“Look at Me, just as I look at you!” (Inner Word)
This is our Heavenly Father’s loving invitation to walk a path of intimacy through this earthly life. What tenderness we encounter in these words! The Father’s gaze upon us humans is filled with caring love for our physical and spiritual needs. God’s love always precedes us, for He had already looked upon us before we were in our mother’s womb:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” (Jer 1:5).
In yesterday’s reflection, we looked at the Church and how—despite all resistance—it was able to spread, and we heard the praise of Saint Irenaeus, who extolled the unity of doctrine in the Church and emphasized that the light of God had been entrusted to her, a light now meant to enlighten the nations. The quoted passage from his writing ended with the beautiful words: “For everywhere the Church preaches the truth; she is the seven‑branched lampstand that bears the light of Christ.”
At the end of the text, my gaze once more fell upon the Jews. I expressed the hope that they—after the terrible suffering in their history—will yet recognize the Messiah. This would be a blessing for all. Thus I concluded yesterday’s reflection. With this statement, I refer to a word of the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, which we should recall again and again:
“I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race. They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen.” (Rom 9:1–5)
“Was it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the dragon?” (Isaiah 51:9)
Beloved Father, it is not always easy for us to understand why evil exists—why there is so much destruction, immeasurable suffering, senseless wars, and evil spiritual beings who live in rebellion against You. They have left fellowship with You and want to drag us humans into their lostness.
Liturgically speaking, this is still the time when the risen Lord Jesus is with His disciples to strengthen them in their faith in His resurrection and to prepare them for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We understand Pentecost as the founding day of the Church, which, according to our faith, is the Body of Christ and is built upon the foundation of the prophets and His apostles (cf. Eph 2:20). She is that Israel which recognized Him as the promised Messiah who came to redeem His people. All who recognized the hour of salvation and accepted God’s grace entered into the service of the Redeemer and thus became witnesses of Christ.
We still have thirty days remaining until the Feast of Pentecost, during which it is fitting to offer some reflections on the Church: the one, holy, Catholic Church, which emerged from Jews and Gentiles and has been called throughout the centuries, as the teacher of the nations, to communicate salvation in Christ.
God has set in motion a great work to lead people from all nations to the faith, to gather them in this way, and to call them home to His kingdom. It was His risen Son who gave His disciples in Galilee—as we hear in the Gospel—the following commission:
Yesterday’s reflection introduced us to the story of Saint George as told in the Legenda Aurea. He rescued the princess, who was to be sacrificed to a dragon, through the power of the Lord. As a result, the people—freed from the dragon—turned to the Christian faith. My reflection ended with the sentence:
This story raises the question of what is happening today in a world that is turning more and more away from Christ. Is this dragon once again exercising his dominion over humanity in various ways?
This is the question we must explore today. Anyone with eyes to see cannot fail to notice that the world is under a strong influence of evil and thus in bondage to the dragon. In the story of Saint George, this dependence of humanity required liberation through Christ.
The dragon, who represents the power of evil, is clearly identified in Holy Scripture. In the Book of Revelation it says:
“Move forward, constantly examine everything within Me, and step out!” (inner word)
Our Father wants us to consciously walk the path to eternity and grow in faith, hope, and love along the way. God gives us this opportunity every day. When we understand and practice this, much is transformed. Eternity is then no longer an indefinite distance away—something we hardly think about or not at all. On the contrary: the more we become aware of it and the more our heart begins to long for it, the more it reaches into our daily reality. It teaches us to carry out the task set before us with greater attention. This makes us more prudent and also more decisive, and we more easily leave behind things that are not so important and focus more on what is essential.
There are probably few saints as well known as Saint George, whom we celebrate today, and around whom so many stories and legends have gathered. He is highly venerated throughout Christianity and is often depicted in paintings as the slayer of the dragon. Concerning the slaying of the dragon, the following story is told about him, which I present here in abridged form from the Legenda Aurea by Jacobus de Voragine:
“George, the knight (born of Cappadocian lineage), once came to the land of Libya, to the city of Silena. Near the city was a lake as vast as a sea, in which dwelt a poisonous dragon who had often driven the entire population into flight whenever they marched out armed against him. He would come right up to the city walls and poison everything with his venomous breath. The citizens of the city—still pagans—offered him two sheep every day. As the number of sheep dwindled, they began to sacrifice human beings as well, drawing lots to determine who would be chosen. The lot fell also upon the king’s daughter. Though shaken to his core, the king could not protect her, for the people threatened to burn him and his house if he did not abide by the law he himself had enacted.”
The legend continues, recounting that Saint George witnessed the moment when the king’s daughter was about to be sacrificed to the dragon.
“What defines you is my nearness.” (Inner word)
We humans often carry within us the desire to be capable of something great, perhaps even to leave behind something that has significance. This desire is not wrong, as long as it does not serve vanity or the pursuit of personal power. After all, we are called by our Heavenly Father to accomplish great things, for everything we do in connection with and on behalf of God is great. Thus, every day we have the opportunity to do what is truly great by fulfilling His will.
Yesterday we surely marveled at St. Konrad, whose life became so fruitful and who carried out his undoubtedly demanding service as porter for forty‑one years, until three days before the end of his life. Through him, pilgrims to Altötting were able to experience a profound closeness to God. Brother Konrad himself shared with us something of his “secret of love,” which united him so intimately with God.
It is one thing to gratefully admire such a life and to praise the Lord for it. It is another to thank the saint himself for having listened so well to our heavenly Father and for having served Him and humanity! It is also helpful to ask him to pray for our own path of following Christ. Yet we can take another step.
How can we make the lives of the saints fruitful for ourselves?
Surely it is a matter of finding the source from which Brother Konrad was so richly gifted, so that streams of living water flowed from him into this world. The saint expresses in his gentle and simple way how we should live:
“In illness, one learns much, if one is willing.” (Brother Konrad von Parzham)
The spiritual fathers—among whom Brother Konrad von Parzham certainly belongs—always show us how we can grow on our spiritual journey. When our Father allows a cross—and illness is such a cross—this is generally an opportunity for people of faith to grow and mature. Aside from the fact that it can also involve the dimension of atonement, especially for the many offenses against God and humanity, our Father wants us to learn something important.
