Suy Niệm Tin Mừng 21 tháng 12.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng 21 tháng 12.
Đức Maria thực sự là một mẫu người gương mẫu cho chúng ta nên bắt chước sống trong Mùa Vọng nhất là việc chuẩn bị cho việc Chúa Cứu Thế đến. Đức Maria đã được Thiên Chúa Cha chuẩn bị để xứng đáng làm mẹ Con của Người ngay từ lúc đầu Maria mới được tạo thành trong lòng bà Thánh Anna. Là người phụ nữ Israel trung thành với Thiên Chúa Giavê, Maria đã biết cầu nguyện xin cho sự xuất hiện của Đấng Thiên sai ngay từ lúc còn bé. Khi Maria còn là một cô gái trẻ, Maria đã khám phá ra rằng mình chính là một phần trong câu trả lời của Thiên Chúa nhưng theo một cách trổi vượt xa hơn những lời cầu xin mà Maria đã xin: không phải là Đấng Thiên sai chỉ là con của Maria, mà con trai của Maria cũng chính là Thiên Chúa. Sự đồng ý tán thành của Maria với Tổng lãnh Thiên Thần Gabriel, đã khởi sự việc chuẩn bị sẵn sàng cho sự ra đời của Đức Giêsu, Đấng Thiên sai.
Qua việc đến viếng thăm và săn sóc bà Elizabeth, Đức Maria đã mang Chúa Giêsu trong lòng, như thế Maria đã trở thành người ra đi truyền giáo đầu tiên, người mang sứ điệp Tin Mừng đầu tiên đến với người chị họ của mình. Maria đã thay đổi hoàn toàn lịch sử con người. Đức Maria đã mang lại niềm vui không thể tin được đến cho  bà Elizabeth và Gioan Tẩy giả khi còn trong bụng của bà vì Maria mang Chúa Kitô đến với họ. Và cũng chính vì thế mà Đức Maria đã vui mừng và cất lên tiếng ca ngợi Thiên Chúa với lời kinh Magnificat.
Để mang lại niềm vui cho người khác trong mùa Giáng sinh này, chúng ta nên bắt chước Đức Maria là hãy mang Chúa Kitô đến với mọi người. Ngài là món quà tuyệt vời nhất mà chúng ta có thể mang đến cho bất cứ ai mà chúng ta yêu mến. Tất cả các món quà vật chất trên cõi đời này đều không có gì sánh bằng. Nếu không chia sẻ Chúa Giêsu với người thương yẻu của chúng ta, chúng ta sẽ không cho những người thân yêu của chúng ta những gì là thiết thực và bền lâu. Hãy mang Chúa Kitô đến với mọi người.
Xin Chúa Giáng Sinh ban cho chúng ta có can đãm và nghị lực để bắt chước Đức Maria về đức tin, vì đức tin đó sẽ hướng dẫn cho chúng ta đi trọn cuộc hành trìmh đức tin của chúng ta. Chúng ta hãy lắng nghe nhịp đập của trái tim và sự suy ngẫm của Đức Maria, để Giáng sinh của chúng ta có thể có hiệu quả như lần Giáng Sinh đầu tiên hơn hai ngàn năm trước.
 
REFLECTION December 21, 2019 - 
 Mary is truly the model of how we should be living Advent in preparing for Christ’s arrival. God the Father prepared her from the first moment of her conception to be the worthy mother of his Son. Like a faithful daughter of Israel, she had prayed throughout her youth for the coming of the Messiah. When she was a young lady, she discovered that she was part of God’s answer to that prayer, but in a way that would have far exceeded any Hebrew maiden’s prayers: not only would the Messiah be her son, but her son would also be God. Her “fiat,” her wholehearted “yes!” to the Archangel Gabriel, launched the proximate preparation for the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Let us enter into Mary’s response of faith, which is a guide for us along our pilgrimage of faith. Let us listen to the beat of Mary’s contemplative heart, so that our Christmas may be as fruitful as that first Christmas.
            By going to Elizabeth’s aid, Mary carrying the tiny Jesus in her womb — became the first missionary, the first bearer of the Good News that would change all of human history. Mary was able to bring incredible joy to both Elizabeth and John the Baptist in her womb precisely because she was bringing Christ. And Mary was able to burst out with her beautiful Magnificat for the very same reason. To bring joy to others this Christmas, we have to bring them Christ. He is the greatest gift we could ever bring to someone we love — all the material goods in the world fall flat in comparison. Without sharing Jesus, we are not giving our loved ones anything that is truly lasting. Bring Christ, and you bring everything.
 
December 21, Advent Weekday
Mary set out in those days and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.   Luke 1:39–40
We are presented today with the glorious story of the Visitation. When Mary was about two months pregnant, she traveled to be with her cousin Elizabeth who was to give birth within a month. Though much could be said about this as an act of familial love given from Mary to Elizabeth, the central focus immediately becomes the precious Child within the womb of Mary.
