Chia sẽ Bài Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 3 TN

Chia sẽ Bài Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 3 TN - Mark 4:35-41
In this Gospel, one realizes how difficult it is to be a disciple. It was just an ordinary trip after a long, intense day. Jesus and his friends leave the crowds and turn to the water. The lake is placid. The disciples look forward to quietness and peace, maybe even a sunset. They are with the Lord. Life is good at this point. Everything changes in a flash. The boat is swamped by a great gale. For the disciples, the irony is that though Jesus is with them, he is fast asleep. What do you do when God is sleeping in your boat?
Qua bài đọc hôm nay, chúng ta có thể tưởng tượng đến các Tông Đồ trong chiếc " thuyền " giữa cơn biển động, Chiếc thuyền này là biểu tượng cho Giáo Hội chúng ta, và những cơn bão tồ, biển động là biểu tượng của "thế giới" hôm nay.
             Các Tông Đồ cũng là con người nên cũng yếu đuối như chúng ta nên các ông đã sợ hãi những mối đe dọa trên sóng biển mặc dù có Chúa Kitô đang ở trong thuyền với họ. Nhưng chính vì có Chúa hiện diện trên khoang thuyền, nên không có ai trên thuyền đã bị chết đuối đó là lý do rất chính xác. Giáo Hội của chúng ta trong lúc buổi ban đầu là một Giáo Hội đau khổ với những sự đàn áp và bách hại, họ cũng bị bách hại vì những lợi ích của sự công chính. Bởi vì những người Do Thái đã và đang sẵn sàng đàn áp Giáo hội, Họ muốn tiêu diệt Chúa Giêsu Kitô và cũng vì thế mà họ muốn bách hại và tiêu diệt cả Giáo hội và những người đã tin theo Chúa. Không những thế họ còn lợi dụng Đế quốc  La Mã để tiêu diệt giáo hội và những người Kitô hữu, họ coi những người Kitô hữu như là những người tội phạm.  
Cho tới nay,  Giáo Hội chúng ta vẫn còn đang bị thách thức và bị bách hại bởi vì sự trung thành của Giáo Hội với Lề Luật của Thiên Chúa.  Hơn nữa, vì những sự khát vọng, ham muốn của con người đã làm họ luôn luôn muốn được giải phóng chính mình để họ thoát ra khỏi ý muốn của Thiên Chúa. Đức tin sẽ xuất hiện như là một động lực chống lại "thế giới", và như vậy sẽ có sự bắt bớ, sẽ có bách hại vì sự công bằng trong tất cả các thời kỳ lịch sử củ Giáo Hội Công Giáo của chúng ta.
            Chúa Kitô chịu đóng đinh, Đức Kitô là người công chính nên đã bị bức hại,  được các tiên tri trong Cựu Ước tiên đoán trước. Chính Ngài là sự xuất hiện của Nước Trời: " Phúc cho những ai bị bách hại vì công lý , vì họ là nước thiên đàng ".
Chúng ta hãy cầu xin Chúa ban cho chúng ta những ân sũng của Chúa để chúng con biết nhận định và có một  đức tin bền bỉ để Ngài sẽ ban cho chúng ta những gì mà Ngài nghĩ là tốt cho chúng ta.
 
REFLECTION SATURDAY 3RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Today's Gospel reminds us how truly privileged we are as Christians. Our God is always there with His presence, His care, His concern, His perfect love. These blessings are for us to experience, savor, and value anytime we need to, anytime we want to, and anytime we dare to. All too often however, like the scared apostles in the boat buffeted by strong winds, we despair, waver, and lose faith when confronted with seemingly insurmountable problems even while God is always there for us.
How many times did we doubt God's plan for us - during times of illness, financial difficulties, troubled relationships, natural calamities, emotional upheavals? How many times does God have to "still the winds, calm the seas" so that we can be reassured, we can be certain that He shall lift us up when we need Him?
Let us pray not so much for God's help as it shall always be there in ways that we may not readily realize nor appreciate, but rather, let us ask the Lord for the gift of discernment and constant faith that He will give what is always best for us.
 
Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. Mark 4:36–38
Throughout our lives, we can be assured that at some point we will encounter a storm. Not just a physical storm but a spiritual one. It may come in the form of a tragic event, a deep wound inflicted by another, the effects of our own sin or some other painful experience. And for many people, this will happen more than once.
When such a “storm” is encountered in life, it may seem as if Jesus is “asleep” and not readily available to help us through. When this happens, the message of the Gospel above is very helpful to prayerfully ponder.
As this Gospel passage continues, we read that the disciples, in a panic, woke up Jesus and said, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus got up, addressed the storm and said, “Quiet! Be still!” and all was calm. He then said to the disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” The disciples were left in amazement and wonder.
The key is faith. When we face a storm in life, we must have faith. But what does that mean? It means that we must know, with a deep certitude, that Jesus is in fact always with us. We must know, with a deep certitude, that if we place all our trust and hope in Him, He will never abandon us. We must know, with a deep certitude, that every storm will ultimately pass and that peace and calm will ensue.
Facing the storms in life with faith is transforming. And often Jesus appears to be asleep for a reason. The reason is that He wants us to trust. Too often we turn our eyes to the storm itself and allow fear and anxiety to dominate our lives. But every storm we encounter is an opportunity to trust Him on a new and deeper level. If life were always easy and consoling then we would have little reason to trust deeply. Therefore, every storm must be seen as an opportunity for tremendous grace as we place all our trust in Jesus, despite how things immediately appear.
Reflect, today, upon how deep and sustaining your own faith in Christ truly is. Do you trust Him no matter what? Are you able to trust Him when all seems lost, when life is difficult and when confusion tempts you? Prepare, now, for the next such storm you may face and resolve to use that opportunity as a moment in which your faith is made manifest and becomes the stabilizing force of your life.
My sleeping Lord, help me to always place all my trust in You, no matter what the circumstances are in my life at every moment. Strengthen my faith, especially during those times when I face challenges and temptations. May I never doubt that You are there with me, leading me and keeping me close to Your merciful Heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Saturday 3rd week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I believe that Jesus is your Son and that you have sent him into the world to save us from sin and death. I believe that he will come again in glory at the end of time to judge the living and the dead.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Jesus’ Authority: In its first four chapters, the Gospel of Mark has narrated Jesus’ anointing in the Jordan and testing in the desert, Jesus’ mighty works of healing and exorcism, the opposition to Jesus’ works and teaching, the plot of the Pharisees to kill Jesus, Jesus’ appointment of new leadership for Israel, the establishment of the new family of God, and Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God that he has come to establish. Mark now tells us four stories about Jesus’ divine authority. Jesus, Mark will show us, has authority over nature (Mark 4:35-41), over demons (Mark 5:1-20), over disease (Mark 5:25-34), and over death (Mark 5:35-43). In this way, Jesus prepares his apostles for their mission and readies them to share in his authority and power.
2. Asleep in the Boat: The story of Jesus calming the sea of Galilee recalls the story of Jonah. Jonah was trying to flee the command of the Lord to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh, the sworn enemy of Israel. He was asleep in a boat headed to Tarshish when a storm threatened to sink the boat (Jonah 1:4-6). The sailors calmed the storm by throwing Jonah overboard. Jonah died, was swallowed by a fish, and three days later was restored to life on the seashore. In today’s Gospel, Jesus is asleep in the boat. Jesus calms the raging sea with a word of divine power and authority. But there is another sea, the sea of sin and death, that he will calm through his death and his resurrection on the third day. Jesus invites us to contemplate the sign of Jonah to understand his own identity. Just as Jonah was revived on the third day, Jesus will be resurrected to new life on the third day. And just as Jonah was sent to the Gentile city of Nineveh and the Ninevites repented from sin and worshipped God, so the disciples of Jesus will be sent out into the world of the Gentiles to preach the Gospel of salvation and bring about repentance from sin and faith in the one, true God.
3. The Definition of Faith: In the First Reading, the Letter to the Hebrews moves from a meditation on the mercy and faithfulness of Jesus, our eternal high priest, to an invitation to us to be people filled with faith. The letter mediates on the great figures of the Old Testament who manifested deep faith and trust in the Lord. Faith is not a fleeting sentiment or merely a one-time mental act. Faith is the realization, the substance, of what we hope for, and the evidence, the assurance, of things not seen. Faith makes what we are promised in the future – the eternal vision of God and a true share in divine life – real in the present. “Those who live by faith are so convinced of God’s truthfulness that they stake their whole lives on his promise, showing that these promises are real. Thus, in a sense, faith makes future realities present and unseen realities visible” (Healy, Hebrews, 227). The story of Abraham narrates the story of a man who believed but also struggled to believe. He believed that God would grant him numerous descendants and even that God would restore his son Isaac to life if he offered him up in sacrifice. The many promises made by the Lord to Abraham have all come to fulfillment. We, through faith and Baptism, are all spiritual descendants of Abraham. He was descendants as “numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I believe, but help my unbelief. I know that you are with me always, in the boat of my life. No matter the waves and wind that threaten me, you are there ready to calm them and bring me to safe harbor.
 
Saturday 3^rd Week of Ordinary Time Scripture: Mark 4:35-41
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you have sent your son into your world out of infinite love.  Your will is that he befriends me and draws me close to His Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of his mother.  I am continually in awe of your work in my life, and I ask you never to cease asking me to come away with you. 
Encountering Christ:
Coming Away with Jesus: As nightfall came, the disciples of Jesus must have been mentally exhausted. For hours, their master had been speaking in parables to the crowds, suggesting to everyone how they could attempt to understand the Kingdom of God.   They worried about enemies that could be lurking in these crowds, and they had concerns that Jesus’ parables could be misunderstood by many. They were likely quite pleased when their master finally invited them to come away with him, and only him, on a boat across the Galilee. Jesus invites us to come away with him also. The destination is not particularly important; it is all about the company.  Not only has God become man, but a man that wants to spend time with us, who wants to be in communion with us: “No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends” (John 15:15)
Stormy Seas:  This scene of the boat being tossed in the squall is the subject of a famous Rembrandt masterpiece. The artist depicts that moment when some of the disciples went to Jesus to implore his assistance. Other disciples are seen furiously fighting against the wind and waves, bailing out water, cowering in fear, or retching over the side of the boat. Rembrandt has painted himself into the picture along with the twelve disciples and Jesus. He looks out to me from the centerline of the boat; those to his right are furiously working, and those to his immediate left are focused on Christ.  The artist seems to be asking me where I would be in this scene.  This question evokes Jesus’ words to Martha when her sister was quietly sitting at Jesus’ feet as Martha served, “Mary has chosen the better part” (Lk 10:42).
Unshaken Faith: Mark’s gospel accounts are replete with events that caused witnesses to shake their heads in amazement. At the end of today’s gospel, the disciples were in awe of the calming of the seas they had just experienced. While a sense of wonderment is understandable and admirable as we reflect on our awesome God, the preceding words of Jesus suggest that a lack of faith might contribute to our sense of constant amazement. We recall that the resurrected Christ admonished  “Doubting Thomas” with these words: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (Jn 20:29).  On this Saturday, as we look for a model of unwavering faith, let us recall the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas, whose memorial we celebrated yesterday: “Since the Resurrection took place on a Sunday, we keep holy this day instead of the Sabbath as did the Jews of old. However, we also sanctify Saturday in honor of the glorious Virgin Mary who remained unshaken in faith all day Saturday after the death of her Divine Son.” 
Conversing with Christ: Lord, through the intercession of your Blessed Mother, grant me a steadfast faith like she showed throughout her life, even through your Passion and Death. I want to see this world through the eyes of faith, so as not to be overly concerned when trials and tribulations come my way.  Give me the grace to call on you, and you alone, to calm my storms.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the joyful mysteries of the rosary with a focus on the trials that our Blessed Mother was able to endure without having her faith shaken.
 
