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Reflection on Mt 6:14-15
Post date: 2016-03-13Autor: BCP
In the “Our Father”, Jesus emphasizes seven petitions to the Heavenly Father. One of them is asking forgiveness: “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” He adds a commentary to this petition. He highlights the fact that we must forgive our neighbours in our daily life. We need to know that God is merciful and forgives all our sins if we ask Him. But there is one condition, namely, to forgive those who have done us wrong. The essential thing we need in order to forgive others as a matter of course is to face the truth about ourselves. It means that we self-critically admit our trespasses against God.
Reflection on Mt 6:6
Post date: 2016-02-27Autor: BCP
Jesus gives specific instructions for prayer. The first thing He advises is: “go into”; He does not say: “remain outside”. He also says where to go: “into your room”. There can be a physical and a spiritual room. A spiritual room is our heart. We close the door of our senses which are affected by everyday happenings, and then we are able to focus on the presence of God. God is here, I open the door to Him, and there in my inner room, in secret, as Jesus says, the Father hears. That is why it is here that I need to pray and come into contact with God. The first step in prayer is an act of contrition. Admit before God your faults and sins, self-will, idle words, evil thoughts etc.
Reflection on Mt 6:3
Post date: 2016-02-13Autor: BCP
These words, which our Lord Jesus tells us, are not intended for discussion but rather for practice, and they have a deep meaning. They involve a double sacrifice: partly you renounce something of your own on behalf of others and partly, if you do it in secret, you renounce human praise. Jesus explains that the purpose is “that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly”. He will give you a divine, eternal reward rather than a human one. It holds true that we lose to gain. We lose the material to gain the immaterial. We offer the temporary to gain the eternal. Remember: Your Father sees what you do in secret, and Jesus reminds you: “He will reward you!”
Great Lent (video)
Post date: 2016-02-10Autor: BCP
Great Lent. + Elijah Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
Reflection on Mt 5:43-44
Post date: 2016-01-30Autor: BCP
Why should we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? That we may 1) be sons of our Father in heaven and 2) be perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect. Ask yourself: Who is my enemy? Pray for him. And ask the Lord for the light how you should love him. What step to make? To say a word of praise? To apologize? To do something good for him? The main incentive is the fact that God loves him, that Jesus shed His blood for him and does not want him to be eternally condemned. Be aware that you likewise used to walk in a false light, wandering in error and doing evil to others, though unknowingly.
In moments of crisis, just lift up your eyes
Post date: 2016-01-24Autor: BCP
Let us never forget the essential thing: To love God more than anyone or anything else, that means, more than our ego too! In moments of crisis you only need to lift up your eyes and to be aware that God sees you now and to bear the present pain.
Reflection on Mt 5:38-39
Post date: 2016-01-17Autor: BCP
The commandment “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” seems cruel to us; however, it was intended to establish basic justice and to prevent avalanche-like revenge. . Man has a tendency to pluck out two eyes for one eye and to knock out all teeth for one tooth. But Jesus tells us to forgive, to respond to evil by doing good and to hatred by showing forgiveness. To be able to put this principle into practice and to suppress hatred and revenge as the natural reaction to evil, the Lord’s words on forgiveness need to be rooted in us. Evil can deceive us very easily and the avalanche that follows is hard to stop. The only solution is the instruction given by Jesus. It may seem disadvantageous or even absurd, and yet this absurdity is true life wisdom. Moreover, man should be aware of his sins against God as well as of the fact that by forgiving he has an opportunity to show his gratitude to God and to follow Jesus.
We are not mindful of death in our everyday life
Post date: 2016-01-06Autor: BCP
We all know, logically, that we must die. However, none of us is mindful of it. It is the height of folly that even people in hospitals, paralyzed by illness, do not think seriously about death. There is nothing more important in life than to be ever ready for death. No priest can save you in the hour of death but perfect contrition can. If you neglect to elicit perfect contrition, if you think of vanities, or if various thoughts attack you, do not think that it is all right with you just because you had confessed to a priest. Do not rely on the priest but on God’s mercy. You must learn to elicit perfect contrition, that means, to admit your sins in earnest and to give them to the Lord Jesus to be cleansed by the power of His Holy Blood. That’s your life assurance.
Reflection on Mt 5:33-34
Post date: 2016-01-02Autor: BCP
Jesus points out that there was a command given in the Old Testament with regard to an oath not to swear falsely. However, He Himself tells us not to swear at all. Let what we say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. This applies to honest Christians, of course. Concerning the rule not to betray a secret to the enemy, and the question of truth and lie in this respect, it is something different. The enemy has no right to ask me about discreet questions. If I reveal them, I will do harm to myself and to many others. To appeal in this case to the words that a Christian should simply say Yes or No means to misuse the words of Christ. In an extraordinary situation, there is a rule that I must not reveal the mysteries to the enemy.
