From the Pastor

Corpus Christi Sunday (A) – June 11, 2023

From the Pastor /

The Lord God, concerned about the good of man, gave us 10 signposts to heaven, and among them is – “Remember to keep the Sabbath, the Lord’s day holy“. God knew how much trouble a man would have with keeping this commandment, so He used the word – Remember! The Church, also concerned about the happiness of man, asks us to remain faithful to God and devoutly participate in the Holy Mass on Sundays and holidays. It is our holy duty, therefore, not only to attend the Holy Mass, but also to participate in it devoutly. However, you can see people who, instead of participating in the Holy Mass, are occupied with some other things: watching phones, looking at watches, ehhh, ehhh. There are also those who do not care about the final blessing and leave the Holy Mass earlier. Some of us have lack of faith the Blessed Sacrament and rarely receive it. They are deaf to the call of Christ – “Take and eat, this is my body, Take and drink, this is My blood”. They come to church and go away hungry. Jesus is not only for the elect. He is for each of us. He knows that you are weak, tired of life, that you sometimes lack strength and cannot cope with many things in life. It happens sometimes that a husband drinks, the son is difficult to bring up, the sick mother needs help, the unemployed father looks for support, the disabled child expects care. In these and many other situations, the Eucharist is the remedy for our human illnesses, weaknesses and needs. The Eucharist is the source of our strength to bear our own and others’ burdens of the cross. It is not easy and it often exceeds our strength. So why do we rarely feed on the Body of Christ?

Jesus doesn’t want to dwell in gilded tabernacles, He does not want to be alone in the most beautiful churches. Christ wants to live in our hearts and be our daily bread, so that we have the strength to live our lives well. He wants to be our life companion. So what if we go to church, listen to the Gospel, and do not practice our faith. What kind of witness do we give to our children and young people? They watch whether their mother and father receive the sacraments, Holy Communion, whether they pray. Because of the First Holy Communion, we give our children great parties, we buy them great gifts, and then these children are not at Sunday Mass and they do not accept the Lord Jesus. Why? Because we disregard the third commandment of God and do not come to church with them. The father and mother, by their own example, show the child the way to God. We must ask God for conversion. You cannot be a good person if you do not go to confession, attend Holy Mass and receive the Eucharist. Because you have no religious life in you.

Many of us go to psychologists instead of confession. Remember that you can only talk to a psychologist, while in the sacrament of penance you receive the grace of forgiveness, peace and the gift of healing your soul from all weaknesses. The sacrament is the grace of the Lord. The grace through which Jesus lifts up your spirits and gives you new hope for a better tomorrow. Only when you accept this grace in the sacrament of penance will Jesus heal you from sin and pour the gift of joy and peace into your heart. You cannot carry the burdens of sin for years, because they will cause the curvature of our moral backbone, and thus all mental illnesses, depression and lack of meaning in life. Sometimes we don’t go to confession for many years, and then we’re surprised that everything in our lives has collapsed, that our marriage has fallen apart, that our son or daughter has gone astray and don’t go to church, that our husband or wife looks into a glass. We are surprised at this, but why do we not believe in God? We often say that we are believers but not practitioners. What is faith if it is not expressed in our daily lives? Jesus wants you to be like Him. He needs you to be His witness. In order to change yourself and others for the better, you have to follow Jesus.

Once, on the street of Calcutta, Mother Teresa found a girl, she was 6 years old, she was hungry, she had not eaten for several days. Mother Teresa gave her a slice of bread and she ate it slowly, one crumb at a time. Why? Because she was afraid that when the bread ran out, she would be hungry again. We, living in America, throw tons of bread into the bins. As we do this, let us think of those who are dying of hunger, let us think of those who lack our love, our mercy. Just as Jesus in the Eucharist is good to us and feeds us to the full, let us also be bread for those who live among us. They not only want bread, clothes, a roof over their heads, but above all our kindness and love. So let’s be their daily bread.

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IV Sunday of Easter (A) – April 30, 2023

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Peter, a Galilean fisherman, the disciple of Jesus, the witness of the Resurrection, cries out: Save yourself from this perverse generation! There is concern in his cry, not judgment. This is what Jesus taught. He healed the sick in the body. He healed sick souls. He raised the dead. He revived dead consciences. He fed with a bread. But first, with a word of truth, for He saw that “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” The apostles learned from Jesus caring for man. That is why Peter cries out: “Save yourselves!”. But does that mean: run away or stay yourself in your circle? Not at all. Peter’s call is actual even today. We need – remaining in the world – to save ourselves and whoever we can from the evil lurking around us.

