Lạy Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể , hôm nay chúng con bắt đầu hành trình Mùa Chay. chúng con sẽ cố gắng tìm cách làm hài lòng Chúa và một mình Chúa bằng những sự cam kết hy sinh của chúng con. Xin Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể giúp chúng con biết kiên trì trong thời gian này. chúng con biết rằng chúng con yếu đuối và dễ bị cám dỗ.
Xin Chúa hãy khoả lấp tâm hồn cùa chúng con với sự kiên cường của Chúa, để chúng con có thể biến những quyết tâm này thực sự là một hành động yêu thương Chúa.
Thưa quý ÔBACE,
Hôm nay là Thứ Năm đầu tiên của Mùa Chay. Tro mà Giáo Hội đã đặt trên trán của chúng tôi hôm qua vẫn còn đấy; và có nghĩa là để nhắc nhở chúng ta về một hành trình bốn mươi ngày. Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu, chỉ cho chúng ta thấy hai con đường: con đường thập giá mà Ngài sẽ trải qua, và con đường tắt theo như ý riêng của chúng ta để theo Ngài.
Con đường của Chúa Giêsu là Con Đường đến với Thập Giá và đến cái với chết, nhưng những thứ ấy sẽ dẫn đến vinh quang với Thiên Chúa:”Con Người sẽ phải chịu nhiều đau khổ đủ thứ ..., và phải bị các trưởng lão và các vị tư tế và các thầy thông giáo tẩy chay, chối bỏ, và bị giết, và ngày thứ ba được sống lạ” (Lc 9:22). Các con đường mà chúng ta phải đi rất cơ bản, đó là con đường mà Chúa Giêsu đã đi, và Ngài cũng đã chỉ vẽ cho chúng ta thấy để bắt chước mà làm theo đó: «Nếu ai muốn theo ta, thì hãy vác thập giá của mình mà theo ta ...» (Lc 9:23).
Ôm Thánh Giá của mình, Chúa Giêsu tuân theo Ý muốn của Cha Ngài; cũng như thế chúng ta, cũng mang trên vai thập giá của chúng ta để theo Ngài trên con dường thập giá của Ngài. Những con đường của Chúa Giêsu được tóm tắt trong ba Chữ: đau khổ, chết, và sống lại từ cõi chết. Ba khía cạnh này cũng tạo thành lối đi riêng của chúng ta nữa. Đó là hai thái độ và bản chất của ơn gọi Kitô hữu của chúng talà : Tự từ chối Thập Giá, hay là nhận lấy thập giá của chúng ta mỗi ngày trong cuộc sống của chúng ta và theo Chúa Giêsu.
Nếu chúng ta không tự chối bỏ chúng ta và không vác thập giá của chúng ta, chúng ta không những chỉ tìm cách khẳng định và tư chính mình; chúng ta muốn “tự mình cứu rỗi lấy cuộc sống của chúng ta”, như Chúa Giêsu đã nói. Tuy nhiên, Nếu chúng ta tự cứu sự sống chúng ta, chúng ta sẽ mất nó. Mặt khác, những người, vì Chúa Giêsu, mà không tránh né những đau khổ và thập giá, sẽ cứu được cuộc sống của họ. Đấy là kết quả nghịch lý của Chúa Giêsu: “ai muốn cứu mạng sống mình, thì sẽ mất; còn ai liều mất mạng sống mình vì tôi, thì sẽ cứu được mạng sống ấy.” (Lc 9:25).
Những Lời tổng kết của Chúa hôm nay trong bài Tin Mừng đã làm cho Thánh Y Nhã Kinh ngạc rất nhiều và đã làm thay đổi cả cuộc sống của ngài: “Điều gì sẽ xảy ra nếu tôi làm như thánh Phanxicô và thánh Dominic đã làm?”. Nếu chỉ trong Mùa Chay này thôi, mà những Lời Chúa dạy tương tự có thể sẽ giúp chúng ta đạt được biển đổi trong tâm hồn của chúng ta nữa...!?
Comment:
If you wish to be a follower of mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow me
Today is the first Thursday of Lent. The ashes our Church laid yesterday on our forehead are still fresh; and are meant to remind us of a forty days journey. In the Gospel, Jesus, shows us two routes: the way of the cross he must undergo, and our own way to follow him.
His path is the Way of the Cross and that of death, but also that of His Glory: «The Son of Man must suffer many things (...), and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. » (Lk 9:22). The route we must take is, essentially, the same one Jesus took, and He shows us how to follow it: «If any man would come after Me...» (Lk 9:23).
Hugging his Cross, Jesus complied with the Will of His Father; as for us, carrying ours on our shoulders, we follow him in his Way of the Cross. The path of Jesus is summarized in three words: suffering, dying, raising from the dead. Three aspects constitute our own footpath too (two attitudes and the essence of our Christian vocation): Self-Denial, taking up our cross every day of our life and following Jesus.
If we do not deny ourselves and do not take up our cross, we are only seeking to affirm and be ourselves; we want «to save our life», as Jesus says. Yet, by wanting to save it, we will lose it. On the other hand, those who, because of Jesus, will not strive to avoid their suffering and the cross, will save their lives. It is the resulting paradox of our following Jesus: «For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?» (Lk 9:25).
Our Lord's words, closing today's Gospel, tremendously shook Saint Ignatius and sparked off his conversion: «What would happen if I would do just as saint Francis and saint Dominic did?». If only, in this Lent, the same words would help us to reach our conversion, too...!
