predication.net

  We can take a number of measures for our spiritual life, yet we do not have to move anywhere. There is one big difficulty. God needs to reconcile the seemingly inconsistent. Everything we have and what we are from God. Without him, we can’t do anything. Every progress is due to His grace. But this state can completely demotivate us. We are not happy when we rely on someone. The biggest problem for the homeless is not that he has nothing but that he has no human dignity. He has no experience of being able to take care of himself. He’s in a vicious circle. It suits him that he does not have to do anything, just reach out and someone will take care of him, but it is this way of life that destroys him most.

            God does not want us to be such homeless. That is why he wants us to cooperate in our salvation. But with that there is the opposite risk – pride. Expecting salvation as a merit for your deeds. The manifestation of this endeavor is an unhealthy desire for perfection, when we cannot accept our own sinfulness, we are still disgusted because we are not good enough. Another manifestation is the constant desire to do something to make us feel useful and so on.

            So God wants to make us accept that everything is grace, that is, everything comes from him, but while this truth does not humiliate us and lead us to inaction. Therefore, he invites us to cooperate with him. On the other hand, he wants us not to fall into self-salvation as a result of our activity, and therefore he is letting go of his hands as soon as he perceives that we want to do things ourselves without his help. This is how he wants to bring us to work with him. So salvation is nothing but balancing on this thin line: God’s initiative and man’s response.

            How to best achieve this? God recommends the path of children. Unless you are like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven … (Mt 18: 3). What is the essence of childhood? Hope, unshakable confidence that everything will be good. The child has no big problems. We are often attracted to shots, for example from refugee camps, where parents explain their hopeless situation and the children play happily in the background. This cheerfulness and carelessness often adds strength to adults not to fall into depression and fight. Even if the baby is crying, he does not know the despair and unattainable wishes. The future is straightforward and certain for him.

            Puberty begins where this world finds itself in crisis. When the simple certainty in the procedure begins to disappear. The adolescent is already losing confidence in their parents. Therefore the Lord invites us to spiritual childhood. He wants us to enjoy the world carelessly, love him and trust him that he will take care of everything.

            But the fact is that we are as adolescents in the eternal conflict between ideal and reality. This contradiction adolescents experience passionately and spontaneously. They want different things, they want to solve everything, their solutions are often contradictory and illogical. But there is no way to live in contradictions. A solution is being sought. The character of the future man is created by how he has solved this question. The solutions are personal and therefore diverse, but can be divided into four groups.

            The first is an idealist. To avoid giving up his ideals, he does not want to see the world with his true face. He fights against windmills and tries to follow his ideal.

            The second is a burger. He’s a realist. He sees so well the reality that he has completely lost any ideal. It only survives and has no problem using every circumstance. Indeed, opportunities are for man to seize them. Unnecessarily seeks ideals, prefers to take advantage of the present opportunity.

            Revolutionary. Not all idealists are empty dreamers. Some will become revolutionaries. They see well that the world is not ideal, but why should they accept it? Why couldn’t the old broken system be removed and a new order be established? Although the revolution will succeed, even the newly created order does not correspond to ideals, and therefore new contradictions arise.

            The fourth is an eclectic, a man of choice. He is the most successful. He, too, has many ideals, but realizes that not all are feasible. Therefore, he chose one and sacrificed everything for him, as for the pearl of the parable (cf. Mt 13:45). He will then become a great musician, a scientist, possibly a saint. Or a loser, it can happen. Because when someone bet on one card, they either win or lose everything.

            Each of these four types has its own strength as well as its weakness. The conflict between ideal and reality cannot be resolved completely.

            In Christ, all ideals, all good, all truth, all beauty are embodied. And this Word has become flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Jn 1:14) and will come again at the end of the ages in full glory, and his kingdom will not be over. It follows that all the ideals that a young person dreams of have already begun in history.

Respond to life

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah – Is. 50: 5-9b
            The Lord, God, opened my ear. And I did not resist, I did not back down. I adjusted my back to what they beat and my cheeks to what they tore. I didn’t cover my face from reproach and saliva.

            The Lord, God, is helping me, so I will not be ashamed. He hardened my face to be quartz, and I know I will not be ashamed. The one who gives me the truth is near; who wants to argue with me? Let’s face it! Who is my prosecutor? Let them come to me! Behold, the Lord God help me: who can condemn me?

Mark 8: 27-35
            Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages around Caesarea Philippe. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people think of me?”

            They replied, “John the Baptist, others for Elijah and others for one of the prophets.”

            “And who do you consider me?” He asked them.

            Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.” But he strictly warned them not to tell anyone about him.

            Then he began to hear them, “The Son of Man must suffer much, the elders, the high priests, and the scribes will condemn him, kill him, but he will rise from the dead after three days.” He told them openly.

Peter took him aside and began to talk to him. He turned, looked at his disciples, and reprimanded Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan, because you have no sense of God’s things, only human!”

