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Hai Ngày 22 tháng 12, năm 2021 Matthêu 1:1-17
Qua đoạn trong Phúc Âm hôm nay, Thánh Matthêu cho chúng ta thấy nguồn gốc của xác thịt con người của Chúa Giêsu, để chứng minh rằng chúa Giêsu cũng là con người phàm xác thịt như chúng ta, cũng có cha, có mẹ, có ông bà tổ tiên. Phúc âm cũng cho chúng ta biết tầm quan trọng của nguồn gốc của con người, của gia đình. Cũng như Chúa Giêsu, cũng có một gia đình, có cha là Giuse và mẹ là Maria, môt gia đình luôn yêu thương và biết hy sinh cho nhau. Chúa Giêsu yêu thương quý trọng cha mẹ mình và là một tấm gương tốt sáng cho tất cả chúng ta biết rằng chúng ta cũng phải tôn trọng và vâng lời cha mẹ.
Qua phép rửa, tất cả chúng ta đã thuộc về gia đình của Thiên Chúa, Chúng ta đều là con cái Thiên Chúa, Thiên Chúa là Cha chúng ta ở trên trời, và có nhiều chỗ ở cho dành riêng cho chúng ta ở trên đó và Chúa Giêsu đã đi trước để chuẩn bị một nơi cho mỗi người chúng ta.
Giống như người con hoang đàng đã một lần sa ngã, lầm lỡ sống trong tội lỗi và đã xa lìa Thiên Chúa, chúng ta chỉ cần đến với Cha chúng ta ở trên trời với lòng ăn năn, sám hối, Ngài luôn luôn sẵn sàng chờ đợi và đón mừng khi chúng ta trở về với vòng tay rộng mở của ngài. Chúa đang mong chờ chúng ta trong bí tích Hòa giải, chúng ta đã sãn sàng đến và làm hòa với Chúa chưa? Nhất là trong những ngày mà chúng ta đang chuẩn bị đón mừng Chúa trong Giáng Sinh, làm người.
Meditation:
Facing death, Jacob called his sons together and blessed them.
For our reflections on the mystery of Christ, the blessing given to Judah, selected for today’s first reading, is the most significant as it includes Judah’s descendants, David and Jesus: “The sceptre shall not pass from Judah until he comes to whom it belongs.” That first of all refers to King David, but only as a symbol of the Messiah. The angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary reveals the true meaning of this blessing: “the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the house of Jacob and his reign will have no end.” (Lk 1:32-33). Matthew’s Gospel was designed in many ways to demonstrate that Jesus was truly the Messiah, since all the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled in him. Thus Matthew begins with a genealogy, demonstrating that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, through Jacob, Judah and David.
The Alleluia verse proclaims that God’s divine wisdom guides creation with power and love. The first reading and the Gospel, each in its own way, demonstrate that God guides human history to its fulfilment in Jesus with the same wisdom, power and love.
December 22, Advent
Weekday
Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior… He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” Luke 1:46; 52–53
The last two sentences quoted from our Blessed Mother’s song of praise give us much to ponder. She, who is the Mother of God and full of grace, rejoiced that God “cast the mighty down from their thrones” and “the rich he sent away empty.” It’s understandable that she rejoiced in God Who “has lifted up the lowly” and “has filled the hungry with good things,” but the first two statements might give us pause.
In this context, when people are “mighty” and “rich,” we must understand this to mean those who act in a self-sufficient way, not recognizing their need for God. This tendency is easy to fall into. It is especially tempting for those who are successful in life. Without a deep prayer life and awareness of God’s activity in our lives, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are in charge of our own destiny. When this happens, the most merciful thing God can do for us is to cast us down from our self-sufficient throne and send us away to experience the emptiness of our worldly riches.
The key to happiness in life is not attaining great power or riches. The key is found in humility, by which we recognize our absolute need for and dependence on God. Why? Because as the great Saint Augustine wrote in his book Confessions, “You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You, oh Lord.”
Would you be happier if you were rich or poor? Powerful or powerless? Famous or unknown? These questions cannot be answered because neither riches nor poverty, power nor powerlessness, fame nor obscurity have anything to do with true happiness. Though each person falling into any of these categories can find happiness, the categories themselves do not determine that happiness. True happiness comes by discovering God within one’s spiritual poverty and hunger.
