Trong Phúc Âm, Chúa Giêsu hỏi các môn đệ: "Các con bảo Thầy là ai?". Ông Phê-rô thưa: "Thầy là Đấng Kitô, Con Thiên Chúa Hằng Sống." Chúa Giêsu là Đấng Kitô, Đấng được xức dầu, là Thiên Chúa quyền năng và uy nghiêm nhất, là Con Thiên Chúa Hằng Sống, Đấng có thể làm mọi sự, ngay cả việc khiến nước hằng sống chảy ra từ đá. Cũng như thời ông Môsê, cũng như thời Chúa Giê-su, ngày nay, trong thời đại chúng ta, con người cần biết rằng có một Thiên Chúa luôn chăm sóc họ.
Thiên Chúa đã chứng minh lời Ngài. Qua Con Ngài, Ngài đã chiến thắng cho chúng ta trên sự chết và trên mọi thế lực tiêu cực trên thế gian này!Chúng ta luôn được Thiên Chúa hằng sống chăm sóc, một Thiên Chúa toàn năng, Đấng có thể đáp ứng mọi nhu cầu và ước muốn sâu xa nhất của chúng ta.
Chúng ta hãy hết lòng yêu mến và phụng sự Thiên Chúa, cùng với Thánh Phêrô, chúng ta hãy tuyên xưng và tuyên xưng trên môi miệng mình: "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Chúa là Đấng Kitô, Con Thiên Chúa Hằng Sống!"
Và như các tông đồ, chúng ta hãy hoàn toàn phó thác cho Người. Chúng ta hãy sống, phụng sự và yêu mến Chúa Giêsu, Con Thiên Chúa Hằng Sống, và không ngừng nói và loan báo về Người cho anh chị em mình.
My Reflection for Thurday 18th ưeek in Ordinary Time 2025
In the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?". Peter says, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, the most powerful and mighty God, the Son of the Living God, who is able to do anything even to bring forth living waters from rocks.
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần 18 TN
-Matthew 16:13-20 -
Bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay cho chúng ta những điều mặc khải đẹp nhất về Thiên Chúa. Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta thân thiện rất cá nhân với Ngài, Ngài là ai đối với chúng ta? Những sự liên hệ của chúng ta với Ngài sẽ phụ thuộc vào điều này. Có lẽ quan điểm của chúng ta về Thiên Chúa cũng giống như một khung cửa sổ, bất kể ánh sáng mặt trời chiếu vào khung cửa sổ đó ra sao, nhưng ánh sáng được chiếu vào trong căn phòng sẽ phụ thuộc vào kích thước của khung cửa sổ đó.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, nếu chúng ta trả lời theo cùng cách mà thánh Phêrô đã trả lời Chúa “Thầy là Đấng Kitô, Con của Thiên Chúa hằng sống,” điều này có nghĩa là chúng ta biết Ngài; với tất cả các giác quan của chúng ta, chúng ta cảm thấy sự hiện diện của Chúa. Qua bức thư gởi cho dân thành Roma có biết là nếu chúng ta thú nhận với đôi môi của mình và tin vào trái tim của chúng ta là Chúa Giêsu Kitô là Chúa, thì chúng ta sẽ được Chúa biến đổi. Ngài sẽ lần lượt nói với chúng ta là " anh thật là người có phúc, vì không phải phàm nhân mặc khải cho anh điều ấy, nhưng là Cha của Thầy, Đấng ngự trên trời."
REFLECTION Thursday 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Today's first reading is one of the most beautiful revelations of who our God is. Our God wants us to be very personal with Him. Who is He to us? Our dealings with Him will depend on this. Perhaps our view of God is like a window – no matter how brightly the sun shines outside, the light that is allowed to shine into the room will depend on the size of the window.
But if we answer in the same way Peter did, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," this means that we know him; with all our senses, we feel his presence. The letter to the Romans says that if we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we are changed by God. He in turn tells us "Blessed are you – for it is the Father that reveals this reality to you."
Let us wholeheartedly confess to Jesus that he is our Lord, his presence surrounds us, his Lordship encompasses us, his power overwhelms us, and we bow down and adore him. He is the Holy God. We are indeed transformed in His presence.
Thursday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:22–23
What a shocking statement this must have been that was spoken by Jesus to Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus said. In the paragraph before this, Peter professed that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus in turn told Peter that he was Petros and on this petra He would build His Church. Petros is the Greek word for a movable rock and petra was an immovable solid rock foundation. Thus, Peter was told that he would be the stone, set upon a solid foundation, by which Jesus would build His Church. Jesus even went on to promise Peter that he would receive the keys to the Kingdom and that whatever he bound on earth would be bound in Heaven.
