Suy Niệm bài đọc Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 28 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm bài đọc Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 28 Thường Niên
    Trong bài đọc thứ Nhất hôm nay, Thánh Phaolô nhắc nhở Giáo Đoàn Rôma rằng họ được cứu bởi vì họ có niềm tin vào Chúa Kitô và Tin Mừng. Thánh Phao lô cũng nói rằng chúng ta biết được Thiên Chúa là do bởi những công trình mà Chúa đã tạo ra trong thế giớ và trong cuộc sống của chúng ta..
      Trong bài Tin Mừnh, Chúa Giêsu đã khiển trách những người Pharisêu vì lòng đạo đức giả của họ, họ thờ phượng Thiên Cha bằng môi miệng trong nhiều quy tắc: họ có hàng đống luật lệ như nhỡng toa thuốc vô tận về sự thanh tẩy và sự sạch sẽ của họ với những nghi thức bề ngoài như việc chuẩn bị thức ăn và cách ăn uống. Tuy nhiên, lòng của họ thì "đầy tham lam và ác độc."
Điều quan trọng thực sự  chính là những gì chúng ta đang làm bằng tất cả trái tim, lòng nhiệt huyết và  cuộc sống của chúng ta.
      Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con hiểu biết về Chúa nhiều ơn thêm và có ược tấm lòng  quảng ại và từ bi. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con lạy Chúa,  đừng bao giờ để con đi  tìm lỗi của người khác nhưng giúp chúng biết yêu thương lại. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết thông cảm và không xét đoán người khác trong động cơ và hành động của họ. Xin Chúa dạy chúng con biết khiêm tốn và rộng lượng.
 
Tuesday 28th Ordinary Time: 
     In the first reading Paul reminds the Church in Rome that they are saved by their belief in Christ and the Good News. Paul also says that we know God from his works, the world he had created..
     In the Gospel reading Jesus reprimands the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in their many rules: they have endless prescriptions about ritual purity and cleanliness, about preparing food and eating. Yet they are "full of greed and evil." What is truly important is what we are in our hearts and inmost being.
     Lord, help me to become more understanding and compassionate. Help me, Lord, not to be a fault-finder but a loving person instead. Help me to be discerning and yet not judgmental of others in their motives and actions. Teach me to be humble and generous.
 
Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time 2026
After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. Luke 11:37–38
Did Jesus break the Law of Moses by failing to observe the prescribed ritual handwashing before sitting down to eat? He did not. This ceremonial washing was not a precept of the Mosaic Law but rather a tradition developed by the elders. It was intended to signify ritual purity before meals. But Jesus rejected it because it had become a superficial religiosity that separated outward actions from inward holiness.
The Pharisee’s amazement reveals how distorted his and others’ sense of holiness had become at that time. Their faith had become focused on external practices while blind to interior decay. In dismissing the handwashing, Jesus may have been exposing the foolishness of those who cling to appearances while neglecting the heart.
As the passage continues, the Pharisee either expressed his amazement outwardly or Jesus perceived his heart and responded with a passionate rebuke, making for an uncomfortable moment: “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools!”
The word translated as “fools” means “without reason,” “without understanding,” or “lacking moral and spiritual discernment.” It is not used here as an insult but as a prophetic indictment revealing the irrationality of the Pharisees’ priorities in giving excessive significance to an external act while neglecting the interior life.
Though we no longer observe this particular ritual handwashing—likely because of Jesus’ correction—His teaching remains relevant. Many outward religious actions are part of our Catholic devotional life: making the Sign of the Cross, genuflecting, using holy water, kissing a blessed object, and more. Each of these is good and important. However, in light of Jesus’ words, we must continually examine whether our external expressions of faith are joined to sincere interior devotion.
For example, the Sign of the Cross is meaningful only if it is made prayerfully, acknowledging the Holy Trinity. Genuflecting before the tabernacle is a true act of reverence, but it loses its significance if done out of habit or distraction and without an interior acknowledgment of Christ’s Real Presence.
