Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh

Qua sách Tông Đồ Công Vụ, vì chúng ta đã có thể nghĩ câu chuyện có thể đã được phóng đại vì có bao giờ chúng ta có thể thấy được một cộng đồng rất hoàn hảo và hài hòa? Họ cũng có những vấn đề của họ như bất cứ nhóm người nào như Thánh Phaolô cũng đã chúng ta biết. Nhưng có một điều chắc chắn là: họ biết cách để chia sẻ, Họ biết làm thế nào để đảm bảo rằng không có ai phải thiếu thốn bất cứ thứ gì. Và họ yêu thương nhau, biết cách  hỗ trợ nhau và sống hoà đồng trong sự hiệp nhất. Sự hỗ trợ lẫn nhau, và chia sẻ với nhau, đó là nguồn sức mạnh lớn lao của họ.

            Thiên Chúa có thể sống ở giữa họ và thực hiện  phép lạ nơi họ, vì họ dành chỗ riêng cho Ngài và sẵn sàng đón nhận Ngài vào sống ngay trong trái tim của họ. Sự đoàn kết và chia sẻ của họ chính là sinh lực và sức mạnh. Có lẽ đây là món quà lớn nhất mà chúng ta có thể chia xẻ cho những người khác và thế giới: Sự thể hiện cuộc sống của chúng ta và những gì mà con người chúng ta thực sự đã sống. Nắm bắt thời cơ của sự việc và nói rằng "tôi đã làm" thay vì "chúng ta đã làm" chính là nguồn gốc của nhiều vấn đề trong thế giới của chúng ta. Cái “TÔI” và tự hào chính là nguyên nhân chính gây chia rẽ và thù hận, cũng là đầu mối của mọi tội lỗi và sự dữ.

            Chúng ta không thể lý luận, mua bán, hoặc thao tác con đường của chúng ta đến với Thiên Chúa. Là một con người bình thường chúng ta chỉ có thể đi xa hơn nữa; chúng ta không thể đi tắt. Để bước đi được xa hơn nữa và đến với Thiên Chúa, chúng ta cần phải được tái sinh thêm một lần thứ hai; Đó sự giác ngộ và tái sinh qua Thánh thần..

 

Reflection

We almost wonder if Luke exaggerated a bit. When have you ever seen a community so perfect and harmonious? They had their problems like any group of human beings ;Paul keeps us well informed. But one thing is for sure: they knew how to share. They knew how to ensure that no one was in need. And they knew how to support and love one another and to agree on the important things that they all held dear. It was this unity, mutual support, and sharing that was the source of their great power.

            God was able to dwell in their midst and work miracles because they made room for Him and invited God into their hearts. There is power and strength that comes from unity and sharing. Perhaps this is the greatest gift we can offer others and the world: showing in our own lives what truly human living is. Grasping at things and saying ‘mine’ instead of ‘ours’ is the source of much of our world’s problems.

            We cannot reason, buy, or manipulate our way to God. As ordinary human beings we can only go so far; we always fall short. To go any further, we need a second birth; enlightenment and rebirth through the spirit.

 

Reflection Tuesday 2^nd week of Easter

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you sent your Son into the world that I might know him; you give me your Spirit so that I might be born again in you. You give me life, and I thank you. Let me pause, in this time of prayer. Remind me of these truths; speak your life-giving word to my heart. I believe in you; increase my faith. I trust in you; increase my hope. And Lord, I love you. Let me know you more. 

Encountering Christ: 

The Holy Spirit as Wind: Numerous Old Testament passages are referenced in this timeless and beautiful dialogue between Nicodemus and Our Lord. The wind that blows where it wills reminds us of the gentle breeze in which Elijah encountered the Lord (1 Kings 19:11-13). The Lord was not in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the tiny whispering sound of the breeze. Perhaps in recalling this imagery with Nicodemus–and with us–the Lord Jesus wishes to remind us that his Spirit is the true craftsman of holiness and that he does not ask us to be in control, but to lend ourselves, entirely, in faith to him. 

The Holy Spirit Lifts Up: Another Old Testament passage is referenced by Our Lord, here: Numbers 21:1-9, when the bronze serpent on the staff made by Moses brought healing to those who looked upon it. Pope Benedict XVI comments on this passage in a homily (see link below). He says, “St. John sees precisely in the mystery of the cross the moment in which the real glory of Jesus is revealed, the glory of a love that gives itself totally in the Passion and death. Thus, paradoxically, from a sign of condemnation, death, and failure, the cross becomes a sign of redemption, life, and victory, through faith, the fruits of salvation can be gathered.” Perhaps in prayer, we can pause and invite this same Holy Spirit to enlighten in our own hearts where we need the Lord to be lifted up, on his glorious cross, over the struggles, sufferings, and doubts in our hearts today. 

