God is manifested through silence.

Posted on 20. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

Antoine De Saint-Exupéry wrote: You will not receive any sign, because the God from whom you ask for a sign manifests itself precisely in silence. An interesting idea that could be the motto of thinking about today’s word of God. In the book of Exodus, we read: They told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; Pharaoh and his servants changed their attitude towards the people and said: „What have we done, that we have dismissed Israel from our service?!“ Why did he change his decision and have a hardened heart even though he had experienced so many signs from Moses?! He did not consider the signs that God wanted to reveal to him through them, but instead invited the Egyptian sorcerers to perform a similar act.

How does Moses calm the people? He said to the people: „ Don’t be afraid! Stand firm and see how the Lord will save you today. The Egyptians, you see now will never be seen again. The Lord will fight for you, and you will be silent.“ Moses tells the fearful people that they must be quiet so that they may learn to know God and thus recognize God’s signs in silence. Not only did the Egyptians and the Old Testament people have problems with the signs, but also some scribes and Kori Pharisees said to Jesus: „ Teacher, we want to see some sign from you.“ And they didn’t get them! They could not be silent, but reflect on the words and deeds of the Lord Jesus. Why will the Níinivians precede them to the kingdom of God?  For they repented of Jonah’s preaching, and here is someone greater than Jonah! What is repentance if not stopping, listening to God’s voice (this time through Jonas)?

Why will the Queen of the South judge them? Because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and here is someone greater than Solomon!“ I underline the word listen again! To listen is to be quiet! Where, in what, did Elijah know God, and how did he appear to him? He said to him: Come out and stand on the mountain before the Lord! The Lord was passing by. Before the Lord went, the wind, significant and violent, which tears the mountains and breaks the rocks. But the Lord was not in the wind. An earthquake downwind, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake and fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And a quiet, delicious noise after the fire. When Elijah heard this, he covered his face with a cloak, went out, and stopped at the entrance of the cave. (1 Kr 19, 11-13). So what about those signs? You will not receive any sign, because God, from whom you ask for a sign, manifests himself precisely through silence.

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Does God control everything?

Posted on 18. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

One 16th-century creed claims that “it does not happen in this world without [God’s] arrangement”. Every Reformed confession claims this or something similar. “ God’s sovereignty” – His freedom from external management – “ is the core of doctrinal Calvinism”.

But is God’s sovereignty absolute? Does God control everything? And if so, how should God’s absolute rule affect the way we live?

What does Scripture teach about God’s sovereignty?

God’s sovereignty is manifested in His providence, which is His complete rule over creation. This is how God describes His reign:

„ I form light and create darkness, I work well-being and create misery; I am the Lord who does all this.“ (Isaiah 45:7)

„ The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord like streams of water, it leads him wherever he wants.“ (Proverbs 21:1)

Jesus claims that if God controls even seemingly insignificant things, such as the hair that falls from our bodies every day (Matthew 10:30), then He indeed controls significant historical events as well. Nothing escapes God’s attention or His control:

„But our God is in heaven, He does everything He likes.“ (Psalms 115:3)

If we lived in a world without sin, accepting God’s sovereign providence would be a straightforward matter. But what if things are going against us? Scripture teaches that God so restrains Satan and all our enemies that they cannot harm us without His permission. But sometimes it happens and God wants it (Job 1:12, 2:6):

„With a trumpet blowing in the city, that the people would not be frightened? Will something bad happen in the city that the Lord would not cause it?“ (Amos 3:6)

Sovereignty is a complex concept, so it is essential to understand the purpose of God’s rule over good and evil. If God’s providences seem reprehensible to us, it is because we forget that God is carrying out his good plan and has enough patience. When Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph into slavery, no one but God saw the intended end: The Lord sent Joseph to Egypt to keep many people alive with his far-sighted guidance (1. Moses 50:20). The providential medicine in Joseph’s life brought a sweet salvation, even if it tasted bitter.

God’s sovereign providence will never fail to fulfill its good will.

