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And God created man. In his image, he created him. God’s image is found in man. And that is something extraordinary. We read that at the end of creation on the sixth day, God created man. It is interesting that in the creation of man, God goes into the plural. So not I will make man, but let us make the man. Some already see a hint of the holy trinity there. Why does God do all this? You know, love has the quality of wanting to give it away. The benevolent God in three persons wants to spread the love further. And he wants to extend it to other beings. That’s why he created angels and man, to whom he gave the ability to give something of himself. In our image. With what? It is the reason, free will, and the ability to love. What is man? Man has a body, a soul, and a spirit. We generally say that man is a material-spiritual being. We, humans, have all been in the mind of God for eternity. This is a very positive thing for us because God wanted us to be. When do we become most like God? When we use our reason for something good, our will, and our love. That’s when we work on the image of God in us. What is certain is that the harmony that the first humans had was destroyed by the Evil One. He gave people a new vision. As if to say to them. God didn’t mean you so well. You can still have better. You can be gods. It was a temptation. We will decide what is good and bad. What is right and wrong? And that challenge is also in today’s world. The first humans lost their inner balance. And because we come from those people, we inherited that, and we are broken, and we produce chaos. Jesus comes to bring that harmony back to us. He has also given us the instructions to do so. Jesus came to recreate the image of the child of God in us. Because of Jesus, we are made for a new heaven and a new earth. Adam and Eve wanted to be like God. In their way, pride. And on Easter, God fulfilled that desire for us. Well, if you want to be like God, I’ll give you that gift. But not through pride, but through humility, by accepting this gift from the Lord Jesus, by obeying his word. And you will become adoptive children of God. Something wonderful. Something to look forward to, because thanks to Jesus we will live in heaven. He will adore us. So he makes us able to live in heaven. And we will yet inherit. What? Money. No, but glory, power, strength, and wisdom. A new experience of reality. That’s why the soul is worth so much. The beginning of it all is in baptism. In baptism, we receive divine life. The soul is immortal. Once, to Catherine of Sienna, the Lord revealed a beautiful being. When Catherine saw it, she thought it was God, and she threw herself on her knees and wanted to worship this being. And the Lord Jesus said to her. Catherine, what are you doing? Well, such beauty is here, It’s not God, And what is it? It’s a pure, beautiful soul. This is what she looks like. For such a soul, I have sacrificed my life. Catherine was ready to give her life for a soul. The great truth is that man knows his greatness and splendor only when he knows Jesus Christ, for only then does he know his destination. He gives us the purpose of our life. He shows us how we are to develop. Where we are to get to. Hence, through Jesus, we get to God, and He gives us eternal life. The world may give us many gifts, but they are fleeting. Sooner or later they will be lost. That is why the Church challenges us. Do not seek what is fleeting, but what is eternal.

What is the most powerful driving force in the life of a person today?” 98% of those questioned answered that it is fear. 
Jesus says: “Be careful what you listen to” (Mk 4:24)!

The New Testament encourages everyone not to be afraid. Zacharias, who is making a sacrifice in the temple, is addressed by an angel: “Do not be afraid” (Lk 1:13). The Virgin Mary behaved differently from Zacharias when the angel announced to her that she would be the mother of the Son of God. The angel also said to her:” Do not be afraid, Mary” (Luke 1:30)! When an angel announces to Joseph in a dream that the child conceived by his fiancée is the Son of God, the angel reminds: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid!” (Mt 1:20). And did not the angels say to the shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem: “Do not be afraid “ (Luke 2:10)!?

Fear is in a person’s blood from birth to death, as a result of original sin. Which is all a motive of fear. Why is there so much fear in our life when we believe in God? How many words express this state of ours: fear, timidity, apprehension, horror, alarm, dread, panic, terror, uncertainty, restlessness, threat, dismay, trembling, shaking, and how many other names are there for the state of mind and body when we approach the wrong to your God.

