Suy Niệm Tin Mừng -Lễ Kính Các Thánh 1/11

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng -Lễ Kính Các Thánh 1/11

Trong Tin Mừng Chúa Giêsu hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy rằng cuộc sống của Ngài là một cuộc sống trong Tám Mối Phúc Thật, và chúng ta cũng nên cập nhật cuộc sống chúng ta theo tinh thần của Tám Mối Phúc Thật. Trong các mối phúc thật, chúng ta có thể làm thành một bảng tóm tắt là “làm thế nào”, trong những giai đoạn khác nhau trong  cuộc sống của chúng ta, trong những tình huống và những sự thử thách khác nhau, và cách mà chúng ta phải cư xử theo nghĩa vụ riêng của mình.  Chúng ta được mời gọi để chấp nhận cuộc sống theo gương của Chúa Giêsu như chính Ngài đang sống ở giữa chúng ta.  Đó việc góp phần vào việc xây dựng nền móng cho của Nước Thiên Chúa mà Chúa Giêsu không ngừng mời gọi chúng ta.  

            Trong quá trình này, có rất nhiều sự khó khăn nhắc nhở chúng ta về sự cần thiết để thánh hoá và thanh lọc qua sự đầu hàng Thiên Chúa với tất cả những gì chúng ta đang có. Sự cam kết này phải được đánh dấu với niềm hy vọng như thư của thánh Gioan đã nói với chúng ta: “Tất cả những người có niềm hy vọng này dựa vào Ngài làm cho mình thanh tịnh, vì Ngài là đấng thật là tinh khiết"

            Chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để kiểm tra liên tục lại cuộc sống của chúng ta một cách thường xuyên mỗi ngày để chúng ta có thể khám phá ra những lĩnh vực trong của cuộc sống đang làm cản trở việc xây dựng Vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Để đạt được điều này, Chúa Giêsu đến để mời gọi chúng ta tìm kiếm những hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa trong mọi sự, ngay cả trong những sự bất công hay bắt bớ. Trong khi chúng ta phải đối mặt với những tình huống này, chúng ta được chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa một cách nhân lành.

Xin Chúa, ban cho chúng con có được những ân sủng của Chúa để làm chứng cho tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Chúa trong tất cả những kinh nghiệm trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng con. Trong những khi chúng con phải đối diện với những trường hợp thử thách, xin giúp chúng con can đảm để chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng con.

 

Reflection

In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals to us that his life is a life of the Beatitudes and that we should also fashion our lives in the spirit of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, we find a summary of how, in our different stages of life, in the different situations and challenges, we are supposed to behave. The behavior we are invited to adopt mirrors Jesus' life amongst us. It also contributes to the building of the foundations for the Kingdom of God to which Jesus constantly invites us. In this process, the many difficulties remind us of the need for purification through a total surrender to God. This commitment should be marked with hope as the first letter of John tells us: “everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.”

            We are also called to examine our lives constantly on a daily basis so as to discover those areas of our lives that hinder the building of the Kingdom of God. In order to achieve this, we are invited to seek the face of God in all things even in injustices or persecutions. As we face these situations, we are to witness meekly to the mercy of God.  Grant us, Lord, the grace to witness to Your love and mercy in all our daily life experiences

 

Solemnity of All Saints, November 1

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear your invitation to have a heart like yours.

Encountering Christ:

1.      The Mountainside: Many great biblical epiphanies have occurred upon a mountain. In this passage, we have Jesus sitting down on the mountainside to teach his disciples and reveal what characterizes his heart and those who set out to follow him. The beatitudes have often been called a sort of snapshot of Christ himself. He not only resembles these aspects in their fullest sense, but possesses their reward. He lives and possesses the fullness of the beatitudes, offering us hope of attaining the same. 

2.      Blessed Revelation: The Eight Beatitudes are a type of revelation that allows us a glimpse into the characters of Christ and those whom he calls disciples. Poor in spirit, they desire only what glorifies the Father. Mournful over true injustices, they do not shrink from solidarity in the suffering of others, even suffering for others' sins. In them meekness reigns, not as in those who resign themselves to the evils of the world, but as in those who treat others with gentleness and patience in long suffering. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness, they do not seek violence but rather magnanimity in the fight to establish truth. They offer mercy to others because they themselves have fully received it as a gift from God. Pure of heart, they live a simplicity of intention for the things of God, not tainted by selfishness. Persecuted and insulted, they rejoice that they can suffer what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.

3.      More than Mere Imitation: The beatitudes are the crowning jewels of the spiritual life. They are both characteristics to be modeled and graces to be received. But more than mere imitation of Christ through external actions, they are the fruit of much purification of one’s ego. They are the product of grace, beautifying a person’s natural capacities of perception and feeling. The beatitudes both form and are born of a person’s new vision of the world, one in which they perceive blessing in living according to the heart of Christ, many times at the expense of being perceived as countercultural in the eyes of the world. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, grant me a heart like yours. Transform my vision of the world to see what is truly the blessed path versus a path toward destruction. Form my heart to be a model of these characteristics in a world that needs you.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will choose one of these beatitudes and reflect on how to live it practically. I will reflect on how they are tools in my Christian journey.

Solemnity of All Saints, November 1

Today we honor those holy men and women who have gone before us in faith and have done so in a glorious way. As we honor these great champions of faith, let’s reflect upon who they are and what role they continue to play in the life of the Church. The following excerpt is from Chapter 8 of My Catholic Faith!:

    The Church Triumphant: Those who have gone before us and now share in the glories of Heaven, in the Beatific Vision, are not gone. Sure, we do not see them and we cannot necessarily hear them speak to us in the physical way they did while on Earth. But they are not gone at all. St. Thérèse of Lisieux said it best when she said, “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on Earth.”

    The saints in Heaven are in full union with God and make up the Communion of Saints in Heaven, the Church Triumphant! What’s important to note, however, is that even though they are enjoying their eternal reward, they are still very much concerned about us.

    The saints in Heaven are entrusted with the important task of intercession. Sure, God already knows all our needs and He could ask us to go directly to Him in our prayers. But the truth is that God wants to use the intercession, and therefore, the mediation of the saints in our lives. He uses them to bring our prayers to Him and, in return, to bring His grace to us. They become powerful intercessors for us and participators in God’s divine action in the world.

    Why is this the case? Again, why doesn’t God just choose to deal with us directly rather than go through intermediaries? Because God wants all of us to share in His good work and to participate in His divine plan. It would be like a dad who buys a nice necklace for his wife. He shows it to his young children and they are excited about this gift. The mom comes in and the dad asks the children to bring the gift to her. Now the gift is from her husband but she will most likely thank her children first for their participation in giving this gift to her. The father wanted the children to be part of this giving and the mother wanted to make the children a part of her receiving and gratitude. So it is with God! God wants the saints to share in the distribution of His manifold gifts. And this act fills His heart with joy!

    The saints also give us a model of holiness. The charity they lived on Earth lives on. The witness of their love and sacrifice was not just a one time act in history. Rather, charity is living and continues to have an effect for the good. Therefore, the charity and witness of the saints lives on and affects our lives. This charity in their lives creates a bond with us, a communion. It enables us to love them, admire them and want to follow their example. It is this, coupled with their continuing intercession, that establishes a powerful bond of love and union with us.

    Lord, as the saints in Heaven adore You for eternity, I beg for their intercession. Saints of God, please come to my aide. Pray for me and bring to me the grace I need to live a holy life in imitation of your own lives. All saints of God, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.