Opening Prayer:
If you wish to be a follower of mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow me
Today is the first Thursday of Lent. The ashes our Church laid yesterday on our forehead are still fresh; and are meant to remind us of a forty days journey. In the Gospel, Jesus, shows us two routes: the way of the cross he must undergo, and our own way to follow him.
His path is the Way of the Cross and that of death, but also that of His Glory: «The Son of Man must suffer many things (...), and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. » (Lk 9:22). The route we must take is, essentially, the same one Jesus took, and He shows us how to follow it: «If any man would come after Me...» (Lk 9:23).
Hugging his Cross, Jesus complied with the Will of His Father; as for us, carrying ours on our shoulders, we follow him in his Way of the Cross. The path of Jesus is summarized in three words: suffering, dying, raising from the dead. Three aspects constitute our own footpath too (two attitudes and the essence of our Christian vocation): Self-Denial, taking up our cross every day of our life and following Jesus.
If we do not deny ourselves and do not take up our cross, we are only seeking to affirm and be ourselves; we want «to save our life», as Jesus says. Yet, by wanting to save it, we will lose it. On the other hand, those who, because of Jesus, will not strive to avoid their suffering and the cross, will save their lives. It is the resulting paradox of our following Jesus: «For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?» (Lk 9:25).
Our Lord's words, closing today's Gospel, tremendously shook Saint Ignatius and sparked off his conversion: «What would happen if I would do just as saint Francis and saint Dominic did?». If only, in this Lent, the same words would help us to reach our conversion, too...!
Opening Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help me to see your loving hand at work with me today. Draw me close when I am tempted to flee from your providential plan.
Encountering Christ:
1. The Royal Road of the Cross: “There will always be many who love Christ’s heavenly kingdom, but few who will bear his cross.” Thus, Thomas à Kempis began his famous chapter on the royal road of the cross, the path trod by Christ our King. This was the road Our Lord took to glory, and our own journey to his kingdom must necessarily cover the same ground. We have just begun Lent—may this be a time that we fix our gaze on the cross, not to flinch, but to be inspired.
2. Offering Up Daily Crosses: When we look at Jesus on the cross, we see a mass of horrific human suffering. Even more astounding, as the incarnate Son of God, he was undergoing existential humiliation that we cannot fathom. And yet, Jesus deigned to call what we undergo “daily crosses.” They are nothing compared to his, but he draws us to himself so that we can unite our sufferings with his. Pope Emeritus Benedict wrote about this in Spe Salvi: “There used to be a form of devotion…that included the idea of “offering up” the minor daily hardships that continually strike at us like irritating “jabs,” thereby giving them a meaning. .. Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ's great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race. In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves.”
3. Spiritual Costs-Benefits Analysis: Like good investors, we need to weigh the cost of an expenditure against the benefits we hope to attain from it. Jesus himself offered some good analysis: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” Gaining the world does not seem like such a bargain under that optic. How about embracing the cross? When Jesus looked at the cross, the joy of seeing the vast multitude of souls that would be saved through it made him “despise its shame” (cf. Hebrews 12:2). Can we try to see our daily crosses, the “irritating jabs” against that panoramic view of salvation history?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, there is no other road to heaven than the royal road of your cross. Help me to carry mine! At times, its weight can push me down to the ground. But I know that with your help I can put aside my fears, my impatience, and my complaints, to follow you with joy for the salvation of many souls.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace when I perceive a cross I will stifle my whining and offer it to Jesus with love for my family.
Encountering Christ:
1. The Royal Road of the Cross: “There will always be many who love Christ’s heavenly kingdom, but few who will bear his cross.” Thus, Thomas à Kempis began his famous chapter on the royal road of the cross, the path trod by Christ our King. This was the road Our Lord took to glory, and our own journey to his kingdom must necessarily cover the same ground. We have just begun Lent—may this be a time that we fix our gaze on the cross, not to flinch, but to be inspired.
2. Offering Up Daily Crosses: When we look at Jesus on the cross, we see a mass of horrific human suffering. Even more astounding, as the incarnate Son of God, he was undergoing existential humiliation that we cannot fathom. And yet, Jesus deigned to call what we undergo “daily crosses.” They are nothing compared to his, but he draws us to himself so that we can unite our sufferings with his. Pope Emeritus Benedict wrote about this in Spe Salvi: “There used to be a form of devotion…that included the idea of “offering up” the minor daily hardships that continually strike at us like irritating “jabs,” thereby giving them a meaning. .. Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ's great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race. In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves.”
3. Spiritual Costs-Benefits Analysis: Like good investors, we need to weigh the cost of an expenditure against the benefits we hope to attain from it. Jesus himself offered some good analysis: “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” Gaining the world does not seem like such a bargain under that optic. How about embracing the cross? When Jesus looked at the cross, the joy of seeing the vast multitude of souls that would be saved through it made him “despise its shame” (cf. Hebrews 12:2). Can we try to see our daily crosses, the “irritating jabs” against that panoramic view of salvation history?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, there is no other road to heaven than the royal road of your cross. Help me to carry mine! At times, its weight can push me down to the ground. But I know that with your help I can put aside my fears, my impatience, and my complaints, to follow you with joy for the salvation of many souls.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace when I perceive a cross I will stifle my whining and offer it to Jesus with love for my family.
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