The same principle applies to our interactions with others. Imagine a situation in which you’ve offended a family member and, to avoid conflict, you quickly say, “Oops, I’m sorry.” While the words may be correct, the act is hollow unless it flows from true humility—recognizing the wrong committed, feeling sorrow for it, and sincerely asking for forgiveness.
Jesus’ passionate response to the Pharisee shows us that the unity of our interior and exterior actions is not optional—it is essential. God, who made both body and soul, desires worship that is whole, integrated, and sincere. Holiness is not a mask we wear but a transformation of the heart that radiates outward in word and deed.
Reflect today on the unity between your outward expressions of faith and the inner disposition of your heart. Ask yourself whether your devotional practices, gestures of reverence, and even your interactions with others arise from a heart purified by grace and animated by love. Let this Gospel passage remind you that God sees not only the “outside of the cup” but especially its interior. Strive to ensure that what God sees within you is pleasing to Him—marked by integrity, sincerity, and holiness of life. When the heart is cleansed by truth and charity, every outward act becomes a true offering of worship.
Most charitable Lord, every action You performed flowed from the depths of Your divine love. Never was there an act of devotion that lacked sincerity or truth. Form my heart after Your own Sacred Heart. Strengthen within me a life of authentic devotion and deep love for others. May all that I do outwardly be a true expression of my inner communion with You, radiating Your love through my words and deeds. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time 2026
Opening Prayer: Lord God, deliver me from the foolishness of seeking holiness only in outward appearances. Purify my heart by your grace and teach me to recognize you in those who need my love. May my faith never remain merely external, but transform my thoughts, desires, words, and actions so that I may grow in holiness through charity.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Shocking the Pharisees: The Pharisee in today’s Gospel was shocked that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. His surprise reveals how easily religious observance can become separated from the holiness it is meant to express. Jesus takes this opportunity to teach that true purity is not merely a matter of what happens on the outside. God is concerned with the heart. Jesus does not deny the importance of holiness. Rather, he reveals where holiness must begin. The same God who made the outside of the cup also made the inside. External observances have value only when they correspond to an interior disposition of love and obedience. A person can appear religious while harboring selfishness, greed, or evil within. Jesus therefore calls the Pharisee to something deeper than ritual cleanliness. He calls him to conversion of heart.
2. Holiness through Separation: The Pharisees were deeply concerned with maintaining ritual and moral purity. Their desire for holiness was not entirely misguided. The Old Testament itself taught Israel to distinguish between what was clean and unclean and called God’s people to be holy because God is holy. The problem arose when external purity became the primary measure of righteousness. The Pharisees looked to the holiness required of priests in the Temple as a model for the entire Jewish people. As the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible explains, “They looked to the Temple and priests of Jerusalem, considering the elaborate purity requirements for priests (Leviticus 21-22) a fitting model for Jewish purity in the homes of laypeople. All Israelites, the Pharisees reasoned, should maintain this high level of priestlike holiness in their personal lives” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1792). Yet Jesus is inaugurating the New Covenant, in which holiness will no longer be understood primarily as separation from external sources of ritual impurity. The holiness he brings is directed toward the transformation of the human heart. The true danger is not what enters us from the outside but the evil that proceeds from within. Jesus himself is the fulfillment of Israel’s holiness and priesthood. He does not become unclean by drawing near to sinners and those in need. Instead, his holiness transforms and restores them. He brings God’s holiness into the midst of human brokenness.
