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Forgiveness. One word – and what it can evoke in the heart of each of us. Is there anyone who does not need forgiveness? A man of years says to his wife, who reminds him of his confession, “I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t steal anything from anyone, I’m faithful to you.” We quickly forget. We remember only what we want, what suits us, and we notice the worse in others rather than, the better.

The doctor discovers that the boy suffers from a strange disease: he is afraid of his father. The boy has everything, more than his friends, but the father punishes him for everything and at once. He has not yet heard, has not yet experienced forgiveness. For years, the wife has been throwing it in her husband’s face that his parents have not given him everything they promised. The neighbor has been pleading with the neighbor for years, even though he is older, to forgive their family for being willing to make things right. The unwillingness to forgive others for what they have done to us in reality, or only in our imaginations, acts as a poison that destroys physical and spiritual health, sometimes to incredible depths.

Why do we say: “I forgive, but I cannot forget?” Even at Mass, we will say to God and our neighbors, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive our trespasses.” Why is it difficult to say: forgive, forgive, forget, and in the same way: I forgive, I don’t think about it anymore, I have forgotten, it is all right now, let us love each other, after all, we are believers, we are siblings, friends, neighbors. Forgiveness. Is it still actual to be able to forgive and accept forgiveness?

Let us ask Jesus, together with the Apostle Peter, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Perhaps seven times?” (Mt. 18:21). Every person must pass the test of love, not only towards God but also towards his neighbor and himself. We do not deserve eternal life’s reward if we love only God and fail to forgive our neighbor and even ourselves. This is not the apostle Peter’s problem. He knows that he is to forgive his brother often. The number `seven times` is a number representing many. Jesus rejects this apparent good-heartedness. Jesus does not narrow or limit the obligation to forgive. Jesus’ answer is clear: “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Mt. 18:22). Jesus does not condition forgiveness on the number of the brother’s offenses. The numeral “77” means `constantly.` With the story of the two debtors, Jesus wants to show not only the method and principles of forgiveness but also that forgiveness must be done quickly. In the behavior of the servant and the fellow servant, Jesus wants to point out the love of God for people, how merciful God is to us, always willing to forgive our sins when we ask him for mercy. ***** also wants to point out that we should forgive one another. Jesus presents himself in the story as `the pure king’ and then as `the Lord’. “A `servant’ is each of us in relationship to God. “A `fellow servant’ is every brother and sister to us. What things we have already borrowed from God! Or do we have life, health, talents, gifts of our own? No! What are the numbers already, and how do we treat the borrowed? The servant in the gospel was indebted with ten thousand talents, which is about 360 thousand kilograms of silver. Who will say that this is not enough?

Jesus wants to remind us by this that we are obligated to have a relationship of reverence, gratitude, and love towards God. The servant realizes this when he falls on his knees and asks for time to pay the debt. We, too, must behave responsibly toward God. Do any of us know when we will die? Is everything all right in our lives? We get warnings from God: accident, illness, failure… and then we know how to ask God, we promise to improve things. When we are serious about returning to God, we often experience God’s love God’s forgiveness. How quickly, however, we often forget what we have promised God. For example, after healing, success, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And how do we treat a fellow servant – a brother or sister? Do we appeal to truth or justice? We cannot forgive, we cannot forget, we want to avoid ignoring. We judge and condemn. When Jesus contrasts the ten thousand talents of the servant and the one talent of the fellow servant, he would like to point to God’s forgiveness and the obligation to be able to forgive. We want to make ourselves righteous, and we don’t know how to forgive. God not only wants us to have a heart for Him but also our neighbors. Our relationship of love for our neighbors is the most beautiful response to God’s love for us.

At the end of the parable, Jesus presents what we will not miss: the just punishment if we ask God for mercy, for forgiveness, and would not be merciful and forgive one another. Wasted grace provokes judgment. God’s grace turns into God’s wrath. How profound are Jesus’ words about forgiving one another! The petition’s reversal from the `Repentance’ prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive our trespasses.” You, Lord, have forgiven us our trespasses. Therefore, we also forgive those who have become our debtors.

We often wish each other happiness and peace when we meet. It is natural because only in an atmosphere of peace and happiness can a person live an extraordinary life. However, we can take this idea even further. We know that peace, happiness, love are God’s attributes. Where we find perfect peace, happiness, love, we see God. Then, too, the removal of all that does not allow these qualities to enter into life is a journey towards God. The parable of the unmerciful servant touches on one of those obstacles that we can overcome by learning to forgive generously.
Forgiveness is not easy. People usually regard forgiving and forgetting an offense as something unnatural, something that dulls their dignity and honor. It is not easy for us Christians, either. We usually silence remorse in this way: “I have forgiven…but not forgotten!” But that is not the forgiveness God expects of us. We know this ourselves, for such forgiveness does not drive out anger and the desire for revenge from the heart. Generous forgiveness that forgets offenses is a sign of an excellent spirit. It is a sign of the Spirit of Jesus.

