Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần Phục Sinh

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần Phục Sinh

Sau cuộc khổ nạn của Chúa Giêsu, các môn đệ của Chúa đã bắt đầu chán nản và ngã lòng, họ muốn trở về cuộc sống cũ, nghề kiếm sống cũ của họ, họ thức cả đêm thả lưới trong những cơn gió lạnh, họ kéo lên, thả xuống, mất bao nhiêu công sức, rách cả lưới, mất cả thời giờ mà họ cũng chẳng bắt được con cá nào. Nhiều lần trong cuộc sống của chúng ta không nhận ra Chúa. Nhưng khi chúng ta phải mang những gánh nặng của cuộc sống, hay khó khăn trong cuộc đời, chúng ta mới chạy đến nhà thờ, tìm Chúa. Còn những khi chúng ta thành công trong cuộc sống, chúng ta tự  nghĩ rằng chúng ta thành công là do sức lực, tài trí riêng của mình, chứ không phải đó là ân sủng của Thiên Chúa đã  ban cho chúng ta một cách đặc biệt. Cũng như các môn đệ thửa xưa, nếu chúng ta biết lắng nghe tiếng Chúa sai bảo chúng ta, chắc chắn trong những lúc đó, chúng ta sẽ nhận ra sự yếu đuối nơi con người của chúng ta, chúng ta mới cảm thấy sự bất lực, và chúng ta mới “sực nghĩ” ra rằng chúng ta không phải là Thiên Chúa mà chúng ta chỉ là một tạo vật đã được Thiên Chúa tạo nên và chúng ta luôn cần đến sự can thiệp của Thiên Chúa. Và chính nhờ đó mà chúng ta mới có thể cảm nhận được đức tin và nhận ra rằng "đó là Chúa Kitô đó!"

"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Chúa là sự sống lại và là sự sống.  Xin Chúa tăng thêm lòng tin  của chúng con vào sự phục sinh của Chúa và chân lý! Xin cho chúng con đừng bao giờ phải giờ nghi ngờ về lời hứa ban sự sống của Chúa và cũng đừng để chúng con đi lạc và đánh mất sự hiện diện của Chúa"

 

Reflection:

     It is the Lord! It is important to recognize the Lord when he comes.  

     Many times we don't recognize him at all. It is only when heavy and impossible crosses come our way when we discern the presence of the Lord. When we have problems that we can solve, we attribute our success to our own brilliance and intelligence without God's help. But when the problems are too difficult and really exhaust all our strength, after trying everything and still failing, then we remember to ask God.

     It is when we have tried "fishing the whole night and caught nothing" that we realize our weakness and humanity. We discover that we are not God. That is why in this important crossroad, we can jump into faith and realize that " It is the Lord!"

 

Friday within Easter Octave 2022

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, in my journey with you, I am longing to grasp the mystery of your Resurrection as I let you speak to me through this word that I read in your Gospel. So I ask you to speak to me today. Let me receive the gifts that your Resurrection brings, the same gifts you offered to these men fishing on the Sea of Galilee after you had conquered death and risen from the dead. I know there is much mystery surrounding your appearances after your Resurrection, but I am not afraid to embrace the mystery, strive to penetrate it, and let it teach me.

Encountering Christ:

Déjà Vu: The disciples had seen Christ firsthand after his Resurrection, but many things had changed about their encounters. Now, he appeared to them at certain moments and then disappeared again. They used to be able to seek him out and find him praying alone, but now they only saw him when he chose to appear to them. They found themselves in a holding pattern of sorts—still learning from Christ and not yet commissioned to broadly preach and travel. Certainly, they talked among themselves about all that was happening, but they were probably confused as they tried to unravel the mystery of the past weeks and months. In the midst of this, Peter decided to go back to a familiar task—fishing. Perhaps for Peter, it was a way to find space to think, a safe place to talk at ease with the others. Whatever the reason, the disciples unwittingly set themselves up for a disappointment they had experienced before. They didn’t catch a thing! Did they become disgruntled or complain? We can only guess at their mood as we hear Jesus address them lovingly from the shore, “Children….”

Try the Other Side: Jesus recognized that these fishermen had caught nothing and offered them a simple solution. He asked them to do once more what they had been doing all night long—to cast their nets on the other side. We can do any task repeatedly and often bear some fruit. But when Jesus commands it, then our efforts produce much more than we expect. He wants us to trust him, to believe in him, and to take risks when he asks us to, knowing that we do nothing alone. Jesus, Emanuel, is always with us. 

Bring Some of Your Fish: Jesus had prepared a breakfast for them, but he left room for the ingredient they themselves were supposed to provide. There is much symbolism in this brief moment of the story. Jesus chose not to make everything for them. He chose instead to let them be involved, to some degree, in providing for themselves. We see the same thing in some of Jesus’ other miracles, like the multiplication of loaves and fishes (Matthew 14). Jesus wants us to collaborate with him. Where can we learn to let Christ work by our side? Where can we move over to make space for him in our work?

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am like the disciples, tired of working alone and not seeing fruits. I see you calling me to have more trust in you and to let you tell me what to do and how to do it. So often it is easy for me to try to control everything in my life instead of letting you lead. Help me to “let go and let God!” 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will exercise my trust in you by letting someone around me take initiative and have control over what I’m trying to accomplish.

