Suy Niệm Lễ kính Sinh Nhật Đức Trinh Nữ Maria

Suy Niệm Lễ kính Sinh Nhật Đức Trinh Nữ Maria

Vớì Thiên Chúa thì không có thời gian. Ngài tồn tại từ muôn thuở. Và kế hoạch của Ngài cũng bắt đầu từ đời đời. Trí óc của con người chúng ta không thể thực sự hiểu được sự vĩnh hằng, không có sự bắt đầu và kết thúc, và mãi mãi vô tận. Chúng ta chỉ có thể thán phục Thiên Chúa và kinh ngạc với những cách làm của Người: chúng ta thực sự không thể hiểu được, đặc biệt là những công việc và sự can thiệp của Người trong thời gian và lịch sử nhân loại. Có vẻ như cách làm việc của Thiên Chúa rất khác với cách làm việc của chúng ta. Cách Thiên Chúa làm việc là chọn những cái nhỏ bé và không đáng kể trong mắt của thế gian, Ngài đã chọn Belem, "Và ngươi, Bêlem, đất thuộc Juda, hẳn ngươi không phải là nhỏ nhất trong hàng bộ lạc Juda, vì tự ngươi: sẽ xuất hiện vị thủ lĩnh, kẻ sẽ chăn dắt Israel dân Ta".

Và Thiên Chúa chờ thời gian của Ngài; Ngài không vội vàng. Thiên Chúa chờ đợi. Ngài chờ đợi sự ra đời của cô bé sẽ sinh Con cho Ngài. Thật là tuyệt vời dừng bao khi Thiên Chúa đã chuẩn bị cho sự xuất hiện của Người Con của mình như một con người thật. Sự ra đời của ̣̣Đức Maria không có gì là đáng kể, chỉ là sự ra đời tầm thường như nhửng cô bé gái bình thường với cha mẹ là ông Goan Kim và bà Anne. Nhưng trong kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa, sự ra đời của Đức Maria là điều cốt yếu trong kế hoạch cứu độ cho loài người. "Đức Maria ̣được Chúa bảo vệ khỏi tất cả những vết bẩn dơ của tội lỗi ban đầu ngay từ khoảnh khắc lúc đầu mới được thụ thai", Maria, "đầy ơn phúc", đã ở trong "thời kỳ trọn vẹn" được chọn làm Mẹ người Con của Đấng Tối Cao.

Chúng ta hãy vui mừng và hân hoan đón chào ngày mừng sinh nhật của Đức Maria như là sự "khởi đầu mới" cho phẩm giá và ơn gọi của phụ nữ. Sự đồng ý chấp thuận của Đức Maria khi được loan báo và bài ca Magnificat của cô khi thăm viếng bà Isave đã tóm lược những phản ứng quảng đại của Đức Maria đối với Thiên Chúa.

Tin Mừng hôm nay đã trình bày cho chúng ta gia phả của Chúa Giêsu. Khi chúng ta nhìn sâu hơn vào câu chuyện của mỗi vị tổ tiên trong những dòng dõi con người của Chúa Giêsu, trong đó bao gồm từ Ông Abraham Tới đời vua David, qua đó, chúng ta thấy Thiên Chúa đã chuẩn bị và ban ơn cứu độ cho dân của Ngài, Thiên Chúa đã giữ lời hứa với tổ phụ Abraham và ban cho Ngài con cháu đời ày qua đời khác cho đến khi kế hoạch cuối cùng của Ngài sẽ được nhận ra. Với điều này trong tâm trí, chúng ta đều được khuyến khích theo đuổi và sống tình yêu của Chúa Kitô, vì đó là những gì Thiên Chúa đã hứa và định trưc cho chúng ta được.

REFLECTION Mt 1: 1, 16

For God there is no time. He exists from all eternity. And his plans are also from eternity. Our minds cannot really comprehend eternity, timeless, without beginning and end, and forever and ever. We can only be in awe and wonder at God and his ways: we really cannot fully understand, especially his workings and interventions in time and human history. It does seem that God's ways are so different from our ways. He works with and chooses what is small and insignificant in the world's eyes: he chose Bethlehem, "so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel." And God bides his time; he is not in any hurry. God waits. He waited for the birth of the maiden who would give birth to his Son. Amazing how he prepared for the coming of his Son as man.

Mary's birth was insignificant, the ordinary birth of an ordinary baby girl to ordinary parents, Joachim and Anne. But in God's plan, Mary's birth was crucial in God's salvific plan for humankind. "Preserved from all stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception," the maiden Mary, "full of grace," was in the "fullness of time" chosen to be the Mother of the Son of the Most High. We rejoice and celebrate Mary's birth as the "new beginning" of the dignity and vocation of women. Mary's Fiat at the annunciation and her Magnificat at the visitation summarize her generous response to God.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, on this, your mother’s birthday, I come before you in prayer and ask her to be at my side. Mother Mary, teach me how to pray. Open my heart to hear and welcome the Father’s plan and to love Jesus a little bit more like you did.

