Greed is the root of this war. Let's close together, let's not let violence run rampant neither within ourselves, nor around us, nor in the wider world - emphasized Csaba Böjte in the Christmas interview given to hirado.hu According to the Franciscan monk, education is like digging for gold, because you have to bring the value out of the child to the surface.

- We have been living under the threat of war for years.

– The world should be made to understand that nobody can be bombed, shot, or reeducated by force, but you can love them better. This is beautiful homework for all of us. Greed is the root of this war. Mother Teresa was right when she said that God cannot feed the poor, but the rich.

- Hungary has been calling for a ceasefire from the beginning.

- I am very proud of my people and the leaders that Hungary clearly takes a stand for peace, this is also based on historical experience, in the last century a lot of people died in the world wars, and our country was salamized. The government has made the right decision, we must stand by it on this issue, there is no greater value than peace. If there is a war in the world, there will be a war in people's hearts as well. Let's close together, let's not let violence run rampant, neither within ourselves, nor around us, nor in the wider world. Everyone in Hungary should be aware that we live better than 95 percent of humanity. There are so many cars that you can hardly drive on the streets. People are dressed nicely. Most of them are 5-10-15-20 kilos heavier than they should be, there is no reason to panic. Let's not get nervous, let's not be dissatisfied, now we need to cool down public life.

– What is your message to the Transcarpathian Hungarians?

– Our Transcarpathian brothers must also keep their faith. Even after Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Jesus Christ did not lose his faith in humanity and in himself. He didn't even tell Péter that you were replaced or fired, it can't go on like this. Whatever difficulty we go through, it will not be as great as what Jesus went through on Good Friday, yet he preserved his love and trust for humanity. All of us, even if we are wounded, even if our hearts have been pierced, we must turn to our surroundings with this attitude of Jesus. I know it hurts a lot, especially if someone from the family is lost. I've been to Transcarpathia, it's terrible to be faced with the fact that the parks are being dug up and turned into military cemeteries. It is extremely sad to see the graves of innocent soldiers in Ungvár and in many settlements.

"And what's going on in Romania?"

- As in the whole of Europe, globalist and sovereignist forces are clashing here as well. I believe that Romania should do everything in order to prevent our young people from being taken to war. There are forces in the world who believe that once the Ukrainian soldiers have run out, young people from neighboring states should also go to the front. This real danger may have contributed to the huge tension that led to a constitutional crisis, but I am sure that this will also be resolved.

- His students achieve serious success in boxing.

- A few weeks ago, five of our children went to the Hungarian championship and four of them came home with gold medals and one with silver. They are very skilled, a good coach brought out the miracle in them. God does not create scraps, he puts his fathers and mothers into the children of both the rich and the poor. We, the parents and the teachers, have the task of raising the children to be the Attila József, Lajosa Papp or Öcsi Puskás, Sándor Csoma Kőrösi of the next decade.

- What do you think is the best education method?

"Many people say that there is a lot wrong with today's children." Well, I say that raising children is like digging for gold. I also worked as a miner, when you didn't know at which pick cut the beautiful mountain crystal or gold nugget would pop out of the ground. May the Lord grant that parents and teachers turn to their children with this hopeful attitude, since we are gold diggers, the child has the values ​​that must be brought to the surface. I encourage everyone to look at children and adults in this way. I encouraged Father Antal, who knows a lot of gifts and is in his 90s, to write down the interesting stories. Since then, we have already published twice the volume that collects the good-humored, popular adoma from peaceful times in a bouquet. There are many treasures in every person. Let's not tear each other down, let's be catalysts for each other. I would like this positive attitude to fill the hearts of all of us.

– You mentioned earlier that boxing training became popular during COVID.

- Yes, because you weren't allowed to go out to play football, but you could box in a room. In Déva, for example, we were closed in a tight family circle with 108 students, and there is nowhere to send the children home from the children's home. We tried many things at that time, but somehow boxing took root among the children, who have since gone on to national and world championships.

"When will you say mass in the ring again?"

"Soon." We look forward to welcoming our dear readers to the ceremony on December 27th, which will probably take place in the ring, since there is no altar in the hall of the Godako Boxing Sports Club located in the field between Gyergyószárhegy Gyergyószentmiklós, but the Holy Mass is valid in the ring as well. At this already traditional end-of-year event, everyone gets into the spirit of celebration, we partake in a joint dinner and thank God for the year 2024 and ask for his blessing for the next year as well.

 

 

- They took the children to a football match last year, what was the surprise this year?

- We were very honored, the President of the Republic of Hungary came to Déva. Now he brought the "show", the festive mood, the good word for the children. Tamás Sulyok's visit was a gift and I hope that we also became a gift for the head of state.

– Do you consider the shared experience to be the most beautiful gift?

– In the summer, an aunt told me in tears that she had visited her grandson, who still had last year's Christmas present in his closet. I consoled him, I told him how good it was that he was guarding her like that. But it wasn't opened yet! Have we opened Father Menei's gift yet? God loved this world so much that he gave his only son for it, the first Christmas gift was Jesus Christ himself, who later sent his disciples in twos and threes to be gifts. Presence is the real gift, the Lord wants us to become a gift to each other, to our family, to our environment. That is why I asked the children not to put anything under the Christmas tree, but to crouch there, to be the presents for their parents, teachers and each other.

"Does education also require a sense of humor?"

– Last time one of our little girls was crying, I sat next to her on the stairs, took out my phone and told her to take a selfie. "Okay, okay, uncle priest, I'm just straightening my hair," answered the 6-7-year-old girl, whose tears were no longer falling. I probably could have given him any text not to cry, he would have cried even more, but when it comes to taking a good selfie, it's forbidden to fuss. Cheerfulness, serenity and humor are important elements of education. Jesus could also rejoice in the success of his apostles, when the disciples returned and interrupted each other to tell what great things God had done through them. I really like the humorous, cheerful character of Jesus in the TV series The Chosen, which can also be seen on the Danube.

- Many people follow his sermons live on the world wide web. What do you think about social platforms and the smartphone world?

- When God created this world, he gave Adam two stone axes, and he gave them to his sons Cain and Abel, not so that the young men could beat each other over the head with it, but, for example, to hunt mammoths. In itself, the stone ax or the Internet can be both good and bad. The question is, what do we use it for? You can also go to the red light district or the church with your car. It's not the car that's wrong. On the Internet, I can see how to make the garden bloom, how to propagate rose stems, I can acquire a lot of useful knowledge, but I can also deal with silly things. The Good Lord gives us greater and greater things, and we must exercise self-control and use the achievements of the modern age for good. To do this, we all need to turn on our spiritual GPS. I can only imagine what my poor grandfather in captivity in Siberia would have given to have a phone like this to call home and tell his lovely wife that he was alive.

– What is needed for the spiritual GPS to work well?

– We should be quiet, and the Heavenly Father will show us the way through our conscience. God does not speak to us in a complicated way, but very simply. He who gave us our language can talk to us through our conscience, he who gave us the ability to hear hears what we say. A person can safely say to himself that, Lord, I am stuck here, I am small, I am stumbling, I am asking for help. God hears this. May the Lord grant that we have this living faith. We are not on an uninhabited island, we are not lonely drifting leaves in the middle of nowhere, because the Holy Trinity lives there in our souls.

Cover image: Photo: István Biró / MTI/MTVA