Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Năm Tuần 11 Thường Niên.

Suy niệm Tin Mừng thứ Năm Tuần 11 Thường Niên.
Không có lời cầu nguyện nào tốt lành hơn là những lời Chúa Giêsu đã dạy chúng ta cầu nguyện trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay. "Kinh Lạy Cha" là lời cầu nguyện đẹp nhất và đầy đủ nhất mà chúng ta có thể có.
   Trước tiên, chúng ta chấp nhận mối quan hệ quan trọng của chúng ta với Thiên Chúa: Ngài là Cha của chúng ta; chúng ta là con của  Ngài. Chúng ta biết những vai trò của một người cha trong gia đình là: bảo vệ, cấp dưỡng, nuôi nấng, chăm sóc con cái của mình, là sức mạnh, là đầu tầu của gia đình.
    Thứ hai, chúng ta tuyên xưng và chúc tụng danh thánh của Thiên Chúa ", nguyện cho danh Cha được cả sáng.     
    Thứ ba, chúng ta cầu nguyện để xin Thiên Chúa "thực hiện những việc ở dưới đất cũng như trên trời." Chỉ khi nào chúng ta đã thú nhận Thiên Chúa là cha của chúng ta, thì chúng ta mới có thể cầu xin Chúa ban cho chúng ta những nhu cầu riêng của chúng ta: chúng ta xin Chúa ban cho chúng ta có đủ nhu cầu vật chất cần thiết cho chúng ta: những thực phẩm để nuôi sống thân xác hằng ngày; chúng ta cầu xin Chúa tha thứ tội lỗi của chúng ta cũng như chúng ta phải biết tha thứ cho người khác; và chúng ta cầu xin Chúa cho được khoẻ mạnh, an lành, tránh được mọi đều gian ác và cứu giúp chúng ta tránh thoát được mọi sự dữ,.
   Lời cầu nguyện vắn tắt, nhưng chân thành này nhấn mạnh cho chúng ta biết được sự cần thiết là nếu chúng ta muốn được Chúa ban ơn cho chúng ta thì chúng ta cũng phải biết ban ơn và tha thứ cho người khác:.
  “Xin Chúa tha nợ cho chúng con cũng giống như chúng con tha nợ cho những người đang mắc nợ cho chúng con".  Do đó chúng ta hãy chú tâm và thành khẩn với những ý nghĩa và những lời chúng ta cầu nguyện lên Chúa.
 
Reflection 2016
If we ever think of true prayer, there is nothing better that what the Our Father taught us in today's Gospel reading. The "Our Father" is the most beautiful and most complete prayer we could have. 
First, we acknowledge our key relationship with God: he is our Father; we are his children. We know what a father is in a family: the protector, the provider, the care-giver, the powerful one. The father represents the family: without him the family is without a head.
            Secondly, we proclaim the holiness of God, "holy be your name," and thirdly, we pray that God's "will be done on earth as in heaven."
            Only after our confession in God do we beg God for our own needs: we ask for our physical need of food to live and sustain ourselves; we ask to be forgiven in the way we forgive others; and we pray to be strong in temptation and to be delivered from the evil one.
            The prayer emphasizes the need to forgive others:   "Forgive us our debts just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us." Do we understand this when we pray the Our Father?  Do we mean it when we ask God to "forgive our debts just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us"?
            Let us mean what we say when we pray of the Lord's Prayer
 
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14–15
It’s truly amazing how often our Lord exhorts us to forgive. Much of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, from which we have been reading all week, continually calls us to offer mercy and forgiveness to others. And in the passage above from the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus offers us the consequences of not heeding His exhortations.
This passage is a sort of addendum to the “Our Father” prayer which immediately precedes it. The Our Father prayer gives us seven petitions, one of them being “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” It’s interesting to note that as soon as Jesus taught us this prayer with its seven petitions, He then re-emphasised one of those petitions by stating it again as is seen in the passage quoted above. This added emphasis should assure us of the seriousness of this petition.
At first, Jesus simply tells us to pray for forgiveness “as we forgive.” But He then makes it clear that if we fail to do so, we will not be forgiven ourselves. This should highly motivate us to make every effort possible to completely forgive others from the deepest depths of our hearts.
Who do you need to forgive? Forgiveness can be a confusing endeavor at times. The act of forgiveness gets confusing when our feelings do not reflect the choice we make in our will. It is a common experience that when we make the interior choice to forgive another, we still feel anger toward them. But these disordered feelings should not deter us nor should we allow them to cause doubt in what we need to do. Forgiveness is first an act of the will. It’s a prayerful choice to say to another that you do not hold their sin against them. Forgiveness does not pretend that no sin was committed. On the contrary, if there were no sin committed, then there would be no need for forgiveness. So the very act of forgiving is also an acknowledgment of the sin that needs to be forgiven.
When you make the choice to forgive another, and if your feelings do not immediately follow after, keep forgiving them in your heart. Pray for them. Try to change the way you think about them. Do not dwell upon the hurt that they have inflicted. Think, instead, about their dignity as a person, the love God has for them and the love you must continue to foster for them. Forgive, forgive and forgive again. Never stop and never tire of this act of mercy. If you do this, you may even discover that your feelings and passions eventually align with the choice you have made.
Reflect, today, upon any lingering feelings of anger you experience. Address those feelings by the free and total choice to forgive the person with whom you are angry. Do so now, later today, tomorrow and on and on. Go on the offensive against anger and bitterness by overwhelming it with your personal act of forgiveness and you will find that God will begin to free you of the heavy burden that a lack of forgiveness imposes.
My forgiving Lord, You offer the perfection of forgiveness to me and call me to do the same toward others. I pray for Your forgiveness in my life. I am sorry for my sin and beg for Your mercy. In exchange for this holy gift, I pledge to You today to forgive everyone who has sinned against me. I especially forgive those with whom I remain angry. Free me from this anger, dear Lord, so that I may reap the full benefits of Your mercy in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Thursday 11th Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, I ask today that your name be hallowed throughout the whole world, that your reign be extended to all peoples, and that your will be accomplished here on earth. Grant me the bread of life, forgive my sins, strengthen me in time of tribulation, and deliver me from all evil.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Give Us: The Lord’s Prayer has been called by an early Christian writer, “the summary of the whole Gospel” (CCC, 2761). The proclamation of the Good News is summarized by Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount and the “Our Father” is at the center of this proclamation. It is the most perfect of prayers, because we ask not only for the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired (Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, II-II, q. 83, a. 9; CCC, 2763). After making three petitions that carry us toward the Father – that the Father’s name be hallowed, that his kingdom come, and that his will be done – the next four petitions move from the Father toward us and our needs in this world: “the fourth and fifth petitions concern our life as such – to be fed and to be healed of sin; the last two concern our battle for the victory of life – that battle of prayer (CCC, 2804-2805). When we pray, “give us this day, our daily bread,” we are asking God to give us the material and spiritual nourishment we need to live. It invites us to contemplate our responsibility in alleviating the material and spiritual hunger of those around us. Our “daily bread” or “supernatural bread” refers to both earthly nourishment and the Bread of Life – the Word of God and the Eucharistic Body of Christ.
2. Forgive Us: Just as the fourth petition is connected to a Sacrament we can receive often, so also the fifth petition is connected to a Sacrament – that of Reconciliation. The Sacrament of the Eucharist feeds us, while the Sacrament of Reconciliation heals us. Our sins build up debt, and this debt needs to be forgiven. We ask God to forgive us insofar as we forgive the debt of sin of others. “The fifth petition begs God’s mercy for our offences, mercy which can penetrate our hearts only if we have learned to forgive our enemies, with the example and help of Christ” (CCC, 2862).
3. Lead and Deliver Us: The sixth petition does not mean that God tempts us, but does acknowledge that God permits us to be tempted and tested. Life on Earth is a battle and a test. The sixth petition is a request for guidance, that of the Spirit, who can guide us through the wilderness to the Promised Land, up the mountain to encounter our Father, and into the cloud of God’s glory. “When we say, ‘lead us not into temptation,’ we are asking God not to allow us to take the path that leads to sin. This petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength; it requests the grace of vigilance and final perseverance” (CCC, 2863). Like the sixth petition, the seventh acknowledges that God does not cause evil, but does permit it. There is evil at work in the world as well as the “evil one.” “In the last petition, ‘but deliver us from evil,’ Christians pray to God with the Church to show forth the victory, already won by Christ, over the ‘ruler of this world,’ Satan, the angel personally opposed to God and to his plan of salvation” (CCC, 2864).
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me how to pray and giving me the model of all prayer. I humbly recognize that prayer is a gift from God and that I do not know how to pray as I ought. I trust in you and your Spirit to guide me as I pray so that I may enter into deeper communion with the Father.
 
