Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ sáu Tuần thứ 2 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ sáu Tuần thứ 2 Phục Sinh
Trong mùa Phục Sinh, những bài đọc cho chúng ta xem lại những việc mà của Chúa Giêsu đã làm và tình yêu của Thiên Chúa đối với nhân loại. Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu muốn mời gọi chúng ta cùng chia sẻ sự thương tâm với Ngài "Ta mua ở đâu ra bánh để cho họ ăn đây?"
Có lẽ chúng ta cũng giống như thánh Philliphê đang ở trong cái sự suy nghĩ vật chất của thế gian “Có mua đến hai trăm quan tiền bánh cũng chẳng đủ cho mỗi người một chút”. Việc Chúa Giêsu đã làm phép lạ hoá bánh ra nhiều không phải là ý định của Chúa Giêsu, những là mối quan tâm của Ngài đối với những nhu cầu cần thiết tối thiếu của con người “Họ đã theo ta ba ngày rồi mà chẳng có gì để ăn”. Ngài không để ý hay quan tâm đến việc mọi người muốn tôn vinh Ngài, Ngài chỉ ra tay hành động để đáp ứng những nhu cầu cần thiết của con người bằng cả với tình thương yêu chân tình, chứ không phải là làm để lấy uy tín cá nhân.
            Chúng ta hãy suy nghĩ về  cậu bé với năm chiếc bánh và hai con cá, có bao giờ chúng ta dám từ bỏ tất cả những gì mà chúng ta đang có để chia sẽ với những người khác?.  5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá có thể giúp cậu ta và gia đình được no đủ trong mấy ngày trước khi về tới nhà, thế mà cậu không ích kỷ, cậu sẵn sàng chia sẽ những chiếc bánh này với mọi người cho dù chỉ chẳng là bao. Thế nhưng nhờ 5 chiếc bánh và hai con cá đó mà Chúa Giêsu đã nuôi sống cả ngàn người.
Có lẽ có những lúc, chúng ta cũng giống như đám người trong đám đông, chúng ta chạy theo Chúa Giêsu vì chúng ta được nuôi ăn, và hy vọng sẽ có được một cuộc sống thảnh thơi thoải mái, nhưng lại quên đi hay cố tình không để ý, hay quan tâm đến những nhu cầu tâm linh mà Ngài đang dạy cho chúng ta?  Chúng ta hãy tự hỏi chính mình là: “Tôi đã yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những gì Ngài có thể làm cho gia đình, cho chính bản thân của chúng tôi?  hay là chỉ biết tôi yêu mến Thiên Chúa vì những sự tốt lành của Ngài đã đem đến cho người khác?
 
REFLECTION
In this Easter season, the readings revisit the total giving of our Lord Jesus for humankind. This time, the invitation is presented to us "Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?" Do we feel like Phillip, lost in worldly thinking? Or can we look in the direction of Jesus and see what is going to happen with a boy with five loaves and two fish, and five thousand men, not counting the women and children? Probably, the first time we heard the story we were impressed by the miracle. And probably if there is such a man today, we also would have done what the crowd had intended: take him and make him provide all that we want!
            But that was not the intention of Jesus when he multiplied the bread and fish. His concern was the needs of the people. He was not concerned about how people made of him when he acted in response to the people's needs. Now look at the boy. Are we able to give up all that we have to Jesus so that he can meet the needs of others?
 
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
“Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.” John 6:12–13
John’s Gospel is filled with much symbolic meaning. The passage above concludes the story of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. After feeding the multitude of people with only five barley loaves and two fish, they were able to fill twelve wicker baskets with what remained. What was the reason for the extra?
Saint Augustine, in commenting upon this passage, explains that Jesus provided more than the people could eat as a way of symbolically representing spiritual truths that were beyond what the vast crowds could comprehend. Thus, Jesus’ teachings spiritually nourished the crowds to the point that they were fully satisfied. But even though the general crowds were satisfied with what Jesus taught them, there was still so much more that He had to teach. These deeper spiritual truths are represented by the extra twelve baskets.
The twelve baskets represent the Twelve Disciples. They were the ones specially chosen by Jesus to receive so much more. Recall the times when Jesus taught the crowds in parables and then, later, would explain the meaning to the Twelve in private. He revealed to them certain truths that most people could not understand and accept.
It is helpful to consider three different groups of people in this miracle and apply those groupings to us today. The first group of people are those who were not even present for the miracle. Those who did not make the journey to be with Jesus in the wilderness. This is the largest group of people within society who go about their daily lives without even seeking minimal nourishment from our Lord.
