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 Children imitate their parents, Fathers, and mothers, you are teachers. Your children are students. The pitch of your angry voice, your mannerisms, and your mood are all imitated by your young children.

From a material point of view, this quality is the result or outcome of the action of several factors: health, temperament, thrift, or harmoniousness of life, equanimity, courage to take upon oneself all the consequences of truth and justice, a never-ending process of self-education, success in one’s relations to people, to work, unburdened conscience, sincere and deep faith in God’s providence, etc. Joy is a matter of the heart and has deep roots. It is not infrequently accompanied by cheerfulness. However, it also goes very well with seriousness. Cheerfulness is usually something external, superficial, even explosive, and passionate; joy is lasting, while cheerfulness comes and goes; joy is a state of the soul, and cheerfulness is an emotion that is suddenly there and just as suddenly gone. Without inner joy, there is no outer joy – as there is no heat in a room without heating.

Joy is said to be a gift in some rare cases of nature in people who were born on a Sunday. They have received it, as it were, but after reaching a certain stage of development, it has also played its part in upbringing. Thus, the inherited qualities of resistance to negative influences, courage, and intrepidity in the face of life’s trials were organically engaged by the conscious acquisition of noble human qualities. And the result? Clarity of mind and an untrained wellspring of joyfulness, so much so that others feel as if something radiates from these people. This kind of joyfulness can only be partially “taught.” It means perhaps that for all the other, less happy individuals who have not inherited this gift, this virtue is unattainable. Certainly not. Apart from the special interventions of God, it should be noted that certain prerequisites. The first of these is the inclination, nay, the courage to be joyful, and the second is the ability to create the manifold preconditions of joy. Education for joy must go hand in hand with education for piety – as the brilliant educator of the past did and preached to do, St. John Bosco.
Let us begin with the simplest: environmental modification, especially the home. This includes, among other things, the choice of suitable furniture, its color matching that of the walls, carpets, curtains and drapes, pictures and decorative objects, flowers, or plants. A rich source of joy is music and poetry, sociability and a sense of conviviality, the ability to be selfless in one’s approach to every personal virtue, etc. All this works to create a fertile space for joy – but it is not yet a virtue. One must insure oneself against two pitfalls: emotional lability and chronic moroseness. One must strive to eradicate them from the soul like rubbish or insects. One must not trifle with feelings that stem from these two attitudes of life but react, just as soon as the first dark cloud rises: to withdraw it below the horizon, to defuse it. Otherwise, the sky will soon be clouded with black clouds, and a storm, often with thunder, is here. It often requires a tough, but above all determined, methodical, and persistent self-discipline. If a man has often, by his own doing, attracted sorrow, he ought to have as much sense, ingenuity, and strength to attract joy as well. Interestingly, posture also plays an important role in this battle against irritation and sullenness. Having lowered shoulders, drooping arms, slouching, walking as if carrying a heavy load – all these things somehow predispose one to melancholy, if not to dissatisfaction or even anger. One must have the courage to straighten up, to give the muscles a certain tone, to clear one’s face, to find a “magic word”, so to speak, which will help one to acquire a new physical-psychophysical frame of mind. And not only to banish the gloomy mood but also to eliminate anxiety or fear of the future. But it must be very intuitive and spoken with a great deal of courage and humor.

Each person is sensitive to different expressions or slogans. However, there are some, generally very effective when first encountering our psyche. For example, the monosyllabic word “I like!”. Let’s say a person is standing in front of a difficult or unpleasant situation and says to himself: “Gladly!” or “I like it I’ll take it!” And immediately he feels not only a surge of courage and strength but also of joy. Another tried-and-tested “magic password” is the phrase, “It will be cheerful.”
Every man capable of introspection will realize after a time that something in a few moments will free him from the burden, melancholy, sadness, irritation, and even anger. For one, it is a kind of
melody or a song, for another the opportunity to groan at some image or sequence of images, for another some exercise or a few minutes of concentration on inhaling and exhaling, or finally a very concentrated utterance of a prayer that one knows by heart. There are as many “tricks” as there are people. Although – and this also needs to be must be said – that one must have the strength to reach for them.

