Suy Niệm Chúa Nhật XVIII Mùa Thường Niên (Năm A)

Suy Niệm Chúa Nhật XVIII Mùa Thường Niên (Năm A)
Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay cho chúng ta biết: "Khi Chúa Giêsu nghe tin về cái chết của Thánh Gioan tẩy giả. Ngài đã lên thuyền chèo đến một nơi vắng vẻ. Và cái chết này đã gây cho Chúa Giêsu một cái sốc nặng, và đây cũng là cái mốc thời gian đánh dấu sự khởi đầu cho sứ mệnh của Chúa Giêsu trong một giai đoạn mới. Và vì vậy, với một trái tim đau khổ, Ngài có rất nhiều những sự suy nghĩ trong tâm trí. Chúa Giêsu ra đi tìm một nơi thanh vắng trách mặt mọi người. Ngài muốn có thời gian để suy ngẫm và cầu nguyện trong những thời khắc quan trọng, buồn đau này. Trái tim con người của Chúa Kitô quả thật đẹp làm sao khi được tỏa sáng trong chi tiết này! Đây là Thiên Chúa của chúng ta, Thiên Chúa trong một con người để biết con người đau khổ buồn vui như thế nào, khi phải chịu đựng, để cảm nhận những sức đè nén của mọi thứ! Đây là lý do tại sao chúng ta luôn có thể trút bầu tâm sự của mình cho Chúa, và biết rằng Chúa sẽ hiểu nhữngt tâm sự của chúng ta!
Đám đông hôm nay đả không quản ngại đường xa tìm đến Chúa, họ ã đánh cắp đi cái sứ thanh vắng mà Chúa đang muốn tìm kiếm hôm nayu. Họ không cho Chúa Giêsu có thời gian chi chính Ngài. Hò theo Chúa đến mọi nơi mà Chúa đến dẻ cầu xin được nghe những lời khôn ngoan và xin Ngài những phép lạ chữa lành.
Và Chúa Giêsu đã phản ứng thế nào? Chúa Giêsu không thể cưỡng lại lời cầu xin của họ. Ngài đặt sự thanh vắng cô đơn và bận tâm của Ngài sang một bên, Ngài ngồi xuống và cho họ những lời an ủi, chữa lành, dạy dỗ, lắng nghe họ. Ngài còn làm nhiều điều hơn thế nữa cho chúng, Ngài làm phép lạ hoá bánh và cá ra nhiều để cho dân chúng được ăn no thoả thê trong sa mạc.
Chúa Giêsu sống hoàn toàn vì lợi ích của những người mà Ngài yêu thương. Đây là một trong những lý do tại sao mà mối quan hệ của chúng ta với Chúa Giêsu rất ư là độc đáo. Chúng ta không phải tìm kiếm tình yêu của Chúa, và chúng ta không phải sợ mất đi tình yêu đấy; vì tình yêu của Chúa dành cho chúng ta là tình   yêu vô điều kiện và rtất đáng tin cậy. Chúng ta không cần phải kết bạn Chúa bằng cái vẻ ngoài tuyệt vời hay những thành tích ấn tượng. Và chúng ta sẽ không đánh mất đi được cái tình yêu của Chúa Kitô vì những sự thất bại hay vì những sự yếu đuối của chúng ta. Ngay cả khi chúng ta thực sự từ chối anh ta bằng cách chúng ta đã phạm tội, thế mà Ngài vẫn luôn chờ đợi chúng ta quay trở lại với Ngài qua Phép Hoà giải.
Qua Bí tích Thánh Thể mà chúng ta sắp được lãnh nhận, và qua tất cả những bí tích khác, Chúa Giêsu vẫn luôn tiếp tục sống cho chúng ta và trong chúng ta. Và nếu Chúa Giêsu đã làm cho chúng ta như thế, thì đó cũng là cách chúng ta nên bắt chước và làm theo. Chúng ta là Kitô hữu; chúng ta mang danh Chúa Kitô, bởi vì chúng ta được mời gọi noi gương Ngài. Nhiệm vụ của chúng ta trong thế giới này là thể hiện tình yêu của Chúa, để tất cả mọi người sẽ tin vào Chúa Giêsu, theo Ngài và tìm đến với cuộc sống vĩnh cửu. Và chúng ta làm đươđc điều đó bằng cách yêu thương người khác như Chúa Kitô đã yêu thương chúng ta. Chúng ta có biết điều gì đã cản trở chúng ta thực hiện điều răn mến Chúa yêu Người của Chúa một cách can đảm và kiên trì không? Thưa đó là nỗi sợ!   Chúng ta sợ rằng nếu chúng ta trao chính mình cho người khác; chúng ta sợ rằng nếu chúng ta cho đi tất cả những gì chúng ta có, chúng ta sẽ không còn gì để giữ lại cho mình nữa..