Then he called the crowd and the disciples together and said to them, “Whoever wants to follow me, deny himself, take his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. ”

            As part of repetition and relaunch, we will now recall one fundamental truth. Liturgical readings on Sunday 24 (last Sunday 16 September 2018) remind us of difficult things. They speak of setting their backs for battle, of reproach, of denying themselves, of taking the cross, following and losing their lives. All things that are against us hair. Again, it makes us feel as if faith was about suffering, suffering, pain that I have to endure here on this earth for a few years, and then a generous reward in heaven. What then? How to grab it?

            We have said several times that we are living in a liquid society that has no edge, no constant opinion. We want to maximize our happiness and that is why we adapt to it. When I don’t have an edge, I don’t hit and I can always make myself feel good. But this way of life makes it difficult for us to follow Christ. His way of doing this cannot be followed. I, either choose and then I have clear and firm principles to which I adapt everything else or I do not follow him. Either I decide for a lifetime, or I’m not following him. And here is the source of tension that st. Scripture calls the cross.

            Following God requires engagement. This is manifested, for example, in fidelity to the marriage vow, as well as in fidelity to the priesthood, the consecrated life, which require, among other things, celibacy or virginity. But it also manifests itself in smaller things like caring for the sick, raising children, accepting some permanent service. We do not have a problem to do a big thing once in a while, but we have a problem to do small things regularly. They limit us, they bind us and do not allow us to do what we just want. So, I’d like to go back and forth, so I long for this and that, but unfortunately, I have pledged, I can’t. The decision fears. What if I can’t handle the consequences of my decision? I met a man who lived with his girlfriend in the same household, but they were not married. The reason was not contempt for marriage or indifference, but fear. One said, “You know Joseph, I love her and I don’t want to hurt her. I know how weak I am. What if in a few years there is a situation that I can’t handle? I’d rather not promise her that he would not be disappointed afterwards. ”

            The fear of managing it is one of the biggest breaks in making decisions. The fear is justified. When we look at our misery, when we see our weaknesses, when we realize what moves us and what all desires we nourish in our hearts. Now I have stood the test, but now can I do it tomorrow? Even in ten years? We don’t trust each other.

            Let’s go back to the readings for a moment. Let’s look at them again and look for the essence of the message. Is the essence of renunciation and the cross really? Christ says to Peter, “Get out of my way, Satan because you have no sense of God’s things, only human!” The fear I described is that human look. I can’t do it. And that is true. The answer to whether I can handle it is obvious and unambiguous: NO! Christ himself says about salvation: “It is impossible for man, but not for God. For everything is possible to God ”(Mark 10:27). The Lord does not invite me to be a hero, but invites me to.

The object of hope

  After a few repetitive catechisms, we can return to building our spiritual life. Last time in June we talked about the hope of what it is. Today we would think about what we hope for and why.

            In the book The Following of Christ, we read: “Do not promise what Christ does not promise you.” Our hope is often associated with earthly salvation. It is often expressed by the sentence: It will be good. We theoretically know that this is not the case, but the answer to our life is often in this spirit. The apostles hoped to see when Christ restored the kingdom of Israel. We also expect to solve our problems, improve our relationships, manage some situation and so on. We are waiting for God’s intervention in our lives. We expect the truth to come to light and God to intervene favoring the innocent. Yes, there are times in history where God intervened and miraculously rescued those who had hoped for Him, but more often remained seemingly inactive. He did not intervene, but suffered along with the innocent.

            God does not make the final settlement now, here on earth. If he did, it would not be clear at the end that death was not the last word. It would also limit our free will, for we would always do only those things for which we get immediate reward. Many people would join God for the sake of early interests, not from the heart and with faith. The selflessness of love could also not apply. Therefore, it is a great thing to leave everything for Christ, but even more is to step out of the logic that for other wants immediate punishment for every evil, and immediate reward for each ministry.

            St. Thomas therefore clearly states: the only true object of our hope is eternal bliss in God. So, you should not hope for anything less than himself.

            But this truth is embarrassing us again. The Communists regarded religion as an opium of humanity, claiming to suffer here on earth, and then, in heaven, you will achieve salvation. We must acknowledge that if we live our earthly life detached from God and faith is only one of the many things we live in our lives, this remark is justified. Then we truly wade through everything possible, struggling with a beaker while experiencing ourselves in it. God has also forsaken us. I call to him and he doesn’t hear. I’m looking for him, and he’s quiet. Then I hear that I should not wait for salvation here, but I will get it in heaven. So just need to hold on and then it will be fine.

            What is it then? Should I have hope in heaven, but on the other hand, should I not live my life here on earth just as a necessary evil? The answer is given by the logic “already and not yet”. Christ has already risen from the dead, has already conquered, but you are not yet saved, you are still on your way. So, here on earth we are already experiencing some of Christ’s victory, but we still do not live in fullness. The kingdom of God is already among us. Therefore, I am invited here to live what I will live in heaven in fullness. Faith, therefore, invites us not to live the earthly life, and the heavenly one as a two-faced reality that unites only the fact that as I live my life on earth, it will be its continuation in eternity. Christ incarnated, received our flesh. It is a real part of our life. He therefore invites us to live with God, who is a real part of our lives. Participation in Holy Mass is not an obligation that I must satisfy, nor is it an opportunity to calm down, calm down and recharge, nor is it a place where I can meet my friends. It is the presence of heaven. The opportunity here to experience something from the heavenly celebration of the Savior. If I live the present as a preconstruction and preparation for fullness in heaven, then the accusation of the Communists that we are to suffer here on earth is no longer enough.

