"Được sai đi là được xức dầu với Chúa Thánh Thần." Chúa Thánh Thần đồng hành với chúng ta trong sứ mệnh truyền giáo và rao giảng tin mừng của Nước Trời.
Là người Công Giáo xác thực là người Kitô Hữu thực sự và là người chứng nhân cho những phép lạ. Phép lạ vĩ đại nhất là sự khắc phục của chúng ta với Chúa Thánh Thần để chống lại những sự ham muốn quá mức, kiêu ngạo, tự cao, tự tôn với những khuynh hướng sai lầm của chúng tôi và tội lỗi của chúng ta trong bản tính hay sa ngã. Cũng vì thế mà Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả đã từng nói rằng: "Ngài (Chúa Giêsu) phải tăng và tôi phải giảm xuống". Thánh Phaolô nói: "Tôi đang sống, ngưng không phải là tôi sống mà chính Đức Kitô dang sống trong tôi."
Với sự trợ giúp của Chúa Thánh Thần, chúng ta có thể phát triển trong sự hoàn hảo của tình yêu và chính đó là sự cần thiết để vượt qua tất cả những khuynh hướng tội lỗi của chúng ta và ngược lại với những tác động hủy diệt của nó bằng cách truyền năng lượng tái sức sáng tạo của Thiên Chúa vào quá trình này. Chúa Thánh Thần hoạt động trong tâm hồn (lương tâm) của chúng ta để giúp chúng ta biết sám hối và hòa mình với Thiên Chúa. Chúa Thánh Thần giúp chúng ta với những ân sũng trong cuộc sống, trong Phép Rửa của chúng ta và "món quà tinh thần" ban cho chúng ta trong sự Chứng nhận của chúng ta để giúp chúng ta sau đây của chúng tôi Kitô trong sứ vụ loan báo trong ngôn ngữ mới của tình yêu.
Reflection Gospel Reading: Mk 16:15 - 20
"To be sent is to be anointed with the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit goes with us in our mission to evangelize and proclaim the good news of God's Kingdom.
A true and authentic believer is a witness to miracles. The greatest miracle is our overcoming with the Holy Spirit against our inordinate desires, pride, wrong egotistic tendencies & sinfulness-our fallen nature. No wonder St. John the Baptizer once said that "He must increase and I must decrease". St. Paul said: "It is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me."
With the help of the Holy Spirit we can develop in perfection the love that is necessary to overcome all our sinful tendencies and reverse its destructive effects by infusing the re-creative power of God into the process. The Holy Spirit acts on our conscience to help us repent and reconcile ourselves to God. The Holy Spirit enables us with the gift of life during our Baptism and the "spiritual gifts" bestowed on us in our Confirmation to help us with our following Christ in mission in proclaiming the new language of love.
April 25: Saint Mark
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15–16
Saint Mark, whom we honor today, certainly fulfilled this mission that was given to the Apostles. Though Mark was not one of the Twelve and might not have even known Jesus while He walked the earth, he certainly fulfilled the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the whole world by writing his Gospel account.
Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of the Gospels, but it is packed with detail. It recounts the life of Jesus vividly and in an almost breathless way. His Gospel presents the central messages of fulfillment found in Christ, the nearness of His Kingdom and the need to repent and believe.
Though not much is known about Mark, our first reading from the Letter of Saint Peter written to the Christian communities in Asia Minor reveals that Mark was a follower of Peter who refers to Mark with affection as his “son.” It is also likely that Mark was a co-worker of Saint Paul (Philemon 1:24).
As we honor this great evangelist, the most notable testament to His work of evangelizing is the Gospel attributed to him. Though he most certainly made a difference in the lives of those with whom he worked, preached to in person and witnessed to by his charity, it’s amazing to ponder the ongoing effect that his Gospel has had upon the world. As you think about his life, try to imagine him sitting and writing out the Gospel account we now have. As he did so, he could never have imagined that the words he wrote would be read by countless millions until the end of the age. For him, he was fulfilling but one small service to the people of his time. He was motivated by a desire to make Jesus known to them, and the best way he knew how to do this was to write down Jesus’ story.
As Mark wrote his Gospel, we can be certain that he did so not only out of his own desire to share the life of Christ with others, but primarily because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Mark’s gift of the writing of the Gospel was a response to grace. God gave him this mission, and he listened and obeyed. As a result, his short telling of the life of Christ has become part of the most widely read story in all of human history. And not only that, it is also among the most transformative stories ever written.
