Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần 30 Thường
Niên
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta hãy tự hỏi: Đã có bao giờ chúng ta đã từng nghĩ tới và đặt ra câu hỏi là: chúng ta là hạng người như thế nào? Có bao giờ chúng ta đã từng tự tôn mình lên trên người khác? Hay có bao giờ chúng ta đã thực sự quan tâm đến tới những người khác một cách chân tình, nghĩa là sẽ làm những gì mà chúng ta có thể làm để giúp người khác bất cứ khi nào chúng ta có thể làm được để đem được hạnh phúc đến cho họ?
Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói rằng những ai muốn làm người đứng đầu, thì phải là người đứng sau, đứng cuối cùng của tất cả và là tôi tớ của tất cả mọi người. Có phải đó là ý của Chúa Giêsu muốn nói rằng đấy là cách để chúng ta đạt được tham vọng của chúng ta là phải được phục vụ? Không phải thế, thật ra, Chúa Giêsu không hề quan tâm đến việc chúng ta có đạt được tham vọng hay không! Nhưng Ngài muốn nói với chúng ta là phải làm như thế nào để được đứng đầu hay đến trước hết ngay trong trái Tim của Ngài, và ngay cả trong tâm hồn của người khác. Nếu chúng ta muốn là người đứng đầu trong trái Tim của Chúa Kitô, chúng ta phải là người tôi tớ của mọi người. Hơn nữa, nếu chúng ta có sự khiêm tốn để phục vụ người khác, chúng ta sẽ dễ dàng nhận ra được rằng: chúng ta cũng sẽ có một vị trí đặc biệt trong trái Tim của những người khác.
Có lẽ chúng ta thường chỉ quan tâm đến những sự ước muốn và nhu cầu riêng của chúng ta hơn, Nhưng Chúa Giêsu muốn biến đổi tâm hồn chúng ta, để chúng ta cũng có thể trở thành người biết lo lắng, biết nghĩ đến người khác, và biết quan tâm, phục vụ người khác.
Ngày hôm nay, chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Giêsu giúp chúng ta biết tập trung nhiều hơn vào những gì thực sự quan trọng, đó là sự quan tâm đối với những người khác, sự yêu thương những người khác hơn là sự tập trung vào những thứ hư vô, hay là chỉ biết làm việc và phục vụ riêng cho chính mình.
Reflection Saturday 30th Ordinary Time
Have we ever given any though on what kind of people we are? Do we promote ourselves? Or do we do show sincere concern for others, doing what we can, whenever we can, to help others in order to make them happy? In today's Gospel, Jesus said that those who want to be first must be the last of all and the servants of all. Is Jesus saying that the way to achieve our ambitions is to serve? Not at all. Jesus is not concerned with us achieving our ambitions. He is telling us how to be first in his heart, and even in the hearts of others. If we want to be first in Christ's heart, we must be a servant of all. Moreover, if we have the humility to serve others, we will realize that we also have a special place in other people's hearts.
Perhaps we are often concerned only with our own wants and needs. But Jesus wants to transform us, so that we too can become caring people, concerned with serving others. Let us ask Jesus today to help us be more focused on what really matter — concern for others, loving others, rather than focusing on empty, self-serving actions.
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary
Timeb2026
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.” Luke 14:8–9
Jesus told this parable during a dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee. We are told that “the people there were observing him carefully.” On one hand, such attentiveness might seem commendable. We could imagine ourselves listening to His every word, captivated by divine teaching. That kind of attentiveness would certainly qualify as “observing Him carefully.”
However, the Greek verb used here conveys a tone of suspicion, even hostile scrutiny. Jesus, fully aware of their hidden judgments, responds not with defensiveness but with deliberate action. In the passage preceding today’s Gospel, He heals a man with dropsy—an abnormal swelling caused by fluid retention—at the very start of the meal and on the Sabbath. Though clearly an act of compassion, this healing was also a provocation, meant in part to elicit a response from those who believed such a deed violated the Sabbath law of rest.
