Suy Niệm Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Chay (Mat 5:43-48)

            Trong mùa Chay này, chúng ta được nhắc nhở về trách nhiệm Kitô giáo của chúng ta. Chúng ta phải nhận thức được mối liên hệ và giao ước giữa Thiên Chúa và chúng ta.

            Bài đọc thứ nhất trong sách Đệ Nhị Luật nêu rõ những lời hứa của Thiên Chúa với con người trong bản một giao ước ngắn gọn, nhưng với niềm hy vọng là chúng ta sống theo mệnh lệnh của Thiên Chúa. Những yếu tố liên tục gắn kết chúng ta với Thiên Chúa là nhận thức qua kinh nghiệm những sự tốt lành của Thiên Chúa cũng như tình yêu vô điều kiện mà Ngài dành cho chúng ta một cách cụ thể (TV 118), Đây là một trong những ơn gọi của mỗi người Kitô hữu. Nếu chúng ta sống với khía cạnh này, chúng ta sẽ tìm thấy những sự ngạc nhiên của những biến đổi đã diễn ra trong cuộc sống của chúng ta và qua những sự ngạc nhiên trong cuộc sống đó, chúng ta sẽ thấy mình trở nên giống Chúa Kitô hơn trong những suy nghĩ và trong những hành động của chúng ta.

           Do đó mầu nhiệm Nhập Thể chắc chắn phải có nghĩa gì trong cuộc sống của chúng ta. Đấy là những gì mà Thiên Chúa đã mời gọi và đòi hỏi nơi chúng ta "anh em hãy nên hoàn thiện, như Cha anh em trên trời là Ðấng hoàn thiện." .

            Lạy Chúa, xin ban cho chúng con có những ân sũng của Chúa Thánh Thần trong Mùa Chay thánh này để chúng con được trở nên giống như Chúa Kitô trong những suy nghĩ và hành động của chúng con, nhờ đó chúng con sẽ mạnh dạn làm chứng cho tình yêu vô biên, vô điều kiện của Chúa đã ban cho chúng con, là những người thật là tội lỗi.

 

Saturday 1^st ưeek ò Lent

During the season of Lent, we are reminded of our Christian responsibility. Firstly, in our relationship with God. Are we aware of the covenantal relationship between God and us? The first reading in Deuteronomy states clearly the declaration of this covenant; a compact treaty that expects us to follow God’s commands.  The constant factor that binds us with God in this covenantal relationship is the awareness and concrete experience of God’s goodness and unconditional love for us. (Ps. 118). This moves us to witness to this love by our love for others. This is the other dimension of our Christian vocation. If we live these two dimensions, we will gradually find, to our amazement that transformation takes place in our lives. Then to our surprise, we begin to see ourselves becoming more Christ-like in our thoughts and actions.

            Thus making sure what Incarnation means in our lives. This is what the call ‘to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect’ entails. “Lord, grant us the Lenten grace to be more like You in our thoughts and action, thus witnessing to your unconditional love for us, sinners.”

 

Saturday of the First Week of Lent

“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:44–45

    Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus saying, “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a high calling! And it is clear that part of the perfection to which you are called requires a generous and total love even for those you may consider your “enemies” and those who “persecute” you.

    When faced with this high calling, one immediate reaction could be that of discouragement. When faced with such a challenging command, it is understandable that you may feel incapable of such a love, especially when the hurt caused by another is ongoing. But there is another reaction that is entirely possible and one for which we should aim. And that reaction is deep gratitude.

    The gratitude we should allow ourselves to experience is on account of the fact that our Lord wants us to share in His life of perfection. And the fact that He commands us to live this life also tells us that it is entirely possible. What a gift! What an honor it is to be invited by our Lord to love with His very heart and to love to the extent that He loves all people. The fact that we are all called to this level of love should result in our hearts giving deep thanks to our Lord.

    If discouragement, however, is your immediate reaction to this calling from Jesus, try to look at others from a new perspective. Try to suspend judgment toward them, especially against those who have and continue to hurt you the most. It’s not your place to judge; it’s your place only to love and to see others as the children of God who they are. If you dwell upon another’s hurtful actions, angry feelings will inevitably arise. But if you strive only to see them as children of God whom you are called to love without reserve, then even feelings of love will more easily arise within you, helping you to fulfill this glorious command.

    Reflect, today, upon this high calling of love and work to foster gratitude within your heart. The Lord wants to give you an incredible gift by loving all people with His heart, including those who tempt you to anger. Love them, see them as God’s children and allow God to draw you into the heights of perfection to which you are called.