Who will lead us? There must be someone whose voice the sheep will listen to. Someone who will know them by name. Someone who will lead them and lead them to a safety place. This is what Jesus said, pointing to himself. And He called himself the Good Shepherd, and the gate of the sheep. But He is not among us. Is He? And the promise: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world”? We take this promise seriously. He is with us. But a man needs the presence of someone real in the dimension of time and space. And that’s our problem. Ours – people of every era. We need leaders and guides. How many times in the history of the world have Jesus’ warnings against those who are thieves and robbers come true. The last century was tragic – the world followed imposters who managed to deceive entire nations. So how can we save ourselves from this perverse generation? Whom should I follow to have life and have it abundantly? Not to go astray like a sheep, but to be converted to the Shepherd and the Guardian of our souls?

Christians have an answer that has been proven for centuries. Pointing to Jesus as the Good Shepherd, they call pastors those among themselves who, in the name of Jesus, lead them along the paths of the Gospel. No one can appropriate this dignity to himself. It is determined by the authority of the Church, which is rooted in the apostolic tradition.  And pastors, leading the people, should be the first to follow Jesus. Sometimes they are saints, sometimes they are sinners. Sometimes they are great in spirit, other times they are small because of human errors. But still needed. Without a shepherd, however poor, the flock will be scattered. No human society can exist without a leader. In this particular community that is the Church, however, the word “leader” is out of place. That’s why we used to talk about pastors. How many wonderful, great and even holy pastors has the Church had and still has? And if sometimes they do not live up to the mission entrusted to them, we must not forget that each of them “is taken from people, for people is established … He is subject to weakness. And for its sake he should offer sacrifices for sins as for the people as well as for himself.” The sacrifice is, in fact, one: Christ bore our sins on the wood of the cross and by the Blood of His wounds we were healed.

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Nativity of the Lord’s Day (A) – December 25, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Christianity is not a narrow faith. The Gospel tells us that every human being is enlightened by God, whether they recognize God or not. Members of other religions, and people without faith, have light. The light of reason, of goodness and of truth is found in everyone, but many do not realize it as the light of God. Therefore God sent John the Baptist to witness and speak for the light, so that everyone might believe. The second reading reminds us that “At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets.” But now God has spoken through God’s Son, Jesus, who came to live among us: “The Word was made flesh.” This is the belief grasped by St Thomas, who on seeing Jesus after his resurrection murmured, “My Lord and my God”, words we might utter silently when the host and chalice are raised above the altar at Mass. 

Why was Jesus born? Why did God send Him into the world? The Gospel tells us that to all who accepted Him “he gave power to become children of God”. Those who recognize that the light within them, the desire to do good, the desire to love, the desire to seek the truth, is implanted by God really have become “children of God”. When we grasp this we are impelled to adore the God who made us, the God who is the light within us, the source and origin of love, beauty and goodness. The wonder of Christmas is that, like the ancient Roman devotees of Saturn, we know how to celebrate with singing and dancing, with feasting and fun, and exchanging presents as signs of love. Like them, gathering round their temple to rejoice in the light, we too gather here to rejoice in the light of the world. Christ came down to earth in order to raise us to heaven. He lived an earthly life so that even on earth we might begin to live the life of heaven as children of God.

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Second Sunday of Advent (A) – December 4, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

St. John the Baptist doesn’t care about words! And yet he was listened and had great authority, because he confirmed his words with the testimony of his own life.

Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit also confirms his words, by giving them a power of conviction that no human words had a power by itself. People were aware that they were standing before the prophet, that John was fulfilling a mission commissioned by God Himself. Very important was what he preached and the power with which he did it. Therefore, crowds flocked to him from afar, even though his words were certainly not flattery. But the truth, even when it is hard, is more attractive than empty flattery.

The Jews did not understand the essence of their faith or the heritage of Abraham. They considered the mere fact of belonging to the Jewish nation, and thus to the descendants of Abraham, to be a sufficient guarantee of salvation, and even a reason to be proud and a title to various privileges.

Meanwhile, the descent from Abraham not only does not determine anything, but also obliges. Abraham was justified on the basis of his radical and unconditional faith. Abraham’s inheritance is above all a commitment to faith, to total trust and obedience to God. Many understood and fulfilled this, but there were also those who considered this noble vocation and the dignity of the child of Abraham as circumstances exempting them from personal efforts of faith for the sake of external appearances of religious life.