When Pope John Paul II was assassinated and lay in hospital with a severe wound, the first words he said were, “I forgive the one who shot at me.” When he recovered, he visited the assassin in prison. The great leader of the Indian people’s struggle for liberation, Gandhi, was shot by a Hindu fanatic. He was dying but still wanted to see his killer forgive him. As bystanders blocked his view, he touched his chest and forehead as a sign of forgiveness. In Bremen, a 65-year-old man visited the prisoner, the murderer of his wife, children, parents, and in-laws, to offer his hand in forgiveness. In Switzerland, a lady offered help to a woman whose husband had killed her husband. Because the family had lost its breadwinner by the imprisonment of the murderer, this lady generously took care of his family. The daughter, who had forgiven her father, with whom she had not communicated for eight years, said: “The moment I forgave my father and started talking to him, I felt a peace in my heart, a joy, a sense of release, a sense of well-being that I had not known for eight years.

To forgive in a similarly generous way, we need to remember two basic facts that emerge from today’s Gospel. There is a relationship between God and man. Indeed, God always acts correctly and lovingly in this relationship. However, man innumerably distorts this relationship by various sins that seriously offend God. Such a relationship would not have a long life among men. God continually forgives us all, provided we also forgive those who trespassed against us. We are to forgive completely, generously. Can our offended dignity and honor be an obstacle to obtaining God’s forgiveness? To forgive generously is a mark of the Spirit of Jesus. It is certainly not easy, but we can learn to do it. And we can begin right this minute. Let’s try to imagine the face of the person who has wronged us and forgive him generously right now! Let’s give him a new chance. Let us not heed the protests of our offended pride. For to forgive means: to have hope of forgiveness. We learn this from Christ on the cross. We want to follow him not only in his words but also in our actions. We want to follow his words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).

This was understood by the mother of the son, who committed an act to which the father reacted by not only throwing the son out of the house, disinheriting him but not wanting to see him again in his life: “You must never cross the threshold of my house!” The son proudly responded: “I’ll never ask you to!” The mother fell ill. A family friend, a doctor, told the man: “Your wife will die if your son doesn’t come back.” The man remained a rock. The doctor himself sent a telegram, “Come at once; your mother is dying!” The son’s face paled on reading the telegram. Everything flashed vividly before his eyes as he stood at the house door. He overcame himself and entered the room where his mother lay. The latter, with an effort, seized her son’s hand on one side and her father’s on the other and joined them over her bed. The two men’s palms joined, and the mother’s hand fell beneath them. She finished reconciling father and son. They forgave each other.

The saying goes that forgiveness is the best revenge. Parents forgive their children for the worst mistakes instilled in them by their upbringing. Never is a man so beautiful as when he asks for forgiveness or excuses himself. Forgiveness does not mark the end of a war, a conflict, when it is not the actual removal of all that has caused the evil. Only then is their true forgiveness, when peace love, triumphs. We realize that it is not enough to forgive and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness must not only be hidden in the heart. Forgiveness must be expressed concretely outwardly. Therefore, we are all aware of the meaning of Christ’s words: ‘If you, therefore, bring a gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first to be reconciled to your brother; only then come and offer your gift.’ (Mt 5:23-24).

Forgiveness from God is a commitment and a responsibility for us, so much so that the merciful God casts away from Himself the one who does not want to be compassionate and does not want to forgive his brother. Today, let us know to do everything we can so that God may forgive us, too.

Anyone who has worked with people knows that it is challenging work. For kindness, help, and love, often, one gets the opposite reward – hatred, reluctance, and many forget to thank you. It is said that an unreasonable animal can appreciate man’s love more than the man himself. Perhaps these words are full of pessimism. Yes, there are also thoughtful, grateful people…

Let us learn from the actions of the Lord Jesus in today’s Gospel.

The Lord Jesus sighed sadly in the town where he had lived his whole life when his fellow Christians misunderstood his words: “Truly, I say to you: No prophet is rare in his own country” (Luke 4:25).
The Gospel passage is a continuation of how the Lord Jesus came to the little town of Nazareth after the first successes of His public ministry, where He had spent His entire childhood, youth, and early years of manhood since His return from Egypt. He had recently left Nazareth to fulfill His mission.
A few weeks were all it took for him to become known throughout the region by his words and the deeds he performed. And with the name grew the town’s fame from which he came. Indeed, the natives were curious about their fellow citizens. But it was only human curiosity. Jesus did not teach and perform miracles for his glory, as people in general do. His mission in life was to teach people and prepare them for the way to new life. After all, the nation was waiting for the Messiah.

But Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath, as an adult Jew who had the right to read and interpret the text of the Law, was not going to stand out among his fellow citizens. When he read a portion from the book of Isaiah the prophet, he said only one sentence, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled which you have just heard” (Luke 4:21). The words he had just read spoke of the future Messiah the nation was awaiting, who was himself. He proved it in a short time by his words and deeds. These words were meant to ask them to be even more happy and proud of their native son, who is the awaited Messiah.
And the attitude of the people of Nazareth? The opposite. Although they rejoice at the kind words he spoke, they misunderstand and ask themselves, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Lk 4:22). They knew the parents of Jesus, but nothing more. God had not revealed the mystery to them. However, they had the opportunity to see the truthfulness of Jesus’ words for themselves, for he would point out to them an old problem. Although the nation now recognized Elijah and Elisha, when these prophets carried out the commands given by God, the government did not accept them. The country had no genuine faith, so these prophets worked their wonders among the Gentiles.

That is why the incident of how Elijah helped a Gentile woman from Zarephath, who showed faith towards Elijah by first baking him a cake out of the last of the flour and oil, is mentioned to them. Similarly, it was the faith of Naaman of Syria who, on the advice of the prophet Elisha, bathed in the Jordan River and was cured of his sickness. In both cases, faith brought benefit.

This lesson was not borne by the inhabitants of Nazareth from their native, for they lacked this very faith, and therefore not only did they not accept him, but they still drove him out of the city and wanted to kill him.

This is not what God wants. His hour has not yet come; he has not yet completed his mission. We should pause over this event, primarily the actions of Jesus’ ancestors. Why? The Gospel has been preached to us. We have received it; we glory in it; perhaps we are fore-saved, redeemed, but beware! Do we live by it too? If not, many things are rightly thrown before our eyes by those who do not believe in God. We can be indignant when our faith is dulled. What about our life? Does it speak of the love of Christ? They have not believed, they have not encountered the teaching as we have, that the teaching of Jesus is love. They see our beliefs as an ideological enemy; they defend their unbelief, so let’s not be so surprised. We must not only accept the teachings of Christ but live them.

A person who does not believe in God and rejects everything connected with God, who has reserved views about the Church, will change his mind when he sees how the nuns took care of his mother in the institution and when he wants to give them an envelope, they discreetly refused it with a smile. And this was what convinced him of something and more than what he had been taught.

Original sin had made love-hate. Cain kills his brother Abel right at the start. It was confirmed in the Old Testament: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! But Jesus taught: Thou shalt love… your neighbor as yourself…

Unless he believed in Jesus Christ, Paul the Apostle persecuted his followers. And yet, he thinks he’s doing the right thing. But when he meets Christ, he also writes these words to the Corinthians, “If I spoke with the tongues of men and angels, and had not to love, I should be as tinkling metal and a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor. 13:1). In this way, Paul shows the perfect way of life he learned from Jesus and which Jesus’ fellow citizens wanted to avoid following.

To this, one of the most beautiful parts of Holy Scripture, we may give the title Hymn in Honor of Love.

The way of love truly surpasses all other forms. The truth is that love is the most necessary message for us humans. It is up to people how they approach it. We all need love. We want to give it to others and often do not have it ourselves. The way we are loved and how we can show love to others determines our inner balance and the quality of our spiritual life.

What Paul means to say in his words is what Jesus’ fellow citizens lacked and what he lacked after the gate of Damascus. It was love.
But love for Christ must fill our whole hearts. We must not save even the last corner for something else. Otherwise, it is only to our detriment. St. Paul says that we are to put our whole heart at the disposal of love. It sounds nice, but it must also be put into practice. It is not enough to show it in words; it is not enough to have a strong faith in knowledge. I would be nothing if I could carry even mountains and had no love. It is not enough to have compassion, to give away possessions; it is not enough to give my body because all this without love would not make me happy. Love will never cease.

Paul writes: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I knew as a child, I thought like a child. When I became a man, I left behind childlike ways” (1 Cor. 13:11).
With these words, Paul speaks of his spiritual growth as he matured in the knowledge that if he would do anything but without love, it was of little value. Now he is a man because he has understood the meaning, the power of love, which moves mountains according to Christ’s words.
But Paul says that only a life affirmed by love, all that we do, all that we live, is entitled to a reward. However, he often experienced that people do not reciprocate love on the contrary. This must not frustrate us because we expect a tip from the One who is Love, whom we will one day see face to face. Though there are instances that we are rewarded for love already here on earth, that is only a partial reward. God one day wants to give the prize in perfect knowledge in His presence.

