was the second distinctive feature of the javelin.

At the end of the 19th century, the apparitions in Lourdes were highlighted; at the beginning of the 20th century, those in Fatima stood out. These events have visual parallels. On the one hand, the investigators of the Virgin Mary were always very young people of humble origin, often illiterate. However, they were willing to submit to the will of the heavenly Father. She recognized these people as her brothers, sisters, or mother. The second distinctive feature of the apparition was Our Lady’s call to prayer and penance, as well as reconciliation for human sins and prayer for sinners.
Let us pray for this and hire today so that we, the men and women of this world, may fulfill the throne of the heavenly Father and thus reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are also children of the Father and our brothers and sisters.

Jesus speaks several times about the world, especially in his farewell to the apostles (cf. Jn 15:18-21). And here he says, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before it hated you” (v. 18). He speaks clearly of the world’s hatred for Jesus and for us. And in the prayer that he offers at the table among the disciples at the [Last] Supper, he asks the Father not to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the spirit of the world (cf. Jn 17:15). We can ask ourselves, “What is the spirit of the world?” What worldliness can hate, kill, and corrupt Jesus, his disciples, and the Church? It would be good for us to reflect on what the spirit of the world is and what it is. Worldliness is the offer of a way of life. Some people think that worldliness means feasting and celebration. No. Worldliness can be that, but it is not the essential thing.

Worldliness is a culture, a culture of transience, a culture of appearances and pretense, a culture of what is today and not tomorrow, and what will be tomorrow and not today. It is made up of superficial values. This culture knows no loyalty because it changes according to circumstances; it negotiates everything. This is a worldly culture, a culture of worldliness. A disposable culture suits it. A culture that lacks loyalty and is uprooted. However, it is a way of life that many Christians also lead. They are Christians, but worldly.

Jesus, superficial, in the parable of the grain falling into the ground, says that worldly cares choke the Word of God, preventing it from growing (Mt 13:22). Paul says to the Galatians, “We lived as slaves under the rule of the elements of the world” (cf. Gal 4:3). I am always deeply affected by the final pages of Father de Lubac’s book Meditations on the Church (Carmelitánské nakladatelství, Kostelní Vydří 2010, p.172), where he speaks on three pages about “spiritual secularization,” which he describes as the worst thing that could befall the Church. He is not exaggerating, because he lists other terrible evils in addition to it. Worldly spirituality is the worst because it is a hermeneutics of life, a way of life, and a way in which Christianity can also be lived. And to survive the proclamation of the Gospel, it hates and kills.

When it is said of martyrs that they were killed out of hatred for the faith… yes, for some it was hatred over a theological issue, but for most it was the martyrdom of somethingsuperficial else. Most were persecuted precisely by worldliness, which hates faith and kills, as with Jesus. It is curious. Someone may say to me, “But father, worldliness is just superficiality; let’s not exaggerate.” Worldliness is not superficial at all! It has deep roots. It is chameleon-like, changing according to circumstances, but the essence remains the same. It is an offer of [a way of] life, and it permeates everything, even the Church. Worldliness, mundane hermeneutics, and superficialities are the sacrifices that make up everything.

And the apostle Paul came to Athens and was deeply moved when he saw the altars of various gods on the Areopagus. He reflected on the situation and said [to the Athenians]: “I see that you are very religious in every way. […] I noticed an altar with the inscription ‘To an unknown god’. I know him, and I have come to tell you about him” (cf. Acts 17:22-23). ​​And he began to preach the Gospel. But when he began to speak about the Cross and the Resurrection, they became bored and left (cf. Acts 17:32). The only thing that worldliness does not tolerate is the indecency of the Cross. It hates it. The only remedy against the worldly spirit is Christ, who died for us and rose from the dead, insults, and foolishness (1 Cor 1:23).

Therefore, in dialogue, when Saint John speaks of the world, he says, “And this faith is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith” (1 John 5:4). This alone: ​​faith in Jesus Christ, killed and risen. And that does not mean being fanatics. It does not mean refusing to dialogue with all people. No, but with the conviction of faith, I am freed from the insult, foolishness, and victory of the cross. And the victory, as John says, “is our faith.” Let us ask the Holy Spirit in these last days of Easter—and also during the Pentecost novena—for the grace to distinguish between what is worldly and what is evangelical and not to be deceived, because the world hates us; the world hated Jesus. Jesus prayed that the Father would save us from worldliness (cf. John 17:15).

Today our Lord invites us to fraternal love: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12), that is, as you have seen me love and as you will see me love again. Jesus speaks to you as a friend, for he told you that his Father is calling you, that he wants you to become apostles, and that he expects you to bear fruit, fruit that is expressed in love. Saint John Chrysostom says, “If love were to spread everywhere, infinite goodness would be born from it.” Giving love is equivalent to creating life. Spouses know this well because they love each other, give themselves to each other, and accept the role of parents by being ready at the same time to renounce and deny themselves.

They give their strength, their time, and a piece of their existence for the benefit of those they must care for, protect, educate, and, in short, serve. Missionaries know this too, who, with the same Christian spirit of sacrifice and renunciation, offer their lives for the Gospel. And so do religious priests and bishops, and with them all the disciples of Jesus who have consecrated themselves to our Savior. Jesus had already told you a little earlier what is required for love and fruit-bearing: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24).

Jesus invites you to lose your life, to give it to him without fear, to die voluntarily if necessary, so that you can love your brother with the love of Christ, and indeed the supernatural love. Jesus invites you to strive for concrete expressions of love; This is how the Apostle James understood it when he saidreligious a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Keep warm and well fed,’ but you do not give them the things needed for the body, what good is it? So faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.” (James 2:15-17).

Thoughts on today’s Gospel

If you are looking for an example of love: No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Such a person was Christ on the cross. And if he laid down his life for us, it should not be difficult for us to endure any hardship that comes our way. › St. Thomas Aquinas.

Our definition of love must be based on contemplating Jesus’ death on the cross. In this contemplation, the Christian discovers the path along which his life and love must follow › Benedict XVI

By uniting himself in his human heart with the Father’s love for men, Jesus “showed his love to the end” (Jn 13:1), because “greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Thus, in his suffering and death, Jesus’ humanity became the free and perfect instrument of his divine love, which wants all men to be saved. He freely accepted his suffering and death out of love for his Father and for the men whom the Father wants to save: “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn 10:18). Hence the supreme freedom of the Son of God when he voluntarily goes to death › Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 609.