Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần Phục Sinh
Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, khi Chúa Giêsu hiện ra với các môn đệ, họ đang sống trong những cơn sợ hãi, vì họ vẫn đang còn nghi ngờ sự sống lại của Chúa. Chúa Giêsu đã phải cho họ thấy những chứng tích của cuộc khồ nạn qua những dấu đóng đinh ở tay và chân của Ngài để chứng minh cho họ thấy rằng Ngài đã thực sự đã sống lại từ cõi chết và đã hiện ra với họ bằng xương bằng thịt chứ không phải chỉ là một bóng ma như họ đang tưởng tượng.
Khi các môn đệ thấy Chúa Phục Sinh, họ nghi ngờ,  vì họ nghĩ theo bản tính loài người như chúng ta là “Làm thế nào mà cái chết có thể dẫn đến sự sống lại, và sự khổ hình trên thập giá đã đưa lại sự chiến thắng?  Nhưng Chúa Giêsu cho chúng ta thấy con đường và Ngài đã cho chúng ta sức mạnh để vượt qua những tội lỗi và những tuyệt vọng, và mọi thứ khác mà có thể ngăn cách chúng ta đến với tình yêu, chân lý của Ngài. Cũng như các môn đệ đã được giao nhiệm vụ đem tin mừng về sự cứu rỗi cho tất cả mọi dân tộc và mọi quốc gia, do đó chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để làm chứng nhân cho sự sống lại của Chúa Giêsu Kitô cho tất cả những người sống trên mặt đất. Chúng ta có chứng kiến ​​niềm vui của Tin Mừng cho những người xung quanh chúng ta?
Trọng tâm của Tin Mừng là thánh giá, và qua thập giá này, Chúa Kitô đã đánh bại kẻ thù của chúng ta là sự chết và Satan và Ngài đã giành lại cho chúng ta được sự tha thứ cho tội lỗi của chúng ta. Thập giá Chúa Kitô là cánh cửa thiên đàng và chìa khóa vào thiên đường. Con đường đến sự vinh hiển là phải qua thập giá.
"Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Xin Chúa Thánh Thần mở tâm trí của chúng con để chúng con hiểu được Kinh Thánh, hiểu được sự thật của lời của Chúa. Xin Chúa xức dầu cho chúng con có sức mạnh của Chúa và ban cho chúng ta niềm vui và sự táo bạo để loan báo Tin Mừng bằng lời nói và hành động của chúng con."
 
Thursday within Easter Octave
Meditation: Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures
In the first reading, Peter proclaims the Good News of salvation – that Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification. Now all men have access to heaven which before was closed to them. In Jesus our sins are forgiven and we now have a Savior who is God himself. In the Gospel reading, when Jesus appeared to his disciples, they were so frightened. Jesus had to show the wounds in his hands and feet to prove to them that it was really him risen from the dead.
 The centrality of the Gospel is the cross; but fortunately it does not stop there. Through the cross Jesus defeated our enemies - death and Satan and won pardon for our sins. His cross is the door to heaven and the key to paradise. The way to glory is through the cross. When the disciples saw the risen Lord they disbelieved for joy! How can death lead to life, the cross to victory? Jesus shows us the way and he gives us the power to overcome sin and despair, and everything else that would stand in the way of his love and truth. Just as the first disciples were commissioned to bring the good news of salvation to all the nations, so, we, too, are called to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to all who live on the face of the earth. Do you witness the joy of the Gospel to those around you?
"Lord Jesus, open our minds to understand the Scriptures that we may fully comprehend the truth of your word. Anoint us with your power and give us joy and boldness to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.
 
Thursday within Easter Octave
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:45–48
Jesus once again appears to a group of His disciples, and He once again gets straight to the point. He “opened their minds” so that they would understand all that the Scriptures revealed about Him. He helped them to see that His death and Resurrection were fulfillments of the teachings of Moses and the prophets. And then Jesus says something new: “You are witnesses of these things.”
As we saw in yesterday’s Gospel, it’s clear that the disciples did not yet understand why Jesus had to die and then rise again. They were still in shock and traumatized by these events. Therefore, Jesus had to carefully explain to His disciples the meaning of what had just taken place. They needed to understand this on a level that they couldn’t comprehend by themselves. They needed Jesus’ clear and detailed explanation as well as a special grace by which their minds would be opened to an understanding of these profound mysteries of faith.
