Have time for God.

I was talking to a businessman once. Meanwhile, it came up how he must take all the chances to compete. He is consumed with the thought of the deadlines he is facing today. At breakfast, he looks at a few newspapers drinks coffee ´, in the car on the phone with the clerk, in the office he looks over the most critical files, rushes to a meeting with the heads of departments, negotiates with representatives of other firms, hears complaints, talks with architects, studies signs contracts. Every day, the same merry-go-round. No thought of God, no prayer. Late in the evening, he comes home full of plans and worries. He lies down to a restless sleep, and in the morning, the same thing awaits him.

No matter how great a piety he may have inherited, such a busy life will alienate him from God. And it is understandable. A man who thinks, talks, plans, decides, enjoys, gets angry, rejoices all day without looking at God, without considering God, will be guided in his decision-making solely by the vision of success, gain of benefit, desire for wealth, and so on. God, Jesus, the Church – these will slowly cease to interest them, and after years, if such people are honest, they will lose not only contact but also interest in God and spiritual life. How is it with us? We don’t get carried away by our smaller or bigger worries so perfectly that God has no more place in our lives. In short, we allow ourselves to be so overwhelmed by work, by various interests, that we alienate God. The solution is easy, but challenging to implement. Change the way we live. And that’s not easy.

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Vincent Ferrer, priest.

Feast: April 5

* 23 January 1350 Valencia, Spain
† d. April 5, 1419 Vannes, Brittany, France

Name meaning: winning (lat.)

Attributes: fire, star, baptismal font

Patron of designers, builders, roofers, and founders; against headaches, fever, and dangers

Giuseppe Paladini: Vincent Ferrer, 1744, Church of Norcia

Giuseppe Paladini: Vincent Ferrer, 1744, Church of Norcia

Vincent Ferrer was born on 23 January 1350 in Valencia, eastern Spain, into the family of the notary William and Constance. He was the fourth child in a row. However, we know nothing about his childhood. At seventeen, he joined the Dominican order and took his first vows a year later. He was very excited. He studied hard and prayed a lot. Furthermore, he studied in southern France in Valencia, Barcelona, and Toulouse. He was ordained a priest in about 1378. He was a very active and zealous priest. Furthermore, he preached a lot and confessed. Likewise, he reconciled the kings with each other and was their counselor and confessor to Queen Yolanda. In addition, he also developed social activities and took care of the needy. There was a split in the Church at that time (schism). In 1378, Urban VI was elected Pope in Rome. However, some cardinals, primarily French, were unsatisfied with the election, so they elected their own Pope Clement VII, who resided in Avignon. This split lasted about fifty years. This behavior of the cardinals disoriented many. Vincent also joined the side of antipope Clement. After the death of this antipope, the cardinals again elected another, Benedict XIII, who called Vincent to Avignon, made him his chaplain and confessor. At the same time, he was in charge of the papal palace as administrator. But gradually, noticing the circumstances that were happening around him and in the world – a lot of riots in the world ( Turkish invasions, anarchy in Spain and Italy), the performance of reformers (Wicklef, Hus), he began to realize more about the bleak situation the Church is in. He admonished Antipope Benedict to come to his senses. But he disobeyed. Vincent fell seriously ill. Then he envisioned Christ with St. Francis from Assisi, a saint. Dominic. Christ said to him: „Stay firm, leave the papal court immediately, for I have chosen you to preach the gospel in Spain and France.“ When Vincent told Benedict, he did not want to release him, and even appointed him a cardinal. Well, Vincent didn’t give up. Eventually, the Pope released him.

Vincent left Avignon in 1399. He traveled to Spain, France, northern Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. He preached at every opportunity. People listened to him with joy; he had the gift of eloquence. In Spain alone, he converted twenty-five thousand Jews and eight thousand Muslims. Many human hearts have moved and turned their lives for the better. When the people knew he was coming, they went out in crowds opposite him. Pope Martin V himself welcomed him, even the kings. He left a deep and long response in people’s hearts everywhere. At his word, people built monasteries, hospitals, and bridges over steep rivers. God gave him the gift of predicting events, the gift of tongues – spoke his native dialect, and yet everyone understood him. He was among the greatest preachers of the Middle Ages. He got a lot of opportunities from God to become proud of his abilities. Well, it didn’t happen. He was always modest, humiliated, and obedient. He never ate meat, whipped himself in blood every night, and never took money despite frequent offers. If he took, it was only to give them to the poor.

