BIOGRAPHY

He came from Tasovice from Znojmo. He originally trained as a baker. Due to poverty and the desire to study, he went abroad. After various trips, he received the sacrament of priesthood in Rome and joined the Redemptorist order, which he then introduced to Warsaw. After a blessed tenure, he was expelled and continued his apostolic tenure in Vienna. Watched by the police as an opponent of the declining Enlightenment and Jansenism, he became famous as a great apostle in all walks of life.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

FROM THE MORAVIAN BAKER, THE APOSTLES OF WARSAW AND VIENNA

He was born on the 26th. 12.1751 in Tasovice near Znojmo as the ninth of twelve children, and Jan was baptized. Father Petr Pavel Dvořák came from Mor. Budějovice and took over the farm and butcher shop in Tasovice. Mother Mary B. Steerova was widowed when Jan was six and a half years old. As a child, Jan began to desire a priestly vocation, but he was not up for studies, and at the age of 15, his poor mother taught him to František Dobš, a baker from Znojmo. After his apprenticeship, he worked in a monastery in Louka and, at the same time, attended a gymnasium for 4 years, which he finished at the age of 26. Then, from 1779, he worked in Vienna as a journeyman baker. They are already under the name Hofbauer. His master wanted to marry him to his daughter and give him a trade.

But John went to Italy with his friend, and they visited Rome. In Tivoli, he asked to be accepted into the hermitage there. Bishop Barnabas Chiarmonti (later Pius VII.) handed them a hermit’s robe on the feast of Clement of Ancyra on the 23rd. 1.1783, Jan Hofbauer took the new name, Clement Maria. The name reminded him of the day and his faithfulness to the Mother of God, whom he often invoked.

The desire for the priesthood led him to Vienna again. He started working in a bakery again while attending a catechetical course. Then, he did some service to three wealthy noblewomen, and they helped him financially so that he could begin his studies to prepare for the priesthood. However, the professors of the theological faculty were enlightened, and Clement Maria soon recognized that they were breaking with pure church doctrine. Therefore, he and his classmate Tadeáš Hýble interrupted their studies and went to Rome to find the source of pure doctrine. They met the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – Redemptorists and became its members there. They took religious vows on the 19th. 3rd and 9 days later 28. On 3 1785, they were ordained priests. After their education, they were sent from the Frosinone monastery to Central Europe to expand their religious family.

Klement Maria chose Warsaw as his place of work, where, after meeting Bishop Saluzzo, he was entrusted with the administration of the church of St. Benoni. He worked there with great zeal for 21 years and 1787 founded a Redemptorist monastery, which was the first outside the territory of Italy. Then followed the monasteries of others, and Clement Maria watched over them as vicar general of the religious society. In addition to founding and leading religious houses, he devoted his primary interest to pastoral care, and his stay in Warsaw can be described as a continuous people’s mission. With young people of different nationalities, he developed spiritual and social charitable activities, so to many, he was called an apostle of Warsaw. A particular picture of his work shows the increase in St. Communion in the church of St. Benon from two thousand to more than a hundred thousand a year.

Clement Maria Hofbauer achieved the conversion of many through the rosary. He carried in his hands the small rosary he had from Pope Pius VII, and when he once lost it, he was very sad. But a sister found him, and he gladly said, “You have helped me in the conversion of sinners, for every time I have prayed the Rosary for a sinner, I have attained his conversion.” He also begged penitents to help him convert sinners by praying many rosaries. He assured that he had always achieved the desired conversion with the rosary, even if they were sinners who had avoided the sacraments for thirty or forty years. And his face always shone when he could say that the Lord had given him another soul through the Rosary.

He also exhorted perseverance, adding, “I have seen many wicked men die holy, and I have seen many who seemed holy and died like wicked men.” He also recommended talking to God more about the sinner than to him about God.

In May. 1808 Napoleon, having occupation troops in Poland, ordered the liquidation of the Redemptorist monasteries and the expulsion of the religious. As a result of this order, Clement Maria and other religions were 17. 6th imprisoned and later expelled from Poland.

