Lễ Đức Mẹ Truyền Tin (sau Chúa Nhật Lòng Thương Xót)

Thứ hai sau Chúa Nhật thứ Hai Phuc Sinh

Lễ Đức Mẹ Truyền Tin
Hôm nay chúng ta mừng lễ Đức Mẹ Truyền Tin. Chúng ta thử nghĩ là điều gì sẽ xảy ra? nếu như Đức Maria đã không thưa “vâng” với Thiên Thần Gabriel? Trong khi chúng ta mừng ngày kỷ niệm biến cố Truyền Tin hôm nay, một số chúng ta có thể cho rằng Đức Maria đã tự động đồng ý lời mời của Thiên Chúa để làm mẹ Ngôi Hai một cách rất dễ dàng. Tuy nhiên, Thiên Chúa đã cho Đức Maria tự do lựa chọn và mẹ đã xin vâng theo Thánh ý Chúa, mẹ xin vâng vì mẹ tin tưởng vào Thiên Chúa. Đức Maria quyết định đặt cuộc sống của mình hoàn toàn trong bàn tay của Thiên Chúa và tin rằng Chúa sẽ chăm sóc và phù hộ cho mẹ.
Đức Maria là một mô hình người môn đệ. Sự tự do chính đáng không phải chỉ đơn giản là có thể làm những gì chúng ta muốn làm. Nhưng những thành quả chúng ta đạt được khi chúng ta đặt sự tự do của chúng ta trong việc phục vụ trong mục đích tốt. Khi chúng ta chấp nhận những gì Thiên Chúa đang mời gọi chúng ta làm trong cuộc sống này và hợp tác với Thiên Chúa, thì điều ấy sẽ mang lại nhiều phúc lành cho chúng ta cũng như những người xung quanh chúng ta. Chúng ta thấy điều này trong cuộc sống của Đức Maria, Chúng ta thấy những điều này trong cuộc sống, trong cái chết và sự phục sinh của Chúa Giêsu. Chúa Giêsu đã mời gọi chúng ta làm gì? Điều đó có thể liên quan đến những thách thức và những sự không vững chắc. Chúng ta có thể tin tưởng rằng Thiên Chúa sẽ lo cho chúng ta? Chúng ta có tin rằng việc nói "xin vâng" sẽ mang lại phúc lành cho chúng ta và những người xung quanh chúng ta?
Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con nghe được tiếng của Chúa nói với chúng con; Và ban cho chúng con có được lòng can đảm để tin tưởng vào Chúa một cách hoàn toàn.
 
Mon 4th April 2016- Annunciation of the Lord
            What would have happened if Mary had not said 'yes'? As we celebrate the Annuciation today, some may presume that Mary automatically and easily agreed to the invitation of God. However, God gave Mary true freedom. Fear of the unknown, lack of self-confidence or any other reason could have led Mary to say ‘no’. Instead, amidst a challenging and uncertain future, Mary freely chooses to trust God. She decides to put herself fully in God’s hands and believe that God will care for her. Mary is a model disciple.       
            True freedom is not simply being able to do what we want to do. Fulfillment comes when we place our freedom at the service of some good purpose. When we accept what God is calling us to do in this life and cooperate with God, this brings blessing to us as well as to those around us. We see this in the life of Mary. We see this in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. What is Jesus’ invitation to me? It may involve challenge and uncertainty. Can I trust that God will care for me? Do I trust that saying ‘yes’ will bring blessing to me and those around me? Lord, help me to hear Your voice; bless me with the courage to trust You completely.
 