In 1409, cardinals gathered in the Italian city of Pisa to eliminate the bipapacy. They elected a new pope – John XXIII. However, the two old popes did not give up their offices, so instead of two popes, there were already three. Vincent made every effort to abolish this situation. However, it was not until the Council of Constance in 1417 that Pope Martin V was elected, and the other three gave up their offices. Although Vincent did not personally attend the council, he fully supported its conclusions.

Vincent spent the last two years of his performance in Brittany, where he also preached tirelessly. Towards the end, however, he began to feel exhausted. On the advice of his fellow brothers, he set out on a journey to his homeland. But he only reached the city of Vannes. The inhabitants greeted him with joy, but were saddened to hear from his mouth that he had not come to their city to preach, but to die. Severe chills set in, and Vincent died on 5 April 1419. He was declared a saint in 1458.

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Hl.Isidor

Isidorus, ep. Hispalien. et doctor Eccl.

April 4, non-binding monument
Position: Archbishop and teacher of the church
Deaths: 636
Patron: internet and computer users
Attributes: Bishop with a book, event. with a feather, horseman on horseback

BIOGRAPHY

It comes from Seville, Spain. After his father’s death, he was raised by his brother Leander. After an initial distaste for learning, he achieved his goal by his decision and perseverance to become a teacher of the Middle Ages. He was Bishop of Seville, wrote many writings, convened and directed several councils where numerous affairs were wisely arranged. He is said to have meditated daily on the Passion of the Savior. Furthermore, he was holy in wisdom, love, humility, patient bearing of suffering, and repentance.

BIOGRAPHY FOR MEDITATION

What can endurance do?

He was born around 560 near Seville, perhaps in New Carthage, Spain, into an important family that gave the Church several saints. They were his two older brothers, Leander and Fulgent, and his sister Florentina. Both of his parents died in his childhood, and Leander, who was 20 years older, took over the care of his family and Isidore’s upbringing.

Isidore’s youth is said to have been impatient and fickle, until one day, he came to a well with stone timbers during his truancy. He sat down and inadvertently noticed the deep notches on the shaft and the numerous timber pits. After a while, when a woman came to get the water, he asked her how the notches in the hardwood and the holes in the stone were made. He learned from her what persistence can do! Drops falling on a single spot on the hard stone excavate the pit, and the wood is scourged by winding the rope daily. Isidore realized that he could attain education and wisdom if he studied persistently with God’s help. From that moment on, under the guidance of his brother, he quickly acquired knowledge until he also became a teacher in the Middle Ages.

He learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He has acquired an eloquence that is still admirable in his writings today. Furthermore, he improved not only his thinking, but also his heart with Christian virtues. He had an example in Leandra. After his studies, he was ordained a priest, confirmed Spanish Catholics in the faith, and focused on the conversion of Arians. King Leovigild of the Visigoths pursued the clergy at the time, reportedly imprisoning some bishops and expelling Leandro from his realm. Isidore is said to have influenced his heart by releasing the imprisoned and calling Leandro back. Isidore then entered the monastery for a time. When Bishop Leander died in about 596, the new king, reared with the clergy and people, elected his brother Isidore as successor. Pope Gregory the Great sent him archiepiscopal insignia.

Priests’ ascetic and general professional education and the observance of church discipline were very close to Isidore’s heart. With this focus, he also performed at many provincial and national synods in Seville and Toledo. He acted very wisely and wrote many writings. In the third part, Sententiae (Ideas), he stated his ideas about the right bishop: The program of his profession should begin with himself, self-denial, humiliation, and exemplary life. He is to interpret the truths of the Christian faith to his believers and take care of them as a good shepherd or doctor.

Isidore’s work De officiis ecclesiasticis (About Church Services) was an excellent guide to the liturgy. File Chronica maiora it is a kind of world chronicle. De viris illustrious (About famous men) refers to church history. The two books are synonyms; they are ascetic writings, encouraging the sinful and the suffering. He wrote more writings than are mentioned here. His main theological work is three books of sentences: Sententiarum libri tres. In the first, he deals with the doctrine of God, and in the other two, fundamental questions of morality. Isidore’s most significant work is a 20-volume encyclopedia called Etymologiarum libri XX seu Origines (Inception). It is a comprehensive collection of information from various areas of life and science, similar to today’s databases. Inspired by the data and recommendations of the Pontifical Council for the Media, Spanish computer scientists from the Internet Observation Service in Barcelona recognized St. Isidore as the patron of the Internet and computer users. Pope John Paul II also confirmed the patronage during one pilgrimage to Spain. And the cult of St. Isidora, as the patron saint of the Internet, is popularized especially in Poland. Despite all the reservations, critics of Isidore’s works agree that he was a highly prolific man of letters with great merit in saving ancient cultural values.