We must not act in our lives like the ancestors of Jesus of Nazareth. Let us not look at our faith with human eyes alone. Let us not regard our life as a matter to be ended only by death. We believe in life eternal. And we are to begin living that eternal life here on earth, in an environment laden with sin and unloved. By loving and fighting against corruption, we are to accept Jesus already here on earth as our God, our reward, our goal in life. How many times have we been convinced, like the widow of Zarephath, when we obeyed the words of the prophet-Church, that we were not only happy but prosperous. How many times have we been convinced in our flesh when, like Naaman of Syria, we plunged, not into water, but tears of remorse and repentance for our sins, that we were not only clean again but happier? Our motives, however, had to be imbued with love.

Faith is not the fear of God, as those who do not understand often think. Faith is the response of love to love, even though ours is very weak imperfect. Those who know the life of at least one convert, a person who has indeed found the way to God, can see the power of love for God.

The biography of André M. Ampère is undoubtedly familiar to students. He is a world-famous French mathematician and physicist. At the age of 18, he was one of the world’s geniuses. An explorer, a member of the Academy. His name is associated with electric current – the unit of the intensity of electric current – the ampere. But he had a tough life. Although he was a fervent Catholic in his youth, he soon lost his faith. Heavy losses, exile, and his father’s death, his wife… The internal struggle, mental contradictions. He writes: “I carry a real hell in my heart. No one even knows what is going on inside me. Nobody can comfort me.” And elsewhere, he writes again: “The world envies my fame. God lets me know that everything is vanity except His glory. The son Jean-Jacques has become a rogue and a pervert. Daughter Albine married an alcoholic and a psychopath. And God gives him the meaning of life. In the spring of 1836, in Marseilles, Ampère fell ill with encephalitis. When he was warned to receive the sacraments, he calmly said he had already done so in Paris before leaving. When they wanted to read to him from Kempenski’s little book On the Following of Christ, Ampère declared that they should not bother, for he knew the whole book by heart. He languished on his deathbed for a long time. He chose his inscription for his grave. Only two Latin words: “Tandem Felix!” – “Happy at last!” He deserves respect from us Christians. He showed us the connection between faith and science. What about us?

Ampère has not tasted much love from his children and surroundings, yet, even after difficult inner struggles, he has achieved that love has prevailed in him.
Let us learn from Christ to overcome evil hatred. Let us know to rise above those who have not grown in returning love. Jesus also died for his fellow citizens, though they wanted to kill him. Let us forgive again and again anyone who has misunderstood love. 

Justice has many duties. Because it balances sand guides, it takes even seemingly contradictory positions. Aristotle compares it to the pupil and the bedside table. It is the same star, yet it announces day at one time and night at another. Once asks that everything be divided equally (scholastic ethics calls it iustitia commutative), significant consideration must be given to the person, his past, the nature of the need (iustitia distributive). Social justice deserves particular study to maintain the right balance between conditions and classes of human society and those who work there.
According to Plato, justice is primarily needed to balance the inner spiritual life so that one virtue is not detrimental to another. Without justice, even Christian love. It is said that love is more important and higher than justice. Conversely, the poorly paid workers in the last century cried out that they did not care for the pet of their employers, that they wanted justice, and they refused extra pay in the form of gifts. No Christian doubts that perfection is in love. Justice, however, is a way of loving one’s neighbor to realize. It is undoubtedly impossible to be unjust and still want to “show love.” Both Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas understood this. Both put justice before other virtues because it benefits other people. It is an expression of love for one’s neighbor.
Therefore, justice was pursued above all by those who had the welfare of society, of the state, in mind. Thus, e.g., Emperor Alexander Severus is said never to have dared to pronounce a decision before twenty legal experts …had given his judgment. When he learned that some judge …he is said to have blinded him with his hand. To encourage the youth, an example was read of a Greek legislator of Leuki Zephyr, who prescribed the punishment of blinding for adultery. However, his son was caught. He was to be overwhelmed. But the people rebelled; they didn’t want a blind heir to the throne. Finally …the ruler softened enough to have one eye gouged out of his son and the other out of himself. However, even the Romans were aware that this would go too far. A proverb arose: “The greatest justice is usually the greatest injustice” (Summum ius summa iniuria). If we rigorously apply just laws, we show love to society. Unfortunately, in our social order, it quickly happens that the good of the whole is to the great detriment of the individual. Laws that mercilessly apply could make the state a monster that devours its children. If therefore, justice is supplemented by mercy, as it is said, it is not harming justice but helping it be better carried out.

