Suy Niệm Tin Mừng -Lễ Kính Các Thánh 1/11

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng -Lễ Kính Các Thánh 1/11

Trong Tin Mừng Chúa Giêsu hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy rằng cuộc sống của Ngài là một cuộc sống trong Tám Mối Phúc Thật, và chúng ta cũng nên cập nhật cuộc sống chúng ta theo tinh thần của Tám Mối Phúc Thật. Trong các mối phúc thật, chúng ta có thể làm thành một bảng tóm tắt là “làm thế nào”, trong những giai đoạn khác nhau trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, trong những tình huống và những sự thử thách khác nhau, và cách mà chúng ta phải cư xử theo nghĩa vụ riêng của mình. Chúng ta được mời gọi để chấp nhận cuộc sống theo gương của Chúa Giêsu như chính Ngài đang sống ở giữa chúng ta. Đó việc góp phần vào việc xây dựng nền móng cho của Nước Thiên Chúa mà Chúa Giêsu không ngừng mời gọi chúng ta.

Trong quá trình này, có rất nhiều sự khó khăn nhắc nhở chúng ta về sự cần thiết để thánh hoá và thanh lọc qua sự đầu hàng Thiên Chúa với tất cả những gì chúng ta đang có. Sự cam kết này phải được đánh dấu với niềm hy vọng như thư của thánh Gioan đã nói với chúng ta: “Tất cả những người có niềm hy vọng này dựa vào Ngài làm cho mình thanh tịnh, vì Ngài là đấng thật là tinh khiết"

Chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để kiểm tra liên tục lại cuộc sống của chúng ta một cách thường xuyên mỗi ngày để chúng ta có thể khám phá ra những lĩnh vực trong của cuộc sống đang làm cản trở việc xây dựng Vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Để đạt được điều này, Chúa Giêsu đến để mời gọi chúng ta tìm kiếm những hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa trong mọi sự, ngay cả trong những sự bất công hay bắt bớ. Trong khi chúng ta phải đối mặt với những tình huống này, chúng ta được chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa một cách nhân lành.

Xin Chúa, ban cho chúng con có được những ân sủng của Chúa để làm chứng cho tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Chúa trong tất cả những kinh nghiệm trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng con. Trong những khi chúng con phải đối diện với những trường hợp thử thách, xin giúp chúng con can đảm để chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng con.

Reflection

In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals to us that his life is a life of the Beatitudes and that we should also fashion our lives in the spirit of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, we find a summary of how, in our different stages of life, in the different situations and challenges, we are supposed to behave. The behavior we are invited to adopt mirrors Jesus' life amongst us. It also contributes to the building of the foundations for the Kingdom of God to which Jesus constantly invites us. In this process, the many difficulties remind us of the need for purification through a total surrender to God. This commitment should be marked with hope as the first letter of John tells us: “everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.”

We are also called to examine our lives constantly on a daily basis so as to discover those areas of our lives that hinder the building of the Kingdom of God. In order to achieve this, we are invited to seek the face of God in all things even in injustices or persecutions. As we face these situations, we are to witness meekly to the mercy of God. Grant us, Lord, the grace to witness to Your love and mercy in all our daily life experiences

Nov 1, 2021. All Saints

Opening Prayer: Lord God, today’s Gospel passage crescendos from values such as purity and poverty to the intensity of persecution and trial to the pure joy of eternal reward. Teach my heart to beat in symphony with this message from your heart.

Encountering Christ:

· Blessed Are the Merciful: Each of the beatitudes is a pearl of Gospel wisdom with enough richness to occupy a contemplative heart for quite some time. Let us examine one beatitude at random: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” God is our merciful Father, who has given us the gifts of creation and redemption, along with special graces such as a family or a good workplace. He shows his mercy by giving us the grace to resist temptation, and holding out the offer of forgiveness when we fall. A life of mercy is a life of blessedness—in other words, happiness. This is the promise of all eight beatitudes.

· The Church Chooses All!: The Church’s liturgy today does not restrict us to the contemplation of one beatitude, but floods us with all of them at once. This Gospel bonanza is in accordance with today’s feast day, the Solemnity of All Saints. It is truly a wonder to think of the variety and diversity of the saints. They were poor in spirit and thirsty for righteousness. They were meek and merciful, poor and peaceful. They were persecuted, insulted, and mocked. And what did they receive in exchange? Happiness in Heaven. One thing all the saints have in common is their reward of Heaven, eternal life with Jesus. And that is where all our sufferings and crosses in Christ are leading us too. So rejoice and be glad!

