Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ Nhất Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần thứ Nhất Thường Niên Mark 1:14-20
Chúa Giêsu đã chịu phép Rửa, Chúa Cha đã xác nhận sứ mệnh của Ngài, và bây giờ Ngài bắt đầu giảng dạy về Nước Thiên Chúa.  Trong đoạn Tin Mừng  hôm nay đã mô tả việc Chúa Giêsu kêu gọi các môn đệ đầu tiên. Chúa Giê-su đã có sức quyến rũ qua những rao giảng và mời gọi của Ngài mà các ông Simon và Andrew, James và John, con trai của Zebedee có sự cảm hứng, ngay lập tức rời bỏ công việc đang dở dang và bỏ cha mình và đi theo Chúa.
Chữ “ngay lập tức” thì vô cùng quan trọng. Theo lời tường thuật trong Tin Mừng Thánh Gioan, bốn người họ đã gặp Chúa Giêsu. Tuy nhiên, theo thánh Macô kể lại thì cuộc gặp gỡ đặc biệt của 4 môn đệ này với Chúa Giêsu, Ngài đã kêu gọi họ đi theo Ngài trong một cuộc gặp gỡ thật khác thường và bất ngờ họ sẵn sàng rời bỏ mọi thứ để theo Chúa ngay lập tức. Họ không ngần ngại suy tính lợi hại, Họ không nghĩ về tương lai hay quá khứ. Họ chỉ biết vâng phục và chấp nhận mọi rủi ro và sự mong muốn bất ngờ này đã mang lại cho họ sự thỏa mãn trái tim của họ.
Có một sự khác biệt rất lớn giữa việc biết về Chúa Giêsu và gặp gỡ Người. Có thể khi chúng ta        được rửa tội khi còn nhỏ, hoặc khi đã trưởng thành mới đáp lại món quà đức tin của Chúa, chúng ta đã biết về Chúa Giêsu. Tin Mừng hôm nay kêu gọi chúng ta đến với một cuộc gặp gỡ thân mật hơn với Chúa Giêsu là Chúa và Cứu Chúa của chúng ta. Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin ban cho con có được đặc ân là có được một cuộc gặp gỡ sâu sắc, cá nhân với Ngài và làm thay đổi cuộc sống của chúng con.
 
Monday 1st week of Ordinary Time
Jesus has been baptized; the Father has confirmed his mission and now he starts to teach about the Kingdom of God. As a teacher, he began to gather disciples who would participate in his mission.
Today’s passage from Mark’s Gospel describes the calling of the first disciples. Jesus used words of invitation, which were so inspired and so strong that Simon and Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, immediately left their works and followed him.
The word immediately is extremely important.  According to the account in St John’s Gospel, the four of them had already encountered Jesus. However, Mark tells of a special encounter with Jesus, who called them to follow him. This encounter was so unusual and so deep that they were ready to leave everything in order to follow him, immediately. They did not think about the future or the past. They just took a risk and yielded to this sudden desire, which fulfilled their hearts.
There is a huge difference between knowing about Jesus and meeting him. Baptized as children perhaps, or as adults responding to God’s gift of faith, we have learned about Jesus. The Gospel calls us to a more intimate encounter with Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Jesus, grant me the grace of a deep, personal, and life-changing encounter with You.
 
Monday 1st week of Ordinary Time
Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Mark 1:14–15
We have now completed our Advent and Christmas Seasons, and thus we begin the liturgical season of “Ordinary Time.” Ordinary Time must be lived in our lives in both an ordinary and extraordinary way.
First of all, we begin this liturgical season with an extraordinary calling from God. In the Gospel passage above, Jesus begins His public ministry by proclaiming that “The Kingdom of God is at hand.” But He then goes on to state that, as a result of the new presence of the Kingdom of God, we must “repent” and “believe.”
It’s important to understand that the Incarnation, which we especially celebrated in Advent and Christmas, changed the world forever. Now that God had united Himself with human nature in the Person of Jesus Christ, God’s new Kingdom of grace and mercy was at hand. Our world and our lives are changed because of what God did. And as Jesus began His public ministry, He begins to inform us through His preaching of this new reality.
The public ministry of Jesus, as it is transmitted to us through the inspired Word of the Gospels, presents to us the very Person of God and the foundation of His new Kingdom of grace and mercy. It presents us with the extraordinary calling of holiness of life and an unwavering and radical commitment to following Christ. Thus, as we begin Ordinary Time, it’s good to be reminded of our duty to immerse ourselves in the message of the Gospel and to respond to it without reserve.
But this calling to an extraordinary way of life must ultimately become ordinary. In other words, our radical calling to follow Christ must become who we are. We must see the “extraordinary” as our “ordinary” duty in life.
Reflect, today, upon the beginning of this new liturgical season. Use it as an opportunity to remind yourself of the importance of both daily studying and prayerfully pondering the public ministry of Jesus and all He taught. Recommit yourself to a faithful reading of the Gospel so that it becomes an ordinary part of your daily life.
My precious Jesus, I thank You for all You have spoken and revealed to us through Your public ministry. Strengthen me during this new liturgical season of Ordinary Time to devote myself to the reading of Your holy Word, so that all that You have taught us becomes an ordinary part of my daily life. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday 1st week of Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear the words of your Son today, repent from my sinful ways with your grace, and believe more fully in the Good News of salvation. Help me to leave behind those things that keep me from you and hold me back from following your Son more closely.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Kingdom and Salvation: Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. This was to fulfill a prophecy in the Book of Isaiah about the people in the region of “Galilee of the Gentiles” seeing a great light (Isaiah 8:23-9:1). Jesus and the Gospel he proclaimed are the great light that enlightens not just Israel and Judah, but all nations. Jesus announced the “time of fulfillment,” and this means that everything promised and foretold in the Old Testament – especially about the restoration of the Kingdom of David and the Good News of salvation – is being brought to fulfillment and completion in his person and by his ministry. By announcing in Galilee that the Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus is announcing that the first tribes of Israel to experience exile in 722 B.C., are the first to hear the preaching of the Gospel of salvation and the arrival of the Kingdom of God. This announcement invites a twofold response: repentance (metanoia) from sin and a turning toward God; and belief in the Gospel. Jesus is inviting the people to have a faith that flourishes in and works through love.
2. Fishers of Men: The call of four fishermen by Jesus to come after him was also a fulfillment of a prophecy. The Lord God promised through the prophet Jeremiah that he would send out hunters and fishermen to gather his scattered people (Jeremiah 16:16). The restoration of the Kingdom of David as the Kingdom of God begins with Jesus calling the first of 12 men to be his 12 apostles. The number 12 symbolizes that the New Israel has begun. The apostles will follow Jesus and be sent out to gather the people into the family and Kingdom of God. Simon and Andrew left their nets to follow Jesus. James and John left their father to follow Jesus. Even though they abandoned their earthly nets and earthly family, they will take up the spiritual nets of salvation and be incorporated into the spiritual family of the Church, the Body of Christ.
3. Who is Jesus? For the next four weeks, our First Reading will be taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The letter seeks to answer the important question of whether or not Jesus was a priest. The problem was Jesus’ genealogy. Jesus was not a priestly descendant of Levi or Aaron. He was a royal descendant of David. The solution of the letter will be to identify Jesus as belonging to a more ancient and superior priesthood, that of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20). Before getting to this solution, the letter, which reads more like a sermon or homily, seeks to establish Jesus’ true identity. The author begins the letter by making sure that his audience knows that Jesus is more than a prophet and more than an angel. While the prophets of the past communicated the word of God to our ancestors in many diverse and partial ways, the Son of God speaks to us in a definitive and complete way. While the angels are excellent beings, the Son of God is more excellent. He sustains all creation by his mighty word, accomplished the purification of our sins, and sits at God’s right hand. The Son, the refulgence of God’s glory and the imprint of God’s being, is worthy of angelic worship.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I honor and adore you today with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. You are my faithful and merciful high priest. Intercede for me at the Father’s right hand and unite my humble and imperfect offering to your powerful and perfect sacrifice.
 
