Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Sáu tuần thứ 19 Thường Niên

Trong bài Tin Mừng chúng ta nghe câu chuyện người Pharisêu tìm cách để cài bẫy Chúa Giêsu bằng câu hỏi là một người đã có vợ có được phép ly dị vợ của mình không? Đó là một cái bẫy để bắt tội Chúa Giêsu. Nhưng với Chúa Giêsu, Ngài luôn bảo vệ những giao ước và những điều cam kết của hôn nhân như đã được dự tính trước, và chính Ngài đã giải thích là việc ông Môisen cho phép họ ly hôn chỉ vì những “người Do Thái này đã cứng lòng". Lời dạy của Chúa Giêsu hôm nay rất thẳng thắn và đơn giản là hôn nhân là một sự cam kết lâu dài và một giao ước vĩnh viễn “vì sự gì Thiên Chúa đã liên kết thì loài người không được phân chia. (Mt 19:6).

Như Chúa đã nói với dân Do Thái, "... chứ nào có phải bởi cung kiếm của ngươi, Ta đã ban cho các ngươi đất, ngươi không vỡ; những thành các ngươi không xây mà được ở, những vườn nho, dầu các ngươi không trồng mà được ăn " (Josua 24:13).

Đối với tất cả mọi người trong chúng ta khi đã làm đám cưới nhau trước mặt Chúa và sống chung với nhau được một thời gian dài, thật sự đó là nhờ vào ơn sủng của Thiên Chúa chứ không phải là tự sức hay cái tài khéo của chúng ta mà thực hiện được sự cam kết đó được lâu dài.

Lạy Chúa, xin Chúa ở lại trong chúng con và xin cho tình yêu của Chúa mang lại tình yêu hoàn hảo mà Chúa đã đặt trong chúng con.

Reflection

The Gospel reading from Matthew is the story of the Pharisees’ attempt to trap Jesus by asking if a man can divorce his wife. Jesus defends the commitment of marriage as originally intended and explains that divorce was allowed in the time of Moses only because of the “hardness of the hearts” of the Jewish people at the time. Jesus is very straightforward in his expectation that marriage is a permanent commitment.

As God told the Israelites, “…it was not your sword or your bow. I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” For any of us who have been married for a long time, it is totally evident that we have not accomplished that long-term commitment on our own but with God’s grace. Lord, remain in us and may Your love bring to perfection the love You have put in us.

Opening Prayer: 

Lord Jesus, by your Holy Spirit grant me the grace of entering into this time of prayer with you. I want to know you better, love you more, and follow you more closely.

Encountering Christ:

· From the Beginning: From the beginning, God created the human person for communion, both with God and among each other. In our fallen world, this call to communion is deeply tried on all sides. Wounded hearts, families, relationships—is there any family or marriage, any relationship, untouched by division of some sort? Yet the call to communion is still written upon the innermost flesh of our hearts and made possible by the redeeming grace of God. The very call to communion between persons is a reflection and expression of the communion with God that each one of us is called to. From the beginning, and even in spite of sin’s entry into the world, God has wanted it to be so—and his grace makes it possible.

· Hardness of Heart: So great is the reach of Christ’s redemption that even the hardness of our hearts cannot unwrite the plan God has for the world. His plan is that his own heart may one day reign in all hearts: God has promised us through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts” (Ezekiel 36:26). His response to hardness of heart? Not rejection, but redemption. It is the daily knock upon our hearts, which he references in the book of Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, (then) I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Blessed we are, indeed, that he does not tire of waiting for our answer.

· For the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven: Those to whom it is granted can accept this truth, said Jesus. Even in a fallen, hurting world–in our world, in which sometimes it seems “love” is the most misused, least understood word–it is possible to accept this truth. How can that be? What is more powerful? Those things which prevent and damage this call to communion between persons, those things which seem to make us incapable of it, those who reject it—or the kingdom of heaven, which God has already established and continues calling us toward each day?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you know this world, this heart—and what great need there is for you. We need healing in our own life and family and in so many marriages, families, and priestly and consecrated souls in the world. Come with your grace and renew our hope that love is possible. And give me the grace, today, to imitate you in love.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I ask you to enlighten and soften the hardness of my heart in a particular relationship where it may be hindering my love.

