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Reflection on Rom 8:9
Post date: 2022-05-29Autor: BCP
What does it mean to be in the flesh, in other words to be carnal, and what does it mean to be in the Spirit, in other words spiritual? To be in the flesh means to have a carnal mind, which takes seriously neither God nor God’s judgment nor eternity. Scripture says that the works of the flesh are envy, murders, quarrelling, impurity, sorcery etc. What does it mean to be in the Spirit? To have our mind most deeply united to the Spirit of God. Then the following applies to us: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom 8:16) Our spirit is the innermost essence of our being. The human spirit was created by God in His image; it is immortal. Our flesh is mortal. Our being is spiritual in essence: we are a soul with a spirit clothed in a body. In this earthly life, our body is like a spacesuit that we take off at the hour of death.
True love of yourself (+german version)
Post date: 2022-05-20Autor: BCP
The first commandment says: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” However, we must love ourselves in the right way – so that we may be saved. I must love myself in such way as to keep the most precious treasure – eternal life – and I must desire this treasure for everyone, even for my enemies or murderers, like the saint martyrs. If I wish to love myself truly, I need to repent. This is pure love for myself – to put things in order in my heart. To give the first place to God and the cares of God, and to seek first the kingdom of God.
True love of yourself and your neighbours
Post date: 2022-05-19Autor: BCP
Saint Augustine says: “Chastise me here, O God, and spare me the tortures (fire) of hell.” Lord, I want to be a holy egoist. I want to love myself truly and so I do not want to be in Purgatory for a single minute. If through chastising I will be saved from Purgatory, please chastise me. But I love my neighbours too. I do not even want my enemy to go to hell or Purgatory. If You want to purify him by Your fire through suffering, e.g. a disease, Your will be done. I love both myself and my neighbour, and I believe that the punishment which You will send on both me and him will save us.
Reflection on Mt 5:20
Post date: 2022-05-15Autor: BCP
If we want to be honest about love, we need to lay the foundation of righteousness (or justice). Today, people often speak about love. You can hear this word in every other sentence; however, to many it means anything but true love. Righteousness towards God means to give Him what belongs to Him – the first place in our life, true worship, submission, and observance of His laws and commandments. Then we are obliged to practise righteousness towards our neighbours. Here, unfortunately, many Christians, even persons consecrated to God, lack a proper understanding of righteousness. The current trend is a purely subjective egocentric approach looking to one’s own interests and rights. The rights and interests of others are mostly ignored. This is the cause of quarrels, hatred, etc.
Lord, give us Your word
Post date: 2022-05-07Autor: BCP
The whole world is undergoing a crisis of faith; we are witnesses to mass apostasy from Christianity. Thank God that we can fight for the purity of faith. God has put us on a battlefield to fight for the whole Church. Seeing how big this problem is, we say in prayer: “O God, what shall we do? We are not in a position as David against Goliath but rather as if we stood with a sling against an atom bomb. We have no chance. But we trust that You are Almighty, that You will overcome in this fight and that there will be spiritual resurrection. And how? We are in darkness: we face a problem and see no solution; nevertheless, we believe that if You give Your word of prophecy, the Spirit who is behind Your word will come. And by Your Spirit You can change and renew everything.
Reflection on Heb 1:1-2
Post date: 2021-12-29Autor: BCP
As we read the Old Testament, we learn that God indeed spoke to the chosen nation at many times, especially through the prophets and in many other ways too. God also spoke by demonstrating good, whether it was deliverance from Egypt, passage through the Red Sea, or miracles in the wilderness, and He also spoke through various trials, and then through warning punishments, not only in the wilderness but throughout the history of Israel. Often the nation was blind and deaf, and then God sent upon it harsh trials such as wars, Babylonian captivity... God gave man free will, but the evil that man does brings suffering both to him and others, and therefore God punishes him, either here in time or in eternity if he does not repent in earnest. God spoke and rebuked the nation through the prophets, but the nation responded by stoning and killing His prophets, and their sons built their tombs.
Reflection on Heb 12:1-2a
Post date: 2021-12-13Autor: BCP
The Word of God says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. They are especially spiritual beings, angels, who are witnesses of our life. God speaks to us through them, too – for example, a saving thought flashes through our mind in a crisis situation. Unfortunately, we often cast it aside and pursue the vision of sin. Therefore, the Scriptures encourage us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Our life is like a strenuous run to reach the heavenly goal through various obstacles. In this run we are to have our eyes fixed on Jesus! He is, as the Scripture continues in verse 2, “the author and perfecter of our faith”, because He guides our faith from the beginning to the end along the narrow way of the cross until we obtain the eternal crown in the joy of heaven. We should be aware that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses – angels.
