Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật thứ Sáu Mùa Phục Sinh B

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Chúa Nhật thứ Sáu Mùa Phục Sinh B

Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin dạy con biết yêu thương. Xin Chúa giúp con biết tăng cường sửa đổi những khuyết điểm của con. Xin giúp con biết tuân giữ tình yêu thương của Ngài bằng cách tuân giữ các điều răn của Ngài.
Qua bài tin mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu mời gọi chúng ta hãy sống trong một cuộc sống vui vẻ và bình an, cuộc sống này được bảo đảm trong tình yêu thương của Thiên Chúa Cha, Đấng đã tạo dựng vũ trụ và con người. Ngài mong muốn chúng ta luôn ở trong tình yêu của Ngài và sống hạnh phúc trong tình yêu thương của Ngài. Chúng ta được chọn để sống cuộc sống sung túc với tư cách là người bạn của Chúa Giêsu, Đấng Cứu chuộc của chúng ta.
Việc học cách yêu thương như Chúa Giêsu đã yêu là nhiệm vụ của cả đời chúng ta. Linh mục Thomas Wells đã làm lễ cưới cho hàng trăm cặp vợ chồng trong suốt cuộc đời làm linh mục của ngài. Các bài giảng của Ngài trong các lễ cưới, vị linh mục đã khuyên nhủ các cặp vợ chồng mới là: "Tôi cầu xin hai bạn, là mỗi ngày và mỗi đêm trong cuộc đời của hai bạn, các bạn hãy quỳ xuống và cầu xin Chúa dạy cho hai bạn cách yêu thương!"  Cho dù chúng ta có ơn kêu gọi nào đi nữa, hay chúng ta đang ở trong bất cứ trạng thái nào của cuộc sống, đây phải là lời cầu nguyện thường xuyên của chúng ta.
Hạnh phúc bắt nguồn từ sự trải nghiệm của con người chúng ta. Hạnh phúc liên quan đến cảm xúc của chúng ta và thường có thể bị ảnh hưởng bởi những người khác hoặc bởi những hoàn cảnh khác biệt của chúng ta. Niềm vui thì được ăn sâu vào tâm hồn chúng ta và không phụ thuộc vào hoàn cảnh của chúng ta hay hành động của người khác. Niềm vui mà chúng ta tìm thấy khi chúng ta ở trong Thiên Chúa và khi chúng ta cố gắng tuân giữ các điều răn của Ngài quả thật là trọn vẹn; vì chúng ta đượv ở lại trong tình yêu thương của Thiên Chúa Cha và có được trải nghiệm trong sự bình an của Ngài.
Tình yêu của Thiên Chúa Cha dành cho chúng ta là nguồn vui của chúng ta. Trong Kinh thánh có rất nhiều chỗ diễn tả cho chúng ta thấy rõ ràng về tình yêu này; thí dú như trong thơ thứ Nhật của Thánh Phêrô có viết: Ngài gọi chúng ta là dân được chọn (1 Phêrô 2: 9), Trong sách tiên tri Giêrêmea thì nói rằng: Ta đã yêu ngươi, một tình yêu muôn đời, bởi thế với ngươi, Ta đã giữ bền lòng ân nghĩa. (Giêrêmia 31: 3), và Ngài đã gọi chúng ta là con của Ngài như Tin mừnmg Thánh Gioan có Viết: Ngài ban cho họ quyền làm con Thiên Chúa. (Gioan 1:12).  Đấng tạo dựng lên vũ trụ, Chúa của lịch sử, yêu chúng ta và muốn chúng ta làm bạn với Ngài. Ôi, quả thật là niềm vui vô tận!
Chúa Giêsu vì yêu thương con người tội lỗi, Ngài đã hy sinh mạng sống của Ngài cho chúng ta và gọi chúng ta là bạn hữu của Ngài. Ngài ra dạy cho chúng ta là phải yêu thương nhau như Ngài yêu thương chúng ta. Tình yêu thương (bác ái) này là đức tính cao cả nhất trong các nhân đức thần học; nó bao hàm sự vâng phục Chúa, và tình yêu thương nhân hậu đối với nhau. Mệnh lệnh của Chúa Giêsu rất rõ ràng, nhưng sống theo như cách Chúa dạy chúng ta hôm nay là hãy yêu thương nhau thì chẳng dễ chút nào vì chính bản chất dễ sa ngã của chúng ta. Khi chúng ta chọn không sống trong sự yêu thương, thì chúng ta đã đánh đổi chính bản thân mình bởi vì chúng ta bỏ lỡ đi niềm vui đích thực mà Chúa Giêsu đã hứa ban cho chúng ta nếu chúng ta cố gắng sống theo điều răn Yêu Thương này. Thật là một niềm vui siêu nhiên vì có được sự an ủi trong thời gian đầy bất trắc này!
Lạy Chúa và là Thiên Chúa của chúng con, những lời hứa của Ngài thật là niềm an ủi cho chúng con. Xin dạy chúng con không ngừng hướng về Chúa để được hướng dẫn và được ơn khôn ngoan. Xin Chúa hãy thêm sức mạnh cho những nỗ lực yếu đuối của chúng con trong việc sống theo Chúa, tuân giữ các giới răn của Chúa và yêu thương người khác như Chúa đã yêu chúng con. Xo₫in Chúa giữ cho chúng con không bị cám dỗ bởi những niềm vui, hạnh phúc tađm bợ trong thế giớ này hay sự hài lòng ngắn hạn; Xin Chúa hướng dẫn chúng con biết sống theo như cách của  Chúa.
Lạy Chúa, hôm nay nhờ ân điển của Chúa, chúng con sẽ dâng lên Chúa những giây phút đầu tiên mỗi ngày qua giờ kinh cầu nguyện và xin Chúa đốt cháy trái tim chúng con để chúng con biết dành hết tình yêu thương cho Chúa và cho tất cả mọi người như con cái Chúa.
