Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba Tuần thứ Năm Phục sinh

  Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba Tuần thứ Năm Phục sinh

“Thầy ban bình an của Thầy cho anh em, Thầy ban cho anh em không theo kiểu thế gian.”

Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói gián tiếp với chúng ta về thập giá: Ngài sẽ ban cho chúng ta sự bình an, nhưng với giá Ngài phải trả là sự Khổ nạn, đau đớn của Ngài trong thế giới này. Hôm nay, chúng ta được nghe những lời Ngài nói trước khi phải hy sinh trên Thập Giá, nhưng đã được viết sau khi Ngài sống lại. Với cái chết của Ngài trên Thập giá, Ngài đã đánh bại cả cái chết và sự sợ hãi. Ngài đem lại cho chúng ta hòa bình “nhưng không phải sự hoà bình của thế gian” (Ga 14:27), bởi vì như Ngài đã làm điều đó bằng cách chấp nhận những nỗi đau đớn và nhục nhã nhất: đây là cách Ngài đã chứng tỏ được tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Ngài đã dành cho con người chúng ta.

Tại sao Ngài đã làm những điều như vậy? Bởi vì, sự đau đón của con người gắn bó với sự đau khổ của Chúa Kitô đã trở thành một sự hy sinh để cứu chuộc chúng ta khỏi tội lỗi. Thánh Gioan Phaolồ 2 đã nói “Trong Thánh Giá của Chúa Kitô (...), đau khổ của con người đã được cứu chuộc” (John Paul II). Chúa Giêsu Kitô đâ âm thầm, lặng lẽ chịu đựng để làm vừa lòng Chúa Cha với sự vâng phục bằng mọi giá, mà chính sự vâng phục Ngài đã sẵn lòng hy sinh tự hiến chính bản thân của mình cho sự cứu rỗi của chúng ta.

Reflection

«I give you my peace. Not as the world gives peace do I give it to you»

Today, Jesus speaks to us indirectly of the cross: He will give us the peace, but at the cost of his painful “departure” of this world. Today, we read those words He said before the sacrifice on the Cross but that were written after his Resurrection. With his death on the Cross, He defeats both death and fear. He gives the peace «but not as the world gives peace» (Jn 14:27), inasmuch as He does it by going through the most excruciating pain and humiliation: this is how He proved his merciful love for man.

Why did He do it in such a way? Because thus, human pain —together with Christ's suffering— becomes a sacrifice that saves us from sin. «In the Cross of Christ (...), human suffering has been redeemed» (John Paul II). Jesus Christ quietly suffered to please the Heavenly Father with an act of costly obedience, through which He willingly offered Himself for our salvation.

EPriest Tuesday 5th week of Esater 2022

Opening Prayer: My Jesus, I come before you in this time of prayer as an act of love, and I believe you are here with me. In faith, I know that I love you, and I want to know your will for me in all things. I pray for the trust that will enable me to say yes to whatever you ask and to delight in doing your will. Your goodness is the source of my hope. Thank you, Lord, for your love for me and your patience with me as I strive to become ever more the person you created me to be.

Encountering Christ:

0. Love Desires to Obey: In Psalm 40, we read, “I delight to do your will, my God; your law is in my inner being!” (Psalm 40:9). In the book of Hebrews, we read that Jesus said, “Behold, I come to do you will, O Lord” (Hebrews 10:7, 9); in fact, Jesus said that doing the will of the one who sent him (God the Father) is his food (John 4:34). Finding our nourishment and delight in doing the will of God makes visible the love we are to have for God and neighbor, and this is the love that we see exemplified by Jesus. His self-giving love on the cross was the fruit of his love for the Father, love that was lived out in obedience. Through this kind of love, we grow in the knowledge of and intimacy with God. Do we delight in doing God’s will as an act of love? Do we have the courage to say “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42) when we face difficulties?

