Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 29 Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 29 Thường Niên

Trong bài Dụ ngôn hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta thấy một thí dụ về người đầy tớ trung thành, biết lo việc nhà và biết trông chờ và sẵn sàng mở cửa cho người chủ trở về không biết lúc nào. dụ ngôn này, Chúa Giêsu đã nhấn mạnh cho chúng ta biết sự cần thiết về đức tin và sự kỳ vọng thận trọng của chúng ta. Chúng ta biết chắc chắn rằng Thiên Chúa sẽ đến, nhưng chúng ta không biết ngày nào hay giờ nào. Như người đầy tớ khôn ngoan chúng ta phải biết sẵn sàng, tỉnh thức và chờ đợi cho đến khi Chúa đến. Đó mới là người xứng đáng lãnh được phần thưởng nơi Thiên Chúa.

Thánh Basil đã viết: "Những gì là dấu hiệu của một Kitô hữu? Phải chú ý từng ngày, từng giờ và biết sẵn sàng trong trạng thái chuẩn bị trong sự hoàn hảo đó là phải biết làm đẹp lòng Thiên Chúa, và phải nhớ rằng Chúa sẽ đến trong bất cứ giờ phút nào.". Có lẽ ai trong chúng ta cũng đã phải trải qua một mất mát bất ngờ của một người bạn hoặc người thân, mà trong số họ là những người còn qua trẻ. Có bao giờ chúng ta đã trở nên quá gắn liền cuộc sống của chúng ta với những thứ hay hư nát của thế gian này, mà chúng ta đã quên và không chuẩn bị sẵn sàng cho ngày mà Chúa đã trở lại với chúng ta trong ngày Sau hết.? Tinh thần và đạo đức của chúng ta phải là một tấm gương sang và trở thành một ví dụ thực sự tốt cho những người khác dưới sự chăm sóc và hướng dẫn của chúng ta. Đó là một trách nhiệm nghiêm trọng có giá trị cao cần phải được phản ánh.

Xin Chúa giúp chúng con luôn biết sẵn sàng và sống đúng với vai trò và bổn phận của chúng con, để nhờ đó mà những người chung quanh có thể nhận biết Chúa qua những việc chúng con đã và đang làm..

REFLECTION

There are two lessons in the Gospel reading today: preparedness for Jesus' coming, and responsibility to develop and make use of gifts given to us by God. The parable of the servants waiting for the master's return emphasizes the need for faith and vigilant expectation on our part. We know for sure that God is coming, but we do not know the hour. The wise servant is he who is ready and waiting for the master's arrival. It is he who deserves reward from the master. St. Basil writes: "What is the mark of a Christian? To watch daily and hourly and stand prepared in that state of perfection which is pleasing to God, knowing that at what hour he thinks not, the Lord will come." Perhaps some of us must have experienced an unexpected loss of a friend or relative, some of them still in the youthful years of life. Have we become too attached to things of this world, that we have forgotten to be ready, at all times, for God's coming?

The other message tells us of our responsibility and accountability to God for the gifts and talents he has bestowed on each of us. Greater responsibility entails greater accountability. When a person is placed in a position that allows him to guide, care, and influence others, much more is required of his moral, spiritual and ethical life so that he becomes a truly good example to those under his care. It is a responsibility worth serious reflection.

"Lord, you are faithful even when I fail. Help me to remain ever faithful to you and to not shrink back when I encounter difficulties. Make me diligent in the exercise of my responsibilities and wise and prudent in the use of my gifts, time and resources.

Wednesday 29th Ordinary Time 2022

Opening Prayer: My God, I come before you seeking to know and love you more deeply. I trust you; help me deepen my trust. I want to live my life attentive to your call and presence. Lord, I ask that you help me grow in my surrender and fidelity.

Encountering Christ:

1. Be Prepared: Jesus is coming again, and “When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works, and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace” (CCC 682). No one knows this time, not even Jesus himself: “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone” (Matthew 24:36). Perhaps we look at the world and think, as James and John did, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from Heaven to consume them?” (Luke 9:54). In other words, we are tired of the destructive behaviors we see, the social unrest, and the lack of concern for the Lord’s love and mercy. In the face of this, we should remember the book of Esther when Mordecai said to Esther, “Perhaps you were born for such a time as this” (Esther 14:4). God chose us by name and called us to live in this time and these circumstances. By our personal holiness–our faith, hope, and charity–we can change the world for Christ.

2. Faithful and Prudent: In addition to Christ’s coming in glory, we anticipate our encounter with the Lord when we die: “Each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith…in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ…” (CCC 1021-1022). Being ready to “meet our Maker” requires faithfulness and prudence. It requires that we avoid complacency. When we live in expectancy and preparedness, we will be blessed.

3. Entrusted with More: The saints have taught that there are varying “degrees of blessedness” in Heaven that result from how we live our earthly lives. A letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith states that “our charity on earth will be the measure of our sharing in God’s glory in Heaven” (Letter on Eschatology, 1979). Archbishop Fulton Sheen is often quoted as saying, “There are no planes (or plateaus) in the spiritual life; we are either going uphill or coming down.” As we grow in holiness here on earth, we are expanding our capacity for union with God now and for all eternity in Heaven.

Conversing with Christ: Lord, life is so busy that it is easy to be complacent about my growth in holiness. I see others around me living so far from you that it is hard not to pat myself on the back for the little I am doing. Help me realize that there is no such thing as “settling” in the spiritual life. Give me the grace to love you and others more perfectly, all for your glory.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will identify one way I tend to be complacent and will find a means to combat that tendency in my life.

Wed 24th Oct 2018 29th Week in Ordinary Time (B)

To find an example of the faithful steward of the Gospel we have only to look at the first reading. Paul refers to himself as the steward of God's mysteries. He was entrusted with the task of revealing for the first time that the Gentiles were also to enjoy the privilege of knowing Christ and being members of his body. Such a privilege would make an enormous difference to their lives.

Again and again it emerges in the Acts of the Apostles and his letters how the love of Christ urged Paul on through many dangers and difficulties. He spared no effort to bring Christ to the many and the many to Christ. For lesser human beings the energy and conviction of Paul are almost overwhelming. We need not, however, be discouraged. Stewardship can be exercised by all of us in different ways in accordance with our differing temperaments.

For more than ten years I have been attending catechumens' classes in a student hostel attached to a university. The classes are run by young men and women, some of whom have been themselves recently baptized. Many of these latter-day Paul have taken demanding courses run by the diocese. I am a mute spectator, deeply moved by the simplicity and honesty of the participants. Lord, lead us to be good stewards in your vineyard.