Michal Sopoćko: Jeho milosrdenstvo trvá naveky

Kniha Jeho milosrdenstvo trvá naveky obsahuje 31 úvah (v rozsahu 2-4 strán), ktorých autorom je Michal Sopoćko, spovedník sestry Faustíny. Ich témami je povinnosť milosrdenstva, úžitok z neho, vďačnosť za Božie milosrdenstvo, modlitba, Eucharistia, spoveď, …

Ako ukážku ponúkam hlavné časti z mojich poznámok, ktoré som si pri čítaní vypísala:

Úmysel. Je to úmysel našich skutkov, ktorý im dáva hodnotu v Božích očiach. Blahoslavený Michal Sopoćko tu pripomína Ježišove slová: Keď teda dávaš almužnu, nevytrubuj pred sebou, ako to robia pokrytci v synagógach a po uliciach, aby ich ľudia chválili. Veru, hovorím vám: Už dostali svoju odmenu. Ale keď ty dávaš lmužnu, nech nevie tvoja ľavá ruka, čo robí pravá, aby tvoja almužna zostala skrytá. A tvoj Otec ťa odmení, lebo on vidí aj v skrytosti. (Mt 6, 2-4). Taktiež sv. Pavla: A keby som rozdal celý svoj majetok ako almužnu a keby som obetoval svoje telo, aby som bol slávny, a lásky by som nemal, nič by mi to neosožilo (1 Kor 13, 3). Potom zdôrazňuje: Pri konaní skutkov milosrdenstva sa musíme usilovať o to, aby sme ich konali z pohnútok lásky k Bohu i blížnemu, a predovšetkým z pohnútky nasledovať Božie milosrdenstvo, ako povedal Spasiteľ: Buďte milosrdní, ako je milosrdný váš Otec (Lk 6, 36).

Milovať Boha, Božia vôľa, naše povinnosti. Predovšetkým si treba zapamätať, že láska k Bohu sídli nie v srdci, ale vo vôli a prejavuje sa v trvalom rozhodnutí vždy a verne plniť Božiu vôľu. (…) Sú osoby, ktoré sa rozplačú pri čítaní životopisov svätých alebo počúvaní kázní, ale Božiu lásku nemajú, lebo neplnia Božiu vôľu. Iní zase môžu mať vysoký stupeň lásky, hoci sa im zdá, že alebo nemilujú Boha, alebo ho milujú málo, ale toto spojenie je pred nimi ukryté. Tak to býva v dušiach, ktoré sú zasiahnuté suchotou, alebo v tých, ktoré v podstate nie sú schopné hlbších citov. Čo musíme robiť: spolupracovať s milosťou, rozvíjať Božiu lásku a čoraz viac ju rozširovať verným plnením svojich povinností, ktoré nám boli uložené z Božej vôle.

Vlažnosť. Sluha z evanjelia neporušil zákon spravodlivosti, zdržanlivosti ani čistoty, prinajmenšom o tom nevieme, iba bol lenivý – vlažný a za to počul rozsudok: A neužitočného sluhu vyhoďte von – do tmy, tam bude plač a škrípanie zubami (Mt 25, 30). Hlúpe panny si tiež zachovali poklad panenstva a boli pozbavené hostiny nie za nejaké zločiny, ale pre nedostatok rozvážnosti a bdelosti (porov. Mt 20,12). (…) Zlorečený, kto koná Pánovo dielo nedbalo! (Jer 48,10), a Pánove veci, to sú modlitby, povinnosti atď.

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The book His mercy endures for ever contains 31 reflections (2-4 pages each), the author of which is Michal Sopoćko, confessor of sister Faustina. Their topics are obligation of mercy, its usefulness, gratitute for God's mercy, prayer, Eucharist, confession, …

As a sample I offer main parts from my notes, which I wrote down when reading:

Intention. It is intention of our deeds which gives them value in God's eyes. Blessed Michal Sopoćko here recalls Jesus' words: When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Mt 6: 2-4). Also St. Paul: If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor 13: 3). Then he stresses: When performing works of mercy, we have to strive for performing them from an incentive of loving God and neighbour, and especially from an incentive of following God's mercy, as the Saviour said: Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. (Lk 6: 36).

