Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai tuần Thứ tư Thường Niên.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai tuần Thứ tư Thường Niên.

Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy một người bị quỉ ám sống trong những ngôi mộ rất hung dữ có có sức mạnh vô thường chân tay có thể bẻ gẫy cã những xích xiềng.  Thánh Phaolô cũng có nói về người bị quỷ ám với nghĩa khác. Đó là người bị hoàn toàn cai trị bởi những ham muốn của cải riêng mình về thể chất và ý tưởng, những người chỉ biết và thích sống một cuộc sống gợi cảm, "họ đầy bất chính, xấu xa, tham lam, độc ác đủ thứ; nào là ganh tị, giết người, cãi cọ, mưu mô, thâm hiểm; nào là nói hành nói xấu, vu oan giá họa. Họ thù ghét Thiên Chúa, ngạo ngược, kiêu căng, khoác lác, giỏi làm điều ác, không vâng lời cha mẹ," (Rom. 1: 29-30).

Chúa Kitô cho chúng ta biết rằng người bị quỷ ám chính là bản tính tự nhiên trong tâm hồn của chúng ta nếu chúng ta  "Vì từ bên trong lòng người mà phát xuất ra những ý định xấu như: tà dâm, trộm cắp, giết người, ngoại tình, tham lam, độc ác, xảo trá, trác táng, ganh tỵ, phỉ báng, kiêu ngạo, ngông cuồng. Tất cả những điều xấu xa đó, đều từ bên trong xuất ra, và làm cho con người ra ô uế." (Mc 7: 21-23).

            Đây là tình huống đáng thương của sự yếu đuối con người chúng ta và cũng vì tình yêu bao la của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng ta mà Ngài đã sai Con Một của Ngài, là Chúa Giêsu Kitô đến để cứu chúng ta và cho chúng ta có khả năng mới để biến đổi cuộc sống của chúng tôi. Chúng ta có thể được mặc với Chúa Thánh Thần và những ý thức hệ của chúng ta được hướng về Thiên Chúa và tha nhân.

 

REFLECTION Mon 3rd Feb 2014 4th Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel presents a demoniac who lived in the tomb and could not be shackled. St. Paul speaks of another possession. This is the person who is ruled entirely by his own physical desires and ideas, who only lives sensual lives, "men steeped in all sorts of depravity, rottenness, greed and malice, and addicted to envy, murder, wrangling, treachery and spite, without love, pity and honor" (Ro. 1: 29-30).

            Christ himself tells us that this is the situation within our heart "evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. This is what makes man unclean" (Mk 7: 21-23). This is our pitiable situation that is why out of immense love of God for us, He sent His only Son, Christ to save us and give us the new possibility to transform our lives. We can be clothed with the Holy Spirit and our senses directed towards God and our neighbor.

 

Monday 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, Son of the Most High God, have mercy on us all! Thank you for coming to save us when we have fallen into sin. Help me to know, love, and follow you. Open my heart today to hear and understand your word.

Encountering Christ:

1.      The Demons Know Him: In Mark’s Gospel, there are very few people who assent to Jesus’ divinity. However, one surprising group knew Jesus’ true identity: the demons. In this passage, Legion acknowledged Jesus as “Son of the Most High God.” They were compelled to obey Jesus’ commands. We could interpret this as a confirmation of Jesus’ divinity, since these spirits–evil as they are–knew his true identity. We can also conclude from this that mere belief in Jesus’ identity is not enough. We must accept that Jesus is the Son of God and we must assent to his Lordship in our lives. We are called to know, love, and follow him. 

2.      Chained in Mortal Sin: The possessed man was practically dead—perhaps even worse than dead. The poor soul was consumed by a host of demons, living in the tombs, and isolated from the community. What a hellish existence! He was in pain, crying out and hurting himself. When he lived among others, had he hurt them too? This is an image of the pain and suffering caused by mortal sin. Mortal sin separates a person from God and others. It shackles and chains a soul. It causes pain and suffering to everyone involved. In short, it causes spiritual death. The Catechism teaches, “If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's Kingdom and the eternal death of Hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God” (CCC 1861). Lord, protect us from mortal sin.

3.      Encountering and Sharing Mercy: Jesus came to save all people from the captivity of sin. He wants to restore us to life and communion with himself and others. The possessed man had an intimate encounter with God’s mercy. His running to and prostrating himself before Jesus was an act of repentance. After Jesus forgave and freed him from the oppression of the demons, he wanted to follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus told him, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Jesus sent him on a mission to share Christ’s mercy with his loved ones and community. His exile was ended, and his life was restored. Christ directed him to proclaim the Gospel of Christ’s mission of mercy to the Gentiles in the center of Greco-Roman culture, the Decapolis. Imagine the joy and hope in this man’s words and how compelling his story was based on his healing and restoration. Out of the darkest moments of our lives, God’s light shines the brightest. Jesus wants to extend his Divine Mercy to all people. Our own stories of what God has done for us can be powerful instruments of evangelization.

Conversing with Christ: My Jesus, help me to be vulnerable and to share my own story of what you have done for me to the people around me. Help me to not be ashamed of my past, but to share how God has forgiven and absolved even my darkest sins. May I be courageous and joyful in sharing the Good News of salvation and mercy, and so be a light in the darkness, confident in the fact that your light is shining within me, never to be overcome by the powers of sin and death in the world (see John 1:5).

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace, I will consider the wonderful things you have done for me and how they have filled me with joy (see Psalm 126:3), in order to be ready to share with others the cause for my hope in you (see 1 Peter 3:15). 

Monday 4th Week in Ordinary Time

David’s son Absalom rose in rebellion and David had to flee Jerusalem. Everything had fallen apart; David was a fugitive. All of this was the aftermath of David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband. If that were not enough, a man followed David along the road hurling insults and curses at him.

            We may have had our own world collapse on us - perhaps everything seemed hopeless  but we can follow David’s example. He put himself totally into God's hands and accepted what came his way. In the end, David overcome all of his difficulties and returned to the throne of Israel. The path to success and happiness often passes through the valleys of struggle, pain, and desolation. Keep courage!

            The man possessed by the legion of demons had lost his place in human society and community. His sense of self had been snuffed out. He lived in the tombs — the unclean realm of the dead — shunned by others.

            He was a portrait of loneliness and desperation. Jesus did not shrink from the impurity of the tombs or the negative energy of the demons. He saw only a man in need. By naming the demons, he began to exert power over them. When they had been expelled, the man was restored to human community and dignity. We can do the same by naming our fears and darkness. It is never too late; no one is ever too far gone. God will reach out to us in our desperation. Evil is only overcome by good and by compassion.

            Lord, help me to reach out with compassion to those in need.