 
Reflection 6th Week of Easter, Year B 2021
Lord Jesus, teach me how to love. Strengthen my weakness. Help me to abide in your love by keeping your commandments. 
Encountering Christ:
Joy through Loving: Jesus invites us to live a life of joy and peace, secure in the love of our Father and Creator. He wishes for us to remain in his love and delight in his friendship. We are chosen to live abundant lives as friends of Jesus our Savior. Learning to love as Jesus loved is the task of a lifetime. Father Thomas Wells married hundreds of couples during his life as a parish priest. He exhorted at every wedding: “I beg you, I beg you, I beg you, every day and every night of your life, get down on your knees and ask the Lord to teach you how to love!” No matter our vocation, no matter our state in life, this should be our constant prayer. 
Joy versus Happiness: Happiness is rooted in our human experience. It is related to our feelings and often can be influenced by others or by our circumstances. Joy is rooted deeply in our souls and does not depend on our circumstances or the actions of other people. The joy we find when we abide in God and strive to keep his commandments is indeed complete; to remain in the Father’s love is to experience his peace. The Father’s love for us is the source of our joy. Scripture abounds with descriptions of this love; he calls us a chosen people (1 Peter 2:9), says that he has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), and calls us his children (John 1:12). The Creator of the universe, the Lord of history, loves us and wants our friendship. What joy indeed!
Love Sacrificially: Jesus laid his life down for us and called us his friends. He commanded us to love one another as he loves us. This love (charity) is the greatest of the theological virtues; it encompasses obedience to the Lord, and merciful love towards each other. Jesus’s command is very clear, but living by these words can be difficult because of our fallen nature. When we choose not to love, we ultimately shortchange ourselves because we miss out on the joy Jesus has promised if we strive to live by the greatest commandment. What a comfort supernatural joy can be in this time of uncertainty!
Conversing with Christ: My Lord and my God, your promises are so comforting. Teach me to constantly turn to you for guidance and wisdom. Make strong my weak efforts to follow you, to keep your commandments, and to love others as you have loved me. Keep me from being tempted by short-term happiness and satisfaction; lead me in your ways. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will give you the first moments each day, prayerfully asking for you to ignite my heart with love for you and all of your children.
 
Reflection 6th Week of Easter, Year B 2024
“I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” John 15:15–17
Just prior to the passage quoted above, Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Is that the measure of true friendship? That we do what our friend commands us to do? That depends upon which friend we are speaking about.
There are many images we use for God. We call Him Father, Savior, Master, Lord, King, Redeemer, Spirit and Friend. When it comes to God as our divine Friend, it is important to understand the nature of that friendship properly. Jesus’ friendship is not one that simply makes us “buddies.” Friendship with our Lord is not the same as a friendship between two equals. He is God. And because He is God, our friendship with Him takes on unique characteristics that are not present in other friendships. With that said, there could be no greater friend than the Lord Himself.
Among humans, our friendships have various foundations. It could be that two people have mutual interests and they enjoy engaging in those interests together. It could be that two people have spent much pleasant time together since childhood. Or it could be that two people have endured some difficulty together and that experience has bonded them together. But according to Saint Thomas Aquinas, friendship in its purest form is based on just one thing: mutual charity.
Charity is the form of love that is purely selfless. It’s a way of relating to another in which a person’s sole focus is the good of the other. It is not based on one’s own self interests. It’s not a matter of “what do I get out of it?” In 1 Corinthians 13:4–8, St. Paul defines the love of charity this way: “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” This is not only the definition of charity, it is also the only foundation for true friendship.
When you consider all of these qualities of charity, you will find that God relates to us in each of these ways. For that reason, God offers us the purest friendship possible. Whether or not we reciprocate these qualities to God will determine the depth of the bond of friendship that we establish with Him. But there is more. When we love God, we must love Him in a way that is proper and proportionate to Who God is. For example, if we offer charity to God, we seek to fulfill only God’s interests and rejoice in the Truth of Who He is. Thus, the charity we offer to God comes in the form of worship. He is God and is worthy of worship, adoration, surrender, trust and perfect obedience. When it is God we are loving, the very essence of the Person we love requires these responses.
One beautiful and consoling thing to recognize with this form of charity given to God is that it also establishes a true friendship with God. When we offer our worship to God, we are in a position to receive the very life of God in return. And the giving of ourselves, coupled with the reception of the life of God, establishes a bond of holy friendship that will transform us, unite us with Him and fulfill us to perfection. Friendship with God makes us one with Him and opens us to receive everything that He shares with us—namely, His very Self.
Reflect, today, upon the invitation Jesus has offered you to enter into a true friendship with Him. This means that God becomes the center of your life. It means that you seek to give yourself, selflessly and without reserve, to Him Who is deserving of all your love. It means you choose worship and obedience to perfection. The reward of such love is that you are able to enter into a bond that is so holy, so pure and so fulfilling that it completes you, enabling you to become who you were meant to be.
My God and true Friend, You offer me everything in life. You offer me Your perfect love, given fully and without reserve. I pray that I will reciprocate that depth of love and offer to You all that You deserve. I offer You my love, worship and obedience, dear Lord. May this mutual love form a bond that will never end. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Reflection 6th Week of Easter, Year B 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, your plan of salvation is eternal. You sent your Son in the fullness of time to save us from eternal death and redeem us from the debt of sin. He gathered the remnant of Israel and sent them out into the whole world. Send me out to gather my family, friends, and coworkers into your divine family.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Love One Another: At the Last Supper, Jesus revealed the great mystery of the Holy Trinity. God is Father, Son, and Spirit. God is revealed by Jesus as a communion of love. The Father eternally loves the Son and the Son eternally loves the Father. Their mutual eternal love “spirates” (breathes forth) the Third Person of the Trinity – God the Holy Spirit. This eternal Triune communion of Love offers us a share in their divine love. This is the whole purpose of creation. And when human beings sinned and broke the bond of love with God, the Father sent the Son to the world: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Love, we see, is much more than a passive feeling, it is an action. Whether or not I love someone shouldn’t be based on how the other person makes me feel. Love is about how people can give themselves to one another for each other’s true good. It is about how I can give of myself and sacrifice myself for another person and their good. God’s love is not selfish or self-centered but self-giving. God the Father doesn’t hold back when he sees his children in need. He seeks their true good and sends his Son to save them and reestablish them in divine friendship. God is not a master who seeks to benefit from his servants, but a Father who wants to see his children flourish and enjoy his divine life and love.