God’s sovereignty and the evil actions of men meet most shockingly in the death of Jesus. God used the “hands of ungodly people” to carry out His “finite plan” and sacrifice His precious Son as payment for our sins (Acts 2:23, 4:28). God does everything according to his holy will. It is always suitable for believers (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 8:28).

What does a faithful response to God’s sovereignty look like?

Sovereignty may not seem to require any reaction on our part, but it does. After all, “God in his usual providence uses means”. For example, God promised that no one would die on Paul’s ship, doomed to shipwreck (Acts 27:24). At the same time, however, it required passengers to remain on board (Acts 27:31). So, what does a faithful response to God’s sovereignty look like?

Respect

Particularly difficult providences tempt us to curse heaven. Job’s wife sensed God’s hand in their tragedy, but could not honor His sovereign activity. Her husband asked a critical question: “ Do we receive good things from God, and shouldn’t we receive bad things?” (Job 2:10). Every providence requires obedience (Job 1:20).

A sovereign God who values his children always has full power (Matthew 10:31, Psalms 121:3-4). If you know Christ as Savior, the Spirit as Comforter, and God as Father, then you can trust God’s providence. The Holy God will never reject his children. No challenging circumstances can distract you from God’s loving plan for your life (Romans 8:38-39). God sometimes troubles His children “ to raise them to a closer and more constant dependence on Him alone”.

Humility

Young children believe that the doctor is cruel when he gives them an injection. Adult Christians examine God’s providence more closely. Once confident, Job realized his ignorance of God’s ways: “I talked about what I didn’t understand…” (Job 42:3, see also Psalms 77:19). As students of Christ, we should claim to know only what He has revealed to us and admit our lack of understanding in hidden things.

Adoration

Proper grasping of God’s sovereignty breeds worship. God’s wealth, wisdom, and knowledge are deep, His judgments unexplained, and His ways inscrutable. We know little about His thinking except what He revealed to us in His Word. Do we not have to worship Him to whom glory belongs forever (Romans 11:33-36)?

Before the English pilgrims set out on their journey to America, their Calvinist pastor John Robinson uttered this blessing: “The one who created the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rivers of the waters, and whose providence is over all his works, especially all his lovely children for good…, guides and protects you in your ways, as inwardly by his spirit, the, so also on the outside with the hand of your power.” Based on the pilgrims’ challenging first year, a critic could argue that the prayer failed. But those who God’s Spirit inwardly guides understand it better. God’s sovereign providence will never fail to fulfill His good will.

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Marriage- community

Posted on 17. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

Do the spouses realize that they have a unique power that the priest does not have if he is alone in the rectory? To make the living Christ present in the community. Their family, their household, can become a temple of the living dwelling of God. That their mutual relationship becomes a monstrance in which Jesus himself lives. But representing Christ in the family is a reality so complex that many do not even start it. It is not enough to say Lord Jesus, we are gathered here in your name.  To live in the name of Jesus is to live in his spirit. It means a willingness to live for others. And through this willingness, the precious gift of God’s presence among us is established. Of course, then the apostle can say that where there is love, there is God. Thus, the family becomes a temple. But you can also trade with love. They desecrate God’s temple.

When we talk about marriage as the smallest cell of the Church, the Church is a sacrament of unity and salvation. In the diversity of our abilities, God creates us into one organism, despite our sinfulness. See how it is in politics. If they disagree on the party, they will already split. God holds the church together. That is why it is so essential for us to strive for unity. Sin is what divides. Our task is to live in Unity. And we live this unity in that way; we are learning to recognize our gifts and roles. And of course, the gifts and tasks of others. A cooperative environment is created among us.

We are not perfect, we are bound, we need one another. We are  dependent on each other. The life of God comes to me not through revelations, but through the ministry of brothers and sisters. Let us remember the statement of the Lord Jesus. If you bring a gift to the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go first to be reconciled with your brother. But someone may say he has something against me. I have nothing against him. But if you don’t go, there’s an obstacle between you and God’s life coming to you. If we do not resolve our interpersonal relationships, we will not move forward.