Hôm nay Chúa Giêsu đã loại bỏ nỗi sợ hãi đó ra khỏi cái tâm tư của chúng ta. Các tông đồ của Chúa hôm nay chỉ có năm ổ bánh mì và hai con cá; thậm chí không đủ cho họ ăn trưa. Nhưng khi họ dâng lên Chúa những ổ bánh này, và họ nhân danh Chúa, họ đã chia những miếng bánh này cho những người đang cần giúp đỡ. Họ còn đói không? Ngược lại! Cuối cùng, họ gom lại được mười hai giỏ bánh thừa; nhiều hơn là những gì họ đã có lúc bắt đầu. Thiên Chúa sẽ không bao giờ hẹp hòi trong sự rộng lượng. Nếu chúng ta cho đi như Ngài đã cho, chúng ta sẽ nhận được gấp nhiều lần hơn những gì chúng ta có thể tưởng tượng.
Hôm nay, khi chúng ta rước Chúa vào lòng qua Bí tích Thánh Thể, chúng ta hãy hứa với Chúa rằng chúng ta sẽ cố gắng hết sức mình để sống theo cái danh nghĩa chính của chúng ta là Kitô hữu.
 
18^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A - Jesus Lives for Us
Today’s Gospel reading tells us, " When Jesus heard the death of St John the Baptist. He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. And this death moves Jesus deeply, and marked the beginning of a new stage in His mission. And so, with a sorrowful heart and a lot on his mind, Jesus goes away to be alone, to have time to reflect and pray at this crucial, painful moment. How beautifully Christ's human heart shines through in this detail!  
This is our God, a man who knows what it is to be human, to suffer, to feel the weight of things! This is why we can always pour out our hearts to him, knowing that He will understand!
The crowds refuse to let Jesus have his time alone; they flowing him around, begging for words of wisdom and miracles of healing. And how does Jesus react?  He cannot resist their pleas.
He puts his own loneliness and preoccupations aside, sits down, and give them comforting, healing, teaching, listening... He also does more for them, He multiplies the loaves and fish to feed them in the desert. The Lord Jesus who lives entirely for the good of those he loves.   This is one of the reasons our relationship with Jesus is so unique.
We don't have to earn his love, and we don't have to be afraid of losing it; his love is unconditional and dependable.  We don't have to earn his friendship by our great good looks, or impressive achievements. And we won't lose Christ's love because of our failures or weaknesses. Even when we actually reject him by sinning, he is always waiting at the door of our hearts and come back in.
Through the Eucharist we are about to receive, and through all of the other sacraments, Jesus continues living for us. And if that's how Jesus is, that's also how we should be.  We are Christians; we bear Christ's name, because we are called to follow his example. Our mission in this world is to show forth his love, so that all people will believe in Jesus, follow him, and come to eternal life. And we do that by loving others as Christ has loved us.
Do we know what holds us back from fulfilling His commandment of Love more courageously?  Fear!
 We are afraid that if we give of ourselves to others; we are afraid that if we give what we have, we won't have enough left over for ourselves.
Today Jesus has removed that fear. His Twelve Apostles started with five loaves of bread and two fish; not even enough for themselves.  They entrusted their few loaves of bread to him, and then in his name they gave it away to others who were in need.  Did they go hungry? On the contrary!   In the end, there were twelve baskets of leftovers; more than what they had started with. God will never be outdone in generosity. If we give as he has given, we will receive more than we can imagine.
Today, when we receive our Lord in the Eucharist, let's promise that we will do our very best to live up to our name as Christian.
 
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over—twelve wicker baskets full. Matthew 14:17–20
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, there are two distinct miraculous feedings of large crowds. Today’s Gospel depicts the first one, given primarily to Jewish people near the Sea of Galilee. Five thousand men (not counting women and children) were fed from five loaves and two fish, resulting in twelve baskets left over. This feeding of the five thousand is notably the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four Gospels, underscoring its significance. Matthew and Mark also recount a second miraculous feeding—this time of four thousand people—in the largely pagan region of the Decapolis, using seven loaves and a few fish, with seven baskets left over.
