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Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And those who believe will be accompanied by these signs: in my name they will cast out evil spirits, they will speak in new languages, they will take up snakes in their hands, and if they drink something deadly, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” When the Lord Jesus told them this, he was taken into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. They dispersed and preached everywhere. The Lord helped them and confirmed their words with the signs that accompanied them › Mk 16, 15-20. 

The religious field also offers the opportunity to work with our imagination. And it is she who gives our faith a robust human dimension. However, the problem with imagination is that it can differ significantly from reality. Therefore, when they visited Israel – the Holy Land and walked around the holy places- some pilgrims said that they imagined it all differently. It is even more complicated when we want to imagine some otherworldly or spiritual reality, such as heaven.

Today, we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven. And maybe we want to imagine heaven. Is our imagination getting closer to reality?

We must eliminate all material ideas, like heaven is in space. This is what people believed in the past or what children believed. Today’s Gospel says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God. So he did not return to some place, as we would like to imagine, but to a new dimension where he is no longer up, down, sideways, or behind. Ascension to heaven is a return to God. Life in heaven means life with God. Cardinal Walter Kasper, a well-known German theologian, says that heaven is not something that already exists but will come into existence at the moment when the first creation definitively unites with God; that is, heaven was created at the moment when Christ rose from the dead and returned to the Father with a glorified body. Jesus did not ascend into heaven, which already existed, but ascended to create heaven. He said: “When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be” (Jn 14:3).

What practical consequences does this celebration have for us? In Jesus’ glorified Body, a part of our world was united with God. It’s just the beginning that will continue. In the spirit of St. Paul’s theology, Christ is the Head, and the Church is the Body. However, this is not only here on earth; one day, it will be in eternity. There, too, Christ will have a body, and it will be those who testify with their lives that they are worthy to be close to God.

The ascension also confirms that Jesus is still present among us. He said: “I am with you always, until the end of the world” (Mt 28, 20). After all, he had not been on earth for about five years when he said to Shavloví: “Why are you persecuting me?” His question confirms that he is present among us in a unique way. It is primarily the presence of the Holy Spirit; therefore, his presence is also spiritual. In his word and the community of believers, he is present in a particular way in the sacraments – especially in a unique presence under the forms of bread and wine.

Encourage ourselves on this day so that in our earthly life, we ​​do not forget the meeting with Jesus in heaven. Jesus said, “he who believes and is baptized will be saved.” So baptism and faith will take us to heaven. However, these two facts must be protected throughout our lives. Baptism and faith mean, above all, that the baptized person lives according to the teachings of Jesus and believes in everything that Jesus gave to the Church and that she gives to her believers. And if we believe that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer, then we will have no problem believing in all the other truths that flow from this fact.

Saint Paul said that we cannot even imagine what God has prepared for all those who love him. That’s why we can’t fully imagine even heaven. But let’s imagine it as a return to the Father who loves us, like meeting Jesus. After all, we can imagine love relationships a little.

Impulses: After the mission command, Jesus tells the apostles that various signs will accompany those who believe. Among them will also be healing from multiple ailments. It is also a severe mission for the Church and Christians today. The most significant diseases are depression, loneliness, and fear. A great space opens up for Christians to act in it with the healing love of Jesus.

Gott, unser Vater, der unsere Bitten hört, sei mit dir.

Die drei Tage vor dem Fest Christi Himmelfahrt sind in der katholischen Kirche Gebetstage für verschiedene menschliche Bedürfnisse, insbesondere für die irdische Ernte und den Segen der menschlichen Arbeit.

Jesus, du hast die Kräfte der Natur befohlen. Herr, erbarme dich unser. 

Du hast den Hungrigen Brot gegeben. Christus, erbarme dich unser.

Du hast uns auf die Liebe und Macht des Vaters hingewiesen. Herr, erbarme dich unser.

