Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Mùa Chay (Mk: 12-28-34)
Nhiều người trong chúng ta đang rơi vào trong cùng một cái bẫy của ma quỷ trong xã hội này. Nhiều khi chúng ta đã đồng ý về những khái niệm chính của Kitô giáo nhưng chúng ta lại đưa ra một cái nhìn khác về Giáo Hội hay chống đối lại những tín lý của Giáo hội để chúng ta có thể tự do thoả mãn những ước muốn, những tham vọng cá nhân riêng của chính mình, hay chúng ta chỉ muốn sống xu thời với cái xã hội thực tại ngày hôm nay, tự do ly dị, rồi kết hôn với người khác, kết hôn với người đồng tính,  tự do ngừa thai và phá thai để khỏi phải bận lòng…  còn một số khác trong chúng ta không đến nỗi tệ lắm, nhưng cũng có lúc chúng ta tự quay mình theo chiều gió mỗi khi chúng ta phải đương đầu với các vấn nạn thực tại của thế giới. Ví dụ phổ biến nhất là hành vi của chúng ta trong Thánh Lễ Chúa Nhật. Chúng ta có thể tìm thấy chính mình gật đầu đồng ý với các bài đọc và các bài ​​giảng trong Thánh Lễ Chúa Nhật nhưng chúng ta lại có những hành động ngược lại những điếu ấy trong phần còn lại của mỗi tuần.
            Những điều răn mà Chúa Giêsu dạy cho chúng ta trong Tin Mừng hôm nay thực sự có cơ sở căn bản cho đức tin của chúng ta. Yêu mến Thiên Chúa với tất cả tấm lòng và tâm hồn của chúng ta bằng cách lắng nghe Thiên Chúa bằng tất cả tấm lòng, trái tim và linh hồn của chúng ta. Yêu thương những người chung quanh ta là bắt đầu việc tạo dựng cá tính người Kitô hữu của chính mình để chúng ta có thể trở thành người tốt hơn, để chúng ta có thể giúp đỡ cho những người khác nhiều hơn và có hiệu quả hơn.
 
REFLECTION
Many of us fall into that same trap. We would agree on the major concept of Christianity but we would show a different side of ourselves when real world issues confront us. Perhaps the most common example is our behavior during Sunday Mass and the rest of the week. We may find ourselves nodding in agreement to the readings and the Sunday homily but find ourselves acting the opposite during the rest of the week.
            The commandments we read today are indeed the bases of our faith. But our Christian character is not complete just because we have the commandments as our foundation. The commandments can only have meaning when we motivate ourselves to learn and practice the ways and teachings of Jesus. Loving God with all our heart and soul starts with listening to God with all our heart and soul, loving our neighbor starts with building our Christian character to be better people so that we can do more for others.
 