2. Gathering the Nations into the Friendship of Divine Love: The First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, narrates how the saving love of God was extended to the Gentiles. Peter, we are told, began to understand the meaning of the vision he had that commanded him to eat unclean food three times. Following the urging of the Holy Spirit, Peter entered the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. Just as he must no longer consider the foods prohibited by Deuteronomy 14 to be unclean, Peter must no longer consider the Gentiles to be unclean. The protective walls of Deuteronomy that separated Israel culturally and ritually from the influence of the Gentile nations were being torn down. Peter announced to Cornelius and his whole household that the New Covenant is universal: anyone who fears the Lord and does what is right is acceptable to God and can be welcomed into God’s covenant family. Jews and Gentiles are both called to believe in Jesus and receive the forgiveness of their sins. Peter notes that all the prophets bore witness to Jesus’ ministry as the anointed one (Acts 10:43). And the prophets often depicted the future salvation happening in two phases: “First a remnant of Israel would be restored, and then the restored Israel would draw men from all nations into herself (cf. Isaiah 2:2-4; 49:5-6; Zechariah 8:23; 14:8-9)” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 102). During his public ministry, Jesus was concerned with the first phase. He gathered a remnant and restored the twelve tribes in the twelve apostles. After his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, Jesus sent out his twelve apostles, the symbol of the restored Israel, to carry out the second phase. 
3. The Purifying Work of the Spirit: The forty years between Jesus’ death and the destruction of Jerusalem was a special time of testing and brought the old covenant of Deuteronomy to its conclusion and fulfillment in the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit was poured out and made clean what was unclean and made possible the incorporation of the Gentiles into the restored Israel. “The presence and action of the Holy Spirit therefore abolishes the Pharisaic program of separation from the Gentile world. Although the Pharisees knew the prophecies of the Gentiles’ entry into Israel, they had misinterpreted them to mean that the Gentiles would one day embrace the Deuteronomic covenant and its Law. The Pharisees did not imagine that God would act in a far bolder way to bring about a ‘new thing’ (cf. Isaiah 43:19)” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, 103). Peter, in fact, witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles and baptized them. When Peter did this, he affirmed that a person is brought into the New Covenant not by circumcision but by Baptism and the Holy Spirit. Through this sacrament and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Gentiles are brought to share in the eternal love of the Trinity.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I want to love like you did. I will give my life for the sake of others so that they may come to know you and encounter you. I will bear your love into this world and alleviate the sufferings of those around me as best as I can. 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bảy Tuần thứ 5 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bảy Tuần thứ 5 Phục Sinh
Trong bài đọc thứ nhất, chúng ta nghe hai lần, Chúa Thánh Thần đã ngăn cản thánh Phaolô làm theo kế hoạch của riêng của ông.  Trước hết Thánh Phaolô không được phép rao giảng ở châu Á, và sau đó, không được phép đi đến Bithynia (miền bắc vùng Tiểu Á). Sách Công-vụ Tông Đồ đã không nói là Chúa Thánh Thần đã  hành động như thế nào, nhưng có lẽ qua lời cầu nguyện hay lời tiên tri. Tuy nhiên, Sách CVTĐ có cho chúng ta biết là khi ở thành phố Troas Thánh Phaolô đã được thị kiến và được Thánh Thần sai đến Macedonia.
Thật vậy, trong Công Vụ Tông Đồ, chúng ta thấy Chúa Thánh Thần đã dùng nhiều phương tiện để hướng dẫn các Kitô hữu, Thánh Luca tác giả CVTĐ thường xuyên đề cập đến vấn đề cầu nguyện, sự thị kiến, hay sự xuất hiện của các Thiên Thần, những lời tiên tri và những giấc mơ. Mục đích của Thánh Luca là thể hiện mối quan hệ chặt chẽ giữa những hành động của Cha Kitô Phục Sinh và của Chúa Thánh Thần.
Mặc dù Chúa Thánh Thần hầu như không được đề cập đến trong các câu cuối cùng của chương 15 trong Tin Mừng Gioan, nhưng Chúa Thánh Thần là trọng tâm trong những lời cầu nguyện của Chúa Giêsu, ngay ở đầu chương 16. Chúa Giêsu nói với các tông đồ rằng Chúa Thánh Thần sẽ liên tục hướng dẫn họ. Là Thánh Thần của sự thật, Ngài sẽ nói với họ. Qua Chúa Thánh Thần mà những gì mà Chúa Giêsu nói khi Ngài đang ngự bên Hữu của Đức Chúa Cha bây giờ sẽ được truyền đến cho các môn đệ.
Khi Chúa Giêsu rời khỏi cuộc sống ở trần tục của Ngài, Ngài đã ban cho chúng ta Chúa Thánh Thần, Người mà đem Chúa Giêsu Kitô phục sinh đến và hiện diện trong chúng ta. Cũng như Chúa Jêsus đã từng nói trong bản tính xác thịt của Ngài, bây giờ Ngài nói với chúng ta qua Chúa Thánh Thần. Giống như Phao-lô, chúng ta hãy sẵn sàng lắng nghe tiếng của Chúa qua Chúa Thánh Thần!