Love God, God's will, our obligations. Firstly, we need to remember that loving God does not lie in the heart, but in the will and it expresses itself in a permanent resolve to always and faithfully fulfill God's will. (…) There are people who are moved to tears when reading biographies of saints or listening sermons, but they don't have God's love because they don't fulfill God's will. Others may have a high degree of love, although it seems to them that they don't love God or that they love him little, but this connection is hidden to them. It is so in souls that are afflicted with dryness or those that are not capable of deeper feelings. What we need to do: cooperate with the mercy, expand God's love and extend it increasingly by faithfully carrying out our obligations which were given to us by God's will.

Lukewarmness. The servant from the Gospel didn't break the law of justice, modesty or chastity, at least we don't know about it, he was only lazy – lukewarm – and for this he heard the verdict: And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth (Mt 25: 30). The unwise virgins also sustained the treasure of virginity and they were devoid of the feast not because of some crimes, but for the lack of responsibility and vigilance. (compare Mt 20: 12). (…) Cursed are they who do the Lord's work carelessly (Jer 48: 10), and Lord's work, that is prayers, obligations, etc.

Robert Arthur: Alfred Hitchcock a Traja pátrači - Traja pátrači a záhada šepkajúcej múmie

 Traja pátrači - Jupiter, Peter a Bob – dostanú v jeden deň dva listy, ktoré sľubujú nové prípady. V prvom z nich ide o strateného kocúra, druhý však vyzerá náozaj záhadne – stará egyptská múmia, ktorú chce istý profesor egyptológie skúmať, šepká, keď sa k nej priblíži. Peter a Bob si chcú od dobrodružstiev na chvíľu oddýchnuť a zaoberať sa niečim pokojnejším. Tak sa dohodnú, že Jupiterovi povedia o stratenom kocúrovi a až keď pani Banfryovej, majiteľke kocúra, sľúbia pomoc, prezradia mu aj záhadnú múmiu. Najskôr však budú musieť nájsť kocúra – už to predsa sľúbili.

Celkom im to však nevýjde. Vďaka periskopu si všimnú, že Jupiter prichádza s defektom na bicykli, ale Peter pred ním predstiera, že to dokázal vydedukovať zo zaprášeného kolena, špinavých rúk a odtlačku pneumatiky na jednej z nich. Jupiter sa zatvári uznanlivo, ale svojou ďalšou vetou Petra s Bobom šokuje: „Ale také schopnosti by sa nemali mrhať hľadaním strateného kocúra.“ Tí nechcú veriť vlastným ušiam. Čo?! „Takými majstrovskými schopnosťami v umení deduktívneho myslenia a logického uvažovania by sa nemalo mrhať pri stíhaní abesínskeho kocúra, ktorý sa stratil zo svojho obvyklého revíru,“ zopakoval Jupiter, schválne použijúc učený spôsob vyjadrovania, ktorí tak neznášali. „Detektívi s vašimi schopnosťami by sa mali pustiť do väčšej hry, ako je, povedzme, …“ na chvíľu sa odmlčal, akoby tuho premýšľal, „... ako je, povedzme, záhada tritisícročnej múmie, ktorá šepká svojmu vlastníkovi tajomné posolstvá v neznámom jazyku.“ Jupiter už pred príchodom do Hlavného stanu zavolal po auto (ktoré mali so šoférom tridsať dní k dispozícii vďaka výhre v súťaži) a o chvíľu boli všetci traja na ceste za profesorom Yarboroughom.

Po príchode k profesorovi sa dozvedia o múmii Ra-Orkona a od komorníka aj o kliatbe, ktorá je vraj s múmiou spojená. Podľa nej každý, kto Ra-Orkona vyruší, zomrie. Profesor sa za tieto reči o kliatbe hnevá a ani Jupiter sa ňou nenechá odradiť. Hneď vyskúša svoju prvú hypotézu – či by múmia nemohla šepkať vďaka vysielačke (takto teda fungovalo to „čítanie myšlienok“!). Petrovo rozprávanie do vysielačky pôsobí síce podobne ako šepkanie múmie, ale nič podobné v sarkofágu nenájdu. Zato však spadne socha egyptského boha Anubisa a maska, a vonku ich takmer zasiahne padajúca žulová guľa. Egyptská kliatba?

