Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba Tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên – Aug-10-21 Lễ kính thánh Laurensô Tử đạo

Aug-10-21 Lễ kính thánh Laurensô Tử đạo

Trong bài đọc thứ nhất, Thánh Phaolô cho chúng ta biết rằng chúng ta càng gieo nhiều hạt giống thì chúng ta sẽ gặt hái được nhiều hơn. Phần này, thánh Phaolô đề cập đến các Kitô hữu những người đã giúp đỡ xây dựng Giáo Hội địa phương của họ. Nếu chúng ta quảng đại, chúng ta có thể giúp được nhiều người trong cộng đồng của chúng ta. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu còn đi xa hơn nữa, Như trong Tin Mừng, Ngài nói rằng khi chúng ta biết dâng hiến cuộc sống của mình cho người khác, thì kết quả là sẽ có nhiều người sẽ nhận được sự cứu rỗi.

Hôm nay chúng ta mừng lễ Thánh Laurensô, phó tế, tử đạo. Việc tử đạo vinh quang của ông đã tác động mạnh mẽ đến các Kitô hữu trong thời đại của ông. Việc dâng hiến cuộc sống của mình cho Chúa Kitô một cách vui vẻ, ông đã củng cố đức tin của họ. Theo truyền thuyết, khi thánh Laurensô bị nướng trên lò củi cháy cho đến chết, ông ta nói đùa, "Làm ơn quay người tôi lại để nướng bên kia, vì thịt cuêa tôi bên này đã chín rồi."

Thiên Chúa ưa chiộng những người vui tính. Ngài muốn chúng ta dành thời gian và nỗ lực của chúng ta để giúp đỡ những người khác. Chúng ta không thể làm được những điều này một cách xuông sẻ nếu chúng ta không có sự trợ giúp của Chúa Thánh Thần.

Tin Mừng luôn nhắc nhở chúng ta là những người yêu mến cuộc sống của họ, họ sẽ tự hủy diệt cuộc sống của chính họ, và những ai khinh thường cuộc sống của họ trong thế giới này, họ sẽ có được cuộc sống vĩnh cửu với Thiên Chúa. Đó là bản chất của con người là nếu chúng ta yêu mến cuộc sống của chúng ta, chúng ta phải bảo tồn nó. Tuy nhiên, Thánh Laurensô đã làm ngược lại; ngài nhìn cuộc sống của ngài xa hơn cuộc sống ở trần gian, ước muốn của ngài là mong được ở bên Chúa nhiều hơn. Đấy là những gì Chúa Giêu đã làm cho chúng ta.

REFLECTION

In the first reading, St. Paul says that the more we sow, the more we will reap. He was referring to the help Christians give to their churches. It is true that if we are generous, it helps many people in our communities.

But Jesus goes further, In the Gospel he says that when we offer our lives for others, the result is the salvation of many. Today is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. His glorious martyrdom made a strong impact on the Christians of his time. By offering his life cheerfully for Christ, he strengthened their faith. According to legend, as Lawrence was being burned to death, he jokingly remarked, "Please turn me over because I am already well-done on this side." God appreciates a cheerful giver. He wants us to offer our time and effort to helping others. We cannot do this just by ourselves but with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel says that those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life. It is human nature to love life and to preserve it. Yet St. Lawrence did the opposite; he looked beyond his earthly life, desiring more to be with God in the next. This is exactly what Jesus did for us.

Opening Prayer: 

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to enter these moments of prayer with you and to enter just a bit more deeply into this mystery. May I not be afraid to “die” to myself for love of you and others, but may I do so with you and for you, precisely as you have done for me.

Encountering Christ:

· Witnessing the Paradox: Today Mother Church offers this passage, marking the feast of a saint who shared by his life of service as a deacon, and his witness of martyrdom, that paradox that Christ was speaking about to his disciples: In order to preserve one’s life for eternity, one must be willing to lose his life. This paradox might not be worthy of belief had it not come from the mouth of the Savior himself who first lived it. Ours is a privilege the first disciples did not have—we live in a post-Resurrection age. Christ has already risen from the dead and showed his power and fidelity. Countless witnesses through the ages give testimony, too. And yet, the foundation for this truth comes from one and one source alone: Jesus Christ lived and died, rose, and lives now, never to die again. The witness of these saints and martyrs come from him and should always direct us to him.

· Unless It Falls…: Gently and persistently, Jesus strove to prepare his apostles for what was coming: he would fall to the ground under the weight of the cross, be raised upon it in ridicule, and be taken down, a dead man, buried in the tomb. How could they understand what he meant when he spoke these words? They saw him before them, very much alive and powerful, a miracle-working and charismatic leader like none before him. Perhaps this word of Christ was also a seed planted in their hearts, nourishing and taking root throughout their discipleship, until they, too, were ready to give their lives for him. God’s work in our souls is often like this too—God plants a seed God and tends it, sometimes gently, sometimes firmly, until we are ready to bear the fruit he desires. It’s okay not to understand all that he is doing or asking; it may be part of the seed burying, which will rise to new life in us. We are reminded by the apostles and saints throughout the ages: What is important is that we keep our eyes on him.

