Daily gospel

Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel….Monday 3 September 2018 

The dog sits!

Not long ago I was visiting a family , the favourite member of the household , a lapdog was jumping, running around! Every inhabitant of the house talked proudly, joyfully how “sweet” Samuka is ! I tried to bring up a rather important topic  that was the reason for my travelling there , but no matter what we talked about the conversation continuously returned to the little dog, that was either barking or jumping around , but we had to pay attention, be preoccupied with him all the time ! After a while the pedagogue got the better of me, and not loudly but in a firm voice I rebuked mother’s little darling : the dog sits ! Everything went quiet in the house , silently , reproachfully they looked at me and picked up the favourite of the household, “molested” by me,  placing it on their lap caressing it! I was trying to explain that hunting dogs, sheepdogs , but even the police dogs are trained , taught by very precise command, but I could see that here this was the end of everything , because all their respect for me evaporated like camphor and disappeared for ever from this family ! 

Jesus asks us to be prophets , to proclaim the Word , that will make our brethren, our families, our society better !I should proclaim that without hurdles, limitations boundaries, rules there is no life ! That man who cannot control himself , his children, his family pets gently, calmly , but giving an order , that person is scatterbrain and is going to loose not only himself, but his loved ones as well ! One should be prophetic , teach but for the sake of peace they all keep quiet,  rather turn a blind eye to the inappropriate happenings !

For the last twenty five years in all our homes we eat together . We stand by the table till everybody quietens down in the dining room - even if 150-200 children eat at the same time - then we pray , we wish one another good appetite and sit down to consume our everyday food ! During the meal many -many children make a rumbling, buzzing noise but it is rare that we have to tell anybody off ! The motto is : that I try to speak so loudly that my companions sitting at the next table can still hear their own voices ! We taught our children a few simple rules, and so I can take a visitor for lunch without having to be ashamed , and we can calmly talk about any topic in the midst of the laughing bustle of the world of the children ! Discipline, order is good for the children in the homes from studying to playing everything goes much easier , better if they can exercise self-control ! The grades  are  better , there is less tension if our energy is not wasted on explanations, “healing “ wounds , but can spend happy , joyful moments on good programs, excursions ! Lets set up the rules of living together, we can make our own decisions , to have  a settled , organised way of life and will be happy !

With love ,

Father Csaba 

translated by dr k.e.

Photo : Getting ready for wedding of our daughter Ibolya from our child protection home in Szováta . 

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, 'Is not this Joseph's son?' He said to them, 'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, "Doctor, cure yourself!" And you will say, "Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum." ' And he said, 'Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.' When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Luke 4:16-30