The situation changes incredibly after some time of intense, relentless, but sensible practice. One feels (sometimes with a great deal of euphoria) that one is a free being who rules even over one’s feelings and moods and can enjoy pleasant things as well as hardships. At the same time, he also experiences a kind of higher joy that has its origin in chivalric courage to handle the hardest things bravely, honestly, and faithfully. Evening, night, and morning play a particularly important role in training oneself for the joyfulness of life. Before going to sleep one should lightly review all the experiences of the day, rejoice in what has been joyful, and say to yourself: “Tomorrow it will be even more joyful” – and reflect on the means of realizing joy. The night also plays a significant role here. Let us say that a man in the middle of the night wakes up in the middle of the night. He puts a smile on his face and says: I can still sleep, that’s great. Tomorrow, I’ll get out of bed fresh as a fish. And one of the first
thoughts he makes room for in his mind is the “statement”: “It’s going to be a beautiful, joyful day today” – and he’ll repeat it cheerfully when he needs to until the thought or the resolve pervades his whole being.

Whether such a thing is possible at all has every justification. The answer, however, can only be negative if one does not believe in the existence of an absolute Being who is just as good as omnipotent. Only if one has the opportunity to lean on it will one discover the source of “living water” – joyfulness in the sense we have described it: as a long-term, lifelong quality or virtue. For it is something else to shout enthusiastically “Joy!” when someone (or life) asks something pleasant of us, and it is something else to say in the face of unpleasant things or obligations, “It will be cheerful,” to be positive despite it all, and to turn to God by saying, “Yes, with joy, Father,” or “It will be joyful, Lord, For you and together with you all things will be well. Everything is a breeze for you.” We have said that cheerfulness is primarily a matter of the heart, but it radiates outward as well. This brightness may be feigned here and there, but never for long. It follows that people who radiate joy as a permanent way of life are a kind of intuitive, though unspoken, unstressed evidence of belief in Providence. Joy does faith credibility – and conversely, a sustained lifestyle of joyful faith is verified. A sullen, sad Christian is proof of the falsity of the “glad tidings” or the gospel, for he thus noiselessly, without a word, unintentionally, but all the more effectively, confirms the unbeliever in his conviction, that Christianity is incapable of bringing salvation.

Jesus heals from an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit’s words are surprising: “My name is regiment because there are many of us” (Mk 5:9).
The events that follow only confirm these words of the devil. Jesus allowed them to enter the pigs that were grazing nearby and those that fell into the sea. There were about two thousand of them. This is what this section wants to tell us: The power of evil is great, but Jesus has an even greater power to destroy evil because he is the Son of God. We see this in other places when he says to the woman:” Your sins are great, but go and sin no more” (John 8:11). She was forgiven much because she loved very much. This article is also intended to warn us about the amount of sin.

A person’s conscience can become dull, or an undesirable habit can occur, which does not add to a person’s joy, on the contrary. We must take seriously not only the seriousness of the sin, but also its number. After all, the doctrine of the sacrament of reconciliation leads us to this, so that during the sacrament we say not only sin, especially all serious ones, but also the number of them. We must realize the impact of one grave sin on our salvation, and even more, so we must realize the number of grave sins.

This is what the gospel is supposed to warn us about. One can meet Jesus. …he wanted to go to Jesus, but Jesus gave him another piece of advice: “Go home to your relatives and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you” (Mk 5:19). Every return to Jesus would make us, he should only rejoice. We should not behave like the owners of the pigs behaved. They only saw the material they askre asking Jesus to leave them. They are afraid of their other possessions…, perhaps. This stanzleadst leads us to the idea that even the multitude of sins is a great evil. One must not resign. The Church does not convey despair, and fear, but hope.

Example. Have you experienced something similar? The man was looking for a place where he could find pain in his soul. Once he entered a church where a priest and his faithful were praying: “We neglected the things we were supposed to do and did what we shouldn’t have done.” Then the man sighed and said quietly: “Thank you, God, that I found a way…”

It is necessary to renounce one’s pride. Pride is a seed. Pride and every sin will prevent you from entering the kingdom of God. 

One parable about the present life tells that the animals gathered together and complained to the people that they were being robbed of many things. “They’re taking my milk,” said the cow. “They’re taking my eggs,” said the hen. “They are taking my meat,” said the pig. “They are hunting me to take my fat,” said the whale. And so on. Finally, the snail spoke. “And I have something they’d like more than anything else. Something they would surely rob me of if they could. I have time.”

