Suy Niệm Thứ Tư tuần thứ Ba Phục Sinh

 Suy Niệm Thứ Tư tuần thứ Ba Phục Sinh
Qua bài đọc trong sách Công Vụ Tông đồ hôm nay cho chúng ta thấy sự lan truyền Tin Mừng, bắt đầu từ Jerusalem đến Roma và cả trái đất. Và chúng ta cũng thấy rằng với sự đàn áp và bạo hành đã được người Do thái áp dụng để ngăn cấm việc truyền bá Phúc Âm công khai chứ không phải là sự ngăn cấm thầm kín nữa. Và kết quả cuộc bức hại của Saulô (Thánh Phaolô), các Kitô hữu đầu tiên ở Jerusalem đã bị phân tán khắp nơi trong các khu vực của người Palestine, họ mang theo Đức Tin và sức mạnh Tin Mừng để cùng chia sẻ Tin Mừng cứu rỗi của Chúa Kitô với mọi người trong những thị trấn mà họ lẩn trốn tạm dung.
            Thánh thần của Thiên Chúa đã làm việc qua các Tông Đồ, và những người tin theo các ngài. Thánh thần đã xuất hiện ngay cả những khi những kẻ thù của Tin Mừng có thể cho rằng họ đã thành công trong việc tàn phá Giáo Hội. Hôm nay chúng ta cũng phải tin tưởng rằng Thánh Thần là sức mạnh, mạnh hơn cả bất cứ một lực lượng nào của trần thế. Như chúng ta thấy, ngày nay Tin Mừng đã được lan rộng khắp nơi trên thế giới, ngay cả ở những quốc gia mà Giáo Hội vẫn tiếp tục bị bách hại.
            Trong Tin Mừng, Chúa Giêsu đã tỏ mình cho mọi nguời biết Ngài là "Bánh hằng Sống". Việc hoá bánh ra nhiểu để nuôi 5.000 người là trọng tâm của tất cả bốn sách Tin Mừng, và đặc biệt nhất là Tin Mừng thánh Gioan đã nhấn mạnh ý nghĩa của nó, cả hai dấu chỉ như là một dấu hiệu cho thấy Đấng Cứu Thế đã đến ở giữa chúng ta, và cũng là một dấu hiệu để tiết lộ bản chất con người thật sự của Chúa Giêsu. Đây là lần đầu tiên thánh Gioan đã dùng các từ ngữ của ngôi thứ nhất (“Tôi”)  để diễn đạt những lời  của Chúa Giêsu phán trong Tin Mừng. Như bài đọc hôm nay Chúa Giêsu đã xác định: “Chính tôi là bánh trường sinh. Ai đến với tôi không hề phải đói, ai tin vào tôi, chẳng khát bao giờ?” (Jn 6:35). Chúa Giêsu đã đến để đem lại sự sống đời đời cho những ai tin vào Ngài. Lạy Chúa, xin củng cố đức tin của chúng con, để chúng con luôn biết đặt niềm Tin của chúng con vào Chúa Giêsu để chúng con có thể được chia sẻ trong sự phục sinh với Chúa..
 
Reflection Wednesday in 3rd week of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles relates for us the spread of the Good News, from Jerusalem to Rome and the whole earth. Today we see that even persecution has the effect of spreading the Gospel rather than suppressing it. As a result of Paul’s persecution, the early Christians of Jerusalem were dispersed throughout the Palestinian region and carried with them the Gospel and its liberating power, which they share
God’s spirit is at work, even when appearances might suggest that the enemies of the Gospel were “laying waste to the Church.” Today we must also trust that the Spirit is stronger than any force that would try to crush it. We see today the spread of the Gospel, even in countries where the Church continues to be persecuted.