Kardinal Ratzinger befasste sich mit der Frage der Gebetserhörung. Ich weiß nicht, ob ich es kurz und bündig interpretieren kann. Es stammt aus dem Lukasevangelium. „Wenn du böse bist und weißt, wie du deinen Kindern gute Geschenke machen kannst, wie viel mehr wird der Vater vom Himmel denen den Heiligen Geist geben, die ihn darum bitten?“ (Lukas 11:13). Mit anderen Worten: Gott kann, wenn wir ihn um etwas bitten, nichts anderes geben als sich selbst. Um bestimmte Dinge und Geschenke zu bitten, ist ein wichtiger Teil unseres Gebets. Wir präsentieren alle unsere Angelegenheiten. Wir bitten um günstiges Wetter, um eine gute Ernte, um die Gesundheit unserer Kinder, um Frieden in der Welt. Wenn wir beten, kommt es darauf an, ob wir mit Gott vereint sind. Ich stehe mit allem, was ich habe, mit allem, was mir gehört, vor Gott. Entscheidend ist jedoch nicht die Dringlichkeit, sondern der Grad der Akzeptanz bzw. der Grad der Vereinheitlichung. Leider muss man zugeben, dass nicht jedes Gebet uns mit Gott vereint und daher keine Wunder bewirken kann. Das Problem liegt auf unserer Seite. Auch Jacobs’ Brief weist auf etwas in dieser Richtung hin, im Sinne eines unbeantworteten Gebets. Er schreibt: „Lassen Sie uns zugeben, dass Sie beten und nicht empfangen, weil Sie schlecht beten.“ Die Heiligen zeigen uns, dass Gott unsere Gebete erhören wird, wenn wir vertrauensvoll beten und mit Jesus vereint sind. Nicht jedes Gebet ist gleich. Aber eines ist sicher. Gott ist unser Vater, er wird uns geben, was wir brauchen. Das lesen wir im Evangelium. Die Lehrer des spirituellen Lebens fordern uns auf, voller Zuversicht zu beten. Wenn wir darüber verzweifeln, ob Gott unsere Bitten beantworten wird, warten wir nicht darauf, dass Gott unsere Gebete tatsächlich erhört. Es gibt überhaupt keinen Grund daran zu zweifeln, dass Gott unsere Bitten erhören wird. Die Heiligen sind der beste Beweis dafür. Auch zwei herausragende Meister des spirituellen Lebens kamen hierher. Johannes vom Kreuz und Thomas von Aquin. Sie ermutigen uns auch zum Beten.

Der Geist Gottes lehrt uns beten. In diesem Geist beten wir mit den Worten Jesu.

Wer in Jesus Christus ist und wer auch immer Jesus Christus ist, ist in Gott. Deshalb fragen wir.

Jeder, der fragt, wird bekommen.

The torment of condemnation and the torment of the senses. The torment of reprobation is the height of misery, to be deprived of Him who is infinite good. The sinner has rejected him—the word of the supreme Judge. Depart from me, cursed one. Depart. Where will these wretches go? Well, where can these exiles go? Deprived of eternal blessedness to eternal damnation, instead of peace and contentment if not to despair and gnashing and despair.

Torments of the senses- The sinner reaches for forbidden fruits and low pleasures. He asks to be punished for what he has sinned. Instead of enjoying the creatures for the glory of God, he has misused them to gratify his passions and to satiate his love of self. When the hour of righteousness strikes, the word of the Book of Wisdom will be realized. On the last day, there will be a great and thorough purification of our universe. The whole world will be disintegrated into the elements of which it is composed. All that is noble, beautiful, and pure will be lifted to the heights, and all that is vile, corrupt, and evil will be cast down.

