Weekly Reflection

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 24, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

“If any of you, fathers, a son asks for bread, will he give him a stone? Or for a fish, will she give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

The Greek word scorpios – scorpion – can be rendered “to be sharp”, “cut,” “to prick.” It expresses well the character of an animal called a scorpion, often found in Palestine, and considered a formidable enemy of man.

Scorpions are great in the dark and mostly feed on various types of insects, spiders and other scorpions. Poisonous scorpion’s bites, even if they usually do not lead to death, are very painful. The Apocalypse of St. John mentions “torments after the scorpion” (Rev 9: 5) – an almost proverbial expression.

The scorpion, next to the serpent, is in the Bible a classic symbol of the cruel world hostile to man. The Lord Jesus refers to this symbolism when He says to His disciples: “Behold, I have given you the power to walk on serpents and scorpions and in all the power of the opponent” (Lk 10:19). The journey from Egypt to the promised land is described in a similar way, “through a great and terrible desert, full of poisonous serpents and scorpions” (Dt 8:15). The Prophet Ezekiel calls his enemies scorpions. The Book of Syracides likens a wicked wife to a scorpion: “whoever takes her for himself, as if he had grabbed a scorpion with a hand.”

Christ explains to the apostles the meaning of prayer with three comparisons. He teaches that being a student is similar to the relationship of a son to a father who is asking for something to eat. While the first two comparisons seem understandable – the bread and the stone, the fish and the water snake – seem at least a bit similar to each other, the egg and the scorpion are rather difficult to confuse. The possibility of giving someone a scorpion instead of an egg is surprising, it is unlikely. What we are dealing with here is a gradation: these comparisons ultimately tend to compile a real thing with unreal, so as to the perfect degree indicate the trust we should have in God.

The attitude of child’s trust does not prevent us from praying to God persistently. Let the conclusion of today’s thoughts be the famous prayer:

“I asked God to give me the power to succeed,
 – He made me weak so that I might learn a humble obedience.
I asked for health to accomplish great deeds,
 – He gave me a disability so that I could do better things.
I asked for wealth so that I could be happy,
 – He gave me poverty so that I could be wise.
I asked for a power so that people would value me
 – He made me feel helpless to need God.
I asked for a companion not to live alone,
 – He gave me a heart so that I could love all my brothers.
I asked for a joy,
– and I received the life so that I could enjoy with everything.
I got nothing that I asked for
 – but I got what I expected.
Almost in spite of myself
 – my prayers not formulated were answered.
I am the most gifted of all people.”

Anonymous text in Rehabilitation Institute in New York

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 24, 2022 Read More »

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 17, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

Martha and Mary, mentioned by St. Luke, are most likely sisters of Lazarus of Bethany, about whom St. John the Evangelist wrote, although some believe that they are completely different families. The Aramaic name Martha means “lady”.

Martha is presented by St. Luke as a meticulous housekeeper who “has been troubled by various services.” Jesus rebukes her because, out of concern for hospitality, she neglected to listen to His words. In fact, however, it is not about being opposed to two different ways of behaving. Mary does the right thing not because she does nothing in particular and does not care of the visitor. Rather, her attitude of listening to Christ’s speech shows the model of a disciple who is always looking for what is most important. Martha, on the other hand, is “devoted to things”, she is immersed in what she absorbs, but does not decide about a person’s value. It is not work itself that distances you from God, but the one that makes man lose sight of God in his pursuit of activity.

Jesus tells the woman: “Martha, Martha“. The repetition of the name shows a special feeling, is an expression of an emotional approach toward the other. In this way Jesus also speaks to Simon Peter, this is how He speaks to the inhabitants of the ungrateful city: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill prophets, and you stone those who are sent to you. How many times have I wanted to gather your children like a bird, its chicks under wings, and you did not want to.”

If Martha was the sister of Lazarus, she learned a lot from the lesson she received at the meal. In Bethany, it is she – and not her sister Mary – will demonstrate a luminous faith in Jesus and His messianic mission: “I still believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God who is to come into the world”.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 17, 2022 Read More »

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 3, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

“I tell you: Sodom will be easier on that day than that city.”

Sodom was the most important city of Pentapol, that is, a group of five cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, Admai Seboim. Although Sodom is mentioned many times in the Bible, it is difficult today to determine its exact location. It is known that it was located in the Jordan Valley. It is most likely located today on the bottom of the Dead Sea or in its northern part – there were discovered traces of a city of high culture, whose history suddenly ended in the 20th century BC, or in the southern part, where there is still a lot of tar and asphalt today.

The city and its inhabitants are the heroes of the Book of Genesis, which depicts the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Adma and Seboim: the entire neighborhood, including all city dwellers, as well as the vegetation have perished, shrouded in “thick smoke, as if from a furnace in which they melt metal” (Genesis 19:28) At the root of the catastrophe –  according to the inspired author – lay the sinful lives of the inhabitants: they were “evil because they had committed grave trespasses against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). Only Zoar survived, where Lot, Abraham’s nephew, had fled. Only he and his two daughters survived the catastrophe, and Lot’s wife, who turned towards the city against the prohibition, turned into a pillar of salt.

