The 158th prayer breakfast of the Hungarian Parliamentary Prayer Group took place on June 4, 2024. Dr. Katalin Tóth, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hungarian Parliamentary Prayer Group Foundation opened the event.
She began her reflection with the part of the second letter of St. Peter, in which the apostle calls on the faithful to use the time until the day of the coming of the Lord to obtain their salvation, so that He will find them clean, blameless and in peace when His kingdom arrives. In his teaching, he warns us against the errors of the wicked, which can drag us down with them, and thus we can lose our strength and security arising from our faith.
The daily Gospel passage (Mk 12:13-17) described the deceit of the Pharisees when they wanted to take Jesus at his word and ensnare him when he was asked about paying taxes. "Is it free to pay taxes to the emperor or not?" However, Jesus - avoiding the trap set for him with his wise answer - warned them to fulfill both their earthly and heavenly obligations, since the respect due to the Lord cannot be opposed to any earthly power. According to the President's words, Jesus Christ took the form of a servant and humbly endured people's taunts and accusations. With all of this, he teaches us that love for others and the pursuit of salvation should pervade all our worldly activities. As one of the most captivating literary representations of the above passage and teaching, Ms. Chair read the poem of Sándor Reményik, called Face of God to those present. Reményik Sándor: Istenarc c. költeményét a jelen lévőknek.
In his speech, prayer group member Márk Aurél Érszegi first reflected on the teaching of St. Peter the Apostle and emphasized that until the day of the coming of the Lord, our task is to pass on the hope of redemption, from generation to generation. In connection with the daily gospel section, he emphasized that according to the words of Jesus Christ, we have an obligation to fulfill the tasks imposed on us by both the state and the church.