Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:
Chúa Giêsu đã chắc chắn rằng những người theo Ngài là những người sẽ không bao giờ phải cô đơn trong cuộc sống vì Ngài sẽ sai Chúa Thánh Thần là Đấng Bảo Hộ, là Người sẽ An ủi hay là Người bênh vực của Chúa đến để làm chứng, hướng dẫn và giảng dạy chúng ta, những người đã tin theo Chúa. Chúng ta sẽ cần đến Chúa Thánh Thần! Ngài cảnh cáo cho chúng ta biết rằng: Nếu chúng ta theo Chúa sống và làm theo những giáo huấn của Ngài thì thế giới này sẽ ghen ghét và thù nghịch với chúng ta. Và một ngày sẽ đến khi chúng ta sẽ bị một số người bách hại chúng ta nhưng họ cứ nghĩ là họ đã làm đẹp lòng Thiên Chúa. Thật sự như thế cho đến cả hôm nay bao nhiều quốc gia Hồi Giáo quá khích đã gây ra chiến tranh, bạo động và họ cố gắng tiêu giệt các tôn giáo khác, kể cả Thiên Chúa Giáo, họ nghĩ là họ vậy là làm đẹp lòng và trung thành với Thiên Chúa.
Thiên Chúa không bao giờ muốn hay chấp nhận bạo lực hay thù hận vì danh Chúa. Chúng ta hãy cẩn thận, sống làm đẹp lòng Chúa trong lời nói, trong sự suy nghĩ, lời nói của chúng ta không bao giờ có thể thể hiện sự bạo lực, không dung nạp, hoặc hận thù với bất cứ ai vì lý do nào, đặc biệt là liên quan đến Thiên Chúa. Lạy Chúa, xin ban cho con lòng khoan dung và luôn biết tôn trọng người khác.
Many of the first converts to Christianity were women. Paul and his companions met a Greek woman named Lydia outside of Philippi next to a river (there is a beautiful outdoor chapel there now). She was a God-fearer — a pagan who was attracted to Judaism and open to its teachings. The Lord opened her heart; she and her household were baptized, and she extended hospitality to Paul. Often the contributions of women in the church have not been adequately appreciated and recognized, and the Holy Father has called for a greater voice for women. Let us open our own minds and hearts.
Jesus made sure that his followers would never be alone. He left them the Paraclete; comforter or advocate ; to witness, guide, and teach. They would need it! He warned that by following him they would earn the world's hatred. A day would even arrive when those who killed them would think that they were doing God a favor. How true — even today, many resort to violence in the belief that they are being faithful to God. God does not ask for or accept violence or hatred in His name. Let us take care in word, thought, and speech that we do not demonstrate violence, intolerance, or hatred to anyone for any reason, especially concerning God. Lord, grant me tolerance and respect for others.
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26–27
Jesus informs His disciples that “the Spirit of truth” will come and that the Spirit, as well as the disciples, will “testify” to Him. When Jesus first spoke these words to His disciples, they would not have comprehended what He meant. Since these words are prophetic in nature, they are words spoken that were to come to fulfillment and, then, once fulfilled, the words would be understood. So what does Jesus mean?
When we look at the Acts of the Apostles and read about the early Church, it is clear that something incredibly transforming took place after Jesus ascended into Heaven. Up until that time, the disciples and other followers of Jesus had faith, but they were also fearful. They communicated with those others who believed, but did so in secret and with fear. But as soon as Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, descended upon them, the Apostles began to be used by God to powerfully proclaim the Gospel without fear and with great effect upon many. It was this experience of the disciples of our Lord, being filled with the Holy Spirit, to which Jesus was referring.
After Jesus died, and perhaps even more so after Jesus ascended into Heaven, it is likely that some of His disciples immediately concluded that the new movement Jesus started was now over. They could have never conceived of the idea that what Jesus started was only beginning. They could have never conceived of the fact that soon they would share in the beginning of the Church, proclaim the Gospel with courage and power, see the conversion of countless lives, witness the ongoing forgiveness of sins, and ultimately give their lives in imitation of our Lord. These disciples had no idea just what awaited them with the coming of the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth. What was awaiting them was their sharing in the ability to “testify” to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. They soon realized that Jesus was actually more alive than ever and that He was now going forth to convert souls by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the instrumentality of all of His new disciples.
The same is true in our lives today. It is far too common for Christians to simply believe in Jesus personally, but then fail to wholeheartedly give testimony to Him by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. It is far too common for followers of Christ to act more like the disciples prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Too often, Christians keep the Gospel to themselves, fearful of giving testimony by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect, today, upon these prophetic words of Jesus. Though these words were initially spoken to the Twelve, Jesus also speaks these words to you today. He wants you, too, to be a witness to Him, giving testimony to others so that they will come to believe. Reflect upon how well you fulfill this prophetic calling. Where you are lacking, pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life so that God can reach many hearts through you.
