4.3.2017
The first story.
There were two brothers. God endowed them with graces that they had a great degree of knowledge. They saw all the evil that was happening around them, and the sins of others made them very angry. So, they decided to start correcting this. They began to alert people to their shortcomings and failures, they led fiery speeches, and they judge and condemn sinful people they came in contact with. The effect and result of all their efforts were about the same as when the wind blew. There was no correction. But the life of these brothers was a mirror image of the life of these people. The first still saw only these people with their shortcomings and sins. He had eyes, but he didn’t see himself there. The second, as he projected the image of these people and their misery, he noticed himself in the middle of them. He wept bitterly, thought about himself, and began to do everything to make his image disappear from this crowd. Instead of fiery speeches and condemnation, he began to listen to the people around him and tried to help them solve their problems. He began to place great emphasis on keeping his soul and conscience pure. As he projected the image from the past again after some time, he noticed that it was beginning to fade. Not only he disappeared himself, but with every day and every act of mercy which he has shown them, the people around him began to disappear from this image.
Above all, it is the story of the queen of all sins – the pride and queen of all virtues – of humility. Here, the Lord Jesus warns especially believers advanced in the faith to be very careful, because satan is not idle and will try to draw them into his traps. He still does it the same way, by putting pride into them unnoticed. The man, through the knowledge he has, sees all the evil that is happening around, can very well distinguish good from evil, and it all starts to make him angry. He can’t cope with it and that’s why he starts teaching everyone around him, he suddenly sees only the bad in every person. He stops listening to others, he likes to listen to himself. He sees every speck in the other’s eye, but he does not see the beam in his eye. He looks at each other from above as if he were something more. Pride grows beautifully into egoism – the goal satan wanted to get him into. Such a person loses love for others, which is a very big problem. “The key to the Kingdom of Heaven is love.” He is introverted, he does not listen to anyone but the biggest problem is that he does not realize that he is doing wrong. Thus, he does not confess this even in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and another great sin of sacrileges added to it. He forgets that the Lord Jesus himself met and ate with sinners, not condemning them, but helping them to get out of it.
The other brother realized that something was wrong, he looked into his conscience and noticed what irritated him on other people. He began to repent and gave a helping hand to what they needed. Not by rebuke and fiery words, but by acts of mercy and shining example. He began to listen to them, trying to understand their problems. He no longer saw in them only the bad, but the good that is in every human being. He did not condemn the sinner, but sin itself, and tried to help them. He understood that it was not his merit that he had received, but the grace of God. It is an undeserved gift that he received for free and must pass it on for free. After looking back at his conscience, he found that he was pure and found that the people around him had changed by their example and their actions.
Jesus wanted to tell us to be very careful and watchful for pride, to look for the good that is in people, to look at them with His eyes. He loves everyone, even the sinner, and he wants it also from us. If you want to change the world, start with yourself. Change yourself to be a shining example for your surroundings. May humility be your greatest virtue.
The second story.
A lord had two dogs. One was big and strong, and the other one small and very calm. The great one listened and respected him, but he only showed him real joy and love when was fed by the lord. The little dog always greeted him by wagging his tail with endless joy and love. Once the lord had to travel for a long time. The care of the dogs was taken over by his unworthy servant. Bad times have come for the dogs. Hunger, thirst, kicks and battles were the order of the day. The big dog endured it very, very badly. He became very furious and unmanageable. The servant therefore had to tie him to a strong chain, so the dog does not harm him. Despite the mistreatment, the small dog always lovingly welcomed this unworthy servant. When the lord was about to return, the servant also untied the large dog, so the lord does not find out that he had cared badly for him. When the lord opened the gate, the little dog went mad with joy. The big dog jumped on him and bit him.
It is above all about accepting God’s will. How a person behaves in a good time and in a bad time. A great dog loved the Lord only when he fed him, and many people praise God only when they prosper. When difficult times arise, many of them turn away from Him, leave Him, blame Him, blaspheme Him, and end it in apostasy. This was clearly shown to us by a large dog. On the contrary, a small dog is an example of a man who accepts God’s will not only in good times, but also in bad times, in times of tribulation. On the contrary, the evil that happened to him brings him even closer to God. An unworthy servant also appears here. This applies either to unworthy servants of God, or to Christians who only appear to be Christians but by their actions bring other people into sin to such an extent that they fall away from the faith.
The Lord Jesus wanted to show us that we should receive God’s will with love, and he warned us that we should not offend others with our actions and the way of our lives and lead them into sin.
The third story.
In one yard, a duck and a hen lived in harmony. They had a good time until once the gate of this courtyard remained open. They ran outside, and a large river appeared in front of them. The duck jumped happily into the water and swam. The hen looked at her and thought: “That clumsy duck, and how beautifully it swims. Before she moves, I go around the yard three times. Am I worse than her? I will show her how to swim.” She ran and jumped into the water. The duck climbed ashore while the dead body of the hen carried the current of the river away.
It is above all about envy and what consequences it has for a person if he envies others. Such a person cannot enjoy anything, envy devours him to such an extent that his soul is dead. On the other hand, there is another person who accepts himself as God created him, with his faults and shortcomings, and accepts God’s will with love. The Lord Jesus wanted to point out to us also that there is something good in every human being, every human being is better in something than we are, we should not despise and exalt ourselves over anyone, not even the poorest poor person, because for he too will overtake us in something. Do not envy and respect every person the Lord sends you in the way.