This is why John the Baptist placed so much emphasis on the authenticity of conversion. It was the only chance to return to God. If even this act were to be reduced to formalities and appearances, then there would be no salvation left for a man. And the conversion will be authentic if it bears fruit in the form of a change of life attitude. Baptism with water was only a sign of repentance: it expressed the desire of man to lead his life differently. The baptism of Christ announced by John was supposed to have and has a real power of purification: if a man with humility and faith humbles himself before Jesus, then the action of the Holy Spirit, like fire, will cleanse us of human weaknesses and faults, and make us perfect before God.

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Christ the King (C) – November 20, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Believers, and at the same time systematically participating in religious practices, are the part of society that is definitely more active in various fields of social life and more willing to speak out on important matters than the so-called statistical man. Nevertheless, this activity is not at all impressive. According to the data of various research centers, it affects only about 7-10% of believers. So many declares belonging to various organizations, movements and church associations. How many actually work in them, speak publicly, react when something wrong happens? It’s very different with it.

The Gospel read on the Solemnity of Christ the King is kind of remorse for all those who stand aside. It begins with a dramatic sentence that illustrates the tragedy that unfolds on Golgotha precisely in the face of human passivity, and perhaps even indifference. “When Jesus was crucified, the people stood and watched.” The evangelist says little. He records only a few words. Very eloquent though.

As we gaze upon the people who stood and watched, we must ask ourselves about our personal reactions to various events. We are certainly not a society indifferent to human miseries of a material nature. In the face of various tragedies and in the face of needs that arise in many places and on various occasions, we react vigorously and show ourselves to be very generous. It’s even worse when it comes to values. Especially our Christian ones, firmly rooted in faith. In the name of the so-called tolerance, we are ready to keep silent, pretend that there is no topic – after all, you must not offend anyone; everyone must be respected.

The problem is that silence is not necessarily a sign of respect. By remaining silent, you can lose your self-respect. And by shutting your mouth in the face of evil and injustice, take the blame of others on yourself.

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Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – November 13, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Another mysterious prisoner was brought to the prison overcrowded with people. He voluntarily placed himself in the hands of the guards. After some time, the amazing news began to spread among the prisoners that this newcomer was able to free from prison anyone who wanted to be released. There is only one condition, you have to trust him completely. The path he proposes is difficult, it leads through death. However, you should not be afraid, because he can bring even the dead back to life. Moreover, he guarantees that, outside the prison walls, he will lead all liberated ones to a new, wonderful, happy life. Who will risk and follow him? Some trusted the mysterious prisoner and followed him. Others mocked him and those who trusted him. They were all considered madmen. People preferred not to risk and take up the use of prison life. After all, you can accustom to everything, including a prison.

Prison is a temporal world. A strange prisoner who came voluntarily into this world is the Son of God – Jesus Christ. He came in hiding, like all the other prisoners. He was born like any other human, suffered like other people, even in death He did not differ from us. However, His words about eternal life were puzzling, His deeds were astonished, which surpassed the abilities of ordinary mortals, the news of His resurrection forced one to reflect the most. Twenty centuries have passed since the Son of God came to earth as a prisoner. Some people risk, believe Him and follow Him step by step, to the threshold of death, which they cross with the hope of a resurrection to a new life. Others do not take risks, they only count on earthly life.

Centuries pass, and in the walls of the prison the news of His first mysterious, hidden, unrecognized coming is crossed with the news of His second coming in the divine majesty of glory. The Son of God will come into this world once more, but no longer in secret, not as a prisoner, but as Lord and God. He will come to reward those who have believed in Him. He will appear on earth surrounded by the saved. He will show everyone the riches, glory and happiness of those who believed His words. It will be an hour of happiness and despair. Happiness to those who risked and believed in Christ immediately after His first coming, and despair for those who did not risk, did not reach out for a different, new life and stayed to care for temporal things.

Faith is a risk. However, this is not a great risk. It is based on the word of God, and He has never misled anyone. Whoever trusts in God, whoever trusts in Him, will never be disappointed. In this situation, the risk of faith becomes a great certainty.

We are a group of people who took the risk. We believed Christ. Do we follow Him willingly and persistently today? Are we not whining? Have we not been charmed by mortality? Which life do we care more about: temporal or eternal? Many gave up, they did not have the courage to follow Christ to the end. They forgot that the day of reward for the persistent is coming. On this day, those who followed Christ for some time and then fell away voluntarily will despair the most. They were so close to happiness and they gave it up themselves.

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Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – October 16, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Increasingly, you can hear that our era has lost faith because people go to church less often, confess little, and are increasingly critical of the Church in everyday life.