Even in his literary activity, Isidore lived a high degree of virtue, cultivated charity, worked tirelessly in God’s service, was exemplary, and died with deep piety.

Before dying, he gave everything away and performed public penance according to the Visigothic ceremony. On Easter Monday, March 31, he was brought to the church of St. Vincent accompanied by subordinate bishops, in the presence of other clergy and people. He received penitential robes from one of the bishops, had his head sprinkled with ashes from the other, and publicly confessed his lapses. He deeply regretted them and asked those present for forgiveness and prayers. After receiving the Eucharist, he said goodbye to the bystanders with a kiss of peace, allowed himself to be transferred back to his cell, and died four days later.

Clement VIII is said to have declared him a saint in about 1598. In 1722, Pope Innocent XIII appointed him a teacher of the church.

I will determine what I will do for my more remarkable persistence in good and start right away.

God, You called Saint Isidore to educate Your church with Your teachings; hear our pleas and, through his intercession, help her grow in the knowledge of Your truth. Through Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, He lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit throughout all ages.

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Fifth Sunday of Lent C Joh 8,1-11

A well-known French priest and writer, Michel Quoist, whose books are also published here, writes this in his book “God is waiting for me”: I am not satisfied with myself. I have already examined my life several times about my attitude towards others, and today I realized that my reactions are still very immature humanly and completely abnormal Christianly. However, by how I treat my brothers, I will be judged … This sad statement started this morning when I read the newspaper. The headline of an article that reported a particularly heinous crime was the first to catch my eye. After a while, I realized that I was responding with an unreserved condemnation of a person, and that this condemnation was based on a feeling of hatred. Unfortunately, I realized that I am mixing evil as such and the one who commits it. I do not condemn evil, but immediately and proudly denounce man.

This is a humble and public confession of a Christian, a writer, a spiritual counselor, a priest. And when I read the event of today’s Gospel, it occurred to me that we act similarly to those accusers of an adulterous woman. Although we tell ourselves that we stand in the correct position with the Lord Jesus, we would be on the side of that woman together with him. But in reality, in specific life situations, we often act like those plaintiffs.

We need a direct word from Jesus that reminds us of our actual state. How many failures, sins, and unbeliefs have been in our lives! When a person is older, he quickly forgets his youth, the transgressions of a hot head, and the raging blood in his veins. Or he becomes a “sclerotic,” and then he prefers not to know—or instead does not want to know—anything. Anyone who knows that dark place deep in man knows how long a shadow our sinfulness casts.

When a person finally discovers that shadow, when he realizes it, what about him? An old Chinese fable tells of a man who could not bear his shadow. He wanted to get rid of him by running from him. He ran faster and faster, but the shadow ran just as fast. Finally, in a mad escape, he fell to the ground dead. Only when he fell to the ground did his body cover his shadow. Even though we know that our sins have been forgiven, the shadow still worries us. And so we ask: what about it? On the one hand, there are accusers before the Lord Jesus. They brought their sins before Jesus in the guilty woman. They were too zealous; they wanted to get Jesus into trouble. Hot heads, raging blood. On the other side stood a woman, terrified, humiliated, aware of her guilt and reconciled to being stoned.

And what did the Lord Jesus do? He bent down to the ground and wished them time to look at each other. And he wrote something with his finger in the sand. No one knows what he wrote there. There are many interpretations. The scene should remind us that the one sent by the heavenly Father is present here, who inscribed the Ten Commandments with his finger on the stone tablets on Mount Sinai. Or that scene suggests that the law carved in stone became ephemeral in the hands of the Pharisees and scribes like the writing in the sand, and that now only the living law of God filled with love applies. Or Saint Jerome may be right, who says that Jesus put the individual sins of the accusers in the sand, so that they all quietly disappeared when he said: „Which of you is without sin, let him throw the first stone!“

But one thing is sure: The wisdom of the word of God, which the Pharisees and teachers of the law knew, was precisely fulfilled. In the book of Proverbs we read: „Psal … grabs by the ears, the one who meddles in a dispute that does not concern him (Prov 26,17) … Whoever digs another’s pit will fall into it himself, and whoever rolls a stone at another will roll his self“ (Proverbs 26,27). And so a strange situation arose. The woman’s plaintiffs quietly and subtly disappeared from the scene. Only the woman who could also leave remained. It is not easy for a sinful person to stand before a saint. But Christ the Lord is exceedingly powerful. It is not easier to calm wild blood than to calm a storm on Lake Gennesaret. And Jesus Christ was able to relax both.

