Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay (John 4:43-54)
Qua bài Tim Mừng hôm nay chúng ta thấy Viên quan chức của hoàng gia tìm đến với Chúa Giêsu để xin Ngài cứu chữa đưá con trai sắp chết của mình. Ông nhún nhặn, khiêm hạ trước Chúa Giêsu, Mặc dù Chúa đã thứ thách ông ta với những câu hỏi như những sự chỉ trích của người Do thái là ông ta đi tìm kiếm niến tin qua những dấu lạ và những kỳ diệu mà Chúa đã thữc hiện/,  Nhưng viên quan chức hoàng gia vẫn một mực khiên tốn, kiên quyết đến xin Chúa Giêsu với một tin tưởng trong sự khiêm nhu. "ông hãy về đi, con ông sẽ sống". Không lời chấn vấn, không một sự nghi ngờ,  Nghe lời Chúa ông ta ra về với niềm tin hoàn toàn phó thác nơi Chúa và với đức tin đó dủ chỉ một lời nói suông thôi mà ông đã vui mừng khi nhìn thấy người con của ông đã được cứu sống.
            Ngày hôm nay, chúng ta cầu nguyện với Cha của chúng ta ở trên trời nhân danh Chúa Giêsu Kitô ta để cầu xin cho những ước muốn của chúng ta có thể được thành tựu. Có lẽ chúng ta không thể đạt được những ước muốn hay kỳ vọng đó là vì chúng ta thiếu sự khiêm tốn, tin tưởng  và quyết tâm. Chúng ta có thể không giống như viên quan chức của hoàng gia, đã quên cái TÔI , cái tự cao, tự đại của chúng ta trước Chúa Giêsu. Vì thể để lời cầu xin của chúng ta được Chúa nhân lời, chúng ta phải học hỏi  nơi viên quan chức đó để có một nhân đức khiêm tốn, thành thật và phảo có một Đức tin đơn sơ như em bé,  nhưng dũng cảm trong Chúa. Chúng ta nên biết siêng năng cầu nguyện để biết sẵn sàng để chấp nhận và tuân theo bất cứ những gì mà Thiên Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta.
            Mùa Chay nhắc nhở chúng ta phải biết ăn năn, thống hối và tránh xa tội lỗi để chúng ta có thể nhận được vinh quang của Chúa Kitô phục sinh. Trong lời cầu nguyện hàng ngày của chúng ta, chúng ta không nên cầu xin Chúa cho chúng ta những gì mà chúng ta đã có; chúng ta hãy xin cho chúng ta có được một trái tim đầy sức mạnh, sự hiểu biết và kính sợ Chúa, để chúng ta có thể trở thành con cái Thiên Chúa và làm hài lòng Ngài trong Thành Thánh Jerusalem mới (Is 65:18).
 Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con củng cố đức tin của chúng con trong Ngôi Lời của Thiên Chúa.
 
Monday after 4th Sunday of Lent (A)
The royal official sought help from Jesus to heal his son, who was near death. He meekly went to see Jesus himself. Though apparently criticized as looking for signs and wonders without faith, the royal official resolutely petitioned Jesus without showing any trace of being offended. He left without a word. His faith in the Lord fulfilled his call. 
            Today, we pray to our heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ expecting our wishes can be fulfilled. It is perhaps this expectation that we lack the humbleness and determination, as seen from the royal official, of letting go our own ego before Jesus. The childlike and stout-hearted faith in the Lord is something we must learn from him. We should pray to accept and follow whatsoever is conferred on us by the Lord.
            Lent reminds us to repent, and to stay away from sinning in order to receive the glorification of the risen Christ. In our everyday prayer we should not ask for that which we already possess; let us ask for a heart full  of strength, of understanding and of fear of the Lord, so that we may become the children of God who delight him in the new Jerusalem (Is 65:18).       
 Lord, help me to strengthen my faith in the Word.
 
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. John 4:48–50
What is the most precious gift our Lord could give to you? If your spouse, child, or close friend were gravely ill, would a miracle be the gift you sought? If your financial situation were dire, would you ask for monetary assistance? If you were suffering from a chronic disease, would your prayer be for a cure?
