Suy Niệm thứ Ba Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Vọng 2022
Các môn đồ đã nhìn thấy điều gì khiến mắt họ được “ơn phước lành?” Rõ ràng, họ đã được ban ơn phúc để nhìn thấy Chúa Ki-tô. Chúa Giêsu là Đấng đã được Thiên Chúa hứa ban cho nhân loại qua các tiên tri và các vua ngày xưa, và bây giờ Ngài đang ở đây, bằng xương bằng thịt, Ngài hiện diện với các môn đệ của Ngài. Mặc dù chúng ta không có đặc ân để “thấy” Chúa bằng xương băng thịt như các môn đệ của Chúa cách đây hơn 2000 năm, nhưng chúng ta đã có đặc ân để nhìn thấy Ngài theo nhiều cách khác trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta, nếu chúng ta có đức tin. Chúng ta có “đôi mắt nhìn thấy và đôi tai để nghe lời Chúa dạy trong tâm hồn.
Tuesday 1st week of Advent
For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23–24
What did the disciples see that made their eyes “blessed?” Clearly, they were blessed to see our Lord. Jesus was the One promised by the prophets and kings of old, and now He was there, in flesh and bone, present for the disciples to see Him. Though we do not have the privilege to “see” our Lord in the same way that the disciples did some 2,000 years ago, we are privileged to see Him in countless other ways in our daily lives, if we only have “eyes that see” and ears to hear.
Since the time of Jesus’ appearance on Earth, in the flesh, so much has changed. The Apostles were eventually filled with the Holy Spirit and sent forth on a mission to change the world. The Church was established, the Sacraments were instituted, the teaching authority of Christ was exercised, and countless saints have given witness to the Truth with their lives. The past 2,000 years have been years in which Christ was continually made manifest to the world in countless ways.
Today, Christ is still present and continues to stand before us. If we have the eyes and ears of faith, we will not miss Him day in and day out. We will see and understand the countless ways that He speaks to us, leads us and guides us today. The first step toward this gift of sight and hearing is your desire. Do you desire the Truth? Do you desire to see Christ? Or are you satisfied with the many confusions of life that seek to distract you from what is most real and most life-changing?
Reflect, today, upon your desire. The prophets and kings of old “desired” to see the Messiah. We are privileged to have Him alive in our presence today, speaking to us and calling to us continually. Foster within yourself a desire for our Lord. Allow it to become a blazing flame which longs to consume all that is true and all that is good. Desire God. Desire His Truth. Desire His guiding hand in your life and allow Him to bless you beyond what you can fathom.
My divine Lord, I know You are alive today, speaking to me, calling me and revealing to me Your glorious presence. Help me to desire You and, within that desire, to turn to You with all my heart. I love You, my Lord. Help me to love You more. Jesus, I trust in You.
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Ba Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Vọng
Làm thế nào để những cho con người biết Thiên Chúa Cha? Chúng ta biết được Chúa Cha thông qua chính Chúa Con là Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Đây là một món quà mà Chúa Giêsu đã dành để ban cho cho tất cả những ai mà Ngài đã chọn. Trí tuệ và trí thông minh của con người không phải chỉ là những phẩm chất cần thiết để đạt được kiến thức này mà thôi, Trong thực tế, trí thông minh của con người chúng ta có thể sẽ là một trở ngại lớn cho đức tin, vì con người chúng ta thường có xu hướng dựa nhiều vào sự hiểu biết thực tiển hơn là dựa vào đức tin. Chúng ta có thể sẽ đưa ra quyết định dựa trên những gì là phù hợp, thoải mái hay thuận lợi cho chúng ta theo tính chất xác phàm. Do đó Đức Giêsu đã chúc phúc cho những người có tâm hồn khiêm tốn, có cuộc sống đơn sơ như kiểu trẻ con và đó là những người mà Ngài sẽ tỏ lộ cho biết Thiên Chúa Cha. Họ là những người có thể làm theo Chúa mà không có thành kiến hay nghi ngoặc vì họ tin tưởng vào lòng tốt và tình yêu của Chúa. Họ là những người được Thiên Chúa hứa hẹn ban cho những Ân Sủng của Chúa Thánh Thần.