And finally, we have something else – we still have a small addition to the fable with the shadow. That Chinese fable ends like this: If that man, fleeing from his shadow, had entered the shadow of a tall tree, he would have gotten rid of his own shadow. But he didn’t think of it, so he died. That adulterous woman entered the high shadow of Jesus. She recognized how the Lord Jesus loves her, how he can forgive, and therefore she remained alive. She didn’t leave like the other sinners.

And that is an excellent lesson for us. Whoever believes in the love of Jesus does not have to run away from himself. He knows that he is loved even with his shadow in the shadow of the Lord Jesus, who, although alone without sin, took upon himself all our sins, our shadow ceases to exist. And it should oblige us to love our neighbors with their shadows, according to Jesus’ example. When the temptation comes upon us to take the stone of our malice and unloved in our hands and want to throw it at someone, let us honestly and humbly ask ourselves: I am genuinely without sin, so I can be the first to throw a stone? And if we answer this question honestly and honestly, I firmly believe that our stones of malice and unloved will quickly fall from our hands to the ground. Lord, we beg you, let us continuously love you in our brothers and sisters, that we may always seek and follow your holy will, and so that they may enter your heavenly kingdom. Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ!

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Prayer is a struggle with God that changes our heart.

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To whom and through whom do we give thanks?

Scripture testifies that I should give thanks above all to God the Father through and in the name of the Lord Jesus: „But let it be Thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!“ (Rom 7.25); „And everything, whatever you say or do, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and through him give thanks to God the Father.“ (Kol 3,17); „Staturally give thanks for everything to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.“ (Ef 5,20)

Naturally, if we are truly grateful to God, we will not be ungrateful even to angels, saints, people, and his entire creation; on the contrary.

How to give thanks to God?

Just as we can sin with thoughts, words, and deeds, we can also give thanks through the same channels:

1. Thoughts – because „mouth speaks from the fullness of the heart“ (Mt 12,33)

2. In words – using the mind (1Cor 14,15) and using the spirit – giving thanks with the gift of languages (1Cor 14,16;17), singing (Ps 28,7), praising…

3. By deeds – fulfilling God’s will not only out of obedience, but also out of gratitude, for what the Lord has done for us, fulfilling the promises given to God, laying down life for the gospel (Ps 116,12–15). Bonus example – by turning your eyes to the Lord – Jehoshaphat 2 King 20.12 plus context

Stefano Camogli, Eucharist

What to give thanks for?

If someone can’t think of something to give thanks for, then we will imagine some tips from God’s word: for salvation – (Kol 1.12; Ps 118,19); for an ineffable gift of God’s grace – (2Cor 9.15) ( suffer for Christ is grace – Flp 1.29); for abundance of grace – (2Kor 4,15); for healing – (Lk 17,16); for all people – (1Tim 2,1–2); for food – (1Tim 4,3–5; 1Kor 10,30); eating and not eating – (Rom 14.6); for service of the apostles (ted and for bishops and priests) – (2Cor 1.11; 2Cor 9.12); for hearing prayer – (Ps 118,21); for everything – (1Sol 5.18, Ef 5.20).

Of course, there are many more subjects. Whoever cultivates gratitude in his heart will find the most diverse reasons for giving thanks. Unfortunately, it also works in the opposite direction with an attitude of ingratitude.

Why did the Apostles give thanks?

We also find a beautiful pattern in the first ambassadors of the Lord Jesus and the pillars of the Church – in the Apostles. And why did they give thanks? This is what the Apostle of Nations Saint Paul shows us in his letters: for victory in Christ – (1Kor 15.57; 2Kor 2.14); for conversion – (Rim 6,17); for salvation – (2Sol 2,13); for accepting God’s word – (1Sol 2,13); for God’s grace – (1Kor 1.4; 1Tim 1.12); for the faith of believers in the Lord Jesus – (Rom 1.8; Ef 1.15–16; Kol 1.3–4; 1 Sol 1.2–3; 2Sol 1.3); for the love of believers among themselves – (Ef 1.15–16; Kol 1.3–4; 1Sol 1.2–3; 2Sol 1.3); for the hope of believers – (1Sol 1,2–3); for the participation of believers in the Gospel – (Flp 1,3; 5); for fellow servants – (2Tim 1.3; Flm 1.4); for the care of servants – (2Kor 8,16); for donations received (Flp 4,10–20); for the gift of languages – (1Kor 14,18).