Today we heard that Joseph also had an integral role in all the events of the Bible. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife…” (Mt 1:20). These words of the angel’s annunciation seem to diminish the fear of a man who loves Mary very much. To understand Joseph’s inner struggle, let us briefly look at the traditions that prevailed in Israel.

It is known that betrothals took place at a very young age, at twelve to fourteen for girls and eighteen to twenty for young men. The wedding was the first of the two stages of Jewish marriage. It was a grave and binding step that already formed a union, where the young man and girl were considered husband and wife. Usually, the marriage lasted an entire year, during which time the couple did not live together, but each lived with their parents. The purpose of these betrothals was to demonstrate fidelity and purity. When the bride’s commitment had been established for one year, the husband would solemnly take her to their new home, thus ending the whole long marriage process.
But let’s get back to Joseph and his decision. When he learned that Mary was expecting a child, Jewish law commanded him to divorce her. But as we heard, Joseph was a righteous man, meaning he had to keep the direction of the forefathers and dishonor her. He was also an honest man in the sense of – meek, merciful, reasonable, so he wanted to handle the situation delicately. He chose the secret way – without legal notice, investigation, and fuss.
And would you like to know what would have awaited Mary? Unfortunately, the answer would have been sad. Mary would have been an outcast, cast away by all, and always borne the mark of a mother with an illegitimate child.
The angel dispelled the darkness in Joseph’s heart, “Do not be afraid to receive Mary” (Mt 1:20). The angel fulfilled the betrothal, opening up a huge mystery – what was going on in Mary’s person: …that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:20). It was a great surprise that shook Joseph’s life. The astonishment was much stronger than the thought of his wife being heavy. A new life and an extraordinary mission open before Joseph; from now on, he fulfills God’s law, the law of love and mercy.

In the genealogy of Jesus Christ, there is a long list of names of those who helped bring about Christ’s human nature. But behind each word is a specific person who participated with their life in the birth of Jesus. From millennia to millennia, the body and humanity of Christ have been woven.
Look, we cannot help but notice one thought: in this list of human names is preserved for us the memory not only of those who achieved holiness through their lives, but also of those who walked through sin, pushed through human weakness, and sought light, truth, and holiness out of the darkness. We now look upon those people as holy and written in Holy Scripture. How did their contemporaries perceive them?

Abraham was an unrecognized wanderer among strangers and did not have a piece of land. Therefore, to bury his wife, he had to buy land. David was persecuted as a traitor. He had to flee and serve a pagan king who was against Israel. Although David remained loyal to the nation of Israel and continued to fight against the Gentiles, he was considered a traitor. Righteous Joseph was known to all as an ordinary carpenter. Only some priests and people of high rank knew that he was of royal lineage. We are not aware of any speeches against David’s descendants’ usurper of the line. And it was these people who were unrecognized, driven away during their lifetime, by their holiness, transformed humanity.

Therefore, let none of us think that nothing changes from personal conduct and inner life; and that it makes no difference whether any of us sins or does good. Even the very mind of man, which might seem to us unnoticed, insignificant, can turn a life around and affect the people next to us.
See, Joseph, who initially had the wrong mind, was then convinced and began to think rightly. So too, we will not convince ourselves that any act of ours, our thinking, is meaningless. So we will not regard ourselves as insignificant people from whose behavior – good or bad – nothing changes. Every bad deed, every evil thought affects us and shortens the world’s life. Conversely, the good we do prolongs life and gives other people the opportunity for repentance and the reformation of life.

There are no insignificant people, no insignificant events. I am not talking about man’s greatness and inviting you to conceit – no. What is essential is the importance of the inner life, working on oneself, and the need for the salvation of oneself and other people. When we live a contented, quiet life as Joseph did, we live righteously and create an atmosphere next door that helps many people wake up, look at themselves, and come to repentance.
Thus personal righteousness and a person’s example are of great importance. Those who say that global processes rule over humanity, and we, like specks or droplets, are moving in the stream and cannot change anything are not correct. Of course, this is not the case. Even Abraham, King David, and Joseph were ordinary people. And through their righteousness, they became great.

Joseph’s story teaches us to be aware of God’s intervention in our lives. Are we ready to live with him? Like Joseph, is there restlessness and fear in your heart? Let us not be afraid; the Lord wants only good for us! Let us look today at Joseph – the Lord’s foster son, at the presence of God in our lives.