He came to Vienna again and immediately began a similar apostolate as in Warsaw. However, the police kept a close eye on him, but Archbishop Hohenwart held a protective hand over him. Clement’s first place of work was in the Minorite church, and 1813, the archbishop entrusted him with the church of St. Voršila with the leadership of nuns. Clement zealously developed his apostolate and greatly influenced ordinary people, students, and intellectuals. He became an advisor to some bishops, writers, artists and converts. He led many to spiritual vocations, especially among Redemptorists. Despite his essential personality, he also influenced the solution of church issues at the Congress of Vienna (1814-15). When he died, his funeral was a great manifestation of the respect of the people of Vienna. He was buried in the Maria-Enzersdorf cemetery, from where, in 1862, his remains were transferred to the redemptorist church of Maria Stiegen. He was beatified by Leo XIII in 1888 and canonized by Pius X in 1909.

RESOLUTION, PRAYER

I will ask for a perfect heart and turn my tithe to the Holy Spirit for help. Rosary, I will also pray for the conversion of sinners with a supplementary request to St. Clement.

God, You have given St. Clement firm faith and indomitable perseverance; hear our pleas and for his merits, help us to follow him with constancy in faith and perfection in love. Through Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, He lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout all ages. Amen

(final prayer breviary)

Prayer St. Clement M. Hofbauer for perfection:

Jesus, Your kindest heart does not reject even the greatest sinner when it turns to them. Therefore, I beseech Thee, give me and all repentant sinners a quiet heart, which loves a hidden life and does not seek favor with men and does not want revenge; a patient heart that can endure even the most significant difficulties of life; a peaceful heart that lives in peace with its neighbor and with itself, a selfless heart, satisfied with what it has.

Give me a heart that loves prayer, a heart that longs only for God to be known and loved by all creatures, a heart that grieves only over sin and has no other wish rather than supporting the honor of God and the salvation of one’s neighbor.

Give me a pure heart that seeks God in everything and only wants to please him; a grateful heart that is not afraid of anything but endures all adversities out of love for God; a heart generous to the poor and suffering to souls in Purgatory.

Give me a balanced heart whose joy and sadness, affection and difficulties with neighbors, and in general, the will of God governs all movements. Amen.

God told the prophet Ezekiel: „ But if a sinner turns from all the sins he has committed, and keeps all my commandments and acts according to law and justice, he will surely live: he will not die. I will not remember his sins that he committed, because of the righteousness that he has done, he will live. Can I rejoice in the death of a sinner? – says the Lord God – or not in turning from his ways and living?“ (Ez 18,21-23). From these words, we know that the Lord does not want to lose any of us. He says that He wants everyone to turn from their evil ways – to repent.

However, we often confuse repentance with fasting and the Sacrament of Penance. Repentance – metanoia – means a change of mind. True repentance begins within us – when we accept that the Lord wants to give His forgiveness and healing. He wants it first. He wants to provide us with His mercy – and not just once – but all the time, every day. …for his mercy does not pass away; it is renewed every morning; great is your faithfulness. God also promises Ezekiel that he will remember his sins. He will not remind him of them and return to the past. The Lord even warns us against turning back.

Let’s remember Lot’s wife who disobeyed. However, we cannot always recognize our mistakes and failures. We cannot always forgive ourselves – but the Lord says that if you do not forgive, I cannot. But, a change of mind changes our hearts, leading us to the Supreme more and more.  I will give you a new heart and put a new one within you; I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ez 18,31).

True repentance also involves a willingness to change our lives – to turn from our ways and walk according to God’s will. Listen to my voice; I will be your God, but you will be my people. Also, walk in every way I command you so you may be well guided. (Jer 7,23) The apostle Paul also invites us to this -, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God, which is good, and pleasing and  perfect.“ (Rim 12.2).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to you today as I am. You examine me and know all about me. I place my sins, falls, and failures in Your hands. You know them better than I do. Thank you for dying for them. Thank You for reconciling me with the Father. Thank you, God, for forgiving me through your Son. Thank you, God, for always giving me a new and new chance. From now on, I want to walk according to Your will. I give myself entirely to it.

Questions to ponder: Do you feel like you need a heart change? • Do you accept the Lord’s forgiveness? • Can you forgive yourself too? • Do you want to submit to His will?