My most perfect Lord, I thank You for loving me despite my many sins. I thank You for also calling me to share in the depths of Your love for others. Give me the eyes to see all people as You see them and to love them as You love them. I do love You, Lord. Help me to love You and others more. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Saturday 1^st week of Lent 2023

Opening Prayer: My Lord, let your Spirit widen my heart through your words and with your wisdom. Help me to become more like you and teach me to love my neighbor as you love me.

Encountering Christ:

1. Love My Enemies?: Jesus’s invitation to love one’s enemies is so well known that it has become proverbial. Nevertheless, consider how shocking this idea is! An enemy, in the proper sense, explicitly wants our ill. To experience such aggression is genuinely dark. And there seem to be only two options for reacting to it. You either respond aggressively in kind, or you swallow the injustice and assume the role of a victim. In both cases, the darkness of animosity is likely to swallow you. Animosity is bad; it is a black hole that threatens to suck us in.

2. Jesus Proposes a Different Option: To react to animosity with love means neither aggression nor victimization. Love does not swallow injustice but dips it in light, thus vanquishing the toxic black hole. How is such a thing possible? Who can illuminate a black hole? Only someone who is the source of light itself. Herein lies Jesus’s glorious victory. For when the enemy par excellence seized him, the source of goodness and the heart of the world, and tried to swallow him in death, death could not quench his light. On the contrary, his divine light filled the abyss of death and woke all those who had been swallowed by it. Jesus’s heart vanquished death as it resumed beating; his light erased the black hole; his love dissolved the relentless power of the enemy.

3. How Can You Truly Love Your Enemy? Only in Christ: When Jesus’s resurrected and glorified heart started to beat again on the third day, it became the pulse that animates a new creation, one in which we participate through grace beginning on the day of our Baptism. Therefore, Jesus’s heart is the heart of the redeemed world and should become our heart. When Jesus’s light started to illuminate the night, it started spreading among the disciples he had bound to his heart as members of his body. When Jesus’s love defeated and redeemed those who had killed him–his enemies–he also called on his friends and empowered them through the gift of the Holy Spirit to participate in this love. Jesus’s heart pumps love into his friends. All of this means we can love our enemies in a truly redeeming way if we do so in Christ and allow him to love in us if his heart becomes our heart.

Conversing with Christ: My Lord Jesus Christ, you look at me and see me. Sometimes, with grief, you see an enemy in me, someone who is capable of sinning and thus offending you. However, you always react to my animosity similarly: you love and keep loving me. Your love has vanquished my sin and redeemed me from its grip. And you offer me this gift repeatedly, as often as I fall back into the traps of evil. Today, I thank you for your love and for your mercy. And I raise my gaze to the horizon where I might see people that move against me, my enemies. Lord, I have experienced how your love has saved me from the darkness. Allow me, through your love, to love my enemies.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will examine where I need your help to love my enemies. I want to love like you, love with and in you.

 

 REFLECTION

     It is so easy for us to love those who are lovable and who love us in return.

 In the Gospel reading Jesus extends the commandment "to love your neighbor" to "your enemies" and to "those who persecute you." Speaking with the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, he recalls to them the rule to "love your neighbor and not do good to your enemy." He clearly states this is not enough: for even tax-collectors and pagans do the same.

       Jesus teaches us to love all, even the unlovable, even those who have betrayed us, those who have hurt us and taken advantage of us. Love of neighbor is much related to forgiveness of those who have offended us, those who have transgressed against us. This comes from our Lord who at the cross prayed, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." (Lk 23: 34)

        We can ask who our friends are: no problem about loving them and being friendly and good to them. How about those we do not particularly like? How can we show them love and friendship? How about those who have wronged us? Can we forgive them and show them love and friendship? Hopefully we can do much better than the tax­ collectors and pagans mentioned by our Lord!

        And let us heed the Lord's words, "As for you, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Suy Niệm Lời Chúa Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Lời Chúa Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Nhất Mùa Chay. (Mat 5:20-26)

            Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay Chúa Giêsu kêu gọi chúng ta nên thánh. Ngài đã mặc nhiên đề cập đến các lề luật trong sách Lêvi câu 19:02 "Các ngươi phải thánh thiện, vì Ta, Ðức Chúa, Thiên Chúa của các ngươi, Ta là Ðấng Thánh."

             Khi đưa ra  về chủ đề về sự thánh thiện này, Chúa Giêsu đã nói theo một cách gợi nhớ những lời của tiên tri thời trước. Tôn giáo đòi hỏi một mức độ công bình cá nhân nhất định, nhưng phải luôn luôn biết nghĩ đến những người khác. Và cũng phải có những thái độ thích hợp nữa, nghĩa là chúng ta không trở nên giận dữ với người khác hay dùng những ngôn từ thô lỗ để làm nhục hay lăng mạ người khác. Vì cuối cùng chúng ta cũng sẽ phải làm hòa với những người này trong một tinh thần chung, trong những trường hợp công lý được đòi hỏi phải hòa giải trước khi dâng của lễ hiến tế cho Thiên Chúa trên bàn thờ. Do đó, lời cầu nguyện trên những lễ vật hôm nay cũng phản ảnh bài Tin Mừng, vì chúng ta cầu nguyện là xin cho những lễ vật mà chúng ta dâng lên Thiên Chúa có thể mang lại cho chúng ta được sức mạnh trong ơn cứu rỗi của Thiên Chúa.