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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Lk 10,38-42

Posted on 16. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

An article was published in one medium entitled „Insomnia is the result of stress, therapy and the right lifestyle are important“.

Today’s Gospel represents a proper Christian lifestyle. Jesus does this on the example of two sisters. One is stressed to the point of anger, the other listens. Jesus addresses with a stressed, shocking sentence: „Mart, Martha! You worry and worry about many things. Little is needed, yes, only one thing. Marie has chosen the best lot, and no one will take it from her.“

At first glance, Jesus appears to reject Martin’s activism and favors a passive approach to listening to Mary. However, a closer look will reveal the truth Jesus has in mind. Is Jesus’ desire only for us to eat well? What does he care about? Marta didn’t ask about it. Already ahead – out of habit, so to speak – he assumes that he knows what the situation requires. Without asking the guest’s wishes, she prescribes what to prioritize and what to happen. Jesus makes it clear to her that he does not want her to be busy first, but that there is something more important.

Mary sits at the Lord’s feet and listens to his speech. According to rabbinic understanding, teaching and instruction were intended for men only. Women were excluded from all learning. Women in the Jewish world had no significance in either the religious-legal sphere or the political-social sphere. According to historian Josef Flavius, a woman is less important than a man in every area of life, and therefore she must obey him.

However, Jesus refutes this Jewish understanding and recognizes women as equals. He pays attention to them and addresses them with his words. In our narrative, Mary is depicted listening to Jesus’ words. It is necessary and always right to obey the Lord. Jesus came to visit Martha and Mary, not to initially heal them, but to listen to them. First, he wants people to listen to him. Marta, with all her goodwill, neglects this wish. Only Mary agrees with what Jesus wants. He wants to give first, then receive. Jesus does not wish for violent activity, who always knows what is right, so what must be done, but first wants discernment and peace with which a person listens, thinks, lets himself be told, what is essential, and what needs to be done.

If we put it into the present, Jesus wants us to listen to him and then act. Saint Benedict understood this beautifully many centuries ago. He put it beautifully and wisely: „Pray and work.“ We have a strong tendency to change this order to work, and when we have time left to pray. And we all know very well what the result is. We work, we are stressed, we don’t sleep, we get sick, and we complain. Sometimes pills don’t help either. Jesus offers us another solution. Every day to find time to listen to God in prayer and then to work. Those who want to are looking for ways to do it. Those who don’t want to look for reasons not to.

Father Leo is a novice master in a Trappist monastery. One day, they asked him a question: „Prayer and everyday life – how can you reconcile them?“ Answers: „I would rather say: for our life to be every day, we must root it in prayer. The primary issue of our time and lives is the erosion of genuine values and identity. We don’t know who we are. We do not know the deep meaning and goal of our lives, nor the means to achieve them. Our hearts are fragmented, and we are lost within ourselves. That’s a pretty abnormal condition. Suppose we want to break free from the captivity of this emptiness and hopelessness, without falling into two very fashionable extremes: overwork or depressed resignation. In that case, we must find our ultimate identity. And only prayer will bring us the answer to these questions, because what most deeply shapes each person is his ability to know and love God. Only when we give time and space to God, that is, simple and persistent prayer, do we find a way to others and to ourselves, and our life becomes truly „normal.“

Let’s try to live properly according to St. Benedict’s motto: „Pray and work.“ This is the right lifestyle for a Christian. 

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This is what you will say to the children of Israel:Ex 3,14

Posted on 16. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

 Moses asks God for His name, and He answers him, “I am who I am.” What does that mean? God’s conversation with Moses becomes more interesting because Moses already knows who he is talking to. God had already told him before: “I am… God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob” (Ex 3, 6). In today’s reading, Moses seriously asks what to say to the Israelites when he tells them that God will save them. He is not so much interested in who God was in the past, but who he is now. Is he powerful enough to overcome the Egyptian gods and do what he promised?