This is only a calculation recorded by Scripture (ten real it would hardly be possible to write completely), but it still shows us what came from the apostolic hearts and mouths.

Jeroni Jacint Espinosa, Adoration of the Eucharist

Thanksgiving in heaven

Of course, all angels (Rev 7,12) and saints in Heaven give thanks. Four beings give thanks before sitting on the throne and living forever and ever (Rev 4.9), and neither do the 24 elders (Rev 11.17).

Giving thanks to the Lord Jesus

The scribes also recorded several examples from the Lord Jesus. When propagating the bread, i.e. before eating (Mt 15.36; Mk 8.6; Jn 6.11; Mt 14.19; Mk 6.41; Lk 9.16); at the Last Supper, that is, before meals and during the celebration of the Eucharist (Mt 26.27; Mk 14.23; Lk 22.17; 19); at the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11.41); an example of how to recite a prayer (Flp 4.6).

Thanksgiving = Eucharist

Eucharist is a Greek word that means Thanksgiving or gratitude. The adjective eucharistic also means satisfied, memorable favors (friends, services, favors). These words are used in almost all places where we have a translation—Thanksgiving, etc.

But let’s go deeper into the word Eucharist for even deeper stimuli for contemplation. The word has two parts: eu a charisma, in Greek exactly: eu – good, charizomai – satisfy, give/grant benevolently, provide free (sincere forgiveness), graciously restore each other, grant as a favor. At the same time, the word charizomai is from Gr. charis – grace, thanks. And finally, a word chair, he is from Gr. chairo – (the root of the word) – extraordinary joy, to be full of cheerfulness, greetings. It is found approximately 77 times in the New Testament. After this hearty word mining Eucharist, we could also translate its in-depth meaning: to be full of good joy.

Thanks to the analysis of this word, we can easily measure how we relate to God’s gifts and especially to the Giver himself, i.e., how we are „thank givers“.

We know that the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ is present at the Eucharist, a type of which was also the Thanksgiving sacrifice in the Old Testament (2 King 29,31), for which we must be grateful in the very first place and on which all other thanks also depend. Only then can we go to a depth that even the most humanly grateful unbeliever cannot understand and achieve, which shows that gratitude in us also depends on education and our character.

Kotowicz, Holy Communion

Summary

Thus, for someone to celebrate the Eucharist more deeply, worthily, and meritoriously, he needs to learn to be grateful for everything, a type of which gratitude for food is the basis of appreciation for life and salvation. From the root of the word Eucharist, we see that it contains not only gratitude, but also grace, forgiveness, and the fullness of extraordinary joy, which is also a type of heavenly glory, where we will always give thanks and praise to God for all that He has done.

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The water that heals it all.

Common experience confirms that water from some springs has healing properties. The desire of many to achieve healing with the help of this water led to the creation of healing baths. In today’s texts of the word of God, we also encounter the symbol of the source of invigorating water. In the first reading, a spring is described as rising from under the altar on the right side of the temple and flowing towards the east. Similar to nature, the cause is not the distance, but other tributaries, the further the river is from the source, so even in this vision of Ezekiel, the flow of water without tributaries gradually increases until it reaches the size of the river. Water brings life to the land, and trees grow on its banks that bear fruit every month, providing food, and their leaves are healing, ensuring lasting health and life.

This prophetic, symbolic image contains an essential message: the altar and the temple represent God; God is the source of life. As in Paradise, there was a tree of life, but humans have lost access to it through their sin. This water enables people to grow many trees of life on its banks. Thus, God did not forever close man’s access to full life, but announced hope based on Himself becoming the source of life for us.

He began to fulfill this prophecy when he came to us in his son. In the gospel, Jesus meets a man who has been ill for thirty-eight years and who, with constant hope, waits for the opportunity to be the first to enter the water when the spring “kick up”. According to popular belief, the one who first came to the swirling water should achieve healing. Jesus asked this man a question that further expressed the pain of the sick person’s constantly disappointed desire for healing. And to his sad answer, he turns to him with a short challenge: “Get up, take your bed and go!”

