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Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Introduction.
Let’s start thinking about today’s “Good Shepherd Sunday” with answers to a few questions: Which priest do I remember most often? Why? Is there something about the priest that appeals to me? What do I expect from a priest? Do I know what it is to be a priest? Do I pray for priests and priestly religious vocations? Did I ever think I could be a priest or religious? Have I ever thought of becoming a religious sister?
SERMON:
We have already met many priests who baptized us, taught religion, prepared for the first St. communion, confession, confirmation… which we heard preach, saw burying our dearest ones, with whom we had a fight on the street, and heard about them.
A priest in the Roman Catholic Church is a man who has recognized in his life that God is calling him to renounce his own family, although he will remain a man, he will not say “mine” to any woman and “mine” to any child. He studies and prepares for the mission of a preacher of God’s word, minister of the sacraments, a man of prayer, who presents requests to God for himself and those entrusted to him, asks him for sins, adores and bows to God, thanks for graces and gifts. The parish becomes his family.
During a joint recreation, a boy asks, “Uncle, are you a priest?” “No. I’m a priest!” “Excuse me.” He apologized and left thoughtfully. He did not understand what a priest was.
Another boy asks, “What do you do?” And he gets this answer: “I teach, and I’m not a teacher.” I heal, and I’m not a doctor. I judge, and I am not a judge. I wear different clothes, and I’m not an actor. I speak to many people, and I’m not a politician.” And the boy says, “You can’t be anything but a priest.”
What is associated with the word priest. Archaeology, history and the present pronounce the word priest. It would seem that people today know more about the priesthood. And yet no! A priest is always a person with his strengths and weaknesses. However, he has a power that he did not give himself, that was not given to him by people but by God. He was given the mission to accompany a person from his conception, not only to the grave, but his power extends to eternity, because he can “retain” and “forgive” sins. He blesses the cradle, the marriage bed and the grave. He is called the father of children by elders, men, and women, and yet he is not related to them. Many would be happy if he followed their wishes, obeyed them, carried out their orders. And he can’t, because he has to fulfill the will of the one who sent him, Jesus Christ, whom he calls his Master.
A priest is never alone. Not when he lives alone, not when he prays alone, not when he serves the Holy Mass alone, not even when people despise his services… because Jesus is always with him, who chose him from among many, to proclaim to the world all that is necessary for salvation.
When he said “With God’s help I want and promise” during his priestly ordination, he took on his shoulders the duties and rights to fulfill everything that Christ established for a Catholic priest. The priest is sent to the parish by the bishop, who is the successor of the apostles. He promised respect and obedience to the bishop during his priestly ordination. Each bishop with the Holy Father watches over the teaching of faith and morals. Everyone, including the Pope, the local bishop and the priest, where their mission is appropriate to the situation, fulfills not their own will but the will of God because the Holy Spirit governs the Church.
The Lord Jesus therefore declared about himself: “I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).
The Lord Jesus said these words so that the Pharisees and scribes would not doubt that he was expected by the people and predicted by the prophets that he was the Messiah. He used words about the shepherd and the flock for understanding, which every educated Jew knew from the Scriptures. Through the mouths of the prophets, God is presented several times as a shepherd. The prophet Ezekiel writes: “This is what the Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will seek my sheep and visit them. As a shepherd visits his flock when he is amid scattered sheep… I myself will feed my sheep and put them in the basket myself… I will search for the lost, I will bring back the driven away, and I will shepherd them conscientiously” (Ez 34,11-12.15-16).
Jesus is rightly called the Good Shepherd. He knows every person by name as God, because he is God who is Love, an omniscient, omnipresent God… When Jesus says about himself: “I am the gate” (
Jn 10:9), he explains that no one but him has the right, the power, to claim a person. In the same way, every person is obliged to do everything that God asks of him. Only Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and Savior of the world, to whom the Father has given power over the whole world. All others who mislead people, usurp the position of God, the power of God, the glory of God are thieves, and robbers, who await a just and severe judgment.
Jesus clearly revealed the truth. By his death and resurrection, he proved that he is true God and true man. Therefore, everyone must love God, know him and fulfill his will.