            Lạy Chúa Giêsu, như Chúa đã dạy chúng con cách thức để vào được Nước Thiên Chúa, Xin Chúa giải thoát chúng con thoát  khỏi con đường tội lỗi và dẫn đưa chúng con đến sự thánh thiện mà Thiên Chúa, Cha chúng ta đã đòi hỏi nơi chúng con.

 

Reflection:

A man once asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life (Mt 19:16-22). On that occasion Jesus responded with the consolingly simple answer: “keep the commandments”. In today’s Gospel he goes much further and calls us to holiness. He may be implicitly referring to the command in Lev 19:2 “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy”. As he develops this theme of holiness, Jesus speaks in a way reminiscent of the great prophets. Religion demands a certain level of personal righteousness, but must always take other people into account.

            Then, too, proper attitudes such as not becoming angry with someone and not using abusive language to another person will eventually mean a general spirit of reconciliation with others, even in cases where justice is demanded, reconciliation closely tied in with the gifts we present at the altar of God. The prayer over the gifts today thus responds to the Gospel, for we pray that the gifts we offer may bring us God’s saving power.

            Lord Jesus, as you teach us the ways to the Kingdom of God, free us from sinful ways and lead us to that holiness which God, Our Father, asks of us.

 

Friday 1st Week in Lent – 2023

Friday of the First Week of Lent

“Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:26

Was our Lord here giving legal advice regarding a criminal or civil case and how to avoid prosecution? Certainly not. He was presenting us with an image of Himself as the just Judge. And He was exhorting us to show mercy to anyone and everyone who could be seen as our “opponent.”

Forgiveness of another is essential. It can never be withheld. But forgiveness is actually not even enough. The ultimate goal must be reconciliation, which goes much further. In this Gospel above, Jesus exhorts us to “settle” with our opponents, therein implying reconciliation. The RSV version of the Bible says it this way, “Make friends quickly with your accuser…” Working to foster a “friendship” with one who has accused you, especially if it is a false accusation, goes far beyond simply forgiving them.

To reconcile with another and to reestablish a true friendship means that you not only forgive but also do all you can to ensure that you reestablish a relationship of love with that person. It means that you both put your grievance behind you and start anew. Of course, that takes both people to cooperate in love; but, for your part, it means that you work hard to establish this reconciliation.

Think about someone who has hurt you, and, as a result, your relationship with them has been damaged. Have you prayerfully forgiven that person before God? Have you prayed for that person and asked God to forgive them? If so, then you are now ready for the next step of reaching out to them in love to mend your relationship. This takes great humility, especially if the other person was the cause of the hurt and especially if they have not spoken words of sorrow to you, asking for your forgiveness. Don’t wait for them to do so. Look for ways to show that person that you love them and want to heal the hurt. Don’t hold their sin before them or hold on to a grudge. Seek only love and mercy.

Jesus concludes this exhortation with strong words. Essentially, if you fail to do all you can to reconcile and reestablish your relationship, you will be held accountable for it. Though this may seem unfair at first, it is clearly not, because this is the depth of mercy that our Lord offers us every day. We will never be adequately sorry for our sin, but God forgives and reconciles with us anyway. What a grace! But if we fail to offer this same mercy to others, we essentially limit God’s ability to offer this mercy to us, and we will be required to pay back “the last penny” of our own debt to God.

Reflect, today, upon the person who comes to mind with whom you need to fully reconcile and rekindle a relationship of love. Pray for this grace, commit yourself to it and look for opportunities to do so. Do it without reserve and you will never regret your decision.

My most merciful Lord, I thank You for forgiving me and for loving me with such perfection and totality. Thank You for reconciling with me despite my imperfect contrition. Give me a heart, dear Lord, that always seeks to love the sinner in my life. Help me to offer mercy to the fullest extent in imitation of Your divine mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Friday 1st Week in Lent – 2023

Opening Prayer: My Lord, you reveal to us the fullness of what it means to become truly human. I renew my faith that your guidance will lead me to this fulfillment. 

