Suy Niệm Bài đọc Thứ Sáu Tuần 2 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Bài đọc Thứ Sáu Tuần 2 Thường Niên (Tin Mừng Mark 3:13-19)
Bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay cho chúng ta  thấy lòng tha thứ quảng đại, và từ bi vĩ đại của David. Câu chuyện này là một ví dụ hoàn hảo về sự yêu thương kẻ thù của mình. Vua Saolô, người đã săn lùng và tìm kiếm cho được David 
để giết ông ta, nhưng qua những ngày săn lùng mệt mỏi, Saolô ngủ say trong lều của mình, nơi mà David và đoàn tuỳ tùng đang ẩn náu. 
Đây là cơ hội tốt cho David và những người tuỳ tùng để trả thù, David có thể giết Saolô trong lúc này rất dễ dàng và tự giải thoát lấy chính bản thân mình, nhưng David đã không lỡ hại Saolô chỉ cắt một phần của chiếc áo choàng của Saolô để làm bằng cớ mà thôi. Đây cũng là một bài học mà Thiên Chúa muốn cho Saolô nhận thức được về những việc xấu mà ông ta đã làm, và để Saolô tự xấu hổ với chính mình.  "Con đã đối xử tốt với Cha, còn cha thì xử ác với con."  
            Nếu chúng ta lấy sự ác để trả thù cho cái ác thì chúng ta đã cố ý làm tăng gấp đôi số lượng của cái ác. Nếu chúng ta trả nợ những cái ác bằng những cái tốt, bằng sự thương yêu, bằng tình bác ái, vị tha thì sự ác đó có thể dẫn đến sự tha thứ, sự hòa giải và đem lại hòa bình. Khi gặp những sự khó xử về sự tha thứ, chúng ta hãy nhớ lại lời Chúa Giêsu khi Ngài bị đóng đinh tàn nhẫn trên thập giá. "Lạy Cha, xin tha cho họ ..." Đây là một điều thật sự rất khó cho chúng ta để thực hiện, nhưng thực sự đó là một cách duy nhất để  chúng ta bước theo Chúa. Hãy rộng lượng và tha thứ như chính Chúa đã yêu thương chúng ta.  Lạy Chúa, xin hãy giúp chúng con có can đảm, nghị lực để noi theo những gương sáng  của Chúa là biết sống thật sự trong tình yêu vô điều kiện của Chúa cho tất cả.
 
Friday 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
            Today’s first reading reveals the greatness of David. This story is a perfect example of how to love one's enemy. Saul, who was tracking David down to kill him, slept in his tent. David, with his men, came in quietly and cut off a part of Saul’s cloak as he slept. David could so easily have killed Saul and thereby saved his own life. That is what any ‘normal’ soldier would have done in the circumstances. When Saul became aware of what happened, he was filled with shame. “You have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil.”
            To repay evil with evil is to double the amount of evil. To repay evil with good can result in forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. Remember Jesus as He was being brutally nailed to the Cross. “Father, forgive them…” It is sometimes very difficult but it is really the only way to go.  O Lord, let me be more and more a living example of Your unconditional love for all.
 
Friday 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023
He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:14–15.
The Twelve Apostles were first called by Jesus and then sent to preach with authority. The authority they were given was for the purpose of driving out demons. But how did they do that? It’s interesting to note that the authority they were given over demons was, in part, associated with their commission to preach. And though there are some recorded instances in the Scriptures of the Apostles driving out demons directly by command, it should also be understood that the preaching of the Gospel with the authority of Christ has a direct effect of driving out demons.
                Demons are fallen angels. But even in their fallen state, they retain the natural powers they have, such as the power of influence and suggestion. They seek to communicate with us to deceive us and draw us away from Christ. The good angels, of course, also exercise this same natural power for our good. Our guardian angels, for example, constantly seek to communicate to us the truths of God and His grace. The angelic battle for good and evil is real, and as Christians we must be aware of this reality.
One of the greatest ways to confront satan and his demons is to listen to the Truth and to proclaim it with the authority of Christ. Though the Apostles were given a special authority for their preaching, every Christian, by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, is entrusted with the message of the Gospel to proclaim in various ways. And with that authority, we must constantly strive to bring forth the Kingdom of God. Doing so will have a direct impact on the diminishment of the kingdom of satan.
                Reflect, today, upon your duty to share the Gospel with others. Sometimes this is done by an explicit sharing of the message of Jesus Christ, and at other times the message is shared more by our actions and virtue. But every Christian is entrusted with this mission and must learn to fulfill that mission with true authority, knowing that as that authority from Christ is exercised, the Kingdom of God increases and the activity of the evil one is overcome.
My all-powerful Lord, I thank You for the grace You have given me to proclaim the truth of Your saving message to those whom I encounter every day. Help me to fulfill my mission to preach in both word and deed and to do so with the gentle yet powerful authority given me by You. I offer myself to Your service, dear Lord. Do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2023
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that through baptism you have invited me to share in your friendship. I trust in your Church, Lord. You have given us this institution as the guide to help us in our salvation. I love you, Lord, because you have loved me first. I love you, Lord, for calling me to be your friend and apostle. I may be a mere sinner, but with you, Lord, I believe that I can do great things.  
Petition: Lord, help me to collaborate in your work of salvation.
1. Christ Summoned Those Whom He Wanted: Christ has chosen to need our assistance. He wants our help with the great work of the New Evangelization. As great and powerful as Christ is, he has willed that man collaborate with him in his plan of salvation. He wants to involve others in helping people to come to know, love and serve him. He makes use of man’s free and responsible collaboration in order to carry out his plans. Therefore, even though man is a creature of very limited possibilities, he can achieve truly unimaginable things when he lives and works for God.
2. He Calls Me by Name: Christ does not haphazardly choose me to collaborate with him in the New Evangelization. He knows me. He knows me better than I know myself, and out of love he invites me to be with him. When he calls me by name, he reaches into the depths of my heart and soul. He delves into the depths of who I am, and he identifies with me. When he calls me by name, he calls me out of love; “he calls me to share in his own divine life” (Lumen Gentium, 2). He calls me by name because he knows how great the gift is that he wishes to share with me.
3. He Gives Me a Mission: “He sent them to preach and to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14-15). Christ doesn’t call me just to enjoy the present life. He has created me for a purpose. He has given me a specific vocation that only I can fulfill. I am irreplaceable; there will never be another me. The opportunity that I have to share in this friendship with Our Lord is an invitation to do something with him and for him. Christ’s love for me invites and beckons me to collaborate with him. Who can resist an invitation to collaborate with someone so great, and with an offer so challenging and yet so fulfilling?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, you have wished for me to enter your friendship. You have called me by name to be your friend. You have invited me to help you in the New Evangelization. I want to help you and do my part. Give me the strength to be close to you and to collaborate with you in this great undertaking.
Resolution: I will bring up the faith in a conversation with someone.  
 