“Do not be afraid!”, these words of Christ should be realized by all of us who have believed in Christ. We must not be intimidated so quickly, because fear makes our life unpleasant and difficult. It destroys and makes slaves of us – fear, when we rely on it, what people think about us, what they say about us, write about us, how they treat us. We must not be ashamed of our Christianity. When we faithfully stand by Christ, He will take care of us. To be faithful to Christ even in difficulties, and unpleasant things, confessing Christ even to those who do not have the best relationship with God, faith, the Church, Christianity, or the Pope, quickly brings peace, joy, satisfaction…

It is beautiful, useful, and right for us to put God first. What does God ask of us? When we make God happy with our behavior. Our faithfulness to God’s word is the guarantee of our eternity. We must not hide our Christianity from someone, that someone has power, position, education, etc., and does not believe in God. Is it right for someone to say, and possibly even live by it, that he is a Christian in his soul, but on the outside, in his behavior, he behaves in such a way that he does not show it? Many are satisfied with the fact that it is enough to live their faith in private, in the church, but no longer where we fulfill our duties. Whoever behaves in such a way that he hides his God in private, does not have his God in his heart, he is not a true witness of Christ. A true Christian does not have two faces, two hearts, and two tongues and does not live two lives, public and private, but has one God, one Truth and that is Jesus Christ.

Christ’s words are also binding today: “Everyone who confesses me before men, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.” But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 10:32-33). Do these words need comment? No.

The event of the conversion of Saul to Paul is known to us. Saul, an ardent Pharisee, persecutes Christians not out of cruelty, but out of ignorance and blindness. Then it is a common case that repeats itself at every age. Great Teacher, Jesus Christ, it is also common for you to tear down those Sauls, in various events you throw them off their saddles and call out with a thousand mouths: «Saul, Mary, George… why are you persecuting me?» While Saul of Tarsus, thrown from his saddle and blinded by a strange experience, manages to answer the question: «Lord, what do you ask?» – today’s Saul starts searching like detectives: Who caused it? Who cared? – They act accordingly. If they discover a higher “unknown” power behind the scenes, they can turn themselves and their surroundings into a complete storm. If they had power, which they don’t have, they would scatter the clouds. But let’s be honest and admit to ourselves: God’s love will take care of the blinded Saul’s, and God’s justice for the wicked. Let’s not point fingers that Saul is such and such an atheist brother, sister, boss, and neighbor… 

In meditative silence, let’s confess and answer the questions: Am I not Saul too, we, the baptized souls, the chosen souls, and I, the priest? Let’s fervently ask the Holy Spirit for gentle hearing and listening! Parents have been saying loudly for a long time: «Son, daughter, why do you persecute us with such a life? We, parents, have not slept for you for a long time… Get up from the earth, mud, and humiliation of sinful society! Cling to Christ, start it differently…” The husband repeats to his wife and vice versa in countless questions: “Why do you persecute me with infidelity? Get up and come, we’ll start it differently…» Friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor, co-worker to co-worker repeats: «Why are you persecuting me…?» The sister reproaches the sister: «Why are you persecuting me? Why do you harbor that tyrannical way of capriciousness… of resentment… of selfishness…?!” 

And who are you, XY, to reproach me like this? What right do you have to say that? If we end with just this question, we will continue to be what we were – Sabers! We will continue to persecute our near and far surroundings, and we will intensify the persecution. Unfortunately, only the last, and a very small group, also follows Saul of Tarsus with this question: «Lord, what do you want me to do? » This issue requires a true conversion, a turning to the Truth, which we mistakenly sought in the persecution of others. If we have the strength to ask Christ like this in the depths of our soul, He Himself will answer us: – I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life! (John 14:6). – The truth will set you free! (John 8:32). 

Go, show yourself to my representatives; you, maiden, youth, to your parents; you, priest, to your bishop; thou consecrated soul to thy superiors; you, Christian, to your confessor! Go and they will tell you what to do. If we have the strength to honestly question our conscience, to simply and openly ask Christ face to face what we must do to change our lives, the grace of God will complete the work of perfect conversion in us. Then: – frivolous maidens and young men will develop into the Roman Priskas, Agnes, Alojz, and the martyr-strong Pavlov Miki and Sebastián; – from frivolous married couples, parents become pillars of society, a guarantee of a healthy future; – from the tepid consecrated souls, the continuation of the Carmelite saints, the paraylemonial Margaret’s, the modern Ledochowskis, Demjanovičs, and the university-educated Edit Steins; – from average priests to new parish priests from Ar’s… 

Beloved Jesus, I am sure that the greatness of the apostle to the nations began here! Here, in this question: «Lord, what do you ask me to do? » We are afraid to ask because then we would have to continue in the Pavlovian line. She was required: – To carry the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus would be evident in our bodies. – To remain alive, but still to put ourselves to death for Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal body. This is what Paul writes about himself in the Second Letter to the Corinthians. It did not break the converted Saul. Love for Jesus began to motivate him more powerfully than hatred before. Optimistically, he continues in the same letter: – I am not weakening. Even as our inner man is destroyed, our inner man is renewed day by day. After all, the present temporary and light burden of tribulation will gain us an exceedingly great eternal glory above all (2 Corinthians 4:16-17). 