Monday 1st week of Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord, quiet my mind. Help me to take a step back from my anxieties, cares, and worries and just rest quietly with you. I long to follow you and answer your call. Please give me the grace to do so today. 
Encountering Christ:
John Arrested: John was enormously popular and regarded as a prophet. He publicly criticized King Herod for taking his own sister-in-law from his brother Philip and making her his wife. Herod was fascinated and confused by John the Baptist. His confusion was a result of hearing the truth but not wanting to make any changes in his life. When Herod arrested John, we can only imagine the impact that made on the crowds who revered John and had witnessed the amazing events surrounding the Baptism of Jesus. It was a period of growing uncertainty and political unrest. However, instead of being fearful or cautious, Jesus boldly used this moment to proclaim the time of fulfillment and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Nothing ever kept Jesus from speaking Truth. By his example, we are encouraged to put aside all fears of reaching out to others with Christ’s love.
The Fishermen: Jesus called two sets of busy working men, Simon (Peter) and Andrew, and the brothers James and John, to abandon the tools of their livelihood and follow him. This is one of many times in Scripture where we see God call working people as they went about the business of their lives. Whether they were working the fields, fishing, or tending a flock, they were asked to abandon these tasks and answer his call. And so often, those called by God were simple folk, not particularly well-equipped for missionary activity. This certainly highlights the divine nature of the call. Only by the power of God can we fulfill our unique calling. “The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, ‘the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission” (CCC 852). 
They Left Their Nets: How many pivotal times in the Bible we see God counting on a human “yes!” Moses agreed to confront Pharaoh, David accepted the call to defeat Goliath and become king. Most profoundly, Mary’s fiat brought the Messiah into the world. Here we see four more “yes” responses to the call of the Spirit. Why does our all-powerful God seek a “yes” from human beings? Our “yes” to God is an expression of our free will, a gift God gave each of us so as to unite ourselves to him in love. “By free will, [man] is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection ‘in seeking and loving what is true and good’” (CCC 1704). Every call is an invitation to love God more perfectly, and through him to love others. 
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I may not be called to be one of the Apostles, to be a king, or to be a famous follower of yours. I know that you are calling me to follow you nonetheless. I know that you are strong even though I am weak. Help me to trust in your strength. Today, as I ponder on this particular Gospel, I ask that you make me open to your call for my life. Grant me wisdom and a servant’s heart as I follow you. 
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will say a decade of the rosary, praying to discern more deeply God’s call in my life.
 
REFLECTION
Christ's call to conversion exempts no one. All of us stand in need of turning more and more away from selfishness and laziness, from pride and stubbornness, or from greed and possessiveness. Who of us can say that we have no sins of omission to repent of? Sins like neglecting hospitality and courtesy, failing to return something borrowed, to say thanks for a favor, or avoiding responsibility and prayer. But turning away from sin is only half the conversion  process.
The other half is to turn towards something better to bring us closer to God. The easiest way to root out a bad habit is to replace it with a good one, like developing discipline to displace our irresponsibility, sharing more to stem our selfishness, or taking time to pray to cut down on our television viewing. To believe in the good news challenges us to get involved in a good cause, like the war on poverty, or fighting injustice and corruption in all its forms. It certainly does take courage to change, whether personally in our battle with something like alcohol, or socially in our struggle with something like injustice. But change is possible. For some of us, change is a must if we are ever going to hear the good news and walk the path that leads to goodness. Moreover, according to our Lord, the time is now, not later. The kingdom is here, not some place else. Like the four disciples called in the Gospel, we need to have the urgency to act at once, before it is too late.

