Suy Niệm Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:

Suy Niệm Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:

Trong Bài Đọc I, một số phép lạ đã xảy ra trong nhà tù. Trước hết, là việc động đất và tất cả các dây xích sắt của các tù nhân đã đuợc cắt đứt và được mở ra, nhưng không tìm cách trốn thoát. Tuy nhiên, phép lạ lớn nhất đấy chính là người cai ngục, người mà luôn ngược đãi các tù nhân, đã được Thiên Chúa mở mắt và nhận ra rằng Thánh Phaolô và Silas là đặc sứ của Thiên Chúa. Vì vậy, ông đã xin họ cho ông được ơn cứu độ nơi Thiên Chúa. Chính ông là người đã đem họ ra khỏi nhà tù và đem về nhà săn sóc những vết thương của họ và ngồi lắng nghe lời họ giảng dạy về Chúa Giêsu và ơn cứu rỗi của Ngài. Tất cả những người trong gia đình ông chủ ngục đã được rửa tội và nhận đức tin của Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Đây chính là một phép lạ!

            Chúng ta đã được chứng kiến những phép lạ mà mọi người đã được biến đổi hoàn toàn cuộc sống của họ? Việc đó chắc chắn sẽ là một điều sẽ là tuyệt vời để chứng kiến phép lạ như vậy bởi vì chính việc đó thực sự đã làm củng cố đức tin của chúng ta vào Thiên Chúa. Việc biến đổi của Thánh Phaolô cũng là một phép lạ như vậy. Sự biến đổi kỳ diệu chính là công việc của Chúa Thánh Thần. Khi Chúa Thánh Thần chạm vào một người nào đó, Thì Thánh Thần có thể thay đổi những người ấy và làm cho họ có được tâm hồn đầy dẫy lòng nhiệt thành để vâng lệnh của Ngài.

            Chúng ta không nên nản lòng và bỏ rơi bất cứ ai, không cần biết là họ xấu thế nào, bởi vì Thiên Chúa có sức mạnh hơn tội lỗi của chúng ta. Ngài có thể thay đổi chúng ta hoàn toàn nếu chúng ta tin vào Ngài và mong muốn được biến đổi theo như cách làm việc và sự suy nghĩ của Ngài. Những việc Chúa Thánh Thần làm là hủy bỏ hoàn toàn các việc làm của của ma quỷ và thánh hoá  chúng ta. Vì vậy, chúng ta không nên sợ những điều ác vì Thiên Chúa đã chiến thắng ma quỷ và sự dữ trong ngày Chủ Nhật Chúa Phục Sinh.

 

Reflection: Tuesday 6th Week of Easter

     In the first reading, several miracles occur. First, there is an earthquake and the chains of all the prisoners fall off. But the bigger miracle is that no one tries to escape. Most probably Paul talked to them and convinced them not to run away. However, the biggest miracle is about to happen. The jailer, who must have maltreated many of the prisoners, realizes that Paul and Silas are envoys of God. So he asks for salvation from God through them. He brings them to his house (still another miracle), washes their wounds and then sits down to listen to their preaching. All his family members are converted to the faith and are all baptized. Now that is a miracle!

     Have you witnessed miracles in which people completely change the direction of their lives?  It would be great to witness such miracles because they truly strengthen our faith in God. The conversion of St. Paul is one such miracle. Miraculous conversions are the work of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit touches a person, he can change immensely and is filled with zeal to obey God and His commands. We should not give up on anyone no matter how bad they might be because God is more powerful than our sins. He can change us totally if we believe in Him and desire to be converted to His way of doing and thinking. The work of the Holy Spirit is to undo the works of the devil. So we should not be afraid of the evil one because God has already triumphed on Easter Sunday over the prince of this world.  The gospel says so.    

  

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, fill my heart with your peace. Increase my faith, knowing that you will never leave me or abandon me. I am your child precious in your sight. Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart and kindle in me the fire of your love!

Encountering Christ:

·          Grieving Hearts: How hard it is to say goodbye to those we love! The disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus and now he was saying goodbye. They must have been brokenhearted. So many times, emotion blinds us from the goodness and grace Our Lord wishes to pour out upon us. Let us be not afraid when trials come our way, or completely overwhelmed by grief when sorrows hit, but rather be hopeful, for we know where Jesus went, where he is now, and where we would like to be some day.