            So our hope is directed to Christ. But not only will we be in his presence in heaven, but also that he is here with us in every situation. Again, we are invited not only to understand this fact by reason, but also to live by it.

            Let’s take a closer look at the issue. Faith can be part of my life as much as it is, for example sport. None of us who are here has the meaning of a life in sport. We take it as relaxation, venting the head, activity to slow the growth of the abdomen. So, we have the hope that if we do sport, we will be healthier, more mentally resilient, and that will improve our life. If this is not the case, we are angry at each other and either we leave the sport or we say: if I tried harder, I went to another sport, surely it would be better. So, sport loses meaning to us, but life goes on. Similarly, we can approach faith. Not as the meaning of our lives, but as an instrument from which we promise to improve our lives. We seek peace, harmony, sense, comfort. Everything we need to live a better life. So we have hope. If hope is not fulfilled, we either leave faith, or we start to blame that we are not doing enough and need to add. 

When we need hope

            In the past, catechisms we have outlined the ideal where we are heading. We may like this ideal, but on the other hand, it may seem absolutely unattainable. Looking at the reality of your life – haste, stress, failure to do things, we usually only respond to stimuli. It seems that we have no life at all in our hands and not that we can still direct it in the right direction. On the cell we meet, encourage, but the everyday reality …

          Therefore, let us slow down for a while and consider in which situations we particularly need the virtue of hope. I would like to remind you that virtue is not gained by drills, that is, by doing my best, by training, by repeating a certain activity until I learn it. Nor is it autosuggestion – I’m talking about what I want, it’s not about positive thinking. Nor is it purely God’s pouring. There is a cooperation between God and man that cannot be easily expressed. God gives, while respecting the freedom of man. It gives as much as one can accept. Man is accomplished by his desire. God gives us things as much as we hope for him. Therefore, the more we know God, the more we love Him – we are convinced that He wants us good and that is why we turn to Him with desire.

            So in which situations do we most need the virtue of hope? So the inner belief that God is able to help us?

The pursuit of perfection. Good advice says don’t be disgusted by anyone or yourself. The last one is probably the hardest. That is why we particularly need the virtue of hope. I am not a hopeless case, and God can also serve imperfect instruments. In the beginning, of course, everything seems simple and achievable. The first enthusiasm is like a good wind to sails. But then comes the wind, the storm, the storm … And yet we are all called to perfection.
In prayer. Prayer is not an effective amount of words, but trust. From God, we achieve the extent to which we trust Him. We tend to repeat our supplications until we see things moving. I remember my father had an interesting way of handling things. When my mom told him something, he had a thousand arguments how it could not. It was angry with Mother, and she either repeated her request, or she was angry about how dad was impossible – she called him then “trouble” – a problem. But the thing was always on the next day. Though he was grunted and named things as impossible, but he always did. I tried to explain to her that she should not print, she would say once, and she would be reliable, but she was just angry – well, if she did anyway, then why would those comments be impossible? I had another solution. When my mom asked me to do something, I was determined to do it, but I will do it the way I want it and the way I want it. If she had relied on, it would have been done. But by repeating it again, I clenched. My vanity didn’t allow me to do that. Because I can’t admit that she won. Of course, God is not acting so imperfectly, but He also expects trust from us. You already told him your request, so trust him to do it. The last time of prayer is devoted to deepening yourselves with God and changing your life. Of course, this does not mean that we cannot beg multiple times. It’s nice when a daughter snuggles up to her father and asks him something. The father is willing to comply immediately with her request, but she is stretching her daughter, because she knows that she is gaining her.
in situations where we fall into small-mindedness. Hope is compared to an anchor. A tiny ship swept by the waves has the only hope in the anchor that the wind and waves will not shatter it against the rocks. There are situations in our life where our strength lies in hope. I have no way of affecting things, I can just let go of it and rely on God to know what he is doing. God purifies our hope by committing disappointment, failure, a state of emotional hopelessness. This is again necessary to free ourselves from the spirit of business. I am with God just because it is pleasant, gives a blessing, I am sure. With this attitude, Satan blames God as they discuss Job – “Does Job fear God for free?” (Job 1: 9). God, on the other hand, wants to cultivate true selfless love by suffering, but I love only because I want to love.
temptations when we are afraid we will succumb. Experts say that only he has no chance to get rid of bad habit, addiction, who has no hope. Who does not believe that he can avoid sin will not be able to. If he says, I’d love to, but … Certainty is the best tool for a rope maker. If I go into something with the fear of not giving it, that fear will prevent me from giving it. In moral life, the Lord wants to give us the certainty that we can, even if we are to remain well aware of our weaknesses. Therefore, Mons. Gray advises, “stop hearing God