 

Friday within Easter Octave Opening Prayer: Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself to your disciples so that they could reveal you and your love to the world. Thank you for calling me to be your disciple. Please teach me what you want me to learn in this Gospel passage, and help me to live it out in my life.

Encountering Christ:

Remain with Christ: Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus at first when she questioned the “gardener” (Jesus) at the empty tomb (John 20:15). The disciples in the boat did not immediately recognize Jesus either. The Catechism teaches that after his Resurrection, “the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith” (CCC 645). Because Mary Magdalene remained faithful to him through his Passion, he revealed himself to her first (John 20:16). St. John, who also remained with Jesus during his Passion and “who had also lain close to his breast during the supper” (John 21:20), was the first in this passage to recognize him, saying, “It is the Lord.” When we remain with the Lord, in good times and in bad, it is easier for us to recognize his presence in our lives. Scripture teaches, “The Lord is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him he will be found” (2 Chronicles 15:2). Are you able to recognize when God is working in your life? Are your days flexible enough to give you a little time to reflect on the ways that the Holy Spirit is guiding you and working through you and others?

We Are Fruitful with Christ: This Gospel passage speaks to the nature of the Church. It is a hidden parable here at the end of the Gospel of John. The sea is the world, and the boat is the Church. The fish symbolizes those who will come into the Church. Remember that Jesus told his disciples when he first called them that they would become “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). The net, though full of a multitude of large fish, was not torn, symbolizing the unity and universality of the Church. The Apostles’ evangelical preaching is the “net” that will catch people and convert them to Christ. They were Christ’s very first priests. Notice also that when the Apostles first set out to fish, they caught nothing. Then when Christ directed them, the net was so abundantly full that they had to drag it back to shore. How are we, Jesus’s disciples today, following him and therefore fulfilling the apostolic mission to be “fishers of men?” Do we allow Christ to direct all our actions, making them fruitful?

One Hundred Fifty-Three Fish: In the other Gospel accounts, Jesus gave his disciples the command to proclaim the Gospel to all people (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47). The symbolism of the 153 different fish is the Johannine account of this command. St. Jerome claimed that, at that time, the Greeks had cataloged 153 species of fish, and “that number would indicate that the Apostles were going to win converts to the Church from people of every nation on earth” (The Didache Bible commentary). Ezekiel foretold of fishermen pulling up all the fish of the sea in his vision of the Temple stream. Freshwater flowed from the Temple’s sides into a wonderful stream. He wrote, “Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes. Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will become a place for drying nets, and it will abound with as many kinds of fish as the Great Sea” (Ezekiel 47:9-10). We can ask ourselves what part we play in carrying out Christ’s command to bring all peoples to Jesus and therefore to Christianize the world. 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, help me remain near you. Help me notice when you are working in my life. Show me the power and love that you have given me to share with the world. Help me offer all that I do to you so that I may bear fruit, fruit that will last (John 15:16). Give me the courage to be your fisher of men, casting my net into the deep (Luke 5:4) in order to share your love and life with all people.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take time to stop and reflect on how God is working in my life and in the world. When I notice God working, I will say, “It is the Lord.” 

 

Fri 25th April 2014; Friday within Easter Octave, Acts 4:1-12; mJn. 21:1-1

In the first reading, we observe the contrasting manner in which the ordinary people responded to the preaching of Peter, as opposed to the rulers, elders, scribes and priests. Many among the people, which included 5000 men, heard the word and believed. The rich, learned and powerful, who were “greatly disturbed” responded by arresting and placing the apostles in prison

            At the ensuing trial, Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, preached that it is only through the Name of Jesus will humanity be saved. No other name or power can save us. Neither can any amount of wealth, possessions or titles. Only our belief in him and our faithfulness to his word will.

            In the Gospel, when his disciples were fascinated by the splendour and immensity of the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus told them that what we think in human terms as being great and mighty will become nothing one day. Riches, power and titles will not protect us when the Risen Lord returns.

            Jesus praised the poor widow because she gave all she had to God.

At the end of time when Jesus returns, what will he praise us for? That we, like the rulers, elders, scribes and priests, kept and safeguarded the Law? That we, like the rich in the Gospel, gave plenty of money to the Church? That we, like King Herod, constructed a magnificent building or carried out church projects and plans? What do you think Jesus will praise you for?

 

Fri 25 tháng 4 năm 2014 ; Thứ Sáu trong lễ Phục sinh Octave, Cv 4:1-12 ; mjn . 21:1-1

Trong bài đọc thứ nhất , chúng ta quan sát cách thức tương phản , trong đó những người bình thường phản ứng với lời rao giảng của Thánh Phêrô, như trái ngược với các nhà lãnh đạo , những người lớn tuổi , thầy thông giáo và các linh mục . Nhiều trong nhân dân, trong đó bao gồm 5000 người , nghe lời và tin tưởng. Những người giàu có , học hỏi và mạnh mẽ , những người đã " rất băn khoăn " phản ứng bằng cách bắt giữ và đặt các tông đồ trong nhà tù ./

`Tại phiên tòa sau đó, Peter , uỷ quyền của Chúa Thánh Thần, đã rao giảng rằng nó chỉ là thông qua tên của Chúa Giêsu nhân loại sẽ được cứu. Không có tên hoặc năng lượng khác có thể cứu chúng ta . Không có thể bất kỳ số lượng của cải , tài sản , danh hiệu . Chỉ niềm tin của chúng tôi trong anh và lòng trung thành của chúng tôi giữ lời hứa sẽ .