“When the Comforter comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

The Holy Spirit will testify, but Jesus also reminds: “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.” (v. 27) This is said about us too. We also should bear witness about Christ at the present time together with the Holy Spirit who is in us and whom Jesus has sent to us from the Father. He is our Counsellor, Comforter and Advocate. He bears witness about Christ through us too! This is an important task: to bear witness about Christ! Testimony is associated with a spiritual fight against the spirit of lies! Let us remember: The Spirit of truth is with us. He gives us the strength to fight against the spirit of lies and death! The truth will not prevail by itself. We have to bear witness to the truth, to fight for the truth, and even to suffer and die for its sake. Jesus Christ is the Truth. He said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” (Jn 14:6) Let us pray that the Spirit of God would bear witness first in our prayer, life and apostolate.

I would like to encourage you a little and to point out again the essential virtue – humility which ought to penetrate all things and all virtues. Any virtue without true humility is lost. Why? Because humility is truth. It considers nothing as its own and sees everything in the light. And next, the opposite of humility is pride. Pride leads to disobedience. Pride turned angels into demons. Pride was the source of Eve’s first sin. You must dissociate yourself from Eve and receive the new woman, Mary. Mary is your Mother. She conquered the serpent, the devil, by her obedience and faith. She is humble: “God has looked on the lowliness (humility) of His bondmaid.” (Lk 1:48)

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

We want to do good but we keep sinning. This is caused by our corrupt nature – the old self in us. And therefore we need to repent time and time again. All things considered, we must have the courage to make mistakes, for otherwise we would do nothing in pursuit of false perfection. Humility is the will to learn. We need to learn from our mistakes, yet however hard we may try, we will not stop making mistakes. The law of God was given to us to convict us, to show us what we are like and to teach us that we need to repent – otherwise we would either sleep or be puffed up in self-deceit.

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

“If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own;

but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you.”

“If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world,

but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

The term “the world” does not mean the wonderful work of creation but the godless system which hates Christ as well as all who are dedicated to the service of Christ. Jesus speaks about this hatred by the world and warns all of us who desire to follow Jesus in earnest that we must be prepared for hatred and persecution by the world. “Because you are not of the world … therefore the world hates you.” People of this world have received the spirit of the world and therefore they persecute true Christians. Moreover, if they kill them, they will believe that they offer God service (Jn 16:2). Those who condemned Christ to death – religious hierarchy, the Pharisees and the scribes – believed so, and it is the same today. Why? Because the world lies under the sway of the ruler of this world. Jesus says: “Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (Now is the judgment of this world.)” (Jn 12:31)

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

Sin is rebellion against God. Through sin man loses eternal life. However, Jesus paid for us, for all our sins. If we turn to Jesus with faith, we receive the forgiveness of sins. We obtain it through the sacrament of penance and through repentance. The condition is to express sorrow for sins and to confess them. The criminal on the cross did not even specify his sins, and he was saved. He just said: “I have sinned. Jesus, save me!” Similarly, David did not confess a concrete sin, yet he fell down before God and said: “I have sinned!” The biggest problem is that we do not want to admit our sin. And so we walk in darkness. If we are not self-critical, we are unable to perceive the truth around us. We are like in a fog. Unless you are rooted in the truth, in the time of spiritual battle the devil will pull your leg and defeat you. But if you are rooted in the truth and in Christ, if you know that you must not let yourself be caught in a trap and if you cling to Christ, you will conquer the whole hell. But you must cling to Christ.

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate

Let us not dialogue but rather bear witness! Let us repeat the truth – this is this. I can start a discussion but if I see that the person I talk to rejects the truth, I must tell him clearly: “This is the truth and it concerns you personally. You either believe or not. The reality is that you will die and whether you like it or not, you will stand before the judgment seat of God and then you will go to heaven or hell. I want to tell you one thing: if you want to be saved, you must give your sins to Jesus; you must confess them and kneel before Him, receive Him as your Saviour, receive His Gospel and His way. He who endures to the end will be saved. And no one will be saved without faith! Not without philosophy but without faith!”