Fifth hour

Emmaus

a) Reflection on God’s Word

What feelings and thoughts filled the hearts of the disciples when they left Jerusalem and on the road to Emmaus were joined by Jesus, whom, however, they did not recognize? Jesus first asked them: “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him: “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” And He asked: “What things?” So they said to Him: “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death… But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.” Then the disciples told Him about the women having seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. And Jesus said to them: “Ofoolishones,andslowof heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Their hearts burnt within them while He opened the Scriptures to them. Short after, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him in the breaking of bread, but He vanished from their sight.

a) Reflection on God’s Word

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them: ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’” (Mt 28:16-19)

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mk 16:16-18)

And Jesus said: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20) Jesus was with the apostles, and He is with us too, but we also must be with Him. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). His promise is true today as well but the condition is to preach the Gospel in power and to be ready even to lay down one’s life for its sake and for the sake of Christ.

Lvov (Ukraine), 15 June 2011

On the Day of Pentecost, 60 Anglican clergymen were ordained Catholic priests. The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate announces both to them and to the believers who are joining the Catholic Church with them:

The Holy Orders are invalid. By this so-called conversion they come under the power of an apostatical structure which has betrayed Christ and cast the Holy Spirit out of its heart. On 1 May 2011, beatifying the apostate Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI placed the spirit of Assisi – the spirit of antichrist – on the altar of the Church. He thus automatically fell under God’s anathema and the Church was left in a sedes vacantis state. The ex-Pope now occupies the office unlawfully. All bishops and priests who are in unity with him are under an anathema too. They make it manifest by mentioning his name in the liturgy. These apostates celebrate the liturgy and administer the sacraments invalidly.

Lvov (Ukraine), 15 June 2011

On 1 May 2011, by beatification of John Paul II, Benedict XVI officially accepted the spirit of Assisi – the spirit of antichrist – into the Church whereby he cast the Holy Spirit out of her heart. As a consequence, God took away the continual sacrifice from the apostatical Church (cf. Dan 12:11; Mt 24:15). All bishops and priests who are in unity with apostasy by mentioning the name of Benedict XVI in the liturgy celebrate the liturgy invalidly!

What should a priest do in this situation?

Lviv, Ukraine, 5^th June 2011

To Catholic priests and believers of Belgium

Dear priests and Catholic believers of Belgium,

Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate turns to You with a particularly important appeal. It concerns every Catholic of Belgium. In this time of mass apostasy from the true, saving faith it is necessary that one should separate oneself radically and concretely from the spirit of apostasy which the Church hierarchy has received. Thus it committed a betrayal of Christ and the Gospel. In 2009, bishops of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek Catholic Church (UOGCC) appealed to the bishops of Belgium and of other states to renounce the spirit of apostasy associated with the so-called historical-critical theology (HCT) and with the spirit of Assisi. HCT in essence denies the inspiration of the Scripture, the Divinity of Christ and all the miracles.

We hereby present a concrete programme of preparation of priests for internal mission in Russia:

Priests shall lead a semi-monastic way of life. Saint Basil emphasized: “Woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” (Ecc 4:10) From Sunday evening to Tuesday noon it is necessary to create the conditions of spiritual desert – that means to seclude yourself from your family and daily worries and to devote time to prayer and God’s Word in fellowship. The model presented here has been practised by a community of seven bishops for several years and it has proved its worth.

Print the material for the spiritual programme as a brochure and use it at the prayer meetings (one and a half days).

If you pray this prayer, and you are not a citizen of Russia, so pray for your nation.

Download: A call for mission in Russia (Part 2) (format doc)

A call for mission in Russia (Part 2) (format pdf)

Commentary

We have published here the testimony of Angelica Zambrano Mora. She says that she saw Pope John Paul II in hell. We are not going to discuss whether she was really dead (as claimed by her mother) or whether she had a vision. This is not important. What is important is whether she is a true witness and even more important whether that which she says is consistent with the doctrine of the Scripture and Church Tradition. We have to discern every vision, but we must not quench the Spirit.

Lvov (Ukraine), 12 June 2011

Dear priests and believers of the UOGCC and UGCC,

before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said to the apostles: “Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49), and He also told them: “When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Simple fishermen of Galilee, whom Jesus called to be His disciples, were weak and fallible people like us. At the time of test they failed. Peter denied Christ and the other apostles, except John, did not have the courage to stand by the cross of Christ near the Mother of Jesus. When on the third day Christ rose from the dead, they could hardly accept that reality.

Lviv, Ukraine, 5^th June 2011

Leadership of the United Nations

New York, USA

The UN Global Commission on Drug Policy (Kofi Annan, Javier Solana …) in its final report suggestively forces legalization of marijuana and other drugs upon all countries of the world.

In fact, this brings along a modern form of slavery because drugs turn people into wrecks that are a burden for the society. Narcotics, the so-called white death, are associated with crime, homosexuality, deadly AIDS and suicides.

The UN experts have come to an absurd conclusion – they say that legalization of drugs will reduce crime, improve health of people and will contribute to economic development. We wonder under the influence of which drug the UN experts arrived at this conclusion. These “warriors against drugs” demagogically claim: “Since drug addiction and drug trafficking entails crime, it is necessary to legalize them.

Lvov (Ukraine), 2^nd June 2011

President of the Russian Federation

D. Medvedev

Dear Mr President,

our Byzantine Patriarchate has several times urged the necessity of the case of the Russian citizen Mrs Natalie Zakharova, appealing to both Church and state authorities. This innocent victim of the juvenile justice system has recently been transported from the French prison to Russia.

Mr President, in accordance with Your conscience and with the Russian law You ought to take the following measures:

Lvov (Ukraine), 2 June 2011

To President and Government of France

Dear Mr President, Honourable Members of the Government of France,

we hereby ask You to fairly investigate and punish the judicial crime committed by the French courts against an innocent Russian citizen, Mrs Natalie Zakharova, and her three-year-old daughter who was forcibly separated from her mother 13 years ago and is now kept in a wall-type institution at an unknown place. The French courts committed another crime by staging a trial and sentencing the innocent mother to three years’ imprisonment on the ground that she demanded the return of her daughter. They hypocritically justified it by stating that she allegedly had the intention of setting fire to the apartment of her ex-husband.

Lvov (Ukraine), 2 June 2011

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg

Dear representatives of the European Court of Human Rights,

You certainly are all familiar with the appalling case of the Russian actress Natalie Zakharova who was unlawfully deprived of her 3-year-old daughter Masha by the juvenile justice system in France. The mother has claimed her parental rights already for 13 years, demanding that her child should be returned to her. At present, Masha is kept in a wall-type institution at an unknown place on the territory of France.

The French courts staged a trial and sentenced the innocent mother to three years’ imprisonment on the ground that she demanded the return of her daughter. They hypocritically justified it by stating that she allegedly had the intention of setting fire to the apartment of her ex-husband. On 26 May 2011, she was transported to Russia as a prisoner.

Lvov, Ukraine, 31^st May 2011

To the believers of the Catholic Church

As from 1^st May 2011 up to the time when the orthodox teaching will be restored and an orthodox hierarchy and an orthodox Pope elected, the canon law is ineffective. Therefore, it does no bind anyone in conscience. It became a mere scarecrow for deceived Catholics. The believers are obliged to adhere to God’s laws and apostolic tradition.

Over 2000 years the canon law was ordained primarily to protect the God-revealed truths which guarantee eternal life to those who believe in them and live by them. This is also corroborated by the supreme law of the Church “salus animarum” – which means that the salvation of immortal souls is the supreme law.