Trong Mùa Vọng này, chúng ta hãy dâng lên Chúa với nguyện vọng là một giàu có, nhưng là một sự giàu có không bao giờ bị phai mờ, không bị mối mọt, hay rỉ sét. Hy vọng Mùa Vọng này nhắc nhở chúng ta là chúng ta có một quê hương trên trời và cùng an hưởng với Chúa Kitô.
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con sự đơn sơ như những em bé và một đức tin thanh khiết để biết nhìn lên khuôn mặt của Chúa với niềm vui và tự tin trong tình yêu nhân hậu vô biên của Chúa. Xin Chúa hãy xoá bỏ và lấy đi tất cả mọi sự nghi ngờ, sợ hãi, và những tư tưởng tự hào trong chúng con vì chúng sẽ những thứ sẽ cản trở chúng con đến với Chúa để đón nhận Lời Chúa với sự tin tưởng và lòng khiêm tốn.
Reflection Tuesday after 1st Sunday of
Advent:
In the gospel, Jesus blesses His Father for all the miracles he is doing in the lives of his disciples, for revealing things of the spirit to them. How do men know the Father? It is through the Son. This is a gift given to whomever Jesus chooses to give it. Human wisdom and intelligence are not the only qualities needed to attain this knowledge. In fact, they may become more of an obstacle. We often tend to rely more on logic than faith. We make decisions based on what is conformable, comfortable or advantageous to us. Hence Jesus blesses and chooses the childlike to whom he reveals his Father. They are the ones who can follow him without prejudices or doubts because they trust in the Lord's goodness and love. To them is promised the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This Advent let us aspire for the riches that do not fade away or get eaten by moths or get rusted. Advent reminds us that we have a heavenly homeland together with Christ.
Tuesday 1st week of Advent 2022:
Introductory Prayer: Christ, I believe you can use my talents well. I hope you will allow me to get to know you better each day. I love you and trust that you are guiding me through life. Not only are you guiding me in my life; you are also letting others be edified by my example.
Petition: Lord, help me trust in you through every circumstance.
1. God Reveals Himself to the Childlike: We long to know Christ better. How we yearn to understand a little more about God and his infinite love! Our small intellects can barely lay hold of any notion or attribute of the Divine Persons. Even if we were to study long hours, we would conclude that our learning is nothing. True knowledge of Christ and of God doesn’t come by learning from books. True knowledge of Christ and of God is revealed to those who learn to quiet their souls in prayer. We need to imitate the resourceful little child who falls on the ground and then runs to his mother to be scooped up in a loving embrace. If we can remember our littleness on the one hand and God’s pure, loving benevolence on the other, we’ll permit—even delight in—his wiping away from our faces the blood and tears caused by our sins. Only when we surrender ourselves to God’s forgiving, tender hands can we say that we know him.
2. God Chooses the Childlike: Christ singles out each one of us for a particular mission in life. We might think of the many people around us––educated, wise, learned people––who would surely be better suited for the calling at hand, who could do a far better job than we could. However, Christ isn’t always looking for the cleverest person, the one with the quickest wit, or the one with the best education. Many times, he scrutinizes the corners of the globe for the soul that is innocent, open to his plan, and willing to carry it out. Simplicity and humility are the keywords when it comes to being chosen by God to participate more actively in his plan of redemption.
3. The Childlike Can Entrust the Bigger Picture to God: How many prophets and kings longed for the time of Christ, when the work of salvation would be fulfilled! During their time of waiting, they left us an example of constancy and dedication to the things of God, despite never seeing many of the things promised them. They played an active role in leading and guiding the people of their time, but they didn’t see the fulfillment of all God’s entire design. God asks us to be like them, planting the seeds of redemption that may not sprout for years. We, like the prophets, aren’t always given the grace to see the entire picture. That is part of being childlike: trusting that God our Father knows what he is doing. St. John Henry Newman prayed in his famous poem, The Pillar of the Cloud:
“Keep thou my feet: I do not ask to see
the distant scene—one step enough for me”.
Do I entrust the big picture of my life to God my Father, or do I try to yank the “remote control” from his loving hands?
Conversation with Christ: Christ, I don’t ask for great understanding or knowledge. Help me to accept with the simplicity and trust of a child all that you want to do in me. I don’t ask for great insight into the depths of your divine attributes. I want to grow in friendship with you, which means I need unshakeable confidence in your infinite love for me. I want to allow you to love me and direct me according to your good will.