· True Blessedness: The repetition of the word “Blessed” is the most characteristic element in this Gospel passage. The repetition of it rings in our ears: blessed, blessed, blessed. “Blessed” is a synonym for “happy” but with a deeper connotation. Jesus is not suggesting that we will feel great when we mourn or are insulted. But he is suggesting that there is a deeper kind of happiness–beatitude–which suffuses even suffering and all kinds of unpleasantness, transforming it through faith. This joy of the saints ran soul-deep, and no amount of adversity could take it away.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I can only accept these challenging beatitudes and aspire to them because they come from you. You lived them yourself first, and then you invited me to live them, giving me the grace I need to follow you. O Lord, continue to rain down your grace on me so I can be blessed!

solution: Lord, today by your grace I will consider purchasing one of the many Lives of the Saints in order to provide myself with solid companions for the rocky road of faith.

REFLECTION

Jesus on the cross lived out for us what the theologian Bernard Lonergan called the "Law of the Cross," the template of God's solution to the problem of evil. Evil is not overcome by further evil ("A tooth for a tooth") but by returning good for evil ("Turn the other cheek"). (Mt 5: 38 - 39)

Through such self-sacrificing love that places its complete trust in God, God draws even greater good from the evil. Thus, the self-sacrificing love of Jesus on the cross brought about his glorious resurrection, the Church, the salvation of mankind and the restoration of all things to God in Christ..

Today's Gospel, the "Beatitudes," spells out for us this pattern of salvation in our daily lives.

What is striking about the Beatitudes is that the statements are made, and are addressed to each one of us, in the context of this existing world we live in, a world that remains afflicted by evil. It is a field of wheat commingled with tares; it is a net filled with good fish and bad. Man's salvation, sealed on the cross and the resurrection of Jesus as the "firstborn," must now be worked out in time and through history transforming every individual person into the living stones that build up the Body of Christ.

But, how do I, as one individual, who can do only what I can do in my limited time and place, have any meaningful impact in this trans-historical process of restoring all things in Christ? The answer of the Beatitudes seems feckless on first reading. In the face of the world's poverty, the beatitude merely says, "Fortunate are those who have the spirit of the poor..." In the face of violence, "Fortunate are the gentle.... “In the face of injustice,” Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice..." And so on. Feeling all these sentiments is fine: but how do they change things? The question forces us to face deeper realities in our faith.

First of all, it is neither I nor you nor any human being or institution who will accomplish the work of establishing God's kingdom. It is God himself, or more precisely, it is the Father through his Son, now the head of his Body, the Church, infused by the Holy Spirit, against whom the gates of hell will not prevail.

Secondly, this work is not the creation of some other human world or entity; this work is the re-creation of this self-same world, just as the resurrected body of Jesus is the self-same body that was crucified. The difference is that the "old world" that John's Gospel describes as turned away from God is now transformed into a new creation infused by the love of God. And the transformation of this world is accomplished through the conversion of the human heart from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.

And if the transformation of the world is through the conversion of the human heart, then it is clear that the Beatitudes speak precisely of what that converted human heart is to become: To be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be gentle, and so on, and to be totally submissive, not to the evil of the world, but to the will of God, just as Jesus allowed himself to be led to the cross in submission to his Father's will.

The Beatitudes then are primarily directed to the conversion of the human heart of the hearer, you and me. But our following of the direction of the Beatitudes in this life has much more impact than just my or your conversion. Being poor in spirit or meek, etc, conveys the meaning of a continuing attitude of the human heart that goes beyond these acts of virtue. To sustain this attitude of submission, in the midst of the continuing presence and experience of evil in the world, is to be continuously united to the sufferings of Christ. And it is that fidelity to love of God in the face of evil that, in the Father's disposition of the work of the Spirit, transforms, the world, imperceptibly but surely - like salt or yeast or the mustard tree from the tiny mustard seed.

Monday Le Cac Thanh November 1st

Tám Mối Phúc thật trong bài tin mừng hôm nay đã mô tả cho chúng ta thấy được cái lý tưởng cho những người sống tuân theo luật pháp của Thiên Chúa một cách trọn vẹn. Họ khiêm tốn, có lòng nhân ái, không biết bạo động, nhiệt thành vì công lý và lẽ phải, và những người lao động không mệt mỏi vì hòa bình. Họ nhất tâm sùng kính Thiên Chúa trong tâm hồn và không để cho thế gian lợi dụng và cám dỗ. Cách sống này là mục tiêu và sự mong ước của chúng ta, và khi chúng ta sống theo mục tiêu này một cách hợp lý, chúng ta và những người xung quanh chúng ta đều hạnh phúc và chúc lành.

Đám đông ca ngợi Thiên Chúa trước ngai vàng thần thánh là nơi chúng ta hy vọng sẽ được hiện diện ở đó khi chúng ta rời khỏi thế giới này. Nhưng chúng ta là con người, và đôi khi chúng ta hụt hẫng, đôi khi chúng ta quá thất vọng. Chúng ta phải luôn nhớ rằng sự cứu rỗi của chúng ta không phải là một thành tựu cá nhân, vì chúng ta thấm áo của mình trong máu của Chiên Con là Chúa Giêsu và là Đấng làm cho chúng ta nên thánh, và tôn vinh Chúa.