Thursday 11th Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord, teach me how to pray in these moments of quiet I have set aside.
Encountering Christ:
How to Pray: Our Father knows what we need before you ask him. An example of this wonderful reality is the story of Martha in the Gospel of Luke (10:38-42). Martha asked Jesus to make her sister help her. Jesus responded, “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things….” Martha shared only one concern, but Jesus acknowledged there were more worries on her heart. We might ask ourselves, “God knows everything; if God is all good, why does he not just solve our problems before we ask him?” The answer can be found in the example of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus (Matthew 14:22-33). When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he sank. We are to pray to ask for what we need because it is too easy to forget that all we need is found in and given to us by God. To believe we are in control can lead to pride. To believe there is no one in control leads to despair. To believe God is in control of all our needs leads to hope and life eternal. 
Thy Kingdom Come: “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” The line from the Coldplay song “Vida la Vida,” “I sweep the streets I used to own,” gives a poetic explanation of the consequence of original sin. Adam and Eve were given dominion over creation. They were sharers with the Divine Creator, made in his image and likeness. They lost the privilege to “own the streets they swept.” When we pray the Our Father, we dare to ask God to restore his Kingdom on earth, which we lost by disobeying his will. Jesus told us how to begin to rebuild it: “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He told us we would be rewarded for doing so: “If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:30-33).
Food for the Journey: “Give us this day our daily bread”—why not “Give us this day our bread” or “Give us our daily bread”? Jesus doubly emphasizes our daily need for nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Though humans can go many days without eating food and many years without faith in God, it results in malnutrition of body and soul, depleting a person of the life God desires for us. The Church provides times of fasting from food, such as Advent, Lent, and Fridays, so we have temporary opportunities to feel the ache from lack of nourishment. Hunger pangs hit our stomachs and serve as an uncomfortable reminder that life without God’s daily providence is impossible. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you teach us how to pray to our Father so we may join in your communion with him as God. You go to such lengths to remind us we have a Father and we are always provided for. Thank you, Jesus!
 
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 6:7-15
Suy Niệm PHÚC ÂM: Mt 6, 7-15
Lạy Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể, đôi khi chúng con đến quỳ gối trước mặt Chúa cẩu nguyện, nhưng những lời cầu nguyện của chúng con chẳng khác gì với những lời cầu nguyện của người ngoại đạo, miệng của chúng con thốt lên những lời mà không có có sự suy nghĩ. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết đổi mới tình yêu của chúng con đối với “Chúa Cha của chúng ta” trong những giây phúc cầu nguyện này.
Thưa quý ÔBACE,
            chúng ta có tin rằng lời Chúa có quyền năng thay đổi và biến đổi cuộc sống của chúng ta ngày nay không? Triên tri Isaiah nói rằng lời của Thiên Chúa giống như mưa và tuyết tan làm cho mặt đất cằn cỗi nảy sinh sức sống và trở nên màu mỡ dồi dào (Ê-sai 55: 10-11).
            Lời Thiên Chúa có quyền năng làm xuyên thấu trái tim khô cằn và cằn cỗi của chúng ta và làm cho chúng trở thành những suối nguồn của sự sống mới. Nếu chúng ta để lời Thiên Chúa bén rễ trong tâm hồn mình, thì lời ấy sẽ biến đổi chúng ta thành giống như Thiên Chúa và ban cho chúng ta sức mạnh để bước đi trong con đường yêu thương và thánh khiết của Ngài.
            Chúng ta hãy để lời Chúa hướng dẫn và định hướng cách chúng ta sống và hành động. Thiên Chúa muốn lời Ngài hướng dẫn và định hướng cách chúng ta suy nghĩ, hành động và cầu nguyện. Thánh Ambrose (339-397 sau Công Nguyên), một cha của giáo hội đầu tiên và là giám mục của Milan, đã viết rằng lý do chúng ta nên dành thời gian để đọc Kinh thánh là để nghe Chúa Giêsu Kitô nói với chúng ta. "Chúng ta không bận tâm với Đức Kitô sao? Tại sao chúng ta không nói chuyện với Ngài? Bằng cách đọc Kinh thánh, là chúng ta lắng nghe Đức Kitô nói với chúng ta." Chúng ta có thể tự tin đến gần Thiên Chúa là Cha của chúng ta. Chúng ta có thể tự tin đến gần Thiên Chúa vì Ngài đang dang rộng vòng tay chờ đón những đứa hoang đàng của Ngài. Đó là lý do tại sao Chúa Giêsu đã dạy và ban cho các môn đệ lời cầu nguyện hoàn hảo là dám gọi Thiên Chúa là Cha của chúng ta.
            Lời cầu nguyện này dạy chúng ta cách cầu xin Chúa cho chúng ta những điều chúng ta thực sự cần, những điều quan trọng không chỉ cho hiện tại mà còn cho cả đời đời. Chúng ta có thể tự tin và mạnh dạn đến gần Thiên Chúa là Cha vì Chúa Giêsu đã mở đường lên thiên đàng cho chúng ta qua cái chết và sự phục sinh của Ngài.
            Khi chúng ta cầu xin Chúa giúp đỡ, may mắn thay, Ngài không ban cho chúng ta những gì chúng ta xứng đáng. Thay vào đó, Thiên Chúa đáp lại bằng ân điển, lòng thương xót và lòng nhân từ. Thiên Chúa tốt lành và tha thứ cho chúng ta, và Ngài mong chúng ta cũng đối xử với người khác, những người lân cận của mình như vậy.             Thiên Chúa đã đổ tình yêu thương của Ngài vào lòng chúng ta qua ân sủng của Chúa Thánh Thần, Đấng đã được ban cho chúng ta (Rô-ma 5: 5). Và tình yêu đó giống như một ngọn lửa tinh luyện,  thanh lọc và đốt cháy mọi thành kiến, hận thù, oán hận, báo thù và cay đắng trong lòng của chúng ta cho đến khi không còn gì nữa ngoài lòng tốt và sự tha thứ đối với những người đã gây ra đau buồn hoặc tổn hại cho chúng ta.
            Chúng ta hãy suy ngẫm những gì mà Tu sĩ thời đầu của giáo hội tên là John Cassian (360-435 SCN), đã viết về Kinh Lạy Cha và sự cần thiết của việc tha thứ cho nhau từ trái tim như sau:
            "Lòng thương xót của Thiên Chúa không thể diễn tả được. Trong khi Ngài dâng cho chúng ta một lời cầu nguyện kiểu mẫu, Ngài dạy chúng ta một cách sống để chúng ta có thể làm hài lòng trước mắt Ngài. Nhưng đó không phải là tất cả. Trong cùng một lời cầu nguyện này, Ngài cho chúng ta một phương pháp dễ dàng vì đã thu hút một bản án khoan dung và nhân từ đối với cuộc sống của chúng ta. Ngài cho chúng ta khả năng tự giảm nhẹ bản án treo trên mình và buộc ngài phải tha thứ cho chúng ta. Ngài có thể làm gì khác trước sự rộng lượng của chúng ta khi chúng ta cầu xin ngài tha thứ cho chúng ta cũng như chúng ta đã tha thứ cho người xung quanh của mình? Nếu chúng ta thành tín trong lời cầu nguyện này, mỗi người chúng ta sẽ cầu xin sự tha thứ cho những lỗi lầm của chính mình sau khi chúng ta đã tha thứ lỗi lầm của những người đã phạm tội với chúng ta, không chỉ những người đã phạm tội với Chủa của chúng ta. thực tế là ở một số người trong chúng ta, một thói quen rất xấu. Chúng ta đối xử với tội lỗi của mình chống lại Thiên Chúa, tuy kinh khủng nhưng coi ra rất nhẹ nhàng; nhưng ngược lại, đối với những người mắc tội với chúng ta tuy dù là những tội rất nhỏ, nhưng chúng ta lại coi những tội đó những lỗi lầm của người ớ trong mức độ nghiêm trọng. Bất cứ ai từ tận đáy lòng mình đã không tha thứ cho anh chị em đã làm điều sai trái với mình, thì sẽ chỉ nhận được từ lời cầu nguyện này sự lên án của chính mình, hơn là bất kỳ lòng thương xót nào. "
            Quý ÔBACE thân mến, chúng ta đã đối xử với người khác như chúng ta nghĩ rằng họ đáng được đối xử, hay chúng ta đối xử với họ như Chúa đã đối xử với chúng ta với lòng thương xót, tình yêu kiên định và lòng nhân từ?
            Lạy Chúa Cha ở trên trời, Chúa đã ban cho chúng con một tâm hồn trí khôn để chúng con biết chúng con, một ý chí phục vụ Chúa và một tấm lòng yêu thương Chúa. Xin Chúa hãy ban cho chúng con  ân sũng và sức mạnh để nhận lãnh thánh ý Chúa và khoả lấp tâm hồn của chúng con bằng tình yêu của Chúa để mọi ý định và hành động của chúng con có thể làm hài lòng Chúa. Cũng xin Chúa ban cho chúng con ân sủng để biết quảng đại trong những suy nghĩ, và tử tế trong trong mọi việc làm cũng như biết yêu thương mọi người trong những lời nói của chúng con. Amen
 