Lạy Chúa Thánh Thần, Xin đến và hướng dẫn chúng con hôm nay.
 
Reflection Sat 5^th week of Easter 2014       
In the first reading, we read how twice, the Holy Spirit prevents Paul from pursuing his plans. First, Paul was forbidden to preach the word in Asia, and later, not permitted to travel to Bithynia. The writer of Acts, Luke, does not say how the Spirit acted, that is, whether, through prayer or prophecy. He does tell us, however, that it was a vision or dream in the city of Troas that directed Paul to sail to Macedonia.
Truly, in the Acts of the Apostles, we see how the Holy Spirit uses many means to guide Christians. Luke most frequently mentions prayer, visions, appearances of angles, prophecies and dreams. Luke’s aim is to show the close relationship between the actions of the Risen Christ and that of the Holy Spirit.
Although the Holy Spirit is barely mentioned in the final verses of chapter 15 of John, he is at the centre of Jesus’ prayer at the beginning of chapter 16. Jesus tells the apostles that the Holy Spirit will be a constant guide to them. As the Spirit of Truth, he will speak to them. Through the Spirit, what Jesus says at the right hand of the Father will now be transmitted to the disciples.
When Jesus departed from his earthly life, he gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, who enables the Risen Christ to be present to us and in us. Just as Jesus once spoke in the flesh, he now speaks to us through the Spirit. Like Paul, let us be ready to listen to his voice! Holy Spirit, guide me today.
 
Reflection Sat 5^th week of Easter 2014
Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” John 15:18–19
This is a sobering thought: “the world hates you.” That is, if you are among those who have been taken by our Lord out of the world. In that case, Jesus says that the world will hate you.
No one wants to be hated. No one wants to experience the wrath, persecution, attacks, or ridicule of another. Hatred is ugly, painful and difficult to endure. But that is part of the nature of hate. It’s not only a form of persecution, it’s also a form of manipulation. Hate is an attack upon another by which the hater seeks to inflict injury and to manipulate them to change and conform to their will. The secular and unchristian “world” wants to win you over and away from God. Jesus offers this teaching, in part, to prepare us so that when we do experience hatred from the world, we will not be affected by it nor manipulated to turn from Him. Therefore, this teaching is a revelation of much mercy from our Lord.
Remember that Jesus spoke of three enemies of our soul. The flesh, the devil and the world. In this Gospel passage, to “belong to the world” means that a person allows themself to be negatively influenced by the countless lies embedded within the world. The secular media, pop-culture, biased opinions, social pressures, false images of happiness and the like seek to constantly misguide us and draw us in. We are regularly tempted to believe that fulfillment is found in money, our physical appearance, the recognition of our accomplishments and much more. The world tells us that our opinions must conform to the secular values of the age—and if they don’t, then we are judgmental, close-minded extremists and should be shunned and “canceled” or silenced.
These worldly temptations and pressures are real, and, for that reason, Jesus’ words are freeing. They free us from the manipulations and deceptions we will experience when we live our faith openly for all to see. When we do so, we will be hated by the world. But knowing that provides peace of heart when it happens.
Reflect, today, upon these powerful and consoling words of Jesus. If you do not experience any form of hatred from the world, then this should be a concern and the cause for reflection. And if you do experience some form of hatred, know that our Lord prepared you for this and offers you His strength and courage to endure it with joy. In the end, all that matters is what our Lord thinks—and nothing else. In the end, if you experience hatred by the world in any form, know that this makes you more like Christ Himself.
My persecuted Lord, You endured the hatred and ridicule of many who were engulfed by the false values of the world. I pray that I may share not only in Your life of love and mercy but also in Your strength during the times that I also endure the world’s hatred. I commit myself to You and pray that You continually take me out of the world and bring me close to Yourself. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Reflection Sat 5^th week of Easter 2014
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I am in the world you have created, but this is not my true home. I am a pilgrim and sojourner on a lifelong journey to your house, where your Son has prepared a dwelling for me. Lift up my eyes toward my heavenly home. Do not let me be discouraged on the journey but fill me with hope in your promise.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Persecuted Children of the Father: The Gospel teaches us that Jesus’ disciples do not belong to the world because they have been freed from the sin of the world by Jesus himself. They are no longer slaves to sin and can now enjoy the freedom of the children of God. This freedom does not take away persecution and suffering. Just as the Son of God was persecuted and suffered, we too, as children of God, will be persecuted and suffer. One of the causes of the persecution of the bearers of the Gospel is ignorance: those who persecute the Apostles do not know the Father, who sent his only begotten Son to the world to redeem it. The proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostles, accompanied by signs and wonders accomplished in Jesus’ name, seeks to bring the people out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of Christ. This light is a liberating and merciful light. It uncovers the lies of the world and its false promise of happiness. It reveals to us that we have sinned against God, but that we can be purified in the blood of the Lamb. Today’s Psalm reflects the joy we experience when we walk in the light of Christ. We sing today: “The Lord is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.”