Chúa Nhật Lễ Chúa chịu phép rửa. Ngày 12 tháng 1 năm 2025

Chúa Nhật Lễ Chúa chịu phép rửa. Ngày 12 tháng 1 năm 2025
Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11; Titus 2:11-14,3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16,21-22.
Có lẽ chúng ta không thể nhớ ngày quan trọng nhất trong cuộc đời mình, ngày chúng ta được rửa tội! Nhưng cha mẹ chúng ta nhớ và cho chúng ta xem rất nhiều hình ảnh về sự kiện này. Đó là ngày quan trọng nhất vì ngày đó đã giải thoát chúng ta khỏi tội nguyên tổ và kết hợp chúng ta với Chúa Giêsus mãi mãi. Qua Bài Tin Mừng, theo một nghĩa nào đó, chúng ta có vẻ thắc mắc là tại sao Chúa Giêsu lại yêu cầu ong Gioan  tẩy giả làm phép rửa cho mình vì phép rửa của ong Gioan chỉ là phép rửa thống hối, ăn năn và Chúa Giêsu thì vô tội. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu muốn nhấn mạnh cho chúng ta thấy là không phải vì Người cần phép rửa của Ông Gioan, mà Người muốn cho chúng ta thấy sự cần thiết của phép rửa trong cuộc sống của mỗi người chúng ta.
Khi chúng ta chịu phép bí tích rửa tội của Chúa, chúng ta hãy tập trung sự chú ý của mình vào mối quan hệ giữa phép rửa và vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Sứ mệnh của Chúa Giêsu là thiết lập vương quốc của Chúa trên trái đất. Và chỉ qua phép rửa tội, chúng ta mới có thể tiếp cận vương quốc này.
Thánh Phaolô nhắc nhở chúng ta trong bài đọc thứ hai rằng; ‘… không vì lý do nào khác ngoài lòng thương xót của Người mà Người đã cứu chúng ta, bằng nước thanh tẩy tái sinh và bằng cách đổi mới chúng ta bằng Chúa Thánh Thần mà Người đã đổ tràn đầy trên chúng ta qua Chúa Giêsu Kitô, Đấng Cứu Độ chúng ta’.
Vì vậy, chúng ta được rửa tội qua cái chết và sự phục sinh của Chúa Giêsu để vào vương quốc của Thiên Chúa. Người đã cứu chuộc chúng ta bằng tình yêu của Người. Đó là vương quốc của hòa bình!
Phép rửa mà ông Gioan đã thực hiện chỉ là phép rửa bằng nước, tượng trưng cho sự ăn năn tội lỗi. Nhưng phép rửa mà chúng ta đã nhận được rất cao cả vì chúng ta đã được rửa tội nhân danh Chúa Cha, Chúa Con và Chúa Thánh Thần. Sau khi chịu phép rửa tội, chúng ta là con cái của Chúa Cha, đó là lý do tại sao chúng ta cầu nguyện “Lạy Cha chúng con ở trên trời”. Thiên Chúa là Cha của chúng ta! Chúa ban cho mỗi người chúng ta phẩm giá biết bao! Chúng ta nghĩ rằng chúng ta sẽ chỉ hiểu được đầy đủ ở thế giới bên kia về món quà mà chúng ta đã nhận được khi chịu phép rửa tội. Hãy tưởng tượng, được kết hợp với Thiên Chúa mãi mãi nhờ phép rửa tội.
Điều đó có nghĩa là cái chết không phải là sự kết thúc hoàn toàn, vì thế chúng ta luôn mong chờ sự phục sinh. Giống như Chúa Giêsu đã sống lại từ cõi chết, chúng ta cũng mong muốn được kết hợp với Người trong cuộc sống vĩnh cửu vì chúng ta đã được kết hợp với Người trong phép rửa tội.
Sự hiệp nhất giữa chúng ta và Chúa Giêsu kể từ phép rửa tội là điều mà Chúa Giêsu mong muốn rất nhiều. Chúa Giêsu muốn ở trong cuộc sống của chúng ta và muốn chúng ta dành chỗ cho Người trong cuộc sống của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu cũng muốn đến với chúng ta và muốn chúng ta dành chỗ cho Người trong cuộc sống của chúng ta mỗi ngày. Chúng ta có thể dành chỗ cho Chúa Giêsu bằng cách dành thời gian cầu nguyện với Chúa Giêsu mỗi ngày, đọc Phúc âm mỗi ngày, tham dự thánh lễ mỗi ngày và biến Chúa Giêsu thành phần quan trọng nhất của mỗi ngày.
Chúng ta chỉ chịu phép rửa tội một lần vì phép rửa tội sẽ thay đổi phẩm chất tâm hồn chúng ta mãi mãi. Chúng ta cũng chỉ chịu phép Thêm sức một lần vì phép Thêm sức cũng sẽ thay đổi tâm hồn chúng ta mãi mãi. Chúng ta lập lại lời hứa rửa tội của mình trong Thánh lễ ngay trước khi nhận phép thêm sức từ giám mục, và chúng ta lập lại lời hứa rửa tội của mình trong Lễ Vọng Phục sinh hàng năm.
Đôi khi, có người du lịch từ Israel trở về và khoe rằng, "Tôi đã được rửa tội một lần nữa ở sông Jordan." Bất kể họ đã làm gì ở sông Jordan, thì điều tốt nhất có thể làm là lập lại lời hứa rửa tội vì phép rửa tội chi có thể nhận được một lần cho cả cuộc đời và thay đổi chúng ta mãi mãi và kết hợp chúng ta với Chúa Giêsu mãi mãi.
Chúa Giêsu đã kết hợp với chúng ta khi Người chịu phép rửa tội ở sông Jordan. Chúng ta đã kết hợp với Chúa Giêsu khi chúng ta chịu phép rửa tội. Toàn bộ cuộc sống của chúng ta kể từ khi chịu phép rửa tội là sự hiệp nhất sâu sắc hơn với Chúa Giêsu. Chúng ta hiệp nhất sâu sắc hơn với Chúa Giêsu mỗi khi chúng ta cầu nguyện và mỗi khi chúng ta gặp Chúa Giêsu ở đây trong thánh lễ và Bí tích Thánh Thể. Nếu không có Bí tích Thánh Thể, chúng ta sẽ mất đi sự hiệp nhất trọn vẹn với Chúa Giêsu.
Trong Phúc âm của Thánh Gioan, Chúa Giêsu đã phán: "Amen, amen, Ta bảo các ngươi: nếu các ngươi không ăn thịt Con Người và uống máu Người, thì các ngươi không có sự sống trong các ngươi." (Jn 6:53) Với Bí tích Thánh Thể, chúng ta có sự hiệp nhất cao nhất với Chúa Giêsu; vì Người đã phán: "Ai ăn thịt Ta và uống máu Ta thì ở lại trong Ta và Ta ở lại trong người ấy." (Jn 6:56) Trong một dịp khác, Chúa Giêsu đã phán: "Nếu các ngươi ở lại trong lời Ta, các ngươi sẽ thực sự là môn đệ của Ta."
Để thực sự trở thành môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu bao gồm việc ở lại trong Lời Người. Điều này có nghĩa là ở lại trong Lời Chúa Giêsu, sống trong Lời Chúa Giêsu, thấm nhuần Lời Chúa Giêsu cho đến khi chúng trở thành một phần trong chính bản thể của chúng ta. Chúa Giêsu nói rằng để thực sự trở thành môn đệ của Người không chỉ là học hời hợt Lời Chúa mà còn phải suy ngẫm sâu sắc về lời Chúa để chúng ta được biến đổi bởi Lời Chúa.
Lời Chúa Giêsu truyền vào chúng ta và thay đổi chúng ta. Để thực sự trở thành môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu không chỉ là lắng nghe lời Chúa mà lời Chúa trở thành một phần của chúng ta. Không chỉ là nghiên cứu lời Chúa Giêsu mà còn phải tìm hiểu Chúa Giêsu qua lời Chúa. Ở trong lời Chúa Giêsu là sống trong mối quan hệ sâu sắc với Chúa Giêsu.
Chúa Giêsu đã kết hợp với chúng ta khi Người chịu phép rửa tội ở sông Jordan. Người đã gánh tội lỗi của chúng ta khi Người bước xuống sông Jordan và mong đợi sẽ chết vì tội lỗi của chúng ta trên đồi Calvary. Chúng ta đã kết hợp với Chúa Giêsu khi chúng ta chịu phép rửa tội. Toàn thể cuộc sống của chúng ta kể từ khi chịu phép rửa tội là sự hiệp nhất sâu sắc hơn với Chúa Giêsu. Phép rửa tội được mong đợi sẽ khiến chúng ta hành động theo một cách nhất định như là thành viên của vương quốc Chúa. Nguyên tắc của vương quốc này là tình yêu cứu chuộc của sự hy sinh bản thân.  Sự hy sinh bản thân là đặc tính của phép rửa tội giúp chúng ta trở nên tốt với người khác. Theo Thánh Phaolô trong bài đọc thứ hai; Ngài đã hy sinh bản thân vì chúng ta để giải thoát chúng ta khỏi mọi điều gian ác và thanh tẩy một dân tộc để họ có thể trở thành của riêng Ngài và không có tham vọng nào khác ngoài việc làm điều thiện. Bí tích rửa tội thanh tẩy trái tim chúng ta khỏi mọi ô uế chống lại vương quốc của Chúa, và truyền vào trái tim chúng ta tình yêu cháy bỏng và mong muốn tìm kiếm điều thiện trong mọi sự.
Phép rửa tội khiến chúng ta tìm kiếm điều thiện đến từ sự hy sinh bản thân. Sự hy sinh bản thân là một quyết định cá nhân để thay thế điều ác bằng điều thiện. Đây là sức mạnh của phép rửa tội Kitô giáo. Đây là công việc của Chúa trong trái tim chúng ta.
 