Meditation: Do you believe that God's word has power to change and transform your life today? Isaiah says that God's word is like the rain and melting snow which makes the barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11). God's word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs of new life. If we let God's word take root in our heart it will transform us into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and holiness.
Let God's word guide and shape the way you judge and act
God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose (339-397 AD), an early church father and bishop of Milan, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading Scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the Scriptures, we listen to Christ."
We can approach God our Father with confidence
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because the Lord Jesus has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.
            When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, God responds with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. He is good and forgiving towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire - it purifies and burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until there is nothing left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who cause us grief or harm.
            Consider what John Cassian (360-435 AD), an early church father who lived for several years with the monks in Bethlehem and Egypt before founding a monastery in southern Gaul, wrote about the Lord's Prayer and the necessity of forgiving one another from the heart: The Lord's Prayer teaches us how to pray: "The mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit. We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence - but when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy."
            Do you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them as the Lord has treated you - with mercy, steadfast love, and kindness?
            Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart with your love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Give me the grace to be charitable in thought, kind in deed, and loving in speech towards all.
 
Suy  Niệm
Anh chị em thân mến, có câu chuyện kể, có một nhóm phụ nữ được gởi đi truyền giáo đến Haiti. Vị tuyên úy của họ đã lên kế hoạch cho trong ngày, từ việc đến sân bay tìm cách di chuyến tránh giao thông kẹt tắc ở thủ ô Port-au-Prince, đến việc viếng thăm tốc hành một trại nuôi trẻ mồ côi mà họ thường quyên góp giúp đỡ mỗi tuần. Họ có thể dừng lại, thăm trại trong vòng nửa giờ nếu muốn quay trở lên đường tránh tắc nghễn giao thông trước chín giờ đêm. Kế hoạch của vii tuyên uý đó thất bại.
            Vì ngay khi cánh cửa của trại nuôi trẻ mồ côi vừa mở ra, ba trăm em bé đã dang tay chào đón nhóm người phụ nữ. Với một đứa trẻ trên tay và đứa khác trên đầu gối, những người phụ nữ này ôm ấp và an ủi từng đứa trẻ cho đến khi đứa trẻ cuối cùng cảm thấy đủ yêu thương để đi vào giấc ngủ. Và, những người phụ nữ mới được trở lại xe của mình để nghỉ ngơi cho đêm đầu tiên của họ sau đó.
            Giống như những người phụ nữ này, trái tim của chúng ta không có sự đo lường lý do để yêu. Trái tim của chúng ta biết và cảm nhận chính xác những gì phải làm khi có nhu cầu. Đó chỉ là cảm xúc tự nhiên. Các nhà thần học thường nói đến luật tự nhiên để giải thích về luân lý đạo đức, họ nói rằng Thiên Chúa đã soi dẫn bản chất con người của chúng ta đối với những sản phẩm tự nhiên mà Ngài muốn ở nơi chúng ta. Thật là thông minh. Ở cấp độ thiêng liêng hoặc chân thành hơn, Thiên Chúa đã đặt những ước muốn và tình yêu vào trong tâm hồn của chúng ta như tấm gương phản chiếu tình yêu được tìm thấy trong Trái tim Vô hạn của Ngài.
            Thiên Chúa Tốt lành: Ngài là "Đấng tốt lành" đã xem xét sự sáng tạo và "thấy rằng mọi sự rất tốt đẹp." Bất cứ điều gì tốt đẹp trong chúng ta đều là sự phản ánh tính tốt trong Thiên Chúa. Và vì vậy, khi chúng ta cảm thấy sự giằng xé đẹp đẽ trong trái tim mình, giống như nhu cầu tự nhiên được đón nhận một đứa trẻ, để ẵm và an ủi những người yếu đuối nhất trong nhân loại, chúng ta cảm thấy như một phần nhỏ của Thiên Chúa đang mong muốn an ủi những người yếu đuối và buồn khổ.
            Chúa Giêsu muốn chúng ta biết đó là cách thực hiện những lời cầu nguyện. Lời cầu nguyện của chúng ta không phải là một bài diễn văn thần học hay ho vĩ đại, hay những lời dài giòng được lặp đi lặp lại như thể thời gian dành cho việc cầu nguyện tương đương với việc kết nối với Chúa. Đó là một con người nhỏ bé, một đứa con bé bỏng của Chúa đang nâng cánh tay của chúng ta đến với Người và bày tỏ nhu cầu của chúng ta. Đó là một tiếng gọi từ trái tim của chúng ta với Ngài. Nó không phải là liên tục cầu xin Chúa cho bánh hàng ngày của chúng ta và sự tha thứ. Đó là thể hiện nhu cầu của chúng ta với Cha của chúng ta giống như cách một em bé không ngại đòi thức ăn và để được thoải mái. Và người Cha thích cảm nhận được sức kéo đó, giống như cách chúng ta yêu một đứa trẻ nhìn chúng ta.;
Chúng ta cùng cầu nguyện:
Khi chúng ta cầu nguyện “Lạy Cha” trong Thánh lễ, linh mục thay mặt toàn thể nhà thờ nâng cánh tay của mình lên. Thiên Chúa thấy các con của Ngài dang rộng vòng tay với Ngài. Trái tim anh cảm động. Nếu chúng tôi để anh ấy, anh ấy sẽ chạy đến với chúng tôi và sẽ ở lại với chúng tôi cho đến khi chúng tôi được an ủi. Anh ấy sẽ không nghỉ ngơi cho đến khi chúng ta đủ yêu.
 
Opening Prayer: Lord, I sometimes say this sacred prayer like a pagan, mouthing the words without thinking. Help me to renew my love for the “Our Father” during this time of reflection.
Encountering Christ:
Hearts That Love: A group of women went on a mission trip to Haiti. Their chaplain had the day planned out, from the arrival at the airport to braving the Port-au-Prince traffic, to a short visit to the orphanage they would often be helping at during the week. They could stop there only a half-hour if they wanted to get back through the traffic before nine o'clock at night. His plan failed. As soon as the doors to the orphanage opened, three hundred little babies stretched out their arms to the women. With one baby on each arm and another on their knee, the women cuddled and comforted each child until the last one had felt loved enough to fall asleep. Only then would the ladies get back in the van for their first night's rest. Like these ladies, our hearts don't weigh up reasons for loving. Our hearts know and feel exactly what has to be done when a need arises. It's just natural. Theologians often speak of natural law to explain morality, saying that God has inspired our human nature toward the natural goods he asks of us. That's very intellectual. At a more spiritual or heartfelt level, God has placed desires and loves in us that mirror the love that is found in his Infinite Heart. 
God Is Good: He who is "the One who is good" looked over creation and "saw that it was very good." Whatever is good in us is a reflection of the goodness in him. And so when we feel the beautiful tug in our hearts, like the natural need to pick up a baby, to hold and console the weakest of human beings, we feel a small piece of God's longing to console the weak and sorrowful. Jesus wants us to know that's how prayer works. It's not a big theological speech, or the same words repeated over and over again as if time spent praying equals connecting with God. It's a small person, a little child of God lifting our arms to him and showing our need. It's a cry from our heart to His. It's not about constantly asking God for our daily bread and for forgiveness. It's about showing our need to Our Father in the same way a baby is unafraid to ask for food and for comfort. And the Father loves to feel that pull, in the same way we love for a baby to look to us. 
We Pray in Unison: When we pray the “Our Father” at Mass, the priest lifts his arms on behalf of all the church. God sees his children stretching out their arms to him. His heart is touched. If we let him, he'll run to us and will stay with us until we are comforted. He won't rest until we are loved enough.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, thank you for these beautiful words of the “Our Father.” I want to pray them as a loving child, or a helpless baby, trusting completely in your divine fatherhood and knowing that you answer my prayers according to your most holy will.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ 11 Thường Niên.

