English > UOGCC Publications
Reflection on Mt 7:1-2
Post date: 2016-06-04Autor: BCP
The question of judging others: Jesus says: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” One must be clear about what this requirement means – judge not. It does not mean to abolish the courts and to let criminals rob and kill, appealing to this verse from Scripture. We are obliged to judge ourselves with righteous judgment too. Being superiors or parents, we are obliged to judge our subordinates or children with like judgment. If we neglect to judge with righteous judgment, we are careless and we will be responsible for crimes and rude behaviour. Thus, “judge not” refers to unjust condemnation or hasty judgment at an inappropriate place or time.
Reflection on Mt 6:34
Post date: 2016-05-21Autor: BCP
We worry automatically. What to do with worries? We have to learn to give them to God in prayer every day. This is the only right solution. Our problems are often so big and difficult that we see no way out. If we learn to give our worries to God, prayer will become our daily need and our life will become fruitful. Every day we will experience the power and love of our Lord ever anew.
Reflection on Mt 6,33
Post date: 2016-05-07Autor: BCP
Jesus emphasizes the word “first”. It seems to us a trivial thing; however, if the kingdom of God and the salvation of our soul are given the second place in our life, there is a danger that thousands of good things will deceive us and we will lose God’s kingdom. If your family seeks first the kingdom of God, God will give His blessing to your children, protect your family and fill the family relationships with self-sacrificing love. But if you seek first everything else and move the kingdom of God to the last place, there is a danger that you will lose everything.
Reflection on Mt 6:24
Post date: 2016-04-23Autor: BCP
The word mammon means wealth and property, especially dishonestly obtained at the expense of one’s neighbour. It also indicates a bribe intended to silence a witness or judge. Jesus points out the demonic enslaving power of mammon: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” So eventually the faith, in the sense confidence or trust, in mammon excludes the faith in God. Therefore, Jesus contrasts the relationship to God and the relationship to mammon and calls for a personal choice between the two.
Reflection on Mt 6:22-23
Post date: 2016-04-09Autor: BCP
It is important to know that man has a physical eye and an inner – spiritual – eye. The spiritual eye reflects the inner life. Man either lives by the law of God and so he is wise, or has the light of wisdom, or he lives a sinful life, commits evil and so he is in darkness, spiritually blind. This spiritual eye is an inner look turned toward God, listening to the voice of conscience, perceiving that God sees everything and that nothing is covered that will not be revealed.
Reflection on Mt 6:19-21
Post date: 2016-03-26Autor: BCP
Jesus shows us in a simple way that it is unwise to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth. He says that moth and rust destroy them and thieves steal them. Moreover, the main thief who steals everything is death. The important thing here is the words of Jesus: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Where is your treasure? If it is on earth, you will lose it and if you do not care about eternal treasure, you will not obtain it. What is your treasure? The most precious Treasure is Jesus. He died on the cross for you. He prepared for you eternal glory in heaven. If all hated you, all scorned you, if you suffer for His sake and for the sake of justice, if you are persecuted for His sake, rejoice, for great glory is prepared for you in heaven.
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!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Reflection on Mt 5:21-22
Post date: 2015-11-07Autor: BCP
Anger is a manifestation of hatred, which is the contrary of love. It can be of different degrees and can be heightened to deep aversion or bitter hostility, be it in the political or, and above all, religious sphere. The wicked hate the righteous (Psa 34:22) often without a cause (Psa 35:19). Hatred towards a brother and neighbour is forbidden in the Scripture (Lev 19:17; Deu 19:11). The world hates Jesus and His disciples (Jn 15:18; Lk 19:14). Hatred is understood here as demonic power (1Jn 2:9) dominating the world.
Reflection on Mt 5:20
Post date: 2015-10-24Autor: BCP
Jesus speaks about two kinds of righteousness. About the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and about the righteousness by faith. Unless our righteousness is by faith, we shall not enter the kingdom of God.What does the righteousness of God consist in which allows us to enter the kingdom of God? Jesus Christ, true God, became man and bore the just punishment on the cross for sin, i.e. death. He who believes in Christ, that means, receives salvation by His death, will be saved – will enter the kingdom of God – will attain heaven. Jesus endured punishment on my behalf and He gives me eternal life freely – I only need to receive it, to believe in the love of God, and that is the saving faith. This righteousness of God exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.
Reflection on Mt 5:11-12
Post date: 2015-10-10Autor: BCP
The words of the eighth Beatitude are clear and concrete for everyone who follows Jesus sincerely. Jesus speaks about persecution and also emphasizes the reward, which is the kingdom of heaven. Each of you could talk about suffering and persecution which you endure because you desire to follow Jesus in earnest and because you have at heart the salvation of your soul and the souls of your close relatives as well as spiritual resurrection of the whole nation. You gladly suffer insults and all evil owing to your faithfulness to Jesus and His Gospel!
Reflection on Jn 21:17
Post date: 2015-09-26Autor: BCP
Every normal person knows that the situation that has arisen is not about mercy towards refugees but rather about cleverly planned Islamization of the Czech nation. Natural and justified fear has matured into repeated demonstrations. What are the servants of the Church doing at this decisive moment? They are doing the same as some traitorous politicians: they are digging a grave for the Czechs. Today, the Catholic hierarchy becomes an instrument of self-destruction of Christianity and the opium of the Czech people! They are in unity of spirit with the globalization elite and faithfully serve them. Therefore, they must repent!
Reflection on Jn 19:28-29
Post date: 2015-09-12Autor: BCP
Jesus feels physical thirst caused by the loss of blood during the scourging and crucifixion. However, He also experiences spiritual thirst. He thirsts for the accomplishment of the work of redemption and love: “God so loved the world (you) that He gave His only begotten Son…” Jesus fervently desires to finish the work of salvation. But He also thirsts in you – He thirsts for your love, He desires you to be spiritually transformed, to be in spiritual union with Him. This is the way of following and the way of the cross. It requires daily self-denial in small matters.