Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Lễ Thánh Banaba Tông Đồ

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Lễ Thánh Banaba Tông Đồ

Trong sách Tông Đồ Công vụ, chương 4, Thánh Luca đã ghi lại tóm lược về câu chuyện một người Lê-vi có tên gọi là Giuse đã bán một mảnh đất của gia đình và lấy tiền đó đạt dưới chân các Tông Đồ. Mặc dù Thánh Luca không ghi lại việc trở lại và theo Chúa Giêsu và làm môn đệ của Ngài như thế nào. Nhưng việc dám hy sinh bán thửa đất của gia đình mình đã là một bước xa hơn trong việc tự nguyện và dấn thân để theo Chúa Giêsu và Giáo Hội của Ngài, Cũng vì thế mà các Tông đồ đã đặt tên cho ông Giuse này một cái tên mới là Banaba, nghĩa là người có tài an ùi và khuyến khích.

Hôm nay giáo hội mừng ngày kính nhớ Thánh Banaba, chúng taghi nhớ công ơn những vị Tông đồ đã giúp nuôi sống và phát triển giáo hội ngay từ những ngày sơ khai của Giáo Hội, không phải chỉ có mộtmình Chúa Kitô là người đã có công thành lập giáo hội tiên khởi, nhưng Giáo hội cũng cần phải có những người quan trọng như thánh Banaba, một trong những vị Tông Đồ đã tận hiến chính bản thân mình mà con dâng cúng tất cả những gì mình có cho Giáo hội. Thánh Banaba cũng làmột trong những người đã đón nhận và đưa Thánh Phaolô đến các Tông Đồ và Giáo Hội lúc ban đầu và cũng nhờ Banaba mà Thánh Phaolô đã cơ hội để trở một tông đồ vĩ đại cũa giáo hội..

Lạy Chúa Cha hằng hữu, xin ban cho chúng con có được những ân sủng của Chúa Thánh Thần để động viện và an ủi chúng con, Xin cho chúng con có khả năng, sự khiêm tốn, có tấm lòng rộng lượng và can đảm để rao giảng Tin Mừng cho mọi người chung quanh bằng lời nói vàhành động, và cũng xin ban cho chúng con có được niềm ước muốn làkhuyến khích người khác cùng đến để nhận biết Chúa Giêsu Kitô vì Ngàilà nguồn gốc của tất cả chân lý, sự thật và cuộc sống của con người.

Reflection: Saint Barnabas, Apostle

In Acts 4, Luke records in very brief fashion, how a Levite called Joseph sold a piece of land and gave the money to the Apostles. Though Luke does not record his conversion to Jesus, his sale of the land was a further step in his commitment to Jesus and his Church, so that the Apostles named him Barnabas, ‘son of encouragement’ or of consolation

Today we reflect on Barnabas, not just as an early Christian, but more importantly as an Apostle and as the one who brought Paul from Tarsus into the mainstream of the life of the Church.

Heavenly Father, grant us the grace to be people of encouragement and consolation, capable of proclaiming the Gospel by word and deed, and eager to encourage others to come to know Christ as the source of all truth and life.

Mem

Opening Prayer: Jesus, your words are living and effective (Hebrews 4:12). Holy Spirit, help me to welcome and cooperate with your holy word, that it may bring about even the smallest conversion toward truth in my heart.

Encountering Christ:

Sacred Vows: Today’s Gospel reading continues the theme from yesterday: being true to vows. Yesterday Jesus defended the sacred vows that a married couple makes to each other. When a husband and wife vow that they will love, honor, and cherish each other for their whole lives, they are not swearing an oath by something that is not their own, like Heaven or earth, but instead they make a promise to each other from their hearts. The wife’s “yes” is from her heart, and the husband’s is as well. Together, their “yes” is a promise to each other. By saying “I do,” they seal this promise. Her “yes” means “yes” to him, and his “yes” means “yes” to her. Marriage is indissoluble: “From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament” (CCC 1638).

