Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ SáuTuần 32 Thường Niên

 Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ SáuTuần 32 Thường Niên
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Đức Chúa Giêsu nhắc lại cho chúng ta những hình ảnh trong thời Cựu Ước như hình ảnh của ông  Noah và trận đại Hồng Thuỷ và hình ảnh ông Lot với trận mưa Lưu Huỳnh và lửa từ trời đã thiêu hủy cả thành Sodom để nhắc nhở chúng ta rằng, trong ngày phán xét, những người đã sống và giữ Lời Chúa sẽ được cứu thoát, còn những người chỉ biết hiến thân, nô lệ cho tiền tài vật chất thế gian và quên đi Thiên Chúa thì sẽ phải đối mặt với những bản án nặng nề như trên.
Chúa Giêsu muốn cảnh báo chúng ta rằng, nếu chúng ta không chịu chuẩn bị trước trong cuộc sống ở đời nay, thì khi Chúa gọi chúng ta đến để phán xét một cách đột ngột, chúng ta sẽ không có đủ thời gian để chuẩn bị. Vì vậy, chúng ta nên sống một cuộc sống theo như Lời giáo huấn của Chúa và Hội Thánh đó là những cách mà chúng ta cần phải làm để chuẩn bị cho ngày trở lại của Con Người lần thứ hai.
Chúng ta hãy thường xuyên suy ngẫm và phản ảnh về cuộc sống của chúng ta, hãy kiểm tra, rà xét những gì mà chúng ta cho là quan trọng nhất, những gì mà có thể sẽ giúp chúng ta chuẩn bị để đối mặt với ngày Chúa phán xét. Chúa Giêsu đã luôn nhắc chúng ta về sự phán xét, không phải để đe dọa chúng ta, nhưng để giúp chúng ta nhận thức được sự thưởng phạt phân minh. Chúng ta hãy thử tưởng tượng rằng, trong khi chúng ta đang đọc bài suy niệm này, Con Người chợt đến bất ngờ, và đến lượt sắp tới của chúng ta, chắc chắn chúng ta không kịp trở tay để sám hối ăn năn và cầu xin Chúa cho sự tha thứ, để tha thứ cho những người khác đang mắc nợ chúng ta, để chúng ta được hòa giải với con cái, với cha, để nói lên yêu thương với cha mẹ và gia đình, để giúp đỡ người nghèo và những người đang có nhu cầu đê được giúp đỡ.
Phản ảnh theo cách này sẽ nâng cao sự nhận thức về cách sử dụng thời gian một cách khôn ngoan để chuẩn bị tốt cho sự phán xét của chúng ta. Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta ân sủng để đối diện với Ngày Phán Xét mà không lo sợ và hối tiếc..
 
Reflection: Friday 32rd Ordinary Time
Jesus recalls the Old Testament images of Noah and Lot to remind us that, in the time of judgment, those who live according to God’s word will be saved, while those who give themselves to worldly things and forget about God will face the judgment. Jesus warns us that, if we are not prepared for it before it comes; judgment will come so suddenly that we will not have enough time to prepare. So we should live our lives in ways that prepare us for the coming of the Son of Man. 
Reflect on your life and consider what you give most importance to, what will most help you to prepare to face the judgment day. Jesus speaks about the judgment in this way, not to frighten us but to help us to be aware. Imagine that, while you are reading this reflection, the Son of Man comes. The suddenness of his coming leaves no time to ask for forgiveness, to forgive others, to be reconciled with your children, to tell your father that you love him, to help the poor and those in need. Reflecting in this way will raise one’s awareness of how to use time wisely to prepare well for judgment. 
Lord, grant us the grace to face the Day of Judgment without fear or regret.
 
