Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 14 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 14 Thường Niên
Tin Mừng kể lại hai phép lạ của Chúa Jêsus là chữa bệnh của người phụ nữ bị chảy máu nặng chỉ bằng cách chạm vào chiếc áo choàng của Chúa Giêsu và mang lại cho cô con gái trẻ của viên chức giáo đường Do thái. Đức tin của chúng ta có bao giờ mạnh mẽ như người phụ nữ của những người tin rằng chỉ bằng cách chạm vào áo choàng của Chúa Giêsu cô ấy sẽ được chữa khỏi? Và cô đã được chữa khỏi.
Trong lần đọc đầu tiên chúng ta nghe Giacốp cất lời thề với Thiên Chúa, Đức Chúa Trời của Ápraham, và Thiên Chúa của Isaac.
Niềm tin của chúng ta đối với Đức Chúa Trời được thử thách trong những thời điểm khó khăn, trong những bi kịch bất ngờ, khi chúng ta có những thảm họa lớn trong tự nhiên, khi chúng ta thấy bệnh tật và những cái chết bất ngờ. Chúng tôi không hiểu tại sao. Và chúng ta biết rằng Đức Chúa Trời không gây ra điều xấu xa xảy ra; Ông ta cho phép mọi thứ ác xảy ra.
Chúng ta có thể không có đức tin mạnh mẽ của người phụ nữ bị chảy máu trầm trọng hoặc của viên chức giáo đường Do thái giáo tin rằng Chúa Giêsu có thể đưa con gái mình trở lại cuộc sống. Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện để Đức Chúa Trời ban cho chúng ta đức tin mạnh mẽ như vậy.
Có một bài hát nói rằng: "Có thể có những phép lạ khi bạn tin tưởng, mặc dù hy vọng là yếu đuối, thật khó để giết.Ai biết những gì phép lạ bạn có thể đạt được khi bạn tin rằng bằng cách nào đó bạn sẽ làm?
 
REFLECTION
The Gospel reading narrates two miracles of Jesus: the cure of the woman with the severe bleeding merely by her touching the cloak of Jesus and the bringing back to life of the young daughter of the synagogue official. Is our faith ever as strong as the woman's who believed that by merely touching the cloak of Jesus she would be cured? And she was cured.
    In the first reading we hear Jacob making a vow to God, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac. Our faith in God is tested in difficult times, in unexpected tragedies, when we have great disasters in nature, when we see disease and unexpected deaths. We do not understand why. And yet we know God does not cause evil things to happen; he allows evil things to happen.
    We may not have the strong faith of the woman with the severe bleeding or of the synagogue official who believed that Jesus could bring her daughter back to life. Let us pray that God would give us such strong faith.
    There is a song which goes, "There can be miracles when you believe; though hope is frail, it's hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve when you believe that somehow you will? You will when you believe."
 
Monday 14th week of Ordinary Time 2023:  Matthew 9:18-26
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured. Matthew 9:20–21
What a tremendous amount of faith this woman had! She had suffered for many years and continued to suffer with her hemorrhages. How did she know that touching Jesus’ cloak would cure her? The only answer to that is faith. Faith is not just wishful thinking or hoping. Faith is a certain knowledge, given by a special grace and revelation from God, by which a person freely assents to belief. God spoke to her heart, she listened, she responded, and she was cured.
One thing that is very inspiring in this Gospel story is the humility with which this woman approached Jesus. She didn’t feel as though she needed to bother Jesus, to speak to Him, or to trouble Him with her problem. Instead, in her humility, she presented her need to Jesus through her gift of faith, interiorly and silently, and the grace of God was given her because God sees the heart and responds to such humble and sincere faith.
Imagine if everyone had this depth of faith in our Lord. Imagine if all of us knew, with the deepest conviction of certitude, that God would take care of every need we have. And imagine if we turned to our Lord with this deep conviction of certitude every day with every need. If we could do that, then our Lord would be able to continually care for us in every way.
One key component to this woman’s healing is that it was God the Father who spoke to her and invited her to touch the cloak of His Son Jesus. And it was Jesus who sensed the healing she received, since He was in perfect union with the will of His Father. Therefore, touching Jesus’ cloak was not simply a magical act by which whatever this woman wanted would be granted to her. Instead, it was a response to the interior invitation she was given by the Father.
In our lives, we must work to do the same. Too often we present our preferences to God and tell Him what we want Him to do. God does not respond to such requests. Instead, we must seek His will…and His will alone. This woman knew she would be healed, because God the Father spoke to her in her mind and heart and inspired her to touch the cloak of Jesus His Son, and she responded, and the healing took place. God must speak first, we must hear and respond, and then His will is accomplished.
Reflect, today, upon the gentle Voice of God as He speaks to you in the depths of your heart. Do you hear Him? What is He inviting you to do? What healing does He want to bestow? As you ponder God’s Voice, try to respond only to Him. Set aside all of your own preferences and ideas of what God should do and seek only what He is speaking to you. Say “Yes” to Him, do so with certitude and conviction, and trust that whatever He speaks to you, if you have faith in what He says, He will do it.
My gentle Lord, You speak to me day and night, calling me to the healing I need. Help me to hear Your Voice and to respond to You in faith. May my faith and confidence in You grow strong and become the source of Your glorious action in my life. Jesus, I do trust in You.
 