Encountering Christ:

1. “Old Law”: The Ten Commandments constitute the foundation of the moral order God revealed to his people. They also mirror the ethical guidelines that man can discover rationally by reflecting and examining his conscience. These commandments give moral order, point in the direction of moral goodness, and mark borders to protect us from great moral evils. To follow the Ten Commandments means to resist our disordered tendencies towards sin. To provide us with these parameters was among God’s first projects to solidify his covenant with humanity.

2. “New Law”: At first glance, Jesus seems to challenge the Old Law when he calls out: “But I say to you…” However, he did not intend to take away “the smallest letter from the law.” In fact, Matthew has explicitly reported this intention of Jesus in the two verses which precede today’s pericope (see Matthew 5:18-19). If we go even further back, to the beginning of chapter 5, we find the Beatitudes and understand that Jesus wanted to go beyond the basic rules, beyond a law that prevents a man from sinning. Jesus wanted to redeem, to renew, to re-create us. Indeed, the final project of God’s covenant with us is to lead man to his true fullness. And that fullness consists of more than following rules and restraining from falling into temptation. It constitutes a new life.

3. Christ’s Law within Us: Christian ethics is ultimately about–closing the gap between being good and being holy, making the leap from merely controlling our tendency for doing evil to fostering and nourishing our tendency to do good. This leap, this transformation into a truly virtuous person, is not the result of an external law but the result of the Old Law alone. The New Man carries a New Law inside him; a law which consists of the silent whisper of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, who not only informs us, but empowers us to love the good. Thus, Jesus did not only demand higher standards by giving us a New Law, but he also empowered us to fulfill them. This is our Christian faith: we live a new life in Christ. He lives in us. His love can spread in our hearts, and thereby we come fully alive. Our true potential is not activated by avoiding the big sins. We come fully alive and whole when we live in Christ, and Christ lives in us. Then we will “love and do as we will,” as St. Augustine puts it.

Conversing with Christ: My Lord Jesus Christ, while I renew my commitment to follow the laws that revelation, my reason, and the Church present to me, I also want to pay attention to your New Law inside me. I want to discover the workings of your Spirit in my heart. Help me not to resist his inspirations and help me to distinguish them from my own voice. Love through me, oh Lord.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will identify a moment today in which I can practice the New Law by allowing you to direct my heart toward wanting what you want.

 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ Nhật Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ Nhật Mùa Chay (Matthew 7:7-12)

“Hễ ai xin, thì sẽ được, ai tìm thì sẽ thấy”

Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nhắc nhở chúng ta về sự cần thiết và sức mạnh của lời cầu nguyện. Chúng ta không thể hiểu được cuộc sống Kitô hữu, nếu như chúng ta không có sự liên hệ với Thiên Chúa, và trong những mối quan hệ này, lời cầu nguyện phải được đặt ngay trong trọng tâm cuộc sống. Đây là lý do tại sao, đời sống Kitô hữu của chúng ta là những nhu cầu thường xuyên đòi hỏi và tìm kiếm: như Chúa Giêsu đã nói với các môn đệ.là:“Hãy xin thì sẽ nhận được, hãy tìm thì sẽ thấy, cứ gõ thì cửa sẽ mở” (Mt 07:07),

        Đồng thời, lời cầu nguyện cũng giúp biến trái tim chai đá của chúng ta dần dần trở thành một trái tim biết yêu thương: “Vậy nếu các ngươi tuy là ác, mà còn biết lấy của lành mà làm quà cho con, thì huống hồ là Cha các ngươi, Ðấng ngự trên trời, sẽ ban của lành cho những ai xin Người!”(Mt 7:11).

Kinh Lạy Cha mà Chúa Giêsu đã dậy chính là lời cầu nguyện tóm tắt hữu hiệu và tốt nhất giúp chúng ta để cầu xin Thiên Chúa: “Nước Cha trị đến, Ý Cha thành sự, dưới đất cũng như trên trời.” (x. Mt 6:10). Do đó, Chúng ta không thể dùng kinh Lạy Cha này để xin bất cứ điều chúng ta muốn, nhưng chúng ta có thể xin những gì thực sự là vì lợi ích cho chúng ta và những người chung quanh. Nếu không ai muốn làm tổn thương chính mình, thì mình không nên làm điều gì phật lòng người khác,

            Đôi khi, Chúng ta không nhận ra mối quan tâm của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng ta, bởi vì chúng ta thấy những lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta dường như chưa được đáp lại hoặc thậm chí có thể cảm thấy rằng Thiên Chúa đã không yêu thương chúng ta, Trong những khoảnh khắc như vậy, chúng ta hãy nên nhớ lời khuyên này từ thánh Jerome: “Chắc chắn Thiên Chúa sẽ ban cho những ai xin, những người tìm, sẽ được tìm  thấy, và những ai gõ thì cửa sẽ được mở ra:” Như vậy chúng ta thấy rõ rằng là những ai là người đã xin không nhận được, Tìm mà không thấy, những ai đã gõ mà cửa vẫn không được mở ra, vì họ là những người không biết xin như thế nào, không  biết kiếm tìm như thế nào và cũng không biết gõ như thế. Do dó, . Chúng ta cầu xin Chúa trước hết là cho chúng ta một tâm hồn biết yêu thương giống như của Chúa Giêsu Kitô. 

