Who is Jesus Christ? A question that is still relevant, timeless, and thought-provoking. The name Jesus means “God gives salvation.” It expresses Jesus’ identity and his mission. And in turn, Christ means “anointed one.” God sanctified him and anointed him with the Holy Spirit for the work of redemption. Thus, his very name reveals to us who he is. At the outset, however, we must answer the question whether this is a fictional character or a real person who lived on this earth. Many opponents say that Jesus is a mere invention of the evangelists, a kind of ideal that the Church created for itself. But the evidence is clear. Many non-Christian historical sources, such as the pagan writers Pliny and Tacitus, as well as the Jewish historians Josephus Flavius and the Talmud, testify to the life of Jesus Christ. Based on these sources, we know that Christ is not some fictional character, but a real person. We learn the most about his life from the Gospels, as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each of them, in a particular style, presents their perspective, but they have one thing in common – the Good News. The Son of God became man, by the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh from the Virgin Mary for us humans and our salvation. He did this to reconcile us sinners to God, to let us know his infinite love, to be a model of holiness for us, and to make us partakers of God’s nature. The Holy Father Benedict XVI says: “God is so great that he can become small. God is so powerful that he can become defenseless and comes to us as a helpless child so that we can love him.” Jesus showed by many signs that He has divine power over nature, evil spirits, sin, and over death. His divine origin, his divine son ship, he supremely proved by his resurrection. Jesus Christ is both a true God and a true man in one person. They are not two distinct persons, nor is there any competition between the two natures, nor is there any mixture or fusion. In Jesus Christ, God became one of us and our brother, and yet He never ceased to be God and therefore our Lord. That is to say, the 2nd article of faith is pointing to faith in Christ, the God-man, who is our only Lord because He saved us.

The flame of this year’s candle is burning out. In a few hours, this year will be a thing of the past. Before the twelfth stroke of the old year strikes and a new letter begins to be written, before we toast, congratulate all the good and what we consider necessary, and useful for the coming year, let’s stop, evaluate the old year ending and give thanks for all the graces, blessings, which we received from God.

John wrote to us about our God, who came among us as a man similar in everything except sin: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But to those who received him, he gave the power to become children of God” (Jn 1:11-12). We could not wish for anything more beautiful than that God came personally among us, that he lived the same life and under the same circumstances, although it was almost two millennia ago and in Palestine. His life from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, from the manger to the cross, speaks of love and love again. From his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. He showed us the way where we should not have known the consequences of sin, which we remember today even as the year ends. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, the true God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, desires our presence for all eternity in union with God. No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son of God, who is in the arms of the Father, brought the news about him. This news is not only a stop at the manager but also a stop on the last day of the civil year. He, whom we call the Word and who was in the beginning, desires that we all believe through him.

A serious part of our life is ending. How many more do we have to go? None of us can be sure that in a year he will be among the living, that even next New Year’s Eve we will be blessed, by this God here on earth, to thank and beg. That is not in our hands, nor what is ending now. It is no longer possible to erase, erase, or erase anything from what was. We will not take back the word, we will not stop the deed, and even the thought in our mind is known to God. If we cannot change the past, and we are not masters of the future, then what can we do? The answer is clear. To experience the presence in connection with God. Realize the value of the present moment. The most precious moment in life is the one we are experiencing. It will not return any more than the water in the river will not return. You can’t stop it, so don’t even worry about what the future holds. We must live now, and for us, it means living in the presence of God. Just as we will read it before midnight from the Book of Ecclesiastes: ” There is a time for everything and a time for every effort under the heaven.” There is a time to be born, there is a time to die, there is a time to plant, and there is a time to pull up the seedlings… There is a time to cry, there is a time to laugh. There is a time to grieve, a time to dance…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4). We know an event from the life of the great saint St. Ignatius, who once told his professor St. To Francisco Xaver: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but suffer damage to his soul?” A vain young man and a professor eager for fame, he sets out to find Christ. He does it perfectly. When he finds it, he declares: “He who has once known Christ will not be able to resist taking hold of him. But I assure you that there is no greater cross than to crucify oneself if we want to belong to Christ.”

This is to live daily from waking up until the last realization in bed in the evening that nothing that is not connected with God has no meaning and can only serve us for shame and damnation. Therefore, the motto of the spiritual family was founded by St. Ignatius, of which St. Francis Xavier is: “Everything for the greater honor and glory of God!” – “Omnia ad maiorem Dei Gloriam!” When we look at our ending year in the spirit of these words, we have something to fix, improve, and renounce. It ends this year. Let us entrust him to God’s mercy, God’s love, and the resolutions, seriously meant, that in the new year we want to live the teachings of our Redeemer and Savior more seriously, in experiencing the present moments, and all this for the greater honor and glory of God!