To sanctify with work

16th catechisms, October 2018

We have repeatedly touched on our cooperation with God in our catechisms. We are talking about spiritual growth and trying to move something forward in our lives. But what’s the point? For whoever ascends to the mountain is closer to the light, but to the sun is almost as far away as the one who stays down. We know well that we cannot ascend to God, but God has come down to save us. But we also know that God has redeemed us without our consent, but He will not save us against our will. Therefore, in the spiritual literature, the authors continually reflect on the relationship between God’s activity and human activity. The human endeavor is called “ascetics” and the connection with God is “mystic.” In this context, these words take on a whole new meaning. Ascetics, not as something negative – denial of renunciation, but as a human contribution. What can I do so that God can work more effectively in me? What obstacle can I remove so that He can realize in me? Ascetic is therefore renouncing everything that prevents me from approaching God. And mysticism is not some inconceivable revelation that no one understands, but the acceptance of God, union with Him.

Of course, we would like to give up the daily responsibilities that we have to do, which are exhausting and depriving us of prayer time and strength to grow spiritually. Therefore, we live in a kind of tension – our desire for spiritual growth and everyday monotonous reality. What about it? The Lord invites us to salvation, not by taking us out of the world, but by teaching us how we can turn everyday activities into an instrument of our salvation. So our efforts are not to be focused first and foremost to escape reality and have more time and space for spiritual life, but to turn as a daily cycle into a meeting place with the Lord

How to do it? Christian tradition, unlike pagan, has a completely different view of work. Pagan tradition has always seen work as something that is undignified to man because it binds him to matter. Body work enslaves the spirit, attaching it to matter. That is why a free man should have devoted himself to free arts, while the service work was left to slaves who, according to ancient thought, could not rise to higher perfection. Today’s pagan culture sees work as a means of subsistence. It does not perceive in it any value other than the realization of itself and securing its livelihood. So man works because he enjoys and fulfills work, or as a necessary evil to earn. In both cases, it doesn’t matter what it does, it is important whether it fulfills it or earns it. Otherwise, he tries to avoid work because he sees no other meaning in it.

This mentality is not compatible with faith. God reveals to us as someone who works. It creates the earth and keeps it existing. The priests of the Old Testament work, and the apostles work, even Christ himself worked most of his life. God works. We are created in the image of God, so we are also created for work. This point is extremely important. For many desires a deeper spiritual life and try to earn more prayer time. You desire to go more often to silence, to adoration. But circumstances don’t allow you to. What about it? The Lord invites us to discover at work the possibility of uniting with him – a mystic.

The first condition is to do it according to God’s will. Otherwise, our life would not make sense in the great “liturgy of the world,” where everything moves exactly according to the plan of one who controls the universe. (Theodore of Gyro). It follows that each of our work that is in its place is the most important thing. There is nothing better than doing what is to be done right now. Therefore, according to st. John Berchmans is one of the essential elements of spirituality to do what you have to do. Duty in its place is the best deed of piety. This gives us hope. Indeed, even a housewife whose life is constantly revolving around a child and often does not have time to go to the toilet, and nowhere else to withdraw into silence and contemplate, need not despair. Rewrapping, breastfeeding a baby at the right time is the best deed of religion. Work is a manifestation of love for people. If I do my job honestly, responsibly, then I show love for people. And this kind of work transforms me.

Last time, an economist complained to me. She witnessed indifference, which chilled her. The tax office received a request from the court to provide information from the tax return. It was to determine the person’s income so that adequate maintenance could be established. A clerk who just had nothing to do and opened the application. “I have 30 days to answer.” He had no idea that a woman alone at home with a small child might have a financial need and need the money as soon as possible. He has 30 days by law. From this example, too, I can see how work can be a deed of love, and how it can shape and make me sensitive, if I do not only act mechanically, but also think.

    For some time now we have been thinking about how to live our faith in everyday life. In the past catechisms we had the opportunity to marvel at how our first and most basic mission was to beget and multiply linked to the growth and reproduction of God’s Word. So spiritual life is not detached from everyday reality, but on the contrary, very deeply associated with it. Let us move forward in these reflections today.

          We thought that intention gave value. When I wake up to what I want to live for, for whom I want to have the deed given, for the love of Jesus I want to bear the difficulty, I also make sense to the most meaningless and monotonous task. Simultaneously, the deed becomes merit. That is why it is recommended to spend at least a short time in prayer every morning, where I think about the day, everything that awaits me and I give it to the Lord in advance. I will say yes to everything the day brings and I wake up to what I want to sacrifice. For example: “Sir today I have a hard day, I have to meet this person. You know, I always get nervous and swear. Please give me strength, help keep inner peace, I want to sacrifice it all for my children ”. In the evening I ask my conscience. I will ask myself how I survived the situation. If I could do it, thank you: “Oh. Sir, thank you for being with me, thank you for helping and not allowing me to lose my peace ”. If I haven’t done it I will say: But unfortunately, it wasn’t the best, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll try it again. Now I beg your forgiveness ”.