Resolution: I will open my heart more widely to God’s plan for my life.
Các môn đồ đã nhìn thấy điều gì khiến mắt họ được “ơn phước lành?” Rõ ràng, họ đã được ban ơn phúc để nhìn thấy Chúa Ki-tô. Chúa Giêsu là Đấng đã được Thiên Chúa hứa ban cho nhân loại qua các tiên tri và các vua ngày xưa, và bây giờ Ngài đang ở đây, bằng xương bằng thịt, Ngài hiện diện với các môn đệ của Ngài. Mặc dù chúng ta không có đặc ân để “thấy” Chúa bằng xương băng thịt như các môn đệ của Chúa cách đây hơn 2000 năm, nhưng chúng ta đã có đặc ân để nhìn thấy Ngài theo nhiều cách khác trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta, nếu chúng ta có đức tin. Chúng ta có “đôi mắt nhìn thấy và đôi tai để nghe lời Chúa dạy trong tâm hồn.
For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23–24
What did the disciples see that made their eyes “blessed?” Clearly, they were blessed to see our Lord. Jesus was the One promised by the prophets and kings of old, and now He was there, in flesh and bone, present for the disciples to see Him. Though we do not have the privilege to “see” our Lord in the same way that the disciples did some 2,000 years ago, we are privileged to see Him in countless other ways in our daily lives, if we only have “eyes that see” and ears to hear.
Since the time of Jesus’ appearance on Earth, in the flesh, so much has changed. The Apostles were eventually filled with the Holy Spirit and sent forth on a mission to change the world. The Church was established, the Sacraments were instituted, the teaching authority of Christ was exercised, and countless saints have given witness to the Truth with their lives. The past 2,000 years have been years in which Christ was continually made manifest to the world in countless ways.
Today, Christ is still present and continues to stand before us. If we have the eyes and ears of faith, we will not miss Him day in and day out. We will see and understand the countless ways that He speaks to us, leads us and guides us today. The first step toward this gift of sight and hearing is your desire. Do you desire the Truth? Do you desire to see Christ? Or are you satisfied with the many confusions of life that seek to distract you from what is most real and most life-changing?
Reflect, today, upon your desire. The prophets and kings of old “desired” to see the Messiah. We are privileged to have Him alive in our presence today, speaking to us and calling to us continually. Foster within yourself a desire for our Lord. Allow it to become a blazing flame which longs to consume all that is true and all that is good. Desire God. Desire His Truth. Desire His guiding hand in your life and allow Him to bless you beyond what you can fathom.
My divine Lord, I know You are alive today, speaking to me, calling me and revealing to me Your glorious presence. Help me to desire You and, within that desire, to turn to You with all my heart. I love You, my Lord. Help me to love You more. Jesus, I trust in You.
Làm thế nào để những cho con người biết Thiên Chúa Cha? Chúng ta biết được Chúa Cha thông qua chính Chúa Con là Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Đây là một món quà mà Chúa Giêsu đã dành để ban cho cho tất cả những ai mà Ngài đã chọn. Trí tuệ và trí thông minh của con người không phải chỉ là những phẩm chất cần thiết để đạt được kiến thức này mà thôi, Trong thực tế, trí thông minh của con người chúng ta có thể sẽ là một trở ngại lớn cho đức tin, vì con người chúng ta thường có xu hướng dựa nhiều vào sự hiểu biết thực tiển hơn là dựa vào đức tin. Chúng ta có thể sẽ đưa ra quyết định dựa trên những gì là phù hợp, thoải mái hay thuận lợi cho chúng ta theo tính chất xác phàm. Do đó Đức Giêsu đã chúc phúc cho những người có tâm hồn khiêm tốn, có cuộc sống đơn sơ như kiểu trẻ con và đó là những người mà Ngài sẽ tỏ lộ cho biết Thiên Chúa Cha. Họ là những người có thể làm theo Chúa mà không có thành kiến hay nghi ngoặc vì họ tin tưởng vào lòng tốt và tình yêu của Chúa. Họ là những người được Thiên Chúa hứa hẹn ban cho những Ân Sủng của Chúa Thánh Thần.
