Suy Niệm Thứ bảy 27th Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Thứ bảy 27th Thường Niên.
Ai là người may mắn ơn phúc trong mắt chúng ta? Trong văn hóa Do Thái, chính chữ này chỉ người mà chúng ta được ra (vì một người đàn ông) và người mà chúng đã đã sinh ra (cho một người phụ nữ) điều đó đã quyết định sự may mắn của chúng ta. Đó là lý do tại sao trong bài ca Ngợi Khen ‘Magnificat’ Đức Maria đã nói, “Này từ đây mọi người sẽ khen tôi có phúc.” (Lc 1:48).
Tuy nhiên, Chúa Giêsu, không những chỉ thừa nhận những gì mà những người phụ nữ trong đám đông ã nói về Đức Maria, người được Thiên Cha ban cho có được phước để trở thành mẹ của Ngài, những còn đưa Mẹ uq khỏi lằn ranh giới của sự hiểu biết của người Do Thái về ơn phước hạnh phúc khi đến một chân trời mới. Như Ngài đã nói là phúc hơn cho những ai biết lắng ghe lời Chúa và biết giữ lời dạy của Ngài. Có ai biết được ai là người có phúc hơn khi nghe và biết thực hành lời Chúa? tất nhiên không ai hơn ngoài Đức Maria! Người không những chỉ biết nghe lời Chúa mà còn vâng lời Người, khi Đức Maria nói với thiên thần Gabriel (lúc truyền tin) – “Xin hãy thành sự cho tôi theo lời Ngài..” (Lc 1, 38).
Chữ vâng lời the tiếng Hy Lạp có nghĩa là (phylassein) mang ý nghĩa của người bảo vệ thành phố hay cái gì có một giá trị rất lớn. Vì vậy, khi chúng ta vâng lời Chúa, chúng ta đang nói với Chúa rằng chúng ta bảo vệ giá trị và bất cứ điều gì Chúa đã nói thì có một giá trị rất lớn đối với chúng ta.
Chúa Giê-su đưa ra sự vâng phục này đến với Lời Chúa bằng cách nói thêm, mẹ ta và các anh em của ta là những người biết nghe Lời Chúa và đưa lời Chúa vào sự thực hành (Lc 8:21). Để được họp mặt với Chúa và trong gia đình của Chúa thì chúng ta phải biết nghe tiếng Chúa, Lời Chúa. Và phài biết sống và thực thi những điều răn mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta. Xin Chúa giúp chúng ta luôn luôn tìm cách nghe lời Chúa qua Kinh Thánh  và thực thi những gì Chúa đã dạy chúng ta qua các bài đọc trong các Thánh Lễ. Lạy Chúa, xin dạy chúng con biiết lắng nghe lời Chúa, để giữ lời Chúa bằng trái tim, tâm hồn chúng con.
 
Saturday 27th Week in Ordinary Time:
Who are the blessed in our eyes? In the Jewish culture, it is from whom you descended (for a man) and to whom you gave birth (for a woman) — that determined your blessedness. That is why in the Magnificat, Mary says, “from now onwards all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48).
However, Jesus, not only acknowledged what the woman in the crowd said about His mother Mary, being blessed to have been His mother, but pushed the boundary of the Jewish understanding of blessedness to a new horizon. He said, more blessed are those who “hear the word of God and keep it”. Whom do we know who is more blessed as to “hear and obey”? Mary of course!  She not only heard the word of God but obeyed it, when she said to the angel Gabriel (at the annunciation) — “let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38).
The Greek word for “obey” (phylassein) carries the meaning of “guard” or “value greatly”. So, when we obey God, we are saying to God that we “guard” and “value greatly” whatever God has spoken to us.
Jesus takes this obedience to God’s word further by saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 8:21). To be in Jesus’ family is to “hear” God’s Word and “practise it.”
May we seek always to hear God’s word and keep it!
Lord, train me to observe Your word, to keep it with my heart.
 
Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”  Luke 11:27–28
This short Gospel reading reveals much about what makes one “blessed” in life. Specifically, Jesus considers those truly blessed who do two things: “hear the word of God” and then “observe it.” Though this seems quite obvious at first read, it is often harder than it seems.
The first step to a blessed life is hearing the Word of God. To “hear” implies that we do much more than become familiar with the Gospels. Hearing means we are not only aware of all that our Lord has revealed, it also means that we have truly internalized it, understanding all that our Lord requires of us.