The second grouping of people is this “large crowd” who followed Jesus to the remote side of the Sea of Galilee to be with Him. These represent those who diligently seek out our Lord every day. These are those who are faithful to the celebration of the Mass, the reading of Scripture, to daily prayer and study. To this grouping of people, our Lord teaches many things, and they are nourished by His holy Word and Sacraments.
The third grouping of people, the Twelve Disciples who are represented by the Twelve wicker baskets left over, are those who are exceptionally faithful to our Lord and continue to be nourished by Him in a superabundant way. These are those who seek to understand and embrace the deepest spiritual truths so as to be nourished and transformed on the deepest level.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that the spiritual food our Lord wishes to offer you is most often far more than you can immediately accept and consume. But understanding that fact is the first step to disposing yourself to receive even more. As you reflect upon this superabundance of spiritual food from our Lord, recommit yourself especially to seek out that remaining “twelve wicker baskets” of spiritual truths. If you do, you will discover that there is truly no end to the transforming depths of the gifts of grace our Lord wishes to bestow upon you.
My most generous Lord, You not only give spiritual nourishment to Your people, You give it in superabundance. As I daily seek You out and am filled with Your mercy, help me to never tire of feasting upon the superabundant gift of Your grace. Please do nourish me, dear Lord, and help me to consume Your holy Word. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday of 2nd Week of Easter 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have provided me with much more than earthly bread. You have given me heavenly bread and the gift of eternal life. I thank you today for the wondrous gifts of your Sacraments and will strive to bring others to share in them.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Feast of Passover: In the context of the second Passover of Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus works his fourth sign and multiplies the five loaves of bread and two fish for the five thousand. “The sign takes place in the context of the Passover and anticipates, in its very language (John 6:11, 23), the last Passover that Jesus will celebrate with his disciples” (Hahn, “Temple, Sign, and Sacrament,” 124). The yearly celebration of Passover recalls and makes present the great act of salvation the Lord did through the leadership of Moses. After the Passover in Egypt, Moses led the people into the wilderness and to the mountain of God. Like Moses, Jesus has led the people into the wilderness and up the mountain. Jesus will bring about the fulfillment of the Passover and establish the New Passover. Moses led the people from the slavery of Egypt to the border of the Promised Land. Jesus, through his great act of salvation, leads us from the slavery of sin to the freedom of the children of God.  
2. New Manna: As we journey toward the heavenly promised land, we are led through the wilderness of earthly life by the New Moses, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And just as the people of Israel needed bread for their earthly journey, we also need bread for our journey. The miracle and sign of the multiplication of the loaves of bread looks back to the feeding of Israel in the desert with manna. The manna descended each morning and was enough to feed the people for a day. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask: “Give us this day, our daily bread.” We ask God not only to sustain us and meet our physical needs, but we also ask for the supernatural bread of life. As Jesus will teach in the synagogue at Capernaum: “Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:51).
3. This is the Prophet: When the disciples gathered the fragments left over, they gathered enough to fill twelve wicker baskets. And when the people saw this sign, they proclaimed: “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world” (John 6:14). Like the feast of Passover and the manna, this also has to do with the connection between Moses and Jesus. When he gave his last will and testament to Israel on the plains of Moab, Moses promised that the Lord would send a prophet like himself: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen” (see Deuteronomy 18:15). The people had waited centuries for the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy of Moses. And so, when Jesus works the sign and multiplies the bread for the people in a deserted place, they begin to think that Jesus is the prophet-like-Moses sent by the Lord. The question is: “Will they listen to the words of Jesus?” The Lord said to Moses: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kindred, and will put my words into the mouth of the prophet; the prophet shall tell them all that I command” (Deuteronomy 18:18). In a few days we will see how the crowds react to the words of Jesus about the Eucharist.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your heart is moved with pity and compassion for your people. You know their deepest needs and my needs. You give yourself without reserve. Help me to imitate your self-offering today and serve those around me.
 
Friday of 2nd Week of Easter 2022
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, I come to you in faith this day, wanting to hear what you are saying to my heart. Transform my mind and heart to be more like yours. 
Encountering Christ: 
Miracles: John set the stage for this miracle, noting, “The Jewish feast of the Passover was near.” Immediately, we are invited to draw a correlation between this miracle and the Passover, which Jesus would bring to fulfillment in his own flesh, and which we continue to live with intensity during this Easter season. In this sense, the miracle recounted in today’s passage is eminently Eucharistic. Although we were not among the hungry crowd delighted by the abundance of fish and bread, our experience may not be so different from theirs. At Mass, we observe the miracle of an abundance of Eucharistic bread, broken and distributed by Jesus in the personhood of his priest to the hungry crowd. “You come to me and unite yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, your soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!" (St. Maximilian Kolbe).