In the gospel reading, Jesus reveals himself as the “Bread of Life”. The feeding of the 5,000 is central to all four of the Gospels, and John’s gospel lays particular emphasis on its significance, both as a sign that the Messianic Age has arrived in our midst, and also as a sign revealing who Jesus really is. For the first time John places in the mouth of Jesus the grammatical formula “I am + (predicate)” — a formula which he will use continuously through the rest of his Gospel to reveal the various dimensions of Jesus identity. Today Jesus identifies Himself as that bread “which has come down from heaven,” to give eternal life to those who believe in him. Lord, deepen our faith in Jesus that we might share in His resurrection.
 
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” John 6:40
Do you believe in Jesus? Unquestionably the answer is “Yes.” However, to believe in our Lord is something that must deepen with every passing day. Therefore, if you do have faith in Jesus, you can also admit that you do not have faith enough. In this Gospel passage in which the “Bread of Life Discourse” is continued, Jesus calls us to do two things. First, we must see Him. Second, we must believe. Let’s start with the first.
When Jesus first spoke these words to the crowd, they did see His physical presence. But many of them did not see beyond the surface. They saw His miracles, heard His teaching, but very few saw the deeper reality of Jesus as the Son of the Eternal Father and the Savior of the World.        
If you are to believe in our Lord and all that He is, then you must first see Him. One of the best ways to foster this “holy sight” of our Lord is to gaze at Him in the Most Holy Eucharist. When you attend Mass or spend time in adoration and  look upon the Most Holy Eucharist, what do you see? Do you see the Eternal Son? Do you see His holy divinity? Do you see your God and the Lord of all?
As we stand or kneel before our Lord, present in the Most Holy Eucharist, it’s easy to become distracted. It’s easy to allow our minds to wander to the many other aspects of our daily lives and to fail to see the eternal Son of God as He is present to us.
Reflect, today, upon the way you look at our Lord. If you want to deepen your faith, your belief, then start with your sight. Start by considering how you look at Jesus, present in the Most Holy Eucharist. If you are blessed to be with Him this day at the Holy Mass or in adoration, examine the way to see Him. Gaze at Him. Make an intentional act of faith in His divine presence. Acknowledge His Godhead, His glory, His holiness and His sacred presence. If you can look beyond the surface and lift the veil that covers His glory, then this holy gift of sight will give way, also, to the gift of profound faith.
My ever-present Lord, I thank You profoundly for the way You come to me in the Most Holy Eucharist. I thank You for Your divine presence and glory. Help me to see beyond the veil of the appearance of bread and wine so that I can see more clearly Your divinity. As I see Your divine presence, dear Lord, help me to profess my belief in You with greater certitude and faith. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday after 3^rd Sunday of Easter 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I have seen your wondrous deeds and praise you for all of your works. Your work of creation is awesome in its beauty and majesty. Your work of redemption fills me with humble gratitude for the sacrifice of your Son. You work now to sanctify me and bring me to eternal communion with you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Father’s Will: In the Gospel of John, two themes parallel some of the themes of the First Reading: fulfilling the will of the Father and coming to faith in Jesus Christ. First, God willed that the Gospel message be proclaimed in the whole world and to all nations. This comes to pass and God is able to bring good out of evil: the persecution of the first Christians begins to scatter them outside of Jerusalem and they become missionaries of the Gospel. Second, the will of the Father is that everyone comes to believe in the Son. The signs that Philip accomplishes and his preaching about Jesus as the Christ are invitations to faith in the one the Father sent. By believing in the Son and partaking of his Body and Blood, we receive eternal life. Death is not the final word because we will be raised with Christ to life on the last day and be welcomed into the promised land of heaven.
2. The Aftermath of Stephen’s Martyrdom: Stephen’s martyrdom was followed by the persecution of the Hellenistic Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Some of Jesus’ disciples, not the Apostles, had to flee Jerusalem and were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Saul of Tarsus is mentioned as one of the early persecutors who tried to destroy the Church. Saul “was highly effective in this endeavor and sought not only to imprison the disciples but also to put them to death. By his own testimony, his goal was no less than to destroy the Church (cf. Gal. 1:13)” (Pimentel, Witnesses of the Messiah, p. 85). God, however, is able to bring about good from evil and used this persecution to spread the Word of God and expand the Church. This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to the Apostles that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) (Kurz, Acts of the Apostles, pp. 136-137).