Jesus then observes how the guests scramble for the places of honor at the table. Seizing the moment, He offers the parable found in today’s Gospel. Once again, he intentionally provokes his listeners. These guests, associated with a prominent Pharisee, were likely among the social and religious elite. By defying their expectations and social customs, Jesus challenges them with what might rightly be called a holy provocation.
Ordinarily, to provoke others would be uncharitable. As Christians, we are called to kindness, patience, and unity. But in His divine wisdom, Jesus saw a higher good: their conversion. He provoked not to shame but to bring hidden sins to light. Once those sins are acknowledged and repented of, healing can begin.
The sin He targets is prideful desire for status, recognition, and honor. Watching the guests seek places of prominence, Jesus sees the deeper ailment: spiritual swelling. Their condition was more serious than the physical condition of dropsy; they were inflated with self-importance. Just as the man’s body retained fluid, their souls were bloated with ego and the need for esteem. Their self-promotion masked insecurity, a disordered self-understanding, and a failure to grasp their true worth in God’s eyes.
Jesus confronts this not with condemnation, but with divine wisdom. He doesn’t denounce honor itself; rather, He teaches that true honor is a gift, never something to be seized. In the parable, the humble guest takes the lowest place and is later exalted by the host. There is little doubt that those at table could picture the embarrassment of being asked to step down or the delight of being invited to move up. He used their worldly desire to teach a spiritual lesson.
It is striking that Jesus transforms their pride into a moment of revelation and an invitation to grace. In the spiritual life, we must descend in humility so that God may lift us up. He desires to clothe us in glory and to let others rejoice in that honor, but only He can bestow it. When we exalt ourselves, the honor we gain is hollow, and we will eventually be humbled. Only the glory granted by God is real.
Reflect today on the humility Christ invites you to embrace. Are there areas of your life in which you seek recognition or esteem? Ask for the grace to take the lowest place, trusting that your true dignity will come not from the world or your self-elevation, but from the One who sees the heart and lifts the lowly on high.
Most humble Lord, You descended into poverty and obscurity, and submitted to the cruel fate of death on a cross. Your humility led the Father to exalt You above every name, raising You above the choirs of angels and the saints, and bestowing eternal glory on You, as You glorify the Father. Draw me into Your sacred humility. Strip me of every desire for worldly honor or praise of my own making. May I seek only the glory that You bestow upon those who are faithful to Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary
Time 2026
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you exalt the humble and humble the proud. Free me from the desire for recognition and honor, and teach me to follow Your Son in the way of humility. May I seek not the praise of others but the joy of serving them, trusting that You will raise up those who humble themselves before You.
1. The Bread of God’s Word: For the third time in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus dines in the home of a Pharisee (see Luke 7:36; 11:37). On this occasion, his hosts and fellow guests are observing him carefully, while the guests themselves are watching one another as they choose places of honor at the table. Everyone seems concerned with appearances: the Pharisees are looking for grounds to accuse Jesus, and the guests are seeking recognition from their peers. Yet Jesus directs their attention to something more important. As Moses taught Israel, “Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). The guests have gathered to eat bread, but Jesus offers them the Bread of God’s Word, inviting them to examine their hearts. We, too, can become so preoccupied with how others see us that we fail to hear what the Lord wishes to teach us. When we encounter Christ in prayer, Scripture, and the Church’s liturgy, are we willing to let his word challenge our ambitions and transform our hearts?
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary
Time
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.” Luke 14:8–9
This is an interesting parable. First of all, it must be noted that a true saint would not be embarrassed by such a humiliation. Instead, they would happily give their seat of honor to another. In fact, they would most likely have immediately taken the “lowest” spot, since this form of worldly honor would mean nothing to them. But Jesus wasn’t speaking at this time to living saints. He was speaking to people who did struggle with desires for worldly esteem. This shows that the people to whom Jesus was speaking were also insecure and lacked healthy self-esteem.