Chia sẽ Bài Tin Mừng Mark 4:35-41 Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 3 TN
Những phong cách sống thế tục với nhịp độ quá nhanh của chúng ta đã mang lại sự thịnh vượng cho cuộc sống nhưng chúng ta phải trả giá bằng sự hòa hoà trong nội tâm. Một khát vọng quyền lực, một sự vâng phục thiếu suy tính để tạo nên quyền lực, tạo ra ảo tưởng.  Khuynh hướng thoát ly đời sống tâm linh và chủ nghĩa lý tưởng tôn giáo là những giải pháp không tương xứng để bất cứ nỗi tuyệt vọng nào có thể ảnh hưởng đến cuộc sống của chúng ta. Chỉ có một mối quan hệ quan trọng, sự tin tưởng và phong phú có thể đưa chúng ta hướng tới sự An bình chân thật qua những khó khăn, đau khổ bên ngoài.
            Tình yêu bền vững của Chúa Giêsu bảo đảm với chúng bằng niềm hy vọng trong sự hiện diện của Thiên Chúa trong khi phải đối mặt với những lo âu của cuộc sống. Trung thành trong các mối quan hệ với Chúa có thể thấm nhuần được lòng dũng cảm trong chúng ta. Lòng trung thành đã cho phép Abraham liều mình trong mạo hiểm để đi vào một tương lai vô định. Chúa Giêsu, để lại phía sau một đám đông người chất phát, và đưa những môn đệ của mình đến một tình huống khủng hoảng. Sự im lặng của Chúa Giêsu lúc ban đầu đã làm cho các môn đệ của Ngài sự hãi. Chúa đã để cho họ phải đối mặt những sự khủng hoảng để cuối cùng họ sẽ vượt qua sự khủng hoảng đó với ân sủng của Thiên Chúa.
            Cách bảo vệ các môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu là một cách mà nhiều cha mẹ chúng ta đã bắt chước nếu họ muốn con cái của họ được phát triển thành người trưởng thành biết độc lập, có trách nhiệm, và có thể vượt qua những khó khăn trong cuộc sống. Điều này chỉ xảy ra khi chúng ta cho chúng một cơ hội thời gian và không gian để chúng tự học hỏi nơi những sai lầm, và thiếu sót của chúng. Một số cha mẹ đã cố mức vô tình ngăn chặn quá trình học hỏi này.
            Lạy Chúa là Cha của chúng con, xin giúp cho chúng con có sự can đảm để học hỏi và lấy những kinh nghiệm qua những sự thất bại trong cuộc sống. Chỉ có Chúa mới có thể giup1 và năng đỡ tâm hồn chúng con và dẫn đưa chúng ta đến với sự viên mãn của cuộc sống.
 
REFLECTION
Our fast paced secular life style has brought prosperity to our life but at the cost of inner harmony. A thirst for power, an uncritical docility to power structures, the creation of illusions, spiritual escapism and religious idealism are inadequate solutions to any despair that may touch our lives. Only a significant, trusting and enriching relationship can take us through tragedy towards genuine peace.
            Jesus’ steadfast love assures us with hope in God's presence while facing life's anxieties. Fidelity in relationships can instill courage within us. Fidelity enabled Abraham to risk himself in venturing into an unknown future. Jesus, leaving the crowd behind, led his disciples to a situation which turned into a crisis. Jesus’ silence initially filled the disciples with fear. He allowed them to face the crisis squarely and eventually to overcome it with God’s grace.
            Jesus’ way of protecting his disciples is a way for many parents to emulate if they want their children to grow into responsible and independent adults who can overcome life's difficulties. This happens only when we give them space to learn from their mistakes. Overprotective parents unintentionally suppress this learing process. Heavenly Father, instill in us the courage to learn from experience and to prevail over our failures. Only You can fill our hearts and lead us to the fullness of life.
 
REFLECTION
            After the sea and the wind have calmed down, Jesus turned around and asked his disciples, "Why are you so frightened? How is it that you  have no faith?" Even after seeing all the miracles Jesus has performed and experiencing the wonder and power of his teaching, the disciples were still afraid for their safety and wellbeing. They did not realize that Jesus was there to ensure their safe passage in the face of the danger they experienced.
            What storms confront us in our lives that make us doubt God's wisdom and power? Like the disciples, do our fears and worries overwhelm our faith in God's providence? In the face of adversity, are we able to step back and see our mundane concerns in a wider context?
            We all have gone through various challenges in the past. When we look back at these, how do we see God supporting us? When we felt his absence, did he really abandon us? Let us try to look back at these experiences; maybe they hold the key in reassuring us of how we will also be guided in the challenges that we face today.
 
 REFLECTION
            "Why are you so frightened?" a puzzled Jesus asks. "Have you no faith?" He was right there, no further than an arm's length, more powerful than the wind and the waves.
Lord, we doubt, we stumble. It is our nature. Teach us a bedrock trust, an unquestioning faith. We will do everything we can. But You are greater than our minds can conceive. In the end, faith is your gift. Open our eyes to see Your true nature. Help us to believe.
 
