Nolite peccare | Stop sinning

"Be sensible and stop sinning" - 1 Cor 15:34.

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Apostle Paul reminds us about eternal life in the heavenly kingdom. Since we involve ourselves in our daily duties so much. We pay a lot for health, well-being, furniture, clothes, jewelry, etc. When we go to the shopping center, we see hundreds of people looking for promotions. Of course, it is not bad to live a pleasant life and enjoy it,  but we cannot forget our future life and prepare ourselves for it.

Because of the pandemic, we lost so many friends and this fact made us sad. So, we should appreciate the gift of life from God. We live today and tomorrow we can die. Are we ready for that? As baptized people, we need to live as Christ lived. We should be brave and know how to face death (v. 31). We can learn from the example of Paul who was with Christ Jesus all the time. He was not afraid even when he stayed at the risk of death. With the Lord, he was capable of fighting beasts. These beasts were temptations, desires, weaknesses, pleasures, dangers, sickness, etc.

Apostle Paul lived a sensible life as a soldier of Christ. He was not a fool when he changed his way of life and followed Jesus. He stopped sinning and said goodbye to bad friends (v. 33). As a follower of Christ, he felt embarrassed that some people still were far from God (v. 34). He did his best and offered life for the salvation of human souls. Let us do the same. 

Reflection on 1 Corinthians 15:29-35 by Fr. Józef Trzebuniak SVD.

(Listen to the Podcast here)

Domine caeli et terrae (Mt. 11:25)

 

On 2nd November we pray for all souls of the departed brothers and sisters. Should we feel sad or depressed because they are not with us anymore? Or rather would it better to praise God the Father for our beloved family members, friends, and colleagues? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, teaches us to bless the Creator of heaven and earth, and the Lord of life and death.

As human beings, we neither understand everything nor control our future. It is enough if we accept our present life as a gift from the loving Father. For him, time and space are not a problem. Only we-the earthly species are closed and depend on these realities. Obviously, the omnipotent God can reveal the mysteries of the spiritual life to us. Thus, thanks to the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are able to comprehend the hidden life in the heavenly kingdom. 

Especially when we commemorate our departed relatives and friends, we are to come closer to Jesus and ask him for eternal peace. If we are overburdened by difficult circumstances and painful experiences, we can approach Jesus as our Redeemer and Saviour. We are never alone. His gentle presence and strong-arm support us. In him, we find rest for our souls. 

As Christians, we do believe in the communion of the saints. During our prayers, we do partake in the inner life of God and meet with all souls. Eventually, we will live forever and ever with all the saints, angels, and our beloved brothers and sisters. So, let us bless our Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.  

By Fr. Jozef Trzebuniak, SVD. 

Vigilate (Mt. 25:13)

There is a short illustration. Once, a priest asked some parishioners to become communion minister. Such a person shares holy communion in the church or at home for the sick and needy. They answered, “Father, we are still working. If we retire and then we will be active in the church. Later we will have plenty of time to serve people in the church and the elderly. We will pay attention to the weak and the sick. For now, we cannot.” They refused the request which was given by the priest. Then he said, "Are you sure you will still live until retirement to serve God and others?" They fell silent. In their hearts, they hoped that they would live a long life? No one answered with certainty because they knew that long life was in the hands of God. After this, there were some who received an offer from the priest.

Form this story above, we can learn not to wait in order to serve God and others. We shouldn't wait to do good for the needy. The reason is that we don't know how long we will live in this world. We should do good deeds at any time. 

After our death, we will not be asked how many things we have gathered while still alive. God will ask if we helped him when he was naked, thirsty, prisoner, sick, or weak. In Matthew 25:13, Jesus said, “…so stay awake, because you do not know either the day of the hour.”

We don't need to wait in order to do good. Look at the people around us, husbands, wives, children, parents, in-laws, grandchildren, confreres, those who live with us, those who are given by God to become our family members. May God strengthen us do good deeds wherever and whenever we are.

By Fr. Aris Mada, SVD.

In corde perfecto (Is. 38:3)

 

Our life is in God’s hand. We do not know how long we can live in this world and when we meet God face to face after leaving this world. However, we are grateful for being born in this world and experiencing a lot in our life. Every day, when we wake up and take a new breath, feel the sun shines on our skin, and when we meet lovely people around us, we are blessed. However, have we ever imagined that we can know the time of our death? How if we know that tomorrow is our time to pass away? What can we do?

The story of King Hezekiah can help us reflect our life in this world and understand who we are before God and who God is for us. Hezekiah became a King of Judah when he was 25 years old.   He ruled Judah from 729 BC to 687 BC and for about 29 years reigned in Jerusalem. As a king, of course, he had everything. But, it didn't save his life. Hezekiah was sick and almost died. In that difficult situation, he came to God in prayer and asked God to give him a longer life. God saw Hezekiah's sincerity and gave Hezekiah 15 more years to live. Hezekiah's salvation comes from God who has power over life and death.

Before God, we are only dust. We are a tiny thing in the large universe. And we can disappear from the face of the earth easily. Nowadays the human thinks that he is a ruler of everything in the world and owns all things. The human can do everything. Not like the other creatures. Nevertheless, when people face death, they cannot overcome it. It is still a mystery.

What we own now cannot save us. Only God can make us safe. We may ask ourselves: Do we really rely on God? When King Hezekiah realized that he would die, he prayed a beautiful prayer: "Ah, Yahweh, remember, I beg you, that I have behaved faithfully and with sincerity of heart in your presence and done what you regard as right." Hezekiah had a heart like a little child. He was honest before God. God viewed his honesty and humility and gave him a long life. Matthew writes in the Gospel: "The one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:4).

We are grateful that every day we are given the breath of life and still can live. Moreover, we give thanks that we have a special gift from God which is Jesus Christ who wanted to be born as a child and dwelt among us. This is a great miracle that God wanted to be a man like we are. The gift of life is also a responsibility. We are born with a purpose, namely for the glory of God and the happiness of others.

Someone advised me to live as if I could die tomorrow. If you will die tomorrow, what should you do today? In other words, do a favor every day.

By Fr. Aris Mada, SVD.

Baptizati in Christum Iesum (Rom. 6:3)

Yesterday my little niece was baptized in Poland. Her parents and the whole family were glad because a new child became a member of the Church. The new life has started when we were baptized in Christ Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul explains that when we are baptized, we die to the earthly life and began a new spiritual life. Do we still remember this fact in our daily life?

Obviously, we would like to live a new life in Christ. Every morning when we wake up and make the sign of the cross we remind ourselves that we live and die in Jesus Christ. For human beings, earthly life is so important. They want to enjoy seeing their children and grandchildren. Very often they wish each other to live a happy and long life. 

However, from the first moment of our life, we are to remember that our life on earth is only for a moment. We are invited to live forever in the heavenly Kindom. Do we really trust and believe that our true life is going to start in heaven with God? 

Jesus Christ is the Lord of life and death. Similarly, we are to overcome death. We are to know that death and sin have no power over us if we are united with Christ. 

May Jesus live in our hearts. May our Lord make us defeat the power of death and sin. We pray to start a new life and be alive in the Holy Spirit. Let us rediscover the grace of the sacrament of baptism. Let us rejoice that we are sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus. We live through him, and with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.