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:29–30
Why would you choose anything less than to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, with ALL your soul, with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength? Why would you choose anything less? Of course, we do choose many other things to love in life, even though Jesus is clear with this commandment.
The truth is that the only way to love others, and even to love ourselves, is to choose to love God with ALL we are. God must be the one and only focus of our love. But what’s amazing is that the more we do this, the more we realize that the love we have in our lives is the kind of love that overflows and overflows in superabundance. And it is this overflowing love of God that then pours forth on others.
On the other hand, if we try to divide our loves by our own effort, giving God only part of our heart, soul, mind and strength, then the love we have for God cannot grow and overflow in the way God wants. We limit our capacity for love, and we fall into selfishness. Love of God is a truly amazing gift when it is total and all-consuming.
Each one of these parts of our lives are worth pondering and examining. Think about your heart and how you are called to love God with your heart. And how does this differ from loving God with your soul? Perhaps your heart is more focused on your feelings, emotions and compassion. Perhaps your soul is more spiritual in nature. Your mind loves God the more it probes the depth of His Truth, and your strength is your passion and drive in life. Regardless of how you understand the various parts of your being, the key is that every part must love God in fullness.
Reflect, today, upon the beautiful commandment of our Lord. It’s a command of love, and it is given to us not so much for God’s sake but for ours. God wants to fill us to the point of overflowing love. Why would we ever choose anything less?
My loving Lord, Your love for me is infinite and perfect in every way.  I pray that I will learn to love You with every fiber of my being, holding nothing back, and to daily grow deeper in my love of You. As I grow in that love, I thank You for the overflowing nature of that love, and I pray that this love of You will flow into the hearts of those around me. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday of the Third Week of Lent 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I love you above all things. I desire to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I can only do that with your grace. Give me the gift of your grace and pour your divine love into my heart.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Rejecting False Gods and Worshipping the One True God: All three readings today refer to the need to reject false and foreign gods and turn with love to the one true God. In the First Reading, we heard the conclusion of the Book of Hosea, in which the prophet exhorted Israel to return to the Lord God. Hosea’s exhortation takes the form of a prayer that recognizes our need for forgiveness. We have all sinned against God and we need to beg for his merciful love. We all desire to offer to God an acceptable sacrifice and true worship. Our return to God means placing our hope and trust in him and not earthly powers – represented by Assyria and warhorses. We must turn from the idolatry of sin. As Hosea says: “We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands.” This, then, is our path to God: turning from sin, asking the Lord for forgiveness, trusting in him, and offering to him true worship.
2. God’s Response to Our Conversion: After dealing with our path to God, Hosea looks at God's response to our conversion of heart. On the one hand, God will heal our wounds, inflicted by sin. He will purify us because he loves us and will turn his wrath from us even when we have been unfaithful to his covenant. On the other hand, we will be introduced into God's life and family (Hosea 1:10) and be empowered to bear fruit for God’s kingdom. Hosea conveys this truth through the image of a flower that blossoms, a resplendent olive tree, the fragrance of cedar, a fruitful vine, abundant grain, and good wine. Ephraim is mentioned throughout the Book of Hosea. Although only one of the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, “Ephraim” is sometimes used to refer to all ten tribes. The humbling of Ephraim, through the Assyrian invasion in 723 B.C., is mentioned today and was also mentioned at the beginning of the Book of Hosea. Thus, the Book of Hosea begins and ends with the promise that God will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel – the northern kingdom. However, God will be merciful to the house of Judah – the southern kingdom (Hosea 1:4-7). The ending of Hosea serves as a warning not to be foolish like the northern kingdom and fall into idolatry. 
3. Love of God and Neighbor: In the Gospel, the scribe approaches Jesus with good will and asks him a legitimate question: “Which of the 613 commandments of the Law of Moses is the first?” Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5 – Israel’s great confession of faith – in response. This confession contains an important truth: The Lord is not only the one God of Israel but is the one and only true God of the whole world. Love needs to be our response to God’s love: love for God and love for all men and women. The scribe approves of Jesus’ response and adds that love for God and for neighbor is worth more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices offered in the Temple. The scribe was unaware that Jesus would soon replace the ineffective sacrifices of the old Temple with his one efficacious sacrifice on the Cross as the Lamb of God. Jesus’ sacrifice “fulfills both the commandment of love and the old covenant sacrifices. Like the temple holocausts, Jesus would be entirely consumed in his self-offering. Yet the value of his sacrifice is infinitely greater than the temple holocausts because of the fire of love for God with this it was offered. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice becomes the source and model for the love of Christians” (Mary Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 248). The scribe, Jesus remarks, is not far from the Kingdom of God, but this means that the scribe has not yet allowed God to fully reign in his life. Jesus encourages the scribe and challenges him to continue seeking the Kingdom. That encouragement and challenge is also extended to each one of us today.
 Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I desire with all my heart and soul to live according to the two commandments of love. Enlighten my mind so that I know how I should love both God and neighbor and strengthen my heart to give my life for others.
 Living the Word of God: How am I living the commandment to love God above all things? Is there anything I prioritize above God? How am I living the commandment to love my brothers and sisters? Do I put myself before them or am I seeking to serve them?
 
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Opening Prayer: My Jesus, I love you above all things and want to love others as you have loved me. Open my heart to hear your word and let it penetrate the good soil there, take root, and bear fruit that will last, which is love alone. 
Encountering Christ:
The Law of Love: Earlier in the week, the Mass readings focused on Jesus as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not to do away with it (cf. Matthew 5:17). This Gospel teaching is the summation of the entirety of Mosaic law. Love is the new law. St. Paul teaches us, “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). Love is the law of Christ’s kingdom. St. John Paul II wrote, “Jesus sums up the whole law, focusing it on the commandment of love (cf. Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-28). Before leaving his disciples, he gave them a ‘new commandment’: ‘Love one another; even as I have loved you’ (John 13:34; cf. 15:12). Jesus's love for the world finds its highest expression in the gift of his life for mankind (cf. John 15:13), which manifests the love which the Father has for the world (cf. John 3:16)” (Redemptoris Missio, 15).
Loving God: Jesus tells us that the first thing we must do to fulfill the law is to love God with all that we have: our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Loving God is primarily about being receptive to his love and friendship through a life of grace through prayer and the sacraments. We love God with our hearts and souls when we place him first in our lives by faithfully attending Mass and keeping his commandments (1 John 5:3). We love him with our minds when we seek to be intellectually formed in Christ. Spiritual reading, attending formation events, and reading Gospel reflections like this one are all ways to deepen our knowledge and friendship with Christ. Finally, we love God with all our strength when we seek to be conformed to Jesus Christ’s perfect humanity, namely by imitating his virtues. St. Paul teaches us that God desires that we are remade in the image of Christ’s humanity: “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).
Loving Our Neighbors: The second thing we must do to fulfill the law is to love our neighbors as ourselves. It is important to realize that we cannot love others well without fulfilling the first part of the commandment, which is to love and be loved by God: “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). What does loving our neighbors look like in our everyday lives? St. Paul teaches us that love is patient and kind. It is not jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, self-seeking, quick-tempered, or resentful. It seeks the truth and bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. It never fails (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8). After reading that list, each of us could choose at least one thing to work on in order to love our neighbor better. 
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, after reading the list of St. Paul’s picture of love, I know that I can still grow in many of these areas. I can be impatient, unkind, rude, self-centered, and ill-tempered at times. Increase the love and mercy in my heart and conform me to your image. May I die to myself and my preferences so that it is no longer I who lives, but you who lives in me (cf. Galatians 2:20). 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will choose one aspect of love to focus on, and seek to conform myself to you by imitating your virtues.