And then, one paragraph later, Jesus rebukes Peter for thinking “not as God” but as a human being.
Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter could not accept Jesus’ teaching about His coming passion and death. Jesus told Peter and the other disciples that He would soon suffer greatly, be rejected by the chief priest, the scribes and the elders, be killed and then rise on the third day. So Peter went from a profound proclamation of faith, to fear and a rejection of the divine plan of salvation. And for that reason, Jesus went from entrusting much authority to Peter to rebuking him for his weakness and fear.
Fear is often a paralyzing passion. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that the passion of fear comes from a perceived future evil. Sorrow is the normal reaction to a present suffering such as the death of a loved one. But when the perceived suffering, or apparent evil, is something that has not yet come, then we often react with fear. When that fear is caused by something exterior and out of our control, it tempts us to feel shock, a sense of being overwhelmed and anxiety. In the case of Peter, the thought of Jesus suffering greatly, and being killed, was more than he was able to accept. So Peter says, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
Jesus’ rebuke of Peter was an act of true love. It was a way of shaking him free from the paralysis of fear. Jesus wanted Peter to think clearly and to face this future suffering with courage, acceptance, hope and faith. Courage provides strength. Acceptance cures anxiety. Hope produces joy. And faith is the remedy for all fear. These and other similar virtues were necessary if Peter and the other disciples were going to be able to endure the suffering and passion of Jesus. They needed to know that this perceived evil was going to be transformed by the Father in Heaven and used for the greatest good the world had ever known. They needed to know that Jesus “must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly…” It was the Father’s will. And because it was the Father’s will, the greatest good would come from the greatest evil because of God’s almighty power.
Reflect, today, upon that which causes you the most fear and anxiety in your life. When you look to the future, what is it that paralyzes you or at least tempts you to fear and worry? The truth is that any evil or suffering that you foresee has the potential to bring forth the greatest good in your life. Your natural human mind cannot discern this. We must strive to think as God, not as humans, as Jesus says. Try to look at anything that causes you anxiety through the eyes of God alone. Trust that, in faith, all can be used by God for good. Do not doubt but believe and God will begin to bestow upon you the many virtues you need to move forward with peace, courage and confidence.
My suffering Lord, You faced the evil You endured with the utmost courage and love. You never gave in to fear but pressed on, fulfilling the Father’s will. Give me the grace I need to share in Your strength so as to overcome all that tempts me to fear. I love You, my Lord. May I rely upon You for all things. Jesus, I trust in You.
Thursday 18th Week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I contemplate today the wondrous confession of Simon Peter. I too unite my prayer to his confession: Jesus is the Messiah and your Son! I fully accept the path of redemptive suffering and dying to self. I will follow your Son wherever he leads me.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Three Blessings upon Peter: When Simon Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God, Jesus pronounces a threefold blessing upon Peter. Simon, the son of Jonah, is first blessed because he has received a revelation from the heavenly Father. Simon didn’t come to the conclusion that Jesus was the promised Messiah by another human being convincing him of it or telling him. It was a grace and revelation that Simon welcomed and did not hesitate to profess. The second blessing is that Simon will be the rock upon which Jesus will build his Church, and, what is more, the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Sometimes we hear this line and think that the powers of hell are bashing against the Church and will not prevail, but it is better to read the line as the gates of hell not being able to prevail against and withstand the Church, the mystical Body of Christ. The Rock will be strong to the degree he welcomes and collaborates with the grace of Christ. The third blessing given to Peter is that of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a reference to the role of the prime minister in the Kingdom of David. The prime minister had the keys to the palace and could choose to let someone in or keep someone out. In like manner, Simon Peter and his successors have been granted a binding and loosing authority. They are commissioned and given authority to teach the people of God, to forgive the sins of the members of Christ’s body (to sanctify), and to govern the Church.
2. Moses’ Infidelity: In the First Reading, we hear the people of Israel complaining and grumbling in the wilderness. They held a council against Moses and Aaron and complained about the lack of grain, figs, vines, pomegranates, and water in the desert. As before, Moses brought the complaint of the people to the Lord, and the Lord responded. It was a subtle command, but the Lord said to Moses, “Take your staff and … order the rock to yield its waters.” Moses wasn’t supposed to strike the rock with his staff. But that is what happened. Instead of ordering the rock to yield its water, Moses struck the rock twice. Water did gush forth, but the Lord said to Moses and his brother, Aaron, “Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the children of Israel, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them.” And this came to pass. Moses didn’t lead the people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land; Joshua, Moses’ successor, did. The place where this rebellion of the people and the infidelity of Moses took place was Meribah. And so, the Psalmist sings: “Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tested me; they tested me though they had seen my works.”