What’s beautiful is that Jesus meets these people where they are at, telling them a parable to which they could relate. These were the guests who were present at a dinner being held by one of the leading Pharisees to which Jesus was also invited. Jesus’ point was to gently share with them the truth that humility was far better than pride. True exultation and honor is found by humbling oneself and elevating others as a way of pointing to their innate dignity and value as persons. This is a hard lesson to learn.
Most people, when in a group of people, will struggle with comparing themselves to others. “She’s prettier” or “He’s more successful” or “They are very educated,” etc. This common tendency often comes as a result of being personally insecure with who you are as a person. However, if you were able to completely be at peace with who you are, if you loved yourself in the way God loves you, then you would be much freer to love others, see their dignity, and even rejoice in the ways that they are successful and exalted.
Jesus concludes His parable by saying, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” To the normal secular mind, this can be a hard truth to grasp. It can be difficult to understand the great value of humility. But humility is simply seeing yourself in the light of truth, in the way God sees you. The humble person does not need the praise and esteem of others. God’s love for them is sufficient. For that reason, humble people not only love themselves as God loves them, but they are then free to turn their full attention to the good of others. This is pure love. And this love is only possible when humility is lived fully.
Reflect, today, upon this gentle teaching of Jesus, given to those who greatly lacked humility. Try to see Jesus’ concern for them and His desire not to embarrass them but to free them from the heavy burden of their insecurities. If you are one who struggles with this, reflect upon our Lord gently inviting you to embrace humility. Pray for this virtue and practice it with sincerity. Know that the attainment of this virtue will open the door to much freedom in your life.
My humble Lord, You knew Yourself with perfection and loved Your own sacred soul with the same love the Father in Heaven had for You. Please help me to discover who I am. Help me to see myself as You see me. May I never be burdened by the distorted desire for earthly honors and worldly esteem. Instead, I pray that this glorious gift of humility will live deeply in my soul. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday Luke 14:1, 7-11
Encountering Christ:
The Vanity Trap: How much time we waste by worrying what other people are thinking of us! Just like the guests at this dinner, we jostle and vie for approval, recognition, and popularity. Our Lord’s parable points out how such expenditure of energy is pointless—we simply cannot control the whims of others, the ebbs and flows of societal fashions. Something completely outside of our control could easily push us to the lowest seat at the table at any time. Jesus wants us to release these vain strivings. He wants us to direct our energy and our hopes to more worthy goals. Instead of trying to exalt ourselves, he encourages us to humble ourselves. This doesn’t mean thinking less of ourselves—we are still created in God’s image and redeemed by Christ, so our true value and worth are not in question. Rather, he wants us to think about ourselves less, to occupy our minds with other things, to be freed from vain self-absorption, which is a dead-end when it comes to spiritual growth and interior peace. This parable echoes one of Christ’s unforgettable exhortations in his Sermon on the Mount: But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you besides (Matthew 6:33).
Suy
Niệm Tin Mừng -Lễ Kính Các Thánh 1/11
Trong Tin Mừng Chúa Giêsu hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy rằng cuộc sống của Ngài là một cuộc sống trong Tám Mối Phúc Thật, và chúng ta cũng nên cập nhật cuộc sống chúng ta theo tinh thần của Tám Mối Phúc Thật. Trong các mối phúc thật, chúng ta có thể làm thành một bảng tóm tắt là “làm thế nào”, trong những giai đoạn khác nhau trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, trong những tình huống và những sự thử thách khác nhau, và cách mà chúng ta phải cư xử theo nghĩa vụ riêng của mình. Chúng ta được mời gọi để chấp nhận cuộc sống theo gương của Chúa Giêsu như chính Ngài đang sống ở giữa chúng ta. Đó việc góp phần vào việc xây dựng nền móng cho của Nước Thiên Chúa mà Chúa Giêsu không ngừng mời gọi chúng ta.