The truth is that only an ordained priest can be designated as a valid pastor and that parishioners can cooperate with him, but they can never replace him. A priest should not allow himself to exceed his duties as a shepherd. For the parish, its own priest as a shepherd is of fundamental importance. The title of shepherd is specifically reserved for a priest. The sacred ordination of the priesthood is, in fact, an irreplaceable and necessary condition for the priest to be a valid shepherd… The Church community needs the ministry of the priesthood so that Christ and the Shepherd – the Head – are present in it. Christ is present in the Church in an eminent way in the Eucharist, the source and culmination of church life. He is truly present in the celebration of Holy Mass, as well as in the consecrated bread in the Tabernacle. Where there are no priests, there is
it is necessary to ask the Lord for them. It would be a fatal mistake to resign and pretend that we have to prepare the Church of tomorrow, because some have a vision of a Church devoid of priests. In this way, the measures taken to correct the current situation would end up, despite good intentions, as severe damage to the church community. The parish is a privileged place for preaching the word of God. A pastor should be very familiar with God’s word and should try to be as effective as possible in his preaching ministry.
Even if there seems to be a relative decrease in vocations to the priesthood or the religious state, it is right to pray for new vocations and those who fulfill their mission in consecrated life. However, today’s Sunday of the Good Shepherd has a different intention. Let us all pray for our holiness, to which we are called since receiving the sacrament of baptism. Since receiving baptism, we have been aware of the words of the Lord Jesus: “The gatekeeper opens and the sheep listen to his voice” (Jn 10:3). It is right that the parishioners do not forget the priest in their prayers.
The village of Lu in northern Italy, 50 km from Turin, is fascinating. In what and why? This village, which has 3,000 inhabitants, gave the Church 323 spiritual vocations in one hundred years. Of these, 151 religious and diocesan priests and 171 religious sisters who belong to 41 different congregations. It is not uncommon to have several professions from the same family. Why so many jobs? What is the cause of this? What has happened? It was a priest, Mons. Alexander Conor, who was zealous for vocations. He introduced a day of prayer for vocations every month in the parish. In addition, he involved families, parents, and children in prayers. God heard the pleas of fathers and mothers, and the youth heard the invitation and responded to it. (Victory of the heart, No. 2, year 1996).
May there be fewer and fewer voices today who refuses to give God a child or to accept an invitation to the priesthood or religious status? Thank God that Slovakia always has new professions. We must not forget that Slovakia is also committed to missions.
The shepherd is not so relevant today. Herds of sheep are disappearing from the hillsides and the shepherd’s profession is becoming uninteresting, unfashionable, undervalued, and unrecognized. Let us pray that this is not the case with the vocation of spiritual shepherds, the vocation to serve, to help believers and non-believers in many areas of life as a religious sister, religious brother or priest.
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Eucharist. Let’s learn the secret of Jesus and his love during frequent communion.
Let’s talk about something. “The Jews grumbled at Jesus because he said: “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” They said: “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say: “I came down from heaven?!” ” (Jn 6:41-42). Jesus predicts the establishment of the Eucharist and emphasizes its importance for eternal life. The Eucharist protects us from death and gives us hope for eternal life. We all know that one day we must die. And yet, many live as if they should not die, they are not preparing to meet God – the Judge. We believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead so that our death would not be final, but that it would be a gift from God the Father so that we could “live forever”.
Jesus personally teaches us about such a death. He prepares us for it with his sacraments—especially the Eucharist and the anointing of the sick. The Holy Spirit constantly impresses upon us that under the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist, the living, risen Christ is present. The Eucharist is Jesus himself. Jesus, who invites us to experience the drama of temporary natural life and who wants to give us eternal life. Therefore, the Church administers the sacraments in connection with the Eucharist. Jesus knows about our difficulties. Being a Christian means accepting God as your Lord. To know our God, love him and fulfill everything he asks of us. God asks to renounce every sin. Although it is difficult to live with God, it is not impossible. God himself made sure that we could have an easier life with God. That is why he instituted the sacraments and especially the Eucharist. We have to learn the approach and the fruit flowing from the Eucharist.
