The homily calls us not to be satisfied with mere externals and religious hypocrisy, but to face our inner motives and weaknesses honestly before God's grace.
Woe to you, this is not merely a threat, but a pain felt on both sides. Woe to you, children, but woe to us as well. And when God says to us, woe to you, it is as if He wanted to express, woe to you because of your unbelief, your sinfulness. Erasmus of Rotterdam said that the essence of joy is for a person to be themselves.
God certainly did not create us to be whitewashed tombs, but to be invited to infinite joy, and that right here on earth, even though at times it may seem that we are walking through a valley of tears. Why does our life become a whitewashed, unnoticeable tomb over which people walk unknowingly? In every action of ours, there is something visible and something invisible, something that is hidden from the eyes of people. This is our intention, our desires, what drives us, and what we seek.
One of the best-known spiritual writings. Once I wrote: At any cost, I wanted to be as well-read and sharp-minded as the great theologian Karl Rahner, and in my dreams to sing with the voice of a famous tenor. Today, of course, I know that whoever looks only at the stars can easily lose the ground from under their feet.
An image of ourselves, but there exists that real, life-like image. Precisely for this reason, we understand what Jesus is talking about in today's Gospel. Precisely for this reason, His words are addressed to us, and not to others. Precisely for our sake does Jesus speak, so that we may admit: sometimes we acted this way only to look good in the eyes of those who saw us. That is why it is so important to encounter ourselves. To encounter our hidden motives, our instincts.
That is why it is necessary to bow down. If you wish to know God, first make yourself known. Whoever does not know themselves projects their unconscious desires and devotions, their hidden needs onto God. And throughout Jesus' entire public ministry, we see precisely this: God must be like this. Jesus speaks of God's truth and His love. Divine truth is not merely restricted to what we understand by truth.
The love for God spoken of by Jesus is infinitely distant from our fragile, weak love. Jesus accused those wise men, the scholars of the law, the knowers of the Torah, because the essence of the law was justice and love, and they did not live by this. He asks us too: do we live? What is the essence of our Christian, evangelical life? Is it justice?
I read an interesting title recently: Stop, think! Are you truly living your faith? Are you following Christ, or your own ego? We call ourselves great believers, we are convinced that we are followers of Christ. Yet faith can be sincere, deep, genuine, or it can be superficial, shallow. If it is sincere, then I am ready for the struggle with myself, I am ready to accept what is revealed about me. If, however, it is a superficial, shallow faith, it shows itself even in the smallest, everyday situations. As long as I think of myself as a great believer, and even a saint, I naturally do not need to work on myself.
Our outward appearance must change. There is a smile on our lips, as the saying goes, and we even perform acts of charity, naturally until we get tired of it, but in our hearts, there is only emptiness, desolation. Even then Jesus spoke thus: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. I do not need to be that illuminated tomb as well. I am simply a person on the road. I am blessed if I truly live according to the words of the Apostle Paul: For Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Until the end of my life, I will struggle, suffer, and weep to redeem myself; struggle, suffer, and weep. We see this every day here in the confessional. Everyone can ask themselves the question: from where do you draw strength? What are your roots? Is God's word there? Is the Gospel there? Do not be an unexamined tomb, but be capable of living your personal life built upon the Gospel. Live your personal life in such a way that you become an inspiration for others, precisely like this.
And new thoughts. Somehow it seems that in this world, when we already feel there are no more solutions and it is as if everyone is killing themselves, then the newest solutions come. Our Lady warns us to be humble, to show who we truly are so that She may heal us, so that God's Word and the sacraments can grant us healing. Arrogance and pretense are a wall that rejects grace, while grace builds precisely upon our weakness.
To exchange. They never understood that they need grace, just as they never grasped that they are merely whitewashed tombs. I conclude my thoughts with the words of the Pope. The Pharisees and scribes were always useful, and there are always difficult problems with them. We probably know this best. And behind outwardly good Christians as well, who always strive to show themselves good and beautify their souls, problems are hidden. Jesus is not present there, the false spirit is at work.
The soul that is in love must be sought so that they may obtain grace. Salvation is God's free gift. No one saves themselves, not even by keeping the laws. And in conclusion: beware of coldness! The Holy Spirit is not in it, the spirit of freedom is lacking in it. Take care of yourselves, ask yourselves the question: do we only look at externals? Do we change our hearts? Do we open our hearts to prayer, basic support, and the freedom of acts of mercy? May God grant that...
Prayer, especially holy confession and Holy Mass in Medjugorje, help us to strip off the armor of coldness, the false image of infallibility, to fall to our knees and call upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, Peace. Amen.
AI translation. This text was made with artificial intelligence from the live broadcast of Radio Mir Medjugorje. It may contain small inaccuracies; the homily as preached in Croatian is authoritative.