Have you heard our Lord? It’s important to understand that the Gospel is alive. In other words, becoming familiar with the Word of God is not the same as reading some ancient book of lessons. Rather, hearing the Word of God means we hear a Person: the Son of God, speaking to us and guiding us each step of our lives. God’s Word is something that must speak to us every moment of every day, inspiring us to do this and avoid that. It is accomplished through a lifelong habit of prayerful communion with our Lord through which we are attentive to His voice always.
Hearing the very Person of the Son of God, the Word made flesh, necessarily implies that we also observe all that He speaks to us. In fact, failure to follow His continuous and gentle command to love will result in us being unable to clearly hear Him at all. We will become confused and will easily become directed by the many other voices in our world, unable to discern the glorious path chosen for us by our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon whether or not you struggle in any way with both hearing and observing the voice of God. If this is your struggle, then recommit yourself to a time of humble and wholehearted discovery. Tell our Lord that you are sorry for not being attentive to Him and set yourself on a mission to seek and find Him. Reject the confusion and anxiety of life, reject the many other voices of “wisdom” within our world, and listen for His gentle but clear voice. He is always speaking. He is always calling you. He is always present. Open the eyes of your soul and give Him your full attention. And when you sense Him speaking to you, respond with the utmost generosity and obedience. Doing so will result in you discovering what it means to be truly blessed by our Lord.
My blessed Lord, You are glorious beyond all things, and You invite me and all Your creatures to share in Your very life. Give me the grace I need to turn from the confusion and deceptions of life so that I will hear only You and respond only to Your voice. I commit myself to Your holy will, dear Lord. As I do, please bestow upon me every blessing You desire to give. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Saturday 27^th Ordinary Time 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, bless me today as I hear your Word and strive to observe it. I am your child, and I desire your fatherly blessing with all my heart. Teach me to be an obedient child who seeks to please you in all that I do today.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Blessed Mother: In the Gospel of Luke, Mary declares that all generations will call her “blessed” (Luke 1:48). Just as Elizabeth called her “Blessed” because of her faith (Luke 1:45), Jesus calls his mother “blessed” because of her attentive hearing of the Word of God and her faithful observance of it. The woman in the crowd interrupted Jesus as he was speaking. Jesus was answering two objections to his work. The first objection was that he was working in league with the devil. The second demanded a heavenly sign to test him. The interruption allowed Jesus to point to the example of his mother as one who worked with God and did not demand heavenly signs. Unlike Zechariah, who demanded a sign from the Lord to confirm Gabriel’s message, Mary demanded no sign. Mary, as Jesus points out, is blessed in many ways. Not only is she graced as the mother of the Messiah, but she is graced because she heard and observed God’s holy Word. The seed of God’s Word did not fall on bad soil but found fertile soil in Mary. Mary welcomed God’s Word in faith and put it into practice in love.
2. The Old Law as a Disciplinarian: Paul, in his Letter to the Galatians, has just argued that justification comes through faith in Jesus and not through the law of Moses. This raises an important question: if the law cannot justify us, then why was it given to Israel? Paul responds that the Law was given to heighten Israel’s awareness of sin. In many ways, the Law acted as a temporary disciplinarian. This alludes to the practice of the Greeks who charged a household slave with the moral formation of the children of the family. “This tutelage normally lasted from the time the child was a minor until he reached maturity. The tutor would accompany the youth to and from school, supervise his daily activities, protect him from dangers, and administer discipline whenever necessary. Paul used this familiar custom to explain how the Mosaic Law served a similar function in Israel. It was an instructor and guide for the nation, yet one that was temporary and destined to pass away” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 337).
3. Children of God: Before the coming (advent) of Jesus Christ, the people of Israel were under a disciplinarian or tutor. Through Jesus, they were able to become children of God. Israel was freed from the supervision and restraints of the Mosaic Law to embrace the full inheritance awaiting it in the New Covenant (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 337). We become children of God not through the old rite of circumcision (according to the old Law of Moses) but through the new rite of baptism (according to the new Law of Christ). Paul refers to the ancient liturgical practice of the newly baptized putting on a white garment to symbolize their purity in Christ. He also teaches that baptism unites peoples from all nations into the one family of God.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have brought me into your family. I recognize that I need to learn from you how to be a better child of God and how to be a better sibling to my brothers and sisters. Guide me always along the path of true holiness.
 
Saturday 27^th Ordinary Time. Scripture
Opening Prayer: So many thoughts and feelings swirl within me, Lord, as I approach you. But you are the anchor of my heart. I turn away from the noise and put my attention on you, my Savior, my King, my Friend, my All. Speak to me, Lord, and hear the longings of my heart that I don’t even know how to express.