Most glorious Jesus, You promised to send upon Your disciples and also upon me the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and Spirit of Truth. Holy Spirit, I welcome You into my life and offer myself to You without reserve to be used to give testimony to the Truth. Please do use me, my God, and touch many lives through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, send your Spirit of truth, the Advocate, into my heart. Unmask the lies I have welcomed and lead me to be authentic in all that I say, think, and do. Open my ears to hear the testimony of the Spirit.
1. Two Advocates: Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are referred to as Advocates or Counselors (Paracletes). The word “paraclete” is a legal term in Greek that means an attorney or spokesperson, i.e., someone you call to your side to defend you in a courtroom. Jesus uses the term “for a heavenly intercessor who is called to the side of God’s children to offer strength and support. Jesus is a ‘Paraclete’ because in heaven he pleads to the Father for believers still struggling on earth (1 John 2:1)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1917. Jesus is a good Advocate before the Father because, through his Incarnation, he has identified himself with us and has solidarity with us. He was tempted like us, and yet did not fall into temptation. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, our struggles, and our very real temptations to power, pleasure, and possessions. And yet, he did not sin. He did not, like the old Adam, give in to temptation. His solidarity with us informs his merciful and priestly intercession on our behalf.
3. The Western and Eastern Traditions on the Procession of the Spirit: One of the theological issues that divided Christianity was how to understand the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit. While both the East and the West affirm and confess the divinity of the Spirit, Catholics hold that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, while Orthodox Christians hold that the Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son. The Catechism summarizes that this is not so much a controversy as a legitimate complementarity: “At the outset the Eastern tradition expresses the Father’s character as first origin of the Spirit. By confessing the Spirit as he ‘who proceeds from the Father,’ it affirms that he comes from the Father through the Son (see John 15:26). The Western tradition expresses first the consubstantial communion between Father and Son, by saying that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (filioque). It says this, ‘legitimately and with good reason,’ (Council of Florence from 1438-1445) for the eternal order of the divine persons in their consubstantial communion implies that the Father, as ‘the principle without principle,’ is the first origin of the Spirit, but also that as Father of the only Son, he is, with the Son, the single principle from which the Holy Spirit proceeds (Second Council of Lyons in 1274). This legitimate complementarity, provided it does not become rigid, does not affect the identity of faith in the reality of the same mystery confessed” (CCC, 248)
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate today how the Spirit guided you in your life and guided the Apostles as they preached the Gospel. I pray that I be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit and patient when I do not understand where or how the Spirit is leading me.
Opening Prayer: Good and Loving God, I am here before you in faith. Please strengthen my faith. I come before you in hope; please increase my hope. I come before you in love; please deepen my love.
Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: In this internet age, we are often pummeled by misinformation or simply too much information. This overstimulation can hurt our capacity to discern truth. When we shift our time and attention to reading the Scriptures and other quality books, seeking out beauty in nature and art, and watching resources like Formed.org, we are much more likely to sharpen our discernment and find truth we can live by. Jesus tells us that the Advocate is the Spirit of Truth, and testifies to the Father. It is the Spirit that helps us to seek and find Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we invite the Holy Spirit into all of our efforts to seek truth.
The first reading relates the path that Paul and Barnabas took after leaving Jerusalem and as they progressed towards the area of the Gentiles. In the first reading, they meet Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, listened and as a result, the Lord enlightened and opened her heart to hear what Paul was saying.
We can relate this particular instance in our daily lives. When we allow ourselves to listen and open our hearts to what God is trying to tell us, we may be able to hear and understand him. However, there are times no matter how hard we try, it seems that his Word refuses to give meaning in our lives. During those times, we need to ask the help of the Holy Spirit to open our ears, mind and heart so that we can reap the full benefit from the Lord's Word.
In the Gospel today, Jesus emphatically states that he will be sending the Advocate to the disciples and to us. Jesus reminds us that the Spirit of truth will testify to you and me. These words of Jesus should comfort and encourage us all. The disciples were once a group of people who were afraid for their own lives, especially during the period after Jesus was crucified. But they turned into a group of brave men, unafraid to proclaim the teachings of the Lord and enduring all kinds of suffering and persecution. In the last forty days which Jesus spent with the disciples after his resurrection, Jesus gave his disciples a lasting hope and courage which they needed to fulfill their mission that was entrusted to them - that of bringing the Word of the Lord to all nations.
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