Trong quá trình này, có rất nhiều sự khó khăn nhắc nhở chúng ta về sự cần thiết để thánh hoá và thanh lọc qua sự đầu hàng Thiên Chúa với tất cả những gì chúng ta đang có. Sự cam kết này phải được đánh dấu với niềm hy vọng như thư của thánh Gioan đã nói với chúng ta: “Tất cả những người có niềm hy vọng này dựa vào Ngài làm cho mình thanh tịnh, vì Ngài là đấng thật là tinh khiết"
Chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để kiểm tra liên tục lại cuộc sống của chúng ta một cách thường xuyên mỗi ngày để chúng ta có thể khám phá ra những lĩnh vực trong của cuộc sống đang làm cản trở việc xây dựng Vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Để đạt được điều này, Chúa Giêsu đến để mời gọi chúng ta tìm kiếm những hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa trong mọi sự, ngay cả trong những sự bất công hay bắt bớ. Trong khi chúng ta phải đối mặt với những tình huống này, chúng ta được chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa một cách nhân lành.
Xin Chúa, ban cho chúng con có được những ân sủng của Chúa để làm chứng cho tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Chúa trong tất cả những kinh nghiệm trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng con. Trong những khi chúng con phải đối diện với những trường hợp thử thách, xin giúp chúng con can đảm để chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng con.
Reflection
In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals to us that his life is a life of the Beatitudes and that we should also fashion our lives in the spirit of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, we find a summary of how, in our different stages of life, in the different situations and challenges, we are supposed to behave. The behavior we are invited to adopt mirrors Jesus' life amongst us. It also contributes to the building of the foundations for the Kingdom of God to which Jesus constantly invites us. In this process, the many difficulties remind us of the need for purification through a total surrender to God. This commitment should be marked with hope as the first letter of John tells us: “everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.”
We are also called to examine our lives constantly on a daily basis so as to discover those areas of our lives that hinder the building of the Kingdom of God. In order to achieve this, we are invited to seek the face of God in all things even in injustices or persecutions. As we face these situations, we are to witness meekly to the mercy of God. Grant us, Lord, the grace to witness to Your love and mercy in all our daily life experiences
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta hãy tự hỏi: Đã có bao giờ chúng ta đã từng nghĩ tới và đặt ra câu hỏi là: chúng ta là hạng người như thế nào? Có bao giờ chúng ta đã từng tự tôn mình lên trên người khác? Hay có bao giờ chúng ta đã thực sự quan tâm đến tới những người khác một cách chân tình, nghĩa là sẽ làm những gì mà chúng ta có thể làm để giúp người khác bất cứ khi nào chúng ta có thể làm được để đem được hạnh phúc đến cho họ?
Trong Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nói rằng những ai muốn làm người đứng đầu, thì phải là người đứng sau, đứng cuối cùng của tất cả và là tôi tớ của tất cả mọi người. Có phải đó là ý của Chúa Giêsu muốn nói rằng đấy là cách để chúng ta đạt được tham vọng của chúng ta là phải được phục vụ? Không phải thế, thật ra, Chúa Giêsu không hề quan tâm đến việc chúng ta có đạt được tham vọng hay không! Nhưng Ngài muốn nói với chúng ta là phải làm như thế nào để được đứng đầu hay đến trước hết ngay trong trái Tim của Ngài, và ngay cả trong tâm hồn của người khác. Nếu chúng ta muốn là người đứng đầu trong trái Tim của Chúa Kitô, chúng ta phải là người tôi tớ của mọi người. Hơn nữa, nếu chúng ta có sự khiêm tốn để phục vụ người khác, chúng ta sẽ dễ dàng nhận ra được rằng: chúng ta cũng sẽ có một vị trí đặc biệt trong trái Tim của những người khác.
Có lẽ chúng ta thường chỉ quan tâm đến những sự ước muốn và nhu cầu riêng của chúng ta hơn, Nhưng Chúa Giêsu muốn biến đổi tâm hồn chúng ta, để chúng ta cũng có thể trở thành người biết lo lắng, biết nghĩ đến người khác, và biết quan tâm, phục vụ người khác.