This first miracle takes place within the context of Jesus’ sorrowful heart, as He mourns the death of His cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus knew that John’s death occurred for the Father’s glory and according to His permissive will. Yet this divine perspective did not eliminate His human sorrow. Holy sorrow is a profound expression of love in the face of suffering.
Because Jesus’ love was perfect, His sorrow was genuine and deep. The depth of His sorrow is evident from His deliberate choice to withdraw by boat to be alone, to fully embrace His grief. It is beautiful to note that Jesus’ divinity does not overshadow or diminish His humanity. Rather, with divine love, He fully accepts John’s death, and with a genuinely human heart, He properly mourns. In Jesus, humanity and divinity intertwine perfectly.
Upon disembarking, Jesus finds that a large crowd has followed Him on foot, anticipating His arrival, hungry for His teachings and miracles. Here we encounter a second revelation of Jesus’ divinity shining through His humanity. Seeing the crowd and perceiving their brokenness, sinfulness, and suffering, “his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” The Greek word translated here as “pity” indicates a deeply felt, visceral compassion. This compassion, divine in origin, flows perfectly through Jesus’ sacred humanity. His compassionate gaze vividly reveals God’s merciful love: Jesus does not merely sympathize; He acts decisively, healing the sick and alleviating their suffering. His divine love compels Him to act for the good of His people.
The miracle itself recalls God’s providential care for the Israelites during their forty years in the desert, when manna appeared each morning, providing sufficient food for each day. That miracle, coupled with today’s Gospel, teaches us a consistent truth: God always provides for us when we turn to Him, seeking Him earnestly as the crowd did.
The multiplication of the loaves and fish also foreshadows the Eucharist, likely the reason it is recorded in all four Gospels. In the Eucharist, God provides abundantly for our spiritual nourishment. When received with faith and trust in God’s providence, Jesus’ Body and Blood nourishes every virtue within us, empowering us to flourish spiritually. The Eucharist prepares us for eternal life, where we anticipate sharing in the eternal Wedding Banquet of Heaven—a perfect, everlasting celebration free from all sin, sickness, and suffering.
Reflect today on Jesus’ tender care. He looks upon your needs with the same compassion He showed to the crowds in the wilderness. Consider especially how He desires to feed you daily through the Most Holy Eucharist, the true Bread from Heaven. Bring to Him whatever you have, even if it seems small or insufficient—your struggles, weariness, prayers, and hopes—and trust that in His hands, they will be multiplied for the good of your soul and the souls of others. Let this miraculous feeding stir within you a deeper faith in God’s providence and a more fervent desire for the Eucharist, where Christ Himself is our sustenance, our healing, and our foretaste of eternal joy.
My Eucharistic Lord, the Gift of the Eucharist is beyond my comprehension. Just as the crowds were amazed at the multiplication of the loaves and fish, astonish me with an understanding of the Eucharist and Your providential care that fills my heart with openness and gratitude to You. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
18^th Ordinary Time-
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are rich in mercy and never turn away those who seek you with sincere hearts. You satisfy the hungry with good things, heal the brokenhearted, and invite us to the banquet of your everlasting covenant. Open our minds to your holy Word and prepare our hearts to receive your Son in the Eucharist, that nothing may ever separate us from your saving love.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Healing and Nourishment in the Church: In the Gospel, the death of John the Baptist moves Jesus to spend time in prayer in a deserted place. When the crowds followed him, Jesus was not disturbed or irked by this. Instead, his heart was moved with pity. He not only cured the sick among them, but he fed them with miraculous bread and fish. Similarly, Jesus is not annoyed by our petitions and prayers. A sincere prayer moves the heart of our heavenly high priest and king. He will not only heal us but will also feed us with heavenly bread. Matthew hints that the event of the multiplication of the loaves anticipates the Eucharist by using the same series of verbs here and at the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26): taking, blessing, breaking, giving. Jesus also fed the crowds through the hands of the apostles and this points forward to their priestly ministry: “They distribute the bread provided by Jesus in anticipation of the eucharistic liturgy, where the priests of the New Covenant give the Bread of Life as Holy Communion to the Church (1 Cor 10:16; CCC, 1329)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 33).
