People’s Views at Advent.

Posted on 4. December 2024 by Peter Prochac

 

It just doesn't happen. It requires a decision and specific steps (survey)
Collage: Attitude

The Advent period, which is supposed to be a time of silence and preparation for the Christmas holidays, also brings a number of reasons every year that drive us to haste. 

At home you have to clean, bake, prepare Santa Claus packages and buy presents, schools are preparing parties or Christmas concerts, at work end-of-year projects are being concluded and Christmas parties are being organized, priests are busy with pre-Christmas confessions. 

In addition, the ubiquitous noise and advertisements. It seems that the effort to survive Advent in peace requires both a conscious decision and targeted steps.

 

We asked celebrities how they survive this period and what helps them not to get carried away by the whirlwind of responsibilities. 

 

Matej Sabo, head of the Eben Ezer Community and member of the Father’s Heart leadership team for Slovakia

 

Matej Sabo. Photo: private archive .

For our family, which also includes four schoolchildren and one teacher, Advent, or filipovka, an exceptional period of challenging struggle to calm down and prepare one’s heart for the holidays of the Nativity of God. The aforementioned gatherings, pre-Christmas concerts, end-of-year duties, etc. certainly play a role in this. 

These external circumstances, including the hectic atmosphere in shopping malls and stores, seem to push completely against what we all want to happen inside us. “Guard your heart very much…” (Proverbs 4:23) and “…enter your room, close the door behind you and pray to your Father…” (Mt 6:6 ) are highly topical invitations. Do I keep the inner peace in my heart or do I allow the whirlwind of external hectic to sweep me away? 

Personally, I already have enough experience with both scenarios and dare to say that if I don’t want to be a victim of circumstances, I need to plan how to guard my heart, make a decision and act according to this plan. In recent years, the advent digital sabbath has helped me a lot in guarding my own heart and quieting down, despite the external chaos. 

In short, it means turning off all screens, especially pocket ones. With the only exception – the work screen during working hours at the workplace. I also combine it with the decision to read something meaningful for the given period (this year, for example, we are reading the book by John Mark Comer in the community, Neuprosné ni zhonu), or some form of dietary discipline (Daniel’s fast, intermittent fasting…). 

If possible, it is ideal to enter these things together with a few people with whom we can constantly encourage each other. Whether it will be in the family (adolescent children already know how to face such a challenge), or in the community. The fruits of inner peace and joyful anticipation of Christ’s coming are certainly worth it.

Rafaela Zvrškovcová, provincial superior of the school sisters of St. Francis

Rafaela Zvrškovcová. Photo: private archive.

I look forward to Advent every year. In recent years, I have often associated with him the content of the song by ESPÉ Darkness falls , when the king with light comes to us. And this is what Advent is about for me – the more it is dark outside during this period, the more God draws closer to us through his Son with his light. 

I don’t want Advent to be just a period of strong resolutions for me, which many times I conclude at the end that it didn’t work out so well. I want to experience it as a gracious time when I can open my heart even more to God, so that he can touch it with his love, bring peace to it and illuminate what is still in the dark and hidden even from me. 

And this can be done even in the midst of ordinary duties, but especially in moments of silence and solitude, whether in the chapel, in my room, or outside on a walk, where I let the Virgin Mary accompany me while praying the rosary, because she knows best how to open the door to Jesus, after all, she did it with her fiat . So it’s all a matter of priorities. Certainly, also gifts, cleaning, work duties, which tend to be quite a lot at the end of the year, all this is important. But if I put God, who leans toward me, first, and subordinate everything else to that, then it only gets as much time as it needs.

I am begging myself and every person of good will to be able to bow before God, who did not hesitate to humble himself and become one of us. So that when we look into the childish eyes of little Jesus at Christmas, we enter into his light and embrace the fullness of love and peace. After all, each of us and our hurting world needs these gifts so much.


Andrea Mikolášiková, organizer of the Women’s Catholic Conference from the Between Heaven and Woman project

Andrea Mikolášiková. Photo:

Advent is a very special time for my husband and I, and we try to make it special for our family as well. While in some areas of life we ​​like to experiment, in others we like tradition. Celebrating Advent is one of those where we love tradition. For more than ten years, has been a supporting part of our advent .

Over the years, we make small changes – whether we have a real tree from the beginning of December or just branches in a vase, whether the children color the individual symbols or we have them handmade, the core remains the same. Every evening, as a family, we try to meet for at least a short time over God’s word and follow through a simple catechesis the history of salvation leading to the birth of Jesus Christ. In the morning, we get used to playing Advent hymns.

