Suy
Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy, Tuần 2 Mùa Chay
Qua
Bài dụ ngôn hôm nay, Chúa
Giêsu cho chúng ta biết về sự tha
thứ của Thiên Chúa, như Người cha nhân từ mong mỏi chờ đợi người con hư đốn trở về.. Thiên Chúa như người cha già đã
vui mừng khi thấy ngưòi con đã trở về từ đằng xa. Khi người con đến, ông đã tha thứ cho anh ta mà không một có lời trách cứ. Đó là cách mà Thiên Chúa đã tha thứ cho chúng ta.
Sự trở về của người con hoang đàng không phải là sự kết thúc của câu chuyện. Còn người anh trai nữa, Anh đã thực sự không hài lòng khi biết rằng người em của mình đã trở về và được người cha tiếp đón tiệc đãi linh đình. Người Anh này đại diện cho những người Pharisêu tự mãn, những người chỉ muốn thấy những tội nhân phải được tiêu diệt hơn là tha thứ và được cứu rỗi. Thái độ của anh ta cho thấy rằng những năm anh ta đã vâng phục cha mình, là những năm anh làm nhiệm vụ của mình trong sự khắc nghiệt chứ không phải là sự phục vụ trong yêu thương. Thái độ của anh ta là một trong những thái độ thiếu sự thông cảm hoàn toàn, khi anh ta từ chối người Cha đến với bữa tiệc mừng người em trở về.
Tiên tri Micah đã viết về tình yêu trung tín của Thiên Chúa và chúng ta không thể đứng trước mặt Thiên Chúa mà nói rằng chúng ta công chính; Thiên Chúa mới là Đấng từ bi và nhân hậu.
Lạy Chúa, cho chúng con thấy được tình yêu trung tín của Chúa và xin thương xót chúng con mãi mãi.
Saturday 2nd
week of Lent
Today’s Gospel should never have been called the parable of the Prodigal Son, for the son is not the hero. It should be called the parable of the Loving Father, for it tells us rather about a father’s love than a son’s sin.
It tells us much about the forgiveness of God. The father must have been waiting and watching for the son to come home, for he saw him a long way off. When he came, he forgave him with no recriminations. There is a way of forgiving, when forgiveness is conferred as a favour, but that is not the forgiveness which Jesus speaks about. The Prodigal’s return is not the end of the story. There enters the elder brother who was actually sorry that his brother had come home. He stands for the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. His attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not of loving service. His attitude is one of utter lack of sympathy, but the Father includes him in the feast.
Prophet Micah and psalmist write about the faithful love of God. We cannot stand before God saying we are righteous; it is God who is compassionate and merciful.
Lord, show us your faithful love and have mercy on us for ever.
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
“Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.” Luke 15:22–24
This was the reaction of the faithful son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Recall that after squandering his inheritance, the Prodigal Son returns home humiliated and poor, asking his father if he will take him back and treat him as if he were a hired hand. But the father surprises him and throws a huge party for the son to celebrate his return. But the father’s other son, the one who remained with him throughout the years, would not join in the celebration.
Was it fair that the father killed the fatted calf and threw this large party to celebrate his wayward son’s return? Was it fair that that same father apparently never even gave his faithful son a young goat to feast on with his friends? The right answer is that this is the wrong question.
It’s easy for us to live in such a way that we always want things to be “fair.” And when we perceive that another receives more than us, we can get angry and bitter. But asking whether or not this is fair is not the right question. When it comes to the mercy of God, God’s generosity and goodness far exceed what is perceived as fair. And if we are to share in the abundant mercy of God, we too must learn to rejoice in His superabundant mercy.
In this story, the act of mercy given to his wayward son was exactly what that son needed. He needed to know that no matter what he had done in the past, his father loved him and rejoiced in his return. Therefore, this son needed an abundance of mercy partly to reassure him of his father’s love. He needed this extra consolation so as to become convinced that he made the right choice in returning.
The other son, the one who had remained faithful throughout the years, was not treated unfairly. Rather, his discontent came from the fact that he himself lacked the same abundant mercy present in the heart of his father. He failed to love his brother to the same extent and, therefore, failed to see the need to offer this consolation to his brother as a way of helping him understand he was forgiven and welcomed back. Mercy is very demanding and far exceeds what we may at first perceive as rational and just. But if we desire to receive mercy in abundance, we must be ready and willing to offer it to those who need it the most.
Reflect, today, upon how merciful and generous you are willing to be, especially toward those who do not appear to deserve it. Remind yourself that the life of grace is not about being fair; it’s about being generous to a shocking extent. Commit yourself to this depth of generosity toward all and look for ways that you can console another’s heart with the mercy of God. If you do, that generous love will also bless your heart in abundance.
My most generous Lord, You are compassionate beyond what I can fathom. Your mercy and goodness far exceed what any of us deserve. Help me to be eternally grateful for Your goodness and help me to offer that same depth of mercy to those in most need. Jesus, I trust in You.
Saturday 2nd
week of Lent 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are my merciful Father always ready to embrace me when I return home. Comfort me in your arms and wipe my tears away. Do not let me forget how good it is to be in your house.
1. God will Cast All our Sins into the Sea: God does not want the sinner to remain and die in their sin and works untiringly to restore his children to life when they have strayed. When we return to God with humility and a contrite heart, God removes our guilt and pardons our sins. The image used by the prophet Micah is very vivid: God will tread our guilt underfoot and cast our sins into the depths of the sea. The Gospels teach us that the reign of sin and death is over, for Jesus has conquered both. In fact, in the Book of Revelation we are told that the sea, the place where our sins are cast, “was no more” (Rev 21:1). There is no place for sin and death in heaven, the dwelling of God’s love. The passage from Micah ends by recalling God’s faithfulness to the covenants made with Abraham and Jacob. Even though we fail and are unfaithful, God remains faithful to his covenant and seeks to bring us into the New Covenant of Christ’s blood.
2. The Merciful Father: The characteristics of God in the Book of Micah apply perfectly to the father of the two sons in today’s Gospel. On the one hand, God the Father delights in clemency and has compassion on sinners; on the other, the father in the Gospel parable shows mercy and compassion toward both of his sons. He welcomes his prodigal younger son, runs toward him with open arms, and restores him to sonship. He leaves the feast to plead with his indignant older son to forgive his younger brother and enter into the feast to celebrate. Whether we have sinned like the younger son by our greed and sensuality or sinned like the older son by our pride and anger, God the Father is ready to welcome us back into his embrace and household. The return of the sinner is not a cause for judgment but for rejoicing. Even though it is difficult, we need to imitate our heavenly Father in his mercy and welcome our brothers and sisters back into God’s household with joy.
3. Which Son Are We? Jesus has taught us that we will be judged as we have judged others. And in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God forgive us our trespasses – the debt we have incurred due to sin – as we forgive those who trespass against us. If we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us. Sometimes we can reduce Jesus’ parable to the return and forgiveness of the prodigal son. This forgets the fact that the parable is addressed to the Pharisees and scribes who are acting like the older son. When we hear the parable, are we like the younger son, who needs to repent from sin and return to the Father’s house? Or are we like the older son, who is angry at his Father’s mercy toward his brother?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your parables continue to speak to me and reveal the mysteries of God and the Kingdom. Help me to be merciful like you and your Father. When I struggle to repent, move my heart with your grace. When I struggle to forgive, soften my heart with your grace.
Living the Word of God: What are my main sins? If I list them out, am I more like the younger son or the older son? Do I need to be forgiven today like the sons in the parable or do I ne
Saturday 2nd
week of Lent
Opening Prayer:
Encountering Christ:
1. Let Me Tell You about My Father: Jesus would like to show us how much the Father loves us, but he doesn’t have many good examples to draw from. There were many great, virtuous men in Israelite history, but they all had flaws. None would do as an example of the Father’s love because of their shortcomings. How could he make us understand, give us at least a glimmer of the Father’s love? In the end, he invented a father in this parable–a parable we often call “The Prodigal Son” because we identify more with the younger son–but which many theologians and Scripture scholars call “The Father of Mercies” because it is the father in the parable who is the real hero.
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Luke 15:1-3,11-32 - Thứ Bẩy Tuần 2 Mùa Chay
- Như người Pharisiêu và các thầy thông giáo, người anh tự cho mình là người sống trong sự ngay chính, nên đã không mấy vui mừng khi thấy một tội nhân trở về với Thiên Chúa. Lòng tị hiềm, oán giận, ghen tương, giận dữ, ích kỷ đã biến người anh ra nhỏ nhen, không còn bác ái để tha thứ cho em mình. Hôm nay, chúng ta hãy tự xét mình, tự hỏi chính mình xem đã bao lần chúng ta đã ngạo mạn giống như ngưòi anh trong bài dụ ngôn hôm nay, cố chấp, ghen tương, nhỏ mọn?. Xin Chúa giúp chúng ta có can đảm, thêm lòng bác ái để từ bỏ cái tôi của chúng ta, đế biết đối xử với nhau một cách rộng lượng và nhân từ hơn.
Reflection.
God delights in showing mercy. This is wonderful news for anyone who has ever sinned. Today we hear a story filled with images of the nature of sin and the nature of mercy — the prodigal son. We see how selfish behavior and sin may seem delightful at times. Ultimately, however, sin does not deliver on what it promises. Like the wandering son, we discover that it makes us isolated, lonely, disappointed and hungry for something that will truly fill the hole in our hearts.
The returning son comes to the father sorry and willing to change. For the father, this is more than enough. The father does not even allow the son to give his apology speech, he runs to him and embraces him in love. The son’s return is celebrated. Is there a place in my life that I hunger for reconciliation with God? Is there a space in my heart that I desire to be filled by God’s healing and love?
Today is an opportunity to humbly approach the Father and ask for what we desire. If a person is sorry and willing to change, there is no sin that is unforgiveable. God yearns to be reconciled with us
Sự trở về của người con hoang đàng không phải là sự kết thúc của câu chuyện. Còn người anh trai nữa, Anh đã thực sự không hài lòng khi biết rằng người em của mình đã trở về và được người cha tiếp đón tiệc đãi linh đình. Người Anh này đại diện cho những người Pharisêu tự mãn, những người chỉ muốn thấy những tội nhân phải được tiêu diệt hơn là tha thứ và được cứu rỗi. Thái độ của anh ta cho thấy rằng những năm anh ta đã vâng phục cha mình, là những năm anh làm nhiệm vụ của mình trong sự khắc nghiệt chứ không phải là sự phục vụ trong yêu thương. Thái độ của anh ta là một trong những thái độ thiếu sự thông cảm hoàn toàn, khi anh ta từ chối người Cha đến với bữa tiệc mừng người em trở về.
Tiên tri Micah đã viết về tình yêu trung tín của Thiên Chúa và chúng ta không thể đứng trước mặt Thiên Chúa mà nói rằng chúng ta công chính; Thiên Chúa mới là Đấng từ bi và nhân hậu.
Lạy Chúa, cho chúng con thấy được tình yêu trung tín của Chúa và xin thương xót chúng con mãi mãi.
Today’s Gospel should never have been called the parable of the Prodigal Son, for the son is not the hero. It should be called the parable of the Loving Father, for it tells us rather about a father’s love than a son’s sin.
It tells us much about the forgiveness of God. The father must have been waiting and watching for the son to come home, for he saw him a long way off. When he came, he forgave him with no recriminations. There is a way of forgiving, when forgiveness is conferred as a favour, but that is not the forgiveness which Jesus speaks about. The Prodigal’s return is not the end of the story. There enters the elder brother who was actually sorry that his brother had come home. He stands for the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. His attitude shows that his years of obedience to his father had been years of grim duty and not of loving service. His attitude is one of utter lack of sympathy, but the Father includes him in the feast.
Prophet Micah and psalmist write about the faithful love of God. We cannot stand before God saying we are righteous; it is God who is compassionate and merciful.
Lord, show us your faithful love and have mercy on us for ever.
“Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.” Luke 15:22–24
This was the reaction of the faithful son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Recall that after squandering his inheritance, the Prodigal Son returns home humiliated and poor, asking his father if he will take him back and treat him as if he were a hired hand. But the father surprises him and throws a huge party for the son to celebrate his return. But the father’s other son, the one who remained with him throughout the years, would not join in the celebration.
Was it fair that the father killed the fatted calf and threw this large party to celebrate his wayward son’s return? Was it fair that that same father apparently never even gave his faithful son a young goat to feast on with his friends? The right answer is that this is the wrong question.
It’s easy for us to live in such a way that we always want things to be “fair.” And when we perceive that another receives more than us, we can get angry and bitter. But asking whether or not this is fair is not the right question. When it comes to the mercy of God, God’s generosity and goodness far exceed what is perceived as fair. And if we are to share in the abundant mercy of God, we too must learn to rejoice in His superabundant mercy.
In this story, the act of mercy given to his wayward son was exactly what that son needed. He needed to know that no matter what he had done in the past, his father loved him and rejoiced in his return. Therefore, this son needed an abundance of mercy partly to reassure him of his father’s love. He needed this extra consolation so as to become convinced that he made the right choice in returning.
The other son, the one who had remained faithful throughout the years, was not treated unfairly. Rather, his discontent came from the fact that he himself lacked the same abundant mercy present in the heart of his father. He failed to love his brother to the same extent and, therefore, failed to see the need to offer this consolation to his brother as a way of helping him understand he was forgiven and welcomed back. Mercy is very demanding and far exceeds what we may at first perceive as rational and just. But if we desire to receive mercy in abundance, we must be ready and willing to offer it to those who need it the most.
Reflect, today, upon how merciful and generous you are willing to be, especially toward those who do not appear to deserve it. Remind yourself that the life of grace is not about being fair; it’s about being generous to a shocking extent. Commit yourself to this depth of generosity toward all and look for ways that you can console another’s heart with the mercy of God. If you do, that generous love will also bless your heart in abundance.
My most generous Lord, You are compassionate beyond what I can fathom. Your mercy and goodness far exceed what any of us deserve. Help me to be eternally grateful for Your goodness and help me to offer that same depth of mercy to those in most need. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are my merciful Father always ready to embrace me when I return home. Comfort me in your arms and wipe my tears away. Do not let me forget how good it is to be in your house.
1. God will Cast All our Sins into the Sea: God does not want the sinner to remain and die in their sin and works untiringly to restore his children to life when they have strayed. When we return to God with humility and a contrite heart, God removes our guilt and pardons our sins. The image used by the prophet Micah is very vivid: God will tread our guilt underfoot and cast our sins into the depths of the sea. The Gospels teach us that the reign of sin and death is over, for Jesus has conquered both. In fact, in the Book of Revelation we are told that the sea, the place where our sins are cast, “was no more” (Rev 21:1). There is no place for sin and death in heaven, the dwelling of God’s love. The passage from Micah ends by recalling God’s faithfulness to the covenants made with Abraham and Jacob. Even though we fail and are unfaithful, God remains faithful to his covenant and seeks to bring us into the New Covenant of Christ’s blood.
2. The Merciful Father: The characteristics of God in the Book of Micah apply perfectly to the father of the two sons in today’s Gospel. On the one hand, God the Father delights in clemency and has compassion on sinners; on the other, the father in the Gospel parable shows mercy and compassion toward both of his sons. He welcomes his prodigal younger son, runs toward him with open arms, and restores him to sonship. He leaves the feast to plead with his indignant older son to forgive his younger brother and enter into the feast to celebrate. Whether we have sinned like the younger son by our greed and sensuality or sinned like the older son by our pride and anger, God the Father is ready to welcome us back into his embrace and household. The return of the sinner is not a cause for judgment but for rejoicing. Even though it is difficult, we need to imitate our heavenly Father in his mercy and welcome our brothers and sisters back into God’s household with joy.
3. Which Son Are We? Jesus has taught us that we will be judged as we have judged others. And in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God forgive us our trespasses – the debt we have incurred due to sin – as we forgive those who trespass against us. If we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us. Sometimes we can reduce Jesus’ parable to the return and forgiveness of the prodigal son. This forgets the fact that the parable is addressed to the Pharisees and scribes who are acting like the older son. When we hear the parable, are we like the younger son, who needs to repent from sin and return to the Father’s house? Or are we like the older son, who is angry at his Father’s mercy toward his brother?
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your parables continue to speak to me and reveal the mysteries of God and the Kingdom. Help me to be merciful like you and your Father. When I struggle to repent, move my heart with your grace. When I struggle to forgive, soften my heart with your grace.
Living the Word of God: What are my main sins? If I list them out, am I more like the younger son or the older son? Do I need to be forgiven today like the sons in the parable or do I ne
Opening Prayer:
Encountering Christ:
1. Let Me Tell You about My Father: Jesus would like to show us how much the Father loves us, but he doesn’t have many good examples to draw from. There were many great, virtuous men in Israelite history, but they all had flaws. None would do as an example of the Father’s love because of their shortcomings. How could he make us understand, give us at least a glimmer of the Father’s love? In the end, he invented a father in this parable–a parable we often call “The Prodigal Son” because we identify more with the younger son–but which many theologians and Scripture scholars call “The Father of Mercies” because it is the father in the parable who is the real hero.
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Luke 15:1-3,11-32 - Thứ Bẩy Tuần 2 Mùa Chay
- Như người Pharisiêu và các thầy thông giáo, người anh tự cho mình là người sống trong sự ngay chính, nên đã không mấy vui mừng khi thấy một tội nhân trở về với Thiên Chúa. Lòng tị hiềm, oán giận, ghen tương, giận dữ, ích kỷ đã biến người anh ra nhỏ nhen, không còn bác ái để tha thứ cho em mình. Hôm nay, chúng ta hãy tự xét mình, tự hỏi chính mình xem đã bao lần chúng ta đã ngạo mạn giống như ngưòi anh trong bài dụ ngôn hôm nay, cố chấp, ghen tương, nhỏ mọn?. Xin Chúa giúp chúng ta có can đảm, thêm lòng bác ái để từ bỏ cái tôi của chúng ta, đế biết đối xử với nhau một cách rộng lượng và nhân từ hơn.
God delights in showing mercy. This is wonderful news for anyone who has ever sinned. Today we hear a story filled with images of the nature of sin and the nature of mercy — the prodigal son. We see how selfish behavior and sin may seem delightful at times. Ultimately, however, sin does not deliver on what it promises. Like the wandering son, we discover that it makes us isolated, lonely, disappointed and hungry for something that will truly fill the hole in our hearts.
The returning son comes to the father sorry and willing to change. For the father, this is more than enough. The father does not even allow the son to give his apology speech, he runs to him and embraces him in love. The son’s return is celebrated. Is there a place in my life that I hunger for reconciliation with God? Is there a space in my heart that I desire to be filled by God’s healing and love?
Today is an opportunity to humbly approach the Father and ask for what we desire. If a person is sorry and willing to change, there is no sin that is unforgiveable. God yearns to be reconciled with us
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