It often happens that we feel very comfortable somewhere and don’t want to leave. Then we will probably remember today’s gospel and say to ourselves: Lord, we are good here! We would like this precious moment to never end. We can experience such a feeling, for example, on vacation, with a loved one, or after achieving some success. The desire to stay with Jesus is also heard from the mouth of the apostles. How did their joyful exclamation come about? Jesus had prophesied to them long ago that he must go to Jerusalem and lay down his life there.
Since they could not understand it under any circumstances, he wanted to show them that his death was inevitable. He took the three most trusted disciples to one of the Galilean mountains, probably Mount Tabor: Peter, James and John. Peter, who was to be the head of the Church, James, who was to be the first to lay down his life for Jesus, and John, who was to remain as the last living witness of all these events, and of course, all of them were to witness Jesus’ pre-mortem agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus began to pray, surely asking the Father to prove that His journey to Jerusalem and to the cross was necessary. The Father heard the Son’s prayer and proved it outwardly: first Jesus’ face, but also his garment, shone with a strong light, then the two greatest personalities of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, appeared and talked with Jesus, and finally a cloud covered them and God’s voice was heard.
The cloud in Scripture symbolizes God’s presence. It suggests that mortal man can never see the great and infinite God. The cloud at the transfiguration of Jesus is proof that the heavenly Father is also present at that moment. The apostles even heard His words: This is my chosen Son; listen to him! At that moment, everything was clear to the apostles. They realized that Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah, that he is the greatest because he is the Son of God. Then they longed for the moment to never end, after which Peter said Teacher, we are well here.
Let us make three booths: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. The situation is the same today. No one except Jesus Christ has so many monuments and paintings in the world. Let’s count the crosses in the cemeteries, on the streets, in the churches, in the houses… Let’s count the paintings and sculptures… How many people today publicly confess Jesus, how many love Him? Who today remembers, for example, Alexander the Great or Emperor Augustus? Who loves and adores them today? We have some sparse information about them – and that’s it! But can we count the number of people who have loved Christ, lived and died for faith in Him for two thousand years? Can we count the number of people who have given their whole lives to Him?
A few years ago, young people of Jesus Christ called him a superstar. They are excited to enter into a friendly relationship with him, with the greatest personality in the history of mankind. But we all have this opportunity every day during our visit to the temple. Let’s cherish the opportunity where Peter and I can always exclaim, “Teacher, we are fine here in your house! We are happy to meet you and receive you into our hearts, because only with you are we strong and safe. You are our superstar! Let’s conclude our reflection with the beautiful confession of St. Ambrose, for whom Jesus is a true superstar:
When I long to be healed of my sicknesses – you are a physician!
When I’m consumed by an unbearable fever – you’re a fresh spring!
When I feel remorse – You are forgiveness!
When I call for help in trouble – you are a power!
When I fear death – you are life!
When I long for the heavenly homeland – you are the way!
When clouds and darkness surround me – you are light!
When I thirst for certainty – you are the truth!
When I’m hungry for real food – you are the bread of life!
Where you are, Jesus, there is everything!
Where you are, Christ, there is peace!

An old proverb from experience says that „necessity” teaches a person to pray “. However technically and scientifically advanced our world is, situations occur in which we find ourselves powerless and at a loss. Let’s list only such facts as the announcement of the diagnosis of a malignant tumor or an earthquake, tsunami waves, armed conflicts, etc. It may seem to us who are raised under the influence of natural science thinking that turning to God in such and similar situations and waiting for help from him is unjustified. After all, the Lord God created the world and its laws and gave man free will. If he were to interfere in creating these realities, it would be a puppet show that doesn’t happen so much. And since everything is going according to the given laws anyway, even our prayer cannot change anything about it – which implies a simple conclusion that praying is useless.

However, this opinion is contradicted by the texts of the Holy Scriptures, which are read in the liturgy today. The Book of Esther captures the prayer of Queen Esther, who used it to prepare for a meeting with the Persian king. He gave full power to exterminate the Jews in his empire to the first minister. Esther is also Jewish, and her successful intervention with the king is the only hope of saving her and her nation. However, this event was also hazardous. Esther realizes that finding words that would affect the king is beyond her abilities. Even whether the king accepts her, as he decides, is not in her hands. Therefore, she prays and asks God to give her the right words and guide the king’s heart and decision in terms of saving the Jews.

From another text of the Book of Esther, we know that this intervention was successful, and in memory of this event, Jews still celebrate the Purim holiday. Jesus also encourages us to turn to the heavenly Father with absolute and persistent trust in today’s Gospel. He assures us that if we ask, we will receive: how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.“ However, this guidance and reassurance of the Gospel may allude to the harsh reality of our experience. How often have we asked for God’s help in sickness or other danger? No salvation has come, and everything has gone with its inexorable regularity. On the other hand, there are also positive experiences. So how is it?