12^th January 2025 Sunday Feast the Baptism of the Lord.
Isaiah 40:1-5,9-11; Titus 2:11-14,3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16,21-22.
Even thought, we cannot remember the most important day of our lives, the day we were baptized! But our parents do and show us plenty of pictures of the event. It is the most important day because it liberated us from original sin and joined us to Jesus forever.
In one sense, it seems strange that Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize him because John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and Jesus was sinless. But Jesus insisted, not because he needed John’s baptism, but to show us the necessity of baptism in the lives of each of us. As we celebrate the baptism of the Lord, let us focus our attention on the relationship between baptism and the kingdom of God. The mission of Jesus is to establish God’s kingdom on earth. And it is only through baptism that we can access this kingdom.
St. Paul reminded us in the second reading that; ‘…it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Savior’.  So, we are baptized through the death and resurrection of Jesus into the kingdom of God. He redeemed us by his love. It is a kingdom of peace! The baptism John gave was just a water baptism, symbolizing repentance from sin. But the baptism we received was powerful because we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
After baptism, we are children of the Father which is why we pray “Our Father.” God is your Father! What dignity God gives to each of us! We think that we will only understand fully in the next world the gift that we received at baptism. Imagine, to be joined to God forever because of baptism. That means death is not the end, so we look forward to the resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the grave, we too look forward to joining him in everlasting life because we were joined to him in baptism. This unity between us and Jesus since baptism is something that Jesus desires greatly. Jesus wants to be in our life and wants us to make room for him in our life. Jesus wants to come to us also and wants us to make room for him in our life every day. We can make room for Jesus by spending time in prayer with Jesus every day, reading the Gospels every day, making Jesus the most important part of every day.
We receive baptism only once because it changes the quality of our souls forever. We also receive Confirmation only once because it too changes our souls forever. We renew our baptismal promises during Mass just before receiving confirmation from the bishop, and we renew our baptismal promises during the Easter Vigil every year.
Sometimes people return from Israel saying, “I got baptized again in the river Jordan.” Whatever they did in the river Jordan, the most it could have been was a renewal of baptismal promises because baptism is once for life and changes us forever uniting us with Jesus.
Jesus joined himself to us as he underwent baptism in the Jordan. We were joined with Jesus when we were baptized. Our whole life since baptism is a deepening of our unity with Jesus.
We deepen our unity with Jesus every time we pray, and every time we meet Jesus here in the Eucharist. Without the Eucharist, we are missing the fullness of unity with Jesus.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn 6:53) With the Eucharist, we have the most unity with Jesus; he said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (John 6:56) On another occasion, Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples.” 
To truly be a disciple of Jesus involves remaining in his word.  This means abiding in Jesus’ words, living in Jesus’ words, soaking in Jesus’ words until they become part of our very being.
Jesus is saying that to truly be his disciples involves not just a superficial learning of his words but a deep pondering on his word so that we are transformed by his word. The word from Jesus passes into us and changes us. To truly be Jesus’ disciples is not just listening to his words but his words becoming part of us.  It is not just studying Jesus’ words but getting to know Jesus through his word. Abiding in Jesus’ word is living in deep relationship with Jesus. Jesus joined himself to us as he underwent baptism in the Jordan. He took our sins upon himself as he went into the Jordan anticipating dying for our sins on Calvary. We were joined with Jesus when we were baptized. Our whole life since baptism is a deepening of our unity with Jesus.
Baptism is expected to make us act in a certain way as members of God’s kingdom. The principle of this kingdom is the redemptive love of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the baptismal character that enables us to be good towards others. According to St Paul again in the second reading; He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.
The sacrament of baptism cleanses our hearts of all defilements opposed to God’s kingdom, and infuses in our hearts the burning love and desire to seek good in all things. Baptism makes us seek the good that comes through self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is a personal decision to substitute evil with good. This is the power of Christian baptism. This is the work of God in our hearts.
 
