Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 26 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần 26 Thường Niên
Trong bài đọc Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta thấy những người muốn theo Chúa Kitô, Họ đã có được sự cảm xúc và sự thúc đẩy qua những lời giáo huấn và chính cuộc sống của Chúa Giêsu và họ đã theo Ngài và làm môn đệ của Ngài. Thật không may, trong khi họ muốn theo Chúa Kitô, những họ vẫn còn có điều kiện: "Trước hết, tôi phải chôn cha tôi"; "trước tiên, hãy để tôi nói lời vài tạm biệt chia tay với gia đình tôi." Ý chí của Họ đã bị cản trở bởi thứ vật chất, tình cảm bên ngoài đã dính liền mà không thể dứt khoát, hoặc là những nghĩa vụ mà họ nghĩ là quan trọng hơn. Chúa Kitô đã cho chúng ta thấy rằng đã thực sự theo Chúa Kitô thì không có gì quan trọng hơn nữa, và không thể để cho bất cứ một điều kiện nào được tiên quyết, "Hãy để kẻ chết chôn kẻ chết; Còn anh, anh hãy đi loan báo triều đại của (Nước) Thiên Chúa"; "Ai đã ra tay cầm cày, mà còn ngoái lại phía sau, thì không thích hợp với Nước Thiên Chúa."
            Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện để xin Chúa Giêsu, người anh em của chúng ta, ban cho chúng ta những ân sủng này qua lòng rộng lượng chủa Chúa để chúng ta có can đảm để đáp lại ơn gọi này. Xin Chúa có thể soi sáng cho chúng ta biết ơn, trân trọng những hồng ân mà Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta và để cúng ta luôn biết tìm kiếm kho báu vĩnh viễn trong Nước Chúa.
 
Reflection:
     In the Gospel reading we see people who wished to follow Christ. They were touched and moved by Jesus' preaching and life to follow him and be his disciples. Unfortunately, while they wished to follow Christ, they were willing to do so under certain conditions: "first, I want to bury my father"; "first, let me say goodbye to my family." They were hindered by other attachments or by what to them were more important obligations.
     Christ points out that the following of Christ was truly demanding and allowed no pre-conditions, "Let the dead bury the dead; as for you, leave them and proclaim the kingdom of God"; "Whoever puts his hand on the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God."
     The Church has declared 2014 as the "Year of the Laity." The Church reminds and encourages the laity who make up the great majority of the Church to fully live out their vocations as members of Christ's Church and followers of Christ. The Church reminds all of the primacy of our call to be "Christians" and to be "Christ-like."
     Let us pray to Jesus, our brother, for the gift of generosity and courage to answer this call. May he enlighten us to gratefully appreciate the many gifts given to us and to always seek for treasures which last forever. May we learn to use and value whatever we have always looking forward to the kingdom of heaven. May we learn to be generous in our response to Christ.
 
Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” Luke 13:22–24
Luke’s Travel Narrative begins in Luke 9:51: “When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him,” and concludes in Luke 19:27, the verse immediately before Jesus entered Jerusalem to enter His Passion. Today’s Gospel is part of the journey to Jerusalem, where He would freely accept His Cross and offer His life for the salvation of the world.
Though Jesus explained to His closest disciples that He would suffer and die at the hands of the religious leaders, they struggled to understand and often avoided the topic. Suffering and death did not fit the narrative they wanted to hear. Jesus’ journey was more than geographical. It prophetically revealed that the Christian life always culminates in the Sacrifice of the Cross. Those who walked with Him likely did not comprehend the full purpose of His journey, nor did they realize they were being invited to make the same spiritual journey of complete sacrificial love.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals that those who wish to follow Him on the path to salvation need more than a superficial association with Him. The journey demands intentional, sustained effort, marked by a struggle against personal sin, selfishness, and spiritual complacency. It concludes by entering the “narrow gate.” And what is this gate? Ultimately, it is the Cross. For us, it is an active participation in Christ’s self-giving love in Jerusalem.
The gate is narrow because the Gospel requires us to cast off every attachment that hinders our path to eternal life. Salvation is not secured by casual familiarity with Christ but by active faith, obedience, and a genuine love that, like our Lord’s, is “resolutely determined to journey toward Jerusalem,” meaning a wholehearted and deliberate offering of one’s life to God and for others.