 

Reflection Thursday 1^st week of Lent

For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds

            Today, Jesus reminds us of the need and power of prayer. We cannot understand our Christian life without being related to God, and in this relation, prayer takes a central place. While we live in this world, we Christians find ourselves on a pilgrimage road, but our prayer gets us closer to God, opens up the door of his immense love and brings forward the Heaven delights. This is why, our Christian life is a constant request and search: «Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened» (Mt 7:7), says Jesus to his disciples.

            At the same time, the prayer gradually turns a stone heart into a flesh heart: «As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!» (Mt 7:11). The best summary we can ask God can be found in Our Lord's Prayer: «Your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as in heaven» (cf. Mt 6:10). We, therefore, cannot ask just anything in our prayers, but something which is really for our own good. If nobody wants to hurt himself, we should not want any damage for others, either.

            We, sometimes, fail to see God's concern for us, for we find our prayers seemingly unanswered or may even feel God does not love us. In such moments, it will do us good to remember this advice from Saint Jerome: «It is certain God gives to he, who asks, that he, who seeks, finds, and that he, who knocks, will be opened: It is clearly seen that he, who has not received, who has not found, who has not been opened, is just because he did not know how to ask, how to seek nor how to knock at the door». Let us, therefore, ask God, in the first place, to give us a loving heart just like that of Jesus Christ.

 

Thursday of the First Week of Lent 2023

“Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish?” Matthew 7:9–10

Clearly this is a rhetorical question by Jesus. No parent would hand their son or daughter a stone or a snake if they asked for food. But that of course is the point. Jesus goes on to say, “…how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”

When you pray with deep faith, will our Lord give you whatever you ask? Certainly not. Jesus did say, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” But this statement must be carefully read within the whole context of Jesus’ teaching here. The fact of the matter is that when we sincerely ask in faith for “good things,” meaning that which our good God wants to bestow upon us, He will not disappoint. Of course, this does not mean that if we beg Jesus for anything whatsoever that He will give it to us.

What are those “good things” that our Lord will most certainly give to us? First and foremost, it is the forgiveness of our sins. We can be absolutely certain that if we humble ourselves before our good God, especially within the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will be granted the freely given and transforming gift of forgiveness.

In addition to the forgiveness of our sins, there are many other things we need in life, and there are many other things that our good God wants to bestow upon us. For example, God will always want to give to us the strength we need to overcome temptations in life. He will always want to provide for our most basic needs. He will always want to help us grow in every virtue. And He most certainly wants to bring us to Heaven. It is these things that we must especially pray for every day.

But what about other things, such as a new job, more money, a better house, acceptance into a certain school, a physical healing, etc.? Our prayers for these and other similar things in life should be prayed for but with a caveat. The “caveat” is that we pray that God’s will be done. Not ours. We must humbly acknowledge that we do not see the big picture in life and do not always know what will give God the greatest glory in all things. Therefore, it may be better that you not get that new job, or be accepted at this school, or even that this illness not end in healing. But we can be certain that God always will bestow upon us that which is best for us and that which enables us to give God the greatest glory in life. The crucifixion of our Lord is a perfect example. He prayed that that cup be taken from Him, “but not my will but Yours be done.” And, of course, the Father saw the great eternal value in the death of His Son on the Cross and answered that prayer of His accordingly.

Reflect, today, upon how you pray. Do you pray with detachment from the outcome, knowing that our Lord knows best? Do you humbly admit that only God knows what is truly good for you? Trust this to be the case and pray with complete confidence that God’s will be done in all things and you can be certain that He will answer that prayer.

Dear Lord of infinite wisdom and knowledge, help me to always place my trust in Your goodness and care for me. Help me to daily turn to You in my need and to trust that You will answer my prayer according to Your perfect will. I place my life into Your hands, dear Lord. Do with me as you wish. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Thursday of the First Week of Lent  2302

Opening Prayer: My Lord, I stand before you as someone with many needs. You remind me today that you are more than happy to help me with my struggles. Strengthen my trust so that I can allow you to lighten my burden. 