Trong Mùa Vọng này, chúng ta hãy dâng lên Chúa với nguyện vọng là một giàu có, nhưng là một sự giàu có không bao giờ bị phai mờ, không bị mối mọt, hay rỉ sét. Hy vọng Mùa Vọng này nhắc nhở chúng ta là chúng ta có một quê hương trên trời và cùng an hưởng với Chúa Kitô.
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con sự đơn sơ như những em bé và một đức tin thanh khiết để biết nhìn lên khuôn mặt của Chúa với niềm vui và tự tin trong tình yêu nhân hậu vô biên của Chúa. Xin Chúa hãy xoá bỏ và lấy đi tất cả mọi sự nghi ngờ, sợ hãi, và những tư tưởng tự hào trong chúng con vì chúng sẽ những thứ sẽ cản trở chúng con đến với Chúa để đón nhận Lời Chúa với sự tin tưởng và lòng khiêm tốn.
In the gospel, Jesus blesses His Father for all the miracles he is doing in the lives of his disciples, for revealing things of the spirit to them. How do men know the Father? It is through the Son. This is a gift given to whomever Jesus chooses to give it. Human wisdom and intelligence are not the only qualities needed to attain this knowledge. In fact, they may become more of an obstacle. We often tend to rely more on logic than faith. We make decisions based on what is conformable, comfortable or advantageous to us. Hence Jesus blesses and chooses the childlike to whom he reveals his Father. They are the ones who can follow him without prejudices or doubts because they trust in the Lord's goodness and love. To them is promised the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This Advent let us aspire for the riches that do not fade away or get eaten by moths or get rusted. Advent reminds us that we have a heavenly homeland together with Christ.
Tuesday 1st week of Advent 2022:
Introductory Prayer: Christ, I believe you can use my talents well. I hope you will allow me to get to know you better each day. I love you and trust that you are guiding me through life. Not only are you guiding me in my life; you are also letting others be edified by my example.
Petition: Lord, help me trust in you through every circumstance.
1. God Reveals Himself to the Childlike: We long to know Christ better. How we yearn to understand a little more about God and his infinite love! Our small intellects can barely lay hold of any notion or attribute of the Divine Persons. Even if we were to study long hours, we would conclude that our learning is nothing. True knowledge of Christ and of God doesn’t come by learning from books. True knowledge of Christ and of God is revealed to those who learn to quiet their souls in prayer. We need to imitate the resourceful little child who falls on the ground and then runs to his mother to be scooped up in a loving embrace. If we can remember our littleness on the one hand and God’s pure, loving benevolence on the other, we’ll permit—even delight in—his wiping away from our faces the blood and tears caused by our sins. Only when we surrender ourselves to God’s forgiving, tender hands can we say that we know him.
2. God Chooses the Childlike: Christ singles out each one of us for a particular mission in life. We might think of the many people around us––educated, wise, learned people––who would surely be better suited for the calling at hand, who could do a far better job than we could. However, Christ isn’t always looking for the cleverest person, the one with the quickest wit, or the one with the best education. Many times, he scrutinizes the corners of the globe for the soul that is innocent, open to his plan, and willing to carry it out. Simplicity and humility are the keywords when it comes to being chosen by God to participate more actively in his plan of redemption.
3. The Childlike Can Entrust the Bigger Picture to God: How many prophets and kings longed for the time of Christ, when the work of salvation would be fulfilled! During their time of waiting, they left us an example of constancy and dedication to the things of God, despite never seeing many of the things promised them. They played an active role in leading and guiding the people of their time, but they didn’t see the fulfillment of all God’s entire design. God asks us to be like them, planting the seeds of redemption that may not sprout for years. We, like the prophets, aren’t always given the grace to see the entire picture. That is part of being childlike: trusting that God our Father knows what he is doing. St. John Henry Newman prayed in his famous poem, The Pillar of the Cloud:
“Keep thou my feet: I do not ask to see
the distant scene—one step enough for me”.
Do I entrust the big picture of my life to God my Father, or do I try to yank the “remote control” from his loving hands?
Conversation with Christ: Christ, I don’t ask for great understanding or knowledge. Help me to accept with the simplicity and trust of a child all that you want to do in me. I don’t ask for great insight into the depths of your divine attributes. I want to grow in friendship with you, which means I need unshakeable confidence in your infinite love for me. I want to allow you to love me and direct me according to your good will.
Resolution: I will open my heart more widely to God’s plan for my life.
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