Suy Niêm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu tuần 21 TN - Matthew 25:1-13
Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay mời gọi chúng ta phải có lòng trung thành Thiên Chúa và phải biết chú tâm trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta. Năm cô trinh nữ khôn ngoan trước khi ra đi, họ đã chuẩn bị và sẵn sàng những thứ cần thiết cho những sự bất ngờ và họ đã nhận được phần thưởng của mình. Ngược lại, Năm trinh nữ khờ dại đã không biết chuẩn bị trước tất cả những cơ hội sẽ đến với họ, họ ỷ y với hy vọng rằng người khác sẽ giúp mình và họ đã thất vọng bỏ lỡ cơ hội đã đến với họ.
Thiên Chúa đã có những kế hoạch riêng cho mỗi người chúng ta trong cuộc sống. Chúng ta được mời gọi để sử dụng những hồng ân mà Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta để hoàn thành những nghĩa vụ đặc biệt của chúng ta trong cuộc sống của riêng. Mỗi ân sũng là một món quà là vô cùng quý giá, và mỗi khoản khắc trong cuộc sống của chúng ta cũng rất là quý giá. Chúng ta không thể nào biết được khi nào chàng rể sẽ đến và sẽ gọi cho chúng ta.
Có lẽ hôm nay chúng ta hãy tự đặt một vài câu hỏi cho chính mình. Nếu Thiên Chúa gọi tôi tại thời điểm này, tôi đã sẵn sàng chưa? Những gì trong cuộc sống mà tôi muốn làm, nếu tôi chỉ còn có một thời gian ngắn để sống? Ai là những người trong cuộc đời của tôi, mà tôi muốn gặp? Trong khi chúng ta suy nghĩ và tìm những câu trả lời cho những câu hỏi này, chúng ta có thể cảm thấy sự cần thiết phải thực hiện những ước muốn của chúng ta đang phát sinh ngay trong trái tim của chúng ta hôm nay..
Các trinh nữ khờ dại thiếu "dầu" cho những công trình tốt. Họ thất bại trong việc thực hiện kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa ngay trong cuộc sống hiện tại. Họ đã bỏ lỡ cơ hội và dịp may hiếm có của họ. Nếu chúng ta sống mỗi ngày như các trinh nữ khôn ngoan, luôn biết chuẩn bị tâm hồn và sẵ sàng thực hiện những gì mà Thiên Chúa đang mời gọi chúng ta làm, chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ phải hối tiếc. Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện và xin Chúa ban cho cho chúng ta những ân sủng của Ngài để chúng ta biết sống mỗi ngày theo ý mà Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta sống.
Comment:
Today’s Gospel reading calls us to faithfulness and attentiveness in our daily lives. The five wise virgins set out on their journey well prepared and ready for the unexpected. They received their reward. In contrast, the foolish left it all to chance in the hope that someone else would provide when the need arose. They were disappointed and missed the opportunity of seeing the Bridegroom when He arrived. God has a plan for each of us in life. We are called to use he gifts God has given to us to fulfill our particular mission in life. Each gift is precious and each moment of life is precious. We don’t know when the Bridegroom will call us.
Perhaps today is a good day to put a few questions to ourselves. If God called me at this moment am I ready? What are the things in life I would like to do if I only had a short time left? Who are the people in my life I would like to see? What is most important in my life right now? As we reflect on these questions we may feel the need t carry out the desires that arise in our hearts today.
The foolish virgins lacked the “oil” of good works. They failed to carry out God’s plan for them in life. They missed their opportunity. If we live each day like the wise virgins, doing what we feel God is calling us to do we will have no regret. Let us pray for the grace to live each day in the way God would want us to live it.
Friday 22nd Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: My Lord, you reveal to us the fullness of what it means to become truly human. I renew my faith in the promise that you will lead me to this fulfillment.
Encountering Christ:
1. Right Place at the Right Time: In this parable, Jesus told us that ten virgins “went out to meet the bridegroom.” All ten of them were in the right place when the bridegroom arrived. Yet, some were unprepared to go into the feast. Even good people can be in the “right place” for the wrong reasons. Let’s look with fresh insight into the purity of intention with which we strive to live out our relationship with Christ and with others.
2. What’s the Lesson?: Jesus always teaches a spiritual lesson in his parables. In today's Gospel, Jesus’s message focuses on lamps. Like yesterday, his point is to encourage us to prepare for his coming. The shining lamps stand for the virtues with which we want to present ourselves; the oil is the persevering dedication we need to grow in these virtues by living accordingly.
3. Too Sleepy?: Our Lord is the bridegroom, and he invites each of us into the wedding feast. He is asking each of us to consider whether we are foolish virgins or wise ones. Do we eagerly anticipate an encounter with Jesus in our daily prayer, in the sacraments, in our neighbor? Or are we “unprepared,” distracted, or too sleepy?