First, we must take seriously the laws of nature, our responsibility, and the Lord God and his omnipotence. This means doing everything in our power to manage the problem responsibly. On the other hand, however, we must realize that God is still omnipotent and that his action takes place on a different level than the laws of nature or human freedom. He can achieve his purpose without disrupting the laws of his creation or the freedom of man, and he will achieve his intentions precisely through these laws and this freedom.

However, Jesus’ assurance that the heavenly Father will give us „good things“ must also be considered. But these things are good from the point of view of God, who is full of goodness, wisdom, and love. However, this does not mean they must be “god” regarding our current feelings and understanding. We long for what we consider good. If it’s excellent, God will give it to us. If he doesn’t give us what we want, we must be sure he will give us something better.

The most potent example of this is in practice in Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. His human nature feels the impending suffering and death as something evil that he rejects that he fears, and he asks the Father to take away from him this cup of suffering. However, he adds: „ Not as I want, but as you.“ (Mt 26, 39) This request of Jesus remained seemingly unheard. He had to drink the cup of suffering to the bottom. However, Easter morning showed that the heavenly Father gave him much more: he gave him the strength to manage suffering in the spirit of love for God and people, resurrected his body for eternal life, and gave him all power in heaven and on earth. Through him, he opened the possibility for all of us to overcome death and achieve eternal life and resurrection. It follows that asking God with trust is essential. At the same time, however, it is necessary to trust in his wise and kind management and to be willing to accept his will as the best for us and others.

Practical instruction: I will confidently pray for God’s help for myself and others. At the same time, however, I will try to convey God’s helping love to my neighbors.

Prayer: Almighty God, we beg you, give us the right thoughts and resolutions and give us the willingness to act on them; and because we cannot exist without you, help us live according to your holy will, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit for all ages. 

  Christian with the attribute „only if” – this is the one who claims to determine the conditions for God and faith. However, the result is not faith but ideology. Jonah was unwilling to accept that God could be merciful to sinners in Nineveh. It didn’t occur to him that he could give them a real chance and not punish them. Even a Christian can get into a similar attitude: he wants to put conditions on God himself and is unwilling to admit that God could behave differently from his ideas. This is about the so-called „Christians with conditions” who become so withdrawn into their ideas that they end up in ideology.

Jonah, stubborn in his beliefs about faith and the Lord, obstinate in his mercy: he will never leave us, knocking on the heart’s door until the end; he is there. Jonah was stubborn because he understood faith with conditions. Jonah is a model of Christians of the type „only if“, Christians with conditions: I am a Christian, but only if things are done like this. No, no, these changes are not Christian. This is heresy. This is not free. – Such Christians condition God, condition faith, and God’s action.

The attitude expressed in the words „ only if“ is an ugly path from faith to ideology. And there are so many today. These Christians are afraid. They are so scared of growth, life challenges, challenges from the Lord, and historical challenges; they are connected to their beliefs, primary beliefs, and ideologies. They are Christians who prefer ideology to faith and move away from the community, are afraid to surrender themselves into God’s hands, and like to judge everything but out of the smallness of their hearts. Two figures of the Church today are the Church of those ideologues who have nested in their ideologies and the Church showing the Lord who approaches every reality that is not hindered. The Lord will not be disgusted by this, he will not be deterred by our sins, he approaches as he approached to touch the lepers, the sick with love. Because he came to heal, he came to save, not to condemn.

I’m sure you’ve heard more than enough about holiness. There are many films and a few more books devoted to this topic. And maybe, even if you have already seen all the Holiness movies and read all the Holiness books, There will still be priests who know something about holiness. A short story is also connected to one such story. There was a priest who taught religion to children. He asked them once: who wants to be a saint? All the children raised their hands except for one boy. He looked uninvolved, downright incomprehensible. Nevertheless, the priest tried to encourage him: You don’t want to be a saint? – he asked him. No, I want to be… just normal. – replied the boy. The priest thought and, after a while, answered: That’s precisely what it is. To be expected, the way God created you.