Encountering Christ:

· Joseph’s Righteousness: Who better to teach us how to love and imitate Our Lady than her husband Joseph? It’s not difficult to imagine his confusion, sadness, or simple inability to grasp what was happening. We can also feel this way from time to time, right? Joseph was a man who sought to please God and live according to God’s commands. And it was his sincere seeking of what God wanted of him that moved him to decide to divorce Mary quietly; a costly decision, no doubt, but the best Joseph could fathom. His sleep must have been restless that night as he continually sought to know what God was asking of him.

· Through the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit descended upon Mary so that Christ might become incarnate in her womb. The Holy Spirit came to St. Joseph in a dream to give him the grace he needed to discover God’s will in confusing circumstances. God does not leave us alone to make our way in the world and hope for the best. He comes out to meet us, he enters our lives (if we let him) and gives us what we need. He does not ask us to do the impossible, though he does the impossible himself through us.

· God-with-Us: The name given God was Emmanuel, God-with-us. It’s not god-against-us, or god-indifferent-to-us, or even god-watching-but-far-away-from-us. His name is Emmanuel. This name that God has given to himself doesn’t just tell us what he does; it tells us who he is, something of his essence. He is a God who descends, who accompanies, and who unites. He brings us together, drawing all to himself (John 12:32). How the world changed when this truth entered it! Not a god hid in an idol on the shelf, nor one to be appeased by animal sacrifices, nor distant and unknowable in a cloud somewhere “out there.” How the world of Mary and Joseph changed when they welcomed this truth into their hearts and let God make them a family. How would our life change if we welcomed this truth anew today?

Conversing with Christ: Come, Holy Spirit. I trust you to give me what I need. Help me to be attentive to your voice, as both Joseph and Mary were. Help me to trust that even when I don’t understand, when my future seems hidden from me, or I don’t know what decision to make, that you will give me the grace I need. I do trust in you, Lord, and I give you the space in my heart and my life to do your will.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to be attentive to your inspirations and act upon them, hand in hand with Mary.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2020

Opening Prayer:

Lord, as I settle myself to reflect on your words today, I thank you for the Blessed Mother. She truly watches over me, and I feel her warm presence always guiding me to pay attention to your will.

Encountering Christ:

1. Immaculately Conceived: The feast of Mother Mary’s birth is celebrated exactly nine months after the church celebrates her Immaculate Conception on December 8. We know that Mary’s parents, Anna and Joachim, prayed fervently for a child and recognized her special holiness from birth (Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel written about A.D. 150). St. Augustine had these beautiful words to say about Mary: “He knew his mother in predestination, even before he was born of her; even before, as God, he created her of whom, as man, he was to be created, he knew her as his mother” (Trac. In Iohanem 8,9). The angel Gabriel confirmed that the Blessed Mother was highly favored (see Luke 1:28). Mary’s beauty and purity suited her exalted mission. We, too, have been given gifts and talents to fulfill our very specific unrepeatable mission. When Mary completed her earthly mission, she was named “Queen of Heaven.” May we one day join Our Blessed Mother as we hear her Son say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant...Come, share your master’s joy” (Matthew 25:21).

2. Jesus’s Birth: We celebrate Mary’s birthday because Mary’s “yes” brought Our Savior into the world. Every millisecond of Mary’s life was consecrated—given over to her spouse, the Holy Spirit, for the good of mankind. She willingly gave birth, nursed, nurtured, and perfectly loved her Son from infancy to the foot of the cross to the throne of heaven. No other human loved like Mary did, and no one suffered as much. We can turn to her for help with every aspect of our relationships, knowing that she understands us and takes our prayers straight to her Son.

3. Our Mother: Jesus knew full well the beauty and perfection of his mother Mary, and his desire, as he hung on the cross, was to give her to us (see John 19:26-27). What a glorious parting gift our Savior gave us through St. John. Mother Mary now mediates between mankind and God, appearing in Fatima, Lourdes, etc., to encourage and correct her children. She weeps for us, prays for us, gives us graces she has obtained from her Son and accompanies us while we strive to make our way through life. With full hearts, we thank God for this blessed feast day—the birth of our mother, Mary.

Conversing with Christ: Lord, it amazes me that part of your plan for salvation was the creation of this perfect human being, Mary, and that you desired to give her to us as our mother. Over the centuries, Mary has acquired many different titles, but none is more precious than “mother.” How blessed we are to be your adopted sons and daughters, with Mother Mary to intercede for us now and at the hour of our death.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will pray the Litany of Mary, meditating on each title of my Blessed Mother, with a grateful heart