          This requires no extra time. Prayer is often not about time, but about attention. It’s about effort. That I want to quiet down for a moment and realize things. We often blame that we don’t have time. But how much time does such a simple handover or arousal take? It can even be made even easier. Just say, “All for you, the most sacred heart of Jesus”. Of course, it is important to make sure that it is not a phrase that repeats itself automatically, but that it is spoken with consciousness and with internal consent – that is what I want to do.

          It is simple and does not require much time. Why is it so difficult then, why don’t we want to do it? Well, here we are at the root of the problem. We often try to understand things and find a solution. But we know what to do. What we often lack is not knowledge, but motivation. We have two powers that influence our deeds, and we can work on – reason and will. Reason is not such a problem to get on the right track, but the knowledge of truth does not yet motivate our will. Saint Paul also says in a letter to Romans: “To want good, that is close to me, but not to do good. I do not do the good that I want, but I do the evil that I do not want ”(Rom. 7: 18-19). So what motivates the will? What gives us the power to do what we do? They are beauty and goodness. These are two powers that give life a taste. The truth could be compared to the content of the diet – healthy nutrition, containing a lot of protein, low sugars, many fibers, vitamins and the like. But unnecessarily something is healthy, if it is not appealing and tasty to the eyes, then I will not long. I’d rather have that unhealthy hamburger.

          Many converts testify that they have long known Catholic teaching, yet their lives have not changed. The change occurred only when their hearts were captivated by beauty, or they tried true good. Therefore, if we want to grow spiritually, we need to work on these two powers. Let us notice as in spite of a busy world where we often need things to work, and we are not at all interested in whether they are morally good or beautiful, yet we long for good and beauty. Fashion, visage, design, window view, how these things are important to us and decide whether to buy something. This is exactly how advertising works. We see a beautiful strawberry on the packaging, and right away you know that we are buying something healthy and putting it naturally in the basket. Although we read on the packaging that the proportion of fruit juice is 3 percent, this information does not outweigh the perception of beauty and goodness evoked by the packaging.

          In the past catechisms, I tried to convey to you the amazing knowledge that I had gained in one course: In Acts 12:24 – God’s Word grew and multiplied, the same words were used as in Genesis 1.28 Be fruitful and multiply. When I heard this truth, I was immensely addressed and amazed. Then I thought it would be a good topic for catechisms. So, I tried to pass it on. But after reading the text, I was disappointed because it did not speak to me, and I immediately remembered that some may react – well, what does the author mean? Right here at this point is different. There I perceived the truth with my heart, the thought brought me to astonishment, I stopped and let the truth influence itself. When I re-read the catechisms, I quickly went through the words in a row to see if I made myself clear and in time

Introductory story…

Jules Verne in his book The Mysterious Island describes the shipwreck of a group of five Air oplaves, flying the balloon over the Pacific, amid a storm on an unknown coastline. Four will be saved, but one of them, the engineer Cyrus Smith, is missing. After a long search and quest it will eventually find a few days lying in a kind of hole in the middle of the rocks. At first it seems to be dead – but eventually, furious and cured, yet only takes over… :

“— My lord! My Lord! — Convene Nab.

The engineer heard him. He met Naba and Spiletta, then the other two, Harberta and the seaman and the faint of his hand.

In turn, he made her mouth a few words, which he wanted to say before and which he had said, what thoughts he was going to mind. This time, his words were already intelligible.

— Island or mainland? Whispered.

Oh! — exclaimed Pencroff. — What about us after that, just when you live, Mr. Smith! Island or mainland? We’ll see it later.

The engineer weakly nodded and then shut his eyes again. But it was no longer unconscious, but sleep. NAB, Harbert and Pencroff came out of the cave and headed to the high dunes, which grew a few curved trees. The sailor was not able to sustain and more of a few times he repeated:

— Island or Mainland! Think of such a thing when you barely wave to breathe! This is a guy!

On the second day, 28. March, when the engineer finally woke up around the eighth hour, also as yesterday his first words were:

— Island or land?

As you see, he, in his head, wandered the idea.

— We do not know anything yet, Mr. Smith! — has replied to Pencroff.

You Don’t know?

— But we know, — the Pencroff, — if we examine this country under your direction.

— I think we can start now, — he replied the engineer and stood up. Others looked for him silent. Cyrus Smith crossed his hands and said:

— Then, friends, you still don’t know if the fate threw us to the mainland and whether the island?

— No, Mr. Cyrus, — he replied the boy.

— We learn this tomorrow, — the engineer continued. — Nothing can be done. “

<Why this question? And why can’t I do anything without her responsibility? >

The answer is simple: The answer to this question is to decide on everything that will shipwrecked a business:

• If it is a MAINLAND, prepare to March and try to get to some people and into civilization.

• If it is island, then:

  • If it is NEAR the mainland, they begin to build a ship.