I don’t know how the story goes, but are we enough to be expected? The kind God created us to be? In His image? Holiness has become an unattainable goal, and I dare say it is not. Holiness is not the goal; it is the foundation. The basis of me. The foundation of you. The foundation of Our God. Think about where you see holiness. I see her hidden in the little things of every day. In a smile, in an embrace, in forgiveness. Waiting for a classmate who will make you miss the bus. In taking the suitcase up the stairs, even if you don’t know the person and suspect them of having stones in them. I also see holiness in sharing food. Her day seems a little better in a relaxed seat on the tram or in the praise you give to the saleswoman. You can see holiness differently, and that’s perfectly fine. Take what you consider holiness and try to be like that today. We encourage you and the Lord to do so.

Prayer: Lord, you encourage us to be saints because You, Our God, are holy. We thank You for being our example, foundation, and rock on which we will try to build holiness today. Amen.

Questions to ponder: What does being a saint mean to you? Do you want to be a saint? What prevents you from doing so?

Lent has just begun, and many believers (finally, as it should be)are trying to experience it as a spiritual preparation for Easter, a time of repentance and fasting. And so, if they take their efforts seriously, they won’t avoid the question, „what exactly is fasting?“and „how to experience it?“Perhaps even more important is how to organize it. I think there are enough treatises and instructions on this subject, not only from spiritual literature but also from the practice of today’s church, and in general, a lot has been written and said about the post.

But today, we don’t have to go far for an answer; it’s enough for us if we listen carefully to the words of the prophet Isaiah in the first reading. Let’s put them in historical context. The Israelites experience their first years after returning from the Babylonian captivity; they have returned full of enthusiasm, but they find a plundered land, a ruined temple, full of difficulties they did not count on, and their enthusiasm begins to wear off, and their strength fades… What is more straightforward and seemingly more logical than to cling firmly to what has kept them spiritually afloat for decades, giving them strength? Namely, to the Law, its regulations, and commandments. But, instead of the norms and rules that lead them to life, they made idols out of them and absolutized them – so the result is a thorough and consistent fasting drill, but without contentment, heartless.

Isaiah feels how the life-giving content of the law disappears, and, therefore, as if through the mouth of the Lord, he instructs, stirs, and calls for true fasting. And it begins with what is easier to understand – not by further refining and chiseling Lenten commands, but by pointing out what fasting is not. At the same time, he helps himself with examples of misunderstood Lenten behavior: demonstratively fasting, theatrically pouring ashes on his head, showing himself in public in sackcloth, and chatting in the middle of ashes. Perhaps it is to increase the effect of punishing yourself with reprimands, but at the same time – and this is important! – to remain the old person with a complex and proud heart. Performing a fasting exercise that touches the body but inside, in the heart, does not change anything. Instead of transformation and reversal, only external cosmetic treatment. And what about the Lord’s prophet: „Thou shalt call this a fast, a day dear to the Lord?“

He then adds examples from the level of interpersonal relationships. You can also play Lenten theater and behave like a heartless, selfish person. Lent and repentant action are not, for example, to be angry, grumpy, and intolerant of one’s closest relatives in the family, just as being unfair to one’s co-workers, superiors, and subordinates and arguing, sobbing, resentment, envying, slandering, cursing, using violence. Or, to put it another way, eagerly looking for business, looking at where to rip off someone and where to crack something, is also not compatible with Lenten’s behavior. The Lord says again through the mouth of the prophet: „Is this the fast that I like, the day in which man is deadened?“And the lesson continues this time positively, with examples of fasting. Lent means being most just, helping others in their difficulties, accepting them as they are, and not wanting to manipulate them. Not to oppress anyone and not to despise anyone. Feed the hungry and dress the naked. Being the second brother in everything…

According to the Lord, this is the true Lenten, repentant and humble action. Its correctness is as if underlined by a promise: „Then your light will come out like a Zora, and your scar will soon heal. Your righteousness will go before you, and God’s glory will follow you. Then you shall call, and Yahweh shall answer you, shouting for help, and he shall say, Here I am.“

This promise fully balances God’s demanding demands. If we are honest and our inner attitudes and thoughts correspond to our deeds, we can count on God’s help in all situations and moments of our lives. God will become our companion and protector. And that’s not exactly enough.