Encountering Christ:
            Blessedness: Jesus began his first homily, in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, with this shining word: Blessed. Blessedness is the biblical word for vibrant, lasting happiness. God blesses us, and we receive his blessing, and our lives take on the vitality and meaning they were meant to have. To be blessed is to live in the light of God’s love and from the power of God’s wisdom. All the philosophers and founders of religions throughout human history have sought the path to blessedness, though they have at times used different words. It is a universal human desire to be blessed, to live life to the full now and forever. Whenever we ask for a blessing or give a blessing, it is this we pray for: that God may touch our hearts and minds in a new, fresh way, so that our lives can grow in all that truly matters and fully satisfies. Christianity, our religion, the one fully true religion, is built on God’s desire to fulfill our desire to live a blessed life. May God be praised for opening the gates to blessedness!
            True Blessedness: Christ’s words and presence moved this woman in the crowd so deeply that she couldn’t hold back her joy and amazement, so she cried out, Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed! Something about Jesus captured her heart and filled her soul with hope, joy, and love, so that it overflowed in this beautiful compliment, in this affirmation of the truly extraordinary goodness–greatness–of Jesus. By proclaiming his mother blessed, she was proclaiming him to be magnificent. Jesus heard the compliment, and surely it must have pleased him to see someone moved so deeply by his message. Yet, he wanted to bring this woman even further along the path of enlightenment. He wanted her not only to admire and enjoy him but to follow him. He wanted her not only to perceive his infinite goodness but to participate in that goodness herself. So, he took up her exclamation, Blessed is the womb…, and he elevated it. Natural happiness is one thing, but everlasting happiness is much, much more. And the latter springs not only from natural bonds and natural goodness, like that of motherhood and sonship, but from a supernatural communion with God. Jesus points out the sole path to that dynamic and fulfilling communion: Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it. To hear God’s word and heed it; to discover God’s will and embrace it; to begin to see oneself, others, and the world as God does and to act in accordance with that spiritual insight: This is how we grow in intimacy with Christ and increase our experience of everything that gives true and lasting meaning to our lives. In this response of Our Lord, we hear an echo of what he taught us in the Our Father: Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done… If we consistently embrace and fulfill God’s will in our lives, we will consistently experience the peace and joy of his Kingdom.
            Mary’s Greatness: Jesus’s correction of this listener’s exclamation may strike us as harsh. After all, the womb that bore him and the breasts at which he fed are those of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the greatest of saints. Maybe Jesus should have accepted the compliment more graciously in her honor. And yet, in pointing out the source of true and lasting blessedness, Jesus actually intensified the compliment given to his mother. Yes, Mary was blessed simply because of the gifts she was offered, but she achieved true blessedness by how she received those gifts: humbly, obediently, courageously. Mary is the first and best Christian, the one who “heard God’s word and obeyed it” to an incomparably marvelous degree. She is the first of Christ’s followers and the one who can best teach us Christian discipleship. Elsewhere in his Gospel, St. Luke describes beautifully how Mary consistently responded to God’s action in her life: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). She was continually hearing God’s word as it was spoken through all the events of her daily life, and she continually obeyed that loving word by nourishing her heart on it and fulfilling all that the Lord asked of her. That, truly, is the path of abundant life, of blessedness. May God grant each of us the grace to follow it. 
Conversing with Christ: I too rejoice in your goodness, Lord, and in the abundant banquet of truth and beauty that you have laid out for me through the gift of faith. I bless you, Lord, and I beg you for your blessing! You know how hard it can be for me to hear your word, to listen to your quiet and respectful voice amid so much noise and dissonance. Help me, I beg you, Lord! Help me to hear and heed your word, to love your will as the place where our friendship grows, to follow Mary’s example of treasuring up all the gifts you give me and pondering them constantly in my heart.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will take stock of how well I am embracing and fulfilling your will by taking a few minutes to reread the Ten Commandments, to write out the current duties of my state in life, to list the challenging circumstances of my life, and to listen quietly to whatever insistent inspirations your Holy Spirit has been whispering into my heart. Thy Kingdom come, my Lord, Thy will be done!
 
Suy Niệm Thứ bảy 27th Thường Niên.
Bài đọc thứ nhất là một phần của lời cầu nguyện chung của cộng đồng người Do Thái thời kỳ đó. Qua những lời nguyện này dân Do Thái đả được Thiên Chúa Yavê của họ đảm bảo với họ rằng những chiến tranh và đau khổ mà họ đang trải qua sẽ được chấm dứt.