Though we should entrust these situations to God’s grace, it’s important to understand that the gift of faith far surpasses any immediate miracle, assistance, or relief we might seek. Faith is a most precious gift because it enables us to turn away from our limited assessment of earthly situations and be open to God’s wisdom, which far surpasses anything we could conceive of by ourselves.
Though Jesus performed many miracles, He regularly challenged those whose faith was based on their desire for signs and wonders. In today’s Gospel, a royal official, likely of high rank, traveled from Capernaum to Cana, about twenty miles, because his child was dying. His journey illustrates faith in Jesus’ divine authority, but his faith was imperfect—he believed Jesus had to be physically present to heal his son. Jesus heals the child from a distance, but He also challenges the official and the crowd: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” Jesus desires a faith that trusts in His word, not one that depends on visible signs.
When we pray with a litany of requests, God in His mercy hears us. Sometimes He grants them, and sometimes He doesn’t. But He wants us to know that such prayers are not the ideal. God already knows our needs better than we do. He knows our struggles within family, finances, health, and every other detail of our lives.
The ideal prayer is one of adoration and trust. It’s a prayer that surrenders everything to God without dictating the outcome. It trusts God’s wisdom more than our own, enabling us to rest in His loving care, unburdened by our difficulties.
The royal official’s faith grew when he believed Jesus’ word without needing Him to be physically present. This is evident when he learned that his son was healed at the exact time Jesus said, “Your son will live.” The official’s faith was deepened, and his whole household came to believe. This shows how true faith, once rooted in trust, grows and spreads to others.
If this man’s faith had not matured, it could have been lost if another crisis arose and no miracle followed. A deeper faith rests in God’s will, whether or not another miracle occurs. The same is true for us. Our faith must not depend on God’s answer to our prayers. If He allows suffering, we must trust Him. If He heals, we must trust Him. Our faith must remain strong, rooted in Who God is, not in what He does.
Reflect today on the depth of your faith and how it shapes your prayers. Believe, worship God for who He is, love Him above all else, and trust His perfect will. Then entrust yourself and your loved ones to His providence, believing that God knows what is best.
My miraculous Lord, You are all-powerful and capable of anything You will. Please grant me a depth of faith that enables me to trust You more than I trust myself. May I always believe in You and worship You, not because of the favors You do for me, but because of Who You are. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I contemplate today the works and signs your Son accomplished during his public ministry. They are invitations to faith in you and in your Son and in your Holy Spirit. Deepen my faith so that I may truly act as a faithful believer.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Second Sign in John’s Gospel: For the next two weeks leading up to Holy Week, our Gospel will be taken from the first half of the Gospel of John. This half, which highlights six miraculous works of Jesus, has been called the “Book of Signs.” The first sign was the changing of water into wine at the Wedding of Cana. The second sign, narrated in today’s Gospel, also happened in Cana in Galilee. In this sign, Jesus cured the son of a royal official from a deadly illness. The royal official traveled from Capernaum to Cana, about 20 to 25 miles, to ask Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son. Jesus challenged the official to believe in him even before seeing him work the sign. Jesus pointed out how many people only believe after seeing signs and wonders. The royal official reiterated his faith and trust in Jesus and did not have to see the sign in order to believe: “The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.” Later, on his way back to Capernaum, the official learned that his son was cured the very moment Jesus spoke the words: “Your son will live.” This is an important lesson for us about faith. Faith should not be seen primarily as our response to God miraculously working in our lives. Faith is first of all a gift from God and is our response to God who reveals himself to us and invites us into communion with him (CCC, 142-143). Faith is our personal adherence to God (CCC, 150). Those who believe without seeing are blessed (John 20:29).
2. The Sacrament of Anointing: The signs in the Gospel of John all look forward, in different ways, to the seven Sacraments of the Church, which are defined as “efficacious signs of grace” (see CCC, 774, 1131). The first sign in John’s Gospel – changing water into wine at the wedding of Cana – points forward to the Sacrament of Marriage, where a man and a woman are brought to share in the love between Christ and his bride, and to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where wine becomes the blood of Jesus. The second sign – healing the official’s son – points to the Sacrament of Anointing. The official’s son is near death, and so the man seeks out Jesus. If we read the story of the sign in the light of the Letter of James, we see how, in the age of the Church, there is a priestly ministry for the sick: “Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the priests of the Church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15). “The Sacrament of Anointing aims to unleash this same power of Jesus for the healing of a person’s soul and body” (Bergsma, New Testament Basics for Catholics, 229).