The fact that a man who had not been able to walk for thirty-eight years walked immediately on these words revealed another truth, that a life-giving power emanates from Jesus that manifests as a creator. Instantly, it restores the patient’s seriously disturbed health and gives him full health. We know that this was not the only miracle of healing performed by Jesus; in three cases, he also raised the dead. In the context of the place of this healing, Jesus manifested himself as a trustworthy source of living water, that is the Holy Spirit. From his resurrection, no one can say, “I have no one to care for me,” because Christ, the Son of God, became a man close to everyone. He assured us this: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Of course, He does not always heal us miraculously, but He accompanies us with His love and help in all life circumstances. If we remain faithful to Him to the end, He assures us that He will resurrect our body to eternal life by His divine power at His second coming. However, the condition is what he pointed out to the healed: “ Sin no more, lest something worse touch you.” Because with sin, we can prevent the effect of God’s life-giving spirit in us, and it could become “worse”: existence without communion with God and with people, without hope of change for the better…

Practical Instruction: I will express my gratitude in prayer for the fact that Jesus Christ, through the waters of baptism, has come to me and, inwardly transforming me with his Spirit, has made me a new person, able to go through life, overcoming evil and sin and doing works according to God’s will. I will take a few steps”.

Prayer: Merciful God, may prayers and acts of penance during this Lent prepare our hearts to willingly receive the Easter grace and proclaim the glad tidings of redemption to the world, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in the communion of the Holy Spirit, one God, for all ages.

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The saving boldness of wanting to eat.

You were not brought to your father by a contrite filial heart, but by an empty stomach. 

The saving boldness of wanting to eat
Illustration photo: 
Greetings, Mr. Younger of the Parable. I know, you are just a fictional character of Christ’s story, one element of one kind of allegory. You don’t exist. And yet you are pretty accurate, because you live a little in probably each of us. And maybe a little more than just a little.

First, I want to tell you that what you did to your father was really… well, I don’t know what expression would be appropriate and still fit into the Sunday reflection dictionary from the pen of an adult. I will say „maximum inappropriate“. You realize many people would prefer to see you at the pigs for the rest of your life. Otherwise, the country you wasted your fortune in wasn’t ours. Well, I’m asking, because you certainly wouldn’t be in need here; no one worries about hunger here. Okay, I won’t tease anymore. But it was somewhere far away, because they wouldn’t just let you go to cattle and pigs here. Poor animals… and show more compassion for each other than sometimes people do for each other. Vacca vaccae vacca, homo homini lupus. Cow to cow to cow, man to wolf.

However, I would like to return to your story. Many people, as I say, would prefer to condemn you, because you see how your brother reacted when you appeared at home. Well, I want to tell you that I respect you. I like you very much. No, not because of your attitude towards your father, but because of your attitude towards yourself. I’ll explain it to you right away

Obviously, you did not come home for any noble motives, but because you were hungry. You were not brought to your father by a contrite filial heart, but by an empty stomach. Being honest with yourself finally saved your life. It was enough not to suppress your hunger and admit that you have an empty stomach, and although you did not find sincere regret in yourself, you found a piece of honesty with yourself. Under the influence of your father’s goodness, you worked your way up to some real tears. Not only for the pain of what you did, but especially for the joy of having a father, no matter what. I know it was a process, but you were honest with yourself initially, bringing you home and saving you.

How long did it take for your older brother to come home? He never went away, no, but he was really out of it. Perhaps emboldened by your example, you finally allowed yourself to be honest. Maybe you allowed yourself to admit, too, all of which is empty. Maybe he also eventually returned to his father, even though he was not physically distant from him. However, getting lost at home can be even more treacherous than getting lost somewhere far away.

However, getting lost at home can be even more treacherous than getting lost somewhere far away.

Oh, happy empty stomach and rumbling belly! Even “nothing” can be more than enough when your heart is only dry: when the eye does not hold regret, but the heart asks for something, give the name of the thirst, because someone is already looking for you.

And you, little man, who are not a fictional character, can you afford to be honest with yourself? Maybe you can’t extract sincere regret from somewhere in the depths. Perhaps a noble desire for noble truth cannot bring you to the Father, because it is too abstract for you to enter your world of flesh and blood. Well, maybe it’s enough to be honest with yourself and name what I need.

Maybe I won’t get a theory from a pig pod war about how ideal my life should be. Maybe my empty stomach will lead me to the Father, my essential desire for something dramatically concrete—more concrete than a crystallized essence of truth, the desire for something tangible, which I cannot feel, and that’s why I’m dissatisfied. Maybe what I don’t have will lead me to God, when what I have and what I have too much to waste have gotten me far from him.