Our Advent also includes creative activities such as making candles from beeswax, bee wraps, soap making, baking for joy and the like. Neighbors like on St. We will surprise Mikuláš with a package and we are happy to support the kolkolasky.sk project.

As for the more prosaic tasks: we try to buy gifts already in November and in December just put in the last touches, we don’t do a big cleaning before Christmas, and since we celebrate Christmas at the family cottage with the extended family, we divide the shopping and cooking, we order cakes.

Milan Jaroš, Roman Catholic priest, chaplain of the Bratislava-Dúbravka parish

Milan Jaroš. Photo: private archive 

I like Advent very much. At the beginning of the new liturgical year, it is a beautiful time of preparation for the feast of the birth of our Savior. Since Advent is, in a certain sense, a very Marian season, I try to live it together with Mary, when I can mentally take her hand and let her lead me to Jesus and contemplate the incarnate word of God. I try, as it were, to penetrate more into the spirit of this period, whether through the liturgy, God’s word, or personal prayer.

We live in a time when we are in a hurry all year round, so at the end of the year there is maybe just a little more to do. Therefore, I constantly try to focus on what is essential. On God and your relationship to him. And in this, the Virgin Mary helps me a lot, from whom I can learn subtlety, hiddenness, love, peace, service and many other things in the hustle and bustle of the world. 

Especially during this time, it helps me to focus on service. Maria says that she is a servant of the Lord, and I, as a priest, am also a servant of the Lord, so as part of my service, especially during confession, I try to help people focus on what is essential, on Jesus and the relationship with him. 

It is customary to talk about Christmas as a holiday of peace. Our whole life is a struggle for peace. If we want to work towards true peace, we must go to its source, and that is Jesus – the prince of peace. This is what I strive for and sometimes I succeed more and sometimes less.

Lenka Bene, director of the association that covers Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in Slovakia

I like Advent very much. Although, of course, it is also associated with finishing everything left unfinished at work at the end of the calendar year and with pre-Christmas cleaning at home, it is also a time for me to think more deeply about the hope that goes beyond my ordinary life, and about Mary’s yes as an act of complete trust and obedience to God . 

I discovered that it is often just a matter of my decision, how much space I will give in Advent to the stress of completing tasks and also to my idea of ​​a perfectly cleaned and decorated house for Christmas, and how much I will keep for inner silence, rorats and thinking.

My service to children and adults in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd also helps me in a deeper spiritual experience . In the atriums with children, we devote a lot of time to Advent and preparation for Christmas. We start already in November and we talk about biblical geography – about the land of Israel, which was chosen by God for Jesus to be born, live, die and rise from the dead. We continue by reading selected messianic prophecies especially from the prophet Isaiah and the stories of the annunciation, the visit of Elizabeth and the birth of Jesus. 

 

At home, we have had an agreement for several years that we do not rush to buy gifts, each of us, including our children, receives only one gift under the tree as a symbol of the great love that God has for us. We bake cookies with the children just before Christmas and then exchange them with grandparents and friends. Sometimes we even have ten types.

In the village where we live, there are no regular Holy Masses, so a few years ago we started to pray early in the morning of Advent with a few people from our community to pray morning praises in the church by candles. It has a great charm, some of our children are already joining us, and it helps me personally to enter the new day with joy and perspective.

Jozef Husovský, poet, lyricist and aphorist, author of daily mini-reflections for the Christian Worl

For me, Advent always has the flavor of crunching snow under winter boots and lights penetrating the fog. What I experienced as a boy rushing to minister. That changed today. The lights and fog remained, only the snow was nowhere to be seen.

By writing thoughts for each day, I actually have a year-round Advent. And I like to read Richard Rohr, so I also have year-round antlers. (Smile.) So yes, Advent is a special season, but in my life it doesn’t just refer to the less than four weeks before Christmas.

As for pre-Christmas activities, if you do things continuously, you don’t have to finish big before Christmas. I’m not saying I always succeed, but I’d like it that way. 

And the second thing is that I don’t want a Christmas tree that wins international competitions. In addition, we have an agreement at home that we can treat ourselves to Christmas presents throughout the year. When I’m craving a book that came out in February, I’m not going to wait ten months to unwrap it from the Christmas wrapping paper. So we can give each other Christmas presents on an ongoing basis. And thank God, we are doing well.

 
 

 

 
 
 

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Sermon on Isaiah 25,6-10

Posted on 3. December 2024 by Peter Prochac

Beloved,today we gather  to  reflect  on a profound  passage from the  book of  Isaiah, specifically ,  This  scripture offers  chapter 25 verses 6-10 This  scripture offers a vision of hope and  divibe promise in  the face  of human despair. As we  delve into these verses, let  us  open our  hearts  to  the  message, of God*s grace  and  the  celebration of His  eternal kinngdom.