2. An Everlasting Covenant: The First Reading, from Isaiah 55, is an invitation to seek the Lord. Four words stand out: water, wine, bread, everlasting covenant. These words look back to the Old Testament and look forward to the sacramental gifts of the Messiah. The “Lord invites all to a feast that is free of charge. He offers, not ordinary food and drink, but the blessings of his life-sustaining word (Deuteronomy 8:3)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1244). The Lord, through Isaiah, promises a new covenant that fulfills the covenant promises made to King David (see 2 Samuel 7:8-17; Psalm 89). In a way, the Lord is promising to extend the blessings of the Davidic covenant to his people. Such blessings include divine adoption and an everlasting kingship. Isaiah 55 is directed first to the people of God living in exile. The Lord wants the exiles to prepare themselves to hear his proclamation of salvation, which will be the new covenant. Ordinary food and drink do not ultimately satisfy us; and the Lord is offering food and drink that will provide the ultimate satisfaction of our deepest desire. Just as the Lord promised an everlasting kingdom to David, the Lord promises Israel and us an “everlasting covenant.” “This covenant is linked to the Lord’s steadfast love for David. Of course, Christians will link this promise of salvation with Christ’s institution of the Eucharist when He says, ‘This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant’ (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25)” (Pacwa, Isaiah, 266).
3. Nothing Can Separate Us from Christ’s Love: In the Second Reading, Paul says that nothing – anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword – can separate us from the love of Christ. No creature, no angel, not even death, can separate us from God’s love. On the contrary, these kinds of suffering and tribulation bring us to share more fully in the passion of Jesus. Through such suffering and trial, we are more perfectly conformed to Christ. “The very things that afflict us are what make us sharers in Jesus’ triumph over sin. And, as always, Paul is quick to clarify that this takes place not by our own power but through him who loved us. Thanks to his grace, no circumstance or created power outside ourselves is capable of severing the bond that joins us to the risen Lord” (Hahn and Mitch, Romans, 147). What separates us from God are the serious and deadly sins we freely choose to commit. God loves us and desires our salvation; our sin, though, is a refusal of that love and that salvation. Remaining in sin is a refusal of his merciful love. We do not need to fear our God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. He is just and holy, near to all who call upon him in truth.
 
18^th Ordinary Time- The Culture of Life
The Gospel reading for today begins with Jesus hearing the news of the death of John the Baptist, and when Jesus heard the sad news, He withdrew to a deserted place to be by Himself. Jesus often went off somewhere to pray.  Perhaps He was praying and trying to understand the will of the Father for John and for Him.  Perhaps He was contemplating the meaning of death.  Perhaps, Jesus was considering the mystery of evil.  John, the greatest prophet to live, had been put to death by pure evil. Evil would attack Jesus also, as well as the people He was gathering to Himself.
Jesus would not be left alone for long, though. People sought Him out. He could not allow His grief to keep Him from caring for the people.  He needed to feed them, in word and in deed. Many of us have behaved the same way. I have witnessed and been edified by so many of us who have suffered horrible crises, such as the death of our love one, but we refused to allow our grief to prevent us from caring for others, particularly for our children.
Like John the Baptist, Jesus would also be put to death by evil, but He would not allow Himself to be caught up in evil, caught up in the culture of death.  Jesus came to bring life into the world. He came to invite people, invite us, to join Him in the Culture of Life.  The Culture of Life is the way of living that celebrates the life we were given at our baptism, the life of God.
Saint Mother Theresa committed to the Culture of Life that led her to care for the poorest of the poor. All human are the image of God, we share in His divinity. We are called to the Culture of Life. We are people of life, people of hope, People of God. It is our commitment to the culture of life that allows us to view the events of our physical lives as only part of the story of our lives.  We live for God. We live for heaven. We live for eternal life.  And we refused to be destroyed by the culture of death.
The culture of death only sees the here and now. It does not consider the impact of a person’s actions on his or her life or on the world in general. It is the culture of death that says, “Have the abortion.”
How many babies are killed? It is the culture of death that is the philosophical basis of the sex industry. Basically speaking, the culture of death assumes that we are animals, unable to control ourselves. 
But we are not animals. We are sons and daughter of God.  We have dignity. We also have a right to demand that others treat us with the Dignity we have been given at our baptism.  Whether we are thirteen or Ninety-three, we cannot allow anyone to assume that we are unable to control ourselves, assume that are condemned to live like animals, condemned to the Culture of Death. And God says in, our first reading: We have been called to Life. It is all right there for us. We can choose Christ. We can choose His Way, the Culture of Life. And we can be happy, now and forever. But we must choose.