Suy
Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ bốn Phục Sinh
Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói rõ cho chúng ta biết rằng Chính là Chúa Cha, Đấng đã sai và chúc lành cho Ngài để làm những việc tốt lành. Ngài cũng nói rằng nhiệm vụ của Ngài là đến với thế gian này là để làm những gì mà Chúa Cha đã sai Ngài đến để làm.
Và đối với các thánh cũng thế. Thánh George là một quan lớn trong quân đội La Mã, nhưng sau khi ông được rửa tội và theo Thiên Chúa, ông đã lập tức từ bỏ tất cả của cải trần thế của mình và ông đã bố thí tất cả những gì ông có cho người nghèo. Ông rời bỏ quân đội và sau đó, ông đã đứng lên làm chứng nhân cho Chúa Kitô và đã chết vì đức tin cho Chúa Kitô. Từ cái chết can đảm, dũng khí của ông đã khuyến khích rất nhiều người khác dám chết cho Chúa. Ai đã làm cho Thánh George có đủ can đảm để làm tất cả những điều này? Chính Chúa Giêsu, Người Thầy và là đấng Cứu rỗi của ông ta.
Chúng ta có nghe tiếng nói của Thiên Chúa trong cuộc sống của chúng ta? Sau khi Ngài đã giúp chúng ta phân loại và nhận định đâu cuộc sống không có mục đích của chúng ta. Đôi khi Ngài cũng đã còn mời gọi một số người trong chúng ta làm việc cho Ngài còn nhiều hơn . Chúng ta đã có bao giờ nghe thấy tiếng gọi ấy?. Xin Chúa Thánh Thần mở long trí và giúp chúng biết nghe tiến Chúa.
Reflection
Saturday 4th
Week of Easter
In the Gospel reading, Jesus says clearly that it is the Father who enables him to do good works. He also says that his mission is to do what the Father tells him to do.
This is also true for the saints. St. George was a tribune in the Roman army when he converted to Christianity. Immediately he gave up all his worldly possessions and gave them to the poor. He left the army and was subsequently martyred for standing up for the faith. His death inspired many others to die for the Lord. Who inspired St. George to do all this? Obviously, the Lord, his Master and Savior.
St. Adalbert was a pagan convert to Catholicism. He became the Bishop of Prague and he evangelized the Poles and Hungarians. Encountering much opposition, he was martyred trying to convert the Baltic Prussians. St. Adalbert also listened to the voice of God when doing his evangelical work.
Have you heard the voice of God in your life? After He helps sort out our aimless lives, sometimes He invites some of us to do more for Him. Have you heard this calling?
Saturday 4th Week of Easter 2023
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12–14
How is it that we are called to do greater works than the works that Jesus Himself did? Of course, it’s true. This is our calling. We know that, because this is what our Lord promised us. This truth should fill us with gratitude for being used so powerfully by God.
Among the “greater” works of which Jesus speaks is, first and foremost, the sharing of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. As Jesus walked the earth, His mission was primarily to the people of Israel. But when He ascended to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church, He also empowered all who would receive the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Thus, the conversion of hearts is the greatest work that we can cooperate with.
Do you want to do great things? Most children dream of doing so because this desire is written upon our human nature. We want to make a difference. We want to be great. But too often we become confused about true greatness. We attempt to fulfill that innate desire through acts of worldly and passing greatness. We seek recognition, wealth, and other passing rewards that stem from selfish ambitions. None of these ultimately fulfill us, even if we were to achieve them to the greatest extent. For example, imagine if you won the Nobel Peace Prize, or became the leader of a nation, or became the wealthiest person alive. Would the attainment of one of these goals fulfill you? Only if it were the will of God. If not, it would be an empty and meaningless act.
Begin by looking within. Do you see the desire within you to do great things? Hopefully you do. From there, remind yourself that the greatest thing you can do, so as to fulfill the desire within you, is to do that which is the will of God for your life. Jesus says, “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Asking in Jesus’ name means asking for the fulfillment of His will. It means asking that God use you to bring His saving grace to others any way He chooses. If you ask our Lord for this grace, He will grant it.
This form of prayer requires humility and a complete detachment from our own will. It requires that we ask the Father only for that which the Son asks the Father for us. But the reward of such a humble prayer is that God will bestow His grace and mercy on others through us. This is His perfect will.
Reflect, today, upon this high calling. Do so by looking at the desire within your own soul for greatness and then unite that desire with God’s will as the only thing that can fulfill you. Pray for this gift every day with humility and detachment and you will become an instrument of acts that give eternal glory to God. In Heaven, this will be your eternal joy.
