Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:
Khi sắp đến giờ Chúa Giêsu được tôn vinh,  qua cái chết trên thập giá và sự phục sinh của Ngài, Chúa Giêsu đã tỏ lộ cho các môn đệ của Ngài đầy đủ hơn về vai trò của Chúa Thánh Thần.  Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay,  Chúa Giêsu đã nói gì với chúng ta về Chúa Thánh Thần?  Trườc hết, Chúa Thánh Thần không thể tách rời một mình ra khỏi Chúa Cha và Chúa Con.  Chính Chúa Thánh Thần là Đấng ban sự sống; Sự sống trong  Thiên Chúa;  và là Đấng làm cho đức tin trở nên sống động trong tâm hồn và lòng trí của những người tiếp nhận Lời Chúa.
Nhờ Chúa Thánh Thần mà chúng ta có thể biết Thiên Chúa một cách mật thiết hơn. Chúa Thánh Thần giúp cho chúng ta có được kiến ​​thức và kinh nghiệm về Thiên Chúa là Cha chúng ta. Ngài là nhân chứng nhân của Thiên Chúa để cho chúng ta biết rằng chính Thiên Chúa Cha đã sai ban Con một của Ngài xuống thế gian để cứu chuộc con người tội lỗi và đã đem Con của Ngài, Chúa Giêsu Kitô sống lại từ cõi chết và đã ngự bên hữu của Ngài trong quyền lực và vinh quang .
            Chúa Thánh Thần ban ơn soi sáng cho chúng ta để chúng ta có thể nhận biết vế những kiến ​​thức, trí tuệ và kế hoạch của Thiên Chúa dành cho muôn thế hệ và Chúa Thánh Thần cũng đã  mở "con mắt đức tin"  của chúng ta đê chúng ta thấy được những gì mà Chúa Cha và Chúa Con đang làm cho chúng ta. Qua những ân sũng và hoạt động của Chúa Thánh Thần chúng ta được trở nên những chứng nhân cho những công việc tuyệt vời của Thiên Chúa trong Đức Giêsu Kitô.
            Chúa Giêsu đã cảnh báo các môn đệ của Ngài là họ có thể sẽ gặp phải những sứ chống đối,  băt bờ và  đàn áp cũng giống như Chúa Giêsu đã bị dân Do Thái chống đối, phản đối và bị đối xử với thái độ thù địch. Qua phép Thánh Tẩy và Thêm sức, Chúa đã ban cho chúng ta Chúa Thánh Thần để giúp chúng ta được sống như những môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu Kitô.  Chúa Thánh Thần sẽ ban cho chúng ta lòng can đảm và sự kiên trì khi chúng ta gặp nghịch cảnh và thách thức. Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện xin Chúa  Thánh Thần ban cho chúng ta có thêm sức mạnh trong đức Tin, đức Cậy (hy vọng) và đức Mến (tình yêu thương ) và để ban cho chúng ta sự can đảm và sự kiên trì khi gặp những nghịch cảnh và thử thức.
 
Reflection 2016
Part of the Last Supper discourse of our Lord, the core of our gospel today, contains two very important elements. The first is his promise to his disciples that he will send the Holy Spirit to be their guide, strength and consolation in their mission. The second is a grim but very real warning of their coming persecution by some misguided people who may truly think that they are doing God's will in persecuting them. 
            How do these apply to us living in a different time and place? The history of mankind is also a record of wars and violence throughout the ages. After two millennia of Christianity, Europe still suffered two devastating world wars and more recently, the Balkan civil wars. These were marred by genocide and various atrocities. 
            Nearer home, we can still recall the cruel behavior of the Japanese Imperial armies on the people of China and Southeast Asia. Closer to our times, the racial riots in Malaysia and Indonesia continue to haunt us,  as well as the recent emergence of radical extremists from different faith traditions all over the world. In our grief over the injustice and senseless violence, our hearts cry out for justice and vengeance upon the perpetrators.  However we are all victims of our sinful nature and we share common brokenness. 
            Would we allow the healing love of the Holy Spirit to soften our hardening hearts and mend our broken hearts in our grief and anger over the senseless violence and great injustice we see and experience around us? Why then did the almighty God choose to be vulnerable and suffer the greatest injustice and violence of the cross?