Chia sẽ Bài Tin Mừng Mark 4:35-41 Thứ Bẩy Tuần thứ 3 TN
      (Dựa trên văn bản của Đức Thánh Cha Bênêđictô XVI) (Città del Vaticano, Vatican)
Qua bài đọc hôm nay, chúng ta có thể tưởng tượng đến chiếc " thuyền " với các Tông Đồ trong cơn biển động, Chiếc thuyền này là biểu tượng của Giáo Hội, và cơn bão tồ với cơn biển động là biểu tượng của "thế giới".
            Các Tông Đồ không nên sợ hãi những mối đe dọa của sóng biển: mặc dù Chúa Kitô im lặng ở trong thuyền, và đó là một lý do rất chính xác, không có một ai trên thuyền bị chết đuối.
            Giáo Hội lúc buổi ban đầu là một Giáo Hội đau khổ với những sự đàn áp và bách hại, và họ bị bách hại ngay cả vì lợi ích của sự công chính. Bởi những người dân riêng của Chúa là dân Do Thái mà Giáo hội đã bị đàn áp, và họ bách hại vì sự trung thành với Lề Luật của Thiên Chúa, Bách hại bởi Đế quốc  La Mã vì họ nhìn thấy người Kitô giáo như là những người theo một tên tội phạm; Và vì đó mà họđã đàn áp và bách hại Thiên Chúa ... Hơn nữa, vì những sự khát vọng, ham muốn của con người đã luôn luôn muốn cho mình được giải phóng chính mình ra khỏi ý muốn của Chúa, đức tin xuất hiện như là một cuộc đảo chánh chống lại "thế giới", và như vậy đã có những sự bắt bớ giam cầm,  có sự bách hại và tử đạo vì công lý và sự công bằng trong tất cả các thời kỳ lịch sử của Giáo Hội Công Giáo chúng ta.
            Chúa Kitô đã chịu đóng đinh vì Ngài là người công chính nên đã bị bức hại,  như các tiên tri trong Cựu Ước đã tiên đoán trước. Chính Ngài là sự xuất hiện của Nước Trời: " Phúc cho những ai bị bách hại vì công lý , vì họ là nước thiên đàng "

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên:

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên: (Mark 4:26-34 )
Qua bài tin mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta một bài học về Nước Trời, Nước Trời được coi giống như là một hạt cải giống nhỏ, rất nhỏ, nhưng khi được trồng vào đất, và tự nó sẽ nẩy mầm và tự phát triển trong môi trường thiên nhiên.  
            Sức mạnh của Thiên Chúa cũng sẽ làm cho mọi người chúng ta nhận biết đến Ngài và cảm nhận được tình yêu của Ngài, và nhận thức được Lời Chúa không có giới hạn. Ngài đã bảo đảm với chúng ta như thế. Chúng ta hãy cảm tạ Thiên Chúa về những điều này.
            Khi chúng ta có được sự tin tưởng vào Thiên Chúa và biết thông phần với Chúa trong các công trình của Ngài, chúng ta cần phải thực thi những gì mà Ngài muốn chúng ta phải làm, và phần còn lại khó hơn, Ngài sẽ nhận những việc ấy cho chúng ta. Cũng giống như 0hạt rau cải dù rất bé nhỏ, mắt người thường khó có thể nhận ra và phân biệt. Nhưng hạt giống này một khi đã được gieo vào đất, nẩy mần, lớn lên và phát triển như một cây to lớn, có tàn lớn để các loài chim có thể làm tổ và sinh sống trên đấy.
Nếu Nước Trời của Thiên Chúa giống như hạt cải nhỏ bé này, thì chúng ta phải biết đón nhận, tạo môi trường cho “hạt cải “Nước Trời được lớn lên và phát triển trong tâm hồn của chúng ta. Chúng ta chỉ có thể biết cám ơn, ca ngợi và chúc tụng Thiên Chúa với một lòng khiêm tốn. Vì tình yêu của Thiên Chúa thật là vĩnh cửu!
" Lạy Chúa Thánh Thần, xin hướng dẫn cho chúng con biết những phương cách mà Chúa đang thực hiện trong cuộc sống của chúng con và con đường tương lai mà Chúa đã lên kế hoạch cho chúng con. Giúp chúng con biết nhận ra và thừa nhận các phép lạ dù lớn hay bé mà Chúa đã thực hiện trong cuộc sống của chúng con. "
 