Friday 32nd in Ordinary Time  2022
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, increase my faith, and may your Kingdom come into my heart and the world.
Encountering Christ:
1.      Profession of Belief: The liturgy continues to bring the reality of the second coming of Jesus before our consciousness. It is a reality very far from the minds of the multitude and likely also far from our present consciousness. And yet, it is an essential element of our faith. We profess it in the Creed: “I believe in Jesus Christ…(who) is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there, he will come to judge the living and the dead.” In this Gospel passage, Jesus compared the moment of judgment to a time of definitive separation, like in the times of Noah. Those who chose to heed and follow the voice of the Lord were gathered into the ark and saved from perishing. He also compared it to the times of Lot. Those who continued in their daily routines without taking heed were left to perish. It is a hard lesson, but one that calls us to an examination of conscience. Do we believe what we profess? How do we live in anticipation of the coming of the Son of Man? 
2.      Preservation: Jesus said that those who try to save their life will lose it, and that those who lose it will keep it safe. What does each group seek to preserve? Temporal and fleeting pleasures of life or values that endure eternally? The story of Lot’s wife teaches us to keep our eyes on the new life that the Lord offers us, especially as we flee from the destruction of the old life. Ironically, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, which preserves life for others. It is a reminder that only God has the key to total preservation. He can unlock eternity. That key is Jesus Christ, who already won salvation for us. He desires to continue to establish his Kingdom among us to help us persevere in our faith.
3.      Existential Signs: We not only profess our faith in the coming of Jesus but also experience this truth in the existential tension of our lives. We live it day to day in the sensation that there is something more to this life that still escapes us. In the words of the musical group U2, “I still haven’t found what I am looking for.” At the beginning of their music video, filmed in the heart of Las Vegas, stands a cross in the background, symbolizing a hint of what the heart longs for. And yet they continue to walk the streets that taunt the senses with money, women, cars—all fleeting pleasures of this world. They sing that they believe in the Kingdom to come, but still haven’t found what they are looking for. The challenge for us as Christians is to be bold and not afraid to lose the life which the “vultures feed off of,”  and preserve the true life nurtured by hope and faith that move us in the direction of God’s eternal Kingdom.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, come and make your home in me. Prepare my heart for your continual coming until your definitive judgment. May I not fear this moment but live in the true hope of dwelling in the fullness of your Kingdom. Grant me the grace to be courageous and “lose my life” where and when needed so that I can preserve my life with you.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will reflect on how my lifestyle reflects the underlying choice of which kingdom I side with—the temporal or the eternal. 
 
Friday 32nd in Ordinary Time  
Opening Prayer:  Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of sacred Scripture. Please open my mind and heart to receive your word with humility and gratitude. Increase my faith, hope, and love so that your word may bear fruit in my daily life. 
Encountering Christ:
·         The End of Time: Towards the end of each liturgical year, the Church reflects upon the end of time. “The ‘resurrection of all the dead’… will precede [Christ’s coming] ‘in his glory, and all the angels with him.... Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats’” (CCC 1038). This anticipation of Our Lord’s second coming is an essential part of our faith. During the Mass after the consecration the people acclaim, “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.” St. Bernard spoke of the three arrivals of our Lord: his earthly life, his hidden presence within us, and, finally, his arrival at the end of time. Advent presages the first coming and the end of the liturgical year presages the final coming, and both prepare us for when he comes to us daily–silently, interiorly–but truly.
·         When Will It Happen?: When will the Lord finally come? Are we close? These and other questions are common and understandable. However, the Church has persistently taught us that while Our Lord’s coming is imminent, “‘it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.’ This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are ‘delayed’” (CCC 673). The Lord will return, but we do not know when. Therefore, we should not be perturbed upon hearing various prognostics that the end is near. We should not worry so much about the end of the world, but rather prepare ourselves daily for a holy life and a peaceful death.
·         Losing Life to Preserve It: ‘Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” Our Lord is inviting us to realize that the things of this world are passing and that only he remains. If we seek to save our lives by merely chasing the pleasures of this life, we risk losing out on Christ himself, the pearl of great price for which we should gladly sell all the rest (Matthew 13:45-46). Rooted in a profound and trusting friendship with Christ, we will fear neither death nor the end of the world. Then, with St. Paul, we too will proclaim: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet… My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:21-23).
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you come to your Church and to me in countless ways. I encounter you in Scripture, the Eucharist, Confession, prayer, and ultimately in all my daily experiences—both pleasant and challenging. Help me to see things as you see them, to value them as you value them. Give me the light and the strength to fulfill your will in all things—both now and at the end of my life. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will say a prayer for the dying.
                                                                                                                    
Reflection:
     As we near the end of the Liturgical year, the Liturgy focuses on the essential things - to follow the Lord, as the responsorial psalm says. The Epistle stresses the new commandment: Let us love one another. This is love: to walk according to His Commandments, and this is His Commandment: that we walk in love as we have learned.  The emphasis is on following the law of the Lord.
     In the Gospel, the Lord's basic message is that when the Son of Man comes, everything stops, and we had all better be ready. He recalls the time of Noah, when everything seemed normal until the day that Noah entered the Ark and they all died. Also, the Lord reminds us all that even Lot's wife, who was already headed to safety, should not have tried to look back and hold on to the past. Lastly, the Lord emphasizes that whoever tries to save his life shall lose it, and whoever gives his life will be born again. Whoever gives his life for Jesus will be born again. Thus there seem to be two special words for today: COMMANDMENT OF LOVE and FOLLOWING THIS COMMANDMENT. These are the essential things that will carry us to the next life, to rebirth, to God's Presence. Let us all pray for each other to learn the Commandment of Love and to Follow it steadfastly.