Oh, they say so few people are already looking for God! Who knows, I probably wouldn’t sign it. And what about those looking for him but are hurt and don’t feel him? Whoa… Maybe we perceive God so little because we perceive ourselves so little. After all, we do not perceive ourselves. Perhaps it’s hard for us to hear God because we don’t listen to ourselves. Maybe we have over-suppressed what’s pushing us, what we’re missing, denied that we desire anything, convinced ourselves that this is how it should be, and made it a virtue.

But neurosis from repressed humanity is not God, and cultivating it is not following Christ. And a person who has at least a shred of healthy self-esteem and foresight will quickly run away from it before getting involved in such a thing and ending up stranded without food by the gutter for a utility farm. And so, maybe after all, you have to be honest with yourself, not complicate it too much with all sorts of sublimely abstract, and admit that I have an empty stomach and want to eat. And this desire will lead me to the Father, and he will fulfill my every need.

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The post-Christian West is hungry for meaning and secularism has no answers.

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„What do you say about science?” he asks the participants. „Science is great!“thundered from under the stage. „And what about reason?“ „Reason is great!“ he will hear excitedly. „Some say we are extremists. But that’s only because we’re incredibly right,“ explains another speaker.

„The Earth is over four billion years old!“ emphasizes another. Here is a burst of enthusiasm. „An evolution is literally a fact of life!“ he completes, and the crowd goes crazy.

If you’ve ever wondered what a service of secular atheists would look like if they decided to start a church, what slogans would become sacred to them, who their apostles would be, and what deities they would invoke, here is a possible answer.

The Reason Rally, Assembly for Reason, was held in the US capital 13 years ago. Proponents of secularism, humanism, free thought, and science participated in this „Woodstock atheism.” The main promoters of radical secularism spoke on stage.

One of them was evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of the bestseller The God Delusion (God’s error). When he took the stage, the crowd hailed him as a rock star.

„Mock them, mock them in public. Don’t succumb to the convention that we are too polite to talk about religion,“ challenged an enthusiastic audience.

Four horsemen on their campaign against religion

This gathering was one of the crowning events of the movement known as New Atheism, a militant attempt to exterminate religion from Western society. Dawkins, philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett, columnist Christopher Hitchens, and philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris are his main apostles, known as the „four horsemen” (inspiration from the biblical book of Revelation of St. John, Apocalypse).

Each wrote popular books seemingly refuting religion, primarily Christianity, and promoting a scientific-humanistic materialistic worldview. These educated men participated in public debates with priests, bishops, or evangelical preachers, where they destroyed their opponents.

Vulgarly speaking, the basic thesis of their faith was that when society freed itself from religion, a golden age freed from superstition, religious hatred, and obscurantism would set in. Their popularity, as well as the dizzying secularization of the coming generation, made it suspect that the triumph of atheism and with it reason, science, and humanistic ethics was inevitably close.

Four Horsemen of Atheism. From left: Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett. Source: Youtube

Moreover, they managed to convince a large part of society so much that the claim of the end, obsolescence, or outright regression of religion once again became an implicit narrative of the Western intelligentsia.

The wind in their sails was Islamist terrorism, which scared the West, especially with the image of collapsing twins in September 2001. More convincing evidence of the perniciousness of religion could not even be concocted.

New atheism in this outraged atmosphere with arrogant self-confidence presented the diagnosis – root of evil is religion –, prescribed the treatment – vaccine against the virus of Christianity is materialistic science and humanism – and promised a miraculous recovery.

According to this simple equation, less religion means more reason, compassion, and justice, in short, a better society. New atheists did not have to wait long for the results of their experiment. Less than two decades were enough, a few shocks, and their ambitious project fell on their heads.

Atmospheric change

 Justin Brier ley is a legendary presenter of British Christian radio Premier. Where on his show Unbelievable? For 17 years, he moderated countless discussions between atheists and believers.

A practicing Anglican, Brierley earned a good reputation among both parties of opinion largely due to his unbiased, non-confrontational, and fair approach. Throughout the atheist boom, he watched from the front row as debates between leading critics and defenders of religion developed.

Brierley, you started to notice that „bombastic debates between militant atheists and Christian apologists are becoming less frequent“ and have been replaced by secular intellectuals who are open to the cultural and social values of Christianity, some even directly announce them on their million-dollar platforms.

Presenter and columnist Justin Brierley. Source:

 Until a few years ago, Rogan mocked Christianity and claimed, that the New Testament is „total crap created by the bishop and the emperor“, was „written centuries after Christ’s death“ and „everyone vie“.