Khi trở thành con cái của Thiên Chúa, chúng ta bắt đầu một cuộc hành trình. Chúng ta hoàn toàn không biết sứ sẽ kết thúc sẽ được hoà hảo như thế nào hay chúng ta đã dự trữ cho chúng ta được những gì? điều đó Thiên Chúa sẽ cho chung ta biết sau. Nhưng chúng ta phải biết rằng càng ngày chúng ta sẽ trở nên giống như Ngài hơn, người mà chúng ta yêu mến, và chúng ta sẽ gặp trực tiếp Ngài. Phản ứng thích hợp duy nhất là khiêm tốn và biết ơn. Lạy Chúa, xin cho con được nhìn thấy khuôn mặt của Ngài.

Reflection

The Beatitudes give us the ideal description of those who live the law of God perfectly. They are humble, compassionate, non-violent, zealous for justice and righteousness, and untiring workers for peace. They are single-minded in their devotion to God and untainted by worldliness. This way of life is our goal and desire, and when we live it reasonably well, we and those around us are happy and blessed.

The multitudes praising God before the divine throne is where we hope to be when we pass from this world. But we are human, and we fall short, sometimes drastically so. We must always remember that our salvation is not a personal achievement, for we wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb. Jesus is the one who makes us holy, and to the Lord be the glory.

When we become children of God, we begin a journey. We do not know completely how it will end or what is in store for us — that will be revealed later. But we do know that we will become more and more like Him, whom we love, and we will see Him face to face. The only appropriate response is humility and gratitude. Lord, may I see Your face.

Reflection All Saints

Opening Prayer: Dear Lord, I come before you today with the desire to grow in faith, hope, and love, which are at the very heart of my relationship with you. I desire the holiness to which you have called me, and which the saints, whom we celebrate today, have shown me is possible. Open my mind and heart so that I may receive the lights and graces you wish to share with me in this our time together.

Encountering Christ:

1. Jesus Our Model: The beatitudes speak principally of Jesus himself. He is our model, the norm of the new law (see Catechism #459). In him we see a “poverty” that, although rich, emptied himself for our sake (see Philippians 2:7). Who is meek if not Jesus who said, “learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29)? He is merciful like no other, seeking out the lost sheep, which is humanity gone astray (see Matthew 18:12-14). As Christians, we follow the person of Jesus Christ. Dogmas are an effort to understand him; norms are an effort to follow him. As Our Lord’s self-portrait, the beatitudes become the Christian’s Magna Carta. They do not replace the Ten Commandments; they go beyond them. The former insists that we do not offend love; the latter insists we love as Jesus did.

2. The Saints Have Followed: Our Lord’s invitation to imitate him is daunting. However, Jesus has made it possible through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which we receive in baptism (see Catechism #1227). Then as children of God, we are able to cry out “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6). All the saints, whom we celebrate today, have preceded us and shown us that sanctity is within our reach. Sanctity is simply allowing the grace God has planted in us through baptism to grow and develop. No situation or circumstance can prevent God’s grace from working powerfully in a docile soul. The saints, men and women from all ages and all walks of life, have modeled the way. Their example and their intercession are powerful aids on our own journey. We know we can make it to heaven because they have. They fortify in us the theological virtue of hope.

3. An Invitation to Joy: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’s invitation to blessedness is an invitation to joy. However, Jesus’s joy sets the world’s joy on its head. We want to avoid discomfort and pain at all costs. Jesus says, “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you… Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” However, the promise of heaven amidst suffering is not merely a promise of future joy, but of a joy already begun even while suffering. This joy amidst suffering was the “insanity” that only the saints understood. St. John Paull II said, “To know that God is not far but close… is reason for profound joy that different daily events cannot affect… An unmistakable characteristic of Christian joy is that it can coexist with suffering, because it is totally based on love.” The saint knows he or she is secure in God’s love amidst suffering. This experience of God’s love then moves the saint to give everything back to Christ and, in that self-sacrificing gift, to find deep joy.

Conversing with Christ: Dear Lord Jesus, you offer me your joy by concretely showing me how I should imitate your virtues, such as meekness, purity, and mercy. In addition to your grace, you have given me my older brothers and sisters in the faith who are living icons of you. They inspire me with their lives and sustain me with their prayers. May my increased devotion to them augment my devotion to you. Let me embrace the joy of the cross and console your Sacred Heart.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will read at least one brief article about the life of a saint. Then I will say a simple prayer to that saint asking for his or her intercession for my family and me.