Suy Niệm Thứ Hai Tuần 32 Thường Niên
Chúng ta hãy thử tưởng tượng nếu chúng ta là người
đã phạm những lỗi lầm với một người nào đó trong gia đình hay với Giáo Hội bảy
lần một ngày. Chúng ta có lời xin lỗi mỗi khi chúng ta nhận ra rằng chúng ta đã
làm sai. Mỗi khi chúng ta xin lỗi, chúng ta lại được sự tha thứ một cách vô
điều kiện. Chúng ta sẽ có cảm giác như thế nào? khi chúng ta là người đã nhiều
lần phạm lỗi và xúc phạm đến anh chị em của chúng ta. Chúng ta đã liên tục được
sự tha thứ của Thiên Chúa. Bây giờ Thiên Chúa, qua Chúa Giêsu, đã mời gọi chúng
ta hãy rộng lượng để tha thứ cho những người khác, như Ngài đã tha thứ cho chúng
ta. Để tha thứ là để thiết lập một gương sáng về tình yêu thương trong cộng
đồng. Một gương sáng tốt dễ ảnh hưởng đến người khác một cách tích cực và gắn
bó cộng đồng, cũng giống như những gương mù gương xấu ảnh hưởng đến những người
khác một cách tiêu cực và phân chia cộng đồng. Chúa Giêsu thú nhận rằng điều đó
chắc chắn sẽ gây ra tội lỗi. Tội lỗi ảnh hưởng đến người khác cũng như chính
mình. Không những chúng ta phải biết chăm lo chính chúng ta đẻ đừnf phạm tội,
nhưng điều quan trọng hơn, là chúng ta đừng bao giờ làm gương mù gương xấu đễ đưa
anh chị em của chúng ta bắt chước và lâm
vào con đường tội lỗi. Hơn nữa, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta phải chủ động và phải
biết nêu gương tốt về tình yêu thương, và sự tha thư. Chúng ta có dám tỏ vẻ như
một “kẻ Ngốc” mỗi khi chúng ta tha thứ
cho những người phạm lỗi hay xúc phạm đến chúng ta rất nhiều lần và chúng ta cứ
tiếp tha thứ cho họ mãi mãi? Tuyệt đối là không! Nhưng đây là cách của loài người
chúng ta. Lạy Chúa, xin cho chúng con biết rộng lượng và sẵn sàng tha thứ. Xin giúp chúng con Chúa ơi, để chúng
con biết tha thứ theo như cách của Chúa, và xin Chúa hãy gia tăng tình yêu thương
trong chúng con..
Reflection
(SG)
Imagine you are that brother or sister who has sinned against someone in the family or the Church seven times a day. You apologies every time that you realize that you have been wrong. Every time you apologies, unconditional pardon is given you. How do you feel? We are that person who has repeatedly sinned against our brothers and sisters. We are repeatedly pardoned by God. Now God, through Jesus, is asking us to forgive others, as He has forgiven us.
To forgive is to set an example of love in the community. Good examples affect others positively and bond the community, just as bad examples affect others negatively and divide the community. Jesus admits that things which cause sin will inevitably occur. Sin affects others as well as oneself. Not only should we take care not to sin, but more importantly, we should never lead our brothers and sisters into sinning. Furthermore, Jesus teaches us to be pro-active and set examples of love, by forgiving. Would I appear to be a fool in forgiving serial sinners? Absolutely! But this is the Pascal way.
Lord, give me the desire to forgive. Help me to forgive in Your way, and increase the scope of my love.
Monday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” Luke 17:1–2
Having a millstone placed around your neck and thrown into the sea is very descriptive. Jesus is using very evocative language. A millstone was a large round stone with a hole in the center. If it were placed around someone’s neck and they were thrown into the sea, they would obviously sink to the bottom and die. Thus, Jesus is clearly stating that this awful fate is actually better than the fate of those who cause “one of these little ones to sin.”