REFLECTION
     Advances in science today have allowed us to have better means of growing plants and to have improved harvests. We have better seeds, more efficient fertilizers and pesticides, improved and more efficient watering techniques. Bottom-line, though, plants still grow in almost miraculous fashion now as ever before, helped by water, sun, temperature and ambient conditions.
     Jesus uses the growth of a mustard seed, among the smallest of seeds, into a large plant with branches able to shelter and house the birds of the air. The kingdom of God, too, grows in such and almost miraculous fashion: its successful growth into a large tree is almost inevitable.
     In the first reading we see that not even trials and persecutions were able to stop the growth of the Church. In fact, the blood of martyrs, many of them in the coliseum of Rome, was the seed which nourished and hastened the growth of the early Church at the center of the Roman Empire.
     We pray that, like the tiny mustard seed, our growth in faith may be robust, steady and productive.
Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.  Mark 4:26–27
It’s beautiful to reflect upon how the Word of God changes people’s lives. This short passage above analogizes the sharing of the Word of God with the planting of seed. The sower goes forth and scatters seed into the ground and then observes how that seed grows into a fruitful plant. The mysterious line states “he knows not how.”
So it is with the Word of God. When that Word is received by another, we are blessed to be able to stand back and watch as that Word takes root and transforms their lives. Of course, at times we may sow the Word and it doesn’t take root. This is on account of either the hardness of another’s heart or on account of the way in which we sow. But when the seed of God’s Word does take root, we should be in awe of how God works in that soul.
Think about this reality in your own life. How did you first receive the good seed of God’s word? Perhaps it was through a sermon, a retreat, the reading of Scripture, a book or the witness of another. Think about how you first received God’s Word into your life and what effect it had upon you.
Once God’s Word has taken root in a soul, it is a holy practice to “rise night and day” so as to observe this seed as it grows. Specifically, we must allow ourselves to be amazed at the mysterious way that a life is changed, be it your own life or the life of another. It’s inspiring to observe the soul of a person as it begins to root out sin, to seek virtue, to establish a life of prayer and to grow in the love of God.
If this is something to which you find it hard to relate, then perhaps it’s time to either allow that seed of God’s Word to fall gently and deeply into the fertile ground of your own soul or to prayerfully look for ways in which God wants to use you to sow that seed into the heart of another. Doing the latter takes much openness to the working of the Holy Spirit. It requires that we allow God to inspire us so as to know how we can cooperate with His hand in evangelization.
Reflect, today, upon the “mystery” of a soul who goes through this process of change and spiritual growth. If you find it difficult to find such an example to ponder, then turn to the lives of the saints. The saints are among the greatest witnesses of those who allowed God’s Word to sink deeply into their lives so that they became new creations, transformed by God’s grace. Ponder this transforming witness and allow yourself to be drawn into gratitude and amazement as you do.
My transforming Lord, I thank You for the way that You have sown the seed of Your holy Word into my own life. I thank You for the way in which You have changed me, freed me from sin and set me on the path to holiness. Use me, dear Lord, to sow that seed in the lives of others and fill me with wonder and awe as I witness Your merciful hand at work. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Friday 3^rd week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have mysteriously acted in my life and guided it to the present moment. Help me to hear your voice in prayer and discern your guiding hand.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Seed that is Sown: The Three Parables in Mark’s Gospel about the Kingdom of God are all connected by the word “seed.” The first parable, which we heard on Wednesday, spoke about the sowing of the seed and how it is rejected or welcomed by someone. The parable teaches us that God sows everywhere, almost indifferent to how human beings will welcome his Word. The main contrast is between those who do not bear lasting fruit in the Kingdom and those who do. The parable invites us to reflect on how we respond to God’s Word: indifferently, superficially, half-heartedly, or as we should. Is the Word of God bearing fruit in my life thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or one hundredfold?
2. The Seed that Grows: The second parable, which we read today, focuses not on the sowing of the seed and how it is rejected or welcomed, but on its mysterious growth. Just as a farmer is not the primary cause of the growth of the seed, we are not the primary cause of the growth of the Kingdom of God. We are only secondary and collaborating causes. The seed needs the heat of the sun, time in the earth, nutrients, and water. The farmer can facilitate these elements of growth but always occupies a subordinate role. The entire process of a seed becoming a living plant remains mysterious and beyond our understanding. In the same way, the growth of the Kingdom of God is primarily and mysteriously caused by God and only secondarily caused by our collaboration. 
3. The Seed that Welcomes: The third parable, which we read today, focuses not on the sowing of the seed or how it mysteriously grows, but on the result of the seed. The Kingdom is compared to a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds. The Kingdom of God, Jesus predicts, will be small in its beginning but grow, like a mustard seed, into a very large and invasive plant. If we look at history, we see how this prophecy of Jesus has been fulfilled. The Kingdom of God was so small in the beginning – just twelve apostles, several dozen disciples, and a group of women who provided for Jesus and his disciples. The Kingdom has, over two thousand years, grown to international dimensions. The birds of the sky that dwell in the branches of the mustard plant are an image of the Gentile nations dwelling in the Church, the beginning and seed of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, enlighten my mind to know the mystery of your Kingdom revealed in your parables. Allow me to see how the seed of your Word has grown in the garden of my heart and understand what it needs to flourish and bear supernatural fruit.
 
Friday 3^rd week of Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come before you today sinful and sorrowful, but also full of hope in your mercy. You spoke in parables to the men and women with whom you walked this earth, but you speak the truth clearly to me through your Church. You are the King of the universe, but you have loved me from all eternity. Give me the grace today to look at the mysteries of your Kingdom and see what you would have me see. 
Encountering Christ:
Veiled: Jesus began this parable on the Kingdom of God by reminding us that there will be things that occur, but we “know not how.” Perhaps yesterday, in solidarity with the whole Church, you prayed the luminous mysteries of the rosary, meditating for one decade on the Proclamation of the Kingdom. Perhaps you focused on scenes from the Gospel like the one today. Perhaps your mind wandered to mysterious occurrences in your own life or in history. How did a friend or relative beat a serious illness? How did a child manage to maintain their faith in the midst of overwhelming secular influences? How did people survive the Holocaust, or the Rwandan genocide, or the Soviet gulags, and not harbor hatred in their hearts? Max Glauben, a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto and then six Nazi labor camps, spent time each year of the last decade accompanying young people on a March of the Living, retracing many of his steps from seven decades earlier, recounting his memories and asking others to join his fight to eradicate hatred. One participant once mentioned to him, “You’re the reason I believe in God now.” In our own search for reason and meaning, let us lift the veil on the mysterious, the miraculous, and the mundane, and see where we are being called to a closer encounter with Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). 
Bellowing throughout the World: If we were living in thirteenth-century Italy, we “would know not how” Thomas Aquinas could eventually come to be recognized as a doctor of the church. Certainly, looking back, we see the literary genius in such masterpieces as the Summa Theologiae and the Summa Contra Gentiles, along with poems that have become some of our most beautiful eucharistic hymns. While Thomas had been a thoughtful and inquisitive boy and had early on desired an education with the Dominicans, his father had different designs for his son. He imprisoned him for more than a year, intending to dispel his crazy notions of religious life. Thomas finally convinced his mother to let him escape and begin his religious studies, but he was such a quiet and lumbering young man that he was soon nicknamed the “Dumb Ox.” It was, thus, quite the surprise when his instructor, St. Albert the Great, spoke these words: “You call him the dumb ox, but in his teaching, he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world.”
From Small Seeds: Researching any kingdom, we might want to study its ruler, its intent, and its extent. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents an image to us that, on the surface, doesn’t tell us much about these key attributes of a kingdom. However, the brief discussion of a mustard seed’s life cycle, whether we are gardeners or not, is well worth contemplating. Who can discern the smallest of seeds, and who might plant one? The ruler of our Kingdom, Jesus Christ. For what intent would such a small seed be planted? So that it could be nourished to reach its potential. To what extent might this seed expand? Jesus tells us that it will grow surprisingly large and will be a place of safe harbor, of shade, and respite from the burning sun. Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus compares not the Kingdom but the theological virtue of faith to this same mustard seed: “If you only had faith the size of a mustard seed…” (Matthew 17:20). With a faith sown by Christ himself, with an intent to nourish this faith with prayer and the sacraments, and a willingness to extend this faith to those I encounter, why should we doubt that we can move mountains?
Conversing with Christ: Lord, thank you for teaching your disciples, and each of us, the meaning behind the mysteries of your Kingdom. Thank you for instituting your church on the Rock of Peter to safeguard the Mysterium Fidei, and for raising up great saints like Thomas Aquinas to help the faithful grow ever closer to you. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the rosary with my family, taking time to contemplate each of the mysteries and what they might be saying to me personally.
 