Sunday Feast the Baptism of the Lord.
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”  Mark 1:9–11
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes for us the Christmas Season and transitions us into the beginning of Ordinary Time. From a Scriptural point of view, this event in Jesus’ life is also a transitional moment from His hidden life in Nazareth to the beginning of His public ministry. As we commemorate this glorious event, it’s important to ponder a simple question: Why was Jesus baptized? Recall that John’s baptism was one of repentance, an act by which he invited his followers to turn from sin and to turn to God. But Jesus was sinless, so what was the reason for His Baptism?
First of all, we see in the quoted passage above that Jesus’ true identity was made manifest through His humble act of baptism. “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased,” spoke the voice of the Father in Heaven. Furthermore, we are told that the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. Thus, Jesus’ baptism is in part a public declaration of Who He is. He is the Son of God, a divine Person Who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This public testimony is an “epiphany,” a manifestation of His true identity for all to see as He prepares to begin His public ministry.
Second, by His baptism, Jesus’ incredible humility is made manifest. He is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, but He allows Himself to become identified with sinners. By sharing in an act that was focused upon repentance, Jesus speaks volumes through His action of baptism. He came to unite Himself with us sinners, to enter our sin and to enter into our death. By entering the water, He symbolically enters into death itself, which is the result of our sin, and rises triumphantly, allowing us to also rise with Him to new life. For this reason, Jesus’ baptism was a way of Him “baptizing” the waters, so to speak, so that water itself, from that moment onward, would be endowed with His divine presence and could be communicated to all who are baptized after Him. Therefore, sinful humanity is now able to meet divinity through baptism.
Lastly, when we share in this new baptism, through water that has now been sanctified by our divine Lord, we see in Jesus’ baptism a revelation of who we become in Him. Just as the Father spoke and declared Him as His Son, and just as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, so also in our baptism we become the adopted children of the Father and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Thus, Jesus’ baptism gives clarity as to whom we become in Christian baptism.
Lord, I thank You for Your humble act of baptism by which You opened the Heavens to all who are sinners. May I open my heart to the unfathomable grace of my own baptism each and every day and more fully live with You as a child of the Father, filled with the Holy Spirit.  Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Sunday Feast the Baptism of the Lord 2024
Opening Prayer: Lord God, it is good that I recall the gift you have given me through Baptism. I am now your child. I am now a member of your Son’s mystical body. I am now a temple of your Spirit. Washed free from the stain of sin, I want to fully live your divine life in works of merciful charity.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Jesus Was Praying: When Luke narrates the mystery of Jesus’ baptism, he alone says that Jesus was praying during the event. This recalls the prayer of Isaiah, who prayed to God: “O, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Isaiah 63:19). By calling attention to Jesus’ prayer, Luke presents Jesus’ baptism as the answer to Isaiah’s prayer. At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father responds to Isaiah’s cry. The Father hears the prayer of his Son, rends the heavens, and sends the Holy Spirit upon his Son. Jesus is our model of prayer and teaches us how to pray. We are confident that the Father will hear our prayer and pour out the Holy Spirit upon those who ask him (Luke 11:13).
2. The Spirit: The Holy Spirit descended upon and anointed Jesus. In a way, the Spirit strengthened Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan for his later baptism of suffering on the cross at Calvary. The Spirit enabled Jesus to judge the poor with righteousness, victoriously overcome the wicked, minister to the nations, and bring divine light to all the nations. When the Spirit descends like a dove over the waters, this recalls the story of Noah. Just as the flood story was a recreation event and reestablished the covenant of creation, so also the baptism of Jesus fulfills the first creation and inaugurates the new creation. Adam and Eve rejected their vocation as God’s adopted children. Jesus restores us to divine sonship, and this gift is given to us in Baptism, by sharing in the Son’s death and resurrection.
3. Isaiah 40: The First Reading can be taken from Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11. This is an important chapter in the Book of Isaiah. It marks the transition from condemning Israel for her past sins to consoling Israel and offering her the hope of restoration. Something similar happens in the Gospel: there is a transition from the condemnation of and repentance from sin in the ministry of John the Baptist to the beginning of the forgiveness of sin and healing in the ministry of Jesus. John himself makes this contrast between his baptism of water for repentance and the cleansing baptism of Jesus with the Holy Spirit and fire. John’s Baptism was only a foreshadowing of the gift of the Spirit, which we receive when we are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you associated yourself with sinners by going to the Jordan River to be baptized by your cousin, John. You know my struggles and how I am tempted daily by sin. Have mercy on me and grant me your forgiveness. 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Sau Lễ Hiển Linh John 3:22-30

 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy Sau Lễ Hiển Linh John 3:22-30

Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúng ta thấy Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả đã xác nhận rằng cái vai trò làm “tiếng loa trong sa mạc” để báo tin về sự xuất hiện của Đấng Cứu Thế của ông đã tới thời kết thúc và Chúa Giêsu Kitô, Đấng Cứu Thế đã bắt công công khai sứ mệnh được Chúa Cha trao phó. Do đó, ông Gioan nói với các môn đệ của ông là hãy nên vui mừng với ông trong việc Đức Giêsu, Đấng Cứu Thế đã xuất hiện.

            Chúng ta cũng bắt nên bắt chước Thánh Gioan vui mừng trong sự khiêm tốn của Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả, nhưng chúng ta cũng cần phải lưu ý là những môn đệ của Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả, đã đặt những câu hỏi về tính xác thực và thẩm quyền của Chúa Giêsu “có phải là Đấng Cứu Thế không?” . 