A Truthful Heart: Our Lord desires “sincerity of heart” (Psalm 51:6). In our everyday lives, God calls us to be upright and truthful. Psalm 15 has some words of wisdom to this point: “Lord, who may enter your holy tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? Only those who are innocent and who do what is right. Such people speak the truth from their hearts and do not tell lies about others. They do no wrong to their neighbors and do not gossip…They keep their promises to their neighbors, even when it hurts” (15:1-4). Only those who are honest have access to God’s dwelling place. When they speak, their “yes means yes” and their “no means no.” The last line is very interesting; being truthful means keeping promises, even when it hurts. We can reflect on this psalm and consider if God is calling us to live out this psalm more fully.

Follow Through: Sometimes people swear by oaths when they have no intention of carrying out their promise. Or other times people truly intend to carry out what they say they will do, but do not take the necessary steps to accomplish it. For example, they sign up to join the choir, but forget to come to practices or make little effort to learn the music. Jesus warned against this indecisive behavior. He urged his disciples to be people of conviction and clear thought. He desires strong disciples that follow through on their words and actions. Jesus would rather we say “no” to things for which we do not have the time or energy than for us to say “yes” and then do them halfway. When our “yes” means “yes” and our “no” means “no,” people learn that they can trust us to be honest and carry out our promises.

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you are “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). I am sorry for the times when I have lied, and for the times when I have said I would do something but then failed to follow through. Help me to grow in the cardinal virtue of justice, which overarches the virtues of sincerity, honesty, loyalty, and devotion to duty. May I be your decisive, active disciple. May my “yes” and “no” be words that other people can trust.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will examine my commitments and consider if I am fully giving you what I have promised. If not, I will make changes in order to fulfill my promises.

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle 2021

Introductory Prayer: Father of love, the source of all blessings, you have led me throughout my life, and you lead me still. Thank you for your paternal care. Jesus, Son of God, you died for me on the cross to pay for my sins and manifest your unconditional love for me. Thank you for showing me the way home to the Father. Holy Spirit, sweet guest of the soul, you heal me and strengthen me and set me on fire from the most intimate depths of my soul. Thank you for your loving presence within me.

Petition: Lord, show me where I can make a difference.

1. The New Flavor of the Gospel: By calling us “the salt of the earth” Jesus meant that all his disciples, all those who would be called ‘Christians’ down through the centuries, would have the responsibility to work to give the new ‘taste’ of the Gospel to the earth and enlighten the whole world with Jesus’ teaching. Salt enhances the food we eat by accenting the natural flavor already present in the food. In like manner, we are called by God to enhance the world around us with the “saltiness” of our Christian lives. God created the world good, but sin has marred it. Through baptism God gives us the “salt” of his divine life – grace – so that, in turn, this grace of baptism will develop into a life of virtue and Christian charity by which we are called to “season” our environment. Do I have this awareness and desire which springs from my baptism?

2. Enlightening Minds and Hearts: Without light, we are blind. The human eye is rendered useless where light is unable to penetrate. Analogously, all people have the power to know God who is truth, goodness, and love. But without the particular light that is Jesus Christ, those faculties are clouded at best. Jesus wants you and me to be his light in contemporary society. By the way we live our life other people must see: They must see Christ. They must see the dignity of the human person and the noble calling each one of us has to live forever with God. They must see that love and mercy triumph over evil, suffering, and death. The world needs our light because the world needs Christ.

3. The Shining Example of the Saints: What about humility? What about not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing? Jesus reminds us that our lives and actions are meant to direct people’s gaze to God and not towards ourselves: “So that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The world has needed to see Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta in action. It has needed to see the youthful vigor and the aged frailty of Pope Saint John Paul II. Their light has illumined our path towards God. This side of heaven, we will always need the example of the saints, and that is precisely what you and I are called to be.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you have given me everything I need to be faithful. Grant me also the courage and the zeal to live what I believe and to testify to your faithful love in my thoughts, words, and actions. Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus.

Resolution: Today, I will speak to someone about Jesus, backing up my words with the sincerity with which I live my Christian commitments.