The priest speaks. I once went to church for a religion class. A cleaning lady ran out of the church gate and shouted: “I can’t take it anymore!” Those children are unbearable, completely ill-mannered!” And she began to tell how the children ran amok in the house of God. They were, of course, boys. Some were ringing bells at the altar steps, others with a larger bell at the door of the sacristy. Two were sitting in the confessional, others were chasing each other between the pews. , others were trying to play the organ. Suddenly the children noticed that I was coming. When I entered, they were all sitting in the pews. Only the red face and messy hair betrayed some kind of battle experience. After praying, I said to them: “Boys, it seems that you behaved inappropriately in church an hour ago. Do your parents allow you to make such noise and go crazy at home?” Embarrassed, the boys said they didn’t, especially when grandpa or grandma was sick. Not even then when a priest or other guest arrives. “You would honor your father, grandfather and guests with a calm demeanor. And don’t forget that the Lord Jesus is hidden in the Tabernacle under the form of bread. You act like you don’t believe in his presence.” The boys’ faces were contrite. I asked them, “Will you still act like that in church?” “No!” they answered regretfully. If only they would keep their word.
The Eucharist gives hope for eternal life. As we build our relationship on earth with the living Eucharistic Jesus, Jesus will not reject us at the hour of our death
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Do we need God?
It is the property of contemporary civilization that can satisfy man’s material needs. And very quickly. Today, especially in the West, man has everything he wants. This results in man not being able to enjoy. In the former socialist countries, people used to be happy when they could buy bananas, tangerines, or oranges. And how children used to rejoice when they got a toy. Very simple compared to today. Today, children have everything, but they can’t enjoy it or only for a concise time. Everything gets old quickly because there are always new things on the market, and whether it’s children or adults, people want new things all the time. A lot of times, they don’t appreciate the things they have. The question is, is that right? There is one more fact that we need to be aware of. Today’s modern man thinks he does not need God. He can arrange everything, achieve everything without God. We know that we cannot attain salvation, and eternal life, without God. But eternal life, the salvation of the soul, today’s people are not interested in that at all. People are interested in this earthly life and to live it as best they can; they think they don’t need God. Instead, they think that God the Church is only getting in their way. Jesus foresaw this condition and therefore asked the question. Will the Son of Man find faith when he comes? The material values people value so much today can quickly be lost. A nuclear war may come and man may lose all physical wealth. Let us not forget that man also has an immortal soul, which God can only satisfy. But the mistake is that many people do not even realize that they have a soul. They do not understand what God can give them. And when they do, it will be too late for them.
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The Eucharist should be part of our life.
One of the most brutal pains a parent can bear is when they no longer mean anything to their child. Only parents know what they had to suffer for their child, what they had to give up, what they had to sacrifice and undergo. Their love doesn’t stop, they love all the time, and somehow they can’t find the words to tell their child all this. They are afraid that it would be taken for granted, or that it would ironize their words. Therefore, they prefer to love and not say anything, even if they are waiting for love to be reciprocated.
We are all children of God, sons, and daughters of the heavenly Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. And therefore, in the area of faith, we can often talk about the pain of the Lord Jesus, when we, brothers and sisters, do not recognize him, we often have nothing to do with it. And yet, Jesus does not stop loving us, as evidenced by the words from the Gospel: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).
We know that God the Father sent his Son into the world to become the bread of our life. God could not have invented anything more perfect. His Son, the second divine person, under the sign of bread and wine, is ever present among those he loved to the extreme. God has determined that bread is needed daily for the body. God in his wisdom, determined that he would also provide support for the human soul in the form of bread. Therefore, since the Last Supper, the words we heard in the Gospel, which Jesus said in Capernaum when the crowds were looking for him after the miraculous feeding in the desert, became a reality. We see that Jesus became food, that means that under the form of bread, the same is present and always until the end of the world – our Redeemer and Savior. Therefore, those who try to live their faith can say with St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
Here, however, we must realize that faith is necessary for salvation, and therefore we must strive to reach this faith of ours. As bread is essential for earthly life, so faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for eternal life. Believing in miracles is not enough. We can see this from what we read in the Gospel. The Jews saw the miracles of the Lord Jesus, yet they did not believe him. However, whoever believed understood the miracles as a sign that God is active in Christ. It is like a sign that leads us to the person of Christ. Accepting Christ by faith must be understood as an extraordinary grace from God the Father. We know from the mouth of the Lord Jesus himself that all who come to and receive him are gifted by the Father. It is the Father’s will that we come to Jesus. And Jesus will not drive away anyone who comes to him.