Jesus uses vivid and sobering language to make His point. When He says that the master of the house will rise and lock the door, Jesus is referring to the particular judgment at the end of our lives. Some, He says, will be left outside of Heaven and will be surprised. They will knock and say, “Lord, open the door for us.” When Jesus replies, “I do not know where you are from,” they respond with confusion: “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.” Yet Jesus says again, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”
This teaching is directed to those who are disciples in name but not in truth. Applying this to our own day, it could be said of those who identify as Christians, go to church occasionally, believe in God in a general sense, but fail to make the spiritual journey with Christ to the Cross—that is, through the narrow gate. They may resist sacrifice, remain attached to sin, neglect sincere and humble prayer, and fail to live as authentic disciples.
This passage should be taken seriously. Jesus was not exaggerating for effect; He was speaking with complete sincerity. Discipleship demands everything, not just a small effort or occasional attention. To follow Christ is to give Him our entire lives, without reserve. The good news, however, is that this demanding journey to Jerusalem, this path of sacrificial love, leads to glory. The Cross is the narrow gate, but it is also the gateway to eternal life. Those who embrace it wholeheartedly will share in the joy and triumph of Christ’s Resurrection.
Reflect today on the path you are taking. Have you truly entered the narrow gate by choosing the way of the Cross? Are you willing to follow Jesus not only in word but also in deed, offering your life to the Father each day in acts of faith, hope, and charity? Let this Gospel be a summons to examine your discipleship and renew your resolve. Like Jesus, be resolutely determined to journey to the heavenly Jerusalem where the Cross is not the end but the beginning of everlasting glory.
My resolute Lord, Your journey to Jerusalem culminated in the perfect act of selfless, sacrificial love. By mounting the Cross, You opened the narrow gate and entered through it for the salvation of the world. Grant me the grace, I pray, to be Your disciple not only in name but in truth. May I walk with You along the path of sacrifice, stripping away all that hinders love, so that I, too, may enter through the narrow gate and share in the joy of everlasting life. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time 2026
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I choose this day to follow your Son wherever he leads me. Give me the courage to leave behind whatever keeps me from him and the perseverance to remain faithful to my vocation. Through the intercession of Saint Jerome, deepen my love for your Word, that I may encounter Christ in Sacred Scripture and proclaim him by my life.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Following Jesus on the Way: In the Gospel, Jesus has begun his final journey to Jerusalem, where he will accomplish his new exodus. Along the way, he encounters three people and teaches three lessons about discipleship. “The individuals’ final responses are not given, leaving the dialogues open-ended. The effect is to invite readers – other (potential) followers – to apply the sayings to their lives” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 196). The first encounter teaches that following Jesus involves sacrifice and hardship. The second teaches that we cannot delay our response to God’s call: “Even family obligations have to be put in proper perspective and at times set aside” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 197). The third teaches that our commitment to Jesus must take precedence over every other commitment. “Those who follow him must do so unconditionally” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 198). Like the farmer who must give his full attention to plowing, the disciple must give his full attention to entering God’s reign (see Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 282). Saint Jerome provides a remarkable example of this radical commitment. Pope Francis recalls that Jerome “placed the Bible at the center of his life” and desired to know Christ through Scripture. His vocation required sacrifice: he left his homeland, traveled widely, embraced an ascetical life, and eventually settled in Bethlehem. He was willing to leave behind many things to pursue what he regarded as the one thing necessary: Christ. Every Christian is called to this wholehearted response. We cannot follow Jesus while continually looking backward at what we have refused to surrender. Discipleship requires an ordered freedom: letting go of whatever competes with Christ so that we can give ourselves more completely to him.
2. “Ignorance of Scripture Is Ignorance of Christ”: For Saint Jerome, following Christ necessarily meant listening to his Word. Pope Francis begins his apostolic letter, Scripturae Sacrae Affectus, with Jerome’s striking statement: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” This conviction shaped Jerome’s entire life. He studied Hebrew and Greek, examined manuscripts, consulted Jewish teachers, compared textual traditions, and worked tirelessly to provide the Latin-speaking Church with an accurate translation of Scripture. His scholarship was not an end in itself. He wanted Christians to encounter Christ through God’s revealed Word. Pope Francis emphasizes that Jerome’s love for Scripture was inseparable from his love for Christ: “He loved the sacred texts because he loved Christ.” For Jerome, the Bible is not merely a collection of ancient writings. It is the Word of God that leads us into communion with the Word made flesh. The Scriptures reveal Christ, prepare us to recognize him, and teach us how to follow him. Jerome’s example challenges us to examine how we approach Scripture. We can possess Bibles without opening them, hear the Gospel without reflecting upon it, or study Scripture without allowing it to change us. We should read not simply to acquire information but to encounter a Person. We read prayerfully, asking what God is saying to us and how his Word calls us to conversion. We read the whole of Scripture as the one story of God’s saving work, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and we read within the Church, whose faith provides the context for understanding it rightly. The disciple who puts his hand to the plow must keep his eyes fixed on Christ. Sacred Scripture helps us do precisely that. It keeps Christ before our eyes and continually calls us back to him.