Friday 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022
Opening Prayer: Lord, you appointed people to be with you, and to be sent out to preach. As I spend time with you today, listening to your word, help me to hear your call to me. Open my ears that I may listen as each of the Twelve Apostles did, that I may be ready to hear you and respond.
Encountering Christ:
1.      Appointed to Be with Him: For what purpose did Jesus call the apostles? What was the principal reason he chose them? First and foremost, they were called to simply be with Christ. The most important thing for the heart of Christ was not what they would accomplish or how effective their work would be–yes, he did want them to bear fruit–but his first concern was the relationship they would have with him. We often tend to want to be apostles first, to get things done, rather than putting our emphasis on the simple joy of being with him. Jesus calls us primarily to be still and know that he is God (Psalm 46:10).
2.      Appointed to Be Sent Forth: The Apostles were chosen by Jesus to be his emissaries. They were being given a task, one that probably none of them felt prepared for. Perhaps they felt afraid in these moments and had to grow in trust, as we do! Jesus didn't decide to do all of the work of saving humankind on his own back then, and he doesn't do it alone now. He still appoints emissaries. In fact, he has decided to involve us in his work, which is the greatest project ever carried out on earth: the salvation of souls. The work that we do for Christ should always be a source of great joy, since he has invited us by name and given us unique talents with which to take part in this amazing mission, unworthy as we are! 
3.      Given Authority: Jesus has special authority. He can expel evil spirits and they obey him without the freedom to dissent. When he commands someone to be healed, it happens. He even rules over nature, as he did with the sea and waves during a storm. Here, Jesus shared this authority with the men he had chosen to represent him. What a gift it is to be called to work with him, to work beside him, and to represent him! If we don’t see the power of miracles in our life, we can ask for that grace. Our Lord invites us to be His hands and feet to demonstrate his power and might as we spread the Good News and expand the Kingdom of God in our ordinary everyday lives.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, you have chosen me. You want me to be a close collaborator. I see myself in a world that is threatening and contrary to your Gospel, yet you want to send me out with authority and power. Give me your courage. Let my heart be so on fire that I can spread your love and your word with confidence. I am working alongside you, the one to whom all power and dominion belong.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will overcome any fear of representing you and make a point of speaking about you as the opportunity presents itself.
 
Suy Niệm thứ Bẩy tuần thứ Hai Thường Niên
Trong con mắt của con người trong xã hội ngày nay, họ coi những Người Kitô hữu chúng ta trong thế giới hôm nay chẳng khác gì những người đở hơi, gàn gỡ. Đức Kitô đã không đến với thế giới chúng ta để tìm kiếm những sự háu danh,  hay được nổi tiếng hay để giành độc quyền những tiếng khen ngợi của người đời. Điều này giúp cho chúng ta có được một cái nhìn sâu sắc hơn về Kitô giáo của chúng ta là gì. Trong mọi thời gian, Kitô hữu là những người đi ngược lại với cơn thủy triều đang dâng của xã hội. Nhiều lúc Kitô hữu chúng ta  đã phải đi ngược lại với những ý nghĩa hay những cuộc sống theo thời trong xã hội hôm nay.
Chúng ta hãy can đảm, trong thực tế Chúa Giêsu Kitô là người đầu tiên đã phải chấp nhận nững thách thức này và Ngài đã vượt qua những thứấy một cách đắc thắng, Vì Ngài luôn luôn biết tin tưởng Cha của Ngài, Ngài không bao giờ có sự nghi ngờ về tình yêu của Thiên Chúa. Sự tin tưởng này đã duy trì Chúa Kitô cả cuộc đời Ngài trong Tình Yêu và lòng Tin Kính nơi Chúa Cha chính cả trong những lúc Ngài bị phải bội và bị đẩy ra khỏi quê hương Ngài đang sống
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con luôn biệt đặt Chúa trước hết mọi sự và tìm được niềm vui trong việc làm theo ý muốn của Chúa. Xin cho tình yêu và đức bác ái của Chúa được sống và lớn lên trong chúng con, đặc biệt là khi chúng con phải đối diện với những sự chống đối và những nghịch cảnh"
 
Reflection
The Christian today is the odd man out. Christ did not come to the world for popularity or to win men's approval. This gives us an insight to what Christianity is. Most of the time, to be a Christian is to go against the tide.   Many times it will go against human common sense.  
Let us take courage in the fact that Christ was the first to enter this challenge and overcome it victoriously, always trusting his Father, never doubting the love of God. This trust has been the one sustaining Christ all his life when he was driven out of towns,