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Tư Tuần thứ 11 Thường Niên.
Qua Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu mời gọi chúng ta nên quan hệ mật thiết với Thiên Chúa và sự liên hệ này sẽ phải là trung tâm cuộc sống của chúng ta. Điều này chỉ có thể có được khi chúng ta "khép kín cửa" lòng vỉ kỷ của chúng ta, khi chúng ta biết sống trong sự khiêm tốn, hạ mình trước những lời khen ngợi của người khác, biết chấp nhận những cái lỗi của mình và biết vui tươi với những lời chê bai của người khác, và cũng nên tìm những cái thất bại, những chê bai và lỗi xấu của mình mà ráng sửa đổi.
Chúng ta cần nên dành nhiều thời giờ với Thiên Chúa, dù chỉ có một vài phút mỗi ngày với Chúa, chúng ta sẽ thấy sự thay đổi. Chúa Thánh Thần sẽ giúp chúng ta sẽ từ từ nhận biết ra rằng việc tốt chúng ta làm vì danh Chúa chứ không phải làm để cho những người khác chú ý mà khen ngợi. Khi chúng biết dành thời giờ cho và với Thiên Chúa, chúng ta sẽ nhận biết được rằng chúng ta đang được Chúa yêu thương chúng ta một cách vô điều kiện, và để nắm được mối tình yêu này, Chúng ta cần phải bắt đầu biết lắng nghe những  lời nói yêu thương, trìu mến một cách sâu đậm và chắc chắn của Thiên Chúa.
Nếu chúng ta cứ thích dựa vào lời khen, hay sự ca ngợi của những người khác gì như người khờ dại xây nhà trên cát. Vì như ông bà chúng ta có nói “mật ngọt thì chết ruồi..” người mà khen ngợi chúng ta,  là người đang hại chúng ta, vì khi nhận những lời khen ngợi, con người chúng ta thường có cái khuynh hướng tự đắc, rồi sinh ra tự cao, ngạo mạn rồi đâm ra khinh người. Chính vì thế những khi chúng ta không được nhận những lời khen, chúng ta lại đâm ra thất vọng, buồn chán... cũng vì cái tạo tự cao và ngạo mạn của chúng bị xúc phạm! Đấy cũng là nguyên gây ra tội lỗi cho chúng ta.
   "Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin cho chúng con một đức tin sống động, một niềm hy vọng vững chắc, lòng bác ái nhiệt thành, và một tình yêu tuyệt hảo cho Chúa để chúng con biết sống nhiệt tình và trọn niềm vui trong những suy nghĩ và ân sủng của Chúa. Xin lấp đầy trái tim của chúng con với lòng từ bi đối với những người khác, đặc biệt là những người đang cần đến sự giúp đỡ và lòng quảng đại của chúng con.
 
Meditation: When you pray, fast, and give alms
Why did Jesus single out prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for his disciples? The Jews considered these three as the cardinal works of the religious life. These were seen as the key signs of a pious person, the three great pillars on which the good life was based. Jesus pointed to the heart of the matter. Why do you pray, fast, and give alms? To draw attention to yourself so that others may notice and think highly of you? Or to give glory to God?  The Lord warns his disciples of self-seeking glory - the preoccupation with looking good and seeking praise from others. True piety is something more than feeling good or looking holy. True piety is loving devotion to God. It is an attitude of awe, reverence, worship and obedience. It is a gift and working of the Holy Spirit that enables us to devote our lives to God with a holy desire to please him in all things (Isaiah 11:1-2).
Communion with the Father
What is the sure reward which Jesus points out to his disciples? It is communion with God our Father. In him alone we find the fulness of life and happiness, truth and beauty, love and joy. Saint Augustine, the great fourth century bishop of Hippo, wrote the following prayer in his Confessions: When I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrows or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete.
The Lord rewards those who seek him with humble and repentant hearts. He renews us each day and he gives us new hearts of love and compassion that we may serve him and our neighbor with glad and generous hearts. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Seek him expectantly in prayer, with fasting, and in generous giving to those in need.
“Lord Jesus, give me a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, and a great love for you. Take from me all lukewarmness in meditating on your word, and dullness in prayer. Give me fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace. Fill my heart with compassion for others, especially those in need, that I may respond with generosity.”
 
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” Matthew 6:16–18
Many today have abandoned the holy practice of fasting. Fasting is a powerful penitential practice that bestows great benefits upon the soul. The act of self-denial from certain food and drink, choosing instead simple nourishment from time to time, such as bread and water, or a reduced amount of food, greatly strengthens the soul and disposes a person to many spiritual blessings. Too often, we live for fleshly satisfactions and fall into the trap of trying to indulge our appetites on a regular basis. But doing so has the negative effect of tempting us to neglect the more important spiritual desires for holiness. By depriving ourselves of sensory delights from time to time, we become more disposed to seek the true and lasting delights that come only from God’s grace. Therefore, this passage above presumes that we do regularly fast and engage in other forms of self-denial. 
Do you fast? Do you engage in other forms of self-denial on a regular basis? Daily prayer, reading the Scriptures, learning about the lives of the saints, and regular participation in the Sacraments all lead us closer to God and make us holy. But fasting and self-denial are also very important, so it is essential that we strive to embrace them as a part of our spiritual growth.
In this passage, Jesus specifically calls us to seek the interior rewards that come from fasting and self-denial. He points out that if we use fasting as a way of gaining praise from others, then we lose the spiritual benefits of our fasting. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving must all be done in a way that they are as hidden as possible so that our acts are truly sincere and not done so as to receive the earthly rewards of the admiration of others.
Additionally, the lesson taught in this Gospel can also be applied to other areas of our lives. For example, if you are suffering from some illness or some form of bodily pain or discomfort, then of course you should seek the necessary medical attention. But these physical ailments also offer us another opportunity for spiritual growth when they are embraced in a silent and interior way. Even our pain or discomfort can be transformed into grace if we choose to embrace it with joy, offer it to God as a sacrifice, and keep it to ourselves as a silent gift given to God.
Reflect, today, upon your practice of fasting, as well as every other opportunity you have each day to make silent and interior sacrifices to God. If you do suffer from some daily cross that is beyond your control, then try to turn it into a spiritual offering to our Lord. And if you are able to freely embrace fasting on a regular basis, then try to prayerfully commit to this practice. Try to do it every week, especially on Friday in honor of the Good Friday sacrifice made by our Lord. Don’t underestimate the value of these hidden sacrifices. Make them a regular part of your spiritual life and God will bestow upon you many spiritual riches from Heaven.
My sacrificial Lord, You denied Yourself of many earthly delights, especially when You fasted for forty days in the desert. Help me to take seriously this obligation to fast and to mortify my appetites. And help me to do so in a hidden way. May my life continually imitate Your perfect sacrifice so that I may become more like You every day. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want to fight the good fight in the daily battle of prayer. Help me to banish greed from my heart so that I may care for the poor around me. Help me to overcome my sinful tendencies so that I may be docile to the inspirations of your Holy Spirit.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Wages for Secret Almsgiving: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus identifies three ways we can earn heavenly wages and store up heavenly treasure. Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus pointed out that the righteousness of the Pharisees was insufficient to enter into the Kingdom of the Heavens. Here, he fleshes this out by contrasting how hypocrites do pious deeds and how his followers ought to do them. When the hypocrites give alms, they want everyone to know about it. They give, not so much to help the poor and alleviate their misfortune, but to win the praise of others. And that is their reward or wage. Human praise is what they seek, and that is what they get. By contrast, when the disciples of Christ give alms, they are to do so quietly and in secret. There is no need for a trumpet to announce their gift. There is no need to make sure the coins clang loudly in the Temple receptacles. The followers of Christ are not to seek human praise but divine glory. And the Father, who sees these actions of
2. Wages for Private Prayer: When the hypocrites pray, they want everyone to know about it. They pray, not to enter into communion with the Lord, but to be seen by others. They do not wake up early in the morning and go to the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13; Luke 5:16), climb the mountain, or enter the cloud to pray (Luke 9:28). Instead, the hypocrites wait until the synagogue is full on Sabbath or the marketplace is full of people, and there they make their loud prayer. Like the prayer of the Pharisee in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 18:9-14), it is not really a prayer made to God but to themselves. They are showing off that they can make eloquent discourses about pious things, but, in truth, they haven’t even taken the first step in prayer. Prayer begins not in the mind that thinks up interesting and eloquent things to say aloud, but in the depths of a humble, contrite heart moved by divine grace. And the Father who sees the disciple of his Son praying in this way, will compensate us, both in this life and the next.
3. Wages for Hidden Fasting: When the hypocrites fast, they want everyone to know about it. It is more like going on a diet and wanting everyone to know how much weight you lost, rather than giving up something good, like food, and making a sacrificial offering to God. The hypocrite receives their reward from others, who say things like, “How good you look!” “How good you are!” “You have such will-power!” and “I wish I could be like you!” The follower of Christ fasts not because they want human praise, but because they know this will strengthen them to resist the temptation of disordered pleasure in the future. Fasting, in the 21^st Century, takes many forms, such as fasting from certain foods, dessert, alcohol, shopping, gaming, complaining, and social media. And the Father, who sees this hidden fasting, will compensate us, both in this life and the next.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the New Moses who brings the law to fulfillment. You are the New Elisha who performs mighty deeds and cares for the poor. Teach me by your word and example to love the Father above all things and my neighbor as myself.
 