 
Monday 6th Week of Easter
Opening Prayer: 
Come, Holy Spirit, fill my heart. Give me the courage to witness for Christ. 
Encounter with Christ:
Heavenly Promise: When Jesus spoke these words, he knew all too well the challenges his beloved disciples would soon face. First, they were to experience devastation and fear when they saw their Lord crucified. After the glory of his Resurrection, they would once again face hatred and death for their friendship with him. Jesus promises them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Jesus knows his followers will take comfort in his promises and “when their hour comes” will remember that Jesus foretold these things. 
A Spirit of Courage: Jesus’s promise was fulfilled dramatically on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, in tongues of fire, descended on a room full of men in hiding, fearing for their lives. Instantly transformed by divine power, the Apostles launched a movement the likes of which the world has never seen. There is no human explanation for the incredible speed at which the Church was born and spread worldwide by these unlikely evangelists. Only the power of God Almighty can explain how a group of men from a small, conquered land were able to so effectively answer the mandate: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). When Jesus makes a promise, he delivers in a way greater than our human minds can imagine. 
Teacher and Helper: In the chapter before today’s Gospel, Jesus further explained the role of the Holy Spirit: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:25-26). Jesus knew full well that the Church, from its beginnings until the end of time, would need the help of the Holy Spirit. To this day, the gifts of the Holy Spirit we receive in Confirmation–Fortitude, Knowledge, Understanding, Courage, Wisdom, Piety, and Fear of the Lord–arm us with all we need to follow Our Lord and witness for him. We may never be called to the mission field or to martyrdom. Most likely, our testimony will be quite different from that of the early Apostles. Regardless of where our lives take us in service to the Lord, we have our teacher and helper, just as Jesus promised. He will be with us, no matter how and where we are called to testify for Christ. 
Conversing with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I rest in the knowledge that, through your Spirit, I will always find the strength and courage to answer your call.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will reflect on where you may be calling me to witness for you. I will pray the prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking for courage:
Prayer to the Holy Spirit 
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and you will renew the face of the earth.
Lord, by the light of the Holy Spirit, you have taught the hearts of your faithful. In the same Spirit, help us to relish what is right, and always rejoice in your consolation. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
 
 
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ 6 Phục Sinh:
Chúa Giêsu đã chắc chắn rằng những người theo Ngài là những người sẽ không bao giờ phải cô đơn trong cuộc sống vì Ngài sẽ sai Chúa Thánh Thần là Đấng Bảo Hộ, là Người sẽ An ủi hay là Người bênh vực của Chúa đến để làm chứng, hướng dẫn và giảng dạy chúng ta, những người đã tin theo Chúa. Chúng ta sẽ cần đến Chúa Thánh Thần! Ngài cảnh cáo cho chúng ta biết rằng: Nếu chúng ta theo Chúa sống và làm theo những giáo huấn của Ngài thì thế giới này sẽ ghen ghét và thù nghịch với chúng ta. Và một ngày sẽ đến khi chúng ta sẽ bị một số người bách hại chúng ta nhưng họ cứ nghĩ là họ đã làm đẹp lòng Thiên Chúa. Thật sự như thế cho đến cả hôm nay bao nhiều quốc gia Hồi Giáo quá khích đã gây ra chiến tranh, bạo động và họ cố gắng tiêu giệt các tôn giáo khác, kể cả Thiên Chúa Giáo, họ nghĩ là họ vậy là làm đẹp lòng và trung thành với Thiên Chúa. 
Thiên Chúa không bao giờ muốn hay chấp nhận bạo lực hay thù hận vì danh Chúa. Chúng ta hãy cẩn thận, sống làm đẹp lòng Chúa trong lời nói, trong sự suy nghĩ, lời nói của chúng ta không bao giờ có thể thể hiện sự bạo lực, không dung nạp, hoặc hận thù với bất cứ ai vì lý do nào, đặc biệt là liên quan đến Thiên Chúa. Lạy Chúa, xin ban cho con lòng khoan dung và luôn biết tôn trọng người khác.