3. A Life Placed at the Service of the Word: Jerome’s love for Scripture became a service to the entire Church. His work was demanding and sometimes controversial, yet he persevered because he understood that the Word he had received was not his possession. It was a gift entrusted to him for the benefit of others. Pope Francis highlights this missionary dimension of Jerome’s vocation. His study, translation, commentary, and teaching were directed toward helping others encounter God’s Word. His scholarship became an act of charity. By making Scripture more accessible and intelligible, Jerome helped generations of Christians hear the Word of God and come to know Christ. This gives us an important lesson about Christian vocation. God does not give us gifts merely for our own benefit. Whatever abilities, education, experience, or opportunities we possess can become instruments for serving others. A parent can form children in the faith; a teacher can help students discover truth; a business leader can use knowledge and resources to help others flourish; a priest can proclaim God’s Word with clarity and conviction. Every Christian can become, in some way, a servant of the Word. Jerome also reminds us that fidelity requires perseverance. He continued studying, translating, writing, and correcting his work over many years. The disciple who places his hand to the plow cannot allow discouragement or criticism to make him abandon his task. Christ calls us to follow him without looking back. Jerome responded by placing his entire life at the service of Christ and his Word. His life teaches us that authentic discipleship involves both hearing the Word and allowing it to shape our lives. As Pope Francis writes, “Let us make the Bible the guiding light of our lives.” When we do so, we discover that the Word we seek in Scripture is ultimately the Word who calls us to follow him: Jesus Christ.
 
Wednesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him,  “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Luke 9:57–58
At first, this appears to be an unusual response from our Lord. This person appeared to be committing himself to follow Jesus wherever Jesus led. But rather than complimenting the would-be follower, Jesus indicates that there is nowhere for this man to follow Him. Instead, he would have to follow Him into the unknown. Why would Jesus say this? Did He not want the man to follow Him?
One thing that this passage teaches us is that Jesus was able to read the souls and the intentions of those whom He encountered. Apparently, what the man said was not exactly his true intention. In commenting upon this passage, several Church Fathers point out that the man said what he said not out of a deep desire to follow Christ, but so that he would look good in the eyes of those around Jesus. Jesus knew his true intention, and therefore told the man that if he wanted to follow Him, he would have to follow Him into the unknown. Jesus then spoke to two others about following Him, and each time He challenged them to follow Him without reservation.
The call to follow our Lord is absolute. We cannot halfheartedly follow Him. We cannot follow Him for selfish reasons. The choice to follow our Lord begins with Him calling to us interiorly. We must hear His clear voice and invitation. The invitation we will receive will be one that asks everything of us. Jesus will never call us to give half of our lives to Him, or even most of our lives to Him. His call is one that demands everything. By demanding everything from us, our Lord is actually giving everything to us. We are only made whole when we give everything to Him and follow Him without reserve. This is the starting point.
The choice to follow Jesus will also be done in a certain secrecy. It’s not that we try to hide our choice to follow Him; rather, we must follow Him with the right intentions. We do not do so because we want others to praise us, admire us, or look up to us. We do not do so to boost our spiritual ego. We follow Him because we have heard Him call and have chosen to respond to that call in the way we are called. Therefore, every choice to follow Jesus must begin in the secrecy of our interior life of prayer. Once our commitment is firmly established, it will often become visible to others, but that must never be a motivating factor.
Once we are firmly committed to follow Christ, there must be no turning back. Jesus concludes today’s Gospel by saying, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” The choice to follow Christ requires a death to certain things in our lives. As our journey moves forward, there will be temptations to return to our old ways.
We will remember the delights of past sins, feel the draw to other paths, and might even experience the demand of absolute fidelity to be too much. These experiences must be continuously rejected as temptations and lies. We must never look back to what we gave up and must always look forward to that which our Lord is calling us. Second-guessing our choice to follow Jesus will be a very real temptation at times; therefore, our resolve must never waver.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of your own decision to follow Jesus. First, consider whether or not you have heard this radical and absolute call echo within the depths of your soul. Only there, in the secrecy of your interior life, will you hear God speak. Second, consider your motivations for following Jesus. Do you do so to look good in the eyes of others? Or do you do so out of love of God? Third, consider whether your commitment is total. It is not enough to give most of your life to Christ; He demands everything. Finally, ponder also the fact that there will be many temptations along the way to return to your former sinful way of life. Allow your resolve to eliminate those temptations and continuously recommit yourself to the journey to which you have been called.