God  answered this question, “Tell them I HAVE sent you.” He is not the God who only “was” the God of the ancestors of the Hebrews. He is their God even today. Likewise, he remains an effective and powerful God whose presence never fades or disappears. Furthermore, he is a God whose love is permanent. He is eternal and omnipotent. He is always and everywhere. This answer is a testament to God’s accessibility, understanding, and humility. The pagan gods demand gifts from their worshipers, and even then, they do not guarantee that their prayers will be answered. Unlike them, the God of the Hebrews finds and meets his people. He goes to meet them and offers them salvation and freedom. His love for them does not depend on what they offer him. He is, and what he is, straightforward and life-giving at the same time: God is love and redemption! Kiss that God? He is the God of Moses, Abraham, and David. He is the God of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. However, he is also your God – your Father, breadwinner, redeemer, and protector. During the day, often remind yourself that God is the One who is. He who created the earth and the vast sky also made you and how you are to follow him. Bow to him. Praise him. Love him and trust him. He is and always will be, I AM!

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So thou shalt say unto the children of Israel

Posted on 16. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

 He that is sending me unto you › Ex 3, 14. Mose asks God for his name, and he answers him: „I am who i’m“ (Ex 3,14). What does that mean? God’s conversation with Moses becomes interesting because Moses already knows who he is talking to. For God had said unto him before, „I am.. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of James“ (Ex 3, 6).  In today’s reading, Moses seriously asks what to say to the Israelites when he tells them that God saved them. He doesn’t care who God was in the past, but who He is now. Is he powerful enough to overcome the Egyptian gods and do what he promised? G answered this question: „Tell them I SENT you“. He is not just God, who was the God of the ancestors of the Hebrews. He is their God even today. Furthermore, he remains an effective and powerful God whose presence never fades or disappears. He is a God whose love is permanent. He is eternal, almighty. It is infinite and is everywhere. This answer is a testament to God’s accessibility, understanding, and humility. The pagan gods demand gifts from their worshipers and, even then, do not guarantee that their prayers will be answered. Unlike them, the God of the Hebrews finds his people and meets them. She goes to meet him and offers him salvation and freedom. His love does not depend on what his people offer him. He IS, and what He is straightforward and life-giving: God is love and redemption! Kiss it, God? He is the God of Moses, Abraham, and David. He is the God of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary. However, he is also your God – your Father, breadwinner, redeemer, and protector. During the day, remind yourself that God is the One who is. He who created the earth and the open sky also made you and the paths to follow him. Adore yourself in front of him. Praise him. Love him and trust him. He is and always will be, I AM!

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The Rise of a New Pharaoh, Ex 1, 8-10

Posted on 14. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

 The passage begins with the sobering reality that a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. This king’s ignorance of Joseph’s legacy signifies a shift in the relationship between the Israelites and the Egyptians.  Joseph, once a savior and a leader, had become a distant memory. The new Pharaoh saw the growing population of  Israelites not as a blessing but as a threat.

In our lives, we too may face moments where our  contributions and the  sacrifices of  our  forebears are forgotten. We must actively remember our roots, our  history, and  the faith  that has  brought us to  where we  are today.  Just as  the Israelites had to  confront a new reality,  we  too must recognize the  challenges that arise when  we  forget  our heritage.  The Pharaoh’s response to his  fear is  to oppress the Israelites through forced labor. He enslaves them , subjecting them to rigorous and  and  bitter  toil.  This  oppression reveals a harsh   truth; fear can lead  to inhumanity. The  Egyptians, once  united with the Israelites through Joseph, have  now  become  their oppressors

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St.Kamil de Lellis

Posted on 12. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

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Used with permission of The Hagiography Circle

St. Kamil de Lellis

Camillus de Lellis

July 14, non-binding monument
Position: Priest, founder of the MI order
Deaths: 1614
Patron: Rome, all health workers and nurses, hospitals, and the sick, dying

Attributes:

Angel, Christ, cross (red on clothing), sick

BIOGRAPHY

He came from Chieti in Abruzzo, Italy. He spent his youth among the soldiers and fell into a gambling addiction. In the service of the Venetian Republic, he fought against the Turks. After his conversion, he wanted to become a Franciscan, but due to an incurable wound in his leg, he ended up as a nurse in the hospital where he was being treated. Influenced St. Philip Neri became a priest and founded the religious society of Servants of the Sick. In it, he was an example to other confrères for the rest of his life.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

THE PLAYER WHO FIXED HIS GAZE ON THE CROSS

He was born on the 25th. 5. 1550 in the Abruza town of Bucchianico near Chieti, south of Pescara in central Italy. His brother, who would have been older, died as a baby many years before his birth, and so was virtually an only child. The pious mother of advanced age had little strength and watched Kamil’s restless nature with concern. His father did not stay at home much. As an imperial soldier, he became the commander of the garrison in the Adriatic port of Pescara years later.

At the age of 13, Kamil’s mother died, and his father took him in among the soldiers. He said he could not read or write, but he learned to play cards and dice passionately. At the age of 19, he too became a soldier with a service affiliation under Venice. About a year and a half after that, he was to join a military expedition against the Turks, which then won the naval battle of Lepanto, but without his participation. His father died near the port of Ancona, and Kamil still had an open wound on his right leg that did not want to heal. Because of this, instead of fighting, he went to a Roman hospital with terminally ill people. Even then, seeing the misery of others, he helped with the care of others during his treatment. He was treated for 9 months; his leg gradually healed. However, despite his efforts to help others, he remained too quarrelsome and unable to break free from his passion as a player, leading to his release at the end of 1571.

Kamil returned to the army and at the same time unsuccessfully tried his luck in the game as an addicted fanatic. He took part in the battles against the Turks in Dalmatia and Tunis. He was dismissed from the war in October 1574, and, having lost everything and become a beggar, he sought some occasional work at the age of 24. At the port of Manfredonia on Gargano in Apulia, he found it on the construction of a Capuchin monastery and with it a temporary home, because the Capuchins took it

To reasonable reproaches, he had a prompt reply: “A true soldier dies in battle, a sailor at sea, and a servant of the sick is to die with those whom he serves.” In Rome, Sixtus Hospital, 3,000 sufferers died of the plague in a short time, and therefore no one wanted to serve there. Kamil left with eight brothers. They found a foul smell, dirt, and five of them fell victim to the infection in a short time. Therefore, Kamil incredibly increased his performance and worked even when he wasn’t supposed to. Filling straw bales was among the necessary work he also did there. The rotten and defiled had to be replaced with clean ones, which someone had to fill with straw and cover. Kamil is even said to have sewn blankets. He was a shining example of the principles to which he led his brothers. In 1607, he renounced the position of superior so that he would be all the more a servant of the sick, although he did not stop being sick.

In addition to a 40-year unhealed ailment in his leg, he had a painful hernia, to which he helped himself in the service of the terminally ill, and hid other diseases from doctors only out of fear that doctors would urge the need to save. When he couldn’t help, he endured his suffering, pleased others, and showed his kindness to everyone, at least with a word. He was taken to the order’s hospital among the poor suffering. He remembered with gratitude that he had been saved from the hellish punishment he would have deserved in his youth. With a lovingly crowded heart, he died blissfully after the last of 33 illnesses. He was buried in the monastery church of St. Magdalene’s near the Pantheon. God glorified him with miracles. Pope Benedict XIV. Ho 7. 4. 1742 beatified and 29. On 6 June 1746, he was canonized. In 1886, he became the patron saint of the sick and dying, and in 1930, Pope Pius XI appointed him patron of all nurses and other nursing staff.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

St. Kamil also encouraged his brothers with the words of Christ: “Whatever you did to one of these poor ones, you did to me.”(Mt 25,40) I will reflect on that statement, and perhaps recall the opposite part of it in verse 45: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you have not done to one of these …”

God, You gave the holy priest Kamil a precious gift of compassion for the sick and dying; for his merits, pour the spirit of your love on us too, that we may serve You in our neighbors and reach You safely at the hour of death. Through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, for He lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout all the ages of ages. 