Today we look at Psalm 63. O God, you are my God Since the dawn of the morning I have been crying out to you, for you my soul longs. Waiting on God is the whole purpose of our Christian life. We have heard about God since childhood. We learned religion, we heard about God in church. We talk to God in our prayers. But can we say that we have found God? St. John the Apostle wrote. No one has ever seen God. The search for God is getting harder and harder. For we are influenced by secular culture. And it has no place for God because it no longer needs him. An explanation has been found for the universe, for the origin of humanity and for society. The natural sciences of sociology have replaced philosophy and theology. In earlier times, we needed God because we knew little about the workings of the human organism, the human brain. About the laws that govern human society. And God seemed to fill in the gaps of our human knowledge. Today, many of these phenomena are explained naturally. The successes of our scientific knowledge fill us with confidence that we will gain knowledge of other phenomena. It then seems as if there is no place left for God. As if he were a relic of a bygone age. And man, not God, becomes the center of our thinking. The Second Vatican Council, in the encyclical Gaudium et Spes, in point 12, acknowledged this reality. Both unbelievers and believers agree that all things in the world are meant for man, who is their center and summit. Religion has ceased to be the center of human society. Religion used to be what united. Today, it is the media that wants to unite this society. But only religion has the power to unite and create an inner bond. The environment of the modern world influences us. We often indulge in worldly affairs. We engage ourselves in various works, we devote ourselves to practical tasks. For example, social problems, but many times God is not in them. We are excellent social workers. But what separates us from unbelieving social workers if we lack a living faith? And then we realize that we cannot give up the presence of God. In the depths of our hearts there remains a longing for the living God. The more we know about our world, the more we learn about the hidden laws of how the human body works, how the universe works, the more we need the God in whom everything is contained and in whom everything is fulfilled. We need God more than people did in the past because our life has become a richer, wider world. But we require the living God. Mere words and doctrines are not enough for us. People are beginning to seek the experience of God, the certainty of his presence, and they cry out with the psalmist Lord show us your face. This is not just the desire of the psalmist, but it is the desire of the whole Christian tradition. And we want to join in this tradition. We also want to say. Lord, show us your face. But what do we really long for when we speak of God. Do we long for God, or do we long for experience. If we seek God, we must empty our full being so that this God can take possession of our entire life. This is the necessity that mystics and saints write about. St. John of the Cross writes that we must pass through the night of the senses, memory, and the will. In order that God may take possession of them, to fill them. If we speak of an experience of God, there is a danger of looking for an experience to fill ourselves, and we will surely fail because the experience becomes more important than God himself. The experience is not to be the goal, but the means of getting to God. Let us seek God with all our heart. Let us allow Him to take possession of our being. Then we will experience God. God is usually encountered in prayer. There are many ways to deepen our prayers. And it’s good to look at how I pray sometimes. To see if there is anything I need to improve in my prayer.There are many people who read about prayer,attend various seminars. All this can be useful, but there is no definite recipe. Everyone has to find his own way. Everybody has to find his own way of prayer. Someone is better when sitting, another needs to stand, another prays better when lying down. Let us stop today with Moses. Moses is a great figure in the Old Testament. Moses is said to have had an encounter with God. He met him in a burning bush. This is where his mission begins. What he experienced, he then passed on to the whole nation. As a child, Moses is saved and then when he became an adult he began to save his nation. But he began in the wrong way. He kills the overseer and then runs away. In the wilderness, he meets God. And God transforms him. In the burning thorn bush Moses recognized God’s presence and this is what we can learn from Moses. To distinguish the human from the divine. There is a lot of the thorny, the human in the church too, but we must not let that prevent us from seeing the divine in it. God commanded Moses to take off his clothes. St. Augustine says, if you think you have understood God, it is not God. God cannot be understood. God calls each of us by our name. And our response can only be as Moses’ was. Here I Take off your shoes, for the ground on which you stand is holy. Why we wear shoes. Shoes allow us to climb mountains, to be faster, to protect us from injury, to enhance our appearance. But before God, we take these shoes off. We have nothing to protect us. Before God, we are what we are. Not something different to hear about God and meet him. We too know God from the catechism, from talking, but have we experienced God’s presence?