  • If there is a FAR mainland, start building at home and prepare for a long stay, maybe forever…

So without answering the Smith’s questions, you really can’t basically “do anything”!

<The Most crucial issue in our lives>

Basically, we are in a similar situation as Verne shipwrecked:

• We just one day found themselves (= born) in this our world: The Nation, the planet, the universe…

• … Left for themselves,…

• … To do with your life, which is known to be the most suitable.

How will we sound our most BASIC and MOST CRUCIAL QUESTION, which we should ask now at the very beginning and  from which to unfold everything else and depend on everything else in our lives  – and which, conversely, is the FIRST ONE AND DOES NOT depend on something else before it?[1]

• <Divide into groups of “firefighters”, “sailors”, “motorcyclists” and “ambulations”! Try to find THIS FIRST questions in each group within five minutes, which is no longer in front of you and from which everything else is unfolds! Of Course,  with reasons why they    think that the most important thing is this question!

• After five minutes together, we compare all your answers and find out who answered the closest reality!

• Option: You can do this even in a discussion with the whole class, or as a competition of two groups,  each trying to ask a question that would preceded the question of their opponents… >

Destination:

To find out that our “first question” is very similar to the question of Cyrus Smitha  – actually its analogy: “The island, or the mainland?” In other words:

“Is this – the universe, Earth, Mass, this life,… – ALL, or is there anything BEYOND ITS BORDERS?”

We are “ISLAND” and in addition to us nothing exists – or are we part of the infinite larger “MAINLAND” and our world is just a run of this excess reality?

The answer to this question will determine everything:

• If there is nothing “behind” this world, then  “We build a house”: We  settle here, and  we will be focused exclusively on it, and we will seek our happiness exclusively in its borders.

• IF THERE IS Something “beyond” the borders of the world, then we need to ask a complementary QUESTION:  is THIS world  “Beyond THE borders”  worth? What is offered to us?

  • If it is worth,  “We build the ship”:  We are going for this, and we do not care what because of this “on the island” we leave the world…

  • If it is not worth it,  then it is only and yet you  “Build a House”… and the nonsense “behind the world” is never more worrying.

But in any case, our entire value system, our entire endeavor, life goals, all will unfold from this key question and  answer!

So, shortly and in the following:  IS THERE a god? Life after death? In EXCESS of the spiritual  World in which the latter is “immersed”?

• <Is there? >

• Why do you think so? Or that not?

  • Do you have something to support your claim?

DESTINATION  Discussions:

Be aware that this is a serious thing, rather than to be checked by the words “not interested in me” or “to teach me the parents” or “because it says Mr. Parish” and the like.

On this issue, we must be CONFIDENT – because regardless of the answer we give (there is a worth; There is and not worth it; There is no), we will build your entire life and your destiny in this response – and it is quite likely that we or we will lose everything or all of them!

Are there any objective facts…

… Which we could substantiate and substantiate the existence of God?

<Search together! >

Conclusion:

“Religion has really convinced people that there up behind the cloud lives an invisible man who tracks everything you do, every minute of each day. And that invisible Man has a special list of ten things that he doesn’t want you to do. If one of those ten things you do, the invisible has a special place, full of fire and smoke, and torture and muse, where you will send live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry for eternal ages by the end of time. “

(George Carlin,  comedian, actor, writer)

But… Really?

In the following hours we will  answer three key questions:

• Is God likely? Is the assumption of the existence of God – the Creator in accordance with the requirement of logic and rationality?

• Are there any objective, tangible manifestations of God?

• Is there a specific, common experience of God in humanity?

On their basis, we can then arrive at one of two possible conclusions:

• OR confidently conclude that God exists

• OR concludes that there are no compelling evidence that God would actually exist…

[1] For every question that the pupils lay, try it out again and ask again: “WHAT is the ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION?” – until we gradually work towards the final “sequence” of the type: Happiness – Depends on the options I have – these depend on the “menu” – and it depends on what “set of things” I can choose… – and what determines the boundaries of this set?

The art of marvel

Our last catechesis ended with a seemingly simple advice, where I pointed out two basic characteristics of God – beauty and goodness and invited you to discover them. Because beauty and good can motivate a person. It is as simple as that and there may be difficulties and objections as it is impossible. Each of us would be able to name them a lot – but I long to have a beautifully tidy apartment, but when the children arrive … I would put flowers there, but … sit back and watch the sunset … Great idea! But when do you find the time? To go somewhere, relax, but the way home – constipation, nervous tiredness … I try to be good on people, I do it for a while, but then I don’t know what happens and … I want people to be on my behave to encourage, but often I am rather to offense … Yes, they are all objective obstacles that prevent us from experiencing something beautiful and good.

            But it is not surprising. It is these obstacles that prove that God can be found in beauty and truth. For the enemy of our salvation wants to do everything to make our way to God more difficult.