            Về vấn đề này, có lẽ chúng ta cũng có thể tự hỏi chính mình là: Chúng ta đã thực sự đã tin Chúa Giêsu là Đấng Cứu Thế của chúng ta và là Con Thiên Chúa được bao nhiêu? Trong xã hội ngày nay, sự hoài nghi là một phần thiết yếu của cuộc sống hàng ngày của chúng ta. Thật sự không phải là khó để tưởng tượng được là rất nhiều người trong chúng ta đã và đang nghi ngờ hay giỡn đùa về Chúa Kitô

            Chúng ta cũng nên tự nhắc nhở chính mình rằng Chúa Giêsu đã đến không phải là để được tôn vinh và được vinh quang trong Thiên Chúa trên tất cả mọi người, nhưng thay vào đó, Ngài đã hy sinh chính bản thân Ngài trên thập giá để làm của lễ chuộc tội vì chúng ta. Sự Phục Sinh của Ngài đã chứng minh cho chúng ta những gì thực sự đã biểu hiện chính xác về Chúa Kitô: Ngài chính là Ân Sũng Cứu Rỗi của Thiên Chúa cho toàn thể nhân loại. Như thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả, chúng ta phải sẵn sàng chấp nhận Chúa Kitô trên hết mọi sự, và chúng ta phải để cho Chúa Thánh Thần sống và tăng trưởng trong chúng ta. Cũng phải như các môn đệ của thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả đến để tin, Chúng ta biết rằng chúng ta được Thiên Chúa tạo nên, chúng ta thuộc về Thiên Chúa, Chúng ta cũng biết rằng Con Thiên Chúa đã đến để chúng ta được thông phần với Thiên Chúa trong sự hiểu biết chân lý và sự thật. Đây là niềm tin căn bản, là đức tin của chúng ta. Niềm tin căn bản là những gì làm cho chúng ta tin tưởng, vững tin vào Thiên Chúa. Thiên Chúa luôn ở bên chúng ta, Ngài nghe tiếng của chúng ta, nhìn thấy chúng ta, và yêu thương chúng ta với một tình yêu tuyệt vời trong sự chăm sóc dịu dàng của Ngài.

            "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, Xin đừng để chúng con bao giờ quên tình yêu mà Chúa đã tuôn đổ ra cho chúng con. Khi Chúa Giêsu đổ máu của Ngài ra trên Thập Giá nơi đồi Canvariô vì tội lỗi của chúng con và để cứu rỗi chúng con. Xin tình yêu của Chúa luôn luôn phát triển trong chúng con vì niềm hy vọng của Chúa mang đến cho chúng con niềm vui và hy vọng trong khi chúng con chờ đợi sự trở lại của Chúa trong vinh quang khi mà tất cả con cái Chúa sẽ được đoà tụ với Chúa trong bữa tiệc thánh trên trời, trong thành Giêrusalem mới. "

REFLECTION

            St. John the Baptist acknowledges that his role to proclaim the coming of the Messiah has finally been fulfilled in Jesus and his ministry. Hence, he tells his followers to rejoice with him in Jesus' arrival as our Savior.  We rejoice in St. John the Baptist's act of humility but we note that his followers questioned the authenticity and authority of Jesus as the Messiah. In this regard, perhaps we too can ask ourselves how much we really believe that Jesus is our Savior and the Son of God. In the present day where skepticism is part and parcel of everyday life, it is not difficult to imagine many of us entertaining doubts about Jesus.

            Perhaps we should remind ourselves that Jesus did not come to assert the glory of God on everyone of us but instead he came to sacrifice himself on the cross for our sake. His Resurrection demonstrated what really the true manifestation of Christ is: God's gift of Redemption for all humanity.

            The Scriptures often remind us of this image. Jesus is called the bridegroom, and the Church is called his bride. We are the Church, the faithful members of the body of Christ. We are betrothed to Christ and become one, in spirit, with him. Our prayers nurture this relationship, keeping it alive and strong. 

            Like John the Baptist, we must be ready to accept Christ above all else, and allow his Spirit to increase within us. Just as the disciples of John the Baptist came to believe, we know that we are begotten by God. We know that we belong to God. We know that God's Son has come so that we may know the truth. These are the basic beliefs of our faith. These basic beliefs are what give us great confidence in God. God hears us, sees us, and loves us with great love and tender care.

"Lord Jesus, May I never forget the love you have poured out for me when you shed your blood upon the Cross of Calvary for my sins and for my salvation. May your love always grows in me and your hope fills me with joy as I wait for your return in glory when all of your people will be fully united with you at your heavenly banquet feast in the New Jerusalem."

 

Saturday after Epiphany Scripture: John 3:22-30

“Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.” John 3:26 

John the Baptist had amassed quite a following. People kept coming to Him to be baptized, and many wanted his ministry to grow. However, once Jesus began His own public ministry, some of the followers of John became jealous. But John gave the right answer to them. He explained to them that his life and mission was to prepare people for Jesus. Now that Jesus had begun His ministry, John joyfully said, “So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:29–30).

This humility of John is a great lesson, especially for those who are actively engaged in the apostolic mission of the Church. Too often when we get involved with some apostolate and another’s “ministry” seems to grow faster than ours, jealousy can set in. But the key to understanding our role in the apostolic mission of Christ’s Church is that we must seek to fulfill our role and our role alone. We must never see ourselves in competition with others within the Church. We must know when we are to act in accord with God’s will, and we must know when we are to step back and allow others to fulfill God’s will. We must do the will of God, nothing more, nothing less and nothing other.

Additionally, that last statement from John must always resound within our hearts when we are called to actively engage in the apostolate. “He must increase; I must decrease.” This is an ideal model for everyone who serves Christ and others within the Church.

Reflect, today, upon those holy words of the Baptist. Apply them to your mission within your family, among your friends and especially if you are involved in some apostolic service within the Church. Everything you do must point to Christ. This will only happen if you, like Saint John the Baptist, understand the unique role that God has given to you and you embrace that role alone.

Lord, I give myself to You for Your service and glory. Use me as You will. As You use me, please give me the humility I need to always remember that I serve You and Your will alone. Free me from jealousy and envy and help me to rejoice in the numerous ways that You act through others in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Saturday after Epiphany; Scripture: John 3:22-30

The problem with a physical miracle is that if you are not there to witness the miracle yourself, you would not believe that it happened. You would just rely on hearsay but would not be convinced. That is why, in a sense, the efficacy of a physical miracle is quite limited. The danger is that people would want to seek Jesus as a way out of sickness and physical suffering, focusing on the healing of physical sicknesses and paying less attention to the greater mission that Christ came for.