To punish the condemned. So, the whole creation will be a source of joy for some and a punishment for others. Every condemned person will suffer in proportion to their sins. The more you spare yourself now and abhor carnality, the harder it will be to repent afterward. Every sin will have its particular torment. The proud will be ashamed, and the jealous will suffer the severest privations. There will be one hour of repentance, as here, there will be a hundred years of most severe repentance. There the damned will have no rest, no pleasure, which they will only miss occasionally here on earth. Now be afflicted for your sins, and repent of them. The question arises. If anyone hates God, how is it possible that he will suffer if he does not live in his presence? Most of the time, if we hate someone, their presence makes us uncomfortable. However, someone can be happy in the presence of someone he hates if that person is unhappy and can feed on his pains. The damned person hates God, but at the same time, he loves Him against his will and feels drawn to Him with all his energies. He, however, represses these feelings. There is ambivalence in the damned. The damned feel a longing for God, but at the same time, they see that they are forever deprived of this happiness. St. Augustine answers how the material fire can touch even spirits. Even spirits with nobody can suffer and, in some strange way, feel the torments of the material fire. One thing is sure: no earthly suffering can be compared to the torments of hell. We must fear the torments of hell and do everything possible to avoid hell.

Reading from the Second Letter of the Holy Apostle Paul to Timothy ¦ 2 Tim 2, 1-13. Therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard from me in front of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will be able to teach others. Suffer with me as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. None of the soldiers interferes in the affairs of everyday life if they want to please the one who hired them. And whoever races does not get a crown if he does not race according to the rules. The farmer who toils is to be the first to receive a share of the harvest. Consider what I say. The Lord will make you understand everything. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the family of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I endure hardships even to fetters like some criminal. But God’s word is not bound! Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they too may attain the salvation that is in Jesus Christ and eternal glory. The word is reliable: If we died with him, we will also live with him. If we persevere, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful because he cannot deny himself. 

Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Gospel ¦ Mt 10, 28-33. Jesus told his apostles: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren’t two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one of them falls to the ground without the knowledge of your Father. But you also have all the hairs on your head counted. So don’t worry, you are more valuable than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.” —– 

Let us pray: Almighty God, you granted grace to the holy martyr Florian, that he testified to faith in Christ by his own death; we beg you, through his intercession, protect us from all evil and help us to have the courage to confess our faith in your Son undaunted. For he is God and lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever.

The smallest child, but also the oldest person, have one great preciousness in them – life. This preciousness is our value and we value it more than a full wallet or possessions. However, human life can be not only a gift for another, but also a burden. Do you think it is a sign if someone told us: You are just a burden, a pest, a bug for me?! But a lesson flows from these ugly words: Life is beautiful when we love another person who is not a burden, but a gift and enrichment for our life.

Jesus, like us, had this great value – life. He could plan to build a house, start a family, and think about his fame and status. But he didn’t want to live like this. He dedicated his life and strength to love. He said it himself: Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Jesus knew very well that each of us was at risk in some way. A pupil so that he does not fail, a student so that he is not thrown out of an exam, a worker so that they are satisfied with him at work, an old person so that his health still serves him somehow… We all desire to progress in life, but we, believers, have to realize that the most important step for us is a life in which God rules. But none of us can do it alone. Why?

Jesus came into the world because we were threatened. And because he loves everyone, he gives his life for them as a ransom to advance to the next life. Our worth is in the life of Jesus. Isn’t it wonderful? God values ​​man so much that he sends his Son into the world to reward man with his life, death, and resurrection. A person can get into communion with God only under the condition that his life will be marked with excellence in love, and the best teacher of love is Jesus, who gives us the strength to not be a burden to others, but a gift, which is nothing new. After all, let’s judge for ourselves: Don’t we appreciate the most when someone likes us? And won’t the reverse also apply? The other person will not appreciate when we come to them with goodness in our hearts? A person is beautiful in that he knows how to love, and he is miserable in that he can be a pest.