3. The Preaching of Philip the Deacon: While the Apostles remained in Jerusalem during the persecution, one of the seven Hellenist deacons, Philip, was forced to flee and took the word of God to the region of Samaria and proclaimed the Gospel that Jesus is the royal Messiah. Philip worked great signs: he cast out demons and healed the paralyzed and crippled. Signs like these were done by Jesus to bring the people to faith in him as the Messiah. In like manner, his disciples accomplished similar works and sought to bring the people to encounter Jesus. The preaching of the Good News by Philip and the miracles he worked filled the people with great joy. Today’s psalm sings God’s praises on account of his deeds and works. The Psalmist invites all nations to see the great works of God and to worship God and sing praise to his name. The great historical deed mentioned by the Psalmist is the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan River by the people of Israel. God freed his people from slavery and brought them into the promised land. The great deed proclaimed by the Gospel is Jesus’ victory over death and the slavery of sin. Through our baptism, our spiritual crossing of the Red Sea, we share in Jesus’ victory and are set on the path that leads to heaven.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I believe in you and, like you, will seek to fulfill the will of your Father. Enlighten my mind and heart to know the Father’s will and fill me with your grace and the Holy Spirit to carry out his holy will.
Living the Word of God: Do I see how God has brought good from evil in my life? What have I learned from my failings and sins? Has this experience brought me to a greater humility and trust in God’s mercy
 
Wednesday 3rd week of Easter 2023
Opening Prayer: All glory to you, Father God! Thank you for sending your Son to rescue me from sin and eternal death! Your words are Truth and Life! Help me to etch them into my heart.
Encountering Christ:
1. Hungering and Thirsting: Every human heart hungers and thirsts for love, satisfaction, and purpose in life. Yet, the world dupes us, and we chase our tails, which can lead us down rabbit holes of materialism, secularism, and falsehoods about our self-worth. In these lines of scripture, Jesus tells us succinctly that he is what we hunger and thirst for! We need only to come to Him and believe in Him. Jesus pleads with us to come. His compassionate eyes are full of understanding for our messy lives, strained relationships, brokenness, and confusion. At times, our pride, lack of trust, inability to detach from people or things, or worldly attractions divert our attention from the eternal life Jesus longs to give. Jesus chided the people he spoke to, and likewise, us, when he said, “...although you have seen [me], you do not believe.” If we were more fervent in our belief in Jesus, how might we demonstrate it? 
2. “...I Will Not Reject Anyone Who Comes to Me...”: This has to be one of the most profound promises Jesus makes to us! No sin is so big that it will cause Jesus to exclude us if we come to him! Let us savor these words, repeat them often, memorize them, and share them! Rejection is a part of the human experience, causing deep wounds and perhaps making us fearful about coming to Jesus, but Jesus longs to heal us. Belief implies deep trust and we can trust Jesus will never reject us when we express sorrow for our sins. Meditating on the crucifix, reciting Romans 5:8, “...while we were still sinners Christ died for us,” burns this truth into our hearts. 
3. The Father’s Will: Doing the Father’s will isn’t just Jesus’s greatest desire; it’s his mission! He spoke of his doing the Father’s will and told us what the Father’s will was three times in five verses! The repetition of his words indicates a high level of importance. “And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it [on] the last day.” The last day will be here before we know it! Jesus has won the battle for our souls, but we know people are stuck behind “enemy lines.” We have opportunities daily to rescue them or at least throw them a lifeline. How often do we engage in conversations of eternal consequence?
Conversing with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for this time of prayer and reflection on your word. I am in awe of you. I hear you say, “Come” and I run to your embrace. I hear you say “Believe” and I do believe and pray to trust you even more. Lord, give me a heart for other souls.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will, by words and actions, throw a “lifeline” to someone I encounter.