Encountering Christ:

1. “Ask and It Will Be Given to You”: What does it mean to ask for something? First, we identify a void or need within ourselves that we intend to remedy. This intention drives us to act, but instead of trying to fill the void by ourselves, we often opt to engage another person as the source of the good we desire—be it information, an object, or a benefit. In approaching the other, we acknowledge the gratuity of the other person’s response to our request. Thus, asking for something is different from fixing something by oneself. Asking is different from taking or demanding it from someone. Asking is different from control. Asking is dealing with a need in an open-ended way. In the spiritual life, the desire to control, to demand, or fix things on our own is often an obstacle. In the spiritual life, we must learn to ask properly. We must learn to trust. This is what Jesus wants to teach us today.

2. “Seek and You Will Find”: In a similar way, Jesus encourages us to set out on the spiritual journey of discipleship by seeking. Seeking, too, is open-ended. Someone who seeks doesn’t know what he will find. On the other hand, logic suggests that we certainly cannot find anything if we do not seek. Again, here lies a truth for our spiritual life which Christ wishes to teach us: Life in general, and spiritual life in particular, often presents us with findings that surprise us, as they will not align accurately with our expectations. He who is sure about the future will not react with docility to findings that he did not expect. Jesus wants us to seek and find surprises so that we can learn to be docile to God’s inspirations.

3. “Knock and the Door Will Be Opened to You”: Jesus encourages us to shift the weight in our spiritual life. Whether we ask for something, or seek something, or knock at a door, these actions always involve someone else on whom we depend for an answer, or for a clue, or to open the door for us. Jesus wants us to learn to depend on God as we progress on our life’s journey—to exchange control for trust, certainty for docility, self-centeredness for God-centeredness.

Conversing with Christ: My Lord Jesus Christ, here I am asking and seeking and knocking. I am willing to shift the weight of my life in your direction. I know what that means: that I depend on you, that I ask for your generosity, that I need you. I ask for your grace, I seek your will, I knock at your door to find you.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will do for another (a friend, my spouse, a colleague, a family member) what I am expecting him or her to do for me.

 

REFLECTION

     In the first reading we see the desperate prayer of Esther to be delivered from those plotting against the Jewish people: her prayer was answered, the Jewish people in the kingdom saved and the evil plotters against them exposed and executed.

     In the Gospel reading, part of the Sermon on the Mount where the Evangelist Matthew put together many of Jesus' teachings, Jesus assures us of the efficacy of all prayers: "For everyone who asks, receives; whosoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks." Why? Because "your Father in heaven [will] give good things to those who ask him!"

     Jesus repeatedly stressed the importance and efficacy of our prayers of petition: we have many needs and are assured that our heavenly Father knows our needs even before we ask him. We should not hesitate to ask: every prayer of ours will be answered, perhaps not in the way we had asked, but in the way helpful to us. We should ask and pray with faith and perseverance, that God will hear our prayer. We should note that the Lord's Prayer, given by Jesus to his disciples at their request, is a series of petitions for our daily needs.

    The short Gospel reading ends with the so-called Golden Rule, "Do to others whatever you would that others do to you." In a way, this is a reiteration of the key commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

 

REFLECTION 2017

     In the first reading we see the desperate prayer of Esther to be delivered from those plotting against the Jewish people: her prayer was answered, the Jewish people in the kingdom saved and the evil plotters against them exposed and executed.

     In the Gospel reading, part of the Sermon on the Mount where the Evangelist Matthew put together many of Jesus' teachings, Jesus assures us of the efficacy of all prayers: "For everyone who asks, receives; whosoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks." Why? Because "your Father in heaven [will] give good things to those who ask him!"

     Jesus repeatedly stressed the importance and efficacy of our prayers of petition: we have many needs and are assured that our heavenly Father knows our needs even before we ask him. We should not hesitate to ask: every prayer of ours will be answered, perhaps not in the way we had asked, but in the way helpful to us. We should ask and pray with faith and perseverance, that God will hear our prayer. We should note that the Lord's Prayer, given by Jesus to his disciples at their request, is a series of petitions for our daily needs.

        The short Gospel reading ends with the so-called Golden Rule, "Do to others whatever you would that others do to you." In a way, this is a reiteration of the key commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ Nhật Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ Nhật Mùa Chay (Luke 11:29-32 )