The story of the destruction of the cities of Pentapol was easily assimilated in the chosen nation, because it explained why the area around the Dead Sea is so sparsely populated. The Dead Sea itself, a drain-less lake, located at the lowest point of the earth (approx. 400 m above sea level), with a very high salinity (approx. 25%), which means that there is almost completely no organic life.

As for the prophets, also for Jesus, the sin of Sodom is the peak of perversity. The reference to a lighter judgment on Sodom shows how great a sin it is not to accept Jesus’ teaching despite the signs He is doing.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – July 3, 2022 Read More »

Fifth Sunday of Easter (C) – May 15, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

We are in the Easter season and every day we follow how, after Christ’s resurrection, the community of the first disciples develops, that is, those who believed that the Lord really lives. The common feature of Jesus’ followers is a special love. The love that is special for people of their time, which makes them say to themselves: “see how they love each other“. Love becomes a hallmark, a showcase of Christians.

Today Jesus leaves us anew His commandment of love, but it is not only a pure commandment, but an invitation to “love one another as I have loved you“. In this way, He shows that our love is born of an encounter with His love. We can very often experience the fact that we are unable to love on our own. Only the experience of God’s disinterested love for us, a love that is undeserved, can give us the strength to love others. God’s love is not a reaction to our good behavior. He loves us, because He loves us. On the other hand, our human love is often a response to the kindness of others; I love because someone is nice to me. That is why Jesus’ commandment is new – it invites you to love like God, that is, to love for nothing.

St. John, in the text of the Apocalypse, writes to us about God’s dwelling with people, about God’s “tabernacle” with us, which is a manifestation of His closeness. This “tabernacle” is every Eucharist, during which we can hear anew the confession of Jesus contained in today’s Gospel: “I have loved you.”

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Second Sunday of Easter (C) – April 24, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

First day after the resurrection. Here, after 33 years of absence, the Son returns to the Father. Home again. Who will express the joy of their meeting after such a long separation, the need for a celebrated presence that is not disturbed by anything and no one anymore? Father, Son and Spirit – finally are together. And it would be seem that the custom of people – these three Divine Persons should finally enjoy themselves. However, the Gospels record that almost immediately after the greeting, the Son again “slipped away” back to the earth. He talked to Mary Magdalene in the morning; in the afternoon He traveled for several hours with His disciples to Emmaus; in the evening He still had a time to meet in the Upper Room.

Jesus entered the Upper Room on the evening of the first day of the week, where He celebrated the first Mass and said goodbye with His disciples. He stood in the center and, as reported by a witness there, wished them peace. He said, Do you have anything to eat? They gave Him a piece of roasted fish – the Galilean national dish. And as He ate, they felt the fear left their hearts. Peace was slowly coming in this place – the only reality He had given them as a gift. Returning from eternity, He took nothing else with Him, but “the peace”. This word is  unreadable for many people. The word “peace” is more often on the lips of politicians and propagandists than of Christians. And yet –  behind this word is hidden the first and most important gift from God that Jesus brought to man on the day of His resurrection. This gift must be a result from discussions between the Son and the Father.

The world hidden behind the words: Peace be with you is real. This peace given by Jesus to His disciples on Easter evening, it can also be shared by all people in their days. He brings the same gift during the celebration of the Eucharist and it descends upon each one as much as he opens up. The peace must come in the midst of wars below and above, in marriages and in families, in environments and among nations, if they are to survive and to develop. And it will not come into the world except only through human hearts.

Second Sunday of Easter (C) – April 24, 2022 Read More »

Resurrection of the Lord (C) – April 17, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

It is the greatest miracle in the world! Jesus rose from the dead to testify to the man that there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome by believing in God. We have probably found out about it many times. Remember how many times Jesus helped you when you were in need, when you put your trust in Him. Remember those times that were humanly hopeless, and everything ended well because you believed that Jesus would help you.

There were times when you came out of the grave of your sins to be resurrected and start your life anew with God. It was your miracle of resurrection by the power of Christ who rose first from the dead. This world will be better only when we will be better, when we have the courage to live God’s life. Then, when you live like this, you will be a witness of the Risen Jesus. We must live in such a way that Jesus will be not ashamed of us. We must to resurrect, to wake up and at all costs turn back from this wrong path of pursuit of material goods. Well, you will have many goods and you will not be happy. Your future – heaven or hell – depends on what kind of person you are.