3. Holiness through Charity: Jesus gives the Pharisee a startling remedy: “But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” Almsgiving is not a substitute for repentance or God’s grace. Rather, it is a concrete expression of a heart that has been converted from selfishness to love. The Old Testament already connected generosity to the cleansing of sin. Tobit teaches that “almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin” (Tobit 12:9), while Sirach says that “alms atone for sins” (Sirach 3:29). Jesus draws upon this tradition to show that true purity cannot be separated from charity. The contrast is profound. Ritual washing cleanses the outside, but charity begins to cleanse the inside because it confronts one of the deepest sources of our impurity: self-centeredness. When we give generously to someone in need, we turn away from ourselves and toward another person created in God's image. We learn to use our possessions, abilities, time, and opportunities not simply for ourselves but for the good of others. This is why charity is such a powerful expression of holiness. The Christian life is not about appearing holy while remaining unchanged within. It is about allowing God’s grace to transform the heart so completely that his love begins to flow through everything we do. Jesus therefore calls us beyond an external religion that can leave the heart untouched. He calls us to the holiness of love – a holiness that receives God’s mercy and then gives itself generously to others.
 
Tuesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools!”  Luke 11:37–40
It’s hard to imagine Jesus calling someone a fool. But that’s exactly what He did. This Pharisee had just finished listening to Jesus give a series of teachings and then invited our Lord to His home for dinner in an apparent gesture of kindness. But as the passage unfolds, it’s clear that this Pharisee is no friend of Jesus. Instead, his hospitality and kindness are a cloak for the evil within his soul.
Why does Jesus respond so fiercely, calling the Pharisee a fool? Because this Pharisee is filled with hypocrisy. His exterior actions do not flow from a heart filled with charity and faith. Instead, his exterior actions are a show. He is a fraud. He, like many of the Pharisees, was very concerned with various external rituals, such as scrupulously washing his hands before he ate. He believed that doing so was a sign of his holiness and closeness to God. But it wasn’t. His heart was one that was filled with judgment and self-righteousness. He looked down on others and elevated himself. In doing so, he deceived others and even deceived himself.
The central message we must take from this is that we must diligently focus upon that which is in our hearts. Our hearts, our interior life, must be blooming with love of God and others. We must place all of our efforts on cultivating a sincere life of virtue within. This is done by prayer and humility. Humility will open our eyes to see the truth of who we are. Prayer will strengthen us to change as we see that which needs to be changed within. Only then, when we see clearly the truth of who we are and prayerfully rely upon grace obtained by prayer, will we be able to become people of true integrity and holiness. And only then will our interior holiness be made manifest externally in our actions.
Reflect, today, upon these powerful words of Jesus: “You fools!” Don’t be offended by these words; they are words of love from our Lord. They are His fierce attempt to wake this Pharisee up and lead him away from his hypocrisy. Listen to these words as if they were also spoken to you. Every one of us can humbly benefit from this loving chastisement from Jesus. Every one of us needs to humbly be transformed more fully interiorly. Let Jesus’ words speak to you and reveal to you the ways that you need to change. Perhaps your pride has led you to an interior practice of judgment of others. Perhaps it has blinded you to sins that you need to confess. If you can listen to these words as if they were spoken to you, then Jesus’ fervor will reach you, and your eyes will be opened to that which is in your soul that needs to be changed. Do not turn a blind eye to this. Be open, be humble and listen.
My fervent Lord, You spoke words of love in many ways. At times You were gentle and at times You were firm. Please give me the grace and humility I need to be open to Your firm rebukes of love. Help me to sincerely see the ways in which I need to change my life so that Your grace will transform my interior life, flowing over into my actions. I love You, dear Lord. Help me to love You more. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday 28th Ordinary Time:  2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, do not let me follow the way of foolishness that leads to death and separation from you. Do not let me be a hypocrite. I pray that I may grow in true holiness through the gift of your grace and truly serve my brothers and sisters in need.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Give Alms and Everything Will Be Clean: Jesus’ teaching about almsgiving in the Gospel is rooted in the Old Testament. The Book of Tobit teaches: “almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin” (Tobit 12:9). This is echoed in the Book of Sirach, which says: “alms atone for sins” (Sirach 3:29). Jesus was dining at a Pharisee’s home and needed to correct the Pharisee’s understanding of being pure and clean. Almsgiving cleanses inner defilement and accomplishes what ritual washings cannot (see Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 333). This was an important teaching because the Pharisees were so influential in Jesus’ day. The religious program of the Pharisees was actually at odds with Jesus’s inauguration of the New Covenant. The Pharisees thought that they could be faithful to God by separating themselves from all Gentile impurity and defilement. They thought that this would lead to God intervening and saving them from Roman oppression. “They looked to the Temple and priests of Jerusalem, considering the elaborate purity requirements for priests (Leviticus 21-22) a fitting model for Jewish purity in the homes of laypeople. All Israelites, the Pharisees reasoned, should maintain this high level of priestlike holiness in their personal lives” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1792). The Pharisee in today’s Gospel was shocked that Jesus didn’t follow the prescribed washings. He showed that he was oblivious to the real holiness, innocent purity, and high priesthood of Jesus. And Jesus takes the opportunity to correct the Pharisee and teach that it is not through ceremonial washings that one becomes pure and holy, but through giving oneself to others in charity.