Nhiều người trong chúng ta cảm thấy rất là khó khăn để ăn năn, sám hối và thay đổi cuộc sống của chúng ta thật sự trong mùa chay này. Chúng ta cũng chẳng khác gì hơn những người Biệt Phái Do thái, những người đang tìm kiếm các dấu lạ hơn là chấp nhận những gì họ mà đã thấy trong suốt cuộc hành trình của Chúa Jêsus.   Có lẽ, nếu chúng ta thấy Chúa Giêsu Kitô xuất hiện trước mặt chúng ta, kêu gọi chúng ta ăn năn sám hối thì lúc đó chúng ta mới chịu chấp nhận và thay đổi cuộc sống của chúng ta?  hay nếu chúng ta nhìn thấy một cây thánh giá xuất hiện lơ lưởng giữa bầu trời, hoặc một cái gì đó phải làm cho chúng ta run lên, sợ hãi thì mới chịu trở lại với Chúa Giêsu? Trong trường hợp này, chúng ta đúng là những người của một  "thế hệ gian ác", vì chúng ta chỉ có tin vào Chúa Kitô khi chúng ta nhận thấy được một dấu lạ nào đó mà thôi. Nếu chúng ta tin, thì chúng ta phải nên giống như những người trong thành Ninivê, những người biết nhìn nhận tội lỗi của mình, biết ăn năn sám hối khi được ông Giô-na rao giảng cho họ. Chúa Kitô đã đến để giúp chúng ta nhận ra chính mình và biết ăn năn.

            Trong một Tin Mừng khác, Chúa Giêsu đã nói, "Ví như Giôna đã ở trong bụng thuồng luồng ba ngày ba đêm thế nào, thì Con Người cũng sẽ ở trong lòng đất ba ngày ba đêm thể ấy.. Chúa Kitô đã ám chỉ đến mình, với thời gian Ngài ở trong mộ đất. cũng như Giôna ra khỏi bụng của cá voi (thuồng luồng), Chúa Kitô cũng ra khỏi mộ. Đây là biểu hiệu lạ mà Chúa Giêsu đã ban cho chúng ta thấy và vẫn còn tiếp tục là dấu chỉ cho chúng tôi hôm nay. Trong thời gian chúng ta tìm thấy chính mình trong mộ, hãy tin rằng Chúa Kitô, Đấng đã đi vào cái chết và trở lại trong cuộc sống mới, Ngài sẽ không để chúng ta lại trong ngôi mộ của chúng ta và Ngài sẽ mang và giải thoát chúng ta ra khỏi ngôi mộ đó để đưa chúng ta trở lại, để cùng trải nghiệm trong cuộc sống mới với Ngài, cho dù ngôi mộ này là một thử thách, khó khăn to lớn, một lỗi phạm nghiêm trọng, một tội các hay bất kỳ một cái chết, Chúng ta có thể trải nghiệm sự phục sinh của Chúa Kitô. Ngài luôn sẵn sàng để biểu lộ vinh quang của Ngài bằng cách thực hiện dấu chỉ này trong cuộc sống của Chúng ta.

            Lạy Chúa Cha trên trời, trong Mùa Chay này, Xin Chúa ban cho chúng ta một tinh thần khiêm tốn và thống hối để chúng con có thể bước theo Chúa Giêsu một cách tự tin trong con đường của sự thánh thiện đích thực.

 

Reflection  WEDNESDAY, 1st Week of Lent 

Many of us find it difficult to believe that we need to repent of our sins and change our lives; we are like the Pharisees who were looking for more signs than what they had already seen throughout Jesus' ministry. Probably, if we see Jesus Christ appear in front of us, calling us to repent then that's the only time we will convert; or if we see a cross appear in the sky, or something to that sort, we will tremble with fear and turn to Jesus. In that case, we are a "wicked generation" for we will only believe in Christ if we see a sign. You may say, "but I do believe in Jesus Christ." If we do believe, then we should be like the people of Nineveh who repented then Jonah preached to them. Christ comes to help us with a sign.

            In another Gospel, Jesus said. Christ is alluding to himself, to the period he would spend in the tomb. Just as Jonah came out of the belly of the whale, Christ also came out of the tomb. This is the sign that Jesus had given us and continues to be the sign for us today. In times when you find yourself in a tomb, believe that Christ, who already entered into death and came out of it with a new life, will not leave you in your tomb and will bring you out of it to experience his new life. Whether this tomb is a heavy trial, a serious sin, a vice or any sort of death, you can experience Christ's resurrection. He is always ready to manifest his glory by performing this sign in your life.

 

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” Luke 11:29

The crowd seemed to be a mixed bunch. First, there were those who wholeheartedly believed in Jesus. The Twelve, for example, left everything behind to follow Him. His mother and various other holy women believed in Him and were His faithful followers. But within the growing crowd, it appeared that there were many who questioned Jesus and wanted some form of proof of Who He was. Thus, they wanted a sign from Heaven.

A sign from Heaven would have been some externally manifest proof of Who Jesus was. Granted, Jesus had already performed numerous miracles. But it seems that this was not enough. They wanted more—and that desire is a clear indication of a stubbornness of heart and a lack of faith. So Jesus could not and would not give them the sign they wanted.