· If it Dies, It Produces Much Fruit: Christ asks nothing of his followers that he himself has not done first. How could such human weakness as the failure to recognize the Son of God bring such glory to God? And yet it has. The death of God’s only Son has resulted in life for the whole world. Are there any aspects of my life that I have felt to be a sort of death? Suffering in my own life or in my loved one’s lives? Loss or failure, deception or disappointment? We can place each of them into the heart of the Lord who was the first one to fall to the ground. With renewed faith in him, let us trust him with our struggles.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, so many times I do not understand your action or even your seeming absence in my life. But I believe that you are faithful and that you never abandon your children. Even if I feel lost or buried in darkness, strengthen my faith by reminding me that you first allowed yourself to die and be buried, in order to bring me life. Come into my darkness and bring me your light and life.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will try to make conscious acts of giving of myself for love of you and the good of others.

Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, August 10

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. John 12:25

This is one of the many powerful and even shocking statements of Jesus. A similar statement by Jesus is found in all four of the Gospels. In this, John’s version, the words “love” and “hate” are used. By loving our lives, we lose them, but by hating our lives we preserve them. At first read, one may think that those words “love” and “hate” were accidentally reversed. One might conclude that what Jesus meant to say was, “Whoever hates his life loses it” and “whoever loves his life preserves it.” But that’s not what He said. He did in fact say the opposite.

It must be understood that the words “love” and “hate” here are not used in the way we normally use them. In this passage, Jesus is using the word “love” to refer to selfishness or self-centeredness. And He uses the word “hate” to refer to selflessness or sacrificial self-giving. In other words, whoever is selfish in life will lose everything in the end but the one who is truly selfless and self-giving in life will ultimately gain everything.

This profound teaching of our Lord is difficult to comprehend without the gift of grace. Our human reason alone may struggle with the idea that selfless living is good. It is easy to rationally conclude that it is far better to elevate ourselves before everyone. The rational mind might conclude that happiness and the “good life” is found in obtaining riches, status, power and the respect of all. But this form of selfish self-centered living, though tempting on a purely human level, is actually the path to losing everything that is truly good. On the contrary, it is only when we allow God’s grace to inform our human reason that we will arrive at the conclusion that being selfless rather than selfish is what’s best. To be selfless means our eyes are always turned to the good of the other. It means we do not sit and dwell on ourselves. It means we are fully committed to the service of God and our neighbor no matter the cost to us. We must give everything away in the service and love of God and that is the only way by which God gives back to us more than we could ever hope for.

Saint Lawrence, whom we honor today, was a deacon and martyr in the third century. This great saint literally gave up everything, including his very life, so as to say “Yes” to God. As a deacon in the Cathedral Church in Rome, he was entrusted with the task of distributing alms to the indigent people in need. In August of the year 258, the emperor issued an edict stating that all clergy were to be put to death. After the pope was killed, they came for Lawrence and, before killing him, asked him to turn over all the riches of the Church. He asked for three days to gather those treasures, and, during those three days, he distributed all he could to the poor. Then, on the third day, he presented himself before the prefect and brought with him not the material wealth of the Church but the true wealth. He brought the poor, crippled, blind and suffering and declared that the Church was truly rich and that the people with him were the Church’s true treasures. The prefect, in anger, sentenced Lawrence to death by fire, to which Lawrence freely submitted.

Reflect, today, upon the high Christian calling you have been given to live a life that is completely selfless and self-giving in every way. If you find that you dwell on yourself most often, then try to change that habit. Turn your eyes to God and the service of others. Try to care more about the needs of those around you than your own concerns. Do so because this is what Jesus calls us to do, and, if He calls us to such a selfless life, then we must know and believe that it is worth it in the end.

My sacrificial Lord, you gave Your precious life away to all out of love. The total self-giving of Your life resulted in the salvation of those who will accept this glorious gift. Help me to not only open myself to this freely given gift of Yours but to also imitate Your selfless life by giving myself in service of You and others. Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon, and Martyr -John 12:24-26 (listen to this Gospel)

Introductory Prayer:

Lord, today you give me the example of St Lawrence. He gave his life so that your name would be honored and loved by all people. I would like to have the courage to follow his example of courageous love and die to myself so that I will merit graces for the many souls in need.

Petition: Lord, help me to forget myself and put your interests before mine.

1. Christ’s Love: Christ would never demand something of us that he has not already lived himself. There is no deity worshiped by men, other than Jesus Christ, who has sacrificed his life out of love for his believers. It is Christ’s sacrificial love, which has the power to multiply love in our lives. Christ’s act of selfless love gives birth to other actions of the same kind.

2. St Lawrence: St Lawrence was a deacon of the early Church in the middle of the third century. He died a martyr by being roasted slowly on a grill. When he had been grilled for some time, he asked his murderers to turn him over to “grill the other side”! Lawrence’s faith and courageous love are fruits of Christ’s sacrifice. Although we may not be called to such heroism, Christ won the same grace for us to bear our crosses and live a life of selfless love and generosity.

3. Fruit of Fidelity: When we reflect on the lives of the saints, we are inspired by their faithful service to Christ and his Church. Their fidelity is a fruit of Christ’s fidelity. Our acts of fidelity will give life and courage to others to do the same. Constant fidelity is above all the fruit of the grace of God, and our cooperation with it. Constant fidelity until death is the fruit of the fruits of this grace combined with our response. God is the one who creates in a soul the indispensable greatness needed for fidelity. Above all, he grants us the daily gift of his fortitude to persevere in it.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, help me to be more generous in my daily commitments to you. Although you may not be calling me to be a martyr like St Lawrence, please allow me to offer small sacrifices each day for the Church and the salvation of souls.

Resolution: I will offer a sacrifice of fidelity to my prayer or apostolic commitments today for the souls in purgatory.