2. The Gospel according to Paul: In the First Reading, Paul proclaims that he was not embarrassed to spread the Gospel. He wants the whole world – Jews and Gentiles – to come to know the saving message of Jesus Christ. “At the heart of Paul’s letter to the Romans is the gospel, the good news of salvation that was ‘promised beforehand’ (Romans 1:2). The people of Israel have longed to hear this good news. For Paul, the gospel is the culmination of God’s promises to Abraham and David: God has fulfilled these promises through Jesus” (Swafford and Cavins, Romans: The Gospel of Salvation, 9). Unlike what Martin Luther thought, the Jewish people did not believe in works-righteousness, i.e., that their obedience to the Law of Moses earned them the right to salvation. Instead, Judaism “firmly believed that the election of the Jews was an unmerited blessing from God (see Deuteronomy 9:4-7). Obedience to the law was the free response to God’s invitation to holiness. The initiative for salvation came squarely from the side of God, not the Jews themselves. By saying that the Jews have already been under the obedience of faith, Paul shows that the key for the Jews’ membership in the covenant was the faith in God expressed through obedience to his law. Jesus Christ perfectly embodied this obedience of faith and thus fulfilled the law. It is by faith in him that both Jews and Gentiles now receive the unmerited gift of justification” (Dauphinais and Levering, Holy People, Holy Land, 195).
3. One Way of Salvation: The way to righteousness and salvation – the obedience of faith in Jesus Christ – is the same for both Jews and Gentiles. There are not two separate paths of salvation, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles, but only one path. We are made righteous “through faith for faith.” We are initially brought into a right relationship with God through faith. This is an unmerited gift. Even our act of faith and trust in God begins in God, who moves our hearts to faith. And our initial faith is called to grow and develop over time. Our Christian faith needs to flourish in love. Paul envisions that the Christian life begins in faith and advances by faith. This is not a completely new teaching, but one rooted and hidden, so to speak, in the Old Testament. And here, Paul cites the prophet Habakkuk, who taught: “The one who is righteous by faith will live” (Habakkuk 2:4). What Paul will argue next is that both Gentiles and Jews are in the same situation of sin. The Gentiles were able to discern God’s existence through creation and were obliged to follow the natural law written on their heart. But instead of worshipping the Creator of all things, they worshipped false gods and creatures. Instead of living a moral life, they fell into impurity and lust: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator” (Romans 1:25).
 
Tuesday 28th Ordinary Time:  2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, do not let me follow the way of foolishness that leads to death and separation from you. Do not let me be a hypocrite. I pray that I may grow in true holiness through the gift of your grace and truly serve my brothers and sisters in need.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Tradition of Washing Before a Meal: On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus accepted the invitation of a Pharisee to dine at his home. The Pharisee, Luke tells us, was amazed that Jesus did not observe the prescribed washing before a meal. This washing was not something commanded in the Law of Moses but was a tradition that was observed by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day. What the Law of Moses actually prescribed was that priests needed to wash their hands and feet before offering a sacrifice (Exodus 30:17-21). The priests also needed to wash before eating their share of the sacrifice (Numbers 18:11-13). These rules for the priests, however, were extended to all meals by the tradition of the Pharisees, who wanted every meal to be a religious act and a symbol of Jewish identity.