From Jesus’ Heart: What must have been in Jesus’ heart, as he looked upon this crowd and knew that his own Passover was drawing near? Perhaps we could read today’s passage in light of the verses from John 3, which have been carrying us through this week. Jesus, our light and love, looked out over the crowd. His heart was moved to pity as he turned to his apostles, asking them to assist him, inviting them to a deeper faith. He fed the crowds superabundantly. In return, he sought only to be loved as the Son of God. This is Jesus who came not to condemn us but to save us. He who gave us his own flesh to eat: what would he not do for our salvation, for the life of the world? 
Miracle: What began as, “What good are these for so many?” became, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” This miracle came about because the Apostles trusted in the Lord who asked for their few resources. When they brought their meager offerings to be blessed by him (again, this passage foretells of the Eucharist, which Jesus would also take, bless, break, and give [Matthew 26:26]), those offerings became life-giving to others. Our Lord delights to work with our poverty to bring about his Kingdom. Let us take heart, trusting that he will never laugh at the littleness we can offer, but wishes, rather, to bless it for the life of the world. “Be patient because the weaknesses of the body are given to us in this world by God for the salvation of the soul. So they are of great merit when they are borne patiently” (St. Francis of Assisi).
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, you accepted the few resources your Apostles had to offer you and made of that very poverty something great for the world. In the Eucharist, too, you take what seems an ordinary piece of bread and make of it your Body and Blood. If you can do this, then you can make something of my own littleness. Here I am, Jesus; you know me better than I know myself. I want to be a vehicle of your grace for others. Work a miracle of new life in me, Risen Jesus. 
Friday of 2nd Week of Easter
Opening Prayer: 
Lord, thank you for this opportunity to sit quietly with your word. Please bless me and those I love as I pray and seek your holy will.
Encountering Christ:
Nobody’s Perfect: Did Philip fail Jesus's test by his response, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little”? What about Andrew? Andrew pointed out the young boy with the loaves and fishes, but added hesitatingly, “...what good are these for so many?” Neither apostle answered with the faith of Mary who said “Fiat” (Luke 1:38) and “They have no more wine.” (John 2:3); or the nobleman who “took Jesus at his word and departed” and his son was cured (John 4:50); or the man with leprosy who said, “If you will it you can make me clean,” (Mark 1:40); or the two blind men who believed Jesus could cure them (Matthew 9:28). Was Jesus put off by Philip and Andrew’s timid responses? Apparently not, because he worked the multiplication of loaves and fishes anyway, involving them in the distribution and cleanup. We can draw consolation from this story when we fail to rise to a spiritual challenge. Our Lord doesn’t demand perfection from us. As long as we stay close to him, Jesus will continually draw us into the work of the kingdom, in spite of our weaknesses. 
Have Them Recline: Jesus ordered Philip, Andrew, and the rest of the disciples to “Have the people recline” as he prepared to work the miracle. What anticipation there must have been among the apostles and the crowd as Jesus had the loaves and fishes brought before him! And what joy Jesus must have felt to work a miracle that would prefigure the Holy Eucharist, feed thousands of people, and edify so many more souls who would meditate on this Scripture years later. Even more important to Jesus was the fulfillment of his Father’s will and the glory he brought to his Father by this miracle. When we are out and about doing the work of the kingdom, we can appreciate the miracles, large or small, and we relish the consolations, but we must attribute all the glory to God, in imitation of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.
No Waste: Jesus ordered the disciples to “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” He could certainly have made exactly what was required, so why were there leftovers? When Jesus asked that the broken pieces be collected, was he thinking of the Eucharist? Was he reminding us that the bread, broken and distributed by priests at altars all over the world, should be consumed and never wasted? Was he urging us not to “waste” the superabundant graces we receive there? Let’s recommit ourselves to reverent reception of the Eucharist, prayerfully anticipating our reception of the host and celebrating afterward in silent prayer, so as not to “waste” a single grace from Jesus. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord, you fed five thousand men on that hillside. How many thousands have you fed since then with your Eucharist? Thank you for this Scriptural prefiguration of the Eucharist. Help me to receive you more reverently each time I attend Mass and worship you more ardently in Adoration.