Samozrejme, že nie. Kto mal teda na svedomí takéto „nehody“? Kto bol záhadný čarodejník Sardon, ktorý povedal líbyjskému rodu Hamidovcov, že Ra-Orkon je ich predok, ktorý sa chce dostať do svojej vlasti, aby dosiahol pokoj? Hamid je preto v Amerike, aby za každú cenu získal Ra-Orkona. Čo všetko preto urobí? Čo hovorí múmia v jazyku, ktorý sa podobá na starú arabčinu? Ako môže múmia šepkať? A prečo vlastne šepká? To všetko sa dozvieme. Aj to, ako to súvisí so strateným kocúrom pani Banfryovej. Jedinou záhadou mi tak zostáva, ako môže človek zodpovedný za krádež múmie (a iné veci) chcieť ísť po odhalení pracovať na Stredný východ pre Organizáciu spojených národov...

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Translation from English; the original title is Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy.

The Three investigators - Jupiter, Peter and Bob – receive on a one day two letters, which promise new cases. The first one concerns a lost cat, but the other one seems really mysterious – an old Egyptian mummy, which a certain egyptology professor wants to study, whispers, when he gets close to it. Peter and Bob want to take a break from adventures for while and do something calmer. So they agree on telling Jupiter only about the lost cat and only when they promise help to Mrs. Banfry, owner of the cat, they'll reveal also the mysterious mummy. But firstly, they'll have to find the cat – they already promised it.

However, it doesn't really work out. Thanks to a periscope they notice that Jupiter comes with a defect on the tire of his bicycle, but Peter pretends to him that he was able to deduce it from the dust on his knee, dirty hands and mark of a wheel on one of them. Jupiter at first appears appreciative, but with his next sentence he shocks both Peter and Bob: “But such skills shouldn't be wasted on looking for a lost cat.” Those don't want to believe their own ears. What?! “Such master skills in the art of deductive reasoning and logical thinking shouldn't be wasted on chasing an Abyssinian cat that got lost from the usual ground,” repeated Jupiter, intentionally using the erudite speech, which they so much hated. “Detectives with your skills should enter a greater game, such as, let's say, …” he paused for a while, as if he was thinking hard, “such as, let's say, a mystery of a three thousand-year-old mummy which whispers mysterious messages to its owner in an unknown language.” Jupiter already before coming to Headquarters had called a car (which they had available with a driver for thirty days as a prize from a competition) and after a short moment tall three of them were on the way to professor Yarborough.

After arriving to the professor, they learn about the mummy of Ra-Orkon and from the butler also about a curse which is allegedly connected with the mummy. According to it, everyone who disturbs Ra-Orkon, will die. Professor is getting angry about these rumours about the curse and neither Jupiter gets turned off by it. He immediately tests his first theory – whether the mummy couldn't whisper thanks to a walkie-talkie (so this is how that “mind reading” worked!). Peter's talking into the walkie-talkie sounds similar to mummy whispering, but they don't find anything similar in the sarcophagus. However, a statue of an Egyptian god Anubis and a mask fall, and outside they get almost hit by a falling granite ball. Egyptian curse?

Of course not. So who is responsible for such “accidents”? Who was a mysterious wizard Sardon who told to Lybian family of Hamids that Ra-Orko were their ancestor who wants to get to his land to achieve peace? Because of this, Hamid is in America to get Ra-Orkon at any cost. What will he do for that? What does the mummy say in a language which seems similar to ancient Arabic? How can a mummy whisper? Why does it whisper? We get to know all this. Also, how is it connected with the lost cat of Mrs. Banfry. The only remaining mystery for me therefore is, how can a person, responsible for theft of the mummy (and more), want after his conviction to work on Middle East for the United Nations...

P.S.

The translation of the quotes to English is mine. Once I read about an early computer translator, for which, when translating the idiom „Out of sight, out of mind“ from some language to another (I don't remember which languages they were), the result was „a blind idiot“. I am curious how much my translation differs from the original, but it's certainly better than that! ;-)

2016 Reading Challenges

Hard Core Re-Reading Challenge

Hosted by You, Me and a Cup of Tea, wo gives the exact rules. I'll copy only the time frame:

The challenge officially runs from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. ONLY books started AND finished in that time frame will count. 

and I'll state my chosen level, which is Level 2 / 16-25 books / Re-reading bug.

List of books with links to reviews (will be updated):

I Love Libraries Reading Challenge

Hosted by Bea's Book Nook, who gives details about the rules. The important part is:

For this challenge, use your library to check out reading material - books, magazines, any sort of reading material that you are allowed to check out, physical or digital. The challenge runs January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.

I'll do the middle grades level, which means at least 18 books.

List of books with links to reviews (will be updated):