·         The Advocate: Jesus promised us a great Counselor, the sweet guest of our soul— the Holy Spirit. Let us cling to the Holy Spirit, calling upon the graces from our confirmation. We need to rely on the gifts and the fruits that we received from the Holy Spirit to live as beloved sons and daughters of the Father and proclaim Christ to the world.

·         Go: When we lose loved ones, we naturally want to keep their memory alive. Our faith tells us they are not far from us, separated by a thin veil between heaven and earth. “On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations” (Isaiah 25:7). Our faith also tells us that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit abide in us! While eyes may not see and ears may not hear, we are never alone. What a consolation his accompaniment can be to our grieving hearts. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord, increase my faith, increase my hope, increase my love! Help me stay sober, awake, and alert knowing you are here with me. Open my heart to receive you and enlighten me on how I can use the gifts and fruits you have so generously poured out upon me. I love you!

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will list the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit and strive to more concretely make use of them.

 

REFLECTION Tuesday 6th Week of Easter

The sudden change in the attitude of the jailer in the first reading invites study and reflection. In one instant he's a terrified, fearful man, bent on suicide. In the next he's leading his prisoners out of the jail, bathing their wounds, and spreading a feast before them. He was fearful because he thought his prisoners had escaped from detention. Now, by his own volition and decision he gives freedom to these same men who have been entrusted to his charge by his superiors.

            Paul, of course, along with Silas, reacted much differently when confronted with crisis. Without any semblance of a trial, Paul had been scourged publicly. He was a Roman citizen, and to scourge a Roman citizen was a crime punishable by death. Furthermore a Roman citizen could not be punished at all without a trial. Yet, in spite of this public, very painful, humiliating, and unjust experience, we find Paul, and Silas with him, marvelously calm, though chained in prison. When the earthquake struck, their calm continued. Paul calmly called out to the jailer to dissuade him from killing himself.

            Paul and Silas, and the jailer as well, found their faith an enormous source of strength. Depending on the depth of our faith and the intensity of our love for the Lord Jesus, we share this same source of strength with them. In time of crisis, for instance when we must accept rejection by those we love and admire for the sake of Christ's values or when because of these same values we must say no to wealth immorally acquired, we can dip into this strength-source. The Lord Jesus himself will share his strength with us. Then we will profess Jesus joyfully, even though the environment be hostile.

 

Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

1. Sadness at Jesus’ Parting: As Jesus’ imminent self-sacrifice approaches, the apostles are overwhelmed with confusion and grief. “Who is going to betray him?” “Why is he going?” “What will we do without him?” Questions like these — fruit of their concern for their Master and friend are whispered to and fro. They have given up everything to follow him. Jesus strives to console them although he is immersed in grief himself. Sorrow is not lacking in the life of any pilgrim, and as Christians we are exiles in a foreign land. Our joy and hope comes from the vision of faith, which enables us to follow in the footsteps of Our Lord. His sacrifice and victory give meaning to our daily trials.

2. The Consoler’s Coming: We are called to an intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit, the “Sweet Guest of the Soul.” Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon us at our baptism to be the craftsman of our holiness, and our consolation and strength as we await Christ’s return. No one would wish to face a criminal trial alone and unaided; nor should we try to face the ordeal against sin without the help of Christ’s advocate. Am I aware of the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit in my soul? Am I attentive and docile to his inspirations and movements?

3. Setting Things Right: Nothing is so unsettling as to see the “bad guy” win. Whether it be in the movies or in real life, somehow it seems written in the very fabric of the universe that good should prevail. Many times evil has appeared to usurp the upper hand momentarily, but a Higher Power has always intervened, causing one tyranny and dictatorship after another to crumble. In our own day, evils abound in societies where the lives of the most vulnerable are greatly undervalued. Christ reminds us, however, that the Holy Spirit is at work. Time and again the Holy Spirit continues renewing the face of the earth and changing hearts, bringing good out of evil. Am I too pessimistic in the face of evil, or do I have the optimism of a Christian? Do I confide in the grace and action of the Holy Spirit?

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have left us to go to the Father, and yet you are still with us through the action of your Holy Spirit. Help me to find strength and consolation as I strive to follow his guidance.

Resolution: I will take a moment out of my day today to thank the Holy Spirit for his action in the world and my life.