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time -  2022
Opening Prayer: “How great is the goodness, O Lord, which you have in store for those who fear you, And which, toward those who take refuge in you, you show in the sight of the children of men” (Psalm 31:20). Lord, teach me your Way. Bring me your Truth. Give me your Life so I may praise you, and only you, here on earth and with you for all eternity. I love you, my God!
Encountering Christ:
A Rewarding Life: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” Jesus was teaching his disciples to consider their actions and notice subtle temptations to pride. In between our good intentions and acting on them, we can get tripped up by the snares of the devil. “Take care,” Jesus said, which means “be cautious; keep oneself safe.” To live a life devoted to God, we need to discern if we are trying to impress others, bring acclaim to ourselves, or glorify God in what we say and do. To receive recompense from God is to receive atonement for our sins. When our righteous deeds are done for of love for God, he gladly responds: “But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins he has committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die” (Ezekiel 18:27-28).
Almsgiving: “But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” Giving alms is not to be a matter of “checking off spiritual boxes” or lavishly giving so that we will be noticed by others. In this passage, Jesus was both revealing and calling his disciples more deeply into his hidden life with the Father. Almsgiving, Jesus tells us, is yet another invitation to “remain in me” (John 15:4). 
Useless Fasting: “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.” Jesus was offering practical advice, for it only makes sense that we defeat the purpose of self-denial through fasting if we use the practice to call attention to ourselves. Works of charity, spiritual practices, and praying, if not centered on and offered to God, become nothing more than self-gratification. The Church offers a helpful way for us to discern who we are glorifying by doing a daily examination of conscience. We are invited to spend a couple of minutes at the end of each day to ask the Holy Spirit to shine light on our actions in the past twenty-four hours. Where we have succeeded in giving glory to God, we praise and thank him. Where we have failed to receive his grace, we ask forgiveness. We end by asking for all the graces we will need the next day to try again. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord, I believe my righteous deeds are done for you, but you know me better than I know myself. Please reveal to me where I need to improve in my efforts to allow you to transform me. Thank you, Jesus. Mary, Mother of God, intercede for me. 
 
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Opening Prayer: Lord, I am eager to spend this time with you in prayer today, trusting that you will bless me with the graces I need to please you in all I do.
Encountering Christ:
Coveting “Likes”: We all want to be a little more liked. The different platforms of social media play upon our desire to be popular through likes, followers, friends, etc. In Jesus' day, the Pharisees wanted the same thing, just with a different platform: climbing their own pedestal. Jesus said they turned street corners into platforms when they gave alms or prayed with their arms spread wide out while chanting slowly so that everyone would see and hear. Whenever they prayed in synagogues, they stood, so all eyes were on them. In the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, there was one person who wasn't watching the Pharisee: God. Jesus said, "They have already received their reward." God's eyes were on the humble, quiet, repentant tax collector. "God looks upon the lowly, but watches the proud from a distance" (Psalms 138:6). "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones but lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:52).
Blessed Are the Lowly: The wonderful thing is that God longs to meet the lowly, the simple, the small. St. Andre Bessette said of himself, "God chose the most ignorant one. If there was anyone more ignorant than I am, God would have chosen him instead of me." Other saints said much the same thing, that they were chosen by God, precisely because they were the weakest, the smallest, the least educated. St. Paul himself said, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27). God is drawn to humility like iron to a magnet. Or perhaps it would be better to say that God is the magnet, and when we are humble, our true mettle is shown, and we are lifted up towards him. When we are humble, he cannot take his eyes off of us. As St. John of the Cross said, "To descend is to ascend"—the more we humble ourselves, the more God will lift us up.
A Secret Room: Many saints say the secret room is the one inside our hearts. Whether working or at home, we can enter that secret place where no one else can go, and our “Father who sees in secret" will reward us and join us, for he delights when little people like ourselves sequester to visit with him.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, I close my door to others' eyes, go to my secret room where no one else but you see me, and present myself small and lowly. Allow me to experience your delight at seeing me in secret. When my sins accuse me, saying I’m not good enough for you, I will acknowledge that truth and pray for forgiveness and an increase in humility. 

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 11 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Ba Tuần thứ 11 Thường Niên
 “Hãy Yêu thương kẻ thù”
Tình yêu có nhiều ý nghĩa. Một trong số từ ngữ tiếng Hy Lạp  chữ  "agape" đi kèm với một động từ thì viết là "agapan" có nghĩa chỉ về  "lòng nhân từ không thể thắng  và thiện chí bất khả chiến bại." (Bình luận của Barclay)
Để yêu thương kẻ thù của chúng ta với lòng yêu thương như thế thật không phải là dẽ. Thương như thế có nghĩa là chúng ta phải sẵn sàng bỏ qua tất cả không bất chấp người đã xúc phạm đến chúng ta, phải làm như không biết là họ  xúc phạm hay đối xử không tốt với chúng ta, chúng ta phải đối xử với họ bằng với lòng nhân từ bằng với thiện chí chúng ta phải luôn cố gắng để xem xét đeể đem những gì tốt nhất đến cho những người ấy.
Những loại tình yêu cho kẻ thù của chúng ta sẽ không chỉ là một cái gì đó của trái tim mà còn là một cái gì đó của ý chí. Hơn nữa, loại tình yêu này có thể chỉ có được nếu chúng ta có được ân sủng của Thiên Chúa và một mối quan hệ cá nhân đặc biệt với Chúa Giêsu Kitô. Qua ví dụ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta đã học được cách tha thứ như Ngài tha thứ, để yêu thương như Thiên Chúa yêu thương.
Chúng ta đã đáp lại điều răn yêu thương của Chúa Giêsu như thế nào? Chúng ta hãy cầu nguyện xin Chúa cho tất cả những nỗi niềm cay đắng trong lòng của chúng ta và trong thế giới chúng ta đang sống được đổi thành những suối nguồn của sự sống và tình yêu. Chúng ta hãy chúc phúc cho nhau và làm với nhau, kính trọng nhau. "Vậy anh em hãy nên hoàn thiện, như Cha anh em trên trời là Đấng hoàn thiện. ." (Mt 5: 48)
 