2. Clean Outside and Dirty Inside: Jesus takes the opportunity to reveal the foolishness of the Pharisees. They were meticulous in observing their traditions, but their hearts were far from God. They cleaned the exterior of their dishes and cups, but interiorly, they were filled with evil. Jesus teaches that, instead of being filled with plunder and unrighteous wealth, the Pharisees ought to be detached from earthly treasure, give alms to the poor, and be clean interiorly. All three things are important. It is good to give alms and follow God’s precepts, but only when we are filled and empowered with God’s grace and virtue are those good actions meritorious for salvation and eternal life.
3. Faith Working through Love: In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul compares the Old Law of Moses to a yoke of slavery. This slavery is opposed to the freedom that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout his letter, Paul argued that accepting the yoke of the Law of Moses as a requirement for salvation is to reject Christ as the sole foundation of our redemption and spiritual life (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 339). Paul also teaches that faith alone is insufficient to justify the sinner. Our faith in Jesus Christ needs to work through and flourish in grace-empowered works of charity and love. If our faith does not manifest itself and bear fruit in merciful love, then it is a dead faith that cannot justify or save us or keep us in a right relationship with God.
 
Tuesday 28TH ORDINARY 
Đối với Thiên Chúa điều nào quan trọng hơn, bàn tay sạch bế ngoài hay cái sạch từ bên trong, trong tâm hồn của chúng ta. Trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu quở trách những người Pha-ri-si đã chấp chứa những tư tưởng xấu xa mà làm cho ô uế cả tâm linh, như tham lam, kiêu ngạo, ghen ghét, hờn dận, tự kiêu, và ham muốn vật chất. Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta tha thứ là một việc bác ái tự đến từ tấm lòng nhân hậu, thuơng yêu. Có những người trong như có vẻ bề ngoài, phô trương nhưng đó chỉ là những thứ giả hình, mà không phải thật sự. Có những thứ giả hình nhìn bề ngoài chúng ta không thể nhận ra, nhưng nếu nhận xét từ bên trong lòng họ đầy những giả dối . Họ cố chấp và không bao giờ biết tha thứ. Do đó, họ không bao giờ tha thứ cho người khác. Tâm hồn chúng ta vẫn còn nặng thù hận, cố chấp, chưa biết tha thứ là được bắt nguồn từ những thói quen của chúng ta tự cho mình là trung tâm của vũ trụ. Khi chúng ta không thể nghĩ xa hơn chính chúng ta, chúng ta không
 
Reflection Luke 11:37-41
Which is more important to God?  Clean hands or a clean mind and heart?  In the Gospel reading today, Jesus chided the Pharisees for harboring evil thoughts that make us unclean spiritually such as greed, pride, bitterness, envy, arrogance, and the like.
            Jesus didn’t care much for what people might say or what is politically correct, whether we like it or not. These are not criteria on which Christians should base their decisions. Jesus clearly condemns double morality, which clearly seeks convenience or deception, as He said in Gospel: “you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools” (Lk 11:39).
            God's word, as usual, questions us about customs and habits of our daily life, when we end up converting trivia into “values”, to disguise our sins of arrogance, selfishness and conceit, while attempting to “globalize” morals with political correction in order to avoid being out of tune or being marginalized.
            There is time our hearts are still bitter and heavy, tempt us want to revenge rather than forgive.
- Un-forgiveness is rooted in our habit of thinking self-centered thoughts. 
- When we cannot think beyond ourselves we cannot forgive.  
            When we freely give and give generously to those in need we express love, compassion, kindness, and mercy. And if our heart is full of love and compassion, then there is no room for envy, greed, bitterness, and the like. Let us allow God's love to transform our heart, mind, and actions toward our neighbors and others.