 
Monday 6th Week of Easter
Many of the first converts to Christianity were women. Paul and his companions met a Greek woman named Lydia outside of Philippi next to a river (there is a beautiful outdoor chapel there now). She was a God-fearer — a pagan who was attracted to Judaism and open to its teachings. The Lord opened her heart; she and her household were baptized, and she extended hospitality to Paul. Often the contributions of women in the church have not been adequately appreciated and recognized, and the Holy Father has called for a greater voice for women. Let us open our own minds and hearts.
Jesus made sure that his followers would never be alone. He left them the Paraclete; comforter or advocate ; to witness, guide, and teach. They would need it! He warned that by following him they would earn the world's hatred. A day would even arrive when those who killed them would think that they were doing God a favor. How true — even today, many resort to violence in the belief that they are being faithful to God. God does not ask for or accept violence or hatred in His name. Let us take care in word, thought, and speech that we do not demonstrate violence, intolerance, or hatred to anyone for any reason, especially concerning God. Lord, grant me tolerance and respect for others.
 
REFLECTION 2006
The first reading relates the path that Paul and Barnabas took after leaving Jerusalem and as they progressed towards the area of the Gentiles. In the first reading, they meet Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, listened and as a result, the Lord enlightened and opened her heart to hear what Paul was saying.
We can relate this particular instance in our daily lives. When we allow ourselves to listen and open our hearts to what God is trying to tell us, we may be able to hear and understand him. However, there are times no matter how hard we try, it seems that his Word refuses to give meaning in our lives. During those times, we need to ask the help of the Holy Spirit to open our ears, mind and heart so that we can reap the full benefit from the Lord's Word.
In the Gospel today, Jesus emphatically states that he will be sending the Advocate to the disciples and to us. Jesus reminds us that the Spirit of truth will testify to you and me. These words of Jesus should comfort and encourage us all. The disciples were once a group of people who were afraid for their own lives, especially during the period after Jesus was crucified. But they turned into a group of brave men, unafraid to proclaim the teachings of the Lord and enduring all kinds of suffering and persecution. In the last forty days which Jesus spent with the disciples after his resurrection, Jesus gave his disciples a lasting hope and courage which they needed to fulfill their mission that was entrusted to them - that of bringing the Word of the Lord to all nations.
 
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.” John 15:26–27
Jesus informs His disciples that “the Spirit of truth” will come and that the Spirit, as well as the disciples, will “testify” to Him. When Jesus first spoke these words to His disciples, they would not have comprehended what He meant. Since these words are prophetic in nature, they are words spoken that were to come to fulfillment and, then, once fulfilled, the words would be understood. So what does Jesus mean?
When we look at the Acts of the Apostles and read about the early Church, it is clear that something incredibly transforming took place after Jesus ascended into Heaven. Up until that time, the disciples and other followers of Jesus had faith, but they were also fearful. They communicated with those others who believed, but did so in secret and with fear. But as soon as Pentecost came and the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, descended upon them, the Apostles began to be used by God to powerfully proclaim the Gospel without fear and with great effect upon many. It was this experience of the disciples of our Lord, being filled with the Holy Spirit, to which Jesus was referring.
After Jesus died, and perhaps even more so after Jesus ascended into Heaven, it is likely that some of His disciples immediately concluded that the new movement Jesus started was now over. They could have never conceived of the idea that what Jesus started was only beginning. They could have never conceived of the fact that soon they would share in the beginning of the Church, proclaim the Gospel with courage and power, see the conversion of countless lives, witness the ongoing forgiveness of sins, and ultimately give their lives in imitation of our Lord. These disciples had no idea just what awaited them with the coming of the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth. What was awaiting them was their sharing in the ability to “testify” to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. They soon realized that Jesus was actually more alive than ever and that He was now going forth to convert souls by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the instrumentality of all of His new disciples.
The same is true in our lives today. It is far too common for Christians to simply believe in Jesus personally, but then fail to wholeheartedly give testimony to Him by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. It is far too common for followers of Christ to act more like the disciples prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Too often, Christians keep the Gospel to themselves, fearful of giving testimony by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect, today, upon these prophetic words of Jesus. Though these words were initially spoken to the Twelve, Jesus also speaks these words to you today. He wants you, too, to be a witness to Him, giving testimony to others so that they will come to believe. Reflect upon how well you fulfill this prophetic calling. Where you are lacking, pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life so that God can reach many hearts through you.