1. Whoever Does Not Love…: There is an old saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” Here Jesus pointed to something similar in a stark statement: “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” In another place, he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jesus held up obedience–keeping his words and obeying the Father–as the standard for what it means to love him. What gets in the way of obedience? The Catechism identifies the failure to trust God as the root of the disobedience in original sin and states, “All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness” (CCC 297). Trust is foundational to love. We can consider our trust in the Lord, and our willingness to say “yes” to whatever he asks (through Scripture, the teachings of the Church, or personal inspiration) in light of St. Paul’s teaching: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love (1 John 4:18).

2. Never Alone: Jesus assures us that we are not left alone. First, he tells us that he and the Father will come and dwell within us, and where the Father and Son are, there the Spirit is too (the Trinity cannot be separated). We are also told that the Holy Spirit will be sent to us, and he will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has told us. We know that this means more than an individual relationship with the Lord and fidelity in following the teachings of the Church. We are called to communion, both in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and as part of the Body of Christ. The Catechism calls the Church “the great sacrament of divine communion which gathers God’s scattered children together. Communion with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit in the liturgy” (CCC 1108). When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we acknowledge that he is the source of fraternal communion. We treasure the members of the body of Christ and pray for unity.

Conversing with Christ: Lord, in this prayer, I have been struck by your great love for the Father—your Father and mine. I am struck by your hunger to know and do his will in all things. There was nothing you wanted or valued more than your unity with him, and that unity was made real through obedience. Lord, help me see those areas in my life where I have been saying no and need to say yes. Open my heart to your presence in my life. The opportunities for obedience are like knocks on the door of my heart; let me open that door so that you can come in and dine with me (Revelation 3:20).

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will increase my trust in you by spending ten minutes looking over my life and identifying several examples of your loving care, and I will share at least one of these with someone.

Fifth Week of Easter John 14:27-31A

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us an antidote for fear. Whom or what are you afraid of? That is a very important spiritual question. One way to understand our lives is to look at those things that we seek: wealth, power, privilege, honor, pleasure, friendship. But another way is to turn that question around and determine what or who it is that we fear.

We might fear the loss of material things, the loss of a job, the loss of physical health, the loss of the esteem of others, the loss of personal intimacy, or ultimately, the loss of life itself. We are afraid of many things, but I’d be willing to bet that there is a primary or principal fear. What is it for you?

Now, after identifying that, listen to Jesus: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." Any and all of the things that we customarily fear—loss of money, fame, pleasure, and power—have to do with this world. What Jesus is saying is that we should not let those fears come to dominate or define our lives, for he is with us—and with him is his peace

EPriest Tuesday /5/01/2018

1. Activism: In today's culture, many people believe, almost religiously, that what they do will eventually make them someone. They believe that from doing flows being, since their activity defines them. This makes it easy for them to be exploited. In nineteenth-century America, a slave was often not told his birthday, so he could never really know who he was. He was just made to work. This same temptation exists today. Many people work such long hours — some as a means of escape from difficulties or responsibilities at home; others for the satisfaction they feel seeing a job completed; still others, just to earn more money and to be able to afford a more comfortable life. However, these are all manifestations of the same slavery.

2. My True Identity: With his example, however, Christ shows us a different way of life, a way that goes against the current. First I have to be. Then my doing will flow from my being. Christ says again and again: I am the Son of my Father. Now I will act accordingly. When Moses asked God of the burning bush who he was, he said, “I AM who AM.”

Who am I? What defines me is my relationship with God. Imagine this: I have the privilege of being a child of God! God has loved me so much that he has adopted me as his child! This is something worthwhile. This is who I am, and I should act accordingly, as Christ taught me.

3. True Peace: Christ's great peace comes as a consequence of meditating on and living out who I am. When I meditate, I discover that I am God’s creature. Suddenly, I find the strength to face reality. Others will be unable to exploit me, and I will stop exploiting others because I am – and they are – children of God. My dignity derives from this fundamental truth: I was created in God’s image and likeness. I came from God, and he is inviting me to return to him and be happy with him for all eternity.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have the bad habit of focusing on my doing. That is why I am always anxious. I want to be like you, Lord, seeing first who I am and letting my activity flow from that. This will bring me peace. However, Lord, I need your grace. Help me to live as a true son or daughter.