Ngày hôm nay, chúng ta hãy xin Chúa Giêsu giúp chúng ta biết tập trung nhiều hơn vào những gì thực sự quan trọng, đó là sự quan tâm đối với những người khác, sự yêu thương những người khác hơn là sự tập trung vào những thứ hư vô, hay là chỉ biết làm việc và phục vụ riêng cho chính mình.
Reflection Saturday 30th Ordinary Time
Have we ever given any though on what kind of people we are? Do we promote ourselves? Or do we do show sincere concern for others, doing what we can, whenever we can, to help others in order to make them happy? In today's Gospel, Jesus said that those who want to be first must be the last of all and the servants of all. Is Jesus saying that the way to achieve our ambitions is to serve? Not at all. Jesus is not concerned with us achieving our ambitions. He is telling us how to be first in his heart, and even in the hearts of others. If we want to be first in Christ's heart, we must be a servant of all. Moreover, if we have the humility to serve others, we will realize that we also have a special place in other people's hearts.
Perhaps we are often concerned only with our own wants and needs. But Jesus wants to transform us, so that we too can become caring people, concerned with serving others. Let us ask Jesus today to help us be more focused on what really matter — concern for others, loving others, rather than focusing on empty, self-serving actions.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.” Luke 14:8–9
Jesus told this parable during a dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee. We are told that “the people there were observing him carefully.” On one hand, such attentiveness might seem commendable. We could imagine ourselves listening to His every word, captivated by divine teaching. That kind of attentiveness would certainly qualify as “observing Him carefully.”
However, the Greek verb used here conveys a tone of suspicion, even hostile scrutiny. Jesus, fully aware of their hidden judgments, responds not with defensiveness but with deliberate action. In the passage preceding today’s Gospel, He heals a man with dropsy—an abnormal swelling caused by fluid retention—at the very start of the meal and on the Sabbath. Though clearly an act of compassion, this healing was also a provocation, meant in part to elicit a response from those who believed such a deed violated the Sabbath law of rest.
Jesus then observes how the guests scramble for the places of honor at the table. Seizing the moment, He offers the parable found in today’s Gospel. Once again, he intentionally provokes his listeners. These guests, associated with a prominent Pharisee, were likely among the social and religious elite. By defying their expectations and social customs, Jesus challenges them with what might rightly be called a holy provocation.
Ordinarily, to provoke others would be uncharitable. As Christians, we are called to kindness, patience, and unity. But in His divine wisdom, Jesus saw a higher good: their conversion. He provoked not to shame but to bring hidden sins to light. Once those sins are acknowledged and repented of, healing can begin.
The sin He targets is prideful desire for status, recognition, and honor. Watching the guests seek places of prominence, Jesus sees the deeper ailment: spiritual swelling. Their condition was more serious than the physical condition of dropsy; they were inflated with self-importance. Just as the man’s body retained fluid, their souls were bloated with ego and the need for esteem. Their self-promotion masked insecurity, a disordered self-understanding, and a failure to grasp their true worth in God’s eyes.
Jesus confronts this not with condemnation, but with divine wisdom. He doesn’t denounce honor itself; rather, He teaches that true honor is a gift, never something to be seized. In the parable, the humble guest takes the lowest place and is later exalted by the host. There is little doubt that those at table could picture the embarrassment of being asked to step down or the delight of being invited to move up. He used their worldly desire to teach a spiritual lesson.
It is striking that Jesus transforms their pride into a moment of revelation and an invitation to grace. In the spiritual life, we must descend in humility so that God may lift us up. He desires to clothe us in glory and to let others rejoice in that honor, but only He can bestow it. When we exalt ourselves, the honor we gain is hollow, and we will eventually be humbled. Only the glory granted by God is real.
Reflect today on the humility Christ invites you to embrace. Are there areas of your life in which you seek recognition or esteem? Ask for the grace to take the lowest place, trusting that your true dignity will come not from the world or your self-elevation, but from the One who sees the heart and lifts the lowly on high.