Before the candle of the ending year goes out, before the last stroke of the twelfth-hour strikes, let us evaluate our parish year, and how we have fulfilled our duties… Let us realize that these numbers do not say everything. Statistics can indicate a lot, but what is decisive is our inner self, our relationship with God, and our parish fulfillment of the duties that God asks of us and the Church requires.

The Holy Family is a model of communication

We have a really beautiful day today… Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The designation “saints” places this family in the realm of holiness, which as such is a gift of God, but also a free and responsible consent to God’s plan. This was the case of the Nazareth family: it was fully at the disposal of God’s will.

Who could not be amazed at, for example, Mary’s submission to the actions of the Holy Spirit, who asked her to become the mother of the Messiah? After all, Maria, like every young woman of that time, had before her the realization of her life plan, that is, to marry Jozef. But when she realizes that God is calling her to a special task, she does not hesitate to call herself his “servant” (cf. Lk 1:38). Jesus highlights her greatness not so much for her role as a mother, but for her obedience to God. Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28), just like Mary. And even if Mary does not fully understand the events that affect her, she silently contemplates, ponders, and adores God’s actions. Her presence under the cross finally sanctifies this complete surrender of hers.

But as far as Joseph is concerned, the Gospel does not capture a single word of his. He does not speak, but acts in obedience. He is a man of silence, a man of obedience. In today’s Gospel (cf. Mt 2:13-15, 19-23), this obedience of the righteous Joseph is captured three times – during the flight to Egypt and the return to Israel. Under the guidance of God, represented by an angel, Joseph takes his family out of the reach of Herod’s threats and saves them. The Holy Family thus identifies itself in solidarity with all the families of the world who are forced to emigrate, it identifies with all those who are forced to leave their land because of oppression, violence, and war.

After all, the third figure of the Holy Family is Jesus. He is the will of the Father: in him, says St. Paul, there is not both “yes” and “no”, but only “yes” (cf. 2 Cor 1:19). And this was manifested in many moments of his earthly life. For example, in the event in the temple, when he answers to his parents, who were anxiously looking for him: “Did you not know that I am supposed to be where my Father is?” (Lk 2:49); or his repeated statement: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me” (Jn 4:34); or his prayer in the garden on the Mount of Olives: “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me and I must drink it, let you will be done” (Mt 26:42). All these events are a perfect realization of the very words of Christ, who says: “You did not want a sacrifice or a gift… Then I said: ‘Behold, I come… to do your will, O God.'” (Hebrews 10,5-7; Ps 40.7-9).

Maria, Joseph, Jesus: this is the Holy Family of Nazareth, which represents the congregational response to the Father’s will: the three members of this family help each other to discover God’s plan. They prayed, worked, and communicated with each other. And I ask: Do you know how to communicate with your family, or are you like those kids who are at the table and everyone is chatting with a cell phone in their hand? At such a table there is silence as at mass… but they do not communicate with each other. We have to start a new dialogue in families: parents, children, grandparents, and siblings have to communicate with each other… This is today’s homework, just on the day of the Holy Family. May the Holy Family be a model for our families, so that parents and children support each other in faithfulness to the Gospel, which is the basis of the sanctity of the family.

FROM Let us believe in Our Lady, the “Queen of the Family”, all the families of the world, especially those that are tested by suffering or difficulties, and let us ask for her maternal protection.

It would be very difficult to imagine a group of people committing original sin without laws, orders, and regulations that help guide the actions of life. They become a guide, guide, help. Laws must not harm. Although they often carry sanctions and punishments, we understand them as useful for society.

Even the Church has its regulations, laws, tea, and things, but they do not deprive us of freedom of decision. Every man who enjoys reason and free will must be aware of the reward or punishment of his life. This Gospel also tells us about the order of the Law of Moses on the day of purification, which reads: “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord”, and that they should sacrifice, as the Law of the Lord preaches, a pair of turtledoves or two pigeons” (Lk 2, 23).

Even Mary and Joseph, who are husband and wife before the world, know the Law of Moses. They know about the Law that God gave to Moses that “every firstborn among your animals and every male will belong to the Lord” The Law continues: “You must redeem every firstborn among your children. And when your son asks you in the future: “What does this mean?”, you will answer him like this: “With a strong hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. Since Pharaoh was reluctant to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborns in the land of Egypt, from the firstborns of humans to the firstborns of cattle. Therefore, I will now sacrifice to the Lord everything that opens the mother’s womb, if it is male, and I will redeem every firstborn son of mine” (Ex 13:12-14). This is to be a sign that the Lord brought the nation out of Egypt. Moses also determines the time of purification in the Book of Leviticus. It was on the fortieth day after the birth of a boy and the eightieth day after the birth of a girl. During all this time, the mother did not appear in public. After the birth of the boy, the mother was considered Levitical unclean for 40 days and therefore underwent a purification ceremony in the temple. Even with this provision, the law reminded the Jews of the general prevalence of sin to arouse in them a desire for mental purification.