Reflection on Jn 16:2-3
Post date: 2021-11-14Autor: BCP
Jesus begins this passage by saying: “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” Jesus tells the apostles, as well as countless Christians throughout history, that those who are faithful to Him will be persecuted and expelled from the synagogues, that is, from the official Christian community. Today we can see that the Church of Christ is occupied by ecclesiastical leaders, such as pseudo Pope Bergoglio and other pseudo bishops, we will not name any, who are like the vinedressers that Jesus speaks about in the parable. They have seized God’s vineyard and Christ’s servants, and even mistreated the Son of God Himself and killed Him in the souls. They have replaced the Son of God, who is the owner of the vineyard – the Church, with the Pachamama demon. God allows it, but ecclesiastical criminals will not escape God’s judgment and just punishment. In the present hour of darkness, these invaders and their collaborators form the public opinion in such a way that whoever kills true diciples of Christ will really think he offers God service.
Reflection on Jn 15:18-19
Post date: 2021-11-01Autor: BCP
Jesus speaks about hatred on the part of the world. By the world here is not meant beautiful nature but the thinking that defies the truth and places vanity and the pride of life at the centre. Why? Because the prince of this world, as Jesus calls him, is the spirit of lies and death. With the first sin disharmony entered not only the human heart but also the material world. The Word of God says that the world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1Jn 5:19) and hates God (Jn 15:18). This world is the opposite of everything that comes from the will and wisdom of God (1Cor 1:20-27; 3:19; Jn 14:17; 15:19). The answer to the question of how the form of this world can be compared with the Bible’s account of God creating a good world (Gen 1:31) is given in Romans 5:12, where the Apostle Paul states that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin. However, it did not happen according to the necessity of fate, but through an act of human will, disobedience and obstinacy.
BCP: Transubstantiation in Eastern and Western Liturgy (How to experience the mystery of faith)
Post date: 2021-11-01Autor: BCP
The two moments of silence are extremely important for appreciating the Eucharistic mystery. They help both the priest and the people to experience it deeply and personally. One last question: “What is needed for those who eat the bread and drink from the cup of the Lord? Let them always remember Him who died and rose again for them. And what else have they in common who always remember Him? They no longer live for themselves, but for Him!” (St Basil)
BCP: Rosary initiative in the USA and the vaccination issue
Post date: 2021-09-23Autor: BCP
The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate (BCP), which repeatedly calls for the setting up of prayer watches, i.e. continuous prayer, fully supports the initiative of US Catholics, P. J. Altman and M. Gibson, in prayer mobilization – 54 day Rosary Novena. Archbishop C. M. Viganó as well as other bishops and priests likewise call for the Rosary Novena and, above all, this has always been the most fundamental call of Our Lady of Fatima. Today, motivation for prayer is alarming. There is a threat of autogenocide not only of America but of the whole world. God alone can save us from this self-destruction, and therefore we have to cry to Him with great fervor, praying Him to save us and our nation.
BCP: Rearrangement of the liturgy (Holy Mass)
Post date: 2021-09-23Autor: BCP
The Novus Ordo marked a radical interference with both the liturgy and liturgical space. This caused a change of spirit. The horizontal began to be emphasized at the expense of the vertical – the relationship with God. A means of achieving this spiritual change was the turning of both the altar and the priest to “face the people”. The biblical model of the Jerusalem Temple had three separate sections: 1) the place where the presence of God dwelled – the Holy of Holies 2) the place where the priest offered the daily sacrifice to God 3) the place for the people
Zwangsimpfung 2021: Tod. Wo ist die Rettung? /german version/ (Video)
Post date: 2021-05-19Autor: BCP
Machen Sie einen Akt der vollkommenen Reue! Wie? Denken Sie an Ihre sündige Vergangenheit, wie der Verbrecher am Kreuz, und sehen Sie das Kreuz Christi mit den Augen des Glaubens. Wiederholt den Namen Jesu im Glauben: „Jeder, der den Namen des Herrn anruft, wird gerettet werden.“ Betet mit Inbrunst: „Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, erbarme Dich meiner, eines Sünders!“. Wiederholen Sie es fünfmal, indem Sie sich die Wunden des gekreuzigten Erlösers ansehen. Da Sie nicht wissen, wann Ihre letzte Stunde kommt, rufen Sie den Namen Jesus mindestens einmal am Tag an, bestenfalls vor dem Schlafengehen. Aber das ist das Mindeste. Behalten Sie jeden Tag eine Stunde für das Gebet und versprechen Sie Gott, dass Sie so beten werden bis zu Ihrem Tod. Jesus sagte: „Könntet ihr nicht eine Stunde mit Mir wachen? Wacht und betet!“. Während des Gebets könnt ihr auch die heiligen Schriften für einige Zeit lesen. Rufen Sie den Namen Jesus an. In seinem Namen ist die Vergebung eurer Sünden. In Jesus sind euer Heil und euer ewiges Leben!