Imagine the scene. Mary had just traveled about 100 miles. She was most likely exhausted. As she finally arrived, she would have been relieved and joyful at the completion of her journey. But Elizabeth says something quite inspiring at that moment, which elevates the joy of all present, including the joy of Mother Mary. Elizabeth says, “For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44). Again, imagine the scene. It was this tiny child within Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, who immediately perceived the presence of the Lord and leaped for joy. And it was Elizabeth who immediately perceived the joy in her child living within her womb. As Elizabeth expressed this to Mary, who was already joyful at completing her journey, Mary was suddenly all the more overjoyed at the realization that she had brought to Elizabeth and John the Savior of the World living within her womb.
This story should teach us much about what is most important in life. Yes, it’s important to reach out in love to others. It’s important to care for our relatives and friends when they need us the most. It’s important to be sacrificial with our time and energies for the good of others, because through these acts of humble service, we certainly share the love of God. But most importantly, we must bring Christ Jesus Himself to others. Elizabeth was not filled with joy first and foremost because Mary was there to help her in her pregnancy. Rather, she was overjoyed primarily because Mary brought her Jesus, her Lord, living within her womb.
Though we do not bring Christ in the same way as our Blessed Mother did, we nonetheless must make this our central mission in life. First, we must foster a love and devotion to our Lord so deep that He truly dwells within us. Then, we must bring Him who dwells within us to others. This is unquestionably the greatest act of charity we will ever be able to offer to another.
Reflect, today, not only upon your mission to invite your Lord to dwell within you as our Blessed Mother did but also upon your Christian duty to then bring Him who dwells within you to others. Do others encounter Christ living within you with joy? Do they sense His presence in your life and respond with gratitude? Regardless of their response, commit yourself to this holy calling of bringing Christ to others as an act of the deepest love.
Lord, please do dwell within me. Come and transform me by Your holy presence. As You do come to me, help me to then become a missionary of Your divine presence by bringing You to others so that they may encounter the joy of Your presence. Make me a pure instrument, dear Lord, and use me to inspire all whom I encounter every day. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
December 22, Advent Weekday 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, my soul waits for you. You are my help and my shield. My heart rejoices in you and I trust in your holy name.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Journey of the New Ark: The Gospel of Luke portrays Mary in its opening chapter as the New Ark of the Covenant. Yesterday, we read the account of the Annunciation, where Gabriel spoke about the Power of God overshadowing Mary. This recalls how the cloud of God’s glory overshadowed the old Ark of the Covenant. In today’s Gospel passage, we read that Mary “arose and went with haste” (ESV) to the hill country of Judah. When she greeted Elizabeth, John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, and Elizabeth cried out with joy. “This echoes the great event when David ‘arose’ and ‘went’ with the Ark of the Covenant up into the hill country of Judah, to Jerusalem itself, and there he leapt with joy before the Ark as the procession entered the city. Mary is like a new Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments (the Word of God), the manna (bread from heaven), and the staff of Aaron, the high priest. Jesus, in Mary’s womb, was the Word of God, the bread from heaven, and our true high priest” (Bergsma, New Testament Basics for Catholics, 95).
2. The Mercy Seat of the Ark: The purpose of the old Ark of the Covenant was to be a sign of the Lord God’s presence among his people as they traveled through the desert. The golden cover of the Ark was overshadowed by carved cherubim and was called the “mercy seat” (kapporet) and “place of expiation.” Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat to expiate the sins of the people and restore them to fellowship with the Lord (Leviticus 16:1-34). In Romans 3:25, Paul identifies Jesus as the mercy seat and expiation for our sins. Jesus is the living seat of God’s presence and the place where atonement for our sins is made with his own sacrificial blood (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 262). As the New Ark, Mary’s womb acts for nine months as the place of the new mercy seat. While the old Ark was a sign of God’s presence, the new Ark contains not just a sign of God’s presence but holds and nourishes the Incarnate Son of God in her womb. God truly tabernacles among us in the womb of Mary!
3. The Song of Daughter Zion: In the reading from Zephaniah, the prophet invites the people to shout for joy and sing joyfully. He uses the twin expressions “Daughter Zion” and “Daughter Jerusalem.” These expressions are a way of personifying the city of Jerusalem and its people. The city of Jerusalem is described by the prophets either as a virgin daughter (Lamentations 1:15) or as a mother (Lamentations 1:5-6). “Either way, Jerusalem is the object of the Lord’s affection and care. She is called to rejoice in the presence of the God who lives in her midst (Zephaniah 3:14; Zechariah 2:10) and who comes to rescue her from captivity (Isaiah 52:2; 62:11)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Minor Prophets, 124). Zephaniah presents Daughter Zion as a royal bride who is waiting for her royal husband to come and bring salvation. The Lord is likened by the prophet to a warrior-king who renews his love and affection for Jerusalem. The Lord, the bridegroom king and warrior, will gather his humble remnant into the holy city of Jerusalem and restore its fortunes. Zephaniah hopes that communion between God and his people will be restored through liturgical worship in Zion (Jerusalem). By reading Zephaniah’s song during Advent, the Church anticipates the second glorious coming of our Bridegroom King, who, through his first coming in the flesh, assumed our lowly human nature.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have brought mercy to this fallen world. I need to be more merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merciful. Move my heart to forgive always and work purpose.