Reflection SG 2016
Love has many meanings.  One of these is the Greek word "agape" with an accompanying verb "agapan" which indicates "unconquerable benevolence and invincible goodwill." (Barclay's Commentary) To love our enemies with agape means that no matter what the person does to us, no matter if one insults or persecutes us, we shall regard him/her with that unconquerable benevolence and goodwill always trying to see what would be the highest good for him/her. The kind of love for our enemies will not only be something of the heart but is also something of the will.  Moreover, this kind of love is possible only with God's grace and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Through Jesus' example, we have learned to forgive as He forgives, to love as God loves.
I remember an incident in my life when a colleague misunderstood me and I had no way to speak with her. We tried to avoid each other but after a while I felt that I had to settle issues with her. I prayed for her and sent her blessings and positive vibes before I finally faced her.  It ended with so much mercy, gentleness and peace.  We have both retired but our friendship has remained intact.
            How have we responded to Jesus' commandment of love? Let us pray that all the bitterness in our hearts and in this world be changed into springs of life and love.  Let us bless one another and make saints of each other. "For your part you shall be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect."  (Mt 5:  48)
 
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.” Matthew 5:43–45
Jesus continues to deepen and clarify His call to His new command to love of others. The love to which He calls us is radical, total, and can be very challenging at first. He calls us to move far beyond the Old Testament understanding of justice by commanding that we love everyone, including those who persecute us. This call to love is not an option but a command. It’s a requirement for every Christian.
In implementing this command, Jesus gives us not only the command itself but also offers some very practical advice on how we can achieve this depth of love. He says that we should not only love our enemies but that we should pray for them when they persecute us. First of all, an “enemy” is one who tries to inflict some form of harm on us and, generally speaking, sins against us. The common response to these experiences is to defend ourselves and fight back. So the first step is to reject any such temptation. As Jesus said in the Gospel passage prior to this one, “offer no resistance to one who is evil.”
Today’s Gospel passage takes us even further. The practical advice our Lord gives is to “pray for those who persecute you.” This command not only requires that you reject the temptation to “get back” at a person or even to simply “resist” what they do to us. You must now pray for them. Praying for someone who sins against you is an act of the greatest charity and generosity. And it’s a very practical way to imitate the abundant mercy of God. For that reason, praying for your persecutors radically transforms you interiorly and makes you holy. In a sense, the evil another does to you has the potential to be transformed into a gift given to you, because it gives you an opportunity to return prayer for an injury inflicted. And that is a very real and practical gift we must embrace by this new command of our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon those for whom this new commandment calls you to pray. Whose sin has inflicted some hurt or injury upon you or your family? Who do you hold a grudge toward? Whoever comes to mind, commit yourself to deep and sustained prayer for that person. Pray often for them and continue that prayer for as long as the persecution continues. Doing so will transform any and every attempted malice issued toward you into grace for them and holiness for you.
My Lord of abundant mercy, Your command to pray for those who persecute me was first lived by You to perfection. You prayed for those who crucified You as You hung upon the Cross. Give me the grace I need to not only forgive but to also pray for those who have and continue to try to inflict harm upon me. Give me a heart so filled with mercy that every sin committed against me is transformed into love and my own holiness of life. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I seek to be perfect and merciful as you are perfect and merciful. You are patient and do not give up on me. You seek me out like the lost sheep when I stray, bind my wounds with love, and bring me home to you.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Love Your Enemies: Some of the stumbling blocks found in the Old Testament are the commands of Moses to hate and kill enemies, as found in Deuteronomy 20. Many atheists point to these laws as internal contradictions within the Bible and ask, “How could a just and loving God command the extermination of entire peoples, men, women, and children?” One key to respond to this question, is to point out that the Bible itself declares that some of the laws given by Moses in Deuteronomy were not good (see Ezekiel 20:25). While the laws in Exodus given by the Lord God at Mt. Sinai, such as the Ten Commandments, were good, Ezekiel judges that some of the laws in Deuteronomy given by Moses were not good. What Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is bringing those “not-good laws” in Deuteronomy to fulfillment by correcting them. Just as he had to correct the Law of Moses that permitted divorce, he also had to correct the Law of Moses that commanded the hatred and extermination of enemies. Love of our enemies and prayer for our persecutors are the way of the New Covenant, which brings the Old Covenant to fulfillment and perfection.
2. Divine Recompense: Jesus invites his listeners to reflect on how our actions will be recompensed. In the Old Testament and Jewish thought, committing sinful actions was likened to accumulating debt, while performing righteous actions was likened to accumulating credit, wages, recompense, and “treasure in the heavens.” Earlier in the Sermon, Jesus told his listeners that their righteousness needed to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. Here, Jesus speaks about loving those who love you and greeting our brethren as actions that are not part of the surpassing righteousness needed to store up heavenly treasure. Loving our enemies, praying for our persecutors, being merciful toward the unrighteous, giving alms in secret, and hidden fasting are all righteous actions that will earn wages that God will pay us in the life to come. These actions are meritorious not because we have the power to do them on our own, but because they are empowered by the divine grace that Jesus himself has merited for us by his own righteous actions.
3. Paternal Perfection: Jesus ends the first part of the Sermon, which focuses on bringing the Law (Torah) of Moses to fulfillment, by directing us to look toward our supreme model – God the Father. If we have a question about how we are to act, we are to look to how God the Father acts. How does God the Father treat sinners who offend him? How does God the Father deal with the unrighteous? How does God love? In this way, the Beatitudes that begin the Sermon are not merely the exhortations of a teacher who proposes an ideal for his students to follow, but they are a description of Jesus himself. Jesus is poor in spirit, the one who mourns, is meek, hungers and thirsts for righteousness, is merciful, is pure of heart, is a peacemaker, and is persecuted for the sake of righteousness. The question, “What would Jesus do?” is a question we should all ponder in prayer when contemplating our course of action.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you teach me that the heart of your Father’s Law is love. You ask that my faith in you flourish and be completed in acts of love. On the Cross, you prayed for your enemies and asked that they be forgiven. Help me recall your example when I struggle to pray and forgive.
 
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time  2022
Opening Prayer: Good Father, I know you love me. I desire to love you and through you love others, both my neighbors and my enemies. Please help me. 
Encountering Christ:
Love Your Enemies: To love our enemies seems impossible since at times it is difficult enough to love our neighbors as God commands us to do. Consider how Adam blamed his wife, Eve: “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). In turn, Eve blamed the devil: “The snake tricked me, so I ate it” (Genesis 3:13). Since the beginning, it has become part of human nature to blame, to assign responsibility for a fault or wrong. How can we be expected to love our enemies? Jesus answered this question: “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). To be obedient to God in this teaching of Jesus requires of us what we cannot produce ourselves: grace. “Grace is first and foremost a gift of the Holy Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us” (CCC 2003). 
Children of the Heavenly Father: Forgiveness of those who persecute us is a prerequisite to loving our persecutors. Jesus explains through the prayer he taught us that to be a child of God, who is Love, means we are merciful to others as we receive mercy from our heavenly Father: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Matthew 9:12). If we forgive our enemies, we are children of the heavenly Father. If we refuse to forgive, we choose to act as children of the father of the world, who is the devil. Beware! Jesus condemned the unbelieving Pharisees: “You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires” (John 8:44).
Be Perfect: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” These words can discourage us because we think it is impossible. How often we fall! Proverbs 24:16 tells us, “Though the just fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble from only one mishap.” Our falling is a given; it is the “rising again” that makes one just. Our ideal is Jesus, who fell three times and who rose three times carrying his cross. Our ideal is Jesus who said as he hung on the cross, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). How can we be perfect? We follow Jesus and do what he does. 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I have fallen so many times. I hurt from all the wounds I have caused through my refusal to forgive my enemies. I am sorry. Please help me to see my enemies as you see them. Help me to be merciful as you are merciful. Jesus, I trust in you. 
 