3. Warnings in Psalm 95: Psalm 95 is a psalm of praise. It issues a summons to worship and a warning against unfaithfulness. “This implies that liturgy and life form a unity, so that serving God in the Temple must be joined with a commitment to obeying God when he speaks. Otherwise, hearers risk offending him and forfeiting the blessing of his ‘rest’ (95:11)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 913). In verses 8-9, the psalm draws lessons from Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20, when the pilgrims of Israel complained about the lack of water and rebelled against Moses. Psalm 95 invites us to “harden not” our hearts and be on guard against stubborn disobedience when God speaks his word. Verse 11 recalls God’s oath of disinheritance in Numbers 14:21-23, when Israel refused to enter into the Promised Land of rest. The Letter to the Hebrews recalls this passage and warns Christians against unbelief (Hebrews 3:8-19). Read in this light, we see how Peter is tempted to harden his heart against Jesus’ words about his upcoming suffering and death in Jerusalem as the Messiah. Peter has to learn that it is through suffering that Jesus will open the gates to heavenly glory.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am humbled as I contemplate how you established the New Covenant through the shedding of your blood and your death on the Cross. You are the eternal high priest, ever faithful and ever merciful! Teach me to live as you did and be a faithful and merciful servant of the Kingdom.
Thursday 18th Week in Ordinary
Imagine the agony of the mother in this Gospel passage. Imagine the near-physical pain she felt in the depths of her heart. However, her love nourished her hope and propelled her to seek out Christ. When those we love suffer, we need the same wisdom to seek the Lord. \
"Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Faith and humility move Christ’s heart. How easily we adopt a spoiled-child mentality, believing that we deserve more. “The earth doesn’t owe you a living,” a sage once said. “It was here before you.” we will much happier when we acknowledge our littleness and unworthiness, when we recognize our status as creatures of God who gives us life, breath and every beat of our heart. All we possess is a gift of his creative love. We will very happy when we are grateful and let him know this a thousand times a day.
Bài đọc thứ nhất hôm nay cho chúng ta những điều mặc khải đẹp nhất về Thiên Chúa. Thiên Chúa muốn chúng ta thân thiện rất cá nhân với Ngài, Ngài là ai đối với chúng ta? Những sự liên hệ của chúng ta với Ngài sẽ phụ thuộc vào điều này. Có lẽ quan điểm của chúng ta về Thiên Chúa cũng giống như một khung cửa sổ, bất kể ánh sáng mặt trời chiếu vào khung cửa sổ đó ra sao, nhưng ánh sáng được chiếu vào trong căn phòng sẽ phụ thuộc vào kích thước của khung cửa sổ đó.
Qua bài Tin Mừng, nếu chúng ta trả lời theo cùng cách mà thánh Phêrô đã trả lời Chúa “Thầy là Đấng Kitô, Con của Thiên Chúa hằng sống,” điều này có nghĩa là chúng ta biết Ngài; với tất cả các giác quan của chúng ta, chúng ta cảm thấy sự hiện diện của Chúa. Qua bức thư gởi cho dân thành Roma có biết là nếu chúng ta thú nhận với đôi môi của mình và tin vào trái tim của chúng ta là Chúa Giêsu Kitô là Chúa, thì chúng ta sẽ được Chúa biến đổi. Ngài sẽ lần lượt nói với chúng ta là " anh thật là người có phúc, vì không phải phàm nhân mặc khải cho anh điều ấy, nhưng là Cha của Thầy, Đấng ngự trên trời."
Today's first reading is one of the most beautiful revelations of who our God is. Our God wants us to be very personal with Him. Who is He to us? Our dealings with Him will depend on this. Perhaps our view of God is like a window – no matter how brightly the sun shines outside, the light that is allowed to shine into the room will depend on the size of the window.
But if we answer in the same way Peter did, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," this means that we know him; with all our senses, we feel his presence. The letter to the Romans says that if we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we are changed by God. He in turn tells us "Blessed are you – for it is the Father that reveals this reality to you."
Let us wholeheartedly confess to Jesus that he is our Lord, his presence surrounds us, his Lordship encompasses us, his power overwhelms us, and we bow down and adore him. He is the Holy God. We are indeed transformed in His presence.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:22–23
What a shocking statement this must have been that was spoken by Jesus to Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus said. In the paragraph before this, Peter professed that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus in turn told Peter that he was Petros and on this petra He would build His Church. Petros is the Greek word for a movable rock and petra was an immovable solid rock foundation. Thus, Peter was told that he would be the stone, set upon a solid foundation, by which Jesus would build His Church. Jesus even went on to promise Peter that he would receive the keys to the Kingdom and that whatever he bound on earth would be bound in Heaven.