Reflection Monday 2^nd week of Easter
Solemnity of the Annunciation,
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1:26–28
Imagine if the Angel Gabriel, the glorious Archangel who stands before the Most Holy Trinity, were to come to you and announce to you that you were “full of grace” and that “The Lord is with you.” What an indescribable and awe-inspiring experience that would be! And yet this is exactly what happened to this young teenager, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
We celebrate today this amazing event that took place, marking the moment when God took on human flesh within her blessed womb. Note that today is nine months before Christmas. The Church gives us this Solemnity today to invite us to walk with Mary over these coming nine months so as to join her in her rejoicing over the birth of her divine Son.
Much could be said about this glorious Solemnity. We could ponder Mother Mary and her Immaculate Conception. We could ponder the very words spoken by the Archangel. We could ponder the mystery surrounding her pregnancy and the way in which God chose to set this gift into motion. And we could ponder so much more. Though all of these aspects are worth fully pondering and praying over, let’s focus upon the reaction of this young woman to the angelic announcement.
First, we read that Mary was “greatly troubled” and “pondered” these words spoken by the Archangel. Being troubled reveals that Mary did not have full knowledge of what the Archangel was revealing. But the fact that she pondered the words also reveals her openness to a fuller understanding. She then seeks a deeper gift of knowledge by asking, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” This response is first an assent of belief in faith followed by a request for a deeper understanding of this revelation. Faith is the ability to assent to that which we do not fully understand, but true faith always seeks a deeper understanding—and this is what Mary did.
After being given some further revelation by the Archangel, Mary fully accepts what was revealed and trusts that what she was told was all she needed to know at that time. And then she offers what has come to be known as her “fiat.” She says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” This fiat of Mary is her perfect prayer of surrender to the will of God, and it is also the perfect model for how we all must respond to the will of God. We must see ourselves as true servants of His will, and we must fully embrace whatsoever God asks of us, completely uniting our wills to His.
Reflect, today, upon these words of our Blessed Mother: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” How is God asking you to make this your prayer also? How is God calling you to serve His most holy will? Are you willing to fully assent to anything and everything God asks of you? As you prayerfully reflect upon this fiat of our Blessed Mother, seek to unite her response to yours so that you, too, will be a servant of the most high God.
Father in Heaven, You sent Your Son to become incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Your glorious Archangel Gabriel brought forth this Good News. May I always be attentive to the messages You send forth to me as You invite me to join in Your divine mission of bringing Your Son into the world. I say “Yes” this day, dear Lord, to serve Your most holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you invite me today to celebrate and contemplate the Incarnation of your Son. You asked Mary, your handmaid, to be the mother of your Son and she responded with a generous and prompt yes. I humbly ask today that I be strengthened with your grace to respond to your loving will in the same way.
Encountering the Word of God
We Needed a Redeemer: The Liturgy of the Word on the Solemnity of the Annunciation presents three themes for our consideration and meditation: first, our need for a redeemer (Letter to the Hebrews), second, God’s promise and response to this need (Book of Isaiah), and third, Mary's collaboration with God in this redemptive act (Gospel of Luke). The Letter to the Hebrews criticizes the inefficacy of the priesthood and the sacrifices of the Old Law. The immolation of animals cannot sanctify the people; the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. Adam and Eve's sin lost mankind's original holiness and introduced sin and death into the world. God responds to this sin by promising a redeemer, born of a woman (Genesis 3:15). Jesus Christ is God’s response and Jesus enters the world through his incarnation, seeking only to do the will of the Father. Our sin is removed and we are made holy through Jesus’ obedient sacrifice and self-offering. It is his efficacious sacrifice that replaces the former ineffective sacrificial worship. Christ offered himself on the Cross as the one unique sacrifice for our sins. Through his suffering, Christ is made perfect in his humanity and can share this perfection with us, his brothers and sisters. In this way, Christ is made our high-priest and is the one who gives us access to God. It is through Christ, then, that we are redeemed, consecrated, and sanctified.
God’s Promise and Response to Our Need: The First Reading today tells us how this redemption will begin to take place: a virgin shall be with child and bear a son. Historically, the passage from Isaiah can be read as a promise that King Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, will reign. The context of Isaiah's prophetic sign is the choice that Ahaz must make between forging an alliance with Damascus and the northern kingdom of Israel against Assyria or trusting in the Lord's promise that he will save Judah from her enemies. Israel and Damascus were eventually defeated, showing how an alliance would have proven disastrous. What Isaiah promises, then, comes to pass: first, Judah is spared without the need for the alliance in 734-732 B.C.; second, Ahaz’s son, the good king Hezekiah, restores the temple worship and successfully defends the city of Jerusalem during his reign.
Mary’s Collaboration with God in the Act of Redemption: The two readings (from Hebrews and Isaiah) contrast ineffective actions (forging military alliances to defend Jerusalem and immolating animals to sanctify the people) with effective actions - trusting in the Lord and obeying his commands. Isaiah’s sign, however, goes beyond the promise of an immediate successor to Ahaz and ultimately points to the Incarnation and virgin birth of Jesus Christ. This is how Matthew will interpret the passage from Isaiah: “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23). And the virgin’s name was Mary. This is the mystery we contemplate today. God has prepared this moment from all eternity – the moment when his only-begotten and eternal Son would enter time and human history, not to condemn the world but to save it and redeem it. God lovingly preserved Mary from the stain of original sin and knew that her response to the Angel Gabriel would be one of complete self-offering: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.”
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am in awe of your mother and her generous “yes” to your divine will. She was the queen mother of the royal Messiah, yet considered herself a lowly handmaiden. Help me to have that same humility as I say “yes” to your will today.
Living the Word of God: We venerate Mary today because of this faith, because she believed God and trusted in his Word: “Blessed is she who believed.” We humbly ask her today to intercede with her Son, before the heavenly throne of God’s grace, so that we may imitate her faith, humility, and total self-offering.
 
