Suy Niệm thứ Bẩy tuần thứ Hai Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm thứ Bẩy tuần thứ Hai Thường Niên

Trong con mắt của con người trong xã hội ngày nay, họ coi những Người Kitô hữu chúng ta trong thế giới hôm nay chẳng khác gì những người đở hơi, gàn gỡ. Đức Kitô đã không đến với thế giới chúng ta để tìm kiếm những sự háu danh, hay được nổi tiếng hay để giành độc quyền những tiếng khen ngợi của người đời. Điều này giúp cho chúng ta có được một cái nhìn sâu sắc hơn về Kitô giáo của chúng ta là gì. Trong mọi thời gian, Kitô hữu là những người đi ngược lại với cơn thủy triều đang dâng của xã hội. Nhiều lúc Kitô hữu chúng ta đã phải đi ngược lại với những ý nghĩa hay những cuộc sống theo thời trong xã hội hôm nay.

Chúng ta hãy can đảm, trong thực tế Chúa Giêsu Kitô là người đầu tiên đã phải chấp nhận nững thách thức này và Ngài đã vượt qua những thứấy một cách đắc thắng, Vì Ngài luôn luôn biết tin tưởng Cha của Ngài, Ngài không bao giờ có sự nghi ngờ về tình yêu của Thiên Chúa. Sự tin tưởng này đã duy trì Chúa Kitô cả cuộc đời Ngài trong Tình Yêu và lòng Tin Kính nơi Chúa Cha chính cả trong những lúc Ngài bị phải bội và bị đẩy ra khỏi quê hương Ngài đang sống

"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con luôn biệt đặt Chúa trước hết mọi sự và tìm được niềm vui trong việc làm theo ý muốn của Chúa. Xin cho tình yêu và đức bác ái của Chúa được sống và lớn lên trong chúng con, đặc biệt là khi chúng con phải đối diện với những sự chống đối và những nghịch cảnh"

Reflection

The Christian today is the odd man out. Christ did not come to the world for popularity or to win men's approval. This gives us an insight to what Christianity is. Most of the time, to be a Christian is to go against the tide. Many times it will go against human common sense.

Let us take courage in the fact that Christ was the first to enter this challenge and overcome it victoriously, always trusting his Father, never doubting the love of God. This trust has been the one sustaining Christ all his life when he was driven out of towns,

Saturday 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Lord, I want to let your word penetrate my heart, and let you speak to me. You know the things I need to hear today; you know my weaknesses, my longings, and exactly what I need in order to live a more holy life and be more like you. Help me to be open to all you have to say to me. Above all, I want to listen to you. I know that your words are life and will give me new life. They will light a new fire in my heart today. I want to let you do that for me during this time of meditation!

Encountering Christ:

At Home with Jesus: These words give us a glimpse of what it was like to spend every day with Jesus. The disciples went everywhere that he went, and lived many moments with him doing ordinary things. At times they were in a field, at times they went with him to the synagogue or to the town square, and at times they invited him into their homes. Did their familiarity with Jesus lead them to take him for granted in little ways and not wonder at how hard he worked? Or perhaps seeing Jesus’ humanity on a daily basis made it difficult for them to be awed by his divinity. Our familiarity with the Mass, especially if we go daily, and the routine of our devotional practices can sometimes numb us to the truth that Jesus is indeed God. May we strive always to appreciate the intimate access he gives to us in prayer and the sacraments.

They Can’t Even Eat: Several times in the Gospel, Jesus and the disciples were so inundated by the crowds and consumed with serving that they could not take care of their most basic needs, like eating. With Jesus, there seemed to be “a new normal,” which was one of total self-giving. Of course, we are called to be prudent and balanced in our work, our ministry, and our family life. But perhaps this Gospel is calling us to evaluate where we can give more. May we imitate St. Ignatius of Loyola in his generous self-giving by praying: Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this, is sufficient for me.

Out of His Mind: That Jesus had relatives who considered him out of his mind presents us with great irony. Far from crazy, Jesus is, in fact, wisdom incarnate. “In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, and pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure, and very subtle” (Wisdom 7:22-23) Jesus is the one with the clearest understanding of his identity, and the most rational, intelligent, and balanced of any human person. Knowing Jesus as we do, in hindsight, we can see more clearly who he is, although he will always be a mystery. What confuses us oftentimes is why Jesus does what he does in our lives. In our struggles to understand the “whys” in our life, we recall the words of the prophet Isaiah: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55: 9). Jesus is inviting us to overcome our human way of understanding and to see things through the lens of the Gospel.

Conversing with Christ: Lord, open my eyes and my heart. I want to live this day and every day with you, by your side. I want to sacrifice and serve others as you do, and to embrace your way of seeing things. Help me when I find myself calculating how much I have given. Strengthen me to give even when I am tired, hungry, or when I think I have given enough by human standards. Help me to judge by your standards.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will make a small sacrifice, one that really costs me, for the good of someone else.