And then, one paragraph later, Jesus rebukes Peter for thinking “not as God” but as a human being.
Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter could not accept Jesus’ teaching about His coming passion and death. Jesus told Peter and the other disciples that He would soon suffer greatly, be rejected by the chief priest, the scribes and the elders, be killed and then rise on the third day. So Peter went from a profound proclamation of faith, to fear and a rejection of the divine plan of salvation. And for that reason, Jesus went from entrusting much authority to Peter to rebuking him for his weakness and fear.
Fear is often a paralyzing passion. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains that the passion of fear comes from a perceived future evil. Sorrow is the normal reaction to a present suffering such as the death of a loved one. But when the perceived suffering, or apparent evil, is something that has not yet come, then we often react with fear. When that fear is caused by something exterior and out of our control, it tempts us to feel shock, a sense of being overwhelmed and anxiety. In the case of Peter, the thought of Jesus suffering greatly, and being killed, was more than he was able to accept. So Peter says, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
Jesus’ rebuke of Peter was an act of true love. It was a way of shaking him free from the paralysis of fear. Jesus wanted Peter to think clearly and to face this future suffering with courage, acceptance, hope and faith. Courage provides strength. Acceptance cures anxiety. Hope produces joy. And faith is the remedy for all fear. These and other similar virtues were necessary if Peter and the other disciples were going to be able to endure the suffering and passion of Jesus. They needed to know that this perceived evil was going to be transformed by the Father in Heaven and used for the greatest good the world had ever known. They needed to know that Jesus “must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly…” It was the Father’s will. And because it was the Father’s will, the greatest good would come from the greatest evil because of God’s almighty power.
Reflect, today, upon that which causes you the most fear and anxiety in your life. When you look to the future, what is it that paralyzes you or at least tempts you to fear and worry? The truth is that any evil or suffering that you foresee has the potential to bring forth the greatest good in your life. Your natural human mind cannot discern this. We must strive to think as God, not as humans, as Jesus says. Try to look at anything that causes you anxiety through the eyes of God alone. Trust that, in faith, all can be used by God for good. Do not doubt but believe and God will begin to bestow upon you the many virtues you need to move forward with peace, courage and confidence.
My suffering Lord, You faced the evil You endured with the utmost courage and love. You never gave in to fear but pressed on, fulfilling the Father’s will. Give me the grace I need to share in Your strength so as to overcome all that tempts me to fear. I love You, my Lord. May I rely upon You for all things. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I contemplate today the wondrous confession of Simon Peter. I too unite my prayer to his confession: Jesus is the Messiah and your Son! I fully accept the path of redemptive suffering and dying to self. I will follow your Son wherever he leads me.
1. Three Blessings upon Peter: When Simon Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God, Jesus pronounces a threefold blessing upon Peter. Simon, the son of Jonah, is first blessed because he has received a revelation from the heavenly Father. Simon didn’t come to the conclusion that Jesus was the promised Messiah by another human being convincing him of it or telling him. It was a grace and revelation that Simon welcomed and did not hesitate to profess. The second blessing is that Simon will be the rock upon which Jesus will build his Church, and, what is more, the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Sometimes we hear this line and think that the powers of hell are bashing against the Church and will not prevail, but it is better to read the line as the gates of hell not being able to prevail against and withstand the Church, the mystical Body of Christ. The Rock will be strong to the degree he welcomes and collaborates with the grace of Christ. The third blessing given to Peter is that of the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a reference to the role of the prime minister in the Kingdom of David. The prime minister had the keys to the palace and could choose to let someone in or keep someone out. In like manner, Simon Peter and his successors have been granted a binding and loosing authority. They are commissioned and given authority to teach the people of God, to forgive the sins of the members of Christ’s body (to sanctify), and to govern the Church.
Imagine the agony of the mother in this Gospel passage. Imagine the near-physical pain she felt in the depths of her heart. However, her love nourished her hope and propelled her to seek out Christ. When those we love suffer, we need the same wisdom to seek the Lord. \
"Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Faith and humility move Christ’s heart. How easily we adopt a spoiled-child mentality, believing that we deserve more. “The earth doesn’t owe you a living,” a sage once said. “It was here before you.” we will much happier when we acknowledge our littleness and unworthiness, when we recognize our status as creatures of God who gives us life, breath and every beat of our heart. All we possess is a gift of his creative love. We will very happy when we are grateful and let him know this a thousand times a day.
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