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time - Matthew 5:43-48
Opening Prayer: Lord, thank you for these moments to reflect on your words in Scripture. Please enlighten my mind to understand more deeply what you mean by “be perfect.”
Encountering Christ: 
Be Perfect? "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" seems like a tall order. Yes, we're always trying to be better—we are reading reflections like these to help us on the pathway to holiness, right? But only Jesus and Mary have ever been perfect. The rest of us will never do everything perfectly. Even St. Teresa of Avila, a doctor of the church on prayer, said she got distracted at least once every rosary. So when we hear Jesus tell us to "be perfect," it can seem like he's setting us up for disappointment and failure. He wouldn't do that, so what did he mean? 
Perfectionism? In biblical translations, our English word “perfect” passes through the Latin word "perfectum," which could roughly translate to "made all the way through." But "teleios," the word in the original Gospel, is closer to "complete" or "reaching a finish line.” Jesus didn't ask us to become perfect. He asked us to become perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect. In our search for holiness, trying to become better, or even trying to become the best version of ourselves, is limited by our personal resources. We often commit the sin of pride when we define holiness by the success we perceive in our growth in virtue. We can end up with scruples or a type of “perfectionism” when the perfect is the standard we have set up for ourselves. Furthermore, we can transfer our rules to the behavior of others and then criticize them for failing when they don't meet our standards. Jesus didn't ask us to be perfect like the Pharisees, whose self-righteousness made them no holier. We are God’s children and should strive to become like our Father. We reach our finish line when we fall into his embrace. We will be complete only once we are with him. 
Joy in Being Perfect: Perfection isn't a set of rules or standards. Perfection isn't even getting everything right. Perfection, completion, is when you are with the Father. You and I (and St. Teresa of Avila) will struggle and get distracted in our prayers, but we are talking with God, so we are praying perfectly. Prayer is being with him and loving him. Being “perfect" means being with him, doing all things with him, and letting him work with our weaknesses. If we are living, praying, working, and loving alongside God, then he will finish everything we start. And everything we do will then be perfect.
Conversing with God: Lord, please help me to see my life as “in progress” and under your guidance. Never let me forget that you are my Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. I am nothing without you.
 
Tuesday (11^th TN): “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
Meditation: Matthew 5:43-48
 “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
How many times have you heard these words from Jesus, and felt completely helpless? We all have someone in our lives that we simply can’t love or forgive—someone who has hurt us so deeply that we have resigned ourselves to bearing the wound for the rest of our lives.
It is precisely these memories, these fears, even these resentments that the Lord wants to heal. He knows that we will never find the strength to deal with them on our own. He also knows that there are some situations where it would not be wise to try to reconcile—but even in these, he can help us forgive from a safe distance so that we can move on in freedom.
How does Jesus heal us? Not by magically taking everything away in an instant. He does it as we invite him into our wounded memories. If you find yourself struggling with a painful memory, take some time to sit quietly with the Lord. Tell him that you want to be healed. In your heart, picture Jesus sitting with you and with the person who hurt you. See how he loves you, and how he loves that other person. Let his love wash you clean and heal your pain. Sometimes we have to do this a few times, and we may need to ask a trusted friend to pray with us. But healing does come.
Yes, Jesus does want us to love our enemies. He even commands it. But he is not leaving us to figure out how to do this all by ourselves. He is with us every step of the way, offer­ing us his healing and his comfort. He knows how far each of us has to go in this journey, and he is ready to accompany us. He is not put off by our pain not even by our hatred. All he wants is an open heart and an invitation. He wants to set us free.
“Jesus, I welcome you into my heart. I welcome you into my wounded memories. Come, Lord, and teach me how to love and how to forgive. You are the Great Physician, and I trust in you.”

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 11 Thường Niên

Suy Niệm Tin Mừng Thứ Hai Tuần 11 Thường Niên
Hãy đưa cái má bên kia cho chúng, không chống lại những người muốn làm hại chúng ta, đấy là những gì Chúa đã dạy chúng ta trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Những điều thật là khó khăn cho chúng ta thực hiện. Những điều mà chúng ta coi như không thực tế, vì chúng ta luôn có đầu óc nghĩ đến những sự kháng cự hay trả thù. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã dạy cho chúng ta bài học và cho chúng ta những công cụ để phá vỡ cái lòng ích kỷ, và bạo lực để sống trong sự  an bình với và trong Thiên Chúa. Hãy nhìn lấy chính gương của Cha Giêsu.
Chúa luôn muốn chúng ta quên đi những sự ăn thua đủ. Bằng mọi cách, chúng ta cần phải đứng lên để bảo vệ cho công lý và cho những gì là sự thật, là chân lý, nhưng chúng ta không cần phải dùng đến sự hận thù và bạo lực. Vi đấy là những cách của thế giới mà chúng ta đang sống, Chúng ta hãy nhìn vào thế giới kinh hoàng mà con người đã và đang tạo ra. Khi chúng ta thấy  mình bị xúc phạm, bị hạ nhục, hay bị ngược đãi, Chúng ta phải biết cưỡng lại sự cám dỗ. Mỗi khi chúng ta phải đáp ứng với lời nói hay những hành động hận thù bằng tấm lòng biết thương yêu, biết tha thứ để đem hòa bình cho mọi người chúng quanh với chúng ta; Hãy cầu nguyện cho những người quấy rầy, làm hại chúng ta. Chúng ta sẽ tìm thấy một sự khác biệt trong chính mình, và cuối cùng ở nơi những người khác nữa.  Lạy Chúa, giúp chúng con vượt qua khỏi mọi sự ác với lòng tốt và tử tế của chúng con.
 
Monday 11th  in Ordinary Time
Often something becomes desirable only because we cannot have it or it belongs to another. If it were ours for the taking, perhaps it would not be as attractive to us. King Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth, and when Naboth refused to sell it to him, his burning desire to have it made him sick and depressed and eventually led to poor Naboth’s murder. We can find ourselves competing with others for possession, recognition, power, relationships — all because we want them as our own possession. This is at the root of much of the world's conflict. When we recognize this tendency within ourselves, we can begin to break the vicious cycle and become free. Turn the other cheek — do not resist the evildoer - go the extra mile — give freely to others — these are some of the hardest words in the New Testament. They seem unrealistic, and we can think of so many situations that seem to call for resistance or retaliation. But Jesus was giving us the tools to break the cycle of violence and live in the peace of God.
Basically, he asked us to give up revenge and getting even. By all means, stand up for justice and what is right, but do not resort to hatred and violence. These are the world’s methods, and look at the terrible world they have created! When we find ourselves insulted, put down, or persecuted, resist the temptation to respond with hateful words and actions. Send out blessings of peace; pray for the other. You will find a difference in yourself  and eventually in others. Lord, help me to overcome evil with kindness.
 
Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Matthew 5:41–42
As the faith of Israel developed over the centuries, prior to the coming of Christ, there were various stages of advancement in morality. Prior to the establishment of moral laws in the Old Testament, it was common for families to inflict severe vengeance upon other families when harm was done to them. This caused ongoing violence and feuds. But advancements were made when the law of retaliation was established which said, “When a man causes a disfigurement in his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has disfigured a man, he shall be disfigured” (Leviticus 24:19–20). This was a new form of justice that forbade the vengeance from being more severe than the crime that was retaliated against. At the time, this helped end ongoing family feuds that continually escalated.
It is this law of retaliation that Jesus addresses in our Gospel today. The new and much higher form of morality that Jesus taught called His disciples to “offer no resistance to one who is evil” and to turn the other cheek when evil was done to them. Though strict justice requires satisfaction for sin, Jesus’ new teaching was that mercy pays every debt. First, His mercy bestowed upon us, for the forgiveness of our sins, pays the debt of our sins when we truly repent and change. But if we desire our debts to God for our sins to be forgiven and repaid, then we must do the same to others, holding nothing against them.
But Jesus goes even further. In the passage quoted above, Jesus exhorts His disciples to a new and radical form of charity and generosity. This new moral code was how the children of the Kingdom of God were now called to act. It was not enough to only forgive and to forget the debt one owes you because of their sin. Mercy now requires us to “Give to the one who asks” and to walk “two miles” with one who only asks you to walk one mile with them. In other words, Christian charity far exceeds every concept of strict justice and even goes beyond basic forgiveness. This was certainly a new and radical teaching from our Lord.
Think about this new moral law in your own life. What level of “justice” do you most commonly live by? When someone wrongs you, do you live like those prior to the Old Testament laws by seeking to get back at them to an even greater degree than the harm done to you? Do you live by the law that seeks the equal justice of an eye for an eye? Do you seek to forgive and offer mercy as a payment for the debt another has incurred by the sin they have committed against you? Or, ideally, do you strive to go even beyond the act of forgiveness and bestow mercy in a new and generous, superabundant way? This last level of love is difficult to obtain and live, but it is the way our Lord treats us and it is the way that He calls us to treat others.
Reflect, today, upon any hurt you may currently be struggling with. And consider the way in which you have been dealing with that hurt. As you seek to understand this new law of love and mercy given by our Lord, pray to Him that He will give you the grace you need to give to others the same level of mercy that God gives to you.
My generous Lord, You offer Your mercy in superabundance. You not only forgive when we repent, You also restore us to far greater heights of holiness than we could ever deserve. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to offer this same level of mercy and love to those who have sinned against me. I forgive all who have hurt me. Please help me to also love them with all my heart. Jesus, I trust in You.
 