Thiên Chúa đã hứa ban cho họ sự phục hồi trong tương lai. Và chẳng bao lâu nữa, phước lành cuêa Thiên Chúa sẽ tuôn đổ ra trên những người Do Thái và trên xứ sở của họ. Trong thời gian này, lời cầu nguyện của hoọ cũng Thiên Chúa dang tay hành động trừng phạt trên những kẻ thù của Dân Do Thái.
Thiên Chúa Yavê sẽ tập hợp tất cả các quốc gia này để phán xét tại "Thung lũng Giô-sa-phát",  ngôn ngữ dược dùng để chỉ đến cụm từ tiếng Do Thái (Hebrew) "sự Phán xét của Thiên Chúa".
Những hình ảnh trong bài đọc này được sử dụng cho sự phán xét của Thiên Chúa Yavê như là hình ảnh của một trận chiến. Các danh từ được dùng liên quan đến việc thu hoạch mùa màng hay đó là hình ảnh trong mùa gặt hái, chẳng hạn như "đặt lưỡi liềm vào" và "đến và bước đi" được sử dụng để xác định cuộc chiến khốc liệt của Thiên Chúa đối với kẻ thù của người Do Thái.
Kết hợp những điều này thì đây là ý tưởng về ngày sắp đến của Thiên Chúa, khi Chúa "rống lên từ Sion" và "làm cho tiếng của Ngài được nghe vang dội từ Jerusalem". Bằng cách này, Thiên Chúa đã bảo đảm với dân Do Thái là sự an toàn của họ khi họ biết rằng Chúa là "Thiên Chúa của họ". Bởi vì như lời hứa của Ngài, Ngài  sẽ phục hồi dân tộc Do Thái dân riêng của Ngài.
Với sự trở lại của Chúa Jêsus, lời hứa với người Do Thái đã được Thiên Chúa thực sự đã được thực hiện.
 Khi một người phụ nữ trong đám đông kêu lên với sự ngưỡng mộ của bà đối với những việc làm và trí tuệ của Chúa Giêsu bằng cách khen ngợi người mẹ, người đã mang Ngài vào thế giới của chúng ta, Chúa Giêsu nhắc cho bà ta và tất cả chúng ta là sự may mắn và phúc lành thật sự đến trong việc nghe lời Chúa và giữ biết giữ lời Chúa . Sau cùng, phước lành và sự an toàn của chúng ta không phải được bắt nguồn từ nơi con người, mà được đến từ nơi Thiên Chúa  Yavê.
 
 
REFLECTION Saturday 27th Ordinary Time
The passage in the first reading is part of Jewish communal prayer of that period. Through it, the people are assured that the sufferings undergone by them will come to an end.
God has promised them a future restoration. Soon, new blessings will pour forth on the people and on the land. At this point, the prayer also invokes God’s action on the enemies of Israel.
God will assemble all these nations for judgement at the “Valley of Jehoshaphat”, a term connected with the Hebrew phrase “Yahweh judges”.
Here, the image used for God's judgement comes in a form of a battle. The terms associated with harvest, such as, “put the sickle in” and “come and tread”, are used to identify the fierce battle to be waged by God against the enemies of Israel.
Closely linked to this is the idea of the imminent day of the Lord, when the Lord “roars from Zion” and “makes his voice heard from Jerusalem”. In this way, God assures the people that their ultimate security lies in knowing that the Lord is “your God”. His promises will be restored on Israel on the day of His coming.
With the coming of Jesus, God’s promise to Israel has indeed come to fulfillment. When a woman in the crowd cries out her admiration for Jesus' deeds and wisdom by praising the mother who had brought him into the world, Jesus reminds her that true blessedness comes from hearing the word of God and in keeping it.
Ultimately, our blessings and security come not from human sources, but from God Himself.  
Now we can give thanks to our Lord Jesus for helping us depend on Him alone because He is God Himself..
 
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy tuần 27 Thường Niên  2018
Trong thư gởi cho cộng đoàn Galatin hôm nay,  thánh Phao-lô đáp lại câu hỏi mà một số người Do Thái đã hỏi: “Nếu Chúa Giêsu Kitô là sự mặc khải của Thiên Chúa, thì tại sao chúng ta có luật Torah?” Đối với người Do thái, sự mặc khải của Chúa  được thấy trong sách luật Torah. Thánh Phao-lô đã cho chúng ta biết là sách Torah được ví như một “người giám thị, giữ kỷ luật” trong một trường học. Nhiệm vụ của người giám thị là đảm bảo các em giữ kỷ luật nhà trường, chú ý đến kỷ luật để bảo vệ chúng về thể chất và đạo đức. Giống như giám thị lo giữ kỷ luật, Sách Torah ban hành kỷ luật và giúp cho dân Israel biết sống theo giáo lý của Thiên Chúa là Chúa của họ. Cho đến khi Chúa Kitô đến thì kỷ luật được tự giác đích thực và có thể tự kiểm soát lấy.