2. The Beginning of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey: In the First Reading, the Acts of the Apostles narrates the beginning of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (A.D. 50-52). Paul set out and invited Barnabas to come with him, saying: “Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are” (Acts 15:37). Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them but Paul disagreed with Barnabas because Mark had abandoned them during the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas decided to separate: Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed to the cities of his homeland in Cyprus. Paul, on the other hand, took Silas with him and went through Syria and Cilicia and returned to the cities of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. During their journeys, both Barnabas and Paul were able to communicate the recent decision of the Council of Jerusalem to the newly founded churches. The Council had decided that Gentiles who came to believe in Jesus did not have to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. There were still some difficulties in accepting this teaching. We see this in Paul’s decision to circumcise Timothy. Paul did this “on account of the Jews” of the region and because Timothy was considered a Jew, and not a Gentile, on his mother’s side. As Paul hands on the teaching of the Council to the recently founded churches, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
3. Persecution in Macedonia: After ministering to the churches in Galatia, Paul and Silas wanted to go north toward Bithynia, but were prevented by the Spirit of Jesus and led instead to the port city of Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a Macedonian imploring him to cross over to Macedonia and help them. In the morning, Paul and Silas discerned that this was God’s will for them: they would preach the Good News in Europe. At Troas, they probably met up with Luke, who accompanied them for a time and set sail with them to Macedonia. During their evangelizing mission, Paul and Silas suffered persecution in Macedonia, especially in the city of Philippi: they were stripped, beaten with rods, and imprisoned. Jesus’ Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John refers to the persecutions that the Apostles would endure as they spread the Gospel to all nations. Jesus’ disciples must know that the world will hate them because it first hated him. Jesus tells us (in John 7:7) that the world, considered here as something negative, hates him because he shows the world that its sinful ways are evil. As the Lamb of God, however, Jesus has come to take away the sin of the world and purify and renew it.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, as a child of God, I will endure persecution and suffer for the Gospel. You know the limits of my strength. I fully trust in you to accompany me, in your Father to care for me, and in your Spirit to guide me.
Living the Word of God: How have I been listening to the Spirit lately? What is the Spirit asking me to do? Where am I called to be a witness to the Good News of our salvation? How am I promoting and proclaiming the teachings of Jesus and the Church? How can I do better?

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ 6 Tuần thứ 5 Phục Sinh

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ 6 Tuần thứ 5 Phục Sinh
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta có thể tóm lại trong bốn sự quan sát có giá trị trong luật yêu thương Chúa Giêsu muốn dạy chúng ta;
- Thứ nhất, sự yêu thương mà chúng ta nói ở đây, không phải là sự yêu thương về cảm giác. Tình yêu đòi hỏi một mối quan hệ mà đi vượt ra ngoài lĩnh vực của cảm giác và xúc cảm. Một người thực sự yêu ai đó sẽ cố gắng mang lại những gì tốt đẹp nhất mà họ có thể dâng hiến và sẵn sàng hy sinh tất cả mọi thứ họ có cho người mà họ yêu. Chúa Giêsu đã hy sinh mạng sống của Ngài cho chúng ta để chúng ta có được sự sống đời đời với Chúa Cha.
Đôi khi, chúng ta có thể quên mình cho người khác như Chúa Giêsu, Chúa không cần đòi hỏi gì nhiều nơi chúng ta, mà chỉ cần chúng ta biết giúp đỡ người khác, chẳng hạn như người khuyết tật, biết dành thời giờ thăm các bệnh nhân, hay là giúp cho một người đang đau khổ tìm được sự an ủi và bình an.’
 - Thứ hai, Chúa Giêsu đang muốn làm bạn với chúng ta trong mối tình thân thiết, nhưng điều kiện cho tình bạn với Ngài không phải là một mối quan hệ bình thường. Nhưng nó đòi hỏi chúng ta phải biết trung thành và vâng lời. Chúng ta chắc chắn không có thể yêu được người khác, nếu chúng ta không biết đầu hàng cái ý chí của chúng ta, hay biết hy sinh từ bỏ những ham muốn, những cái tôi của mình để làm vừa lòng người mình yêu.
-  Thứ ba, Chúa Giêsu chấp nhận chúng ta như những người bạn của Ngài, mà không coi chúng ta như là tôi tớ, của Ngài. Người tôi tớ bắt buộc phải làm những gì khi ông chủ ra lệnh. Tuy nhiên, là bạn bè của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta được tự do, được chia sẻ sự tin tưởng và tình cảm với Ngài. Khi chúng ta trở thành bạn của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta sẽ trải nghiệm được cái nhìn sâu sắc vào Thánh Kinh. Chúng ta sẽ nghe Lời của Thiên Chúa một cách rõ ràng hơn. Những suy nghĩ của chúng ta sẽ trở nên giống như suy nghĩ của Chúa. Chúng ta sẽ thực thi mục đích của Chúa trên trái đất này cũng như ở trên trời.
-  Thứ tư, Chúa Giêsu muốn chúng ta yêu thương nhau như Ngài yêu thương chúng ta, hết lòng và không có sự do dự. Tình yêu của Ngài tràn ngập trong lòng chúng ta và sẽ biến đổi tâm trí và giải phóng chúng ta để chúng ta có thể phục vụ cho người khác. Nếu chúng ta biết  mở rộng tâm hồn của mình cho tình yêu của Thìên Chúa và biết tuân theo mệnh lệnh của Ngài, chúng ta dễ dàng yêu thương những người chung quanh của chúng ta. Và nhờ đó chúng ta sẽ sinh nhiều hoa trái trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, những hoa quả đó sẽ trường tồn mãi mãi.
            Trong mùa Phục Sinh này, chúng ta hãy phát triển tình bằng hữu của chúng ta với Chúa Giêsu, trong Chúa Kitô bắt đầu là sự sơ giao, giản dị và từ từ sẽ đưa đến sự thân mật để chúng ta có thể trở nên giống như Chúa Giêsu biết sẵn sàng đêm tình yêu ấy cho những người khác, và luôn mong muốn có một kết quả tốt đẹp đó là làm đẹp lòng Cha, Đấng hay yêu thương chúng ta.
 
Reflection:
     There are four observations worth noting in this commandment of love:
    First, love we are told here, isn't about feeling. Love entails a relationship which goes beyond the realm of feelings and emotions. Though emotions are involved, at its heart, love is a decision to seek the good of others. Loving as Jesus does means offering what is the most loving thing you can do for a particular person in a particular moment. A true lover gives the best he can offer and is willing to sacrifice everything he has for the beloved. Jesus gave his very life for us so that we have everlasting life with the Father. Sometimes, laying down our lives as Jesus does entails nothing more than to help someone who is handicapped, to take the time to visit the sick, or to offer comfort to someone who is in grief.
     Second, Jesus is seeking intimate friendship with us, but He gives condition for his friendship.  Friendship with Jesus is not a casual relationship. It demands "abiding," being loyal and obedient. We just can't love another without some surrender of our will.
     Third, Jesus is accepting us as his friends, not as his slaves. A slave is expected to do what his master instructs him to do, whether or not he likes it, and whether or not he understands why he is commanded to do it. But as Jesus' friends, we share a mutual trust and affection with him. As we become Jesus' friends, he will disclose his plans and purposes to us. He will share his thinking, his goals, and his motivations for doing things. We will come to know his heart and mind. We will experience a greater degree of insight into the Scriptures. We will hear the voice of God more clearly. Our thoughts will become more like his thoughts. We will carry out his purposes on earth as they are in heaven.
     Fourth, Jesus wants us to love one another just as he loves us, whole-heartedly and without reserve. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will bear much fruit in our lives, fruit that will last for eternity.    
             During this Easter season, let us develop our friendship with Jesus, from casual to intimate so that we may become like Jesus willing to be put out for others, desirous to bear fruit that is pleasing to our loving Father. 
 
Friday 5^th week of Easter 2024
Jesus said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.” John 15:18–19
This is a sobering thought: “the world hates you.” That is, if you are among those who have been taken by our Lord out of the world. In that case, Jesus says that the world will hate you.
No one wants to be hated. No one wants to experience the wrath, persecution, attacks, or ridicule of another. Hatred is ugly, painful and difficult to endure. But that is part of the nature of hate. It’s not only a form of persecution, it’s also a form of manipulation. Hate is an attack upon another by which the hater seeks to inflict injury and to manipulate them to change and conform to their will. The secular and unchristian “world” wants to win you over and away from God. Jesus offers this teaching, in part, to prepare us so that when we do experience hatred from the world, we will not be affected by it nor manipulated to turn from Him. Therefore, this teaching is a revelation of much mercy from our Lord.
Remember that Jesus spoke of three enemies of our soul. The flesh, the devil and the world. In this Gospel passage, to “belong to the world” means that a person allows themself to be negatively influenced by the countless lies embedded within the world. The secular media, pop-culture, biased opinions, social pressures, false images of happiness and the like seek to constantly misguide us and draw us in. We are regularly tempted to believe that fulfillment is found in money, our physical appearance, the recognition of our accomplishments and much more. The world tells us that our opinions must conform to the secular values of the age—and if they don’t, then we are judgmental, close-minded extremists and should be shunned and “canceled” or silenced.
These worldly temptations and pressures are real, and, for that reason, Jesus’ words are freeing. They free us from the manipulations and deceptions we will experience when we live our faith openly for all to see. When we do so, we will be hated by the world. But knowing that provides peace of heart when it happens.
Reflect, today, upon these powerful and consoling words of Jesus. If you do not experience any form of hatred from the world, then this should be a concern and the cause for reflection. And if you do experience some form of hatred, know that our Lord prepared you for this and offers you His strength and courage to endure it with joy. In the end, all that matters is what our Lord thinks—and nothing else. In the end, if you experience hatred by the world in any form, know that this makes you more like Christ Himself.
My persecuted Lord, You endured the hatred and ridicule of many who were engulfed by the false values of the world. I pray that I may share not only in Your life of love and mercy but also in Your strength during the times that I also endure the world’s hatred. I commit myself to You and pray that You continually take me out of the world and bring me close to Yourself. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday 5^th week of Easter 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I am in the world you have created, but this is not my true home. I am a pilgrim and sojourner on a lifelong journey to your house, where your Son has prepared a dwelling for me. Lift up my eyes toward my heavenly home. Do not let me be discouraged on the journey but fill me with hope in your promise.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Persecuted Children of the Father: The Gospel teaches us that Jesus’ disciples do not belong to the world because they have been freed from the sin of the world by Jesus himself. They are no longer slaves to sin and can now enjoy the freedom of the children of God. This freedom does not take away persecution and suffering. Just as the Son of God was persecuted and suffered, we too, as children of God, will be persecuted and suffer. One of the causes of the persecution of the bearers of the Gospel is ignorance: those who persecute the Apostles do not know the Father, who sent his only begotten Son to the world to redeem it. The proclamation of the Gospel by the Apostles, accompanied by signs and wonders accomplished in Jesus’ name, seeks to bring the people out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of Christ. This light is a liberating and merciful light. It uncovers the lies of the world and its false promise of happiness. It reveals to us that we have sinned against God, but that we can be purified in the blood of the Lamb. Today’s Psalm reflects the joy we experience when we walk in the light of Christ. We sing today: “The Lord is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.”
2. The Beginning of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey: In the First Reading, the Acts of the Apostles narrates the beginning of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (A.D. 50-52). Paul set out and invited Barnabas to come with him, saying: “Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are” (Acts 15:37). Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them but Paul disagreed with Barnabas because Mark had abandoned them during the first missionary journey. Paul and Barnabas decided to separate: Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed to the cities of his homeland in Cyprus. Paul, on the other hand, took Silas with him and went through Syria and Cilicia and returned to the cities of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. During their journeys, both Barnabas and Paul were able to communicate the recent decision of the Council of Jerusalem to the newly founded churches. The Council had decided that Gentiles who came to believe in Jesus did not have to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. There were still some difficulties in accepting this teaching. We see this in Paul’s decision to circumcise Timothy. Paul did this “on account of the Jews” of the region and because Timothy was considered a Jew, and not a Gentile, on his mother’s side. As Paul hands on the teaching of the Council to the recently founded churches, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.