Monday 2^nd Week of Easter 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I have been spiritually reborn through the waters of Baptism as your adopted child. I have been regenerated and recreated in the image of your Son, Jesus Christ. I desire to be a faithful child who seeks to please you in all that I do.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Spiritual Rebirth: In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus refers to several important symbols: the symbol of water, the need for rebirth, the mysterious Spirit of God, and the Old Testament story of Moses lifting up the bronze serpent in the desert (Numbers 21:4-9). By evoking these symbols, Jesus reveals to Nicodemus how to enter into the Kingdom of God. The Old Covenant people were incorporated into the family of Abraham through the rite of circumcision. The New Covenant people are incorporated into the family of God through the rite of Baptism. Baptism is the gateway to the kingdom and to eternal life. The people of the Old Covenant were saved from the deadly bite of the seraph serpents by looking with faith at the bronze serpent Moses mounted on a pole. The people of the New Covenant are saved from the deadly bite of Satan, the ancient serpent, by turning with faith to the Crucified and Risen Jesus.
2. The Lifting Up of the Son of Man: Jesus reveals to Nicodemus that he will be lifted up. This can refer to any of the three times Jesus was lifted up. He was lifted up on the Cross when he was crucified. He was lifted up from the dead on the day of his Resurrection. And he was lifted up to heaven on the day of his Ascension. Jesus connects his being lifted up to the bestowal of eternal life on those who believe. As believers, we share in Christ’s death and resurrection through our Baptism. This is because our baptism is both a dying with Christ and a rising with him to glory. We lose our old life of sin and receive the gift of grace, the beginning of eternal life. Through Baptism, we become members of the Church, the Body of Christ.
3. Barnabas: The First Reading gives us an example of the communal life of the early Church. Barnabas sold a piece of property and gave the money to the Church. His name means “son of encouragement” and he will accompany us throughout our reading of the Acts of the Apostles this Easter. He vouched for Saul before the community of Jerusalem (Acts 9:27) and spent a year with Paul in Tarsus, where he was known as a prophet and a teacher (Acts 13:1). He accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey to Cyprus (his native land) and parts of modern-day Turkey. He participated in the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) which decided that the Gentiles who became Christians did not need to observe many elements of the burdensome Old Law. Salvation comes from faith in Jesus and living according to the New Law of Christ. Barnabas, who was not one of the original twelve apostles, joined the Apostles in their mission of bearing witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Today’s reading shows us that Barnabas followed the counsel of Jesus to the young man: “Go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor; then, come, follow me” (Mark 10:21). Because of the generosity of the members of the early Church, there was no needy person among them.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate today the revelation of your passion and resurrection to Nicodemus and the revelation of the mystery of Baptism. You have revealed heavenly things and I welcome them in faith. I believe you are the Son of Man, lifted up, so that I may enjoy eternal life with you.
Living the Word of God: When was the last time I appreciated the great sacrament of Baptism? Do I celebrate the day of my spiritual rebirth? Do I celebrate the day my children and spouse were reborn? How should I celebrate? How can I thank God today for this marvelous gift of divine life?