But today, he lets a religious expert explain why the Gospels are reliable and the belief in the resurrection is the best explanation of the preserved facts on the planet’s most popular podcast.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The New Atheism in this part of our narrative is not quite dead yet.

Schism in the atheist movement

One of the first nails was driven into his coffin by an unnamed man in a hotel elevator at four in the morning. It was 2011, the night after the atheist conference, and one of the speakers, Rebecca Watson (known as a blogger Skepchick), tired, left the bar for her room. She was followed by one of the participants.

He spoke to her in the elevator car: „ Don’t take it the wrong way, but you are very interesting, I would like to talk to you more, don’t you want to go to my room for coffee?“

Rebecca was uncomfortable. She mentioned this experience in a video and urged her viewers not to make similar suggestions. Although it was nothing big, soon, this case attracted the attention of a large part of the atheist online community, and a battle broke out over the shape of their movement.

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Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A Lk 15,1-3 11-32

Brothers and sisters, this Sunday we begin with the well-known story of the prodigal son. This is a parable that I consider to be the most beautiful of the biblical stories. What does Jesus want to teach us in this parable? What new things does he want to tell us? Jesus talks about the family, which consists of the father and his two sons. We are not talking about the mother here. Finally, in the patriarchal form of the family at the time, not much was said about women. We learn from the story that the father has a large economy, and both sons work hard on it until the younger son requests to pay his share.

Every parent expects that one day their child will become independent. Parents remain in the background for children, but everyone must stand on their own two feet, leave their birthplace, and live their own lives. This is how we read about it in the Holy Scriptures: „Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and attach himself to his wife, and there will be two in one body“?  And there are no longer two, but one tel“ (Mk 10, 7). Even so, it is a painful moment for the parent to cope with. Here, we often see many problems when parents do not understand that for their children, they should only be a consultative voice, not the last. Those parents who cannot cope and identify with the fact that this is the cycle of life usually make life miserable for their children and their husbands or wives. No matter how much a parent prepares for this, she is still very sad. It was certainly excruciating for the father from today’s Gospel when he heard about the immoral life of his younger son. Surely, even today, many people ask themselves: What have I neglected? Where did I make a mistake in education? What failed? Unfortunately, sometimes you give your sons and daughters only the best, yet they behave harshly and ugly. Let’s see how the younger son behaved. Suddenly, he had money, but with little experience, he began to surround himself with a company that was not the best. How many times do we see such young people around us? This danger greatly threatens your children and grandchildren today—the vision of getting rich quickly, preferably without work and effort. And then enjoy and don’t worry about anything.  Live, as they say, on a high leg. Well, that’s not how it works in life. Or at least not for very long. The consequences tend to be unpleasant. Even the younger son gradually began to run out of funds. The economy will not let go. If you’re spending and not making money, you’ll find out quickly that you have nothing to spend. If you were surrounded by “friends” just because you had money, you would quickly be left alone when the pouch is empty. That’s exactly how the younger son ended up. He fell so much that he was willing to get fed up with this, that the pigs ate. But no one wanted to give him any of it. After all, there is profit from a real pig, but from a slacker who did not value anything, there is no benefit from it.
The change in the sun occurs only after the situation is realized, the evangelist writes: So he stepped into himself and… (comp.: 15, 17). Yes, dear friends, sometimes a person has to fall entirely to the bottom to open his eyes and to recognize delusion. Only then did he remember his father and all the good ones. And so he makes a decision: I have to go back. As we have heard, he does not come with pride, as he did. He returns with humility and confession: „Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son“ ( Lk 15, 24)

And what about dad? He does not condemn his son. However, his son hurt him a lot. But he forgives him and restores everything to its original state. The father defined his son’s condition as loss and death. Yes, only in such a cruel way, but the status of those who find themselves far from God can be truly defined. However, a change happened: „was dead, and came to life, was lost, and found“ (Lk 15, 24).

It is clear from the story that the Father did not forget his son and did not renounce him. Probably every day, he went to the place where he said goodbye to him—that’s the only way he could see him from afar. This is how God expects each one of us. As a good parent to your child, she runs to meet him and accepts him anew when she sees him coming.

I think it is clear who the younger son is in this story. In it, we all always get to know each other when we only want to have our lives in our hands—we want everything under control. Thank God for such painful falls, which returned us from errant paths to the open arms of our Father.

Brothers and sisters, today’s parable begins with the father’s great pain caused by his younger son and continues with the news of his lousy life. But at the end, there was the joy of his return and his confession of his sins. I wish our family gatherings would be about reconciliation and forgiveness.

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