Conversing with Christ: Lord, grant me the grace to see you in all things, in my everyday tasks. I invite you, Lord, to make yourself present in today's tasks, to accompany me, nudge me, smile at me in every possible moment. Teach me to recognize you so that I can smile back!
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will evaluate my preparedness for entering the wedding feast, and make a date to go to confession, as necessary.
REFLECTION 2017
In the first reading today Paul reminds us to lead holy lives, in a way that pleases God. He also gives more specific instructions about family life and the relationships between husband and wife.
In the Gospel reading, in the parable about the bridesmaids, five sensible and five careless and foolish, preparing for the arrival of the bridegroom for the wedding banquet, Jesus wishes to remind us to be always ready and prepared.
As we prepare for the coming of the Son of Man, we do not know when he will come: "regarding that Day and that Hour, no one knows when it will come, not even the angels, not even the Son, but only the Father." (Mk 13: 32)
The lesson of the parable for us is very clear: be ready. Have enough oil. Be like faithful servants ready to give a proper accounting of our lives and of the proper use of the gifts and talents given to us. Be ready that the Lord would recognize and welcome us.
Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
It is very difficult for us to understand this parable. Why are ten virgins waiting outside for the bridegroom? Why do they need lamps? Even scholars are not sure. What is definite is that these virgins are not the brides. Our best guess is that they are more like bridesmaid; they are waiting to process the bridegroom into his feast.
Let us forget about the foolish virgins and consider two details about the wise virgins. First, they have flasks of oil with them. What do these flasks signify? We do not know. They are something extra, something beyond, but what they are is uncertain. After all the virgins fell asleep, they need what is in the flask. Perhaps it is prayer or study. The wise virgins had a stronger foundation of prayer and studying the Scriptures and the Catechism, so they were able to be ready when the time came.
The oil in the flask could also be a symbol of the Holy Spirit; oil often is used to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Then we would say that the light of faith burned out in those who were relying only on themselves for faith. The Holy Spirit is the only fuel for our faith that is sure to be there when we need it.
The second detail could be called holy selfishness. The wise virgins do not let the foolish virgins share what is in the flasks. There are many people in this world who would like to keep you from doing what you need to do to be ready for Christ, people who will complain that you are praying or studying or going to Mass when they need you for their own purposes. Do not let them prevent you from being prepared. Be selfish!
We do have human relationships which demand our time and effort. Failing to live up to them is not a holy thing. A mother who did not care for her children but spent all her time in prayer as if she were a nun would not be practicing true devotion. Nevertheless, our relationship with God comes first. We must not allow the world or anyone in the world to demand that we stop praying and studying, to demand that we give up whatever is in the flask that allows us to keep the fire burning. We must be selfish because we will not be able to do any good if we do not first seek God.
Thiên Chúa đã có những kế hoạch riêng cho mỗi người chúng ta trong cuộc sống. Chúng ta được mời gọi để sử dụng những hồng ân mà Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta để hoàn thành những nghĩa vụ đặc biệt của chúng ta trong cuộc sống của riêng. Mỗi ân sũng là một món quà là vô cùng quý giá, và mỗi khoản khắc trong cuộc sống của chúng ta cũng rất là quý giá. Chúng ta không thể nào biết được khi nào chàng rể sẽ đến và sẽ gọi cho chúng ta.
Có lẽ hôm nay chúng ta hãy tự đặt một vài câu hỏi cho chính mình. Nếu Thiên Chúa gọi tôi tại thời điểm này, tôi đã sẵn sàng chưa? Những gì trong cuộc sống mà tôi muốn làm, nếu tôi chỉ còn có một thời gian ngắn để sống? Ai là những người trong cuộc đời của tôi, mà tôi muốn gặp? Trong khi chúng ta suy nghĩ và tìm những câu trả lời cho những câu hỏi này, chúng ta có thể cảm thấy sự cần thiết phải thực hiện những ước muốn của chúng ta đang phát sinh ngay trong trái tim của chúng ta hôm nay..
Các trinh nữ khờ dại thiếu "dầu" cho những công trình tốt. Họ thất bại trong việc thực hiện kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa ngay trong cuộc sống hiện tại. Họ đã bỏ lỡ cơ hội và dịp may hiếm có của họ. Nếu chúng ta sống mỗi ngày như các trinh nữ khôn ngoan, luôn biết chuẩn bị tâm hồn và sẵ sàng thực hiện những gì mà Thiên Chúa đang mời gọi chúng ta làm, chúng ta sẽ không bao giờ phải hối tiếc. Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện và xin Chúa ban cho cho chúng ta những ân sủng của Ngài để chúng ta biết sống mỗi ngày theo ý mà Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta sống.