At a time when a person thinks more often about the quality of his life. When does he dive inside and learn the truth about himself? He throws away the mask with which he is taught to live and sees himself truthfully: good and bad sides, his greatness and smallness, virtue and sin. These are days and moments of special favor from God; therefore, one should make good use of them. Among them are the days of Great Lent, which we began to experience. Every Sunday of Lent, we can look at our life from a different point of view. From what angle will it be today? The angle of our thinking about ourselves helps us create Jesus. His encounter with the devil directs us to reflect on a problem as old as humanity. It is the problem of the struggle between good and evil, the problem of temptation.

Let’s think deeply about why Jesus was tempted; when we think about it purely as humans and when we want to do a perfect psychoanalysis of this event, we will eventually come to the realization that no man could write this Gospel story. Man would never have come up with the idea that the Son of God would allow the devil to approach him. This is written by the inspiration of the Spirit of St. and Jesus allowed it so that we would be instructed. If by chance, we do not want to believe the words of the apostle Peter: “Be sober and watch! Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat” (1 Pt 5, 8). Or we wouldn’t want to believe Paul’s words:“ Whoever thinks he stands, let him be careful not to fall” (1 Cor 10, 12), so that we don’t accidentally talk, that we do not know about these things, Jesus himself presents us with his experience with the devil. He warns us that the devil is not a being from fairy tales but a spiritual reality with great power, courage, and refinement. The purpose of its existence is destructive activity. It consists of a permanent desire to destroy the harmony between God, people, and the world. It is clear from Jesus’ experience that the devil attacks three sensitive places of a person.

The first sensitive place is the question of physical needs. The devil wants to make Jesus the “baker of the world,” the servant of the stomach, matter, and enjoyment:“ If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus’ counter to the devil is clear:“ Man lives not only from bread”. He did not come into the world to prepare feasts for people or to open miraculous bakeries. He is not a baker but a savior.

Furthermore, he came to feed souls hungry for God, truth, and love. Writer Pappini said that if he turned the stones on the road into bread, the dogs would also come to his feast,” but our souls would remain hungry and empty. A person needs to feed his bodily needs, but if the soul is starving, our life resembles a withered flower in a nice pot.

The prominent sensitive place of a person is the problem of property, ownership, wealth, and social status. The devil showed Jesus all the world’s riches and said:“ I will give you all their power and glory… if you bow down to me”. When the devil failed to make Jesus a baker, he wanted to make him a millionaire. He has only one condition: to take his side, the side of evil. Goethe once said that“ are people who have been striving for nothing all their lives but to get a chair higher.” Such people can be dragged down to all intrigues to reach that chair. They can humiliate, blackmail, and even kill others just to fulfill the devil’s command: become powerful and famous. They sell their honor, family, and faith to rise higher and higher. We also see it in the behavior of well-known and unknown people in our society, of whom there are more and more. It is an old human experience that whoever stops worshiping God begins to worship himself. He must make himself a god at any cost to have a reason for this.

A person’s sensitive place is the desire for excellence. The devil is attacking this place, too. He wants Jesus to jump off the temple. He failed to make him a baker or a millionaire, so he wants to make him a gambling stuntman. Jesus also rejects this offer:“ You shall not tempt the Lord your God!” It’s undoubtedly remarkable when someone can do a stunt. But often, stuntmen pay with their lives for their courage. But even someone who does “stuntman`’, for example, in the moral area of his life, can pay with his life. Who dares not keep God’s commandments, who dares to reject the sacraments even on his deathbed, who teaches others to commit grave sins? Such exceptionality causes a person’s soul to perish and sometimes premature death. Let’s remember, for example, last year’s murder of the world-famous fashion designer Versace. Perhaps he was a good designer, but his moral life was a big gamble (homosexual), and that’s why he died prematurely.

Since the devil allowed himself to tempt the Son of God, he will undoubtedly allow himself to tempt us, too. It is just a temptation, but it is not a sin. It is even a sign that we belong to God. If the devil stops tempting us, it is a dangerous signal that he no longer needs to do it. We’ve already listened to him…. And we also don’t think that when it comes to temptation, you must immediately think about the 6th and 9th—God’s commandments. The devil did not think of these commandments when he tempted Jesus. He thought of such temptations, which, when a person succumbs, means that he will almost legitimately sin against these two as well. May our daily prayer help us always to be strong enough internally against all the subtle ways the devil will use to win us over to his sinful kingdom. Someone said whoever goes to the inn with the devil must pay the bill. I believe that none of us will let him invite you.