Monday 14th week of Ordinary Time 2023:  Matthew 9:18-26
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I draw close to you now in this short time of prayer I have with you. Like the woman suffering the hemorrhages, I reach out to touch you in faith. I kneel before you, if not in body, then at least in spirit, and beg you for light and grace like the official in this Gospel. Lord Jesus, increase my faith!
Encountering Christ:
1. Come, Lay Your Hands on Me: This Gospel presents a Jewish official who approaches Jesus with faith so humble and sincere it practically bleeds through the page: He kneels before Jesus, presents the case of his dying daughter, and begs that Jesus come and lay his hands on her, “and she will live.” This man has something of that confident intuition that can come only from faith. He knows Jesus will not deny an honest and humble plea. This humble faith is something we can learn for ourselves from the official. Lord, lay your “hands” on me in the Eucharist and through others!
2. Let Me Touch You, Lord: At the Encounter Chapel of the Magdala Center in Israel, there is a beautiful painting of the woman with hemorrhages from this very Gospel. All we are given to see are a crowd of feet and a hand reaching out to touch the frayed tassels of a white-and-blue cloak, where a point of light emanates. In St. Luke’s Gospel, this is the moment where power goes out of Jesus to heal her of her illness. From this humble woman, we can learn how to reach out in faith to Our Lord, knowing that contact with him, in whatever form, will lead to our good.
3. The Girl Is Not Dead, but Sleeping: Jesus arrives at the house to find a crowd “making a commotion,” not truly mourning the loss of the girl, but moaning as part of their custom. He already knows these people lack faith, so he sends them away. They ridicule Jesus, but he moves forward undeterred and brings the little girl back from the dead. Jesus moves and works in this world regardless of how people receive his action, but for those who have faith, his works always bless us, as they blessed this girl and her father in the Gospel.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, once again, I ask you to increase my faith. Help me approach you humbly and let you work in my life. Grant me the grace to see you in faith and trust in how you want to work in my life. 
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will spend ten minutes at the end of the day reflecting on how I handled moments of adversity: Did I ask for grace, or did I try to handle them on my own?
 
Monday 14th week of Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, there is never a time I do not require your healing touch. My body and soul long for the perfect health to which only you can restore me. Help me to have the faith to reach for even the tassel of your cloak, to know that even a moment in your presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament can be a healing encounter, every single day.
Encountering Christ:
    1. Faith Revealed in Humility: The Roman official understood the custom when approaching someone in authority. He knelt down before Jesus and asked boldly for a miracle, for his daughter’s very life to be restored. Likewise, the suffering woman was willing to endure the shame of appearing in public in her condition on the small chance that she might get close enough to Jesus for a healing encounter. Like these two believers, we need to approach Jesus with our pride pushed aside. If we truly want him to heal us, we must get beyond the embarrassment of our past sins and abandon the false facade we put on in front of the world. Jesus knows how sick we are! He will heal us if we only ask.
    2. Jesus Knows Our Continuing Needs: Jesus did not simply heal the sick and leave them be. Notice what he said to the cured woman: “Courage!” He knew that her belief in him, and the witness of her renewed health would require her to be bold in her faith and in her testimony. He would accompany her for the rest of her life, making his dwelling with her (John 14:23) if she would allow it. Jesus led the revived little girl “by the hand,” offering her guidance even after the crisis had passed. Jesus is “Emmanuel,” God with us.
    3. Has Everyone Heard, But For Us?: The Bible tells of many encounters between Jesus and those who were physically ill or spiritually tormented; again and again, the sick were healed by his touch, his presence, and his voice. What, then, explains our own reluctance to seek his aid when we are sick in body, mind, or soul? He is there waiting for us. We may not need a dramatic encounter, a lightning strike, or a violent wind—just the quiet presence of the Lord with us in prayer, in the Blessed Sacrament, in thoughtful reflection on his word. Why do we hold back? Do we prefer to remain “sick” because we don’t have the courage to witness to the healing? Or, like the crowds outside the Roman official’s home, are we already mourning for what we think is lost?
    Conversing with Christ: Lord, you alone are the healer our world seeks. Help me to grow in faith that I may reach out, even for just your cloak, when I am in need of healing. Give me the courage to witness to others about the healings I have already experienced so that my faith may lead them to seek you when all appears lost.
    Resolution: Lord, today by your grace, let me actively seek you out, through prayer and meditation, and bring before you the needs of our country on this celebration of Independence Day.