Joseph – he who lived by faith, went to God, wanted to live with God, is worthy to receive Christ. So, may today’s liturgy also be a reason for strengthening our unity with God and our faith, and may it give us the courage to receive God in the days to come with a pure heart? And may our spiritual transformation help us to live with joy a life filled with love

Each of us owns something, e.g., a house, a car, a garden, etc. Thus, we know from experience that he takes care of something when someone owns something. He tries to protect and develop it. If a person takes good care of his possessions, it brings him joy, happiness, profit, and wealth.

In the Gospel, we hear of the householder who sent his servants and later his son to the vine dressers for a share of the harvest. But the vine dressers killed the servants and the son. What will the Lord do with the vine dressers when He returns? He will destroy the wicked without mercy and lease the vineyard to others.

The steward is God. The servants are the prophets. The Son is Jesus, and the vine dressers are us. The householder rented his vineyard and departed. Thus, God has given man the lease of this land, his life, and his soul. Man is to take care of himself as a good husbandman. Physically and spiritually. Both are important. Just as the vine dressers had to lay down their share of the harvest, each person will have to lay down their claim of their farming or husbandry. Let us manage well what God has given us so that we may be an excellent fruitful vineyard and produce a good harvest. We each have both beneficial and unfruitful places in our vineyards. We need to take care of both. If we take good care of them, they will produce a blessed harvest that we will enjoy, but all who have the opportunity to taste it will want. The crop may be a kind word, a loving act, or noticing another. Let us not be afraid to work for ourselves, for our salvation, and help our neighbors do the same.

It is essential to realize that a harvest will require us at the end of our lives what its quality and value will depend above all on us. What values would I pass on today if my farmer visited me? Would he find me working or idle? It does not depend on our vitality alone. We can be good stewards at any age.

Let us remember the role model and great example in blessed memory, the Holy Father John Paul II. He was able to work to the very end, not only for the salvation of his soul but also for the whole world’s salvation. Let us be encouraged by the witness of a man of this time whom we have known and who has reached out to the world as a entire. He showed us that it could be done. So let us work. Let us not be indifferent.

And finally, brothers and sisters, let us, above all, take care of our vineyard. Let us take care of our souls. Let us not neglect what is most important in our lives. Be assured that if we take good care of our spiritual life, it will bring us eternal joy and happiness.

Having the right attitude towards repentance (Luke 13:1-9)
There is no repentance like repentance. There is a fundamental difference. In what? Repentance is love.

Lent is specific, and yet. Has it not happened to you that you have rejected sin? It happens that evil is relegated to the past. Guilt is not recognized. They have already sounded the alarm about corruption, about responsibility. Didn’t someone advise you to break free from the church’s prohibitions? Yes, sin is no longer talked about, but more sin is committed, and it is committed publicly, without shame, without fear… Yes, they also repent and go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but they don’t get better because they don’t want to. Repentance is not valid; it is customary, traditional… The love of Jesus, the forgiveness of Jesus is degraded… They say they don’t need forgiveness; they don’t believe that a priest can forgive anything… And what follows? The consequences are seen on their face and their whole life; it is seen in society.

And yet. Even today, whether someone believes in the existence of sin or not, Jesus tells us: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish…” (Lk. 13:3).

Nothing new under the sun. Jesus is speaking on the subject of conversion and repentance. Some of the hearers do not accept Jesus’ teaching and attack. The passage in Luke’s Gospel speaks of a group of people who have a problem regarding sin guilt. Jesus addresses the issue in the specific historical facts that were happening. Pilate had provoked several riots in which human blood was shed in the temple and mixed with the blood of sacrificed animals. The Jews were given privileges by Rome, which the governor violated. They also speak of misfortune at Siloe, where a tower fell, killing eighteen. Jesus’ opponents use these events to drag Jesus into their dishonest views. Jesus sees their opposition to the teaching he presents to them, so he asks them questions and immediately answers them himself. Responding with a question is considered the masterful speech of any teacher, including Jesus. Jesus gives one answer to both events, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish…” (Lk. 13:3). The opponents of Jesus considered those killed in the temple and under the tower’s ruins to be sinners. Jesus responds that these may have been far less sinful than those who proclaimed them to be sinners.
Jesus points out another danger that all people face when living in sin. In the parable of the fig tree that bears no fruit and therefore is to be cut down, Jesus points out the importance and necessity of true and sincere repentance. The vine dresser asks that the fig tree be given one more chance: “Lord, let it be this year. I will hoe it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will bear fruit” (Lk 13:8-9). Already the events narrated to Jesus need to be explained in the spirit that the sword of Pilate threatens everyone, and a tower can be brought down on anyone. If it is a fig tree that bears no fruit, that is cursed because it has exhausted the patience of its owner, if it is once more dug up and bears fruit, it represents a tremendous and final occasion of love that it did not deserve. Grace shown does not automatically bear fruit. The man symbolized as a fig tree must cooperate with grace to bear fruit.