            Jesus wanted salvation in a higher context for man. He wanted us to receive eternal life. Our limited and earthly vision is rooted in this world without thinking that another life exists. Christ came for a greater mission than just to cure physical sickness. He came to cure and redeem our spiritual sicknesses, to forgive sin and to bring us to the Kingdom of the Lord.

            For the meaning of our lives is not just for our bodies to attain a healthy condition, not just to be free from sickness, but to form ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit to become the likeness and image of God which is one of love. That is why, even for the poor, for the sick, for the handicapped, for the children with Down syndrome – there is still meaning in their lives. There is meaning in old age, in suffering, in failure, in the crosses that we bear every day.

            Let us pray that we will discover the inner joy of our souls. Even Jesus needed to withdraw to solitary places to pray. The real miracle in Lourdes, France, is that many who go there but are not cured continue to believe and have faith in God. Happy are those who don't see but believe!

Saturday after Epiphany 2022

Opening Prayer: Lord, thank you for this moment of intimacy with you in prayer. Please help me to draw from your word a personal message for my life today.

Encountering Christ:

1.      Everyone Is Coming to Him: For a short time, Jesus and John worked near each other in the region of Judea. As Jesus’ popularity grew, John’s disciples heard of it and naturally wondered at Jesus’ ascendency. They had followed John the Baptist and loved him. They had dedicated their lives to helping with his ministry. They called him “Rabbi.” When they suggested to John that he was losing followers to Jesus, it must have been very upsetting and confusing for them to hear John subjugate himself to Jesus. Were they disappointed? Conflicted? Did they want to leave John to follow Jesus? When life throws us a curveball, when we’re chasing after the wrong good, when we've done everything right and still end up confused, sad, or hurt, it can be helpful to remember that we don’t always see the bigger picture, but Our Lord does. And he has promised to bring good from our difficult or disappointing circumstances (Romans 8:28).

2.      Everything Comes from God: In our world where quality goods and services are readily accessible, so many of our emotional and physical needs are met that we tend to ignore our soul’s plaintive whispers longing for God. Self-reliance is a grave temptation. We find an antidote to this contemporary malady in today’s Gospel. John the Baptist reminds us that “No one can receive anything except what has been given from Heaven.” Everything we have, everything we are, and everything we will be is a gratuitous gift from God. When we truly appreciate this reality, our self-reliance cannot help but be replaced by overwhelming gratitude. With grateful hearts, may we praise the Giver of every good thing! 

3.      Humility, Humility, Humility: Much has been written about the humility of John the Baptist, most powerfully evidenced in this Gospel: “He must increase; I must decrease.” Humility has been called the mother of all virtues. The Catechism tells us that humility is “the foundation of prayer… ‘Man is a beggar before God’” (CCC 2559). When we have a humble heart, all of our words and actions, and our very way of being, give praise to God. According to St. Augustine, “The way to Christ is first through humility, second through humility, and third through humility. If humility does not precede and accompany and follow every good work we do, if it is not before us to focus on, if it is not beside us to lean upon, if it is not behind us to fence us in, pride will wrench from our hand any good deed we do at the very moment we do it” (Letters 118:22). How do we grow in this essential element of sanctity? We pray for humility; we pray to recognize ever more deeply who we are in the eyes of God. 

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, this Gospel is a call to grow in humility. Help me to know myself so that I rely not on the gifts and talents you have given me or the material goods I have, but only on you, Lord. Every great saint, it seems, radiates humility. Please give me this grace so that I may please you in all things.

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will do a hidden act of kindness for someone, knowing that only you see it. 

 

Saturday after Epiphany 2021

Opening Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are here with me in this moment of prayer, that you wish to be with me and you have graces that you are waiting to offer me. I trust in your faithfulness and open my heart to you. I love you, Lord. teach me to love you more! Holy Spirit, come and work in my heart in this time of prayer and in this day. 

Encountering Christ: 

1. New Grace: Here, John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, spoke as the bridge between the Old and New Covenants. He brought his interlocutors from the external ceremonial signs of the Old Covenant to the interior and effective sacraments of the New Covenant—namely, the efficacy of sanctifying grace. It is no longer about the external actions alone, he was telling us. Now there is a grace, a gratuitous gift of the indwelling of God, freely given, which makes those external actions effective. “No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven.” And how much God wishes to give himself! We see in the Trinity itself that this is who God is: Giver. God wishes to give himself to us if we will open our hearts and minds to his presence. 

2. New Wedding Feast: As his mission drew to a close, John stepped out of the limelight so that the very one prefigured could reveal himself. In fact, he even sent his best disciples to follow Christ. “Behold the Lamb of God,” he said to John and Andrew (John 1:29). The image the Baptist chose was striking: Christ is the Bridegroom; John was just the best man—close to the groom, preparing everything for the wedding, but not the groom, the true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. In these verses, John’s humility was on display. How edified we are to realize that the greatest man born of a woman (Matthew 11:11) was so very humble. 

3. New Light: Not long after John preached these words, he was murdered by King Herod. But like a seed that falls to the ground and dies, he bore such great fruit that his story did not end in death. John taught us that even if living our vocation and mission in life leads through perplexing and even painful moments, God is always capable of bringing a greater light from the shadows. John had unwavering confidence in God and we, too, are called to trust God, even when the shadows in our life obscure the light. 

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, your grace is real and effective, present and active in my life. I want to be receptive and open to your plan, as St. John the Baptist was. As I reflect on my life, are there any aspects today where you are inviting me to be open to grace? Open my heart. Grant me the humility to accept from you even what I don’t understand. I trust that if I keep my eyes on you and follow you, you will let your light shine through me. 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will try not to talk about myself to others or make myself the center of attention. I will try to let Christ increase and my pride decrease. 

 

Reflection:

     While we are still in the season of Christmas, for most people the imagery of the season remains stuck on the infant Jesus and the nativity scenes. However, there is more to the scene found in Christmas card designs. Our short memories make us forget about God's promise and the long-awaited time foretold by the prophets of old, and that appointed time had come when God made Himself vulnerable and entered human history.