At the final judgment, Jesus will ask you – what good have you done for others? He will not ask you how much you do have in your account, what kind of house and car you had. He will only ask you – did you have a heart for those with whom you lived. A wise man  asks God only for bread, so that he does not stop on his way to heaven, because he knows the time is short and there is nothing to strive to have, but to be. When you die, people will ask you how much have you left on your account? The Lord will ask you – what kind of man you were. I should live each day as if it would be my last. The Lord will knock unexpectedly to our door, and when He knocks you cannot say: Lord, maybe knock tomorrow because I didn’t have my confession yet, I haven’t reconciled with my brother yet, I haven’t fixed the wrong what I had done, I did not reconcile with my wife yet. We need to be vigilant so as not to sleep through the grace of meeting the Lord.

Jesus is alive. He lives in us through holy life. We cannot be like the soldiers guarding the tomb who slept through the moment of Christ’s resurrection. We cannot sleep through our lives. We must proclaim with our lives that Jesus is risen, that he is risen in you!

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Fourth Sunday of Lent (C) – March 27, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The good news we receive today is that in God’s heart there is a room for all people without exception. Even if we are weak and sinful, if we often fall and feel so small before God, we can count on His mercy. The first words of today’s Gospel invite us to look confidently towards a loving God.  Tax collectors and sinners were approaching Jesus to listen to Him. He welcomed everybody who were lost and sat at the table with them. We too can come to Jesus and taste His love, and strengthen ourselves with His forgiveness.

It is true – it is difficult to understand the patient love of the Lord, who, despite our constant failures, shows His mercy constantly. However, this is how God loves, and His love is different from ours, which often recalculates the balance of profits and losses. The merciful father in the Gospel’s parable does not give up his fatherly tenderness, waits patiently for his son’s return, meets him with open arms, gives him a feast for joy and dresses him in his best clothes. In short, he restores his son’s lost dignity. God also prepares such beautiful gifts for us. It is only necessary to constantly patiently return to the Father’s arms, because only there is love and forgiveness. St. Paul invites us: Be reconciled to God!

You can start all over again today. The old is passing away, and now something new, better, more beautiful is born. But will you take another chance given to you from God …?

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Third Sunday of Lent (C) – March 20, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The example of the tree mentioned in today’s Gospel shows that we cannot speak of a guarantee everywhere.  Where there is an organism which – like this evangelical tree – lives its own life, it is difficult to speak of a guarantee.  There is only a silent hope: “it may bear fruit.”

The season of Great Lent prompts us to certain sacrifices, mortification, and various forms of penance. On the one hand, with coming of Lent, arises an anxiety of the vineyard owner in many hearts, who says: “I am coming and looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I do not find it”; on the other hand, you can hear the words full of determination: “one more year…maybe it will bear fruit.”

Today’s Gospel is part of the Lenten call to conversion. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to make an examination of your conscience about wasted opportunities and repeated promises. “It’s been three years since I’m coming looking for fruit,” says Christ … Isn’t it time to say to Him, “Lord, it’s still one more year year“. You have to find a little hope in you, some faith in God’s help and, quite simply, a little self-denial. When we use well our time of conversion, the joy of Easter will truly be the joy of life that bears the fruit that God seeks in it. 

Third Sunday of Lent (C) – March 20, 2022 Read More »

First Sunday of Lent (C) – March 6, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

The story of Jesus in the desert tells about temptations of the evil and how to overcome them. When we analyze Jesus’ answers, we find clues for our conduct. The desert is a symbol of man’s spiritual struggle. Jesus goes there full of the Holy Spirit. Before He begins the fight against Satan, He is filled with the power received from the Father. This fact means that then God allows us to be tempted, first He grants us His grace to face them. The first temptation is about our needs. Sometimes it seems as if there are things we couldn’t live without. The world of advertising further enhances this impression in us. Jesus does not reject our desires or needs, but He makes us realize that, as believers, we are to nourish ourselves by God’s Word. It contains the truth about our lives and answers to the most difficult questions. In the second temptation, Jesus straightens our thinking about the value system. Wealth, power or beauty are not the most important things in life. We should care more about cultivating a relationship with God, because our happiness depends on Him: “For what profit will a man receive, if he gains the whole world and suffers a loss of his soul?” In the third temptation Jesus reveals our dignity. It is a gift from God and no one can take it from us. Regardless of our sins, God always loves us and we are priceless to Him. It is worth to remember it as we begin the time of our conversion.

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Quinquagesima Sunday (C) – February 27, 2022

Frackville, From the Pastor /

“Hypocrite, remove the woodden beam from your eye …“.  A warning sent to all of us. Because in each of us there is a little, and sometimes even bigger, hypocrite who likes to admonish and rebuke others, often doing not better himself. But Christ wants us to see ourselves differently. First look on myself, then on others. That we would see our beam and really care about it, because it is a real danger for us.  Hypocrisy is like a small worm that bites from the inside and works systematically, destroying what is still healthy. And again we hear the words “a tree is known by its fruit ...”.  And it is worth to remember this Gospel phrase.  Because it allows us to look at others and see the truth in life and be sure that we are doing well ourselves.  Let us also see this hypocrite in us, and not let him dominate too much.

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