We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ, our Lord; however, we consider ourselves your servants (2 Cor 4,5). Lord Jesus, there is little or no malice in me. But there is a lot of fear in me that keeps me from calling out to Saul: «Lord, what do you want me to do? » Do not look at this weakness. Call, scream, stir up my insides: «I am Jesus, whom you have persecuted so far – she persecuted. Well, it will be difficult for you to kick against the thorn!» Beloved Jesus, take possession of me! I give you freedom against my freedom. I give you – if I may be honest – I give you a pleading command: «Seize me! Don’t look at the moans and groans! One day the scales will fall from my blinded eyes and I will see that in this and that event, humiliated, when you knocked me off the saddle of soaring pride, you stood – Jesus, Friend, Love, Mercy, Truth!» 

The decision» I will ask the Blessed Christ where to start my own conversion. By which faults do I persecute my fellow man? I’ll start from there

Lord Jesus leaves his mother standing outside and instead of going to her, he says to those present: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He looked around at those sitting around him and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers. For whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother” (Mk 3:33-35).

We know that blood ties play an important role in society. Jesus distances himself from his blood relatives…(?) Really? Not! With his attitude, Jesus wants to say that a different time of community is coming, where blood and family ties lose their value. And in this new family, new principles apply, and he declares them right away: “For whoever does God’s will is my brother and my sister and mother” (Mk 3:35). That is: whoever accepts God’s word and fulfills it.

We know about the Virgin Mary that she not only knew this word of God but also fulfilled it; thus, she continues to be the mother of Jesus. With these words, the Lord Jesus did not take anything away from the greatness of his mother, on the contrary, he gives us her as a model, after all, he takes her body and soul to heaven. These words teach us that when we do the will of God, we will all become his brothers and sisters, and we will be able to call the heavenly Father truly “Our Father”.

But this is such a serious matter that even in the prayer that Jesus taught us, he includes one of the seven requests that we should remind ourselves of daily during prayer: Not our will, my will is to be done in my life, but: Your will be done, Sir What does it mean? We must realize that the strength of our connection with God, our closeness to God, that is, our kinship with God, depends on how we fulfill his holy will.

And what is the will of God?
This is all that God has revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures, which the Church has the authority to interpret and explain to us, so we can say that God’s will is for us to fulfill God’s and the Church’s commandments. Therefore, if we fulfill and keep them, we fulfill the will of God. On the other hand, let’s remember that if we transgress them, whether they are God’s or church commandments, we rebel against God and the Church. Let’s realize that our salvation also depends on how we fulfill these commandments. Therefore, it is necessary to stop often and think about how we fulfill the will of God.

The Church also invites us to think more regularly, not only before the Sacrament of Reconciliation but every day, at least for a few seconds, about this fulfillment of God’s will. We call it: the examination of conscience. Practice will guide us so that we can leave that short meeting with a concrete conviction for the next day that can enrich our lives. 

Have you seen a person with an inverted cross around his neck? Maybe you saw a little black person in the form of a cross on someone’s neck, or an isosceles cross in a circle. Have you seen the number 666 or 777 spray-painted anywhere? If so, what did you think of it? To the Devil, Satan, Beelzebub? If so, you weren’t wrong.

Today, it is not a problem to borrow a CD with Satanism content. There are musical groups that make no secret of the fact that they glorify the devil, invoke Satan, and worship the powers of evil. The cult of Satan has brazenly invaded the music scene. On one of the records is written: “And you, poor fool, who holds this record in your hands, know that you have sold your soul with it because it will quickly be captivated by the infernal rhythm and diabolical power of this music” (Hope and Risks of Sects and New of religious movements).

The boy tells the catechist that he is a Satanist. When she asks him what it is, he can only say that he hates God and must do at least one evil deed every day. We should not laugh at the word devil, devil, and similar names. These are not fairy creatures. The devil is real. Even today, the devil has his slaves, and servants. Jesus is suspected in today’s Gospel: “He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the power of the prince of evil spirits he casts out evil spirits” (Mk 3:22).