It is sad that many people do not believe in the person of Christ. We know that this saddened even Jesus himself, that many people did not find their way to him even when they saw his miracles. Even so, he did not reject anyone, because he came to save everyone. It follows that it is our duty not to reject Jesus and his teachings. We should realize that we are instruments of God’s love. That is why wonderful paths often lead to Jesus and faith. A young student, an atheist, visited the priest. She wanted to know Christianity and study it. She still had many clever comments about everything. When she said goodbye to the priest once, he said to her: “Mary, remember that you are loved, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Jesus loves you very much, so he allowed you to travel all the way here. Realize that you will not escape his love.” After a few months, she wrote him an Easter greeting: “I don’t know when it started, I don’t know when it happened, I don’t know where it happened, I don’t know how it happened. But I know that I am touched by Jesus. I greet you with Easter joy , which fills my heart, and another, different Mary wants to share this joy with you.” What made her do it?
Knowledge. This is what many are missing. We lack the strength to be penetrated by Jesus. If we cannot say that we have changed, then nothing has actually happened to us. Only when Christ transforms us into himself will we be able to communicate with Saint Paul: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). And here we can talk about a true Christian. Faith in the Eucharistic Christ is a personal relationship when a person comes to Jesus with the desire to accept him. Then the Christian becomes a tabernacle. Jesus says: “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:35). Jesus’ teaching about himself in the Eucharist is emphasized by faith, hope and love. We must believe in Jesus, hope in Jesus, love, and stay with him.This is the foundation of our survival and life with the Eucharistic Jesus. The Eucharist leads us to sacrifice, service, faithfulness to the Gospel. Without faith, hope, and love truly lived, without this foundation, the cult of the Eucharist could easily turn into nothing more than swallowing retribution during St. mass or looking at a piece of recompense in the monstrance. The Eucharist is a dynamic center. He receives us from the scattered areas of our spiritual distance, unites us with Jesus and the brothers, and moves us with Jesus and the brothers towards the Father. It is like the sun, which attracts people to itself, and with it they walk towards the mysterious, the surest goal.
Return the love. Returning love to Christ is what parents expect from their children. This reciprocation brings enrichment on both sides, new possibilities of love, growth and other gifts, of which the one who still forgets to reciprocate love has no idea.
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Patience.
Many people embark on a journey of prayer. But some people
…abandon it at the very beginning and say.: I am not fit for this.
Others say: It’s a waste of time; I don’t see any results. Others
‘ P. Eugcnio del Nino Jcsús, Quiero ver a Dios, Madrid 1951.
Again, tired of stopping at the first steps, and settling down in mediocrity, they continue in prayer, but remain on ground- And some, despite specific difficulties, go forward and receive the unfathomable nearness of God. The main enemy on this path is the inconstancy that comes from the frustration one suffers when one realizes that the results are not coming or are not commensurate with the work done. One thinks to oneself: so much effort and so little results. So many years devoted to fervent prayer and so little progress. For we are accustomed to two typical laws of technical civilization: speed and success. In every human endeavor, …a particular cause produces a certain effect, a certain action produces a specific reaction, particular efforts have certain results. Results are a reward and encourage further effort. We continue our efforts because we have tangible positive results, and those results, in turn, have influence the next effort. And so it goes on and on inhuman work in a kind of smooth flow without any short circuits. But it is not so in the life of grace. Instead, we resemble those fishermen who toiled all night with their nets down but in the morning found them completely empty, (cf. Lk 5:5)
We need patience to accept great efforts can produce small results, or at least accept the possible disparity between the efforts made and the outcome. Some people say that patience is the art of hope. Others say they say it’s the art of knowing. Let’s call it complement and combine both of these views. One hopes because vi. In other words, patience is an act of hope because one knows and calmly accepts reality as it is. What reality? In our case, it’s two realities. The first is that God gives everything freely, so his “actions” are fundamentally surprising. And the second fact is that all life slowly evolves forward.
For those who have joined the war of faith, the hardest thing to have with God patience. The “behavior” of the Lord is for those who have surrendered to Him is often confusing. There is no logic in his “reactions.” A that is why there is no proportion between our efforts to discover his blissful face and the results of those efforts. Many people, therefore, lose patience, become confused and abandon everything.