First of all, it should be clarified that no one can actually cause us to sin. Sin is our own free choice, and we, and we alone, will be held accountable for our own sin. One thing that Jesus is pointing out here is that even though every person must take responsibility for their own actions and their own sins, we must also take responsibility for the ways that we act as tempters of others. We are all sinners. Therefore, by our sin, we will all tempt others to sin also. Sometimes we will tempt people to sin by provoking them to anger. At other times we will tempt others to sin by setting a poor example. And on the contrary, we also have the ability to “tempt” people to virtue. Or more properly speaking, to inspire and encourage them.
With that said, Jesus explains that the fate of those who act as tempters of others, especially the “little ones,” will suffer consequences graver than an untimely death. The little ones of which Jesus speaks should be understood as those who are weak in faith, overly sensitive, particularly vulnerable at that time in their life, and susceptible to outside influence. This could be a child, or it could be someone who is currently teetering on the edge of despair, confusion, anger, or any serious sin. When you encounter people like this, how do you treat them? Jesus has a deep heart of compassion for these people and wants us to have the same depth of compassion. But sometimes we fail. We may be negligent in our duty to reach out to them. Even this negligence could be a form of causing “one of these little ones to sin.” Of course, it is even far worse if we were to actively agitate them, harshly judge them, provoke their anger, draw them into some sin of weakness and false consolation by our temptation, etc. The simple truth is that Jesus loves those who are weak, vulnerable and sinful, and He wants us to love them with His heart. When we fail to do so, Jesus will hold us accountable for their further fall from grace.
Reflect, today, upon the person or persons in your life that appear especially vulnerable, sinful, confused and lost at this time. Who is it that struggles with anger, or an addiction or some sinful lifestyle? Ponder your attitude toward them. Are you judgmental, condemning, belittling and the like? Do you tempt them to fall further into any sins of weakness they commit in a vulnerable state, thus leading them into further sin? Or, when you encounter someone who is greatly struggling, do you turn to them with the deepest compassion and mercy, forgiving any ways that they may sin against you, and work hard only to be there for them in their need, no matter how hard it is on you? Commit yourself to a profound love of all of God’s “little ones” and seek to serve them with the heart of Christ so that one day they will eternally rejoice with you in Heaven.
My most compassionate Lord, You love the sinner and deeply desire that they turn to You in their need. Please give me Your heart of compassion so that I will be free to love them as You love them. May I never become an instrument of temptation for them to fall further away from You but, instead, become an instrument of Your unfailing mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Monday 32nd in Ordinary Time 2023
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me a heart like yours that is profoundly concerned for the salvation of souls.
Encountering Christ:
1. Realism: Jesus said to his disciples, “Causes of falling are sure to come…” He reminds us that the reality of our human nature is often weak. We shouldn’t be surprised that we fail and fall. But the great warning in this is how our sinfulness affects others. We do not live in a bubble, isolated and disconnected from other people. Our choices have consequences of a social nature. Jesus warns, “Alas for the one through whom they occur!” Not only do we have a responsibility for our own spiritual and moral well-being and our salvation, but for those of others. Our testimony, our decisions, and our actions have an impact for good or bad. How often do we reflect on our influence on the salvific well-being of others?
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reflect on how my testimony influences others.
Monday 32nd in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity to come before you in prayer. I particularly ask you to increase my faith. I understand that challenges and temptations will come my way. Without a strongly rooted faith, I will stumble. However, Lord, teach me that even in my stumbles and struggles, I may learn to rely ever more on you.
· The Inevitability of Temptation: “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.” God in his Providence has not removed evil from the world. Rather, he has given us the strength to overcome it. During the Last Supper Jesus prayed to the Father regarding his Apostles, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Now we must “discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death” (CCC 2847). However, even temptations can reveal to us our own weaknesses and thereby be useful (CCC 2847). Nevertheless, we want to avoid temptation when possible, and most certainly avoid becoming the cause of temptation for others.
Comment
Today, the Gospel speaks of three important topics. In the first place, our behavior with children. If in other occasions childhood has been praised, on this one we are warned of the evil we can cause them.
To scandalize is not to make lots of noise or going mad, as sometimes, we understand it; the Greek word “skandalon”, meaning something which makes you stumble upon or slip, like a stone or a banana peel, to say it clearer. We must highly respect infants, and woe to the one who brings them to sin, in any way! (cf. Lk 17:1).