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên: (Mark 4:26-34 )
Qua bài tin mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu dạy chúng ta một bài dụ ngôn không phải để giúp chúng hoc thêm kinh nghiệm về trồng trọt, nhưng là một thí dụ để giúp chúng ta nhận ra rằng Nước Trời (vương Quốc của Thiên Chúa) không cần những thí nghiệm để tìm cách làm cho hạt giống sinh hoa kết quả và có năng suất cao. Nhưng nước trời như là hạt giống được ương trồng, và tự nó sẽ nẩy mầm và tự phát triển trong môi trường thiên nhiên. 
            Sức mạnh của Thiên Chúa sẽ làm cho mọi người chúng ta nhận biết đến Ngài, cảm nhận được tình yêu của Ngài, và nhận thức được là: sự thông hiểu về Lời Chúa không có giới hạn. Và đây, Ngài bảo đảm với chúng ta như thế. Và chúng ta hãy cảm tạ Thiên Chúa về những điều này. Khi chúng ta bắt đầu có được sự tự tin tưởng trong việc thông phần với Chúa Giêsu trong sứ mệnh của Ngài, chúng ta cần phải thực thi những gì mà Ngài muốn chúng ta phải làm và phần còn lại khó hơn Ngài sẽ làm cho chúng ta. Một hạt rau cải dù rất bé nhỏ, mắt người thường khó có thể nhận ra và phân biệt. Nhưng hạt giống này một khi đã được nẩy mần, lớn lên và phát triển như một cây to lớn, mà  các loài chim có thể làm tổ và sinh sống. Nếu Nước Trời của Thiên Chúa giống như hạt cải nhỏ bé này, thì chúng ta phải biết đón nhận, tạo môi trường cho Nước Trời được lớn lên và phát triển trong mỗi tâm hồn của chúng ta. Chúng ta chỉ có thể biết cám ơn, ca ngợi và chúc tụng Thiên Chúa với một lòng khiêm tốn. Vì tình yêu của Thiên Chúa thật là vĩnh cửu!
" Lạy Chúa Thánh Thần, xin hướng dẫn cho chúng con biết những phương cách mà Chúa đang thực hiện trong cuộc sống của chúng con và con đường tương lai mà Chúa đã lên kế hoạch cho chúng con. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con nhận ra và thừa nhận các phép lạ lớn và bé mà Chúa đã thực hiện trong cuộc sống của chúng con. "
 
REFLECTION
A beginner in gardening would experiment on the plants he tends. First, he would plant a seed or a stem. Then He will water it and allow the seed or the stem to grow while giving it some sunlight. At times he will be successful with the seed or the stem growing some roots and leaves. But not all of the plants grow in full for sometimes he over waters them or lets them go dry too long. This makes him try all over again.
            In the parable that Jesus tells us, we notice that God's kingdom needs no experimenting at all. It will grow by itself. The power of God to make himself known, to make His love felt, to make his word understood has no limit. This he assures us. And we thank God for this as we begin to gain confidence in joining Jesus in his mission. We must do what He asks us to do and He will do the rest. A mustard seed is so small that one could hardly see it. But this seed can grow to be a big tree where birds could build a nest and stay. If the kingdom of God is like this mustard seed then we can only praise and give him thanks in all humility. His love is Everlasting!
 
Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Sáu Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên: (Mark 4:26-34 )
Có chúng ta đã có một số thắc là tại sao Chúa Giêsu là một người thợ mộc,  nhưng trên thực tế tất cả các dụ ngôn của Ngài đã dạy cho dân chúng toàn liên quan đến vấn đề nông nghiệp, đánh cá, chăn nuôi, hay là vấn đề về gia đình và không bao giờ nói đến nghề mộc. Câu trả lời có lẽ là rất rõ ràng: Vì Chúa Giêsu đã dùng những kinh nghiệm hằng ngày của họ. Trong số dân Do thái thời bấy giờ thì chúng ta có thể thấy là đa số dân chúng là làm nghề nông hay đánh cá ngư dân hơn những người làm nghề  thợ mộc .
            Trong các đoạn khác của Phúc Âm đã minh họa cách này đối phó với mọi người: như vậy, trong Goan 4, Chúa Giêsu nói với Nicôđêmô về thần học bằng một cách sâu sắc, bởi vì ông là một thầy thông luật giỏi và là một học giả Doa thái, trong khi ở đoạn 3 Tin Mừng Gioan, khi nói chuyện với người phụ nữ ở bên bờ giếng , Chúa đã nói về những điều rất đơn giản, nước và những người chồng của bà ta, Và ngay cả với những chủ đề đơn giản Đức Giêsu cũng có thể giao tiếp thuyết khá sâu sắc để tách rời về một địa điểm thờ phượng cụ thể để nói về việc thờ phượng được hướng dẫn bởi Thần Khí sự thật.
            Thiên Chúa nói với chúng ta ngay ở bấy cứ nơi nào chúng ta có mặt, tùy theo cá tính của chúng ta, với nhu cầu và niềm hy vọng riêng của chúng ta. Chúng ta không phải là những người nông dân, chúng ta có thể đã chưa bao giờ nhìn thấy được hạt cải xanh hay bụi cây mọc do chúng ta tự trồng, nhưng học thuyết của Chúa Giêsu tất là rõ ràng: tất cả mọi thứ trong thế giới này được mọc lên rất tự nhiên, và do đó việc phát triển của nó cũng  tự nhiên. Khởi đầu chỉ là một hạt cải rất nhỏ nhoi, nhưng có thể sẽ tạo ra một kết quả tuyệt vời. Mười hai môn đệ ban đầu đã trở thành một Giáo Hội hoàn vũ trên toàn thế giới.
            Lạy Thiên Chúa là Cha, xin ban cho chúng có có đưôc đức tin thật vững chắc và luôn tiếp tục tăng trưởng trên thế thế giới này để vinh quang danh Chúa và vì sự cứu rỗi của tất cả nhân loại.
 