The writer Kuznetsov very wisely describes this fact in the Legend of the River. The men in the room are talking about love. Peter asks his friend: Listen, is it true that a man should live with a woman all his life and infidelity is a sin? And the friend replied: You know, the life of love is given only to true people. We were once in the steppe and my acquaintance shot a male swan. Here, where she married, there she married, the female flew in, screeching, flapping her wings, hovering over us and making raids on us. We also shot at her, but we could not hit her. Night came, and we plucked the male, roasted it, and ate it. But we could still hear the flapping of wings and screeching. It died down in the morning and we thought she had flown away. When we got out, we saw her again. We could see it flying higher and higher, then it folded its huge wings and fell to the ground like a stone. We were frozen. One of us was a Kazakh who, seeing this, said that swans when they meet, are faithful to each other for life. Peter responded to that: Am I supposed to jump off the tower when my wife dies? A friend corrected him: You misunderstood me. You know, someone just plays for love, exhausts himself with nonsense, and shouts that family is a prejudice and there is no love. However, a person must live life to the fullest so that everything in him is great. If love, then love, if friendship, then friendship, if joy, then joy, if pain, then pain. That’s how happy people live, who don’t get bogged down in trifles and don’t live only for themselves. Happiness is a storm, a struggle, the sun in the heart, which is enough for you and others.

Could we imagine Jesus living as a parasite? He voluntarily renounced his life when he saw the threat to the human race, which consisted of the fact that none of the people could get into communion with the heavenly Father, so he gave the most valuable thing he had – his life. He sacrificed it for us, his friends. Perhaps the question comes to mind: But what about the enemies? Jesus has no enemies. Everyone, young or old, healthy or sick, believer or non-believer, is personally close to him. He showed this during his earthly life when he showed love to everyone. However, it is also true that not everyone showed him love. Therefore, it is up to us how we will treat him – as friends or enemies, as those who need him or mock him. He treats everyone the same – as friends.

The apostle John, who lived his life in love, recounts an amazing experience: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. If we can love another, if we are able not to live like a living creature, we come from God and know God’s life. We are great at that, and no one can blame us for being limited, that we will have a good time only after death. It’s not true! Whoever loves God loves always, in life, in death, and after death. How do I love? How much selfishness is there in my life? Am I not one of those who take advantage of those closest to them? Can I sacrifice myself for others? The Lord would grant that people respect us because we come to him with goodness in our hearts.

The eternity of torment is a terrible but salvific dogma. Many of the elect owe heaven to their belief in hell. This truth must be urged and not followed by the feigned charity of those who pass over the issue without a word, accusing of inhumanity those who preach it. Inhuman are those who see their brethren rushing into the abyss and do not cry out to them. Stop. For you stand on the edge of the eternal abyss. Four two reasons for the eternal duration of the torments of hell are found in St. Thomas Aqun. and help us understand the psychology of the damned. When man commits a mortal sin , he knowingly and willingly renounces God because he prefers sin to God. When a person has freely chosen his final destination, he has no possibility of coming again to what he was destined for. , just as he cannot come to the truth who has erred in fundamental principles. But the sinner does not regard this inability of his to lift himself up and aim at God as a misfortune.

On the contrary, he has the promise of seeing his true welfare in it. We should be mistaken if we thought that the sinner is sorry for his sins. Even in hell he is not sorry. That he has sinned. He’s only sorry that he has to suffer. We would be mistaken if we thought that the remorse that comes after sin comes from the nature of man. They are caused by the grace of God. When God has been cast out of the soul, He seeks to return to it. If the sinner did not have remorse, he could not be induced by himself to regard his sin as evil, and so could not repent of it. Here on earth, every sinner can change, every sinner has the opportunity to repent of his sins. But this opportunity lasts only during earthly life. When the sinner comes to the other world, he no longer encounters grace, but only righteousness. Why does the sinner remain in his clenched impenitence after his death. Man has a free will. God has given man to choose his destination. To choose God or to reject Him. After death, man can no longer change his choice. God respects man’s free will. The only way God could correct such a will is if he were to forcibly and against its will destroy its connection with evil. He could remake it again.