God is the source where everything begins and everything becomes …is the end. He is the inexhaustible fountain of all life and grace. He is the Lord of all and provides everything at His discretion. There is only one item in his economy: giving. No one can demand anything from him. No one can question him, ask him questions. Relationships with him are not of an interpersonal nature. relationships. In our relationships, there are business contracts, agreements. Of work and wages and merit and rewards. In our relationship with God. There is no such thing. Only gift, grace, endowment. He has a different character: He and we move in completely different spheres. Whoever decides to take God seriously, the first thing he must is to realize this difference and accept it calmly. This means to be patient with God. Yes, He is in another realm of absolutely free giving. And we need help finding an adequate analogy after a certain number of experiments in pedagogy.
Of mathematics, using this method, the average gifted pupil learns (this is a constant) nine lessons. This constant was reached: in fifteen hours of teaching. It is a scientific experiment: Such a stimulus produces appropriate results. This is proven. But we cannot say similarly: fifteen lessons of prayer in this way and under these conditions must produce, in a normal person, this tangible result: five degrees of peace and two degrees of humility. We cannot draw such conclusions. We are moving in different spheres. On the contrary, it may something quite unforeseeable can happen, for example, that fifteen hours of prayer will bring us one degree of peace; the next day, one hour of prayer will give us fifteen degrees of peace. If there were any constants in life with God, there would not be in the world that didn’t pray. For example, if one hour of prayer generally produces two degrees of peace, everyone would find time to pray. But in the world of grace. There is no law of proportionality, any number of probability, or any psychological, fixed laws. It is good to go to God with the help of already tried and tested methods of prayer, but one must not lose sight of the fact that the main is the mystery of grace. Patience means being aware of and accepting that we have to move in this disturbing and unpredictable dynamic that often gives patience and faith a checkmate.
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To receive the Eucharist often with benefit.
I wondered what our life would be like without words. I couldn’t imagine it. I could not imagine communication. How would we communicate without words? It would not be possible today. This is exactly the situation Jesus presents in the Gospel when he answers the crowd’s request: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (John 6:35).
Why did we start talking about words and continue with bread? It is simple. Few people could imagine life without words. It’s practically impossible. How long could we possibly last without communicating? Just as we cannot imagine life without words, neither could the multitudes of Jews imagine life without bread. In Jesus’ time, bread was everything. He was God’s gift to them and a sign of His blessing. It was a means of preserving life and strength, but also a gift that contains all other gifts. The crowd understood this and immediately wanted the bread. Their enthusiasm and desire for bread was enormous. They also wish to have bread.
Here, however, we see that Jesus also speaks of bread in another sense. He is talking about bread for our life of faith. Jesus gave himself as bread from heaven – the Eucharist. The Eucharist is a gift that opens the way to God and gives us a blessing. We do not always accept it with respect, nor can we imagine its meaning for the life of faith. How many times do we reject him and not approach this sacrament. For those who cannot receive the Eucharist, there is another source of God’s presence – God’s word is also a gift that God gives us.He is present in it. After all, man does not only live by bread. One could say: “Why are there so many commands and laws – so that we have sins?” Living in such a way that we do not have sin and can approach Holy Communion is complicated. You are right. Let us ask: “We only want to belong to ordinary people or among the `elite’?” However, this bread opens the way to eternal life. He transforms man. So why should we belong to the gray average and not to the “elite”? The Eucharist transforms a person to control his weaknesses and sins.
How often do we hear the words: “I’d rather not say anything, so I can go to St. reception…. Leave it alone, I won’t be nervous, I won’t get angry, swear…” And all this has only one reason. The desire to receive the Eucharist. Do we realize how respect for the Eucharist changes our behavior? I know that it is difficult. But this effort is a good investment. It transforms our life into a better and more responsible approach to life. We become more joyful and calmer, but also more popular. But here, we also need a deep respect for the Eucharist, in which Christ is present.We could talk much more about the Eucharist, its meaning, and what it gives us. We could share our personal experiences with the Eucharist here. It would take a long time. I will share the experience of a friend: He came to me and said: “You know, I go to confession, but there was a time when I stopped. I was ashamed to confess. I felt the need to go to St. reception. I knew I couldn’t go to communion, and maybe I wouldn’t have until now. Until one day, a good friend came and said these words to me: “I don’t know what’s wrong with you. You have changed. Your language has changed, you are changing for the worse. Do something with yourself!” That’s when I realized that she was right. Then we talked some more, and she told me that she started noticing it two months ago. I understood that sometime around then, I was at communion for the last time.
