Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần thứ 8 Mùa Thường Niên.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng thứ Hai tuần thứ 8 Mùa Thường Niên.
Chúa đã ban cho con người trái đất, cây ăn quả, động vật, trí thông minh và rất nhiều những điều tốt đẹp. Với những thứ ấy, con người có thể làm cho một cuộc sống tích lũy thêm sự giàu có.  Có điều là một số người đã quên biết ơn Thiên Chúa và thể hiện lòng biết ơn sự quảng đại mà  Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta tất cả những gì chúng ta có.
     Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay người thanh niên trẻ muốn được hưởng sự sống đời đời. Chúa Giêsu nói với anh ta là hãy tuân giữ những điều răn Chúa dậy thì sẽ để được sự sống đời đời; nhưng anh ta nói rằng anh ta đã sống và tuân giữ các điều răn Chúa dậy từ thời thơ ấu của mình.
     Chúa Giêsu đã mời gọi anh ta đến tới gần Chúa hơn là theo Chúa Giêsu, và muốn để đến được theo Ngài thì trước hết là phải bán hết tài sản của anh ta và bố thí hết cho người nghèo.
       Nhưng người ấy nghe những lời đó, thì sụ nét mặt và buồn rầu bỏ đi, vì anh ta có nhiều của cải.   Sau đó Chúa Giêsu nói về sự giàu có là một trở ngại lớn để được vào thiên đàng, "Những người giàu có vào nước Thiên Chúa khó biết bao"     Với các môn đệ và tất cả chúng ta có lẽ đã hoang mang bởi những lời dậy bảo của Chúa Giêsu, vì thế họ đã hỏi lại Ngài là: Nếu như thế, thì ai, có thể được cứu rỗi và vào Nước Trời?" Chúa Giêsu đã bảo đảm với chúng ta và hy vọng, là ""Ðối với loài người thì không thể được, nhưng không phải đối với Thiên Chúa, vì Thiên Chúa làm được mọi sự". Đừng sợ, ân sủng của Thiên Chúa luôn có để giúp chúng ta.
 
Reflection Monday 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
     God has given man the earth, fruit trees, animals, intelligence and so many good things. With them, man can make a living, even accumulate wealth. The problem is that some forget to be grateful to God. One way of showing gratitude is being generous with what one has,
     In the Gospel reading the man wanted to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to follow the commandments to inherit eternal life; the man said he had followed the commandments since his childhood.
     Jesus then invites him to a closer following of Jesus, to come and follow him. But before doing so, to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. But the man rejected the invitation, "On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth."
     Jesus then speaks about riches as a great hindrance to entering heaven, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"
     To his disciples and to us bewildered by this statement who logically ask, "Who, then, can be saved?" Jesus gives assurance and hope, "For humans it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God."
     Fear not, God's grace is there to help us.
 
