“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 1st
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.
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