HOMILY OF FATHER JOZO ZOVKO OF 12 MARCH 2022: “THE MAN WHO CANNOT PRAY IS NOT HAPPY”

HOMILY OF FATHER JOZO ZOVKO
TO THE PILGRIMS OF MIR I DOBRO
ZAGREB 12 MARCH 2022

Translated by Google “Translate”  from Italian

It is Lent. Each of us has the Cross. With this Cross each of us will be justified, saved, blessed, liberated because Christ transmits the Cross to you, he blesses the Cross.

From his Cross comes the blessing for our cross. From his tears, my tears, if we cry and know something about it, sometimes, maybe  then even our tears are consecrated. It is very nice to join the tears of Jesus; but if you cry alone, without Jesus, woe to you!

You remain alone, without fruit. This is why our faith passes through the Season of Lent.

Jesus was born first in Bethlehem, he grew up, he entered Getzemane; praying at the Last Supper he left us the Eucharist, Sacrament!

I asked Chiarina – Do you have a Priest? – NO! –
This is why I have decided that you will not remain without Mass: it is Lent, lady! 

 

It is not possible to express what the Mass is. Jesus said “I was looking forward to celebrating this with you.”

What is it? It’s Sacramento! It is the sacrament of the Eucharist: it is a new divine reality, the source of all graces. Whoever is capable of detaching me from the Mass is my enemy.

 

 

 

So when I met so many Italians, not you, many Italians have left Mass and I have always become sad. Those who know me know that I always explained – The Italian Church is the Mother of the Catholic Church; is the root of the Catholic Church –

Peter does not have his tomb here like other Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Saints, Martyrs, but not Paul, not Peter. In your holy land there are Peter and Paul and saints. This leaving or forgetting (the Mass) is sadness. In Lent we have a great commitment, we go to renew the love for the Mass; let us enter the Mystery of Christ who offers himself all for us: Life, full love!

Jesus says “There is no greater love: giving your life for others!

Have you as Christians learned this? Do you celebrate this reality with your life? Give your life for your children, give everything you can give; that’s beautiful.

But look another thing: we cannot forget that Christ came and began with 12, then with 72 Disciples, Apostles to communicate the Gospel, to prepare the Church.

For this, in front of everyone, He said “Simon, you are Peter, fundamental, cornerstone, important, I want to build my Church on you.

Beautiful!”. This did not happen near Sinai or in Israel; this Church has settled in your land. From the Cross to the tomb of Peter is the answer of Christ, the Son of God, who fills the whole world. The blood of your martyrs is the defense for the whole world.

You have come here, we pray together, we have just finished the Rosary, now we celebrate Mass and afterwards we can listen to a Catechesis on the messages, but I want to say: you know me very well, if I have not been able to explain what Jesus said of enemies.

Earlier in the TA The Law said – you can hate your enemies – He (Jesus) says “NO!” there is no enemy you can hate; you have to love. If we have not learned to love, to forgive, we have not learned anything.

I’m sorry if we haven’t learned this in the many years we’ve known each other. This is why I want to say that the problem is not Jesus; the problem is living love in the family. What is the separated family? What do you think if we each say a word,it will be a mosaic of sadness (by mosaic we mean the pieces separated from each other).

Most families have someone close to them who failed to save the family. He became the enemy, they went back to the TA, to hate; I hate you, I don’t live with you.

You see, a sacrament that the First Reading emphasized is that we must live, that we must bear witness to what we have received. Wise is the man who receives something. The law, divine commandment, is that marriage is sacred, that Sunday is holy; Sunday Resurrection of Domains; that prayer, the divine Word is holy.

We cannot cancel, reject, throw away and say – I am free. NO! -Man is not free if he does not love Jesus; he is not free if he has turned his head from Christ and his Cross di lui. This is why the pilgrimage that soon, 30 km away, where you go to the Shrine of Marija Bristica seems important to me: it is a symbol here in Zagreb and in other shrines;they are all connected to a miracle: Our Lady saved from the Turks, from enemies, etc.

Our Lady wants to save you too; do not throw jewels under your feet (referring to – do not give pearls to pigs -) do not hate, you cannot explain why you hate; if you don’t love you can’t, you don’t know how to pray. The man who does not know how to pray, who does not pray, cannot live absolutely This is my experience of many years, I have many years, but I know that the man who does not know how to pray is not happy.

Source: Virgilio Baroni