Most humble Lord, You descended into poverty and obscurity, and submitted to the cruel fate of death on a cross. Your humility led the Father to exalt You above every name, raising You above the choirs of angels and the saints, and bestowing eternal glory on You, as You glorify the Father. Draw me into Your sacred humility. Strip me of every desire for worldly honor or praise of my own making. May I seek only the glory that You bestow upon those who are faithful to Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you exalt the humble and humble the proud. Free me from the desire for recognition and honor, and teach me to follow Your Son in the way of humility. May I seek not the praise of others but the joy of serving them, trusting that You will raise up those who humble themselves before You.
1. The Bread of God’s Word: For the third time in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus dines in the home of a Pharisee (see Luke 7:36; 11:37). On this occasion, his hosts and fellow guests are observing him carefully, while the guests themselves are watching one another as they choose places of honor at the table. Everyone seems concerned with appearances: the Pharisees are looking for grounds to accuse Jesus, and the guests are seeking recognition from their peers. Yet Jesus directs their attention to something more important. As Moses taught Israel, “Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). The guests have gathered to eat bread, but Jesus offers them the Bread of God’s Word, inviting them to examine their hearts. We, too, can become so preoccupied with how others see us that we fail to hear what the Lord wishes to teach us. When we encounter Christ in prayer, Scripture, and the Church’s liturgy, are we willing to let his word challenge our ambitions and transform our hearts?
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.” Luke 14:8–9
This is an interesting parable. First of all, it must be noted that a true saint would not be embarrassed by such a humiliation. Instead, they would happily give their seat of honor to another. In fact, they would most likely have immediately taken the “lowest” spot, since this form of worldly honor would mean nothing to them. But Jesus wasn’t speaking at this time to living saints. He was speaking to people who did struggle with desires for worldly esteem. This shows that the people to whom Jesus was speaking were also insecure and lacked healthy self-esteem.
What’s beautiful is that Jesus meets these people where they are at, telling them a parable to which they could relate. These were the guests who were present at a dinner being held by one of the leading Pharisees to which Jesus was also invited. Jesus’ point was to gently share with them the truth that humility was far better than pride. True exultation and honor is found by humbling oneself and elevating others as a way of pointing to their innate dignity and value as persons. This is a hard lesson to learn.
Most people, when in a group of people, will struggle with comparing themselves to others. “She’s prettier” or “He’s more successful” or “They are very educated,” etc. This common tendency often comes as a result of being personally insecure with who you are as a person. However, if you were able to completely be at peace with who you are, if you loved yourself in the way God loves you, then you would be much freer to love others, see their dignity, and even rejoice in the ways that they are successful and exalted.
Jesus concludes His parable by saying, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” To the normal secular mind, this can be a hard truth to grasp. It can be difficult to understand the great value of humility. But humility is simply seeing yourself in the light of truth, in the way God sees you. The humble person does not need the praise and esteem of others. God’s love for them is sufficient. For that reason, humble people not only love themselves as God loves them, but they are then free to turn their full attention to the good of others. This is pure love. And this love is only possible when humility is lived fully.
Reflect, today, upon this gentle teaching of Jesus, given to those who greatly lacked humility. Try to see Jesus’ concern for them and His desire not to embarrass them but to free them from the heavy burden of their insecurities. If you are one who struggles with this, reflect upon our Lord gently inviting you to embrace humility. Pray for this virtue and practice it with sincerity. Know that the attainment of this virtue will open the door to much freedom in your life.
My humble Lord, You knew Yourself with perfection and loved Your own sacred soul with the same love the Father in Heaven had for You. Please help me to discover who I am. Help me to see myself as You see me. May I never be burdened by the distorted desire for earthly honors and worldly esteem. Instead, I pray that this glorious gift of humility will live deeply in my soul. Jesus, I trust in You.