     More importance is being given to the event of baptism than the meaning of the sacrament for us. Modern man has watered down the deeper meaning of rituals and made them routine actions or SOP (standard operating procedures), robbing us of the sacredness originally intended. Divine Action that is operative in the sacrament – the first important sacramental encounter with Grace – has been set aside and not recognized. We forget that God had claimed us to be His children. The gift of fullness of new life necessarily comes with the death of the old life – the spiritual cleansing mentioned in our gospel.

     Like Christmas, baptism marks the beginning of God's entry into our lives. Epiphany gradually reveals the mystery of God's love manifested through Jesus Christ. Salvation is the best gift of God's love – divine life for us to recognize and accept with gratitude and humility.

     Have we grown tired of waiting too, preoccupied with our businesses, without giving much thought to the importance of this divine initiative? Does pride prevent us from accepting the gift of salvation?

 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Bẩy sau Lể Hiển Linh

Ngay sau khi Chúa Giêsu bắt đầu công khai cuộc đời rao giảng của Người,  chúng ta biết rằng Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả vẫn còn làm Phép Rửa tại sông Jordan. Và Chúa Giêsu cũng đã rửa tội cho dân chúng ở đấy, (mặc dù Phép Rửa này chưa có khả năng được coi là một bí tích Rửa Tội trong ý nghĩa là một bí tích đầy đủ như đã được thực hành sau lễ Hiện Xuống). Tuy nhiên, chúng ta nhận thấy quá rõ ràng là một số môn đệ hay những người theo Thánh Gioan đã không quá hài lòng về những gì đã xảy ra.

        Họ nói chuyện về Đức Giêsu, họ coi Ngài như là một người xa lạ, họ phàn nàn rằng "người trước đây đã ở với Thầy bên kia sông Giođan và được Thầy làm chứng cho, bây giờ ông ấy cũng đang làm Phép Rửa, và thiên hạ đều đến với ông ấy qua đông" Chúng ta có thể phát hiện ở đây là một hiện tượng ghen tuông? Nhưng  Ông Gioan Tẩy Giả đã không hề có tư tưởng như thế. Ông đã được Thiên Chúa trao cho một vai trò và ông biết  những gì ông phải làm: "Chẳng ai có thể nhận được những gì mà không do Trời ban". Ông Gioan Tẩy Giả đã nhận ra được vai vế bề trên của Chúa Giêsu.  Chúa Giêsu là vị hôn phu còn ông Gioan Tẩy giả chỉ là người bạn duy nhất của chú rể mà thôi. Và như một người bạn của ông, ông rất vui mừng khi nghe giọng nói của chú rể. Như ông đã nói với cá môn đệ của mình về Chúa Giêsu  như sau: “ Người phải nổi bật lên, còn Thầy phải lu mờ đi.”

            Qua câu nói này, chúng ta có rất nhiều điều để suy ngẫm. Đã bao nhiêu lần chúng ta bị xúc động, tức tối về sự ghen tị, ghen ghét hay oán giận vì những người khác dường như đã chiếm lấy cái ánh đèn trên sân khấu của chúng ta,  hay là đã đến lúc để chúng ta phải chịu nhường bước sang một bên và để cho người khác qua mặt?

         Xin Chúa giúp chúng ta biết khiêm tốn để cho chúng ta biết được rõ cái vai trò của mình và chấp nhận một cách vui vẻ khi thời gian đến mà Chúa muốn chúng ta để cho những người khác tiếp nhận vai trò mà mình muốn.  Thà mất một sự kính trọng vì danh vọng, nhưng chúng ta sẽ đạt được nhiều hơn nữa khi chúng ta làm như vậy một cách tế nhị, và vui vẻ.

            Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con hiểu rằng sự vĩ đại thực sự không bao gồm trong chức vụ, cấp bậc của chúng con nhưng trong cách đặt mình và tài năng của mình trong quyền sử dụng của người khác.

 

Reflection: (SG)

Even after Jesus began His public life we are told that John the Baptist was still baptizing in the River Jordan. And Jesus also was baptizing, though it is likely that it was not baptism in the full sacramental sense as was practiced after Pentecost. However, it is clear that some of John’s disciples were not too happy about what was happening.

            Speaking of Jesus as if He was a stranger, they complain that “the man who was with you …, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptizing now; and everyone is going to him.”  Do we detect here a note of jealousy? But John will have none of it. He was given a role and he knows what it is: “A man can lay claim only to what is given him from heaven (i.e. by God).”

            John in his characteristic humility exclaimed that he was not the Messiah but only the messenger sent to prepare his way. He recognizes the superior status of Jesus. And describes the Messiah as the Bridegroom and himself as the friend of the Bridegroom, The image of the groom delighting in his bride and the joy of the wedding feast is used in the Bible as a sign or symbol of God's covenant love and joy in being united with his people, whom he calls his bride. As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:5).  John is delighted to hear the bridegroom’s voice. Jesus “must grow greater, I must grow smaller”, he says.

            There is much for us to reflect on here. How many times have we been touched with envy, jealousy or resentment because other people seem to get all the limelight or the time has come for us to step aside and let others take over? Let us know our role and accept cheerfully when it is time for others to take over. Far from losing respect, we gain even more when we do so gracefully.

            Lord, help us to understand that real greatness consists not in our rank but in putting ourselves and our talents at the disposal of others.

 

REFLECTION 2019

Our Father invites us to come to him in confidence. In difficult or trying times, we sometimes find ourselves questioning his ways. "Lord, why did you allow this to happen?" Or when we see so much suffering or when circumstances or people can be so unkind. "Lord, when are things going to get better?" Times like these make us think God is not around or he doesn't care.

We develop confidence in God through a personal relationship with him by reading the bible, being faithful to our prayer time, living according to the ways of Jesus. When we pray, it should be according to his will and not our will, his time and not our time. We listen to his words and not those of the material world. Money, fame, power, position, career could be false idols which can lure us away from him.

Prayer keeps us focused on God. This includes praying for others especially for those who are unlovable and even those who we think are unworthy of our prayers. It is so easy and normal to pray for our loved ones. However, he calls us to see beyond ourselves and our loved ones and to pray specifically for sinners.

Lord, let us see beyond ourselves, beyond our comforts, beyond our loved ones. Let us pray for sinners who need our prayers. Let us hear you in our sincere prayers and fervent hearts focused only on you. This way we can truly accept your invitation to come to you in confidence with full faith and trust that truly you always hear the prayers of our hearts attuned to you.