Isaiah begins  with a vivid metaphor, a feast prepared by  the Lord  on  His  holy mountain. This ist  no ordinary banquet.It  is  a gathering for  all  peoples, symbolizing inactivity in God’s kingdom. Imagine the  richness of  the food, the  aged wine,  and  the  best of  meats- elements of  joy , celebration, and  abudance. This  imagery invites us to envision a future where God’s  presence brings nourishment, satisfaction. and unity.

In verses  7 and 8 we see the promise of  God’s  transformative power. He will destroy  the  shroud that covers  all nations a metaphor for the  sorrow, death and  despair that weigh heaavily  on humanity. The  promise  that  Go  will ,, swallow up death forever” offers profound  hope. It  reminds us  that through Christ, death is  the  end  but  a passage to  eternal  life. The  tears we  shed  in grief and  the shame  we  carry  will be  wiped  away  by  our  loving God. This  is  the heart of  the Gospel the  assurance  that  is  intimately  involved  in our suffering  a  committed to our healing.

Verse 9 invites  us  into an active response. Surely this  is  our  God. WE trusted  in him, and  he  saved  us. Trust  is  a fundamental  aspect of  our  relationship with  God. In a world filled  with  uncertainty   and  fear. God calls  us  to  place our faith in Him. This  trust is not passive. It is  a declaration  of  our  belief  in His   promises. When  we  acknowledge God’s  sovereignty  and  faitfulness we  are  empowerd to rejoice in  His salvation,

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The Right Challenge for the Advent Time.

Posted on 2. December 2024 by Peter Prochac

Exactly a week ago, on November 24, someone told me, “Oh, one more month, and it will be Christmas. We will celebrate, we will celebrate, we will not go to work, and you will not go to school. It will finally be fine.” I didn’t even realize it that day. 

But after a while, it shook me. Wait, is this what Christmas is all about? Not going to work? Don’t go to school? Is this what Christmas is all about? And it’s already here. The first Sunday of Advent is a reality. The second, third, and fourth will come, and before we know it, the tree, food, presents, midnight mass, and… New Year. 

And work, school, and responsibilities. But where is the real Christmas in all this? Where is the celebration of the birth of the Lord in all this, apart from the rush of “writing a letter to Jesus” or the obligatory visit to the family? Where? And, after all, Advent is preparation for it. To celebrate! On the birth of the Lord! Not just by stating that Christmas is just around the corner.

Today’s gospel pulls us out of the Advent rush —not pre-Christmas, but Advent—and all the “important” responsibilities: “There will be signs in the sun and the moon, and in the stars, and on earth, the nations will be full of anxiety and confusion from the roar of the sea and the waves. People will be reconciled from the fear and expectation of what is coming into the world because the heavenly powers will tremble. 

These words of Jesus are miles away from the Christmas comfort many are preparing for today. We want comfort, not a forecast of disaster. We want pleasant moments, not anxiety—even if we somehow associate confusion with the holidays—confusion in shops, at work, and also at home. Likewise, we get scared if we don’t have time to buy the right gift. Well, it’s still only Advent. No Christmas!

We can imagine that beautiful and romantic moment, but we don’t even have to imagine it because we experience it if we want to watch the night sky. And with bated breath, they looked at the stars. Indeed, it is somehow more natural in the summer than in the winter, but even now, it is possible. 

Even though it is more difficult, we can still sometimes look at the sun and enjoy its warm rays—even in winter. In fact, they will please many even more than in the summer. But we can also imagine something else—that the sun will be veiled, covered, suddenly and out of the blue. We can also imagine a beautiful night show in the sky at a time when we can observe “falling stars,” i.e., a meteor shower.

All the above-mentioned “events” will please each of us. But can we also imagine that we would exchange its brightness for an anti-aircraft cover at the time of beautiful noon when the sun is wintry and jagged but pleasing? Instead of the “meteor shower theater,” would we watch flying and falling rockets? None of us wants even to imagine this, let alone admit it. Every romance ends with this idea.

This is the right challenge for the Advent season – so our hearts are not heavy. And if by chance they have become heavy, to get rid of this “overweight” that prevents the heart from flying and seeing “from God’s perspective”. 

What, then, should our hearts not be heavy? But still, that “selfish” fear for ourselves, in which we close the door and the heart of our life against the pain and misery of others. Are you saying that you don’t see the poor around you? I guess not only your heart, but also your eyes have become heavy, and you are blind. Blindness does not only have to be physical but also mental-selective. Still can’t see?