REFLECTION
It has caused some wonder that Jesus was a carpenter and yet practically all his parables are concerned with farming, fishing, shepherding, family matters and not with carpentry. The answer is probably very obvious: Jesus spoke to the crowds about their own experience and obviously there were far more farmers and fishermen than carpenters in his audience.
            Other passages in the Gospels illustrate this way of dealing with people: thus in Jn 4, Jesus speaks in a profoundly theological way with Nicodemus, because he was a great teacher and scholar, whereas in Jn 3, when speaking with the woman at the well, he spoke about very simple things - water and her husband, yet even with such simple topics Jesus could communicate quite profound doctrine disassociating worship from a particular place to speak of worship guided by the Spirit of truth.
            God speaks to us where we are, according to our nature, with our needs and hopes. We are not farmers, we have probably never seen mustard seeds or the bush that grows from them, yet Jesus’ doctrine is clear: things grow naturally, and so movements grow naturally. Small beginnings can produce great results. The original twelve disciples have become a worldwide Church.
Father in Heaven, give the true faith continued growth throughout the world for Your greater glory and the salvation of all humanity.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Năm Tuần thứ Ba Thường Niên: (Mark 4:21-25 )
Chúa Kitô là ánh sáng của thế gian, Ngài đã đến để xua tan những bóng tối đã bao phủ tâm hồn của nhân loại, con người sa ngã.  Mỗi người chúng ta, khi nhận lãnh phép rửa tội, chúng ta nhận được ánh sáng của Chúa Kitô, chúng ta có bổn phận là phải mang chuyển những ánh sáng này đến với mọi người trong thời đại của chúng ta, ngay trong gia đình, xóm làng và những người chúng ta quen gặp. Nhưng, chúng ta có thật sự là ngọn đèn sáng như Chúa Kitô mong muốn?  Khi mọi người nhìn vào chúng ta, họ có thể biết được là chúng ta người Kitô hữu hoàn hảo?  Một số người trong chúng ta đã có thể đang cố gắng che dấu mình là một tín hữu Kitô giáo  để  được "sống một cuộc sống tốt" và không muốn ai biết  mình là người Công giáo;  nhưng những điều này có thể giúp cho người khác nhận biết được Chúa Kitô?
            Đây không phải là một câu hỏi để phô trương tôn giáo của chúng ta một cách phóng đại, nhưng có những biểu tượng không phải là sự phô trương: như đeo một cây thánh giá hoặc một huy chương thánh;  hay có  những tấm ảnh Thánh Tâm Chúa trên bàn thờ trong nhà của chúng ta;  Kiêng thịt ngày thứ Sáu, ngay cả khi chúng ta phải ăn trưa với các đồng nghiệp của chúng ta  và giải thích cho họ cái lý do tại sao. Những dấu hiệu tỏ ra bên ngoài không phải là yếu tố cần thiết của tôn giáo của chúng ta;  Nhưng những hành vi và thái độ tốt ủa chúng ta đối với người chung quanh chính là ánh sáng mà chúng ta đang chiếu toả quanh họ. Tuy nhiên, những hành động mang tính biểu tượng như vậy ít nhất có thể cho mọi người chung quanh một tia ánh sáng và nhờ đó có thể làm cho người khác muốn tìm hiểu thêm về ngòn đèn Chúa Kitô.   Lạy Chúa Giêsu,  xin cho chúng con có được sự can đảm và sự nhiệt tình để cho những người khác.được biết Chúa và tìm đến với Chúa.
 
Thursday 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ is the light of the world. He came to dispel the darkness that envelopes the minds of fallen humankind. We are called to be the lamp that passes on that light to the men and women of our day. But do we? When people look at us would they know we were Christians at all? Some people hide their Christianity preferring to “lead a good life” without wishing to be known as Catholics — but is this going to help anyone to come to know Christ?
            It is not a question of parading our religion in an exaggerated way, but there are unobtrusive symbols: wearing a crucifix or a holy medal; having a picture, say, of the Sacred Heart on our house door; declining to eat meat on Fridays, even when lunching with our colleagues — and explaining why. These outwards signs are not the essentials of our religion - the examples of our own attitudes and behaviour are of far greater moment.
            Nevertheless, such symbolic actions can at least show a glimmer of light which could lead others to want to see more. Then we can tell them about Christ. Lord Jesus, give me the courage and the enthusiasm to make You known to others.
 
Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
“For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.” Mark 4:22
What a fascinating little line in the Gospel for today! What does this line mean? Though many have offered various commentaries upon the meaning of this line, let’s turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church for some insight:
In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man’s relationship with God will be laid bare. The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life… (CCC #1039).
This passage comes from the section on “The Last Judgment” rather than “The Particular Judgment.” The Particular Judgment will come for all of us at the moment of our passing from this world. It will be an accounting of our sins and virtues before God in a personal and private way. But the Last Judgment will come at the end of time and should be seen as a universal judgment upon all in a very definitive and public way. Thus, this line from the Catechism seems to suggest that both our good actions and evil ones will be revealed for all to see.
If the Scripture passage above, as well as the passage from the Catechism, are properly interpreted to mean that during the Last Judgment even our deepest sins, including those that have been forgiven through the Sacrament of Confession, will be made manifest for all to see, this idea can, at first, be a bit frightening. But it shouldn’t be. It should be liberating.
If every action of our lives, both good and bad, will be made manifest for all to see at The Last Judgment, then this will result in one thing and one thing alone for those who are in Heaven: the glory of God and much rejoicing! In other words, if God reveals every sin we have committed, then He will also reveal our repentance from those sins, the purification we endured, and the forgiveness we received. Therefore, those who make up the Communion of Saints will not look upon us with judgment; rather, they will glorify God in the same way we glorify God and thank Him for His abundant mercy and forgiveness. We must always remember His forgiveness and continually rejoice in that fact. Therefore, if all truly is made manifest, then it will be so that we can all rejoice together in the incredible mercy of God and can look at each other with gratitude for all that God had done for the other.
Reflect, today, upon the possibility of that glorious moment. Imagine the freedom you will experience by allowing God to share the deepest sins and the deepest virtues of your life with all who share Heaven with you. Shame will be gone. Judgment will be gone. Rejoicing and gratitude alone will remain. What a glorious moment that will be!
My glorious Judge, I thank You for Your mercy and forgiveness in my life. I thank You for freeing me from all sin. Please continue to purify my soul and free me from even the attachment to all sin. May I never forget all that You have done for me, and may Your mercy become the cause of my eternal rejoicing and Your eternal glory. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Thursday 3^rd Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, visit me throughout the day so that I may accomplish your work. Inspire my words to give you praise and glory. Move my heart to be generous, kind, and merciful towards all.
Encountering the Word of God
1. The Light of the World: In the first pair of cryptic sayings, Jesus invites his disciples to consider how they use lamps: When they light a lamp, do they put it under a basket or on top of a lampstand? The implication is that Jesus himself is the lamp or light of the world, who has come into the world to bring the light of the Gospel to humanity. Here, “Jesus wishes to prevent a mistaken interpretation of his earlier words about the mystery of the kingdom (Mark 4:11). Despite the obscurity of the parables and the difficulties people have in understanding his teaching, his purpose is not to hide the kingdom but to make it known” (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 89). The mystery of the kingdom of God, present in Jesus and hidden among them for a time, will be made visible and fully revealed.
2. Divine Generosity: Amid the parables about the Kingdom of God, Jesus encourages his disciples to be generous with others. We need to realize that God has been so generous toward us and grants us mercy without reserve. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God the Father to forgive the debt of our sins insofar as we forgive those who have sinned against us. God is generous with his mercy, but also with his grace that empowers us to do good works. Here, Jesus promises that to the one who has, more will be given. Just as an employer entrusts a good employee with more responsibility over time, God wisely bestows the abundance of his grace upon his faithful servants.
3. We Have Confidence: As we journey toward heaven, we do not trust solely in our own strength, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us. We have the confidence to enter into the heavenly sanctuary through the Blood of Jesus. As the pioneer of our salvation, he has opened a new and living way for us. We can approach the throne of God’s mercy and grace with sincere hearts and absolute trust because we have been washed clean and our hearts purified in the waters of Baptism and in the mercy of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Letter to the Hebrews encourages us to look at the members of our community and family and see how we can rouse them to love and do good works. The Pharisees thought they could grow in perfection by separating themselves from others. The Letter to the Hebrews doesn’t fall into that false line of thinking: We are in this together and should not stay away from the liturgical assembly of the Church, but encourage one another as we journey and the day of the Lord’s second advent draws near.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Light of the world and Pioneer of salvation, direct my eyes toward your heavenly throne. Do not let me be overcome by the anxieties and cares of this world. Sustain me with your grace as I work through trials and resist temptation.
 
Thursday 3^rd Ordinary Time: 
Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for calling me to this time of prayer, and I ask that you silence the distractions around me and just let me be in your presence. I know that you have something to say to me today that will be for my benefit. I want to hear you, and I want to do your will.
Encountering Christ:
The Source, and Our Hope: In the first reading, King David humbly came into the Lord’s presence with absolutely no misunderstanding of who was in charge. The awesome power granted to David had a source, and as shrewd, skilled, and courageous as David showed himself to be, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had been God’s hand at work all along. With great gratitude, the King acknowledged his good fortune. But in a lesson to us all, he didn’t stop there. He looked to the future with hope—hope that the promise that his Lord made to his servant would truly be fulfilled. We, too, baptized into the multitudes of the chosen, cry out similarly in hope, thankful that the Lord, Our Father, keeps his promises.
No Hiding: One hundred years after the song “This Little Light of Mine” was penned for children, a television commercial in 2020 was thanking our health care workers with pandemic video footage backed by the chorus: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” Civil rights figures of the 1960s borrowed the words to animate nonviolent opposition to oppression. Sometime in between, most of us sang the refrain, maybe as a child or as a Sunday school teacher, perhaps tracing out motions in the air signifying light, an emphatic “No!”, or the world. In “light” of today’s Gospel reading, we may recall the four verses that the songwriter, Harry Dixon Loes, shares about “it” (the light freely given to us by God): Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine; Don’t let Satan blow it out, I’m gonna let it shine; Shine all over the whole wide world, I’m gonna let it shine, and Let it shine til Jesus comes, I’m gonna let it shine. Lord, how, and to whom, would you like my light, which is your light, to shine today?
Growing Capacity: We might find it odd when Christ tells his disciples, “to those who have much, more will be given.” This claim, at first, is hard to reconcile with Our Lord’s teachings about detaching from possessions, or that the “first shall be last.” Consider, though, this wisdom from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image...God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion” (CCC 2331). As we grow our capacity to love, we shouldn’t be surprised when God gives us more to love. Welcoming children in the womb, fostering or adopting children, or otherwise brightening the lives of children (ours or others) are beautiful means by which we finite beings can grow our capacity to love selflessly, and begin to image God in his infinite love. “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:14).
Conversing with Christ: Lord, thank you for your light in the world and in my heart. I recall your words to your disciples recorded by St. Matthew: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Give me the grace to be your disciple and fulfill these words today.
 
Thursday 3^rd Ordinary Time
The parable of the lamp in the Gospel of Mark points out the meaning of discipleship. After having received the message of the Gospel, we are asked not to keep to ourselves what we heard and believed. We are asked to share it with others. Like a lighted lamp we should be the source of light to those who have not heard the word of God, a source of light to those who live in the darkness of ignorance and of poverty If we have charity and our deeds are in accord with our Christian values, we are true disciples and we will have our reward on the last day at our final meeting with the Lord. "Pay attention to what you hear, the measure that you measure out will be used to measure what you receive." In what practical ways can we let our light shine?