We are no different than these disciples. It’s easy to believe in Jesus for insufficient reasons which only result in superficial faith. Some believe simply because that’s what they were taught when they were young. Some believe because it makes them feel better to believe. Some believe because they don’t know of anything better to believe. But then there are those who believe for the right reason. Like the disciples in this resurrection appearance, they have listened to Jesus speak clearly and in detail to them, such as through their study of Scripture, the Catechism, or other holy sources, and then they were given a special grace from God that “opened their minds” to an understanding that goes far beyond human rational abilities alone. Are you one of those people?
If you are, then you have another duty. Not only must you continue to internalize these truths, allowing them to deepen and change your own life completely and totally, but you must also become a “witness” to these things. When you grow in an authentic knowledge of the faith revealed by our Lord, you must also share it with others. Real faith must be shared!
Reflect, today, upon this powerful resurrection appearance. As you do, ponder whether or not you have allowed our Lord to speak to you in the same way that He did to these disciples, and whether or not you have truly internalized all that He has spoken to you and explained to you. If you are among this grouping of people, reflect also upon your duty to be a witness of these truths to others.  Jesus wants to appear in His resurrected form to many others, but He especially does this, today, through the mediation of His faithful followers who are now sent forth to be witnesses to Christ and His glorious Resurrection.
My risen Jesus, You gave Your disciples a glorious gift when You opened their minds to Your holy Truth and taught them many things. Please open my mind also, dear Lord, so that I will comprehend the deep and profound mysteries of faith. Help me to understand Who You are, why You had to die, and how to share in the new life of Your Resurrection. Please also use me as Your witness so that many will come to know You and share in the new life won by Your Resurrection. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Thursday within Easter Octave 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, open my mind today to understand your life-giving Word. Conform my life to that of your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to follow the way of the Cross, suffer with Christ, and be raised to heavenly glory with you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of Bread: Cleopas and the other disciples returned to Jerusalem from Emmaus and told the others about their encounter with the risen Jesus. Their hearts burned as Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures about himself. When they sat at table with Jesus and saw him take bread, say the blessing, break the bread, and give it to them, their eyes were opened and they finally recognized him. The phrase “breaking of bread” was a way of referring to the celebration of the Eucharist in the early Church (Acts 2:46). This is a lesson for us. Every week we encounter the risen Jesus in the same way. The Liturgy of the Word is our walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. We hear from the Old Testament and the New and an explanation, instruction, and exhortation is given in the homily. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is our sitting down at table with Jesus. The priest takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks and distributes the Bread of Life. And like the two disciples, we leave Emmaus, with our hearts on fire, to announce to everyone that Jesus is Lord and has been raised from the dead. 
2. Not a Ghost: The Gospel of Luke stresses that Jesus truly rose from the dead. He rose from the dead, body and soul. A ghost does not have flesh and bones as did the risen Jesus. Jesus ate the fish, not because he was hungry, but to show that he was not a ghost. Jesus has a real body In fact, it was the same body that was crucified – it bears the marks of the crucifixion in the hands and feet and side – and yet it is a glorified body. “An important part of the risen Jesus’ identity is his continuity with his corporeal existence during the ministry” (Brown, Christ in the Gospels of the Liturgical Year, 233).
3. Where was it written that the Christ would Suffer? If we look for a single passage in the Old Testament that says: “that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem,” we will not find it. But if we read the Scriptures together, we can piece together all that Jesus said. Isaiah spoke at length in four songs or oracles of an anointed servant of the Lord who would suffer and save the people of Israel from their iniquity (see Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52-53). The prophet Daniel spoke about the anointed one – the Messiah – being cut off (Daniel 9:26). Finally, the prophet Jonah was indicated by Jesus as the sign of his resurrection from the dead (Matthew 12:38-42 and Luke 11:29-32): Just as Jonah died and was restored to life after three days and preached repentance to Nineveh, so also Jesus would die and be raised to new life after three days and would send his disciples to all nations to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I welcome you as my savior. You continue to work through your Spirit and your disciples to draw all peoples into the family of God. Inspire me today to know how I can share in that work and help to bring those I meet today into communion with you.