When we perceive our souls correctly, we will understand Saint Augustine’s famous quote. We will realize that God alone fulfills us, and that doing His will enables us to become who we were created to be. When that discovery happens, we will hunger and thirst for God, and doing the will of God will become the all-consuming desire of our souls. Our God, in His great mercy and love for us, loves such a humble and hungry soul, lavishing spiritual riches upon it.
Reflect today on the intense interior fulfillment our Blessed Mother had. She did not live in a lavish castle with numerous servants. She was not the governor of her town, exercising great temporal power. But she was happy beyond what we can imagine because in her lowliness, humility, and hunger for God, she found perfect satisfaction. As you ponder her happiness, seek her intercession and strive to follow her example, no matter what temporal or worldly situation you find yourself in.
Dearest Mother Mary, you rejoiced and proclaimed God’s greatness, not because of any material or passing blessings God gave you but because of the spiritual richness you possessed within your soul. Please pray for me, that I will discover God’s presence in my life as the true source of fulfillment and will hunger for Him with every desire of my soul. Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
December 22, Advent
Weekday 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, my soul proclaims your greatness, and I rejoice in you as my Savior. You have looked upon me with your merciful gaze and done great things for me. You humble me when I am prideful and exalt me when I am poor in spirit. You have come to my aid and always remained faithful to your promises.
1. The Poor and Humble: As we continue to read in the Infancy Narrative in the Gospel of Luke and prepare ourselves for the Nativity of our Lord, we encounter Mary’s canticle, known as the Magnificat. It is a canticle that reveals the spirituality of the poor (the anawim), “those faithful who not only recognize themselves as ‘poor’ in the detachment from all idolatry of riches and power, but also in the profound humility of a heart emptied of the temptation to pride and open to the bursting in of the divine saving grace” (Benedict XVI, February 15, 2006). The soul of Mary’s canticle and prayer is the celebration of divine grace: She recognizes that the Lord God, the Almighty, has done great things for her. Her prayer manifests that she knows that she is not alone in her experience of God’s grace. She has a mission that God has entrusted to her and she is part of salvation history. She remains humble even while recognizing how she has been greatly blessed by God and how all generations will call her blessed. How can I model my prayer on Mary’s prayer of praise?
Qua đoạn trong Phúc Âm hôm nay, Thánh Matthêu cho chúng ta thấy nguồn gốc của xác thịt con người của Chúa Giêsu, để chứng minh rằng chúa Giêsu cũng là con người phàm xác thịt như chúng ta, cũng có cha, có mẹ, có ông bà tổ tiên. Phúc âm cũng cho chúng ta biết tầm quan trọng của nguồn gốc của con người, của gia đình. Cũng như Chúa Giêsu, cũng có một gia đình, có cha là Giuse và mẹ là Maria, môt gia đình luôn yêu thương và biết hy sinh cho nhau. Chúa Giêsu yêu thương quý trọng cha mẹ mình và là một tấm gương tốt sáng cho tất cả chúng ta biết rằng chúng ta cũng phải tôn trọng và vâng lời cha mẹ.
Qua phép rửa, tất cả chúng ta đã thuộc về gia đình của Thiên Chúa, Chúng ta đều là con cái Thiên Chúa, Thiên Chúa là Cha chúng ta ở trên trời, và có nhiều chỗ ở cho dành riêng cho chúng ta ở trên đó và Chúa Giêsu đã đi trước để chuẩn bị một nơi cho mỗi người chúng ta.
Giống như người con hoang đàng đã một lần sa ngã, lầm lỡ sống trong tội lỗi và đã xa lìa Thiên Chúa, chúng ta chỉ cần đến với Cha chúng ta ở trên trời với lòng ăn năn, sám hối, Ngài luôn luôn sẵn sàng chờ đợi và đón mừng khi chúng ta trở về với vòng tay rộng mở của ngài. Chúa đang mong chờ chúng ta trong bí tích Hòa giải, chúng ta đã sãn sàng đến và làm hòa với Chúa chưa? Nhất là trong những ngày mà chúng ta đang chuẩn bị đón mừng Chúa trong Giáng Sinh, làm người.
Facing death, Jacob called his sons together and blessed them.