            But how to deal with these difficulties? Be disgusted? After a flash of hope, we are experiencing another failure … Let’s look at how the saints dealt with this situation. In his book Internal Freedom, Jacques Philippe describes his experience of visiting Carmel in Lisieux. He writes how, with emotion and joy, he recognized the places where St. Theresa lived. The infirmary, clause, laundry, garden, every place he knew from Terezin’s memories, which he mentioned in the Story of One Soul. But he was surprised by one thing. Those spaces were much smaller than he had imagined. He says: “This insignificant fact – the cramp of the space where the saint lived – made me think deeply. I realized that St. Theresa lived in a world that was very cramped from a human point of view: a small provincial Carmel with banal architecture, a minimal garden, a small community of religious women whose education, education and manners were often inadequate; And there was such a short life in that monastery: ten years! Yet this paradox stopped me when we read Teresa’s writings, and we have no impression that her life would take place in a cramped world, on the contrary. ”

            We know the familiar comparison. When we look at a glass that is half filled with water, we can say that the glass is half empty or that it is half full. We can start from the ideal as it should be and be angry that it is not, or start from reality and enjoy every moment that is better, more beautiful than the previous.

            Our expectations are very dangerous. That is, they are waiting for external change – circumstances, people have to change and will be well. We wait for the working hours to end, when they finally finish the highway, when they grow up children, when I find someone, when my husband / wife realizes that the behavior is getting on my nerves … We expect happiness from changed circumstances. But this is not how happiness can be found. It’s just a journey to despair or escape. Now I can hold it somehow, and then, on that holiday, over the weekend, on the ghosts … But the holiday is not as expected, children get sick over the weekend, on ghosts someone still chews in the hallway through the door …

            Thus, neither beauty nor goodness is sought in ideal, but in everyday reality. Sometimes you just stop and start to notice the little things around you. A person with open eyes who can stop and calm down can marvel. How does a hand actually work? Look at the person who controls the typescript, who plays the piano, who knows some skill. How does speech work? Tongue and mouth slightly change the flow of air in the mouth and it makes an infinite number of words, tongues … Someone smiles at me, notices me, prefers, speaks …

            In this respect, we have a lot to learn from children. They let the story interact. They repeatedly listen to the same thing and still find it charming to them because they become part of the storyline. This is the basis of meditation. Let yourself be drawn into the story, be addressed and remain in awe. We need to free ourselves from our excessive rationalism (thinking about whether it is normal, what they think of me, etc.) and functionalism (looking only at how things work or why they are good). Let us again listen to the words of Jacques Philipp: “Teresa lives with a wide horizon, in the horizon of the infinite mercy of God and in a boundless desire to love. She feels like a queen with the whole world at her feet, for she can achieve everything from God and through love she can go to all corners of the world where the missionary needs her prayer and sacrifices. ”

What has been killing me lately?

 We have pointed out that beauty and goodness are the essential qualities of God, and therefore it is in what is beautiful and good that we can discover God. But is it possible to build an encounter with God on something as subjective as beauty and goodness? After all, everyone likes something different and everyone considers something different to be good. Yes, it is true that in the perception of beauty and goodness there is a lot of subjective and it may not be something bad right away. But it is necessary to realize that beautiful is not necessarily what will charm me and good is not necessarily what is pleasant. If we are not clear on this, we can easily be fooled and go for something that is just an appearance.

            Here’s an example. We know five languages ​​of love. Each of us is sensitive to a different language of love. Someone is happy if love is expressed in words of appreciation, assurance. Another response to attention, to time spent together. He needs nothing but the other to be with him and listen to him. Another is sensitive to gifts, they show him that the other person thought of him even if they weren’t together. Then there are those who feel loved by physical contact. Touches speak louder than words. And finally, they are the ones who are attentive to the little deeds of service – I open the door, take the trash, cook my favorite food. I will do something that deviates from the normal framework. Here each of us is unique, and if we want to express love, it is important to express it in the language spoken by the other. It is not enough that I like to sit at home and listen if the other person speaks the language of service. Then you need to get up and do something. Similarly, it is not enough to constantly work around the house and beautify it when the other yearns for hearing, attention, time spent together.

            The other’s language is entirely subjective. But each of these languages ​​is true in itself and therefore good and beautiful. Evil slips when language ceases to be an expression of reality. I speak the language, but not out of love. I call it because I want to manipulate. I know what language the person is sensitive to, so I tell him to get what I want. Here we can no longer speak of love, this is a self-love. And here is one of the most difficult tasks of our lives. Learning to distinguish between I love YOU and I love SA. There is only one letter difference. So it looks very similar and therefore it is not easy to distinguish between them. Therefore, beauty and goodness must always be confronted with truth.