The Holy Spirit Gives Eternal Life: “The Lord, the Giver of Life,” we pray in the Nicene Creed. This is also the title that St. John Paul II gave to his encyclical letter on the Holy Spirit, for it is for this purpose that the Spirit has come: to give us eternal life. The Lord has won this life for us through his suffering, death, and resurrection. Let us be neither surprised nor afraid when salvation is lived out in our individual stories through a sharing in Christ’s suffering, death, and promise of Resurrection. May we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit’s whispers throughout our life’s journey. 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you promise eternal life to your followers, to be lifted up, for our sake, and to draw all things to yourself. Draw me to yourself, Lord, even if the ladder up to your heart is a cross. Teach me to listen to your Spirit and to respond to you, step by step, in faith, hope, and love. 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will strive to be attentive to the whispers of your Holy Spirit. At the end of my day, I will pause and reflect upon where and how you have made yourself present. 

 

Tuesday 2^nd week of Easter

Opening Prayer: Holy Spirit, be with me as I reflect on the Scriptures today. Warm my heart with your presence and fill my soul with grace.

Encountering Christ:

Face to Face: Nicodemus had the grace to talk about spiritual truths with the living God, Jesus Christ. He knew Christ was someone special, and we can assume Nicodemus was seeking truth when he met with Christ. Why else would he have risked his reputation? But he was very confused by Jesus’s answers. Did he go away sad? Frustrated by his lack of understanding? We know that his encounter with Jesus was so compelling that Nicodemus eventually came out of the shadows to help with Christ’s burial (John 19:39-42). What would you say to Jesus if you had the opportunity to talk with him alone, face to face? 

Mission and Responsibility: Jesus seemed disappointed that Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, could not grasp the concept of being born again. Furthermore, Jesus expressed his frustration that “you people do not accept our testimony.” Like Nicodemus, modern-day teachers, preachers, priests, and laypeople–all of us–have unique missions and responsibilities. Jesus has a right to demand of us an accounting for all we’ve been given. After all, he gave us our individual missions and all the grace and talent we need to succeed in them. Sometimes people will reject our testimony, as they did Jesus. Sometimes we will bear crosses, as did Jesus. Jesus invites us to rest in him (his yoke is light) so that we can fulfill our responsibility to know, love, and serve God and be with him forever in the next (Baltimore Catechism).

Lifted Up: Even though Nicodemus repeatedly asked “why” and failed to grasp the truths Jesus was imparting, Jesus blessed him—Jesus predicted his crucifixion and shared with Nicodemus the totality of his Father’s mission: “so that all may have eternal life.” Nicodemus knew well from the Old Testament that anyone who gazed on Moses’s serpent lived (Numbers 21:9) and perhaps he finally understood what Jesus had been saying all along. Might he have trembled at the dawning realization that God was truly speaking to him? Was this the moment of conversion for this Pharisee?

Conversing with Christ: Lord, in our relationship, I have been confused, dense, doubting, and discouraged. But there have also been beautiful “Ah Ha!” moments where you blessed me with new insight or loving peace. I am grateful that you love me for who I am, not for what I do. I acknowledge my mission, and with the help of your grace, I will continue to try to achieve it little by little every day.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reflect back on the “Ah Ha!” moments you have blessed me with to rekindle my faith. 

 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba tuần thứ Hai Phục Sinh

Đọc qua các Tin Mừng, chúng ta gần như tự hỏi hình như Thánh Luca đã phóng đại một chút trong sách Tông Đồ Công Vụ, vì chúng ta đã bao giờ thấy được một cộng đồng rất hoàn hảo và hài hòa như chúng ta thấy trong Tông Đồ Công Vụ? Họ cũng có những vấn đề của họ như bất cứ nhóm người nào như Thánh Phaolô  cũng đã chúng ta biết. Nhưng có một điều chắc chắn là: họ biết cách để chia sẻ, Họ biết làm thế nào để đảm bảo rằng không có ai phải thiếu thốn bất cứ thứ gì. Và họ biết cách để hỗ trợ và yêu thương nhau, Họ hoà đồng về những điều quan trọng mà tất cả đều thân thương, Đó là sự hiệp nhất, sự hỗ trợ lẫn nhau, và chia sẻ với nhau, đó là nguồn sức mạnh lớn lao của họ.