Providential Lord, Your will is perfect and glorious. Please help me to humble myself before You, every day, so that I will understand Your will for my life and choose it always. May I be an instrument of Your saving grace to all whom You wish to touch through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday 4th Week of Easter 2023
2. Confidence: “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Our Lord made this promise, yet how many times have we heard someone say that God did not answer their prayers? Jesus stipulated that we ask in his name, implying that we know his mind and heart. Getting to know the mind and heart of Jesus so that we can align one’s prayer with his will, is a process that takes place over time; it is the fruit of daily mental prayer—time spent seeking intimacy with Our Lord.
3. Spending Time with the Lord in Prayer: Intentionality is the key that opens the door to a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus. The devil knows how to distract us with a thousand other things that will take our minds away from a few quiet moments with the Lord. Let’s decide, as often as is necessary, to spend time with Jesus in prayer.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, fill my heart with your light. Through getting to know you, may I get to know myself and see more clearly what is in my heart—what should stay and what should go. Give me the grace of this deep and intimate relationship with you.
Saturday 4th Week of Easter Opening Prayer: Here we are, Lord, on the first day of
May, the month of Mary, on the first Saturday of the month, Mary’s Saturday, in
the year of St. Joseph, during the Easter season. Could this moment be more
spiritually rich? Bless me as I listen for your voice while I pray over these
words of Scripture.
1. God Bless Philip: Even though he accompanied Jesus for quite some time, Philip still missed an important truth about his master—that the Father and Jesus are one. Yet, Philip spoke from his heart when he begged, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Like Philip, many of us are “seasoned followers of Christ,” having been with him for years in our vocations as priests, consecrated persons, or lay men and women. Like Philip, we often misunderstand Jesus when he reveals something of himself to us, even if we should know better. Philip teaches us that when we ask Jesus sincerely for clarification or greater insight, Jesus answers us. We have this beautiful description of Jesus’s relationship with the Father because Philip asked to see and understand.
Saturday 23rd April 2016 4th Week of Easter
Where do we begin? We begin at the beginning: with ourselves. Is the person we see in the mirror someone in whom and through whom the Light of the world shines? Are we a means of salvation for one another? Or do we somehow or sometimes obscure the light with our pettiness or some other sin? Do we find our way to the Father through Jesus? Can we see Jesus in the faces of our sisters and brothers?
Perhaps the first thing we need to ask the Father in Jesus’ name is to remove any blindness in us, any unbelief and any pettiness so we can fully receive and embody the good news and glorify the Father through our lives. Being a disciple and preparing the way has never been easy but with God’s grace we may be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the face of obstacles and rejection and ignorance. Lord, to have seen You is to have seen the Father. Amen.
Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói rõ cho chúng ta biết rằng Chính là Chúa Cha, Đấng đã sai và chúc lành cho Ngài để làm những việc tốt lành. Ngài cũng nói rằng nhiệm vụ của Ngài là đến với thế gian này là để làm những gì mà Chúa Cha đã sai Ngài đến để làm.
Và đối với các thánh cũng thế. Thánh George là một quan lớn trong quân đội La Mã, nhưng sau khi ông được rửa tội và theo Thiên Chúa, ông đã lập tức từ bỏ tất cả của cải trần thế của mình và ông đã bố thí tất cả những gì ông có cho người nghèo. Ông rời bỏ quân đội và sau đó, ông đã đứng lên làm chứng nhân cho Chúa Kitô và đã chết vì đức tin cho Chúa Kitô. Từ cái chết can đảm, dũng khí của ông đã khuyến khích rất nhiều người khác dám chết cho Chúa. Ai đã làm cho Thánh George có đủ can đảm để làm tất cả những điều này? Chính Chúa Giêsu, Người Thầy và là đấng Cứu rỗi của ông ta.
Chúng ta có nghe tiếng nói của Thiên Chúa trong cuộc sống của chúng ta? Sau khi Ngài đã giúp chúng ta phân loại và nhận định đâu cuộc sống không có mục đích của chúng ta. Đôi khi Ngài cũng đã còn mời gọi một số người trong chúng ta làm việc cho Ngài còn nhiều hơn . Chúng ta đã có bao giờ nghe thấy tiếng gọi ấy?. Xin Chúa Thánh Thần mở long trí và giúp chúng biết nghe tiến Chúa.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus says clearly that it is the Father who enables him to do good works. He also says that his mission is to do what the Father tells him to do.
This is also true for the saints. St. George was a tribune in the Roman army when he converted to Christianity. Immediately he gave up all his worldly possessions and gave them to the poor. He left the army and was subsequently martyred for standing up for the faith. His death inspired many others to die for the Lord. Who inspired St. George to do all this? Obviously, the Lord, his Master and Savior.