Encountering Christ:
The Vanity Trap: How much time we waste by worrying what other people are thinking of us! Just like the guests at this dinner, we jostle and vie for approval, recognition, and popularity. Our Lord’s parable points out how such expenditure of energy is pointless—we simply cannot control the whims of others, the ebbs and flows of societal fashions. Something completely outside of our control could easily push us to the lowest seat at the table at any time. Jesus wants us to release these vain strivings. He wants us to direct our energy and our hopes to more worthy goals. Instead of trying to exalt ourselves, he encourages us to humble ourselves. This doesn’t mean thinking less of ourselves—we are still created in God’s image and redeemed by Christ, so our true value and worth are not in question. Rather, he wants us to think about ourselves less, to occupy our minds with other things, to be freed from vain self-absorption, which is a dead-end when it comes to spiritual growth and interior peace. This parable echoes one of Christ’s unforgettable exhortations in his Sermon on the Mount: But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you besides (Matthew 6:33).
Trong Tin Mừng Chúa Giêsu hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy rằng cuộc sống của Ngài là một cuộc sống trong Tám Mối Phúc Thật, và chúng ta cũng nên cập nhật cuộc sống chúng ta theo tinh thần của Tám Mối Phúc Thật. Trong các mối phúc thật, chúng ta có thể làm thành một bảng tóm tắt là “làm thế nào”, trong những giai đoạn khác nhau trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, trong những tình huống và những sự thử thách khác nhau, và cách mà chúng ta phải cư xử theo nghĩa vụ riêng của mình. Chúng ta được mời gọi để chấp nhận cuộc sống theo gương của Chúa Giêsu như chính Ngài đang sống ở giữa chúng ta. Đó việc góp phần vào việc xây dựng nền móng cho của Nước Thiên Chúa mà Chúa Giêsu không ngừng mời gọi chúng ta.
Trong quá trình này, có rất nhiều sự khó khăn nhắc nhở chúng ta về sự cần thiết để thánh hoá và thanh lọc qua sự đầu hàng Thiên Chúa với tất cả những gì chúng ta đang có. Sự cam kết này phải được đánh dấu với niềm hy vọng như thư của thánh Gioan đã nói với chúng ta: “Tất cả những người có niềm hy vọng này dựa vào Ngài làm cho mình thanh tịnh, vì Ngài là đấng thật là tinh khiết"
Chúng ta cũng được mời gọi để kiểm tra liên tục lại cuộc sống của chúng ta một cách thường xuyên mỗi ngày để chúng ta có thể khám phá ra những lĩnh vực trong của cuộc sống đang làm cản trở việc xây dựng Vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Để đạt được điều này, Chúa Giêsu đến để mời gọi chúng ta tìm kiếm những hình ảnh của Thiên Chúa trong mọi sự, ngay cả trong những sự bất công hay bắt bớ. Trong khi chúng ta phải đối mặt với những tình huống này, chúng ta được chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa một cách nhân lành.
Xin Chúa, ban cho chúng con có được những ân sủng của Chúa để làm chứng cho tình yêu và lòng thương xót của Chúa trong tất cả những kinh nghiệm trong cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng con. Trong những khi chúng con phải đối diện với những trường hợp thử thách, xin giúp chúng con can đảm để chứng kiến lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa đối với chúng con.
Reflection
In today’s Gospel Jesus reveals to us that his life is a life of the Beatitudes and that we should also fashion our lives in the spirit of the Beatitudes. In the Beatitudes, we find a summary of how, in our different stages of life, in the different situations and challenges, we are supposed to behave. The behavior we are invited to adopt mirrors Jesus' life amongst us. It also contributes to the building of the foundations for the Kingdom of God to which Jesus constantly invites us. In this process, the many difficulties remind us of the need for purification through a total surrender to God. This commitment should be marked with hope as the first letter of John tells us: “everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.”
We are also called to examine our lives constantly on a daily basis so as to discover those areas of our lives that hinder the building of the Kingdom of God. In order to achieve this, we are invited to seek the face of God in all things even in injustices or persecutions. As we face these situations, we are to witness meekly to the mercy of God. Grant us, Lord, the grace to witness to Your love and mercy in all our daily life experiences
No comments:
Post a Comment