Friday, August 13, 2021- The Love for Holy Living

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

He answered, “Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom that is granted.” Mt. 19:11

This was Jesus’ response to a lengthy discussion about the indissolubility of marriage. One of the reasons that “Not all can accept this word…” is because marriage, and every other vocation, requires wholehearted sacrifice and selflessness. When this is not present, and when the selfless living that is required of us turns to selfishness, then every conflict becomes a heavy burden. A burden that is unbearable without grace.

What is love? What form of love is required in marriage and every other vocation? What love is required of parents and grandparents? The answer is the same to all of these questions. We must love with complete selflessness and in a sacrificial way. Love, in its truest form, always looks to the good of the other and never focuses upon oneself.

Only grace can enable us to live a life based on true love. Our fallen human nature tends to “navel gaze,” meaning, we tend to go through life thinking about ourselves. “What will make my life better? How will this affect me? This person has hurt me. I don’t want to do this or that, etc.” It is very difficult in life to turn our eyes from ourselves to the love of others. This is why Jesus said that this form of love can only be embraced by “those to whom that is granted.” And those to whom this depth of love is granted are those who are open to God’s transforming grace in their lives.

One reason that it is very difficult to love in a completely selfless way is because it requires us to live by grace. Our feeble human minds cannot arrive at the high calling of charity by itself. It is only by grace that we will understand that selfless living is not only best for those whom we are called to love, but it is also best for us. And in the context of married life, parenting, other vocations and every other situation in life, if our love is always focused upon the good of the other, and if our lives imitate the total sacrifice of Christ, then we will see God do great things through us. As He does, we will also see God do great things in us. The bottom line is that we only become who we were made to be when we live like Christ. And He lived a life that was unconditionally sacrificial and selfless.

Reflect, today, upon the high calling of love that you have been given. Can you accept this teaching of our Lord? Has an understanding of the nature of true love been granted to you by grace? And if so, are you doing all you can to live a life of selfless sacrificial love in union with Christ Jesus? As you examine your life and your relationships, especially with those closest to you, consider how well you act as Christ to them. Consider whether you forgive, turn the other cheek, seek mercy, compassion, understanding, gentleness and every other virtue and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Where you are lacking and find selfishness, do not hesitate to beg our Lord to grant you the grace to not only understand your high calling of love, but to also embrace it in your actions to the fullest degree. Then, and only then, will you be able to live the vocation to which you have been called.

My loving Lord, Your love is beyond all comprehension. It is a love that can only be understood by the gift of Your grace. Please do grant me the grace I need to not only understand and to receive Your love in my life but to also offer Your love to all. May my life become an ongoing instrument of the perfection of love that You lived. Jesus, I trust in You.

REFLECTION

In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches about the sanctity and permanence of marriage. Now we begin to see why the love of a husband and wife is a sacrament of God’s love. The Father and the Son; while remaining distinct give themselves utterly to each other, and this mutual giving is the Holy Spirit.

So when two people come together in love and form one flesh, they mimic the love between the Father and the Son. And when their love gives rise to a child, this mimics sacramentally the spiration of the Holy Spirit. Father, mother, and children are evocative of the divine Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And this is why Jesus speaks so forcefully about marriage, and why his Church, at its best, has echoed him up and down the centuries. It is because marriage is such a sacred sign that the Church has sought so assiduously to protect it.

I know that the Church gets a bad rap for surrounding marriage and sexuality with so many rules. I realize that libertarians through the ages have fought against the supposed uptight moralism of the Church. But human beings always surround precious things with laws, restrictions, and prohibitions.

REFLECTION

In the Gospel reading the Pharisees, in efforts to trap Jesus, question him about marriage and divorce. In his reply, Jesus acknowledges Mosaic law which allowed divorce (due to their "stubborn hearts"). At the same time he affirms what the union of man and wife had been in God's plan: "Man has now to leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body? So they are no longer two but one body; let no one separate what God has joined."

Marriage is a very important institution in the Church and in civil society. The family is at the core of the Church and of civil society. The proper rearing and education of children are key to society's growth and prosperity.

Divorce is now allowed in most countries. The Catholic Church does not allow divorce.

The last extraordinary meeting of bishops in Rome focused on the family. Recognizing the difficulties and problems of many failed marriages, the Church has tried to improve its procedures and processes for marriage annulments. Pope Francis has spoken much about proper care, respect and understanding of couples whose marriages have failed, who have separated or obtained civil divorce or have re-married. Let us pray for so many whose marriages have failed for whatever reason.