            Thiên Chúa đã có thể sống ở giữa họ và thực hiện  phép lạ nơi họ, vì họ dành chỗ riêng cho Ngài và sẵn ssàng đón nhận Chúa vào sống ngay vtrong trái tim của họ. Sự đoàn kết và chia sẻ của họ lả sinh lục và sức mạnh. Có lẽ đây là món quà lớn nhất mà chúng ta có thể chia xẻ cho những người khác và thế giới: Sự thể hiện cuộc sống của chúng ta và những gì mà con người chúng ta thực sự đã sống.

            Nắm bắt thời cơ của sự việc và nói rằng "tôi đã làm" thay vì "chúng ta đã làm" chính là nguồn gốc của nhiều vấn đề trong thế giới của chúng ta. Cái “TÔI” và tự hào chính là nguyên nhân chính gây chia rẽ và thù hận, cũng là mối đầu của mọi tội lỗi và sự dữ.

            Chúng ta không thể lý luận, mua bán, hoặc thao tác con đường của chúng ta đến với Thiên Chúa. Là một con người bình thường chúng ta chỉ có thể đi xa hơn nữa; chúng ta không thể đi tắt. Để bước đi được xa hơn nữa đến với Thiên Chúa, chúng ta cần phải được tái sinh thêm một lần thứ hai; Đó sự giác ngộ và tái sinh qua Thánh thần.

 

Reflection

We almost wonder if Luke exaggerated a bit. When have you ever seen a community so perfect and harmonious? They had their problems like any group of human beings; Paul keeps us well informed. But one thing is for sure: they knew how to share. They knew how to ensure that no one was in need. And they knew how to support and love one another and to agree on the important things that they all held dear. It was this unity, mutual support, and sharing that was the source of their great power.

            God was able to dwell in their midst and work miracles because they made room for Him and invited God into their hearts. There is power and strength that comes from unity and sharing. Perhaps this is the greatest gift we can offer others and the world: showing in our own lives what truly human living is. Grasping at things and saying ‘mine’ instead of ‘ours’ is the source of much of our world’s problems.

            We cannot reason, buy, or manipulate our way to God. As ordinary human beings we can only go so far; we always fall short. To go any further, we need a second birth; enlightenment and rebirth through the spirit.

 

REFLECTION 2017

     Today we say that we have a shortage of "signs" of God: miracles and extraordinary cures and happenings.

      True we do not have the signs and wonders which accompanied the ministry and preaching of Jesus and of the apostles in the early Church.

      Though we may not have such miracles and wonders, we still see and hear about so many wonders and signs of God's saving love. We see selfless missionaries, clerics, religious and lay, generously preaching the Good News not only in their ordinary lives but even in far-away mission territories. We see generous volunteers visiting the sick and the aged, those in prison and in the slums, providing needed help and bringing hope. We have very generous benefactors feeding the hungry, educating the youth and giving hope to victims of violence and abuse.

      Indeed there are so many signs of the Lord God working and accompanying people and the world, if only we could read and see them.

      We pray that the Good News be lived more and more even in our days and that we do our share of living and preaching the Good News of Christ's salvation.

 

Reflection  2016

"How can this be?" is a very normal reply to things we cannot understand. When Jesus speaks of thoughts beyond our comprehension, the question mark placed plainly on our faces can be quite noticeable.  After all, there are some occurrences that cannot be fully comprehended or completely understood. Perhaps excerpts from the lyrics of a song best summarize that mystery engaging our own hearts: "Love moves in mysterious way"    [Music and lyrics by Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow. 

            Sung by Julia Fordham]:

“Love moves in mysterious ways it's always so surprising when love appears over the horizon I'll love you for the rest of my days. But still it's a mystery how you ever came to me which only proves Love moves in mysterious ways. Heaven knows love is just a chance we take. We make plans but then love demands the leap of faith. So hold me close, never ever let me go 'Cos even though we think we know which way the river flows that’s not the way love goes...      Love moves in mysterious ways, Love moves in mysterious ways.”

            As Jesus spoke of the unpredictability of the wind and its movements, we just encounter it and respond. Hopefully, our response to be born in the Spirit is one filled with faith, hope, and love.  Our choice towards eternal life will always be an unpredictable and exciting adventure.  Let us pray for God's Spirit and his continuing guidance and grace.