Instead, Jesus says that the only sign they will receive is the sign of Jonah. Recall that the sign of Jonah was not very appealing. He was thrown over the side of a boat and swallowed by a whale, where he remained for three days before being spit up on the shores of Nineveh.

Jesus’ sign would be similar. He would suffer at the hands of the religious leaders and civil authorities, be killed and be placed in a tomb. And then, three days later, He would rise. But His Resurrection was not one in which He came forth with rays of light for all to see; rather, His post-Resurrection appearances were to those who already manifested faith and already believed.

The lesson for us is that God will not convince us of the matters of faith through powerful and Hollywood-like public manifestations of God’s greatness. Instead, the “sign” we are offered is an invitation to die with Christ so that we can personally begin to experience the new life of the Resurrection. This gift of faith is interior, not publicly exterior. Our death to sin is something we personally and interiorly do, and the new life we receive can only be seen by others by the witness of our lives that are changed.

Reflect, today, upon the true sign God has given you. If you are one who seems to be waiting for some manifest sign from our Lord, wait no longer. Look at the crucifix, see Jesus’ suffering and death, and choose to follow Him in a death to all sin and selfishness. Die with Him, enter the tomb with Him and allow Him to bring you forth interiorly renewed this Lent, so that you can be transformed by this one and only sign from Heaven.

My crucified Lord, I gaze upon the crucifix and see in Your death the greatest act of love ever known. Give me the grace I need to follow You to the tomb so that Your death will triumph over my sins. Free me, dear Lord, during the Lenten journey so that I will be able to fully share in Your new life of the Resurrection. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

WEDNESDAY, 1st Week of Lent  2023

Opening Prayer: My Lord, you have visited your children and spoken to us through words and deeds. Send down upon me your Spirit, so that I can recognize your signs and set out on a path of conversion during this Lent season. 

Encountering Christ:

1. Three Signs: In today’s Gospel, Jesus deals with three signs: the sign of Jonah, the sign of Solomon, and the sign of his own life and death. Jonah had been sent to the city of Nineveh to preach to an unlawful people. God had chosen Jonah to be his prophet and had thus made him into a sign to communicate his message. Against all odds, Jonah’s efforts bore fruit as the people examined their conscience and started to repent. They saw the sign and heeded its message. What would Jonah’s proclamation trigger in our own conscience if we met him today? Lent is a time in which God sends us signs that can help us to examine our thoughts, words, deeds, and omissions. Lent is a time of conversion.

2. The Sign of Solomon: What kind of a sign was Solomon? Why did other rulers, such as the Queen of the South, come to see him? Solomon was a sign of wisdom, not only during his time but throughout history, as tradition keeps referring to him as the wisest among kings. Wisdom is the noblest gift of the Holy Spirit and enables a person to see the world as God sees it and to be docile to divine inspiration. Solomon was a sign of wisdom for generations, and the Spirit wants to work through signs in our life too. This Lent, let us pray for greater attentiveness to the Spirit in prayer.

3. Jesus Is the Final Sign: Jesus explains that he does not intend to replace the ancient signs of Jonah or Solomon. In fact, he has come to fulfill the old signs and show the completion of their truth. Thus, Jesus reiterates the need for us to examine our conscience and to repent, and, like Solomon, he irradiates the wisdom of someone who sees the world through the eyes of God. A “wicked generation” which would not heed the former signs will not heed the sign that is Jesus himself—so he foretells. This means that the only way to approach the sign of Jesus, his loving sacrifice and glorious Resurrection, is by cultivating the attitude that the old signs were meant to prepare in God’s people: an awareness of our need for redemption, a willingness to convert, a sincere intention to follow God’s lead. If these are our attitudes, then Jesus’s words and deeds will fall on fertile ground in our hearts. Then we will see his sign and believe.

Conversing with Christ: My Lord Jesus Christ, as I make the Sign of the Cross or contemplate your Crucifixion, I remind myself of what moved you to make this sacrifice. After a time of helping humanity to recognize its state and after sowing the desire for redemption in us, you climbed Mount Calvary to gain the salvation we needed. I thank you, and I praise you for redeeming me.

Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will examine my conscience seeking God’s forgiveness and committing to conversion. This could be an occasion to prepare a good confession during this Lenten season.

 

WEDNESDAY, 1st Week of Lent 

In the first reading Yahweh castigates his people Israel for their sins and transgressions against him.

     In the Gospel reading, in similar fashion, Jesus castigates the people for their hardness of heart and unwillingness to see and to listen to his message. He reminds them that the Queen of the South traveled far to listen to Solomon and yet "here (today) there is greater than Solomon"; the people of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes at the preaching of Jonah and yet "here (today) there is greater than Jonah."

     As we begin the season of Lent let us take seriously the message of repentance for our sins: "0 my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because I have offended thee, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen."