Suy Niệm Thứ Sáu Tuần Thánh - Cuộc Khổ Nạn của Chúa Kitô

Suy Niệm Thứ Sáu Tuần Thánh - Cuộc Khổ Nạn của Chúa Kitô
Hôm nay, chúng ta tưởng niệm cuộc Khổ Nạn của Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Cuộc hành trình Thương khó của Ngài, bắt đầu tại nhà Tiệc Ly với Bí Tích Thánh Thể, đến Vườn Cây Dầu nơi Ngài bị bắt, Ngài bị dắt đi đến các cung điện của Cai Pha thầy cả thượng tế, và vua Hêrôđê, Dinh thự của quan tổng trấn Philatô, và cuối cùng đồi Calvary (núi sọ) nơi Chúa đã chết và ngôi mộ bỏ hoang. 
            Ở mỗi một nơi và ở những địa điểm này, tất cả chúng ta, mỗi người đã làm cho Chúa Giêsu Kitô đã phải chịu đau khổ cách này hay cách khác và Ngài đã phải chết để cứu chuộc chúng ta và nhân loại tội lỗi.
            Thiên Chúa có thể có thể cứu chuộc chúng ta bằng hàng ngàn cách khác nhau, Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã chọn con đường hèn hạ nhất, nhục nhã nhất, đau khổ nhất chỉ vì yêu thương chúng ta quá đỗi. Vì quá yêu thương chúng ta mà Ngài đã phải từ bỏ chính cuộc sống của chính mình, để đem lại sự sống cho mỗi người chúng ta. Đó là chương trình cứu độ của thiên Chúa, chương trình của tình yêu vĩ đại nhất mà Ngài đã dành cho con người tội lỗi chúng ta. Nhất định đây không phải là sự ngẫu hứng: nhưng chính đó là điều đã được tiên báo trước trong Cựu Ước, như Chúa Giêsu đã nhắc đến những việc đó sẽ xảy ra trong nhiều lần.
            Trong Bữa Tiệc Ly, Ngài đã ban cho chúng ta của ăn, thức uống để nuôi dưỡng linh hồn chúng ta được sống đời đời; đó chính là thân mình, thịt và máu của Ngài đã hy sinh. Tại vườn cây Dầu (Ghếtsêmanê) Chúa Giêsu cầu nguyện và xin được "Vâng" Theo ý của Thiên Chúa là Cha. Trên thập giá, Ngài rất tỉnh táo Ngài và  đã thưa VÂNG  một lần nữa với Chúa Cha, Ngài dâng hiến tất cả linh hồn và thân xác của Ngài trong sự thanh thản và tự do.
            Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con tiếp nhận Thân Thể Chúa Kitô với tình yêu thương lớn lao vì Chúa là Đấng đã ban cho chúng ta tất cả kể cả ngay chính thân xác của Ngài.
 
The Passion of Christ
Today, breathe taken, we commemorate the Passion of Jesus Christ. His itinerary; the Cenacle of the Eucharist, the Garden of Olives, the palaces of Caifas and Herrod, the Pretoria of Pilate, Calvary of his death and the tomb. In each one of these places, between us all, we have made him suffer.
            God could have redeemed us in a thousand different ways. He chose the path of suffering to the point of giving up his life. "To give ones life" is the greatest show of Love there is. There is no improvising here: it was prophesized in the Old Testament, Jesus made reference to it many times; in the Last Supper He gave us the present as food, his "Body which will be given up"; at Gethsemane He prays and sais "yes" to God the Father. On the Cross, very consciously, says YES again, giving up his spirit with total freedom and serenity.
            Jesus, my Saviour, I will look after you with my hands, I will defend you with my arms, I will give you glory with my intelligence, and I will adore you with all my heart. I will do it with your, Our, blessed Mother, Mary.
 
Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion (Year B)
After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. John 19:28–30
Consider the thirst of Jesus. Though His physical thirst must have been excruciating as He hung upon the Cross, pouring forth His precious blood upon the world, the spiritual thirst our Lord felt would have greatly overshadowed His physical thirst. His spiritual thirst is for you, for your soul, for your salvation. As He hung upon the Cross, Jesus did not think of Himself, His suffering or His wretched physical condition. Instead, He thought of you and of all those for whom He was giving His life.
Psalm 69:22 says, “Instead they gave me poison for my food; and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.” Jesus fulfilled this Scripture passage as He thirsted on the Cross. The vinegar symbolically refers to each one of us. The vinegar given to our Lord on the Cross was spoiled wine. Each one of us, symbolically speaking, is this spoiled wine. The purity of our humanity has been corrupted by original sin. As a result, we are not the people God intended us to be by nature. But in our fallen state, we have the potential to satiate Jesus’ spiritual thirst.
As you think about your own life, what do you see? Can you see yourself as spoiled wine? Perhaps it is a bit humiliating to think of yourself this way. But humility is good, especially when we understand that our Lord longs for us in our brokenness. Upon the Cross, Jesus did not cry out for the best of wine, the finest and most delicious. As He thirsted on the Cross, He longed to be satiated by you, in your weakened and broken state, just as you are, so that He can pour forth His cleansing mercy upon you.
As soon as Jesus tasted the sour wine, He cried out, “It is finished.” This symbolically represents His soul being satiated by you every time you turn to Him in your need. It’s amazing to consider the fact that you have the ability to console the Heart of Jesus and satiate His thirst this way. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was very fond of a devotion dedicated to consoling Jesus’ Heart. As a child, she was given a prayer card that pictured Jesus in prison, looking out at one small flower. Thérèse saw herself as that one small flower who was given the mission to console Jesus’ Heart by visiting Him regularly in the prison of the tabernacle.
Spiritually speaking, that moment of Jesus’ thirst on the Cross permeates all time and continues today. Every time you come to Him in your need, especially when you come before Him in the Eucharist, He turns His eyes to you and calls to you, inviting you to console Him by offering Him the humility and brokenness of your life. 
Today our churches are empty. The Blessed Sacrament has been removed. As a result, we should seek to satiate the thirst of our Lord by thirsting for His divine presence that will return on Easter when the Mass is celebrated once again. Today is a day to grow in our desire for the presence of our Lord in our lives. We must allow ourselves to feel His loss, experience His death, and mourn His suffering. As we do, we must open ourselves to a deep spiritual longing to consume His broken Body and precious Blood once again. Doing so will not only prepare us to be satiated ourselves, it will also enable us to satiate the Heart of our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon Jesus on the Cross. Gaze at Him as He gazes at you. See the longing in His Heart for you. Know that He gave His life for you, so that you could receive the gift of new life. Know, also, that your openness to this gift of His life poured out for you will console our Lord’s Heart and bring His divine mission of salvation to fruition. Satiate our Lord’s thirst today so that He can once again say, “It is finished.”
My thirsting Lord, Your Sacred Heart longs for me with a love that is infinite and incomprehensible. You desire that I come to You, receive Your love and satiate Your thirst. As I gaze upon You in Your suffering state, I open myself to You and to the gift of Your Precious Blood poured out for me. May my openness to You be a consolation to You as I receive Your divine love. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday of Holy Week 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, today I contemplate the sorrowful passion of your Son. I see the great love your Son has for me and his willingness to die for me. Help me respond generously to your Son’s love and offer my life to you in union with his. 
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Priestly Servant of the Lord: The prophet Isaiah has four main “Servant songs.” The first (Isaiah 42:1-9), which we read on Monday, told us about the vocation of the Servant to bring God’s justice, salvation, and light to the world. The second (Isaiah 49:1-7), read on Tuesday, commissions the Servant to restore Israel to new life and bring salvation to the world. The third (Isaiah 50:4-11), read on Wednesday, presented the Servant as a prophet who speaks God’s word and suffers at the hands of his persecutors. Today, we read the fourth Servant song. Here, the Servant appears like a priest who offers the sacrifice of himself and intercedes for the people. He pours out his life to atone for the people’s sins. 
2. The Passion according to John: Each of the Gospels contemplates the Passion of Jesus from a different perspective. Mark and Matthew emphasize how Jesus experiences abandonment and yet, in the end, is vindicated. Luke emphasizes how Jesus forgives and bestows mercy. John emphasizes Jesus as the king who reigns victorious from the Cross. These different emphases can be seen in the agony in the garden. In Mark and Matthew, the disciples fall asleep three times and then flee. In Luke, the disciples fell asleep once because they were overcome with grief and, when the soldiers appeared, Jesus asked them to let his disciples go. In John, Jesus pronounces the divine name, “I Am” and the soldiers fall back. The three different perspectives complement each other and are like different facets of the mystery of Jesus’ passion. Much of John’s narrative focuses on the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus about kingship and authority. On the Cross, Matthew and Mark only record Jesus’ words from Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Luke records Jesus’ words asking the Father to forgive his persecutors, promising eternal life to the repentant thief, and commending his spirit to the Father. John narrates how Jesus entrusts the beloved disciple to his mother and entrusts his mother to the beloved disciple, says “I thirst,” to fulfill the Scriptures, and proclaims “It is finished,” when he drinks the wine. In John, Jesus on the Cross is not only presented as the King but also as a priest with a seamless garment and as a bridegroom who pours out sacramental gifts of water and blood on his bride, the Church.
3. Confidently Approach the Throne of Grace: The Letter to the Hebrews plunges deep into the mystery of Jesus’ priesthood and sacrifice. The Letter proclaims the good news that we have a high priest who stands before God on our behalf. Because of this, we can approach God’s throne of grace and mercy confidently. Hebrews mentions how Jesus cried out in the garden and on the cross to be saved from death. Ultimately, Jesus died but through his resurrection to indestructible life was saved from death. By dying and offering himself as the supreme gift of love, Jesus conquered death. Through his obedient suffering, Jesus perfected our fallen human nature and was consecrated a priest. “The perfection acquired by Jesus in his passion was effectively a priestly perfection, a perfection that came from being a mediator between men and God” (see Albert Vanhoye, Let us Confidently Welcome Christ Our High Priest, p. 62).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my king, my faithful and merciful high priest, and my bridegroom. You opened the way to heaven, to your Father. I will follow you and seek the things that are above. 
Living the Word of God: How can I approach the throne of grace today? Am I ready, with God’s grace, to give up any sinful habits? Do I believe that God can heal me?
 
REFLECTION 2018
The liturgy of Good Friday is made up of three parts: the Liturgy of the Word at which the Passion of Christ according to St. John is proclaimed and which ends with the Solemn Intercessions, the Adoration of the Holy Cross and Holy Communion.
The best minds and the great religions have tried but have failed to explain the problem of suffering. Buddhism, for example, teaches that suffering is an illusion, caused by desire. If one has no desire, he has no suffering. But try telling that to someone whose entire family was killed after the killer’s gang-raped his wife.
Looking at the cross today, how does Christ deal with our problem of suffering? Unlike the philosophers and the ancient religion figures, Christ does not try to explain suffering.
Jesus' first response to our suffering? He himself experienced our suffering. Have you ever been abandoned or betrayed by family and friends? On Palm Sunday the crowds wanted to make Jesus King; on Good Friday the same crowds shouted for his crucifixion. At his arrest at the Gethsemane, his disciples "all deserted him and fled." (Mk 14: 50)
Have you ever been the victim of injustice, falsely accused and persecuted? Have you ever been helpless while the powerful hurt and laughed at you? Have you ever failed after doing your best, in your business or career? In your marriage or friendships? At his passion Jesus was with us in our suffering.
Jesus' second response to our suffering? He gives meaning to our suffering. His suffering is his expression of love for us: "This is your calling: remember Christ who suffered for you, leaving an example so that you may follow in his way." (1 Pt 2: 21) He makes our suffering the instrument of our transformation: "we feel secure even in trials knowing that trials produce patience, from patience comes merit, merit is the source of hope." (Rom 5: 3)
Sufferings become for us the most effective prayer to gain blessings for others: "I rejoice when I suffer for you: I complete in my own flesh what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the Church." (Coil: 24) Jesus makes our sufferings our sure path to joy and resurrection: "you should be glad to share in the sufferings of Christ because, on the day his Glory is revealed, you will fully rejoice." (1 Pt 4: 13)
Today on Good Friday let us beg Jesus that we may accompany him in his sufferings, that we may be "sorrowful with Christ in sorrow and be in anguish with Christ in anguish," so that on Easter morning we may fully share in his victory, power and joy.
 
Suy Niệm Bài Thương Khó Thứ Sáu Tuần Thánh
Dám chịu đau khổ cho người mình yêu! chỉ có con người chúng ta mới có khả năng làm như thế và kinh nghiệm này nằm sâu mãi trong nhân loại con người của chúng ta. Thiên Chúa chắc chắn không thể có được cái kinh nghiệm đau khổ này, nếu Ngài chưa trở thành con người như chúng ta. Thiên Chúa đã trở nên con người và Ngài đã có kinh nghiệm nhân bản này: "Còn Tình Yêu thương nào lớn hơn cho bằng tình yêu của người dám hy sinh mạng sống của chính mình cho người mình yêu" Có tình yêu thương nào sâu xa, đậm đà hơn, mạnh mẽ hơn,  có tính con người hơn, là tình yêu hoàn toàn dốc đổ, và hy sinh chết cho người mình yêu? 
Đây chính là nguyên lý căn bản của sự  nhiệm mầutrong Ngày thứ Sáu Tuần Thánh, Ngày Thứ Sáu Thương khó. Hôm nay là ngày mà chúng ta chứng kiến và tưởng niệm một cái chết của một người vô tội, cái thật là hèn hạ, thảm khốc trên thập giá của hai ngàn năm trước. Trong ngày thứ Sáu hôm nay chúng ta sẽchứng kiến được những biểu hiệu cuối cùng của lòng tốt của một con người: Chúa Giêsuđã hiến thân, chết thay cho các môn đệ của Ngài và cho toàn nhân loại.
            "Biểu hiệu lòng tốt cuối cùng của con người?"
Có thể là không; và cũng có thể đó là một tình yêu to lớn, lớn hơn nữa, và do đó được chú ý nhiều hơn nơi con người. Thánh Phaolô tin rằng điều này là đúng. Sau khi suy niệm về lời của Chúa Giêsu nói: "Không có tình yêu nào lớn hơn tình yêu của người dám hy sinh mạng sống của mình cho người mình yêu," Thánh Phaolô đã  viết cho tín hữu Rôma: "Quả vậy, khi chúng ta không có sức làm được gì vì còn là hạng người vô đạo, thì theo đúng kỳ hạn, Ðức Kitô đã chết cho con người tội lỗi chúng ta." (Rom 5:6) Thánh Phaolô, như đang tưởng tượng mình đang ở trên thập tự giá nơi Chúa Kitô chịu đóng đinh và ngàiđã nhận ra điều này, "Thật là không phải dễ dàng để chết cho tội lỗi của một người tốtlành, vô tội... Điều để chứng minh là Thiên Chúa đã yêu thương chúng ta là Đức Kitô đã chết cho chúng ta trong khi chúng ta vẫn còn là con người tội lỗi. " Đức Kitô đã chết, đó một hành động của tình yêu, chứ không phải chỉ cho những người bạn, hay môn đệ của mình; mà Ngài cũng đã chết cho những người đã phản bôỗi và những người chống lại Chúa. Ngài đã chết cho người La Mã, những người  đã đưa Ngài đến với cái chết, Ngài chết cho những người Pharisêu và các Thaượng tế, những người đã gây áp lực cho những người La Mã để giết Ngài. Ngài đã chết cho những người bắt bớ Hội Thánh của Ngài, những người đã đóng đinh Ngài với những người theo Ngài qua nhiều thế kỷ. Ngài đã chết cho chúng ta, Ngài bất chấp tất cả những sự phản bội của con nguời chúng ta.
            Chúa Giêsu, đã trở thành con người, Ngài đẩy lùi những giới hạn của tình yêu con người và sự hy sinh. Ngài đã trở nên một người hoàn hảo và khác biệt xa hơn con ngườichúng ta; với những hạn chế của chúng ta, những điều kiện chúng ta đặt vào tình yêu của chúng ta,. Từ thánh giá Chúa Giêsu nhìn quanh. 
"Lạy Cha," Cháu Giêsu cầu nguyện: "Xin Cha tha tội cho họ, vì họ không biết những gì họ đang làm." Lời cầu nguyện của Ngài cònhơn cả những lời cầu nguyện xin ơn  tha thứ cho chúng ta, đó cũng là một tiếng kêu rên từ trong trái tim sâu thẳm của Chúa Giêsu. Ngài cầu xin tình yêu của chúng ta cho phépchúng ta được phát triển và mở rộng, để ôm ấp không những chỉ có những người yêu thương chúng ta không mà thôi, nhưng ngay cả những người đang chống lại chúng ta. Ông kêu gọi, khẩn nài chúng nên học hỏi nơi ngài đó là làm thế nào để đượctrở thành mộtcon người hoàn toàn theo như ý Chúa.
 
REFLECTION
To suffer for a person one loves: only humans are capable of this experience and the experience deepens their humanity. God himself could not have this experience, had he not become human. God did become human and he did have this humanizing experience: "Greater love than this no person has, to lay down one's life for a friend." Is there anything that is more deeply, more profoundly, more intensely human than love poured out totally in sacrifice for a person beloved?  This is the core of Good Friday's mystery. It is the reason, ultimately, why this Friday, which witnessed a tragic death violently imposed on an innocent man two thousand years ago, has been called Good Friday. This Friday witnessed the ultimate manifestation of human goodness: Jesus laid down his life for his friends.
"Ultimate manifestation of human goodness?" Maybe not; maybe there is a greater love than this, and therefore a more intense way of being human. St. Paul believed this to be true. After reflecting on Jesus'
words: "There is no greater love than this, to lay down one's life for a friend," Paul wrote to the Romans: "We were helpless when at the appointed moment Christ died for sinful man." Paul, it would seem, imagined himself on the cross in the place of Christ and he came to this realization, "It is not easy to die for the sake of a good man . . . what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners." Christ died-an act of love-not only for his friends; he died also for those who had set themselves against him. He died for the Romans who put him to death, for the Pharisees and the priests, who pressured the Romans to kill him. He died for those who would persecute his Church, for those who were to crucify him in his followers down through the centuries. He died for us in spite of our infidelities.
Jesus, having become man, pushed back the limits of human love and sacrifice. He became far more intensely human than we are - with our limitations, the conditions we place on our love. From the cross Jesus looked about him. "Father," he prayed, "forgive them, they do not know what they are doing." His prayer is much more than a prayer of forgiveness for us, it is also a cry from the depth of  Jesus' Heart to the depths within us. He pleads with us to allow our love to grow and expand, to embrace not only those who love us but even  those who set themselves against us. He pleads with us to learn from him how to be fully human.