Daily gospel

Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel Friday 24 August 2018 Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

I take you in ! How nice it is that Jesus not only loves the ones who trust in Him , who speak highly of Him behind His back as well , 

say good things about Him , but also the Nathaniels who speak about Him disparagingly also ! If we want a better world then we also have to embark on the way of Jesus ! The world will become better if we make it better , if we try to find the good in each other!

Is this possible ? Are we are not throwing pearls to the swines , when we lavish love on bad, useless children , people ?  Thanks be to God I often experienced that it is good to be good, and I can share the flame of my burning light also with those whose light went out and they were wandering in the dark ! I also experienced that the light that I give to my brother also lights up  my world, making it more beautiful and together with the world also makes me richer !

Close on 15 years ago one of my fellow priest on a summer day visited me with a young boy aged around 10 years ! His directions given were quite simple :” Look after him, but don’t let him come home as they will “beat him to death” ! What makes a precious creation of God become bad in the eyes of the people ?  The children get homework at school, but if there is no-one who makes the child to sit down at home , then it is certainly much more exciting to be outside in the garden, playing soccer, playing than studying ! The following day in the school then comes the question : “Where is your homework ? Why did you not study ?” And comes the bad grade ! Where I have to face defeat , if possible I also try to move away as quickly as possible ! Children tend to avoid tension, this is what the school calls being a truant ! “ Is it not enough that you don’t study , but you also play truant you little rascal ?!” So the following day they call the father , they give him a piece of their mind , and the father resorts for the use of an ancient pedagogic tool, gets his belt and tries to convince his little rascal to see things in a different way “! The child does not want to “owe anything” , and he repays the “attention” by breaking a window in secret and with this and that starts on a downward spiral ! Where does he stop ? Either in our arms or under our feet ! Thank God this child finished in my arms ! Luckily it was possible to catch him in time , and he understood that it was much better to be a good “hot shot” , to live by honest work , to support a wife , children, a family ! The years have passed and this rascal became my friend , my colleague , a grown up man with a nice wife , two clever children raising his family, and giving to God what is His, and to the state what is due ! He is God fearing, taxpaying citizen and I am proud of him and his family, also his everyday work! 

We have to believe that God does not create rejects ! We have to believe that love is not a reward , but a medicine ! We have to believe that my own small flickering love, goodness , calm, wise word also can become a healing balm, medicine ! Of course we also have to be aware that even the nicest soup can become repulsive  by the dead flies floating in it! Lets pay attention that our love is  not marred by hurtful comments, judgements, disparaging comments ! The “said" judgement is a curse, the “said" good words a blessing and both have a creative power ! Condemnation , judgement offend people , make them worse , the good word, attentiveness make people better , and these are such basic truths like the laws of physics ! No matter how incredible it seems , that every man desires to be valuable, a blessing for their loved ones , their surrounding and we have no other tasks as lesser brothers , humbly to help them in everything , so that the values hidden in them by God become public property ! 

With love,

Father Csaba 

translated by dr k.e.

Picture : Our children from Nagyszalonta put on a show for our children from Szászváros.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

John 1, 45-51