Gluttony is, figuratively speaking, also a desire to have – but only for oneself. And those who are proud of the slogan: “We don’t want other people’s, we don’t take our own” suffer from “gluttony.” Because, in reality, it is difficult to share a piece of bread or the next room. It is impossible to accept, to accept. And just to be sure, I will talk my neighbor and friend out of it, so I don’t feel embarrassed that someone has a more excellent heart than me.

Drunkenness is, figuratively speaking, the belief in a lie or falsehood that everyone is the mastermind of their happiness. If it were so, Christ would not have come into this world. However, he came because without him, we would not know what it means to love truly and selflessly – so that we too love like this.

And worries? Well, that is, figuratively, each of our introspection. When we are looking forward, I only look in the mirror—and see only myself. And I still tell myself, like in the fairy tale about Snow White, that I am the most beautiful person on earth.

“Take heed that your hearts are not heavy…” says Jesus on the First Sunday of Advent. So, let Advent be a time of changing mindsets and attitudes toward those who suffer in a way that we would never want to suffer. 

It is time to change the paradigm of love, which does not count how much it gives and how much it receives but constantly shares and does not worry about the future. Let the following days and weeks be a struggle against self-pity and self-centeredness, which we will overcome if God’s word enters our hearts and frees us to fulfill with love and without fear the words of today’s first reading from the prophet Jeremiah: “In those days and at that time a righteous shoot will sprout from David, who will do justice and righteousness on earth.”

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Use the time our sanctification.

Posted on 29. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

  We should use our time for our sanctification, obtaining the necessary graces and merits, so that we are worthy to hear the words of God-Judge, as invited to the Kingdom of Heaven. The text of the Gospel reminds us of this. Jesus says: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19). Jesus addresses these words to two fishermen from the Sea of ​​Galilee, the brothers Simon and Peter. Andrew was with John Zebedee, the brother of James, a disciple of John the Baptist. John introduced them Jesus with the words: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Jn 1:36). It was then that Andrew met Jesus for the first time, he talked with him, but he was not yet a disciple of Jesus. He probably continued his fishing (cf. Luke 5:1-5). In today’s Gospel, Jesus wants them to leave their craft. The words: “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19) better describe the situation as follows: It’s here! I need you now. That’s why I want you to follow me!

This challenge of Jesus is blunt, but he asks a lot, but he also promises a lot. Jesus calls two brothers from Bethesda, east of the Jordan River (cf. Jn 1:44). The second pair were Zebedee’s sons. According to Mark, the mother’s name was Salome (cf. Mk 15:40), who is always named together. He was apparently the elder and John the younger. Together with Peter, they formed a close circle of Jesus’ confidants. This is how they are mentioned several times (cf. Mt 10:2; 17:1). Jesus’ call does not belong only to the aforementioned apostles. Jesus’ Gospel is not just a description of a one-time event. Jesus ‘ Gospel is a book that has its mission until the end of time . for three years of his public activity. Jesus’ challenge touches us too. Jesus walks around us. He addresses us on the street, in church, but also at school and at home. He invites us behind in the sense that we leave the superficial life we ​​have lived so far, or leave the sin in our life. For one, it may be a sinful acquaintance, for another a wrong approach to material things, another may have neglected the commandment of love in some form. Thus, an unhealthy non-Christian way of life can turn into an example of a convert. We were sinners. Let’s be a role model and an example. 

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A heavenly “upgrade” of human nature.

Posted on 28. November 2024 by Peter Prochac
We call the completion of human life heaven. It is our ultimate goal, a state of supernatural bliss. But let me clarify one thing at the very beginning: not heaven is the meaning of our life, God is that meaning!

Man is the only one called to participate in God’s life through knowledge and love (CCC 356). Therefore, it is wiser to say that the completion and meaning of life is God. Heaven is God himself and purgatory is God himself who purifies his children so that they can come to him. But even hell is God, for he is a just judge who rewards the good and punishes the bad. After all, let’s think: eternal life is to be with Christ, that is, to participate in his life, to live like God.

SUPERNATURAL BLISS

Earlier we said that heaven, hell and purgatory is not a place but a state. That is why we call eternal life a limitless perfect state of supernatural bliss, experienced at once and now. It’s forever.

Even in earthly life, we ​​experience bliss, an ecstatic joy that is beautiful. But it is limited and will end once. Not in heaven.

Heavenly, supernatural bliss is experienced at once in its fullness. It has no boundaries, it does not end, but it grows in intensity. Eternity has no succession, it exists simultaneously and all at once. It is God’s mode of existence.

Well, the purpose of our life is to get into a state of participation in the life of God in eternity. It happens after our death, it is a transition from one state to another. We have a lot to look forward to!