To many, Thomas Aquinas is a symbol of cold intelligence. It is a paradox, because in reality it is the complete opposite: at the time when St. Thus, Tomáš was dealing precisely with the condemnation of rationalism. In the middle of the 13th century, there was a return to Greek philosophy, partly to Aristotle, and there was a temptation to exaggerate human intellectual abilities, to present man as the creator of the universe. Since st. Tomáš was a realist, he resisted the challenges of rationalism and opposed this direction. Realism – one could say it is a submission to reality. We are able to perceive the world and God only through the reality that bears the imprint of God. Tomáš’ entire ideology is rooted in the words of St. the apostle Paul: “For what is invisible in him – his eternal power and divinity – can be known by reason from the creation of the world from created things…” (cf. Rom 1:20).

Unfortunately, as we know, the ideology of medieval rationalism gave rise to the ideas of the Enlightenment. For idealist philosophers, for example Kant, the real reality is only the reason of the knower, and the present reality is only the work of this reason. Today’s rationalism is manifested in the belief in the unlimited technical abilities of man. For St. Tomas, as it can be seen in his main work “Summa theological”, man comes from God and returns to God. At the end of his life, St. Tomáš said that everything he wrote was just a straw. Therefore, our first request to St. For Thomas, it may look like this: may his example and prayer help us understand that human reason is not omnipotent, that our words are always insufficient to express the mystery of God.   

IN the time of Thomas Aquinas, there was also another way of thinking, with which he certainly fought, and that was Augustine’s pessimism. Many medieval theologians viewed man as a fallen creature that is very imperfect, fragile, and unworthy. In particular, they claimed that man is not capable of knowing the world or God, because his mind is darkened by sin. St. Despite this, Thomas was convinced of the dignity of human reason, he claimed that despite sin, our reason is inherently good because God created it that way. That is why man is able to know the universe. According to St. Thomas, man is able to know the universe and through it to get closer to God. Unfortunately, pessimism won then: we can say that starting with Descartes, almost all philosophers claimed that the human mind is incapable of knowing reality and therefore incapable of knowing God.

We can still find such pessimism among Christians today. How many “spiritual” teachers teach that the mind of God cannot be understood, that the human mind of sinful man is incapable of anything, that reason only leads to pride. Thomas Aquinas, like the other church fathers, was not afraid to use and highlight reason, which is created by God. For him, using reason was not only a possibility, but the duty of every person. Therefore, our second request to St. Thomas says: may he help us to use our reason so that our faith is strengthened.

Abut what is most important is the method used by St. Thomas Aquinas. It has already been submitted that St. Thomas opposed two that we can still encounter today: philosophical rationalism and Augustine’s pessimism. But to tell the truth, he never directly opposed this direction and did not condemn anything. He tried to find the truth wherever it could be found. For example, when St. Thomas did not report with St. Augustine, he did not say that St. Augustine is wrong, he only pointed out that the given question is much broader. The same with philosophers: St. Thomas, unlike the rationalists, used Aristotle’s philosophy in such a way that it helps to better understand the mysteries of our faith. The method used by St. Thomas Aquinas is a dialogue.

About was very curious and interested in various teachings: Greek, Arabic, pagan. He compiled his works, especially the “Theological Summa”, in the form of questions and answers, which still included questions from opponents and tried to give answers from different angles. That is why we also have a third request: let St. Tomáš will help us see the truth always where it is. According to legend, God asked St. Tomáš, at the end of his life, what he would like to receive for his life’s effort. Thomas answered: “Only You Lord!” When God also asks us such a question, let our answer be: “Non aliam nisi Te, Domine!”.

Can we say that we are good or bad people? Some talk about a person as good and others as bad – and it is the same person. Why? What is it in? St. Mark represents “…the seed that a person throws into the ground…” (Mk 4:26).

Jesus points to the Old Testament psalm (cf. 78:2) “I will open my mouth in parables, I will tell what has been hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt 13:35). Our life is too short to waste it, and we only have one life that will not be repeated, and therefore Jesus’ words are a lesson for us to correctly accept the reality of good and evil that exists in the world and that a person, gifted with reason and free will, cannot avoid.