But if God did that, man would no longer be the person he was before. One might say. It is no longer I, Judas, Nero, Satan who now love God. I,who was Judas, Nero, Satan. To tell the truth the present me is a complete stranger. The conversion of man here on earth does not involve such a destruction of personality. Here on earth the soul is subject to the influence of different moods.What one liked yesterday , begins to appear in different colours today. One sees today what one did not see yesterday. The grace of God can bring about , without violence , that man will willingly give up his choice. Here on earth even the greatest sinner can repent of his sins but in the next world this is no longer possible. Here the naive presumption of St. Aryan parish priest is untenable. If confession booths were built at the gates of hell,the damned would flock to them to obtain deliverance and forgiveness. If such a possibility existed, we could accuse God of cruelty. The reality is that the damned do not want to repent of their sins.

As we know, the main feast of St. Joseph is March 19. Then St.Joseph  is worshiped. Joseph, above all, as the foster father of the Lord Jesus and the head of the Holy Family. But this chosen man of God is also worshiped as the patron saint of workers, which has been emphasized in recent times by the introduction of his liturgical commemoration of May Day. We know from the Gospel that Saint Joseph was a carpenter (cf. Mt 13:55). That is why, from time immemorial, those who worked with wood, especially carpenters, have worshiped him as their patron saint. In Rome, in the 16th century, the Carpenter Archbishopric dedicated to St. to Joseph. At the beginning of the 17th century, she joined this brotherhood under the patronage of St. Jozef and the so-called Carpentry University (Universitá dei Falegnami). It was a corporation of various useful and artistic crafts, among which woodworking was predominant. There were turners, carvers, coopers, saddlers, manufacturers of furniture, musical instruments, carriages, boats and others.

Similar craft brotherhoods and associations that worshiped St. Jozef as their patron, were established in Spain, France, Belgium and other countries. Pope Pius XII. extended the patronage of St. Joseph to all workers and dedicated to him (in 1955) the first of May, which is celebrated in many countries as a workers’ holiday. The post-conciliar liturgical renewal included this day in the general liturgical calendar as a liturgical commemoration of St. Joseph  – the worker. In this way, the Church not only wants to show respect for the lifelong vocation of St. Jozef, but also wants to highlight the value of work and its importance in the natural and supernatural order. In this sense, for this day, she included among the liturgical readings of the priest’s watch (breviary) a stanza from the council’s constitution Gaudium et spes, where, among other things, it is said:

“Man, created in the image of God, was commanded to subdue the earth with all that it contains, to govern the world in justice and holiness and to focus oneself on God, recognizing him as the Creator of all things, so that everything is subject to man, and thus God’s name is glorified everywhere on earth. This also applies to normal everyday tasks. Because men and women who develop their activities in order to earn a living for themselves and their families, thereby demonstrating adequate service to society, can rightly look at their work as a continuation of the work of the Creator, a useful help to their brothers and as their personal a contribution to the realization of God’s plan in history.” (GS 34).

ON TODAY’s HOLIDAY, the liturgy of the Church puts this prayer on our lips: “God, you ignited warm love in Saint Catherine when she contemplated the Lord’s Passion and served your Church; through her intercession, grant that your people, to whom you have given a share in the mysteries of Christ, may rejoice forever when Christ appears in his glory”. These words describe the life of the saint we are celebrating: a fervent love for Jesus Christ that led her to devote herself to work for others and for the Church.

Katarína Benincasa was born in 1347 in Siena in a large family. From childhood she cultivated a deep piety that led her to consecrate her life to the Lord, despite the misunderstanding of her family. At the age of eighteen, she was accepted among the Dominican Tertiaries in the city. She continued living at home with her parents and led an intense prayer life amid the natural hustle and bustle of a family with many children. At the age of 21, Katarina had an experience that marked her life forever: she understood that God was calling her to devote herself with all her strength to acts of love and to work for the conversion of sinners. St. Josemaria was interested in the fact that this saint “was on the streets and created an inner cell in her soul, so wherever she was, she did not leave her cell”. This decision marked the beginning of several years during which the young woman moved around the city of Siena to take care of the sick and at the same time ignite the hearts of many people in the love of God and neighbor.