Most glorious Jesus, You promised to send upon Your disciples and also upon me the Holy Spirit, the Advocate and Spirit of Truth. Holy Spirit, I welcome You into my life and offer myself to You without reserve to be used to give testimony to the Truth. Please do use me, my God, and touch many lives through me. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday 6^th of Eater.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, send your Spirit of truth, the Advocate, into my heart. Unmask the lies I have welcomed and lead me to be authentic in all that I say, think, and do. Open my ears to hear the testimony of the Spirit.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Battle between Two Families: In the Gospel, Jesus consoles his disciples during the Last Supper by promising to send the Spirit of Truth to them to console them, guide them, and defend them. The Holy Spirit comes to bear witness to Jesus but also to empower Jesus’ disciples to bear witness to all nations. In testifying to Jesus, the Spirit seeks to convince the world of sin, to judge the false works of the devil, the ruler of this world, and to show that the path to righteousness is Jesus Christ, who is the Way to the Father. At the Last Supper, Jesus speaks at length about the distinction between those who belong to the world and those who belong to him. Those who belong to this world choose to do the works of the devil, the father of lies (John 8:41, 44). Those who belong to Jesus, on the other hand, believe in him and are empowered to do the works of the Heavenly Father. Those who belong to the world hate Jesus and the Father. Jesus’ disciples, on the contrary, love the Father and the Son. Those born of God and the Spirit, those who abide in God, will be persecuted by those born out of the world and the devil. It is like a battle between two families, a battle which ultimately ends in the victory of the divine family over the diabolical family. We have this hope of victory because Jesus is the victorious Lamb, who has already conquered the world through his death and resurrection (John 16:33), who continues to conquer sin through his bride, the Church, and who will conquer evil definitively at the end of time when he returns in glory (Revelation 19:11; 21:5, 10).
2. The Work of the Spirit: The work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Church counteracts the work of the devil. The devil tries to spread deception and falsehood throughout the world (John 8:44). The Spirit counteracts this work of the devil and discloses the truth and full meaning of the Gospel to the Church (John 14:26) (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 192). The Spirit empowers those who come to believe in Christ to bear witness to him to others. Authentic testimony requires authenticity of life, a correspondence between what we profess in word and believe and how we actually live. We cannot deny that we are sinners, that we fail, and that we err when we choose evil over good. And so, for our testimony to be authentic, we need to have a humble heart that trusts in God’s mercy and power. When we fail, we need to have the courage to recognize these failings without excuses, ask for forgiveness, make the necessary amends, and begin anew, strengthened by God’s grace. In one of his homilies, Pope Francis said that even the saints are sinners, but they are sinners who follow Jesus along the path of humility and the Cross and allow themselves to be sanctified by him through his bride, the Church (Pope Francis, Homily, May 9, 2014).
3. Testimony in Philippi: The importance of giving testimony, of bearing witness to Christ through the Spirit, is clear in today’s First Reading. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke sail together across the Aegean Sea to proclaim the Gospel in Europe and eventually make their way to Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia. There they encounter Lydia from Thyatira, a Gentile believer in the God of Israel. As she listens to Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she is moved by God’s grace and opens her heart to God’s Word. On becoming a member of Christ’s mystical body through Baptism, she welcomes the other members of Christ into her home. Today’s psalm is taken from the fifth book of the Psalter and is a psalm that looks forward to the restoration of the kingdom of David. In this New Kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus and extended through Jesus’ disciples, the restored tribes of Israel are united with the Gentile nations on Mount Zion and praise the Lord (Barber, Singing in the Reign, 86). Through their acceptance of the Gospel and through the Sacrament of Baptism, Lydia and her household sing this psalm and join in the new song of praise to God. They become children of Zion and rejoice in Christ their king, who has conquered the world and cast out its ruler.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I contemplate today how the Spirit guided you in your life and guided the Apostles as they preached the Gospel. I pray that I be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit and patient when I do not understand where or how the Spirit is leading me.
Living the Word of God: How am I giving witness to Jesus in my daily life? Do I see how the Spirit empowers me? Am I striving for authenticity of life?