            This confrontation helps to distinguish in many situations. We know God’s law. Theoretically we can define what is and what is not a serious sin. But everyday life brings many difficult situations where it is not easy to distinguish what is right. There are situations where it is not possible to live an ideal. What then? This criterion is very helpful here. Trying to be true. Not to try to keep the external law at all costs, but to admit – I can’t do it. It scares us – but it’s a sin! But what’s better for a parent? If a child comes and admits truthfully that he does not know something, does not manage, has gone wrong, or is he trying hard, worrying and then covering up? When a parent sees that their child has a problem with something, he asks, “What’s wrong with you? What annoys you? ”What is the most painful answer? “Nothing, everything is fine …” A parent wants to help, facilitate, listen, understand, but cannot, because he has nothing to do. The truth is denied – I’m fine. This is the Pharisee, into which we fall, if only mechanically, outwardly executing orders, because it must be so. This situation puts us further away from God than the sin we commit from weakness. There we are at least true and accept the truth about ourselves – I am weak. Then God can help us. There is hope for change and therefore the situation is better.

            Similarly, compliance with the truth can also help in distinguishing in dilemmas what to do. The bad is trying to get us into a split. Sometimes, as the only solution, he presents a compromise with some sin. Crisis in marriage: husbands stay together for children, but otherwise there is an emotional cold. Over time, one or both sites will become acquainted and start living with them. They both take it as a getaway from a reality that is devastating and unable to live it. They don’t want to get divorced because they don’t want to hurt children, they don’t get along, they just get hurt, and they both long for acceptance, understanding. The new relationship is not necessarily about pleasure. He is about finding what they do not get at home. And this is how they can work for years. And they don’t know what’s better to move. They sit on two chairs, no decision because both seem heavy. The solution is to accept the truth – our relationship has disintegrated and I do not have the power to change it or accept the truth, this solution to the crisis is wrong and that is why I am fighting. Both solutions are better than living in two incompatible worlds. Unfortunately, there are priests who work that way. They love their priesthood, they want to serve, they do not want to leave ministry, to disappoint believers, but on the other hand, they have become entangled in a relationship with which they cannot end. What now?

Seize the opportunities of everyday life

 Many believers had one heart and one soul. And none of them said that some of what he had was his, but they had everything in common. 33And the great testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was with great force, and there was great grace upon them all, 34 for there was no need among them; to everyone according to who needed it.

(Acts 4, 32-35)

We have a passage in front of us that can scare us. We see the ideal. This ideal is often used as an argument – you have moved away from the origin. You’re not faithful.

We have many such ideals – what a man, a woman, a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, a priest and the like should be. Often such ideals are presented to us, or we present them to ourselves or to others. There can be no problem if the ideal is perceived as a long journey destination, and partial goals are presented to motivate us to take the next step. However, the situation becomes much more complicated if the goal starts to be based. This is how it should be, so let’s sell our property and let’s share ownership. And here the problems just start – he just gave so much why me more, I have already left and why I still have to retreat again, I try and the other crap …

This is exactly what happens when we go in the opposite direction, starting from the goal. One gets to the end – as it should be – and then tries to complete the path. Then there is a kind of social engineering, or rather, religious engineering. I know what my life should look like, so I try to build everything to make it happen. But it is the way to frustration, disappointment, hopelessness, disgust.

I invite you now to see what the first community has done.

The description of the “ideal” community is at the end of the narrative that begins in Acts 3. There we read: 1 Peter and John went to the temple at 3 pm for the afternoon prayer. They did not do anything strange and did not plan anything strange. They just went to pray, as they always did. But at the entrance to the temple they meet a lame who was brought there every day. The lame expects money from them. Peter responds to his expectations: “Look at us!” 5 He looked at them and waited to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I have, I will give it to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and go!” Peter does not give what is expected of him, he gives something much more. We may say that I do not know how to heal, but that is not an excuse, I still own many things for which the world is poor.

This healing will arouse interest, and the apostles will seize the opportunity again. They see the possibility of reporting, so they use it: “Men, Israelites, what do you wonder and why do you look at us as if we were our own power or religion to make this walk? It pays to think about the structure of speech that Peter has. It is cerygmatic catechesis, centered on Christ, he refers to the problem, but also gives a solution, and above all gives hope.15 You killed the originator of life, but God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses of it. 19 Then repent, and turn away your sins, and in his speech, Peter points out how the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in Christ, and it is worth reading the whole chapter.

Of course, the event will draw the attention of the priests: 1 While they spoke to the people, their priests, the commander of the temple guard, and the Sadducee’s 2 were invaded and enraged that they were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection in Jesus. 3 And they laid their hands on them, and put them in prison by morning, for it was evening. 4 But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of men increased to five thousand. Interestingly, just in time of persecution they reproduce.

The next day Peter has another opportunity to report. He speaks quite confidently. For the first time, the apostles have the opportunity to experience that what Jesus promised them really works: “Remember, therefore, that you will not think in advance how to defend yourself, for I will give you eloquence and wisdom that all your adversaries cannot resist or contradict” ( Luke 21: 14-15). Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, says in his defense: “Leaders of the people and elders! 9 If you are investigating us today for a good deed done on a sick man, as he has healed, 10 let you know to all and all the people of Israel Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, but God raised him from the dead, this man stands before you in good health 11 He is the stone that you, the builders, rejected, and he became the cornerstone 12 And in no one else is salvation because there is no other name under heaven given to the people in which we should be saved. “