Monday 11th  in Ordinary Time 2025
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to see how true justice and mercy flow from you, the source of all justice and the fount of all mercy. I am called to imitate your justice and mercy. I cannot do it on my own, and so, I trust in the gift of your grace to empower me. 
Encountering the Word of God
1. Justice and Mercy as Divine Attributes: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about the relationship between justice and mercy in the New Covenant that he is establishing. When we consider the attributes of God, these two attributes – justice and mercy – seem hard to reconcile with one another. On the one hand, we believe that God is just. God gives to his creatures good things and perfections that are proper to their nature (Psalm 11:7: “The Lord is just and loves just deeds”). On the other hand, we believe that God is merciful (Psalm 111:4: “Gracious and merciful is the Lord”). This means that God gives to his creatures good things – perfections like forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration – even when they have rebelled and sinned against him. We can question: Is it just to forgive rather than punish the sinner? It is possible, for various reasons, that we emphasize one of these divine attributes to the exclusion of the other. Some people, due to their personality, tend to think of God primarily as a Judge who is just and true. Others, also due to their personality and experiences, tend to think of God as a merciful Father. Can the two attributes be reconciled and seen together?
2. No Justice without Mercy: A person with a Pharisee-like tendency, personality, or spirituality will tend to over-emphasize God’s justice almost to the exclusion of mercy. They understand that God, who is all-knowing and all-powerful, is the judge of all things. They know that there is a clear distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, what is sacred and what is profane. Things for the Pharisee are black or white, and there is no room for gray. What Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount is that there is no justice without mercy. Is it just for a follower of Christ to retaliate against violence with equal violence? If someone strikes us with a backhand across our right cheek, is it just to return the backhand? Is that the way we are called to end the violence? By threatening and carrying out equal violence? Will not the violence just continue and only escalate? The person, then, who tends to over-emphasize justice, is called to imitate God’s mercy that brings justice to its perfection.
3. No Mercy without Justice: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not do away with justice. As St. Thomas Aquinas argues, “The work of divine justice always presupposes the work of mercy and is founded on it” (Summa theologiae, I, q. 21, a. 4). Mercy can bring sin to a halt not because it condones or is indifferent to sin but because it leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. As Pope Benedict XVI taught, “God’s passionate love for his people – for humanity – is at the same time a forgiving love. It is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice. Here, Christians can see a dim prefigurement of the mystery of the Cross: so great is God’s love for man that by becoming man he follows him even into death, and so reconciles justice and love” (Deus Caritas Est, 10). Instead of trying to build mercy upon justice, we need to build justice upon merciful love. In more practical terms, this means that instead of trying first to be just and occasionally dispensing mercy to those we think deserve it or a second chance, we need to have hearts full of merciful love that seek justice and righteousness. Instead of debating whether or not to forgive the brother or sister who has offended me, I need to be ready always to forgive, hoping that this will move and soften their heart and be a step towards reconciliation and true justice.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the just one sent by the Father to justify us and restore us to righteousness. You are the merciful one sent by the Father to forgive our sins and be a model of merciful love for us to imitate. Fill my heart with your righteousness and pour out your mercy upon me today.
 
Monday 11th  in Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer: Lord, your words are contrary to how the world operates. I can follow you only if you grant me the grace to do so. Please open my ears to your word. Open my eyes to your Way and open my heart to your Love. 
Encountering Christ:
Eye for an Eye: This “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” justice was first instituted by Moses to moderate vengeance, “…But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21-23-27). The term the ancient Israelites used for this form of justice was called “talion,” which means “the principle that punishment should be equivalent or identical to the offense committed.” It was considered merciful justice by comparison to other forms of justice at the time that involved killing an entire tribe over the offense committed by one of them. 
Resist No Evil: “But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” Moses served on behalf of God as judge and dispenser of his Law. Jesus is God, the Divine Judge and Giver of the Law. Jesus wants to teach us more than merely how to mitigate evil. He is training his disciples on how to defeat it. Venerable Fulton J. Sheen said, “Hate is extremely fertile; it reproduces itself with amazing rapidity. How can all this hatred be stopped when one man is slapping another on the cheek? There is only one way, and that is by turning the other cheek, which means: ‘I forgive; I refuse to hate you. If I hate you, I will add my quota to the sum total of hate. This I refuse to do. I will kill your hate; I will drive it from the earth. I will love you.’” 
One with God: “If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Much more painful and difficult than turning the cheek to be slapped again is to give generously to the one who hurts you or asks too much of you. We can comply by considering Jesus’ words less a command and more an invitation. Jesus invites us into his life in the Father and Holy Spirit, the feast we just celebrated yesterday in the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Catechism (2842) explains, “It is impossible to keep the Lord’s commandment by imitating the divine model from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make ‘ours’ the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves ‘forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave’ us.” 
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you came not only to free us from sin but also to lift us into the very heart of your communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. You call me into your Life and all you ask of me is to follow what you have already accomplished. Come, Holy Spirit, come! Help me follow Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life!

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
“Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?” Simon said in reply, “The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.” He said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Luke 7:40–43
This conversation between Jesus and Simon the Pharisee takes place while Jesus is at Simon’s home, reclining at table for a meal. A sinful woman entered the scene unannounced. With the utmost humility and love, she anointed Jesus’ feet with perfumed oil, washed His feet with her tears, kissed them and dried them with her hair. She clearly was not concerned about what the people present thought and said about her. Her only concern was to show her love and affection for Jesus with the utmost humility.
Jesus shows His divinity by reading Simon’s thoughts. Simon was indignant toward both the woman and Jesus. He was critical and judgmental. And though Simon didn’t say anything, Jesus was aware of his internal attitude, which is why He spoke this parable to Simon.
First of all, it must be understood that we all owe a debt to God. We have all sinned and can never repay our debt of sin. Some have sinned greatly, others less seriously. But every person is in debt to God and no one, by their own merit, is able to pay back their debt. Simon failed to realize this and failed to have gratitude for God’s mercy in his own life, which is why he acted with such self-righteousness.
About this woman, Jesus went on to say that “her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love.” And then He added, “But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” This tells us that God is not primarily concerned with the number of sins that need to be forgiven in our lives. Be it little or great, sin is all a debt that cannot be repaid. Instead, God’s primary interest is the loving gratitude we show Him by realizing how much He has done for us.
This story teaches a very important lesson to those who generally live good lives and avoid serious sin. For those who live this way, there will be both a temptation to judge others, expressing indignation at their sins, and to also lack the appropriate gratitude for the forgiveness God has given them. Simon the Pharisee could have learned much from this sinful woman. He should have humbled himself before Jesus when Jesus entered his house. He should have expressed his deepest gratitude toward our Lord for His mercy and forgiveness. And he should have acknowledged his unworthiness to receive this gift from Jesus. Because he failed to do this and the sinful woman didn’t, she was the one who was far more blessed than Simon. Furthermore, as Simon witnessed the act of mercy Jesus offered to this woman, his heart should have rejoiced at being able to witness such love.
Reflect, today, upon the humble fact that we are all called to imitate this sinful woman. Each and every one of us has a debt that we cannot repay. The only appropriate response is to see our debt, humbly offer it to our Lord, beg for His mercy, and then express our deepest gratitude and love for the gift we have been given. Humble yourself this day and always. Do not become judgmental or indignant at the sins of others. Finally, rejoice as you see God lavish His mercy on you and upon all.
Most generous Lord, You show mercy and compassion to all. May I always be fully aware of all that You have done for me and respond with a deep and loving gratitude. May I also see Your love and mercy offered to others and rejoice as they receive You into their lives. Jesus, I trust in You.