If you do well, will you not be accepted?
And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.
And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

The Lord spoke these words to Cain before he committed fratricide. Why did he commit fratricide? Because his heart was filled with envy at his brother Abel, who was righteous before God and offered God-pleasing sacrifices of his first-born sheep. Cain, on the other hand, was an egoist and had no good relationship either to God or his brother. He reproached God for not hearing his insincere prayers from a heart full of jealousy, resentment, even hatred, which he felt towards his brother, and for no reason at all. The Lord says that it is not enough just to be passive, but we should do well both to God and to our brethren. If we do not do well, God warns us that sin lies at the door of our soul and seeks to blind us and dominate us like it did with Cain. That is why God commands us: You should rule over sin and not be its slave.

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

At the time of Jesus, marriage was not yet a sacrament, which is why, as we know, for example, King David had several wives. In this verse, which refers to the indissolubility of marriage, Jesus points to the Old Testament practice where it was said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. But Jesus says: But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

What does the Catholic Catechism say? What is the sacrament of marriage?

The sacrament of matrimony is a sacrament that sanctifies the indissoluble union between a Catholic man and woman and entitles them to special graces for the due performance of marital duties.

“But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife,

except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress,

and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

This verse is a continuation of the preceding verse speaking of an impure look, which is the root of the sin of adultery. Jesus gives the saving instructions in the words “cut it off and cast it from you”. In another place, He says “pluck it out”. It is not about physically cutting off your hand or foot or plucking out your eye, but rather about making an inner self-denial by cutting off a thought or feeling, that is, a momentary sensation which can take control of the human mind or will and lead a person to an irresponsible act, sin or even crime.

The words about cutting off the hand or foot mean that we should not use our members as instruments of sin. Scripture says in another place: “Men should pray with holy hands lifted up to God.” (1Ti 2:8) Our feet should not walk where there is danger.

How to experience the Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) spiritually

by the faithful who for certain reasons cannot attend the Mass

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man through the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and, dying on the cross, He redeemed us from eternal condemnation. The mystery of redemption is closely connected with the Mother of Jesus, whom Jesus gave us as our Mother at the hour of His death. “Behold, your Mother!” This is His last will and testament from the cross for you too! As the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, standing by the cross, she experienced the deepest and innermost union with the dying Jesus. She will accompany you through your spiritual experience of the mystery of the Eucharist – the making present of Christ’s death.

What is the purpose of this booklet? It should help you to experience the Mass more deeply.

We live in a time of apostasy. Nevertheless, Christ’s sacrifice is constantly made present in the Mass by the Holy Spirit through true priests who have remained faithful to Christ.

“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.

It is better for you to lose one part of your body than

for your whole body to be cast into hell.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

On the evening before His death, Jesus emphasized: “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.” Many commandments are part of the Sermon on the Mount, which opens with the eight Beatitudes. Jesus touches on an issue that is extremely topical today, namely moral purity. He says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” The Lord, through Moses, gave people the Sixth and Ninth Commandments of the Decalogue. Jesus speaks here as the supreme Lawgiver, saying: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you…” When a judge promulgates a law, he does so in the name of political authority and power, such as a kingdom or republic. Being God, Jesus promulgates moral laws by His own divine authority. He Himself says that He did not come to destroy but to fulfil the essence of what had already been given by God in the Old Testament before His coming. Jesus now clarifies the question of purity, and says: “Whoever looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

But I say to you that whoever looks at

a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

“But I say to you that everyone

who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;

whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council;

and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

The Lord Jesus explains anger with one’s brother in connection with the Fifth Commandment: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you…” Jesus speaks here as the divine Lawgiver. He emphasizes: “But I say to you…” Then He speaks of three degrees of the expression of anger, almost hatred. Firstly, there is the one who is angry and unwilling to forgive. Jesus says in another place, too, that such a one will not be forgiven – it means that he will be liable to judgment. He who insults his brother will answer for it. And if anyone spreads malicious slander about his brother and calls him a fool or, in other words, a mentally ill person, with the intention of morally destroying – killing – him and removing him from social life, he will be liable to the hell of fire.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

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.

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,

if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

How often it happens that the worst vagabond, if he turns to God with a sincere heart, is saved rather than righteous pharisees. But the fact is that pharisaism and deceit is in the hearts of us all. That is why Jesus speaks about it in the Gospel. When a tax collector and a Pharisee went up to the temple to pray, the Pharisee prayed thus: “O God, I thank You that I am not like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get…” The Pharisee’s deeds were not bad, but what was his heart like? His heart was not broken before God.

The Apostle Peter said to the Jews on the day of Pentecost: “You killed God; you crucified Jesus!” They were cut to the heart… and they asked: “What shall we do?” “Repent, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Indeed, the Holy Spirit comes each time we repent. Every day we make mistakes time and time again, we sin by thoughts, finding fault with everyone… We must stop: “Lord, forgive me, I am twice as bad. And if this person sins and causes offence, forgive him too.” But we immediately condemn our neighbour and think how good we are.

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds

the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,

you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

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.

If we deal with problems only by our reason or emotions, we obtain some experience but it is not sufficient. The most important thing in our life is to walk in the truth, i.e. to be humble. The devil is a very, very intelligent spirit. Even the very last spirit of lies is more intelligent than Einstein or anyone else. If we try to fight against the spirit of lies with logic, he deceives us. He exploits everyone’s weakness – women’s emotions and men’s logic. However, if we really want the Holy Spirit to lead us and to work through us, we need to stop: “Lord, I see, feel or understand it in this way but now I stand in Your light.” Jesus says: “I am the light of the world.” So if we stand in the light of God, Jesus opens our eyes as He opened the eyes of Mary Magdalene after His resurrection. She did not know Him; she supposed Him to be the gardener. Only when Jesus called her by name, her eyes were opened and she cried out: “Rabboni!” On the same day, two disciples went to Emmaus and were joined by Jesus who pretended to be a pilgrim.