Qua Chúa Kitô, dân Israel không còn như trẻ con phải được kiểm soát dưới quyền của "kỷ luật" nữa, nhưng tất cả đã trở thành con cái của Thiên Chúa trong đức tin. Bây giờ, không còn có sự khác biệt giữa chúng ta, bất kể nguồn gốc vì chúng ta đều được tập hợp lại với nhau và nên một trong Đức Kitô. Thánh vịnh hôm nay đã đưa ra ý tưởng về các hậu duệ của Abraham và Jacob được Thiên Chúa gom chung lại thành một..
            Vì điều này mà mọi người chúng ta được mời gọi ngợi khen Thiên Chúa là Đấng trung thành với lời hứa của Ngài, vì Ngài đã hành động và đưa dân Ngài về đất hứa của họ. Không có gì ngạc nhiên trong đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay khi Chúa Giêsu, đáp lại lời khen ngợi của người phụ nữ, khen ngợi cho người mẹ của Ngài, người đã đưa Ngài vào thế giới của chúng ta. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã chỉ chúng ta biết là chỉ có hạnh phúc thực sự không phải là do những mối quan hệ vật chất, nhưng là do những mối quan hệ tinh thần mà tất cả chúng ta cùng chia sẻ với Thiên Chúa và với nhau qua việc chúng ta biết nghe và giữ lời của Chúa. Lạy Chúa chúng con cảm ơn Ngài vì đã cgo con được làm con của Chúa.
 
Saturday 27^th Ordinary Time REFLECTION
 Paul’s writing, in today’s passage from the letter to the Galatians, is in response to the question asked by some Jews, “If Jesus Christ is God’s revelation, why then do we have the Torah?” To the Jews, God’s revelation is found in the Torah. Paul’s answer is that the Torah is likened to a ‘disciplinarian’ in a school. It was his or her task to make sure the children went to school, paid attention to the lessons, and where necessary, to discipline them in order to protect them physically and morally. Like the discipline teacher, the Torah provided discipline and restraint for the people of Israel. That is, until Christ came and made authentic self-discipline and self-control possible. Through Christ, the people are no longer children under a ‘disciplinarian’, but have become children of God by faith. Now, there are no differences among them, regardless their backgrounds, since they are all gathered together as one in Christ. Today’s psalm takes up the idea of the descendants Abraham and Jacob being gathered by God.
            For this, the people are invited to praise God who is faithful to His promise, and who will act to bring the people home to their land. It is no wonder then that Jesus, in the Gospel passage, responds to the woman’s comment, that takes the form of praise for the mother who had brought him into the world, points out that that true happiness consists not in physical relationships, but in the spiritual relationship we all share with God and with one another through hearing and keeping the word of God.
Father, thank You for making me Your child.
 
REFLECTION Saturday 27th Ordinary Time
In the letter to the Galatians, saint Paul responsed to the question asked by some Jews,  “If Jesus Christ is God’s revelation, why then do we have the Torah?”  To the Jews, God’s revelation is found in the Torah.  Saint Paul answered them that the Torah is likened to a ‘disciplinarian’ in a school. It was his or her task to make sure the children went to school, paid attention to the lessons, and where necessary, to discipline them in order to protect them physically and morally.  Like the discipline teacher, the Torah provided discipline and restraint for the people of Israel.  That is, until Christ came and made authentic self-discipline and self-control possible.
Through Christ, the people are no longer children under a ‘disciplinarian’, but have become children of God by faith.  Now, there are no differences among them, regardless their backgrounds, since they are all gathered together as one in Christ.  Today’s psalm takes up the idea of the descendants Abraham and Jacob being gathered by God. For this, the people are invited to praise God who is faithful to His promise, and who will act to bring the people home to their land.
It is no wonder The woman in today's gospel reading who had the highest praise for Mary had great insight. She sensed the greatness of Jesus. Probably, deep down in her heart she felt that Jesus was the promised Messiah.  She praises the mother who had brought him into the world, and points out that the true happiness consists not in physical relationships, but in the spiritual relationship we all share with God and with one another through hearing and keeping the word of God.
  Let’s give thanks to our Heavenly Father for making us His child. Let us ask Jesus today that since he has already given us Mary to be our mother, to ask her to educate us also, to form us in all the virtues the way she formed them in him. Let us love Mary as Jesus did and be dependent on her as a child would be and truly love her as our mother.