Jesus says: “The sower of the good seed is the Son of man” – that is, himself. The role is the world. The good seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sowed it is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are angels” ( Mt 13,37-39).

Jesus reminds us that we should always be on our guard, we should watch so that evil does not surprise us. Evil, the Devil, is by God’s permission. It may seem to a person that evil triumphs over good, that the tares destroy the wheat. The opposite is true. Jesus does not teach us resignation. God has prepared a reward for faithfulness to God in the battles and struggles that a person must overcome in life. In the parables, Jesus clearly teaches that the battle between good and evil, if we persevere in doing good, no one will be harmed, on the contrary, let’s remember the “beatitudes”.

More and more young people are looking for a way to spiritual values ​​in their lives. And precisely during the summer months, first for three days, then for a week, and then for a whole month, they are invited to various meetings – supposedly with a spiritual focus. Members of these sects, such as the Unification Church founded by San Myung Mun, whose wife travels the world and under various names, with the help of her followers, organizes the Federation of Families for World Peace, mislead and mislead especially the young. It ends not only with a joint marriage in the stadiums. In the same way, the followers of Sri Chinmoy work here in connection with integral yoga, i.e. the combination of spiritual exercises with artistic creativity and sports performances. A beautiful new world is offered by Oberto Airaudi and esoteric. With the help of music, singing, he gains followers.

Even though Jesus says that it is necessary to wait to pull out the tares, we must not be silent, passively waiting, when we see how sects destroy young lives. Let’s distinguish good from evil.

What is my relationship to the Church? Do I know my duties, obligations and tasks towards the Church?

Co-worker John asked Josef: “Please, how much does the parish priest pay you for doing church maintenance?” And how much does it give you that I can see you running errands for him around the church or the parish office?” Josef replies to John: “I’m sorry, I’ll probably surprise you with my answer. I’m not doing it for the priest and for money, I’m doing it for my Church.” We will meet such people.

The parables of the Lord Jesus about the “germination of the sown seed” and the “mustard grain” really point to the “Kingdom of God” (Mk 4:26, 30).
The Lord Jesus takes the parables from the peasant environment, which are easy to understand even for today’s people. With the parables, he points to the growth of God’s kingdom. The farmer prepares the ground and sows the grain. However, he does not do the main work himself, and this is pointed out by the parable. God, regardless of whether a person “sleeps or gets up, night or day, the seed germinates and grows, and he does not know about it.” (Mk 4:27). Jesus thus points to the kingdom of God, which is guided by its own truths, which is not the fruit of technology. The Kingdom of God thus has a period of germination, growth, ripening, and harvest in society, and also in every person. Often, people and even society are not aware of it.. With the second parable about the “mustard seed”, Jesus wants to emphasize that what seems small, insignificant to a person, when it grows up, outgrows everything that a person himself wanted to do.

The truth that is hidden in these parables is a proof of faith for us. After two millennia, we have evidence of Jesus’ care for the Church. Our faith should be greater than that of the first Christians. Jesus turns to us with parables. We have to give an answer to the words of the Lord Jesus with our lives. Jesus desires from each of us a response to his words. The answer is yes and no. Acceptance of his teachings and rejection of his teachings. God never resigns from a person’s behavior, even if a person stands above his abyss. God does not abandon man. God is waiting for man to accept him as his Lord and God. Freedom and reason – with what God gifted man when he created him in his image, as long as man lives, they can win man the kingdom of God. That binds us.

It is necessary to realize that the Church conveys to us the truths that we have to fulfill in our lives. Our duty is to do what God asks of us. We have to accept the grain of faith. This means – to allow God’s word to grow in us in our lives. God himself will take care of the growth of our faith. We are obliged to observe everything that we are commanded. We do not know the day or the hour of our death. We should always be ready because we do not know our day of harvest. Each grain has a different length of its vegetation. God does not want anything from us beyond our strength. We are obliged to renounce every evil, sin. God has a plan for each of us on earth. It is our duty to implement this plan. God gave us the Church, which teaches us, leads us to the goal, to the kingdom of God. We know that there are many difficulties and obstacles on this path.

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