Monday 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments…” Mark 10:17–19
Jesus addresses different people in different ways. He chastised the proud and arrogant who came to trap Him. He was exceptionally gentle and kind to the repentant sinner who came in tears. He spoke in parables and figures of speech to those who were curious but had little faith. And to those who came with openness, sincerely seeking the truth, He spoke clearly, lovingly and directly.
Today’s Gospel presents us with the familiar story of the Rich Young Man. Notice how this young man came to Jesus. First, he “ran up” to Jesus. This suggests he was very desirous to speak with our Lord. He also knelt down before Jesus, which points to his humility and reverence. Then he asked Jesus a  direct and important question. He didn’t ask Jesus to heal someone. He wasn’t looking for a miracle or a personal favor. Instead, this young man asked the question we should all ask Jesus every day. “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Is this a question that you ponder and ask our Lord?
As the story unfolds, Jesus gives two answers. First, He gives the young man the fundamental answer to his question. Eternal life is obtained by keeping away from serious sin, out of love and obedience to the will of God. But after the young man inquires further, Jesus gives him a much deeper answer. This second answer was one based on a deep love for this young man because it presented the key to perfection. “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
Many people go through life fulfilling the most fundamental precepts of holiness. They avoid serious sin so as to remain in a state of grace. And this is good. But Jesus wants so much more: He wants perfection. When we sincerely seek out perfection, Jesus will answer us as He answered the Rich Young Man. Perfection requires the deepest purification from all unhealthy attachments. Most people have many attachments that hinder perfection. Those attachments might not be mortal sins, but they are venial sins, or spiritual imperfections. Therefore, it’s important to know that if you want perfection, and if you humble yourself before our Lord and sincerely ask how to obtain it, He will lovingly invite you to detach from everything but God and His holy will for your life. What that means practically for you must be prayerfully discerned.
Reflect, today, upon whether or not you could join this rich young man in his humble questions posed to Jesus. Do you want to know how to be perfect? If so, are you ready to respond to Jesus’ answer? Are you willing to abandon everything that is a hindrance to the will of God so that you can follow Him and fulfill His perfect will? Ponder this question and commit yourself to the full embrace of Jesus’ answer and you will become richer in what matters than you could ever imagine.
My generous Lord, You call me to perfection. You call me to turn from everything that hinders my perfect love of You and my full embrace of Your will. Please help me to sincerely turn to You every day, seeking only Your full will in all things. As I do, please set me free from all that keeps me from the life of perfection to which I am called. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time  2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me overcome any obstacle that keeps me from entering more fully into your Kingdom. Reign in my heart and my family. Do what seems impossible in my life and guide me as I store up treasure with you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Question about Eternal Life: The encounter of the rich young man with Jesus offers a powerful lesson about our moral and spiritual growth. The young man approaches Jesus with a question about morality, he asks “not so much about rules to be followed, but about the full meaning of life” (John Paul II, Veritatis splendor [VS], 7). The question about the meaning of life echoes a call from God, who is the origin and goal of our life. Morality is not just a question about the moral good we ought to do but about eternal life. “The young man senses that there is a connection between moral good and the fulfillment of his own destiny” (John Paul II, VS, 8). The answer to the question about the good can only be found by turning our mind and heart to the One who is good and the fullness of goodness, “God alone” (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). The young man’s question is a religious question: the goodness that attracts and obliges us has its source in God, who alone is worthy of being loved with all one’s heart, soul, and mind. “Jesus brings the question about morally good action back to its religious foundations, to the acknowledgment of God who alone is goodness, fullness of life, the final end of human activity, and perfect happiness” (John Paul II, VS, 9). 
2. Eternal Life and the Ten Words: What we are and what we must do become clear as soon as God reveals himself. God has inscribed the natural law on the heart of every human being. And also revealed the “ten words,” the Ten Commandments of Mt. Sinai, to Israel (John Paul II, VS, 12). Jesus answers the young man that there is a close connection between eternal life and obedience to God’s commandments: “God’s commandments show man the path of life and they lead to it. From the very lips of Jesus, the new Moses, man is once again given the commandments of the Decalogue” (John Paul II, VS, 12).
3. The Journey to Perfection in the Moral and Spiritual Life: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus affirms that he came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Jesus brings God’s commandments to fulfillment particularly the commandment of love of neighbor, by interiorizing their demands and by bringing out their fullest meaning. “Jesus shows that the commandments must not be understood as a minimum limit not to be gone beyond, but rather as a path involving a moral and spiritual journey towards perfection, at the heart of which is love (see Colossians 3:14). Thus the commandment ‘You shall not murder’ becomes a call to an attentive love which protects and promotes the life of one’s neighbor” (John Paul II, VS, 15). When the young man affirms that he has kept the commandments, but also that he is still far from the goal, Jesus invites him to enter upon the path of perfection. In particular, he directs the young man to the beatitude of the poor, the poor in spirit, the humble. Jesus also invites the young man to imitate and follow him. The Beatitudes are a self-portrait of Christ and are invitations to discipleship and communion of life with Christ (see John Paul II, VS, 16). Perfection demands maturity in self-giving to which human freedom is called (see John Paul II, VS, 17). The call to perfect love is not restricted to a small group of individuals but is an invitation to everyone. The New Law that Jesus gives us is the grace of the Holy Spirit given through faith in Christ. The New Law is not limited to saying what must be done, but also gives the power to do it (see John Paul II, VS, 24).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the New Law. Not only do you hold me to a higher standard, but you empower me to fulfill that standard. Without you, I can do nothing of lasting value. But with you and your grace, I can merit eternal life!
 
Monnday after 8^th Sunday in Ordinary Times
Opening Prayer: Lord, I struggle in my faith to believe your ways will make me happy. It can be very hard to follow your commandments. Help me to know how to find the joy in being Christian. 
Encountering Christ:
God Loved Us First: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” It seemed that this man was taking the initiative to approach Jesus, but actually, Jesus is always the one doing the inviting. The mortal man knows that God exists because God has chosen to reveal himself to us. “By his Revelation, the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company. The adequate response to this invitation is faith” (CCC 142). Jesus invited the man to realize that he was addressing God but the man did not notice. He was focused on his own efforts. In the spiritual life, we risk missing out on God’s presence in our day when we wonder, instead, “how we’re doing.” 
Jesus’ Look of Love: Jesus knew this man’s heart–his weakness for possessions–yet there was no long list of faults or failures; only a look of love. “Our Head intercedes for us; some members he is receiving, others he is chastising, others cleansing, others consoling, others creating, others calling, others recalling, others correcting, others renewing” (St. Augustine). It was with boundless love that Jesus revealed the man’s attachment, softening the chastisement with a reminder of eternal reward: “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me.” In retrospect, we now see that the rich man missed out on living side by side with Jesus as an intimate participant in his ministry. When we are tempted to cling to material goods or our own way of doing things, let us remember this passage and choose to “let go” and follow Christ, knowing that he a lways gives the greatest gift.
Faith: What would it have meant for the man if he had responded to the Lord’s invitation with faith? Think of the response of the Samaritan woman (John 4:4-29). She too was challenged by Jesus’ words but she stayed, talked with him, and questioned him, wrestling with the truths he was sharing. Her perseverance paid off. She received profound healing and restoration of her broken life. Not only was she converted, but her whole village turned to Jesus because of her witness of faith. When we feel resistance to what we hear God telling us in prayer or through the teachings of the Church, may we wrestle with the call rather than “walk away sad.”
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you constantly invite me more deeply into your life. In order to follow you, I often have to give up what I want at the moment, and sometimes I fail. Please forgive me, and draw me close to you so that I can glorify you. I want to please you now and live with you forever in eternal life. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will try to not focus on my efforts to grow in faith but instead will look for opportunities to serve others whom you place in my path.