For our reflections on the mystery of Christ, the blessing given to Judah, selected for today’s first reading, is the most significant as it includes Judah’s descendants, David and Jesus: “The sceptre shall not pass from Judah until he comes to whom it belongs.” That first of all refers to King David, but only as a symbol of the Messiah. The angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary reveals the true meaning of this blessing: “the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the house of Jacob and his reign will have no end.” (Lk 1:32-33). Matthew’s Gospel was designed in many ways to demonstrate that Jesus was truly the Messiah, since all the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled in him. Thus Matthew begins with a genealogy, demonstrating that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, through Jacob, Judah and David.
The Alleluia verse proclaims that God’s divine wisdom guides creation with power and love. The first reading and the Gospel, each in its own way, demonstrate that God guides human history to its fulfilment in Jesus with the same wisdom, power and love.
Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior… He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” Luke 1:46; 52–53
The last two sentences quoted from our Blessed Mother’s song of praise give us much to ponder. She, who is the Mother of God and full of grace, rejoiced that God “cast the mighty down from their thrones” and “the rich he sent away empty.” It’s understandable that she rejoiced in God Who “has lifted up the lowly” and “has filled the hungry with good things,” but the first two statements might give us pause.
In this context, when people are “mighty” and “rich,” we must understand this to mean those who act in a self-sufficient way, not recognizing their need for God. This tendency is easy to fall into. It is especially tempting for those who are successful in life. Without a deep prayer life and awareness of God’s activity in our lives, we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are in charge of our own destiny. When this happens, the most merciful thing God can do for us is to cast us down from our self-sufficient throne and send us away to experience the emptiness of our worldly riches.
The key to happiness in life is not attaining great power or riches. The key is found in humility, by which we recognize our absolute need for and dependence on God. Why? Because as the great Saint Augustine wrote in his book Confessions, “You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You, oh Lord.”
Would you be happier if you were rich or poor? Powerful or powerless? Famous or unknown? These questions cannot be answered because neither riches nor poverty, power nor powerlessness, fame nor obscurity have anything to do with true happiness. Though each person falling into any of these categories can find happiness, the categories themselves do not determine that happiness. True happiness comes by discovering God within one’s spiritual poverty and hunger.
When we perceive our souls correctly, we will understand Saint Augustine’s famous quote. We will realize that God alone fulfills us, and that doing His will enables us to become who we were created to be. When that discovery happens, we will hunger and thirst for God, and doing the will of God will become the all-consuming desire of our souls. Our God, in His great mercy and love for us, loves such a humble and hungry soul, lavishing spiritual riches upon it.
Reflect today on the intense interior fulfillment our Blessed Mother had. She did not live in a lavish castle with numerous servants. She was not the governor of her town, exercising great temporal power. But she was happy beyond what we can imagine because in her lowliness, humility, and hunger for God, she found perfect satisfaction. As you ponder her happiness, seek her intercession and strive to follow her example, no matter what temporal or worldly situation you find yourself in.
Dearest Mother Mary, you rejoiced and proclaimed God’s greatness, not because of any material or passing blessings God gave you but because of the spiritual richness you possessed within your soul. Please pray for me, that I will discover God’s presence in my life as the true source of fulfillment and will hunger for Him with every desire of my soul. Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, my soul proclaims your greatness, and I rejoice in you as my Savior. You have looked upon me with your merciful gaze and done great things for me. You humble me when I am prideful and exalt me when I am poor in spirit. You have come to my aid and always remained faithful to your promises.
1. The Poor and Humble: As we continue to read in the Infancy Narrative in the Gospel of Luke and prepare ourselves for the Nativity of our Lord, we encounter Mary’s canticle, known as the Magnificat. It is a canticle that reveals the spirituality of the poor (the anawim), “those faithful who not only recognize themselves as ‘poor’ in the detachment from all idolatry of riches and power, but also in the profound humility of a heart emptied of the temptation to pride and open to the bursting in of the divine saving grace” (Benedict XVI, February 15, 2006). The soul of Mary’s canticle and prayer is the celebration of divine grace: She recognizes that the Lord God, the Almighty, has done great things for her. Her prayer manifests that she knows that she is not alone in her experience of God’s grace. She has a mission that God has entrusted to her and she is part of salvation history. She remains humble even while recognizing how she has been greatly blessed by God and how all generations will call her blessed. How can I model my prayer on Mary’s prayer of praise?
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