St. Adalbert was a pagan convert to Catholicism. He became the Bishop of Prague and he evangelized the Poles and Hungarians. Encountering much opposition, he was martyred trying to convert the Baltic Prussians. St. Adalbert also listened to the voice of God when doing his evangelical work.
Have you heard the voice of God in your life? After He helps sort out our aimless lives, sometimes He invites some of us to do more for Him. Have you heard this calling?
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” John 14:12–14
How is it that we are called to do greater works than the works that Jesus Himself did? Of course, it’s true. This is our calling. We know that, because this is what our Lord promised us. This truth should fill us with gratitude for being used so powerfully by God.
Among the “greater” works of which Jesus speaks is, first and foremost, the sharing of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. As Jesus walked the earth, His mission was primarily to the people of Israel. But when He ascended to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church, He also empowered all who would receive the Holy Spirit to share the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Thus, the conversion of hearts is the greatest work that we can cooperate with.
Do you want to do great things? Most children dream of doing so because this desire is written upon our human nature. We want to make a difference. We want to be great. But too often we become confused about true greatness. We attempt to fulfill that innate desire through acts of worldly and passing greatness. We seek recognition, wealth, and other passing rewards that stem from selfish ambitions. None of these ultimately fulfill us, even if we were to achieve them to the greatest extent. For example, imagine if you won the Nobel Peace Prize, or became the leader of a nation, or became the wealthiest person alive. Would the attainment of one of these goals fulfill you? Only if it were the will of God. If not, it would be an empty and meaningless act.
Begin by looking within. Do you see the desire within you to do great things? Hopefully you do. From there, remind yourself that the greatest thing you can do, so as to fulfill the desire within you, is to do that which is the will of God for your life. Jesus says, “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Asking in Jesus’ name means asking for the fulfillment of His will. It means asking that God use you to bring His saving grace to others any way He chooses. If you ask our Lord for this grace, He will grant it.
This form of prayer requires humility and a complete detachment from our own will. It requires that we ask the Father only for that which the Son asks the Father for us. But the reward of such a humble prayer is that God will bestow His grace and mercy on others through us. This is His perfect will.
Reflect, today, upon this high calling. Do so by looking at the desire within your own soul for greatness and then unite that desire with God’s will as the only thing that can fulfill you. Pray for this gift every day with humility and detachment and you will become an instrument of acts that give eternal glory to God. In Heaven, this will be your eternal joy.
Providential Lord, Your will is perfect and glorious. Please help me to humble myself before You, every day, so that I will understand Your will for my life and choose it always. May I be an instrument of Your saving grace to all whom You wish to touch through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
2. Confidence: “If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Our Lord made this promise, yet how many times have we heard someone say that God did not answer their prayers? Jesus stipulated that we ask in his name, implying that we know his mind and heart. Getting to know the mind and heart of Jesus so that we can align one’s prayer with his will, is a process that takes place over time; it is the fruit of daily mental prayer—time spent seeking intimacy with Our Lord.
3. Spending Time with the Lord in Prayer: Intentionality is the key that opens the door to a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus. The devil knows how to distract us with a thousand other things that will take our minds away from a few quiet moments with the Lord. Let’s decide, as often as is necessary, to spend time with Jesus in prayer.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, fill my heart with your light. Through getting to know you, may I get to know myself and see more clearly what is in my heart—what should stay and what should go. Give me the grace of this deep and intimate relationship with you.
1. God Bless Philip: Even though he accompanied Jesus for quite some time, Philip still missed an important truth about his master—that the Father and Jesus are one. Yet, Philip spoke from his heart when he begged, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Like Philip, many of us are “seasoned followers of Christ,” having been with him for years in our vocations as priests, consecrated persons, or lay men and women. Like Philip, we often misunderstand Jesus when he reveals something of himself to us, even if we should know better. Philip teaches us that when we ask Jesus sincerely for clarification or greater insight, Jesus answers us. We have this beautiful description of Jesus’s relationship with the Father because Philip asked to see and understand.
Where do we begin? We begin at the beginning: with ourselves. Is the person we see in the mirror someone in whom and through whom the Light of the world shines? Are we a means of salvation for one another? Or do we somehow or sometimes obscure the light with our pettiness or some other sin? Do we find our way to the Father through Jesus? Can we see Jesus in the faces of our sisters and brothers?
Perhaps the first thing we need to ask the Father in Jesus’ name is to remove any blindness in us, any unbelief and any pettiness so we can fully receive and embody the good news and glorify the Father through our lives. Being a disciple and preparing the way has never been easy but with God’s grace we may be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit even in the face of obstacles and rejection and ignorance. Lord, to have seen You is to have seen the Father. Amen.
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