WE KNOW ONLY PARTS

These definitions are difficult to understand because they describe the heavenly world that we approximate in images. As Saint Paul expressed it: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has entered into what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2, 9).

Saint Paul wrote: “… we know only in part and prophesy only in part. Now we see only vaguely, as if in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know only in part, but then I will know as I am also known” (1 Cor 13, 9-12). He thereby expressed the state of earthly and heavenly knowledge. In heaven, we will achieve perfect knowledge by participating in God’s life.

God, being omnipresent and omniscient, knows everything at once and in its entirety. We will get to know each other in the same way. Since we will be “connected” to the Lord God, our will finally unite with his will, and we will want what he wants. In our earthly life, we sometimes have difficulties in fulfilling his will, right?!

JOY THAT DOESN’T END

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “The Godhead is so breathtaking that no one can see him without feeling great joy.” In heaven, our joy multiplies as we behold the countless glorified ones rejoicing together. We find ourselves amid an innumerable and blessed multitude, unwavering in their delight, and join them in an endless celebration with our King.

For the time being it is difficult for us to comprehend the secret of this blissful fellowship in the kingdom of heaven, for it is beyond our comprehension. But you can be sure of this. We are sure of our faith. It begins on earth and ends in heaven to follow and be with Christ.

Questions to think about

Are we afraid of death? Or are we afraid of dying? Does the Messiah’s promise of immortality free us from the fear of death? Are we taking care of our greatest treasure, which is our soul?

 
 
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The Resurrection of our Bodies.

Posted on 27. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

At the end of the world, there will be a general resurrection of our bodies. The characteristics of the bodies of the glorified will be different, and the characteristics of the bodies of the damned will be different. And behold, I will open your graves and bring you out of your coffins, says God through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel. When the almighty voice shall sound, which shall be heard from east to west from north to south, the lying bodies, dried bones, and ashes shall be moved on the earth where they were deposited. All nature will begin to move. The sea, the land of the abyss, will be ready to give up the dead whom they thought they had swallowed up as their prey. They only cherished them so that one day, they could return them on demand.
Let us not marvel at the significant effect of the divine power that sustains the whole universe. The entire universe is like a speck in the eyes of God. God is omnipotent. It will be no problem for him to resurrect our bodies. Soul and body together form but one being. Man can achieve his goal only by preserving his natural constitution. But how can he preserve this natural constitution if he needs something that constitutes it? If they do not compose themselves in the order they were before. The nature of man necessarily requires the resurrection of the body. The whole creation passes from death to life. All you see has already been that nothing has been so lost that it will not reappear one day. Everything that once ceased, begins again. Everything ceases, only to be reborn. The soul has sinned using the body, therefore it is just that it should be justly punished. However, the soul also uses the body to do good works; thus, it must share in typical glorification. Also, the completeness of Christ’s victory over sin requires the resurrection, and his victory may be destroyed, even the power and kingdom of death. It must be remembered that as long as sin remains in the world, death will not cease to lie and exercise its cruel dominion over the human race. At the end of the ages, if the kingdom of sin is destroyed, the last enemy, death, will also be defeated. God will deliver His children from the power of death

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First Sunday of Advent, Year C Luke 21, 25-28, 34-36

Posted on 27. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

Today’s Luke’s Gospel may seem daunting, filled with warnings of disasters, leaving us paralyzed. Yet, it presents a pressing challenge: how do we prepare to stand before the Son of Man? It may seem out of place as Advent begins, but this Gospel belongs here. We all know Advent signifies the coming of the Son of God, a future event. Preparing for it implies anticipation of something yet to come. However, many people prepare for what is already past, rather than focusing on the future. 

While many view Christmas as a sentimental event that occurred two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, commemorating the birth of Jesus, this perspective falls short. To truly appreciate its significance, we must recognize that the Son of God desires to enter not just human history, but also the life of each individual, making Jesus’ coming to a personal experience., as the Scriptures say, Advent has two distinct themes. From now until December 17th, we’ll reflect on the “second coming of Jesus Christ,” also known as the “coming in glory and power.” Then, from December 17th to Christmas, we’ll focus on the events leading up to it – specifically, the birth of the Son of God as a man in Bethlehem. 

To prepare for the meeting with the Son of Man, who comes as a judge to mark the saved and the punished, necessitates confronting our fear of his judgment. Born as a child, he embodies a non-threatening presence, dispelling the fear that would normally accompany an encounter with a divine judge, for a child inspires no fear.

On the contrary, everyone is looking forward to the birth of a child. We live in a time when many people don’t know what to do with Advent, so it is often solved by filling Advent with shopping and shortening it to as little as possible. In many cities today, they light the Christmas tree, but the tree is a symbol of Christmas, not Advent. That is a confusion and preemption of thought. The symbol of Advent is the wreath, the gradual lighting of the candles on it, and the ​​gradual approach that God draws near to us, and we draw near to God. But it’s also about getting closer to each other. 

The Holy Gospel spoke of disasters. We are afraid when we hear about various earthquakes and natural phenomena and say, “This is terrible.” But there are other disasters, and that is our behavior. Yes, brothers and sisters, our behavior is typically a vast disaster. Why? Because we are not at all kind to each other.

On the contrary, we look for the other person’s faults, point them out, are often not tolerant, and often rejoice when the other person somehow stumbles or fails. We don’t keep our word. We promise something and then calmly break it and say, “Well, it can’t be taken that way.” We promise someone that we will be with them, and then we may leave them.

And these are the brothers and sisters of disaster. In today’s second reading, we heard the apostle Paul’s call to the Thessalonians: “May the Lord increase and multiply your love for one another and everyone.” This is also a motto, as if a call, with which we could fill this year’s Advent. Indeed, let’s try to imagine every specific person, someone from the family or even a stranger, and let’s try to show this person love more than ever. It may be challenging at home, but Showing love to those we know is non-negotiable, but with strangers, there’s a risk they might not notice or reciprocate. Still, that’s beside the point. The focus is not on whether they’ll return the kindness, but on taking the initiative to show love.

 When two young people like each other, it is not enough for them to feel something for each other; they feel affection for each other. They have to tell each other and show that they like each other, and then the relationship grows. And it is the same with God on that level and with other people. Don’t be afraid to show your love to each other. Don’t be afraid that the other person will ask themselves, “What’s he up to? He’s w; she’s exaggerating somehow.” Let’s try to surprise the other. Indeed, let’s choose a specific person and try to surprise this person with love, kindness, and affection. That will then be the true Advent, the preparation for the birth of the Son of God. He will then not only be born in that time but in the heart of each of us. He wants to enter our lives. Not as a judge who will punish and condemn us but wants to enter there as our Savior, our Helper. Let’s show him in this Advent that we long for his help and salvation, that we want to accept him in this way, that we want to make a place for him in our lives, and that we want to show our love to those around us. Let’s try; it’s worth it, and God will surely help us.

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The end of the world.

Posted on 27. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

The end of the world and one day the end of each of us is the theme presented to us by this week’s liturgy. Today’s reading from the book In the Revelation of St. John, the fall of Babylon symbolizes the downfall of worldliness, prosperity, and self-sufficiency. This apocalyptic scene is mirrored in today’s Gospel reading from Luke, where Jesus foretells the desolation of Jerusalem and his eventual return. Babylon, compared to “the great harlot,” is a city of deceit, where corruption and unclean spirits lie beneath its façade of magnificence and festivities. Ultimately, its destruction will be swift and total, leaving no trace..

“The sound of harpists, singers, pipers, and trumpeters will no longer be heard in you” – there will be no more beautiful celebrations. »No master of any craft will appear in you again« – because you are not a city of work, but of corruption. »The knocking of the mill will no longer be heard in you. The light of the lamp will no longer shine in you.« – it may be a city illuminated, but it will not shine. This is a corrupt civilization, »the voice of the bridegroom and the bride will no longer be heard in you«. There were many couples, many people, but no love. Desolation starts from within and ends when the Lord says “enough”. There will come a day when the Lord will say: »Enough of the pretense of this world«. This is the crisis of a civilization that considers itself proud and self-sufficient but is dictatorial and will end up like this.

Jerusalem will see another kind of destruction, namely the destruction of unfaithful love. It failed to recognize the love of God in His Son. Gentiles will trample the Holy City, the Lord will punish it because it has opened the gates of its heart to the Gentiles. Life – in our case the Christian life – becomes pagan. Are we living as Christians? It seems so, but in reality our life is pagan when these things happen and are subject to the seduction of Babylon. And Jerusalem lives like Babylon. He wants to make a synthesis that cannot be made. And both will disappear. Are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? Live like a Christian. You cannot mix water with oil. They will always remain separate. This is the end of a civilization that is self-contradictory, calling itself Christian and living like a heathen.

After the fall of both cities, the cry of the Lord will be heard. After destruction comes salvation. The angel will say, »Blessed are those who are invited to the Lamb’s wedding feast!«. It will be a grand, real celebration. Tragedies also exist in our lives, but if we find ourselves in front of them, let us look to the horizon because we are redeemed and the Lord will come to save us. We thus learn to undergo the trials of this world not in agreement with worldliness or paganism, which leads us to destruction, but in hope, detaching ourselves from these worldly and pagan temptations, looking to the horizon, hoping in Christ the Lord. Hope is our strength: we go forward. But we must plead with the Holy Spirit.

Think of the Babylons of our time. Consider, for example, the powerful empires of the last century that collapsed. And so will the great cities of today also end, and so will our life and if we follow the path of paganism. Only those who put their hope in the Lord will remain. With hope, therefore, let us open our hearts and turn away from the heathen life.

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Why is hope important for us and how can we cultivate it?

Posted on 26. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

Hope gives people a reason to keep fighting and to believe that their current circumstances will improve.
Hope gives people a reason to keep fighting and to believe that their current circumstances will improve. / 

People often talk about hope, which strengthens their resolve and accompanies them even in the darkest moments. Hope helps people stay committed to their goals and motivated to act toward those goals. Hope gives people a reason to keep fighting and to believe that their current circumstances will improve. It is typically associated with high motivation, optimism, and a generally elevated mood.

What is hope in psychology?

Hope is a partly subjective concept, and both psychologists and philosophers have tried to define it. Some people believe that hope is a relatively stable personality trait, while others may feel that hope depends on external circumstances and previous experiences. Others see hope as a choice. It is commonly associated with warm feelings about the future, an increased willingness to work towards achieving goals and a positive mood. According to hope theory author Charles Snyder, hope is a positive cognitive state based on a sense of successful goal-oriented determination and planning to accomplish those goals. In other words, hope is like a snapshot of current goal-oriented thinking, emphasizing the motivated pursuit of goals and the expectation that those goals can be achieved. Snyder’s theory of hope includes goals, path, and freedom of choice. According to him, there are at least three components that people can associate with hope, namely:

  • you must have focused thoughts
  • to achieve these goals, you must develop strategies in advance,
  • you must be motivated to put in the effort necessary to achieve those goals.

The more an individual believes in his ability to achieve the above components, the more likely he is to develop a sense of hope.

What is the difference between hope and optimism?

Optimism indeed has? a lot in common with hope, both are concerned with a positive orientation towards the future and assume that good things will generally happen in people’s lives. The difference is that optimism is a positive attitude toward a future event that is likely and likely to occur, optimists expect life to work out well and as expected. On the contrary, if someone is hopeful, he considers himself more realistic. Hopeful individuals recognize that life may not work out as planned, yet maintain a positive expectation focused on possible outcomes that are personally meaningful. 

How to develop and cultivate hope?

Great ideas and activities that promote hope in everyday life. Write the letter to yourself, but give it to a friend, write a heartfelt letter to your future self. You could tell your future self how you feel right now, what hopes and dreams you have for them, and recount what you’ve been through that month. When you are done, put this letter in a sealed envelope and give it to a trusted person who will mail it to you during an undisclosed period. They could send the letter back to you in a month, 3 months, or more, but with the hope that it will come back to you when you need it.

When you’re at your weakest, try journaling. Sometime in the future, you’ll look back at your past records and see how far you’ve come. Journaling works in two ways, not only to secure your thoughts in the immediate moment of writing but also to create a chronological history of you and your progress. Give yourself space to breathe, to grieve, to think, but also to discover what it’s like to have hope One thing to remember is that hope shouldn’t come from positivity that isn’t there. You cannot have hope without knowing the shadows of what you hope to overcome. If you are surrounded by a lot of media and news that focuses on the negative, try to also examine the positive news regarding the topic and who and where the news is coming from. A balanced perspective on hope is just as important as a balanced perspective on other topics in our lives.

Symbols of hope.

Be creative. Look for symbols of hope, and collect things that might remind you of hope in times when you might need it. Create a poster, a bulletin board of hope, using a pile of magazines to dig through and find symbols and images that make sense to you.

Go for it yourself.

Seek the solitude that is your own. Solitude without phones, radio, or loved ones can help you integrate your thoughts and senses. The goal is to achieve a solitude that transcends any real or imagined social conventions and effectively shuts you off from the daily routines of life, even if only for a few hours.

Write down your goals and keep a hope journal.

Writing down your goals is a great way to solidify your ideas and focus your thoughts. A Hope Journal takes this concept a step further by structuring your thoughts in a way that promotes hope. Write down your goals, state why you want to achieve each goal, and what motivates you, brainstorm potential paths to achieving your goals, list any potential obstacles you may face and think of ways you can overcome them. Write how you feel when you reach your goal. Visualizing who you will be and how good it will feel to reap the rewards of your hard work is one way to stay focused and motivated.

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The word of the priest..Until I let myself be led.

Posted on 25. November 2024 by Peter Prochac

 

 

 

How long do I let myself be led?
Illustration photo: 

I still remember the media and social uproar at the coronation of King Charles in London. Hundreds of millions of people, not only in the British Isles but all over the world watched the unique, in fact, religious ceremony, in which the prince became the king. 

It is strange that we, the people of the modern democratic world, watched with such interest a ceremony which, from a historical and cultural point of view, is at first glance only a kind of relic or survival without any real influence on the running of society. In Western countries, several monarchies remain, which are only constitutional, not absolutist. Kings perform ceremonial and representative functions; they may have a few symbolic roles according to the constitution, but nothing more.

Nevertheless, the figure of the king is symbolic. If we consider everything we know about kings in Western civilization, then it is not just about handing over the supreme power in the country. This birth of a new monarch is also a religious ceremony, during which the future bearer of this office is anointed with sacred oil, which symbolically imprints an indelible mark on the soul of the monarch. 

He belongs to God, and he performs this office not by human will, but by God’s will. This ceremony is a message that he receives from the Lord everything he needs to perform this office, but he must perform it conscientiously because he will bear responsibility for everything before God.

In the ceremony of putting the king into office, two things seemed to meet. Real, in the past, absolute power and at the same time the desire of the subjects that the one who became king by the will of God, ruled wisely, was a role model for his people.

Charles’s coronation was a media event, but the interest it generated was not just out of curiosity. As citizens of our states, we simply desire leaders who not only have power but also wisdom, are exemplary, and if we are believers, we expect them to be humble before the Lord and blessed. 

The ceremony in London offered this ideal for a moment, and we subconsciously wished that every leader in every country had not only one, but also the other. Although we know, also from our own experience, that the reality is often much worse.

“We very much wish that the one to whom we entrust our destiny or whose advice we rely on, not only has power, but is in God’s favor, thanks to which he will not lead us into a dead end.”

Being a king is therefore primarily associated with power, almost absolute. In what contrast to human imagination is Jesus’ dialogue with Pilate. Jesus was accused of impersonating a king. It was a very serious charge. If even a hint of it proved to be true, Pilate would have him executed without mercy. However, when this pragmatic Roman asked the poor battered prisoner if he was a king, Jesus cryptically replied that his kingdom was not of this world.

Pilate thought he was hearing badly. What Jesus told him seemed like a game of king the way children play kings and queens, princes and princesses. Dreaming. When he asked him again after the first, for him such a naive answer: “So you are the king after all?” he received an answer that derailed him.

Jesus not only says that his kingdom is not of this world, but that he has come to bear witness to the truth.

The people from the upper classes among the Romans were educated, had something read in philosophy and oratory, moreover, they were superstitious and surrounded by a pantheon of inscrutable deities of so many nations, so Jesus’ answer not only surprised him, but also scared him a little. 

He realized that even though he was hated by the high priests, he had in front of him an interesting person with a certain life experience and depth, which although he did not understand, he was intuitively attracted to, because it overturned his logic of power and opened a kind of thirteenth chamber. 

However, Pilate did not dare to go further in the conversation with Jesus, he did not owe anything to his pragmatic nature, and for reasons of power and gain, he had him crucified as a precaution.

However, Jesus revealed who he was in the interview. God’s Son, in whom the Father wants to restore everything in Truth. God did not offer that Truth by force but with the greatest humility. Like a good shepherd who takes a wounded sheep on his shoulders; as a humble man, who needs no horse, but the colt of the poor is enough for him to enter the holy city of Jerusalem. As the capture of human souls who noticed the ajar door in Zacchaeus’ soul to enter his life and save him.

In the Gospels, Jesus shows that the Lord is always good to man, that he seeks him and does not impose himself on anyone.

We all have some idea about life. We are from different backgrounds, from different cultures, no two families can be compared. Likewise, we are not wearing the same shoes, so it is difficult, even impossible, to say which of us is worse or better before the Lord.

But one thing is certain. As we wander through life, we look for people who could be a support. It is ideal if we find them in the family or among friends. However, they are only people full of weaknesses and limitations. We very much wish that the one to whom we entrust our fate or whose advice we rely on, not only has power but is in God’s favor, thanks to which he will not lead us into a dead end.

We need people to lean on, but we need God even more. Perceiving his presence in your life and knowing his will.

Christ wants to reign in our lives. Let us listen to his voice, let us seek the truth about ourselves, life, and the world in which we live to live under Christ’s rule.

Voluntarily, with all humility. As those who know that in such submission to the Most High, great things are born in human life: wisdom, hope, humility, and love.

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