Gallery
Careerists in the Church do not care about the living Jesus
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
Reflection on Jn 16:2-3
“They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming
that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.”
These words are extremely topical in Ukraine today, and especially for all genuine Christians. Jesus did not address these words to the apostles only but to every one of us.
The time is coming… A little later, after saying these words, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed there. His face was wet with sweat which was running down like great drops of blood. He said to the apostles: “Are you still sleeping? The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.” His betrayer walked up to Him, kissed Him and said: “Greetings, Rabbi!” Jesus said to them who had come out against Him: “This is your hour, and the power of darkness.” (Lk 22:53)
The Word of Life – Jn 16:2-3 (15/3/15 – 29/3/2015)
“They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming
that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
And these things they will do to you because they
have not known the Father nor Me.”
What should our life position be like? Lord, Your will be done!
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
We live in the time of the Antichrist
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
The Word of Life – Jn 15:26 (1/3/15 – 15/3/2015)
“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.”
Reflection on Jn 15:26
“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.
Humility
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)
Mission concerns every one of us
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
One has to learn sound self-criticism
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
The glory of the world is like the flower of grass
+ Elijah
Patriarch of the Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate
The hardest fight – the fight against our self
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.
The Word of Life – Jn 15:18-19 (15/2/15 – 1/3/2015)
“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.”
Reflection on Jn 15:18-19
“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)
