Suy Niệm tin mừng Lễ Thánh Phaolô trở lại Jan 25

Suy Niệm tin mừng Lễ Thánh Phaolô trở lại.

Sự biến cải của Thánh Phaolô và những hậu quả của sự cải biến này là một trong số những sự kiện quan trọng nhất ảnh hưởng đến lịch sử của Giáo Hội thời sơ khai. Trong sách Công vụ Tông Đồ, Thánh Luca đã cẩn thận không để những câu chuyện của Thánh Phao-lô lấn át những câu chuyện nói đến uy quyền của thánh Phêrô và những công việc của cạ́c thánh tông đồ.

Chúng tôi cũng phải nên bắt chước như vậy. Bất kể những tranh chấp nảy sinh trong Giáo hội thời sơ khai giữa Thánh Phaolô và các Tông Đồ mà Chúa Giêsu đã chọn trong cuộc sống trần thế của Ngài (Mk 3,14), chúng ta không có một lý do gì để làm một sự lựa chọn giữa Thánh Phêrô và Phaolô. Chính thánh Phao-lô đã lên án những thái độ như vậy trong thư gởi tín hứu Corintô (1Cor 10-16). Cả hai đều là nhân vật chủ chốt trong công trình cứu độ của Thiên Chúa.

Sự trung thành của chúng ta đối với Chúa Jêsus trong Giáo hội mà Ngài đã thành lập trên nền đá tảng đó là Pherô, một Giáo hội, mặc dù có nhiều khuyết điểm nhưng luôn luôn có sự chăm sóc của Thiên Chúa Cha trên Trời, được các thánh và những người thầy thật vĩ đại phục vụ và chăm nom. Thái độ chia rẽ mà Thánh Phaolô lên án thường có thể nảy sinh giữa chúng ta. Chúng ta đừng bao giờ làm bất cứ điều gì gây ra sự chia rẽ trong cộng đoàn Giáo Hội.

Lạy Chúa, khi chúng ta cử hành sự mừng lễ Phao-lô trở lại, xin ban cho chúng ta được có những ân sủng để luôn luôn nhớ rằng chúng ta được kêu gọi đổi mới liên tục, trung tín, kiên trì và khoan dung trong Giáo Hội của chúng ta.

 

January 25:  Conversion of St Paul the Apostle SG2018

The conversion of Saint Paul and its consequences were in many ways the most significant cluster of events affecting the early history of the Church. In his Acts of the Apostles, St Luke is careful not to let Paul’s story completely override his account of Peter's authority and apostolic work.

So too for us. Whatever disputes arose in the early Church between Paul and the Apostles whom Jesus chose during his earthly life “to be with him” (Mk 3:14), we have no reason whatsoever to choose between Peter and Paul. Paul himself condemns such attitudes (1Cor 10-16). Both are key figures in God’s work of salvation. Our loyalty is to Jesus in the Church which he founded on Peter, a Church which, in spite of many weaknesses, has always, in God’s providential care, been served by great saints and teachers. The divisive attitude which St Paul condemns can often arise amongst us. Let us never on any account be guilty of causing divisions in the church community.

Lord, as we celebrate the conversion of Paul, grant us the grace always to remember that we are called to constant conversion, fidelity and perseverance and tolerance in Your Church.

 

January 25:  Conversion of St Paul the Apostle 2023

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I renew my faith in the power of your word. I come to you today to listen to you and allow you to lead me. I renew my trust in your mercy: You constantly look upon me and the world with love. I want to love you in return and lead others to love you.

Petition: Fill me with the power of your good news, Lord.

1. The World Needs Messengers of Hope: Jesus Christ is the message that everyone vitally needs. He is God’s message to man, the message that tells people that God loves them deeply and offers them a way to true life and salvation. Our world often looks for love in the wrong places; it needs to find the answer to its deepest desires in Christ. But who will spread this message? Those like St. Paul who take Christ’s love seriously and see that they, too, can become messengers of hope. Am I meant to be a messenger of hope?

2. God Acts Powerfully in Those Who Trust Him: St. Paul exemplifies what God can do through someone who trusts in him. St. Paul valued the grace Christ gave him. He put his life totally in the hands of Christ and was not afraid to proclaim him to everyone he met. Even though Paul faced many difficulties, his work produced enormous fruit and helped extend the number of Christian communities. Do I believe Christ can work through me as I participate in the New Evangelization? In what ways can I trust him more?

3. Our Opportunity Is Now: St. Paul and the first apostles did not wait until all the circumstances were right before beginning evangelization. Once Christ had touched their lives, and once he had given them the command to begin, they began right away. The Church has asked us to begin again today. Like St. Paul, we must feel that the fire of Christ’s love impels us (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14). We cannot wait until the circumstances are favorable; we must do whatever we can now. We have already experienced Christ’s love. Why are we waiting to share it? What holds me back from a greater surrender to the work of evangelization?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, like Saint Paul, your love has touched me, and I have heard your command to go out and spread the good news. I renew my trust in your companionship and resolve to do all I can to bring your Gospel to others. Please help me to keep my eyes on you.

Resolution: Today, I will share a thought from the Gospel or the Holy Father’s teaching with at least two people I encounter.

 

January 25:  Conversion of St Paul the Apostle 2021

Opening Prayer: 

Lord, I am in constant need of conversion. Help me to pray well so that, like St. Paul, I will radiate Christ with my entire life. 

Encountering Christ:

1. A Greater Experience Than the Apostles’: Our life is meant to be a proclamation of the Gospel to every living creature. The apostles experienced Jesus in their daily living with him. We experience him too—in our prayer, when we read the inspired words of Scripture, when we practice charity toward the least of my brothers and sisters. We also experience him in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist which is a deeper and more intimate experience than anything the apostles had up until the Last Supper.

2. A Transforming Encounter: This experience of Christ should transform us. We should be different from people who haven’t experienced Christ. How is it possible for someone who has received the living God himself in the Eucharist–even if it was only one time–how is it possible for that person to be unchanged? 

3. Serve God, Serve Others: It is a great disgrace that Christians cannot easily be distinguished from non-Christians. Our experience of Christ should make us so different that whenever someone walks into a room, he or she should be able to tell who the Christians are within a few minutes. That doesn’t mean that we have to be talking about Christ all the time. It means that our life should be so transformed by reception of the Eucharist, and our other experiences of Christ, that he shines out in our actions, as he did in the first disciples.

Conversing with Christ: Lord, help me to stop resisting you. There are so many things in my life that compete with you for first place that you cannot show your goodness through me. Help me to see that until I open my heart to you entirely, I cannot be a saint—I cannot be a good person or even a nice person. Let me stop serving myself and dedicate myself to serving you and others.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will do something that is uncomfortable for me, something I would rather not do, but something that will allow you to reach those around me.