The catechesis thus presented addresses us who live in very similar and concrete circumstances. Perhaps even in our positions, we can find more of the mindset of the interlocutors with Jesus. There are also those Christians who would most gladly remove from the liturgy of the Mass the act of repentance. This manifests a broader phenomenon that points to the demise of the awareness of sin in contemporary man. One can speak of a loss of moral consciousness and responsibility for one’s actions. This practice must be a cause for alarm if only because the days of the last world wars disturbed many, are not so far distant. After all, even today, sin is still bearing fruit in social and personal dimensions. J. J. Rousseau’s utopian dream of a man who is good by nature of nature burst long ago. Today man is aware that his existence is threatened not only by higher forces but also by himself. How much has been written and is being written on this subject. Rarely has man been so harshly judged. It is strange. In film’s literary works, more and more we drill into the secret chambers of hearts, and the same man claims that no one has the right to speak of sin. The world has become accustomed to talking about the sin of others but is silent about its own. Some are taking steps to remove the concept of sin from the manuals of Christian theology. It should be the steps of the Church that should be conformed to the world. We realize that this is nothing new in the Church. Even in the time of Christ, some men said of themselves that they were righteous. St. John dedicated the words to them: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn. 1:10).

When we want to answer the question of the causes of such views, we can safely say that they begin with a rejection of our dependence on God. For the man who rejects God, the notion of sin becomes meaningless, and the concept of moral evil can only be relative. The attitude of many contemporaries is expressed by Sartre when he says: “There is neither good nor evil and no one who can command me.” He rejects, moreover, the existence of absolute moral standards of divine right. Man leaves God’s law and judges that he has achieved liberation. He deprives himself first of the compass, which points the way to a particular life consciousness. Thus, he remains alone, without permanent and firm principles.

A steady orientation toward God is not the luxurious basis of special church tips but the defining duty of all Christians. In every situation, we are to remain faithful to God. We must remember that we are weak and prone to sin, we need to guard against evil, and when we fall, we need to repent. This doesn’t just mean outwardly, but a return inwardly is required. Not just outwardly to repent and confess, but inwardly to acknowledge our sin, to forgive God that we have offended Him. Let us repeat to ourselves what perfect contrition is. Returning to God is understood as a conscious and voluntary renunciation of all that is not connected with God. We need to renounce all practices that keep us in a simple approach to repentance. Jesus reminds us, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). We do not want to be among those who misunderstand and practice repentance. We must be careful of our mentality. The nature of man often causes problems for ourselves. Indeed, conversion can often be spoken of as a heroic act. We need to be strengthened in a joyful spirit and to see the joy of forgiveness in return, maintained in the sense of inner and outer peace. True, we have to ask for the grace of conversion both for ourselves and other people. To lead children and adolescents, in particular, to pray to preserve a spirit of repentance throughout life and pray for grace if we have abandoned God-love so that we may find our way back as soon as possible.
Father J. W. Groff tells the mystery of heaven and hell: On the roadside sat an old monk. He had his eyes closed, legs crossed, and hands resting in his lap. He sat absorbed in deep meditation. Suddenly, the harsh and imperious voice interrupted his reflection: “Knife, old man! Explain to me at once the difference between heaven and hell!” The monk did not move, as if he had not even heard. Then he opened his eyes, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, and the soldier just stood there, waiting impatiently, growing more nervous with every passing second. “Would you like to know the secret of heaven and hell?” The monk exclaimed at last. “You, so neglectful? You, who have your hands and feet stained with filth? Thou that hast uncombed hair and foul breath, and thy sword is rusty and dull? Thou that art ugly, and thy mother dresses thee so ridiculously? Thou askest me about heaven and hell? The soldier cursed wildly. He drew his sword and raised it high above his head. A grimace contorted his face; the arteries in his neck boiled and bulged as he prepared to behead the monk. “This is hell,” the monk said meekly, just as the sword began to descend. In a split second, the soldier was left as if stunned, and he felt respect, compassion, and love for this peaceful man who had dared to risk his life to teach him what the hell was. The sword stopped in midair and the soldier’s eyes flooded with tears of gratitude. “And this,” continued the monk, “is heaven.” (Chicken Soup for the Soul 3rd Serving, SOFA, 1996, p. 322)
It could be said that the beginning of the return is also our fear of God, our fear of damnation. Let us remember the less donal regret. We want to avoid messing with the patience of God, who gives time and opportunity to make amends to forsake sin. Do not postpone for later… On the contrary, our gratitude to God for the grace of conversion is appropriate. It does not have to be only old or sick.