Mary was conceived without sin, she became a mother in a supernatural and holy way, therefore she was not sinful and therefore not subject to the purification ceremony. However, out of humility and obedience to the sacred Law – so as not to offend anyone, she submits to this provision and on the fortieth day after giving birth, she goes to the temple to undergo the ceremony and sacrifice her Son to God. We see that the poverty of the Holy Family is manifested even in the sacrifice of purification. The rich were supposed to sacrifice a lamb. Poorer families were allowed relief and had to give two doves or two pigeons as a sacrifice. There lived in Jerusalem a man named Simeon, a just and religious man, who expected the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not die until he saw the Lord’s Messiah. Led by the Holy Spirit, he entered the temple. And when the parents brought the child Jesus to fulfill the Law, he took him in his arms and praised God with the words: “Now, Lord, you will let your servant go in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all nations: light for the enlightenment of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel, your people” (Luke 2:29-32). We see that Joseph is referred to as the “father” of Jesus, although in reality he is only an educator. Simeon’s words speak of the future persecution of this “child”. When they persecute the Son, his mother will also suffer. There will be a sorting of spirits in Israel and in all of humanity. People will be divided: some will follow Jesus, others will stand against him, of course, to their own detriment and destruction. Simeon’s words were later confirmed by Jesus himself during his ministry: “I have come to set the son against his father, the daughter against his mother…” (Mt 10:35). Jesus will also say about himself: “I have not brought peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). The law of Jesus can be known nowadays by every cultured person. None of us can pretend that we don’t know him. We also know that ignorance is no excuse. 

Today’s saint – Tomas Becket and the martyrs under King Henry II can also be an encouragement to us. Tomáš is his best friend. He makes him chancellor and together they oppress the Church. After the death of the old bishop of Canterbury, although Thomas resists, the king appoints him bishop. Tomas will change. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, which he received during his priestly and episcopal ordination. Friends became enemies, but only from the king’s side. Thomas defends the Church with his own life. He used to be against it, he was zealous for the king, but after the ordination, he is zealous only for the honor and glory of God. He was forced to flee to England. As a monk, he lives in France. But his place is at home, in England. Here he dies on the steps of the altar under the swords of the knights. The king came to his senses and repented.

In our language, the word enemy sounds rather drastic. Therefore, more than one person will easily assure us that he had no enemies. In Scripture, on the other hand, this expression is frequent, especially in the Psalms. Its meaning, however, is milder. It simply means a person who has wronged us in any way, even lightly, by words or taunts. In this sense, we have, understandably, we have many enemies, more than the hairs on our heads (Ex 39:13).

In the Gospel, the emphasis is explicitly on this, that we should not exclude even such from Christian love: You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: Love your enemies, and pray for those who..for your enemies, for those who persecute you… For if you love those who love you love them, what reward can you expect? Don’t the tax collectors also do this? (Mt. 5:43-46). Enemies, then, have a special significance in our spiritual development. For it is in them that the purity of love will be shown, love of neighbor which gives and does not expect it back, the love of God and typically Christian (agape). For by this the disciples of Christ are known (cf. Jn 13:35). It is natural to love the one who does good. But at the first wrong, affection stops and one appeals to the principle: “As thou hast done unto me, so I do unto thee!”

The Gospel asks more of us. It is for this reason that he asks. What are you doing strangely? (Mt 5:47) A practical remark concerning the love of enemies is given by P. Calcagno. He says that with real enemies life is not so difficult as “with enemies in imagery, those we have made for ourselves.” Especially those who are inclined to be impatient, carry in their memory every unpleasant word, and draw so many consequences of every insult that they soon feel as if they were in a lion’s den. If they change places, it goes on for a while, but soon they find someone to hurt them again. About such people like that, they have to endure themselves more than their enemies.

Two thousand years of Christian tradition have left visible traces in the social behavior of cultural peoples. The rules of decency dictate many outward forms of charity: one must yield to one’s elders, give way to the other, offer food, etc. He who does not want to be rude observes all this. But we know from experience how disgusting it is outward politeness where inward affection is absent. St. Paul exhorts Christians to have charity without guile (Rom 12:9). This does not mean that we must cast off outward forms of decency as hypocritical, but we are to try to revive them, to give them meaning. For this, of course, cheap goodness, and joviality, are not enough, but a real inner respect for the other and an effort to serve him.