Reflection on Mt 5:32
Post date: 2015-12-19Autor: BCP
Jesus instituted the sacrament of marriage, and He emphasizes that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. Marriage is connected with faithfulness and the procreation and education of children. Husband and wife should not only be one flesh but also one soul. They can only achieve this through a lifelong purification and self-humiliation in their relationship. An expression of love is to bear one another’s burdens. In marriage as a sacrament, husband and wife should come to mature spiritual unity, to true unity in Christ.Concerning modern corrupt society and the cult of impurity and perversion which influences not only young people but children too, a situation has now arisen which seems almost impossible to solve. It can only be solved from the position of a living faith, unquestioning obedience to the sound principles of the Gospel, a personal struggle for the purity of mind, the grace of God and a living community of Christians who defend moral values. Without prayer, without a living faith, without the struggle of the mind, it is impossible today even for converted Christians to remain faithful to one another.
What is in store for me after death?
Post date: 2015-12-17Autor: BCP
If someone is summoned to appear before a judge in court, one trembles with fear. We all shall stand before the judgment seat of God, but we fail to cover evil done by us. What would a person carrying drugs do if he knew that he will be shot to death if the drugs are discovered? He would quickly get rid of them, throw them away. Each of us carries sin. In the hour of death, however, we will not be able to enter into heaven because sin drags us to hell. The Word of God says clearly: “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom 6:23) Therefore, we must throw it away, condemn it and put it under the power of the Blood of Jesus which cleanses us from all sin.
Let us give the first place to Jesus and His will every day
Post date: 2015-12-13Autor: BCP
Life is really very short and then comes eternity! The devil, the world and the old self try to keep us in dullness, sleep and pointless efforts lest we should pray, humble ourselves, encourage one another or earnestly seek the kingdom of God first. And therefore, let us deny ourselves and give the first place to Jesus and His will every day!
Reflection on Mt 5:29
Post date: 2015-12-05Autor: BCP
Jesus speaks here about temptations and about the way of fighting them. The major battlefield is our mind. The devil attacks our mind through temptations more than anything else. This fight is relentless and does not stop as long as we are alive. You cannot allow thoughts to cross your mind as they like. Every demonic temptation which seduces man is targeted on the human mind. The enemy also exploits the human body in order to win man over to his side and to win his approval. Therefore, at every moment of his tempting the enemy develops a certain thought, e.g. he arouses envy, anger or hatred.Jesus teaches us that in spiritual battle with the enemy we must not dialogue with the temptation but resist it radically – pluck it out and cast it from our mind. This principle is vitally important in the struggle against impure temptations.
What are you doing for the salvation of your immortal soul?
Post date: 2015-12-03Autor: BCP
We cannot serve two masters. We will either love the one and hate the other, or vice versa. We cannot serve both God and a demon (mammon or other idols). We must say a definite “yes” to God and a definite “no” to the enemy. Eternal life, and not only ours, is at stake. The eternity of people around us depends on us.
No expression of a living faith is in vain
Post date: 2015-11-29Autor: BCP
We should live in the presence of God so that we may do the will of God, decide, speak and act not on our own but in dependence on God. The condition for us to abide and walk in God is our practical faith. We should really walk in faith like Abraham and revive our faith again and again in all trials. Therefore, no expression of a living faith is in vain or without response.
Reflection on Mt 5:27-28
Post date: 2015-11-21Autor: BCP
Original sin, which consists in revolt against God and His commandments, has deeply wounded all spheres of human life. In terms of carnality, this wounded nature becomes manifest in sinful lusts which affected Adam and Eve immediately after the fall (Gen 3:7). Therefore, God laid down the sixth and ninth commandments to prevent the infection of the sin of impurity. In these words spoken in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points out the root of adultery. He says that one can commit adultery not only physically but in one’s heart too if one unites oneself to a lustful thought. In such case, the instrument of sin is an impure look and the place of sin is the human heart – a lustful, impure mind.
Intellectual pride keeps man from bowing before God
Post date: 2015-11-16Autor: BCP
If someone is an atheist, it is because he refuses to acknowledge an intelligent and wise Being higher than himself to Whom he ought to give an account of his life. In other words, it is intellectual pride, which is, in fact, demonic pride. Similarly, the angels who became demons had refused to submit to the authority of God who created them. Only hardened people refuse to know God, to bow before Him, to turn to Him and to give Him the first place in their lives, because they do not want to be dependent on Him.
How to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness in practice
Post date: 2015-11-15Autor: BCP
Try to put your trust in God, knowing that He will care for you just as He cares for birds or lilies (cf. Mt 6:25-30). Try it all and you will see that He is really a living God who cares for your life. Do you have problems? Give them to Jesus. “Lord, this is my problem. I give it to You.” But give it to Him with faith. Do not ask Him without believing that He will hear you. Give Him your problems and put absolute trust in Him.
How to fight bad moods
Post date: 2015-11-10Autor: BCP
When a mood takes you or you slide into depression, ask yourself at once: What spirit is behind it?! The spirit of lies. If you yield to it, it will torment you for hours, days or weeks. Stop! Lift up your heart! Realize God’s presence and give your problem to Jesus. He will take it from you and fill your heart with peace which the world cannot give. It works 120%! You only need to practise it and come to Jesus time and again.