“A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither will they light a lamp and place it under a lampstand, but on a candlestick, so that it may give light to all who are in the house” (Mt 5, 14-15). Catherine was enlightened by the kind face of Jesus and understood that his light could not remain enclosed within the walls of her house. Thus she caused a revolution around her, which was made up of prayer and acts of service.

True wisdom is to be in harmony with God’s heart …

In the LETTERS of St. Catherine and in her well-known work Dialogue, the harmony between teaching and mystical experience is astonishing, especially if we consider that the saint did not have the opportunity to receive a broad cultural formation. From a young age, however, she attended the sermons of the Dominican fathers in her town: there she listened attentively to the interpretations of the Scriptures, examples from the lives of the saints, and catechesis on the faith. Over time, she cultivated her inner life also under the guidance of a local spiritual leader.

On St. Catherine, the words that Jesus uttered one day full of joy came true: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little ones” (Mt 11, 25). “True wisdom also comes from the heart, it is not just an understanding of thoughts (…). If you know many things but your heart is closed, you are not wise. Jesus says that the secrets of his Father were revealed to the little ones, to those who open themselves to his word of salvation with confidence, feel that they need him and expect everything from him; they have an open and trusting heart towards the Lord”. St. Catherine accepted the lights that the Lord gave her, and thus achieved a deep knowledge of God’s mystery. “Oh priceless, sweetest love,” she wrote. “Who is not ignited by such great love? What heart can resist without fainting? You, the abyss of love, as if you have gone crazy for your creatures, as if you cannot live without them, although you are a God who does not need us. Your greatness does not grow by our good deeds, for it cannot change; no harm comes to you from our evil, because you are the highest and eternal Good. Who will move you to such mercy?”.

Driven by this intense contemplation, the saint from Siena passed on God’s love to the people around her. She began with those who gathered to listen to her and be encouraged in her spiritual life. However, this outpouring of her inner life did not end there: over the years she wrote letters to many people, many of whom were public figures of the time. More than once, her letters were accompanied by calls for the addressees to live by the Gospel and seek God’s will. From her intimate relationship with Jesus, she drew energy to speak clearly and gently about God.

Sharing your faith with others …

AMONG THE MANY CHRISTIANS who were inspired by the life of St. Catherine, we also find St. Josemaria. He had a special respect for her from his youth; for example, he called the notes he made about the events of his inner life “Catharines”. “I fell in love with the power of St. Catherine,” says the founder of Opus Dei, “who speaks the truth to the most important people, with burning love and transparent clarity”. Therefore, in 1964, the founder of Opus Dei decided to appoint her as the intercessor of the apostolate, which is extremely valued: for informing a wide field of public opinion with the love of Christ.

Jesus is the truth that enlightens every person and saves him from darkness. To offer this light to others – to strive for it to be ignited in our own life – is one of the works of mercy. To bring one’s faith to others “means to make revelation visible, so that the Holy Spirit can work in people through witness: service is a way of life (…) If I say I am a Christian and live as a Christian, it attracts (…) Faith must be passed on: not to persuade, but to offer a treasure.

Before exhorting anyone to come to faith, Saint Catherine spent a lot of time tending to the sick in her city. The same love that led her to attend to the neediest later moved her to write letters inviting them to be faithful children of the Church. The credibility of her message was based on a life that radiated love for God and neighbor. Let us ask St. Catherine and our Heavenly Mother to intercede with God to give us love that feeds on prayer, manifests itself in acts of love, and proclaims the truth that leads to life. “The deepest teaching that we are called to impart and the surest certainty that dispels doubts is God’s love with which we have been loved (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). Great love, gratuitous and given forever, God never turns away from his love!”.