 The rules of social behavior say that when we meet someone for the first time, and it is necessary, we should introduce ourselves, or we should be introduced by a person who knows both of us. Let’s make a small exception today. We all know the person of John the Apostle. Let’s remember what he tells us about himself, or others so that it can serve to enrich our spiritual life. The name John is of very old origin and is one of the world’s most widespread names. In Hebrew it sounds Yochanan and means: God is gracious. Latin calls John Joannes. English – John, Johny, Jack, French – Jean, Spanish – Juan, Italian – Giovanni, Hungarian – János, Polish – Janusz, Serbo-Croatian – Jovan, Russian – Ivan, and so on. John’s parents were Zebedee and Salome. The mother was in the company when Jesus taught, and her two sons were Jesus’ disciples (cf. Mt 27:56). Salome served when Jesus taught (cf. Mt 15:40). John was a fisherman. John and his brother James with their father Zebedee and the hired workers were repairing the nets when Jesus passed by and called them. They left their father and followed him (cf. Mk 1:19-20). John the Baptist then said to his two disciples Andrew and John: “Behold, the Lamb of God” (John 1:35). Then they left John the Baptist and became disciples of Jesus. Even in the congregation of the apostles, John received a designation from Jesus. He was at the first miracle in Cana of Galilee. When Jesus went to resurrect Jairus’ daughter: “He did not allow anyone to follow him, except Peter, James and John, the brother of James” (Mk 5:37). At the transfiguration we read: “After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain and was transfigured before them” (Mk 9:1-3). When preparing for the Last Supper, Jesus personally entrusted John with the preparation: “So he sent Peter and John and said: “Go and prepare a lamb for us to eat” (Lk 22:8). The story continues with the Last Supper, where we read about John words: “The disciple whom Jesus loved rested at Jesus’ chest” (Jn 13:23). Jesus during his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane: “… he took Peter, James, and John, and terror and anxiety seized him” (Mk 14, 33). We can see the greatness of John in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, even under the cross of Jesus. So when Jesus saw his mother and next to her the disciple whom he loved, he said to the mother: “Woman, behold your son!” And from that moment the disciple took her to himself (Jn 19:27). We also see John’s personality at Jesus’ appearance at the Lake of Tiberias, when the apostles could not bring out the many fish they had caught. Here the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter: “It is the Lord” (Jn 21:7 ). This is what John himself says from his own life. In the fifth book of the New Testament, in the Acts of the Apostles, we feel the authority young John enjoys with his fellow apostles. On the way to the temple in Jerusalem, together with Peter, they healed a lame man (cf. Acts 3:1n). Together with Peter, we also see him performing the sacrament of confirmation in Samaria (cf. Acts 8:14-25). But even at the Diet in Jerusalem, together with Peter and James, he is considered a pillar of the Church (cf. Gal 2:9). The next performance of John leads us to Ephesus. Whether St. John lived in Ephesus, or whether he died somewhere in Palestine as a martyr, allegedly caused by the Jews, is also related to the authenticity of his Gospel. Christians and orthodox Protestants claim that Ephesus was John’s place of work, where he also died. Rationalists say the opposite. If we were to examine all the pros and cons, the general opinion, even from Protestants, is that John lived in Ephesus. Behind our opinion, we see St. Irenaeus, St. Justin, and Clement of Alexandria, who are behind Ephesus. John had a sanguine-choleric nature. That’s how Jesus rated him and his brothers when he called them “Boanerges” – “Sons of Thunder”. When the Samaritans did not want to accept Jesus, these two brothers wanted to punish them: “Let fire come down from heaven and destroy them!” (Lk 9:54). In the dispute about primacy among the disciples, he showed inappropriate zeal (cf. Mk 9:37). However, he was willing to suffer with Christ right away, as we know from his mother’s request to Jesus to grant her sons to sit in his kingdom, one on the right and the other on the left (cf. Mt 20:23). He shows his talent even in his old age. He had a good memory. For example, he remembered exactly when and where he met Jesus for the first time: “It was about ten o’clock” (Jn 1:39). From his work we have preserved the Gospel, which he wrote as the last of the evangelists around the year 100, probably in Ephesus. He wrote it to refute Jewish, Gnostic, and Baptist errors. He wrote three more letters and the Apocalypse – the last book of the Holy Scriptures. This is a brief, though it doesn’t seem like it, introduction to John the Apostle.

A loving  Christmas  holiday wishes  my reader Dr. Peter Prochác