Christians, gather outside the churches on 4 April! (+ video)
Post date: 2021-03-27Autor: BCP
Christians, on the Day of Resurrection, 4 April, gather outside the churches! Stop to a false pandemic! The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate (BCP), which is a prophetic voice, calls by the authority of God: Christians and people of good will, on the Day of Christ’s Resurrection, 4 April 2021, gather outside the churches and celebrate Christ’s resurrection with songs and prayers! This will also be your spiritual resurrection from fear and death. Throw masks on the ground outside the churches! Trample this mark of slavery and programmed death!
Christen, versammelt euch am 4. April vor den Kirchen! /german version/ (+ video)
Post date: 2021-03-27Autor: BCP
Christen versammelt euch am Tag der Auferstehung, dem 4. April, vor den Kirchen! Genug von der falschen Pandemie! Das Byzantinische katholische Patriarchat (BKP), eine prophetische Stimme, ruft durch Gottes Vollmacht: Christen und Menschen guten Willens, versammelt euch am Tag der Auferstehung Christi am 4. April 2021 vor den Kirchen und feiert die Auferstehung Christi mit Liedern und Gebete! Dies wird auch eure geistige Auferstehung von Angst und Tod sein.
Reflection on Ps 105:4
Post date: 2021-02-06Autor: BCP
The psalms often encourage us to seek the Lord. We should seek His face and His strength, that is, His almighty power. The process of seeking is painful. When you lose something, you feel worried and distressed, especially if it was an important or valuable thing. The most valuable thing for us is eternal life. And this life is given us by God in His Son Jesus Christ. To seek the Lord’s face means to enter into God’s presence, to realize that God sees me, and I open my heart fully to Him, knowing that there is no point in hiding anything from Him because He knows everything. In prayer, I also seek the face of His Son Jesus Christ, my Redeemer. I can imagine it vividly and specifically. The more intimate my relationship to Jesus, the more authentic this inner image. That was also why the saints emphasized interior prayer based on the contemplation of Christ’s suffering, particularly in His final hours on the cross. They focused on three short guiding principles: see, hear, and experience. With their spiritual eyes, they saw Jesus’ pierced hands bleeding, they heard the painful moaning, and they suffered with Him.
Reflection on Ps 69:14
Post date: 2021-01-09Autor: BCP
Regardless of the human author of the psalm, who applied these words to himself, it is God’s word that applies to each of us to some degree. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink! We are confronted with the image of a man sinking in the mire. We know that the more he moves and tries to get out of it, the deeper he sinks. The only solution for him is to be saved by someone else. In a figurative sense, for each of us, the mire is our sin or addiction that enslaves us so much that we cannot get out of it by our own efforts. What is the solution? Call on the One who can save me. The soul cries to God, it cries for deliverance. “Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink!” It is already on the verge of death, on the verge of spiritual death. “Let me be delivered from those who hate me!” Human malice, behind which is often a demonic spirit, seeks to destroy an innocent soul. Lies and evil, when part of a system, receive a certain power for physical destruction, and even seek to destroy eternal life. How does God save?
Reflection on Psalm 59:2
Post date: 2020-12-27Autor: BCP
David wrote this psalm when Saul guarded the house to kill him. “Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, ‘If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.’ So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped. And Michal took an idol and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats’ hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, ‘He is sick.’ Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, ‘Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.’ And when the messengers had come in, there was the idol in the bed, with a cover of goats’ hair for his head… So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. Now it was told Saul, saying, ‘Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!’ Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.”
BCP: Three letters about the purity of heart (The third letter – to the youth on purity and happiness)
Post date: 2020-12-15Autor: BCP
If we asked a young person a question: “Do you want to be happy?”, they would certainly reply: “YES!” and even raise both hands in agreement. – But how long would you like to be happy? A day, a week, a year? Ten years, thirty years, all life up until your death? And do you want to be happy after death as well? Deep in their souls, people desire happiness, true happiness, which cannot be taken away. That is to say that even a thought about happiness that ends one day brings sadness. Man is looking for happiness in relationships with other people, property, wealth, career, fame, success. He looks for happiness in pleasures, alcohol, drugs, but happiness cannot be found there. What follows is a disillusionment, even bigger emptiness, abandonment and pain in one’s soul. Back in his time St. Augustine expressed this desire for happiness with these words: “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.”
Reflection on Psalm 51:1-2
Post date: 2020-12-12Autor: BCP
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” This psalm was written by King David in the situation described in 2Sam 12:1f: “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: ‘There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveller came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.’ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul...’ So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’”