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The Sacrament of marriage.

Posted on 11. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

The Sacrament is a manifestation of God’s presence with us and our relationship with God. As Christians, we learn from the very beginning to live by the Sacrament of Baptism. By giving himself to God, and God giving himself to him. In this way, he must learn to live also from the sacrament of marriage. Spouses are called to live the sacrament of marriage even if we were wholly separated from the world. We must also be able to live the sacrament. Spouses must understand the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is a vocation in the concrete life of the Church. We respond to this call with a free yes.

The sacrament of marriage, or the reception of the sacrament of marriage, is the confirmation that the spouses are giving themselves. This marriage transfer has all the elements of a contract. There is a great deal of trust associated with the marriage contract. Man cannot live the sacrament and marriage by his strength. Only with God’s help can you put up with the mistakes of the other person when we see Christ in the other person. There are three people in a Christian marriage—man, Woman, and Jesus. Jesus enters into a marriage. Those who dare to exclude Christ from marriage will inevitably encounter difficulties. Marriage is the smallest cell of the church. The Church is a sign of unity and salvation. And spouses are obliged to live in harmony. Spouses also have to fight against selfishness every day. I want to live for God through you. And I accept my partner as he is every day.  Whenever I do this, I present the sacrament of marriage. Spouses serve each other willingly and with love.  To what extent do we surrender ourselves to God, to such an extent that we can accept Him? At times, marital service can be a substitute for other religious activities. For example, he takes care of a sick man or a disabled child, etc. The granting of the sacrament of marriage is for all the spouses, one another giving to the other.

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Christian marriage.

Posted on 10. July 2025 by Peter Prochac

Marriage is a reality, so magnificent. Marriage is a reality as complex as life itself. Marriage has enormous value. It came out of God’s hands, and it always has a future ahead of it. The fact that marriage sometimes becomes commonplace for people. It is a manifestation of human smallness. Suppose we want to discuss marriage from God’s perspective. It’s good to keep it in front of your eyes from the beginning. What happened to marriage during the history of salvation? How disastrous it is that man has entered into God’s plan. And how ingeniously God began to correct this human confusion, God created man to be in his image. He created him male and female. And God blessed them. We know that the message of the Old Testament about marriage is also magnificent. A man and a woman stand before God in an equal relationship. A man is a gift to a woman, and a woman is a gift to a man. Their mutual relationship is then a gift from God. It is perhaps more important than people admit. Because if we look at a fact in life as a gift, we can’t approach it as critics out of principle. As those who choose and buy. A woman is not bought, nor is love bought, nor is it sold. It’s grace; we’re accustomed to having to obtain everything or buy it. Most young men don’t get a wife from God.  They find it.  She can be glad that they found her. And most husbands are not a gift to their wives. God had a goal with marriage. We know what happens when a person opens himself to sin. The man began to believe that he could do whatever he wanted with his wife. The women, on the other hand, think that she has value only when it becomes tempting for a man. We were born with a great affection for each other, love. This self-love takes many forms in our lives.  This self-love complicates the life of each of us immensely, and of course, it breaks every marriage from the beginning because people are called to love in marriage. And unless they are aware of this, they begin to blame others for a lack of love. And what was supposed to unite them? Will start to divide them. And this unsuccessful state, when people have to live in a marriage.

Someone wise, he noted. It’s hard with a woman, but it’s even harder without one. But God didn’t mean it that way.  We will now examine Jesus’ concept of marriage. This will exceed all expectations. Where Jesus entered, everything exceeded human expectations. We know that the dignity of man after redemption is far greater than in creation. We could also say that the sacrament of marriage, as he understood it, far surpasses the Old Testament idea of marriage. For this reason, we can appreciate how fortunate we are to live in today’s times. But living by Jesus’ideas ‘ ideas is not easy at all

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