Today, in the Eucharistic celebration, we open our hearts to return, to repentance, to the growth of God’s love in us. Let us ask for the necessary strength to make a good Easter sacrament of reconciliation and beg for the grace of this sacrament at the hour of our death.

We cannot be indifferent to the suffering of other people. This challenge is relevant, especially now, that so many people are fleeing Ukraine.

It is said that the hungry do not believe the hungry. And it’s true because it’s only when you’re hungry that you know what hunger is. And when one is thirsty, only then can one appreciate a glass or perhaps even clean water.

We heard something similar a while ago, “…poor, hungry Lazarus longed to be satisfied with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table.” (Lk, 16:20-21).
In the case of the rich man, the evil and sin were not that he owned property and was rich, but the sin of the rich man was that he failed to share and used his property only for himself and did not see the misery of others, in this case, Lazarus. Thus, the rich man neglected the good. Lazarus was poor and did not even have the necessities. He had nothing to eat or drink. Jesus used this story, this parable of the rich man and Lazarus, many years ago. But history seems to be repeating itself.

Even today, many people are excessively wealthy, who can only see the tip of their nose, and others are air to them. And there are indeed those who have nothing for a variety of causes. Either they have lost their jobs, and poverty has pushed them to the margins of society, or in the passion of some weakness, they have lost everything, even the roof over their heads – they have nothing.

We may say to ourselves that this is not our case. In our neighborhood, people are at least moderately well off. And the beggars who stand outside the church have themselves to blame. Maybe they do, perhaps they don’t. But help is needed. For example, concretely by supporting the charity that the Church has set up just for these poorest of the poor.

To see the misery around you and not act to help is to gamble with eternal life. I think the best way, in the experience of many, is to benefit through a charity or some charitable organization. Because immediate financial help to a particular person has not proven to be the right thing to do in many cases – one person has helped, and the other has taken advantage of it. Therefore, let us also try to help in this area to the best of our ability. It has helped many people in need and moved them from the margins of society. Doing good always pays off in this area as well. And one more thing – let us appreciate all we have and thank God that we do not feel hunger and thirst.

God, thank you that we have our daily bread. We ask you for all those who do not have it. And reward with life eternal those who care for them.

It is normal and natural that parents try to provide their children with the best possible. Or that a person who loves someone can do anything for him – even the impossible.

We see something similar in God’s word today when the mother of Zebedee’s sons goes to Jesus and says to him: “Tell these two sons of mine to sit in your kingdom, one at your right hand and the other at your left.” (Mt. 20:21b).
Indeed, as we read in today’s Gospel, the mother of Zebedee’s sons – Salome, attempted the impossible, making a minor stir among the apostles. Salome was a simple religious woman who, along with other women, accompanied Jesus and supported him materially. She was a mother and loved her sons. And understandably, she wanted the best for her sons. But Jesus did not grant her request. He couldn’t even fulfill it because, as he says, being seated at his right or left does not belong to him.

Why am I saying all this? I want to point out the love of this woman. Salome asked the impossible, perhaps without even realizing it herself. But she was a mother, and she loved her children; she wanted the best for them. She couldn’t have asked for more. Sitting on the right or the left is an image of supreme rank and power. Salome wanted them to sit in the kingdom of God.

And this is what we should strive for as well. Therefore, let us take an example from God’s Word today from this woman. Let us pray to God for our parents, daughters, sons that one day we may meet them in the kingdom of God. Let us do our best to reach heaven, even if it costs us a lot of effort. But, after all, “What costs nothing is worth nothing.” Therefore, let us have courage. You know best for yourselves how much effort it costs to achieve something good and worthwhile in life. How many times do you have to put yourself entirely wholeheartedly into the action and give your best?

And often, what Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s sons, experienced also happens: it just doesn’t work out. And even then, don’t lose hope and courage. Try to do everything you can to reach your goal. And not just the mundane temporary, but the eternal imperishable. Let us do our utmost every day so that one day we may seek a place with our Heavenly Father. And let us also help our loved ones in this endeavor. After all, we certainly care about them and want the best for them. And this is the best. For this, we will one day be grateful to our parents and friends.

Before his death, the Rev. Neal Scott wrote a message to his parents thanking them for opening the gateway to life for him and lead him down the path to eternal life rather than eternal death.

Let us strive to live in such a way that one day we, too, may sit with those we love in the kingdom of heaven in the presence of God.