3. Persecution in Macedonia: After ministering to the churches in Galatia, Paul and Silas wanted to go north toward Bithynia, but were prevented by the Spirit of Jesus and led instead to the port city of Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision of a Macedonian imploring him to cross over to Macedonia and help them. In the morning, Paul and Silas discerned that this was God’s will for them: they would preach the Good News in Europe. At Troas, they probably met up with Luke, who accompanied them for a time and set sail with them to Macedonia. During their evangelizing mission, Paul and Silas suffered persecution in Macedonia, especially in the city of Philippi: they were stripped, beaten with rods, and imprisoned. Jesus’ Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John refers to the persecutions that the Apostles would endure as they spread the Gospel to all nations. Jesus’ disciples must know that the world will hate them because it first hated him. Jesus tells us (in John 7:7) that the world, considered here as something negative, hates him because he shows the world that its sinful ways are evil. As the Lamb of God, however, Jesus has come to take away the sin of the world and purify and renew it.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, as a child of God, I will endure persecution and suffer for the Gospel. You know the limits of my strength. I fully trust in you to accompany me, in your Father to care for me, and in your Spirit to guide me.
Living the Word of God: How have I been listening to the Spirit lately? What is the Spirit asking me to do? Where am I called to be a witness to the Good News of our salvation? How am I promoting and proclaiming the teachings of Jesus and the Church? How can I do better?

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Ngày 3/5 Lể Thánh Philiphê và Giacôbê Tông Đồ

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Ngày 3/5 Lể Thánh Philiphê và Giacôbê Tông Đồ
            Tin mừng hôm nay cho chúng ta câu trả lời chi câu hỏi của thánh Philiphê: “ làm thế nào để cho chúng ta đến với Chúa Cha?”.
Để trả lời câu hỏi này,  Chúa Giêsu Kitô đã đáp trả với  một góc nhìn đôi: Bất cứ ai đã thấy Chúa Giêsu, là thấy Chúa Cha (khía cạnh cá nhân), và ai thấy việc Ngài đang thực hiện là thấy được những việc mà Đức Chúa Cha làm (khía cạnh liên tác). 
Trong các công trình Chúa Cha đang làm là công việc Chúa Giêsu đang thực hiện và ngược lại.  Bài tin mừng này tiếp tục chuyển tiếp và mở rộng cho chúng ta theo hai chiều hướng bao gồm các yếu tố về con người: đó là việc làm, hành động và việc cầu nguyện.
- Việc làm, Hành động: bất cứ ai tin vào Chúa Giêsu sẽ làm các công việc mà Ngài làm.
- Cầu nguyện:  bất cứ ai trong chúng ta xin điều gì vì danh Chúa Giêsu Kitô, Ngài sẽ ban cho chúng ta điều chúng ta xin đó.  Nhưng, việc đầu tiên phải được nhấn mạnh đến đức tin ("ai tin ta"); thứ hai, nhấn mạnh về đời sống thiêng liêng của làm("những việc ta làm").
            Các tông đồ có thể không hiểu được hoàn toàn sự quan hệ hiệp nhất giữa Chúa Cha và Chúa Giêsu, họ đã không nhận ra Chúa Giêsu là Thiên Chúa và là con người trong cùng một bản thể.   Nhưng Ngài không giới hạn chính mình để chứng minh sự bình đẳng của Ngài với Đức Chúa Cha, Ngài cũng nhắc nhở cho họ biết rằng họ được chọn để tiếp tục thực hiện công việc Cứu chuộc của Ngài: Ngài trao cho họ sức mạnh để làm phép lạ, Ngài hứa với họ rằng Ngài sẽ ở bên họ mãi mãi trong mọi ngày, và tất cả mọi thứ gì họ kêu xin vì danh Ngài, Ngài sẽ ban cho.
            Chúng ta là những môn đệ của Chúa Kitô Hôm nay, Chúa cũng hứa sẽ ở lại với chúng ta luôn mãi và ban cho chúng ta tất cả những ơn gì mà chúng ta biết chạy đến kêu cầu danh ngài. Nếu chúng ta có lòng tin và sự hiệp nhất trong Chúa Kitô như các thánh Tông đồ. 
 
Reflection 3, 2017  – STS. PHILIP AND JAMES, Apostles
     In the Gospel reading today, we hear Philip asking Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that is enough." Jesus reminds Philip, his apostle-companions and all of us, that "whoever sees me, sees the Father." Indeed, the Gospel Good News is about the Triune God loving us and sending the Son in order that he may reveal the Father and his love for us.
     In our younger years, we were taught in catechism class a song which reflected today's reading: "Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; his banner over me is love." Though we did not fully understand the song, we loved to sing it.  For adults, what does the song say? What does it mean for Jesus to be "the way, the truth and the life"? He is the Way to the Father: we know the Father through him; he is truth as God is all Truth; he is life as God himself is Life.
     The song ends, "his banner over me is love": Jesus revealed to us the love of the Father for us.
 
STS. PHILIP AND JAMES, Apostles
Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:8–9
Today’s liturgical feast is in honor of two of the Apostles, Philip and James the Lesser.  Little is known about James other than that he was chosen by our Lord for the apostolic ministry and that we have one of his letters, which is contained in the New Testament.  James eventually went to Jerusalem and led the Church for a few decades until he was stoned to death as a martyr. Philip preached in Greece, Phrygia and Syria.  He and Saint Bartholomew were thought to have been crucified upside down. Philip preached upside down from the cross until his death.
In the Gospel for today’s Mass, we are presented with an encounter that Philip had with Jesus. Though this encounter appears to be a rebuke of Philip by Jesus, it’s a rebuke that is quite heartfelt. Jesus says, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?” Jesus did, indeed, spend much time with His disciples. They stayed together, ate together, traveled together and spent much time talking with each other. Therefore, Jesus’ comments to Philip emanated from His real and lived personal relationship with Philip.