Resolution: Today, I will do two kind acts to someone who is troubled to help them experience God’s love for them.

Wednesday 5th Week of Easter

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ 5 Phục Sinh

Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm này, Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta biết là Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta sự sống thật, sự sống dồi dào được xuất phát từ nơi Thiên Chúa và cho thấy kết quả hoa trái tuyệt vời. Những người trồng nho phải biết tỉa những nhánh cây nho rất cẩn thận trước khi giàn nho có thể đơm bong kết trái và cho những chum nho tốt. Chúa Giêsu đã đùng hình ảnh giàn Nho để cho chúng ta thấy có hai loại nhánh trong cùng một cây Nho trong giàn: đó là những nhánh nho (hay là chỉ về những người) biết đơm hoa kết trái và những nhành nho xấu ăn hại (người) không làm cho hoa, trái mà còn ăn hại đất màu.

Những nhánh cây cằn cỗi phải được cắt tỉa cẩn thận, để bảo tồn chất dinh dưỡng và sức mạnh cho những nhánh cây còn lại để nó sinh hoa kết trái và trái của nó được tốt hơn. Chúa Giêsu đã dùng hình ảnh này để mô tả những cuộc sống mà Ngài là cây Nho đã sản xuất trong những người đã biết hiệp nhất với Ngài, là kết quả của "sự công chính, bình an và hoan lạc trong Thánh Thần." Chúa Giêsu nói rằng chúng ta có thể sẽ không sinh ra được hoa trái trong cuộc sống của chúng ta nếu chúng ta không ở trong và lên một với Ngài. Hoa Quả mà ngài đã nói chính là hoa quả của Chúa Thánh Thần.

Sự thật rất đơn giản ở đây: Chúng ta là một trong hai nhánh trong cùng một cây nho. Chúng ta có thể là những nhánh Nho cho hoa trái tốt tuơi, hay chúng ta có thể là những nhánh nho cằn cỗi chẳng bao giờ nở hoa và cho trái. Nhưng nhánh nho mang hoa trái khỏe mạnh, cần phải được cắt tỉa và chăm sóc luôn. Chúa Giêsu đã hứa rằng chúng ta sẽ sinh ra nhiều hoa trái, nếu chúng ta cứ ở trong Ngài và cho phép Ngài “cắt tiả” săn sóc và làm sạch chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy tin tưởng vào sự hiện diện vĩnh cửu của Chúa nơi chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy để Chúa Giêsu là người trồng nho chăm sóc chúng ta như người làm vườn chăm sóc dàn nho của họ, để cho Ngào săn sóc, cắt tỉa, và làm sạch chúng ta để hoa trái được phát sinh ra chúng ta. Hãy để Ngài thay đổi cuộc sống của chúng ta. "Lạy Chúa, chúng con có thể làm một với Ngài trong tất cả những gì chúng con nói và làm. Xin đưa chúng con đến gần tới Chúa đê chúng con có thể tôn vinh Chúa luôn mãi vàn đơm hoa kết trái cho Nước Chúa."

Reflection SG. 2016\

Jesus offers true life, the abundant life which comes from God and which results in great fruitfulness. The vinedresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches: those which bear fruit and those which do not.

The barren branches must be carefully pruned back in order for the vine to conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. Jesus used this image to describe the kind of life he produces in those who are united with him, the fruit of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks of is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. There is no in-between. But the bearing of healthy fruit requires drastic pruning. The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and allow him to purify us. Let us trust in the Lord's abiding presence with us? Let Jesus be our vinedresser, let him purify us for fruitfulness. Let him change our lives.

“Lord, may I be one with You in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify You and bear fruit for Your kingdom.”