My demanding Lord, You have called me to a radical commitment of my entire life to follow You. I hear Your voice and choose to say “yes” to Your invitation. Please free me from all selfish motives in life, and give me the resolve I need to follow You wherever You lead. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wenesday 26^th week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I choose this day to follow your Son wherever he goes. I will proclaim your Kingdom in my words and actions. I will continue to work in your vineyard without looking back and produce the good fruit of love, joy, peace, and mercy.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Following Jesus on the Way: In the Gospel, Jesus has begun his final journey to Jerusalem, where he will accomplish his new exodus. As the disciples journey with Jesus along the way, Jesus encounters three different people and teaches on discipleship three times. “The individuals’ final responses are not given, leaving the dialogues open-ended. The effect is to invite readers – other (potential) followers – to apply the sayings to their lives” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 196). The first encounter leads to the teaching that following Jesus as a disciple involves sacrifice and enduring hardships, including the renunciation of a comfortable home life. The second encounter teaches that we cannot delay our response to God’s call through Jesus. “Even family obligations have to be put in proper perspective and at times set aside” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 197). The third encounter teaches that the commitment to Jesus is greater than any other commitment. “Those who follow him must do so unconditionally” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 198). Just as the plowing of a field demands the farmer’s full attention, so also entering into God’s reign demands our full attention and absolute commitment (see Martin, Bringing the Gospel of Luke to Life, 282).
2. The Figure of Nehemiah: The First Reading introduces us to the figure of Nehemiah. He was the “cup-bearer,” and trusted advisor to the Persian ruler Artaxerxes. The Book of Nehemiah, chapters 1-7, describes the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Chapters 8-13recount the covenant renewal led by the priest-scribe Ezra and the cup-bearer Nehemiah. The First Reading tells us that, in 445 B.C., Nehemiah approached Artaxerxes and asked for his blessing to return to his people in Jerusalem and help restore the city. Artaxerxes readily agreed and sent official letters with him to ensure safe passage back to Judea. Artaxerxes not only sent a supply of lumber with Nehemiah but also appointed him as the governor of the Persian province of Judea (Nehemiah 5:14), a position he would hold for 12 years, from 445 to 433 B.C. The work of Nehemiah in Judea and Jerusalem began thirteen years after Ezra’s initial reform. “Nehemiah himself was a leader of the first rank. He was a strong and wise personality who knew how to mobilize those around him into swift and determined action” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 694). Nehemiah is also a man of God. His life was characterized by prayer and humility. Unlike Ezra, who was a priest, Nehemiah was a layman and civil administrator. “Still this did not prevent God from using him as an effective instrument to bring his people into closer alignment with his will. Nehemiah used his political position for the great advantage of God’s people by enculturating the Torah and applying its standards to Jewish life. It is a testimony to his religious and patriotic zeal that he achieved so much in a community that was slouching toward apathy and growing weak in its faith” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 694).
3. The Little Way of Saint Thérèse: Our saint, today, is Saint Thérèse. She is a Doctor of the Church who advocated the “little way” as a path to holiness. It means trusting in God’s love and abandoning oneself to God’s care like a small child. It emphasizes recognizing and accepting one's own weaknesses and imperfections, not as obstacles, but as ways to be open to God's grace. The Little Way involves doing ordinary, everyday tasks with great love and attention to God, serving others, and practicing virtues like humility and gratitude. The core of Thérèse’s message is the mystery of God as merciful Love. She experienced being the Father’s adoptive child in Jesus. “Through spiritual childhood, one experiences that everything comes from God, returns to him and abides in him, for the salvation of all, in a mystery of merciful love. Such is the doctrinal message taught and lived by this Saint” (Francis, Divini amoris scientia, 8). In addition to spiritual childhood, some key principles of the “Little way” are: 1) embracing your weakness, imperfection, and failings, trusting that God’s love is still present and working through these imperfections; 2) trusting that God’s merciful love will fulfill your desire for holiness and union with God; 3) understanding that true holiness depends not on your worthiness, but on God’s infinite love and desire to work through you; and 4) finding joy in the ordinary, simple, everyday actions by performing them with great care, attention, and love.