3. Healing in Christ: Jesus is the “Christ,” which means “the anointed one.” We are “anointed ones” through our union with Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Sacrament of Anointing is not to be understood simply in terms of healing, but as effecting conformity to the crucified and risen Christ (Barber, The Bible and the Anointing of the Sick, 214). The proper recipients of the Sacrament of Anointing are those whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age. The anointing with oil sacramentally effects what it signifies. James 5 explains that the anointed sick person will be “raised up” (James 5:25). Like Jesus, the anointed sick person’s sufferings will give way to a state of being “raised up.” The sick person, in their suffering, is conformed to Christ in hope. Their sins are forgiven. And, thus, Anointing has both physical and spiritual effects (see Barber, The Bible and the Anointing of the Sick, 230). As a sacrament of healing, Anointing is not just healing from sin but also effects true healing by making the recipient what Christ is. “[I]f true healing is being conformed to Christ, this healing can also be understood in terms of sharing in his royal, priestly, and prophetic identity” (Barber, The Bible and the Anointing of the Sick, 232). The Sacrament of Anointing, therefore, brings to consummation the baptized’s vocation: “The sacrament brings spiritual healing from sin, and in this believers share in Christ’s reign over sin and its aftereffects. This can possibly include physical healing since sin and sickness are understood to be among the consequences of sin. The sacrament also enables the sick to offer his or her suffering in union with Christ’s, thus fulfilling his or her call to present oneself as a ‘living sacrifice … acceptable to God’ (Rom 12:1). In this, believers exercise a share in Christ’s priesthood. Finally, the sacrament enables the sick, by faithfully enduring their suffering, to share in Christ’s prophetic witness. In these ways, the sacrament brings about a deeper conformity of the believer to Christ, finding true healing in him” (Barber, The Bible and the Anointing of the Sick, 232). 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you gave your Church the wondrous gifts of the Sacraments. These are the greater works that your disciples throughout the centuries would accomplish. Help me experience the power of your Sacraments and partake of the Sacrament of the Eucharist often and the Sacrament of Reconciliation as needed.
 
Suy Niệm Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 4 Mùa Chay (John 4:43-54)
            Đức tin là một hành động mà chúng ta hoàn toàn tin tưởng và giao phó bản thân mình cho Thiên Chúa một cách tự do vì Ngài yêu thương chúng ta. Ngày nay, kiến thức khoa học có tân tiến và tối tân nhưng vẫn chưa đủ khả năng riêng chính nó. Chúng ta không chỉ cần thức ăn phần xác, nhưng chúng ta cần tình yêu, ý nghĩa và hy vọng. Đức tin cho chúng ta chính xác điều này: nó là một uỷ thác tự tin để một "Bạn", là người Thiên Chúa, Đấng mang lại cho tôi một sự chắc chắn khác nhau, nhưng không kém phần rắn hơn mà xuất phát từ tính toán chính xác hoặc từ khoa học.
            Đức tin không phải là một sự thừa nhận trí tuệ đơn thuần của con người với sự thật cụ thể về Thiên Chúa, đó là một hành động mà tôi giao phó bản thân mình một cách tự do để một Thiên Chúa là Cha và những người yêu thương tôi, đó là tuân thủ một "Bạn" người mang lại cho tôi hy vọng và tin tưởng.
            Thiên Chúa đã tiết lộ rằng tình yêu của mình cho con người, cho mỗi người chúng ta, là vô biên: trên thập giá, Chúa Giêsu Nazareth, Con Thiên Chúa làm người, cho chúng ta thấy một cách rõ ràng nhất có thể cách xa tình yêu này đạt, thậm chí đến món quà của mình, thậm chí đến sự hy sinh tột.