Though God will not call you to write a Gospel account, He is calling you to a particular mission. What is that mission? Sometimes we can easily think that what we do is insignificant. But if what we do in life is done through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we can be certain that God will use our small effort in great ways. Like Saint Mark, we might never see how God uses us until we enter the glories of Heaven. But make no mistake, if you, like Saint Mark, listen to the will of God and act in obedience to Him, then the little you offer will have eternal and transformative consequences for the good of others.
Reflect, today, upon this simple and humble servant of God. Consider Mark’s limited knowledge about the extent that his contribution would end up making for the entire world. As you reflect upon him writing his Gospel account, ponder your own calling from God to do your small part. Know that you, too, can become an instrument of the gift of salvation for many. The key is to seek out the will of God for your life and commit yourself to the fulfillment of that will with passion and drive. Do not be deterred by any apparent lack of immediate results. Stay faithful to your mission and, from Heaven, you will eternally rejoice as you see the unexpected ways that God used you.
Glorious Lord Jesus, You gave Your followers the great mission to preach Your Gospel to the ends of the world. I thank You for the ways that Saint Mark responded to Your inspiration and was used in such a powerful way. Please use me, dear Lord, as an instrument of Your grace so that I can share in the mission You have given to the Church. Jesus, I trust in You.
Feast of Saint Mark, April 25
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are all-powerful and know all things. You know how my life will unfold and how I will be judged. I renew my trust in you that you will guide me and bring me to safe harbor. Strength me in times of temptation and trial so that I may share in the victory of your Son.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Who was Mark the Evangelist? John Mark was the son of Mary of Jerusalem (Acts 12:12), a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), and the author of the second Gospel. He was an early convert and accompanied Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary Journey. For some reason, Mark abandoned them on the mission and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13) (see Catholic Bible Dictionary, p. 573). After the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-29), Paul and Barnabas disagreed about taking Mark with them on their second missionary journey: “Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called Mark, but Paul insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work. So sharp was their disagreement that they separated” (Acts 15:37-39). Paul would take Silas on his mission to Syria and Cilicia and Mark continued with Barnabas on a mission to Cyprus (Acts 15:39-41). Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this episode and the dispute and disagreement among the saints: “And I find this very comforting, because we see that the saints have not ‘fallen from Heaven.’ They are people like us, who also have complicated problems. Holiness does not consist in never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again, and, especially, for reconciliation and forgiveness” (Benedict XVI, Jesus, the Apostles, and the Early Church, p. 141). Mark later reconciled with Paul and was with him while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Mark was also with Peter in Rome (1 Peter 5:13), and according to Papias, was the interpreter for Peter and wrote down Peter’s teaching in the Gospel according to Mark. After the death of Peter, Mark went to Alexandria in Egypt and was the first bishop there (see Catholic Bible Dictionary, p. 573).
2. Jesus as the Suffering Messiah and Son of God: The Gospel of Mark focuses on Jesus as the Messiah and demonstrates that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1). The first half culminates in the confession of Peter, who proclaims that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:29). The second half culminates in the confession of the Centurion, who proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God. In the first part of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus often conceals his identity as the Messiah. This was important so that the people could understand him not as a political or military Messiah, but as a servant Messiah who suffers and dies to liberate the people from the devil, sin, sickness, and death. The mystery of Jesus’ divine sonship is also hidden from the Gospel’s characters. Jesus reveals his divine sonship through displays of divine power, parables of wisdom, and riddles. “Only at the Crucifixion is the Sonship of Jesus fully recognized as he surrenders his life with love to the Father” (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, p. 62).
3. Discipleship according to Mark: When we hear the Gospel of Mark, we are challenged to become one of Jesus’ disciples and conform our lives to that of the suffering Messiah and Son of God. “Just as the truth of Jesus is found only in the cross, so is the secret to discipleship. To be a follower of Jesus is to share intimately in his life and destiny” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, p. 24). The trials, successes, and failures of Jesus’ disciples are on full display in the Gospel of Mark. The fact that the disciples abandon Jesus in his hour of need is not the final word. Though the disciples stumble, “Jesus remains true, and through his total fidelity to the Father gains forgiveness and restoration for them. Just as in the Old Testament story of Israel, God’s love is often met with infidelity and betrayal, yet is constantly renewed, so the Gospel ends with the joyous promise of an encounter with the risen Lord” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, p. 24).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Christ and the Son of God. You have called me to be your disciple and follow you on the way that leads to the Cross. Keep me close to you so that I may learn your ways and truly be your disciple in this world.
Living the Word of God: Like the disciples in the Gospel, we will sometimes fail and abandon Jesus. But we are comforted to know that God knows this and can restore us when we turn from sin and ask for forgiveness. Are there any attachments to sin or to this world that are keeping me from being a true disciple of Jesus, the suffering Messiah?
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