When, instead of succumbing to stereotypes and superficial judgments, we may take a look around us, see our parish churches and people we know well, it turns out that the reality near us looks completely different.

“Will the Son of Man find faith on earth when He comes?” This kind of question sounds perhaps a little scary. There is a hint of hopelessness in it. However, this is not about scaring and upsetting. They need to be heard as an invitation and encouragement to each of us. The question of Jesus, which concludes the parable, which says that we must always pray and continue without ceasing touches our consciences. This question is not followed by an answer – it is intended to stimulate the thinking of every person, every church community, every generation. Each of us has to find the answer. Christ wants to remind us that the goal of man’s life is to meet God, and in this context He asks if, when He returns, He will find souls ready to receive Him in order to enter the Father’s house with Him”.

When we read today’s Gospel in this very personal way, there will no longer be a note of hopelessness, but of genuine hope. Only, when everyone feels the eyes of Jesus on themselves and hears that this is not an abstract question, but a call addressed to each one of them, it will take on a completely different, new meaning.

“Will He find the faith on earth?” – this is a question about my faith and the sense of responsibility for this gift in every single person. How long we will – with the full responsibility – start from us, instead of looking around and seek this faith in our surroundings, then so long Jesus’ question will not sudden or frighten us, but can help to awaken even greater zeal and strengthen our hope.

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Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – October 2, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Today’s liturgy recalls two essential aspects of Christian life, which are faith and service. Without faith, it is impossible to please God or to be saved. One must constantly pray for the faith. We find an example of such a prayer in today’s Gospel. The apostles asked Christ: Increase our faith. His union with the Father in prayer, they felt that by their own strength they were unable to comprehend God’s mysteries or fulfill the vocation they had been given. Lord, increase our faith – this is one of the simplest, but also the most important prayers of the Church. Meanwhile, many Christians, when asking God for health or for the successful settlement of difficult matters, forget about faith, treating it as something obvious, once gained forever. The gift of faith that we received at the Baptism we must constantly multiply. If we had the faith like a mustard seed, it would move mountains and replant mighty old trees, that is, it would do what seems humanly impossible.

The faith is invisible. It cannot be seen or measured. There is also no spiritual ammeter that would measure its intensity. We recognize the faith by fruits. That is why Jesus combines the doctrine of faith with the encouragement to develop the attitude of a servant who is guided by selfless love. St. Catherine of Siena expressed this truth very well: “Love is like a maid who washes dirty dishes in the kitchen.”

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Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – September 25, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Human life resembles a bridge that leads from the shores of mortality to the shores of eternity. A one-way bridge that cannot be turned back on. Today’s Gospel parable shows us two people who crossed that bridge: the beggar Lazarus and the rich man. The former lacked everything in life, even basic necessities. The second one was so obscenely rich that he was unable, or perhaps did not want to, to see the cause and relationship between his wealth and someone else’s poverty. 

Finally, we can see both of them on the other side of the bridge, on the edge of eternity. And there their fate changed radically. Lazarus “in the bosom of Abraham” experienced an eternal happiness that he did not experience on earth as he patiently waited for “the waste of the rich man’s table” and when “the dogs came and licked his sores.” The rich man suffers in hell among people who fall into two categories. The first group includes those who have made their lives meaningful to do evil. The second group, in which we find the rich man of the Gospel, includes those who have failed to do good. It seems that there can be definitely more people like these.

Each of us is today in a specific place on the bridge leading to eternity. We must remember that the quality of the eternal life depends on the quality of the earthly life. Life on earth and the decisions we make here will be saved on the other side forever.  So, what kind of life is here, such kind of the eternity will be there.

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Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – September 18, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

There are many puzzles in Jesus’ teaching, for example: “The Lord has praised the dishonest steward”, “Make friends with wicked mammon”. Could these be persuasion for fraud and corruption? No way. Jesus spoke and still speaks to people immersed in the world, functioning in various dependencies and systems, using various means and tools in their lives … All this has consequences not only for the present life. The “style” of the earthly pilgrimage often determines the eternal end. The praise of the dishonest steward refers his concern for the future. The belief that the future is now being decided is worth appreciating. Jesus encourages us to think of our eternity with no less cleverness. What can we do now to make our eternity happy?

It only makes sense to use “wicked mammon,” or whatever means we have at our disposal, when we are “admitted to the eternal tabernacles.” It becomes clear that these “Eternal Tabernacles” are more important than any “mammon“. Mammon can help us achieve them or deprive us of this chance. It all depends on how we use it.

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