Jesus anticipates the great punishment that waits for him and He does it with very vivid images. In the Holy Land we can still find some very old millstones; they are great round stones with a hole in the midst (they may also remind us, in a larger scale, of the cervical collars we should wear when suffering a traumatism). Putting the stone around the scandalous' neck and throwing him into the sea expresses a most terrible punishment. Jesus uses here an almost black joke sort of language. Woe to us if we cause one of these little ones to fall! And there are many ways to cause them to sin: to lie, to ambition, an unjust triumph. To devote oneself to tasks that will satisfy their vanity...
In the second place, forgiveness. Jesus asks us to forgive, as many times as needed, even in the same day, if the other is sorry, even if our soul resents it: “Be careful. If your brother offends you, rebuke him and if he is sorry, forgive him.” (Lk 17:3). Our capacity to forgive is the meter to measure our charity.
In the third place, the faith: more than mind wealth (in a strict human meaning), is a “mood”, the outcome of God's experience, is to be able to act by leaning on his confidence. St. Ignatius of Antioch says “Faith is the beginning of true life”, Who acts with faith may attain true wonders; this is how the Lord expresses it when He says: “If you have faith even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree: ‘Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea’, and it will obey you” (Lk 17:6).
Let’s ak the Lord to give us the faith and the desire to forgive, Help us to forgive in His way, and increase the scope of our love.
Imagine you are that brother or sister who has sinned against someone in the family or the Church seven times a day. You apologies every time that you realize that you have been wrong. Every time you apologies, unconditional pardon is given you. How do you feel? We are that person who has repeatedly sinned against our brothers and sisters. We are repeatedly pardoned by God. Now God, through Jesus, is asking us to forgive others, as He has forgiven us.
To forgive is to set an example of love in the community. Good examples affect others positively and bond the community, just as bad examples affect others negatively and divide the community. Jesus admits that things which cause sin will inevitably occur. Sin affects others as well as oneself. Not only should we take care not to sin, but more importantly, we should never lead our brothers and sisters into sinning. Furthermore, Jesus teaches us to be pro-active and set examples of love, by forgiving. Would I appear to be a fool in forgiving serial sinners? Absolutely! But this is the Pascal way.
Lord, give me the desire to forgive. Help me to forgive in Your way, and increase the scope of my love.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” Luke 17:1–2
Having a millstone placed around your neck and thrown into the sea is very descriptive. Jesus is using very evocative language. A millstone was a large round stone with a hole in the center. If it were placed around someone’s neck and they were thrown into the sea, they would obviously sink to the bottom and die. Thus, Jesus is clearly stating that this awful fate is actually better than the fate of those who cause “one of these little ones to sin.”
First of all, it should be clarified that no one can actually cause us to sin. Sin is our own free choice, and we, and we alone, will be held accountable for our own sin. One thing that Jesus is pointing out here is that even though every person must take responsibility for their own actions and their own sins, we must also take responsibility for the ways that we act as tempters of others. We are all sinners. Therefore, by our sin, we will all tempt others to sin also. Sometimes we will tempt people to sin by provoking them to anger. At other times we will tempt others to sin by setting a poor example. And on the contrary, we also have the ability to “tempt” people to virtue. Or more properly speaking, to inspire and encourage them.
With that said, Jesus explains that the fate of those who act as tempters of others, especially the “little ones,” will suffer consequences graver than an untimely death. The little ones of which Jesus speaks should be understood as those who are weak in faith, overly sensitive, particularly vulnerable at that time in their life, and susceptible to outside influence. This could be a child, or it could be someone who is currently teetering on the edge of despair, confusion, anger, or any serious sin. When you encounter people like this, how do you treat them? Jesus has a deep heart of compassion for these people and wants us to have the same depth of compassion. But sometimes we fail. We may be negligent in our duty to reach out to them. Even this negligence could be a form of causing “one of these little ones to sin.” Of course, it is even far worse if we were to actively agitate them, harshly judge them, provoke their anger, draw them into some sin of weakness and false consolation by our temptation, etc. The simple truth is that Jesus loves those who are weak, vulnerable and sinful, and He wants us to love them with His heart. When we fail to do so, Jesus will hold us accountable for their further fall from grace.