Comment:
Today’s Gospel reading calls us to faithfulness and attentiveness in our daily lives. The five wise virgins set out on their journey well prepared and ready for the unexpected. They received their reward. In contrast, the foolish left it all to chance in the hope that someone else would provide when the need arose. They were disappointed and missed the opportunity of seeing the Bridegroom when He arrived. God has a plan for each of us in life. We are called to use he gifts God has given to us to fulfill our particular mission in life. Each gift is precious and each moment of life is precious. We don’t know when the Bridegroom will call us.
Perhaps today is a good day to put a few questions to ourselves. If God called me at this moment am I ready? What are the things in life I would like to do if I only had a short time left? Who are the people in my life I would like to see? What is most important in my life right now? As we reflect on these questions we may feel the need t carry out the desires that arise in our hearts today.
The foolish virgins lacked the “oil” of good works. They failed to carry out God’s plan for them in life. They missed their opportunity. If we live each day like the wise virgins, doing what we feel God is calling us to do we will have no regret. Let us pray for the grace to live each day in the way God would want us to live it.
Friday 22nd Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: My Lord, you reveal to us the fullness of what it means to become truly human. I renew my faith in the promise that you will lead me to this fulfillment.
Encountering Christ:
1. Right Place at the Right Time: In this parable, Jesus told us that ten virgins “went out to meet the bridegroom.” All ten of them were in the right place when the bridegroom arrived. Yet, some were unprepared to go into the feast. Even good people can be in the “right place” for the wrong reasons. Let’s look with fresh insight into the purity of intention with which we strive to live out our relationship with Christ and with others.
2. What’s the Lesson?: Jesus always teaches a spiritual lesson in his parables. In today's Gospel, Jesus’s message focuses on lamps. Like yesterday, his point is to encourage us to prepare for his coming. The shining lamps stand for the virtues with which we want to present ourselves; the oil is the persevering dedication we need to grow in these virtues by living accordingly.
3. Too Sleepy?: Our Lord is the bridegroom, and he invites each of us into the wedding feast. He is asking each of us to consider whether we are foolish virgins or wise ones. Do we eagerly anticipate an encounter with Jesus in our daily prayer, in the sacraments, in our neighbor? Or are we “unprepared,” distracted, or too sleepy?
Conversing with Christ: Lord, grant me the grace to see you in all things, in my everyday tasks. I invite you, Lord, to make yourself present in today's tasks, to accompany me, nudge me, smile at me in every possible moment. Teach me to recognize you so that I can smile back!
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will evaluate my preparedness for entering the wedding feast, and make a date to go to confession, as necessary.
REFLECTION 2017
In the first reading today Paul reminds us to lead holy lives, in a way that pleases God. He also gives more specific instructions about family life and the relationships between husband and wife.
In the Gospel reading, in the parable about the bridesmaids, five sensible and five careless and foolish, preparing for the arrival of the bridegroom for the wedding banquet, Jesus wishes to remind us to be always ready and prepared.
As we prepare for the coming of the Son of Man, we do not know when he will come: "regarding that Day and that Hour, no one knows when it will come, not even the angels, not even the Son, but only the Father." (Mk 13: 32)
The lesson of the parable for us is very clear: be ready. Have enough oil. Be like faithful servants ready to give a proper accounting of our lives and of the proper use of the gifts and talents given to us. Be ready that the Lord would recognize and welcome us.
Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
It is very difficult for us to understand this parable. Why are ten virgins waiting outside for the bridegroom? Why do they need lamps? Even scholars are not sure. What is definite is that these virgins are not the brides. Our best guess is that they are more like bridesmaid; they are waiting to process the bridegroom into his feast.
Let us forget about the foolish virgins and consider two details about the wise virgins. First, they have flasks of oil with them. What do these flasks signify? We do not know. They are something extra, something beyond, but what they are is uncertain. After all the virgins fell asleep, they need what is in the flask. Perhaps it is prayer or study. The wise virgins had a stronger foundation of prayer and studying the Scriptures and the Catechism, so they were able to be ready when the time came.
The oil in the flask could also be a symbol of the Holy Spirit; oil often is used to symbolize the Holy Spirit. Then we would say that the light of faith burned out in those who were relying only on themselves for faith. The Holy Spirit is the only fuel for our faith that is sure to be there when we need it.
The second detail could be called holy selfishness. The wise virgins do not let the foolish virgins share what is in the flasks. There are many people in this world who would like to keep you from doing what you need to do to be ready for Christ, people who will complain that you are praying or studying or going to Mass when they need you for their own purposes. Do not let them prevent you from being prepared. Be selfish!
We do have human relationships which demand our time and effort. Failing to live up to them is not a holy thing. A mother who did not care for her children but spent all her time in prayer as if she were a nun would not be practicing true devotion. Nevertheless, our relationship with God comes first. We must not allow the world or anyone in the world to demand that we stop praying and studying, to demand that we give up whatever is in the flask that allows us to keep the fire burning. We must be selfish because we will not be able to do any good if we do not first seek God.
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