 
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent 2021
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” John 4:46–48
Jesus did end up healing the royal official’s son. And when the royal official returned to discover his son healed, we are told that “he and his whole household came to believe.” Some came to believe in Jesus only after He performed miracles. There are two lessons we should take from this.
First of all, the fact that Jesus performed miracles is a testimony to Who He is. He is a God of abundant mercy. As God, Jesus could have expected faith from those to whom He ministered without offering them the “proof” of signs and wonders. This is because true faith is not based upon external evidence, such as seeing miracles; rather, authentic faith is based upon an interior revelation from God by which He communicates His very self to us and we believe. Therefore, the fact that Jesus did signs and wonders shows just how merciful He is. He offered these miracles not because anyone deserved them, but simply because of His abundant generosity to help spark faith in the lives of those who found it hard to believe through the interior gift of faith alone.
With that said, it’s important to understand that we should work to develop our faith without relying upon external signs. Imagine, for example, if Jesus would have never performed any miracles. How many would have come to believe in Him? Perhaps very few. But there would have been some who came to believe, and those who did would have had a faith that was exceptionally deep and authentic. Imagine, for example, if this royal official did not receive a miracle for his son but, nonetheless, chose to believe in Jesus anyway through the transforming interior gift of faith.
In each one of our lives, it is essential that we work to develop our faith, even if God doesn’t seem to act in powerful and evident ways. In fact, the deepest form of faith is born in our lives when we choose to love God and serve Him, even when things are very difficult. Faith in the midst of difficulty is a sign of very authentic faith.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of your own faith. When life is hard, do you love God and serve Him anyway? Even if He doesn’t remove the crosses you carry? Seek to have true faith at all times and in every circumstance and you will be amazed at how real and sustaining your faith becomes.
My merciful Jesus, Your love for us is beyond what we will ever fathom. Your generosity is truly great. Help me to believe in You and to embrace Your holy will both in good times and in difficult ones. Help me, especially, to be open to the gift of faith, even when Your presence and action in my life seems silent. May those moments, dear Lord, be moments of true interior transformation and grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent, March 15, 2021
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” John 4:46–48
Jesus did end up healing the royal official’s son. And when the royal official returned to discover his son healed, we are told that “he and his whole household came to believe.” Some came to believe in Jesus only after He performed miracles. There are two lessons we should take from this.
First of all, the fact that Jesus performed miracles is a testimony to Who He is. He is a God of abundant mercy. As God, Jesus could have expected faith from those to whom He ministered without offering them the “proof” of signs and wonders. This is because true faith is not based upon external evidence, such as seeing miracles; rather, authentic faith is based upon an interior revelation from God by which He communicates His very self to us and we believe. Therefore, the fact that Jesus did signs and wonders shows just how merciful He is. He offered these miracles not because anyone deserved them, but simply because of His abundant generosity to help spark faith in the lives of those who found it hard to believe through the interior gift of faith alone.
With that said, it’s important to understand that we should work to develop our faith without relying upon external signs. Imagine, for example, if Jesus would have never performed any miracles. How many would have come to believe in Him? Perhaps very few. But there would have been some who came to believe, and those who did would have had a faith that was exceptionally deep and authentic. Imagine, for example, if this royal official did not receive a miracle for his son but, nonetheless, chose to believe in Jesus anyway through the transforming interior gift of faith.
In each one of our lives, it is essential that we work to develop our faith, even if God doesn’t seem to act in powerful and evident ways. In fact, the deepest form of faith is born in our lives when we choose to love God and serve Him, even when things are very difficult. Faith in the midst of difficulty is a sign of very authentic faith.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of your own faith. When life is hard, do you love God and serve Him anyway? Even if He doesn’t remove the crosses you carry? Seek to have true faith at all times and in every circumstance and you will be amazed at how real and sustaining your faith becomes.
My merciful Jesus, Your love for us is beyond what we will ever fathom. Your generosity is truly great. Help me to believe in You and to embrace Your holy will both in good times and in difficult ones. Help me, especially, to be open to the gift of faith, even when Your presence and action in my life seems silent. May those moments, dear Lord, be moments of true interior transformation and grace. Jesus, I trust in You.