Reflect, today, upon the person or persons in your life that appear especially vulnerable, sinful, confused and lost at this time. Who is it that struggles with anger, or an addiction or some sinful lifestyle? Ponder your attitude toward them. Are you judgmental, condemning, belittling and the like? Do you tempt them to fall further into any sins of weakness they commit in a vulnerable state, thus leading them into further sin? Or, when you encounter someone who is greatly struggling, do you turn to them with the deepest compassion and mercy, forgiving any ways that they may sin against you, and work hard only to be there for them in their need, no matter how hard it is on you? Commit yourself to a profound love of all of God’s “little ones” and seek to serve them with the heart of Christ so that one day they will eternally rejoice with you in Heaven.
My most compassionate Lord, You love the sinner and deeply desire that they turn to You in their need. Please give me Your heart of compassion so that I will be free to love them as You love them. May I never become an instrument of temptation for them to fall further away from You but, instead, become an instrument of Your unfailing mercy. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me a heart like yours that is profoundly concerned for the salvation of souls.
Encountering Christ:
1. Realism: Jesus said to his disciples, “Causes of falling are sure to come…” He reminds us that the reality of our human nature is often weak. We shouldn’t be surprised that we fail and fall. But the great warning in this is how our sinfulness affects others. We do not live in a bubble, isolated and disconnected from other people. Our choices have consequences of a social nature. Jesus warns, “Alas for the one through whom they occur!” Not only do we have a responsibility for our own spiritual and moral well-being and our salvation, but for those of others. Our testimony, our decisions, and our actions have an impact for good or bad. How often do we reflect on our influence on the salvific well-being of others?
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reflect on how my testimony influences others.
Opening Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the opportunity to come before you in prayer. I particularly ask you to increase my faith. I understand that challenges and temptations will come my way. Without a strongly rooted faith, I will stumble. However, Lord, teach me that even in my stumbles and struggles, I may learn to rely ever more on you.
· The Inevitability of Temptation: “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur.” God in his Providence has not removed evil from the world. Rather, he has given us the strength to overcome it. During the Last Supper Jesus prayed to the Father regarding his Apostles, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). Now we must “discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death” (CCC 2847). However, even temptations can reveal to us our own weaknesses and thereby be useful (CCC 2847). Nevertheless, we want to avoid temptation when possible, and most certainly avoid becoming the cause of temptation for others.
Today, the Gospel speaks of three important topics. In the first place, our behavior with children. If in other occasions childhood has been praised, on this one we are warned of the evil we can cause them.
To scandalize is not to make lots of noise or going mad, as sometimes, we understand it; the Greek word “skandalon”, meaning something which makes you stumble upon or slip, like a stone or a banana peel, to say it clearer. We must highly respect infants, and woe to the one who brings them to sin, in any way! (cf. Lk 17:1).
Jesus anticipates the great punishment that waits for him and He does it with very vivid images. In the Holy Land we can still find some very old millstones; they are great round stones with a hole in the midst (they may also remind us, in a larger scale, of the cervical collars we should wear when suffering a traumatism). Putting the stone around the scandalous' neck and throwing him into the sea expresses a most terrible punishment. Jesus uses here an almost black joke sort of language. Woe to us if we cause one of these little ones to fall! And there are many ways to cause them to sin: to lie, to ambition, an unjust triumph. To devote oneself to tasks that will satisfy their vanity...
In the second place, forgiveness. Jesus asks us to forgive, as many times as needed, even in the same day, if the other is sorry, even if our soul resents it: “Be careful. If your brother offends you, rebuke him and if he is sorry, forgive him.” (Lk 17:3). Our capacity to forgive is the meter to measure our charity.
In the third place, the faith: more than mind wealth (in a strict human meaning), is a “mood”, the outcome of God's experience, is to be able to act by leaning on his confidence. St. Ignatius of Antioch says “Faith is the beginning of true life”, Who acts with faith may attain true wonders; this is how the Lord expresses it when He says: “If you have faith even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree: ‘Be uprooted and plant yourself in the sea’, and it will obey you” (Lk 17:6).
Let’s ak the Lord to give us the faith and the desire to forgive, Help us to forgive in His way, and increase the scope of our love.
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