Take the first part of that statement to begin with. “Have I been with you so long…” Imagine Jesus saying this to you. Is this something He would be able to say to you? Is it true that you do spend much time with Him? Do you spend time reading the Gospels, speaking to Him from the depths of your heart, conversing with Him, praying to Him and listening to His gentle voice?
But Jesus goes on: “…and you still do not know me…?” This is a humble truth that is important to admit. It is true that even those who have a very deep and transforming life of prayer do not know our Lord deeply enough. There is no limit to the transformation that can take place in our lives when we know Jesus personally.
Jesus’ statement goes on: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” So the next question is this: “Do you know the Father?” Do you know the Father’s love, His care for you, His perfect will? Though the Father and the Son are united as one God, They are still distinct Persons, and we must, therefore, work to establish a relationship of love with each one of them.
As initially mentioned, the comments from Jesus are a gentle rebuke of love to Philip, and He wants to speak this same gentle rebuke to you. But it’s a rebuke of love meant to encourage you to get to know Him better. It’s an invitation to personalize your relationship with Jesus and the Father in a real and concrete way. Do you know Him? Do you know the Son of God? Do you know the Father in Heaven?
Reflect, today, upon these loving questions of our Lord as if they were spoken to you. Let His words encourage you to get to know Him more deeply. Pray for your relationship to become more personal and transforming. And as you get to know our Lord more intimately, know that it is also the Father in Heaven Whom you are getting to know.
My divine and personal Lord, it is the deepest desire of Your Sacred Heart to know me and to love me. Fill my heart with this same desire so that I will not only know You, dear Lord, but also the Father in Heaven. Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your perfect love and pray that I may open myself to that love more fully each and every day. Saints Philip and James, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Reflection 3, 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, throughout the year I contemplate the example of the saints. They were holy men and women who sought to heed your word and accomplish your will. I pray that I too may live a holy life like the saints and be attentive to the action of the Holy Spirit in my life. 
Encountering the Word of God
1. Saint Philip the Apostle: Philip was from Bethsaida, a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the Gospel of John, Philip was the one who introduced Nathanael (Bartholomew) to Jesus of Nazareth. Philip responded to Nathanael's skeptical question, “Can anything good come from Nazareth,” by inviting Nathanael to “come and see” Jesus (John 1:46). In this way, Philip the Apostle “engages us to become closely acquainted with Jesus” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). Only by truly encountering Jesus and dwelling with Jesus can the Apostles proclaim him to all the nations. Like the Apostles, we need to enter into contact with Jesus by listening to him in prayer, responding to him in faith and love, and living in communion with him. This communion enables us to give witness to him and bring ourselves to encounter him and find life. At the sign of the multiplication of the loaves, it was Philip who told Jesus that two hundred days’ wages would not be enough to buy bread for the large crowd (John 6:7). Philip, who has a Greek name meaning “friend of horses,” was also one of the ones who brought the Greeks to speak to Jesus (John 12:20-22). Finally, during the Last Supper, Philip was the one who told Jesus: “Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied” (John 14:8). Philip learned that night that seeing the face of Jesus is to behold the face of the Lord God. Through the Incarnation, “God gave himself a human face, the Face of Jesus, and consequently, from now on, if we truly want to know the Face of God, all we have to do is to contemplate the Face of Jesus! In his Face we truly see who God is and what he looks like!” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). Philip ultimately gave his life for Christ and, after preaching in Greece, was martyred at Hierapolis in Phrygia (Asia Minor).
2. Saint James the Lesser: Two of Jesus’ apostles had the name “James.” Tradition gave them the titles “greater” (older or taller) and “lesser” (younger or shorter) to distinguish them. James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Apostle and was martyred in A.D. 44. James the Lesser, whom we celebrate today, was the son of Alphaeus. He came from Nazareth and was probably a relative of Jesus. In the Acts of the Apostles, James the Lesser acted as the Bishop of Jerusalem. During the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 49, he agreed with Peter’s decision and declared that Gentile pagans could be received into the Church without first submitting to circumcision (see Acts 15:13). Today’s First Reading declares that James saw the risen Lord after Peter. Regarding his martyrdom, Flavius Josephus “says that the death of James was decided with an illegal initiative by the High Priest Ananus, a son of the Ananias attested to in the Gospels” (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). During the interval between the Roman Procurator Festus and his successor Albinus, James was martyred by being thrown from the terrace of the Temple and then stoned to death. James was likely the author of the Letter included in the New Testament. The Letter holds that our faith cannot be reduced to mere lip service but needs to be expressed in charity and good works. The Letter of James teaches us that “faith must be fulfilled in life, above all, in love of neighbor and especially in dedication to the poor” (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). 
3. What Do the Two Apostles Teach Us? Philip teaches us to seek Jesus and find in Jesus, the Face of God. He “teaches us to let ourselves be won over by Jesus, to be with him and also to invite others to share in this indispensable company; and in seeing, finding God, to find true life” (Benedict XVI, September 6, 2006). James teaches us to abandon ourselves to the will of God, who knows what is truly good for us (Benedict XVI, June 28, 2006). The teaching of James on how we are justified does not oppose that of Paul. Paul often speaks about our initial, unmerited justification. Paul teaches that we are justified not by the works of the Old Law, but by faith in Jesus Christ and by God’s grace. James emphasizes the ongoing process of our justification and teaches that we are justified and sanctified not by an empty faith, but by a faith informed by love and manifested in good and charitable works. As Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians, what counts is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help my faith flourish in works of love today. Show me your face so that I may see the Face of the Father. Move my heart to spend time with you and dwell with you so that I may bring others to encounter you.
Living the Word of God: Is there anyone in my family or workplace that I can bring to Jesus through my words and actions? What good works are evidence of my faith in Jesus?