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Dear sisters and brothers,
we are experiencing the feast of the Nativity of Our Lord – Christmas Day. In our conversations, we often hear: Have you heard what happened? Such a question raises interest in something new, something we did not know about before. We have heard and reflected on the birth of the Lord Jesus many times throughout our lives. Nevertheless, we want to act like the shepherds who, after the angels had departed to heaven, said to one another: Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. The birth of Jesus was and is an extraordinary and unique event unlike anything else in history. Saint John of the Cross wrote: Since God gave us his Son, who is his Word, he has nothing more to say to us. He said everything at once and together in this Word, and he no longer needs to speak to us... Fix your gaze upon Him. What then do Christmas tell us:
- Our God knows us and cares for us; let us try to talk to Him more. As we go through everything that makes up our time, we, like our ancestors, sometimes feel that someone should say something to us about what we are experiencing, to provide an explanation, to answer our questions. The birth of Jesus is a great answer for humankind. The announcement of the Nativity of Our Lord is the joyful news brought by the feet of the messenger on the mountains, who proclaims peace, announces good news, and tells Zion: Your God reigns. God experienced everything with His people that they encountered and continues to do so with us in the present, in times of wars and uncertainty. What the prophet Isaiah predicted holds true: Our God reigns; He returns to Zion. He does not leave us at the mercy of death and the unfortunate circumstances of life; He takes care of us and rushes to meet us. May we learn to talk more and better with God about what burdens us. We can use the words of the Psalms, for example: O God, hasten to my help! Or O God, take care of me! Such a conversation with God brings us encouragement; it helps us not to grow weary in doing good and not to lose heart. Saint Teresa of Avila says: It is not much thinking, but much love that brings us closer to God.
- Just as Jesus is one of the figures we place in nativity scenes, He belongs in our lives. When you come to the nativity with small children, they always want to see the baby Jesus. Without Him, the nativity scene simply would not be complete. Neither our life nor our world is complete if Jesus does not figure in it. The one of whom St. John says in today’s Gospel: In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Jesus brings light to our lives, which gives meaning to everything. It is no coincidence that Jesus’ birth was accompanied by light: The glory of the Lord shone around them. We often witness that human ways of acting cause tension, uncertainty, and confusion. Jesus is completely different. By His coming, He brings light and solutions to our problems. Jesus illuminates, said Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. Let us illuminate our lives with Him!
- The shepherds left Bethlehem with Jesus in their hearts. Just as the shepherds returned to their flocks, we also return from Christmas services and from the nativity to our homes and relationships, to our work and service. The shepherds took away extraordinary experiences of what they had seen and heard; into their lives and hearts entered the born Savior. Let us reflect on what message we can take back into our lives. At the night service, we heard from the mouth of St. Paul: The goodness of our God has appeared, which brings salvation to all people. It leads us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. It is not another task and obligation that we often have plenty of, nor is it only our activity and effort. Let us try to work on growing our relationship with God as a reliable and faithful companion on the journey of life. Saint John of the Cross says: Do not think that Jesus will leave you in the lurch; that would be unjust to Him.
May we step from this year's celebrations into the upcoming days of the new and, for us, Holy year more and anew with Jesus. For this, I pray for God’s help for you, brothers and sisters, and your families, and I bless you.
+Josef Nuzík
Dear sisters and brothers,
we are experiencing an extraordinary time characterized by unrest and uncertainty, but at the same time, it offers exceptional opportunities and spiritual graces. Among them is the Holy – Jubilee year, into which we are entering together today. Pope Francis in the bull Spes non confundit, translated as Hope does not disappoint, which he proclaimed as this ordinary holy year 2025, frequently repeats the words he reflects on as we do: time, expectation, future, signs, life, and happiness. I do not mention them for their frequency in the bull, but because it is precisely towards them that our life’s efforts and endeavors are directed. They can also reflect our desire and determination to make good use of the Holy Year. This is focused on the essence of our life: on the present, which is primarily made up of relationships, and on the future, which we hope will be happy.
- The first thing we can focus on in this Holy Year is our relationship with God. Anna, the mother of Samuel, whom we read about today in the first reading, testifies that the Lord took care of her and transformed her bitterness into gratitude. Then, according to her vow, she naturally dedicates and gives back to Him her son, whom she received from Him. What is our relationship with God, brothers and sisters? Are we able to open ourselves to Him and confess our sins, including those we are ashamed of? Can we entrust Him with our bitterness, injustices, and disappointments that have occurred in our lives and disrupted our relationship with Him and with some people? The Holy Year gives us a great opportunity to come before God in places designated for prayer in silence or for communal prayer, to surrender our past to the Lord, who removes guilt and restores peace, love, and hope. The Psalmist calls: Blessed is the man who finds his help in you... As they go through the valley of drought, they make it a spring... They go from strength to strength... (Psalm 84:6nn).
- The second thing we should pay attention to is our relationships with others, both close and distant. How easily our relationships can become diluted in the family, among neighbors, in the parish, or at work. In today’s reading from the Gospel, we heard the well-known story of how twelve-year-old Jesus stayed in the temple, and His parents only found out after a long time. When the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph finally found Him, filled with anxiety, they listened to His explanation, and although they did not understand Him, they accepted it. Things do not always go so calmly with us. From how many ordinary situations in our families and relationships does evil arise, leading to the fact that marital or even sibling relationships are estranged for years and where indifference or even hatred reigns instead of love? I know that the causes of these conflicts are often complex and tangled, and even the best advisors cannot resolve them. However, there is another way. According to biblical tradition, in the Holy Year, the Lord wants to bind the wounds of broken hearts, cut the chains that hold us in the bondage of sin and the prison of hatred, and gift us joy. But God can do nothing, unless we ourselves take the decisive step and give consent that we want to end what was wrong in our relationships and free ourselves from what bound us. Brothers and sisters, as your bishop, I urge you: Let us use the Holy Year for the restoration of broken relationships! Let us not continue to live in a state of unforgiveness! To you, dear fellow priests in service, I thank you for going to meet penitents in the spirit of God’s mercy.
The hearts of parents and children who feel the wounds and pain from the breakdown and failure of their families and relationships can find solace looking at the Holy Family and find strength in the embrace of the church. I invite you to the meeting of couples burdened by divorce, which will take place on March 1, 2025, in Olomouc. More information can be found on the Family Center's website.
- The third thing we want to learn in this Holy Year is to ensure that our outlook
into the future is carried by hope. Pope Francis in the bull to begin the Holy Year writes: We all hope. In the heart of every person lies hope as a desire for good and an expectation of good, even though we do not know what tomorrow will bring... We often encounter people who are downcast, who look at the future skeptically and pessimistically as if nothing could bring them happiness.... We have become accustomed to a world where haste has become a constant; we want everything now. A person no longer has time to meet others, and often it is even complicated to get together in families and talk quietly. Patience gives way to haste, which is greatly to the detriment of people.... If we rediscover patience, we will do much good for ourselves and for others.... And elsewhere the Holy Father notes: Hope is born from love and stands upon the love that springs from Jesus' pierced heart on the cross.
Let us therefore attempt, brothers and sisters, together in this Holy Year to cultivate patience and love, from which hope is born that does not disappoint. I will be glad if you return to these thoughts throughout this year and take advantage of this time of grace. Thank you for that!
In mutual prayer and with blessings
+Josef Nuzík