The Gospel tells about the heavy collision of the Lord Jesus with his real opponents. These are turning his calcific teaching into the exact opposite. Their reproach is focused on the fact that Jesus is with the devil, that he is possessed and works from the devil’s power. The reproach of the enemies against Jesus could not have been more terrible and terrible. Jesus came into contact with the tempter several times. When he was preparing for the performance, the devil tempted him in the desert (cf. Mt 4:1-11). When the Lord Jesus tells the parable about the tares, he says: “The tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sowed it is the devil” (Mt 13:38-39). And other places. In the parable of the house of the “strong man,” the answer is expressed in an understandable form. The power of Jesus is manifested by doing good and not evil. The power of Jesus is visible,e, especially in healing the possessed. Thus, Jesus proves that his power is disproportionately greater, like the power of Beelzebub, the lord of all evil spirits. It is unthinkable that Satan himself would invade his kingdom as a ravager. Jesus’ logic is convincing. Our times are truly mistaken. 

Apostle St. Peter teaches us: “Be sober and watch! Your adversary, the devil, goes around…” (1 Pt 5:8)

The Holy Spirit is God and God is invisible. So how can I know that someone is “spiritual” in the true sense of the word meaning? Although God is invisible, nevertheless we certainly know it is. We know it from the signs of its scope. The same applies to the presence of the Holy Spirit in man. And here there are certain signs from which it can be concluded that someone is spiritual. Which ones are the most impressive?
They asked about the spiritual value of people in the first Christian times, especially the so-called agnostics. These sectarians divided people into three groups: materialistic people, people with mental interests, and finally those who are spiritual. The latter is recognized by the fact that they are adults to gnosis, i.e. to higher knowledge of divine things. He does what others have no idea about.
St. wrote against the Gnostic’s. Irenaeus of Lyons. did you notice that they are primarily committing a double mistake here? We must not divide people into groups so that some are fundamentally and permanently higher than others. Christ promised his Spirit to all Christians, so everyone can be spiritual. They cannot reach any higher knowledge of the secrets of the world. However, this is not true spirituality. Undeceive the sign of God’s Spirit in man is, on the contrary, love: According to this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another (Jn 13, 35).
With the tongues of men and angels, and I would not have love, I would be like tinkling metal and a tinkling cymbal (1 Cor 13, 1).
It is a simple answer, quite true, according to the Gospel. However, it does not solve all of their doubts. How do we know someone has true love? After all, love is God (1 Jn 4, 8) and God is a mystery. So let’s push the basic question a little further: How does it manifest itself when someone has true love?
Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15, 13). In the spirit of these words the Church from the very beginning, it considered it infallible a sign of holiness, and martyrdom for Christ. A row of worshipers and saints is thus opened by martyrs. The fact that they endured the torture, and were able to lay down their lives “in weakness”, is clear proof of the power of the Spirit that strengthened them. However, it is not given to all to confirm their blood union with God. That’s why St. Irenaeus (who himself died as a martyr) points out that other believers can also bear witness to God’s love and the Holy Spirit “through faith and an intact life”. Theologians still claim today that without God’s grace, no one can fully preserve the laws of morality.
If one lives by faith and keeps the commandments, he is it is a sign that God is with him. He who has my commandments and keeps them loves me (Jn 14, 21). The expression of a spiritual person/is therefore pure faith, a good life, virtues, and intact morals. What then to judge about other, extraordinary signs of grace? We read about miracles in the lives of the saints. It is interesting that they hid them and did not consider them to be manifestations of personal holiness. Miraculous hearing rather confirms belief in the power of prayer and trust in God. Spiritual life, however, bears witness to the personal value of the one who can pray with such confidence. When it comes to visions, apparitions, ecstasies, etc., it happens.

The Church has long held back its judgment. There is a great danger of lies and diseases. In addition, St. Jan Klimak doubts the usefulness of some revelations. Someone said to him: «Blessed are the eyes that saw an angel!»  Who answered: « Far more blessed is he who sees his  sin !» However, this does not mean that apparitions and visions are not also true. They mostly have a special mission. It is impossible but infallibly conclude that they would only be obtained by those who are more spiritually advanced than others.

The Gnostic is considered perfect, the one who has special knowledge. The Monetarists sought those who could “prophesy”, and reveal hidden things. Also rating of the spiritual life, however, leads to eccentricity and astray. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit gives Christians a kind of strange, penetrating knowledge. They are starting to get refined a sense of what is good and what is bad, even a special feeling for others if they are good or if they are on a bad path. Saints can often «read the heart». Even for ordinary Christians, we estimate their progress in spiritual life according to correctness and clarity of conscience, sensitivity to good. After all, piety is according to St. Thomas Aquinas «emergency room to all the best». We cannot see God, says St. Gregory the Great. But we see his work. The same applies to the Holy Spirit in the heart of man. «If we see miraculous deeds, we are certain that God resides in the minds of the people who do them.»