Do you already understand what gives us the strength to be good..?! Do not reject the great grace and gift from God, with which he opens the way to himself and man. Let us pray together for each other, that we always reverently receive the Sacrament of the Altar and desire it, and have the courage to walk the more difficult path of life transformation that leads to eternal life.
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Reflection on the Eucharist.
The Eucharist cannot be said to be food. We believe in the presence under the manner of bread and wine of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. We know that to receive this, one of the seven sacraments can only be received by one who is in a sinless state, a baptized Christian Catholic, who believes that Christ is present under these modalities. Thus, the Eucharist cannot be received by an in-believer, even though he believes in God, in Jesus Christ, but does not accept the doctrine of the presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine from their beginning in the celebration of the Holy Mass to their physical end. Many non-believers admire and come to know these and other truths of religion, even during holidays and vacations. Jesus says: “You do not seek me because you have seen..” (Jn. 6:26).
The early Christians used homemade leavened bread to celebrate the Eucharist, although Christ Himself used unleavened bread at the Last Supper. As reverence for the Eucharist grew, seals with Christian motifs were imprinted, which can still be seen today on the host (called sacrificial bread in Latin). The sacrificial bread was baked with wheat flour and water. Gradually, wafer communion wafers came to be used instead of unleavened bread. Bread is an honest food that really keeps a person alive. Therefore, God gives Himself to us as food in the form of bread; thus, it becomes a living food for us humans. St. Ignatius of Antioch writes to the believers in Ephesus: “We break bread; it shall be to us the sacrament of immortality.” It is the food that feeds our whole being with the living God and makes us feel that we are in Him and he in us.
The bread for the celebration of the Eucharist, according to the tradition of the entire Church – is to be wheat and according to the tradition of the Latin Church – unleavened. The nature of the emblem requires that the matter of the Eucharist look honestly like food. Therefore, the Eucharistic bread should be so arranged that the priest, at the Holy Mass celebrated in the presence of the people, can break the host into several parts and serve them to at least some of the faithful. Small hosts are not excluded if the number of communicants and other pastoral reasons are required. But the act of breaking the bread, by which the Eucharist was signified in apostolic times, more clearly expresses the power and importance of the sign of the unity of all in the one bread and of the sign of love as the one bread is distributed to the brethren.
How many people are hungry for the bread of truth. People worldwide are bombarded by media advertising, false ideologies and lies that come from the evil one. We believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We believe and confess that the words of Jesus are true. In the same way, without the Eucharist, the life of grace is not possible. Therefore, the Christian receives the Eucharist because he realizes the goal of his life, where he has the promised state of being free from hunger and thirst.
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Why does God let man suffer?
This question is even more insistent when we see good people suffering, people who are necessary for others, and on the other hand, various criminals, mafiosi, doing well. They are healthy; they live to a ripe old age, and so on. Many will say God is unjust. But we know that God is, and He has all eternity to show that He is just. But the truth is that we cannot always explain why even good people have to suffer. We have to accept the fact that God has a purpose with this. But we know that not all good people have to suffer, and not all bad people do well. It goes from case to case. But one thing is certain, everything that occurs to us in our lives has a significance, and we should learn to respond to it, to ask what God wants to say to us with this event. But we must be careful that our reactions to suffering are not adverse. As it was with the Jews. They were convinced, if someone was sick or suffering, they must be a sinner. However, if he did not outwardly appear to be a sinner, the Jews were convinced that he was a secret sinner. In a word, the Jews considered sickness suffering punishment for sin. On the other hand, in quotation marks, we cannot blame God for suffering we have caused ourselves. I know a man who was driving a car over 200 kilometers. He had a crash. He survived, but became paralyzed, became an invalid. His family, however, blamed the Lord God; how could he let this happen. I am not saying anything new if I say, many sufferings and illnesses are our own fault, they have their natural cause, and it is not right to blame the Lord God for it.
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