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TRÁI TIM
MẸ: NƠI CON NƯƠNG NÁU - ĐƯỜNG ĐẾN VỚI CHÚA |
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"Chúa Giêsu muốn dùng con để làm
cho Mẹ được nhận biết và yêu mến" |
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October 26/2009 - Monday of 30th Week of Ordinary Time
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"Ought not this woman, whom Satan
bound for eighteen years, be loosed?"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
On the Africa Synod
SAINT OF THE DAY
Blessed Contardo Ferrini
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
Book Six - Chapter VI
JESUS BROUGHT
BEFORE PILATE. THE SCOURGING AND
CROWNING WITH
THORNS.
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy in My Soul
NOTEBOOK VI
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
SEX: WHY WAIT FOR MARRIAGE?
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Monday (10/26): "Ought not this woman, whom
Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed?"
Scripture: Luke 13:10-17
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11
And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen
years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 And
when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed
from your infirmity." 13 And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately
she was made straight, and she praised God. 14 But the ruler of the
synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to
the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on
those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." 15 Then the Lord
answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie
his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? 16 And
ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for
eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?" 17 As he
said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people
rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Meditation: Is there anything that keeps you bound up or
oppressed? Infirmity, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, can
befall us for a variety of reasons and God can use it for some purpose
that we do not understand. When Jesus encountered an elderly woman who
was spent of her strength and unable to stand upright, he gave her words
of faith and freedom and he restored her to health. She must have
suffered much, both physically and spiritually for eighteen years, since
Jesus remarked that Satan had bound her. How can Satan do this? The
scriptures indicate that Satan can act in the world with malice and can
cause injuries of a spiritual nature, and indirectly even of a physical
nature. Satan's power, however, is not infinite. He cannot prevent the
building up of God's kingdom or reign in our lives. Jesus demonstrates
the power and authority of God's kingdom in releasing people who are
oppressed by physical and emotional sickness, by personal weakness and
sin, and by the harrassment of the evil one in their lives. It took only
one word from Jesus to release this woman instantly of her infirmity. Do
you believe in the power of Jesus to release you from affliction and
oppression?
The Jewish leaders were indignant that Jesus would perform such a
miraculous work on the Sabbath, the holy day of rest. They were so
caught up in their ritual observance of the Sabbath that they lost sight
of God's mercy and goodness. Jesus healed on the Sabbath because God
does not rest from showing his mercy and love, ever. God's word has
power to change us, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Is there
anything that keeps you bound up or that weighs you down? Let the Lord
speak his word to you and give you freedom.
"Lord Jesus, you grant freedom to those who seek you. Give me freedom
to walk in your way of love and to praise and worship you always. Show
me how I can bring your mercy and healing love to those in need around
me."
Psalm 68
1 Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him
flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire,
let the wicked perish before God!
3 But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them
be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides
upon the clouds; his name is the LORD, exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy
habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to dwell in; he leads out the prisoners
to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
www.dailyscripture.net
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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On the Africa Synod
"Be Salt and Light in the Beloved African Land"
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 25, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
* * *
Dear brothers and sisters!
A little while ago, with the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops concluded. Three weeks of prayer and reciprocal listening to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying today to the Church that lives on the African continent, but also to the Universal Church.
The synodal fathers, who have come from every country in Africa, have presented the rich reality of the local Churches. We have shared their joys for the dynamism of the Christian communities that continue to grow in quantity and quality. We are grateful to God for the missionary élan that has found fertile ground in numerous dioceses and that is expressed in the sending of missionaries to other African countries and different continents.
Special importance has been given to the family, that in Africa too is the primary cell of society, but which today is threatened by foreign ideological currents. What to say, then, to young people exposed to this type of pressure, influenced by models of thought and conduct that are contrary to the human and Christian values of the peoples of Africa?
Naturally the current problems of Africa emerged in the assembly and its great need of reconciliation, of justice and of peace. Precisely to this the Church responds re-proposing, with renewed impetus, the proclamation of the Gospel and the action of human promotion. Animated by the Word of God and the Eucharist, she strives make it so that no one is deprived of the necessaries for living and that all may lead an existence worthy of the human being.
Remembering the apostolic trip that I took to Cameroon and Angola last March, and which also had the purpose of advancing the immediate preparation of the Second Synod for Africa, today I would like to turn to all the people of Africa, in particular to those who share the Christian faith, to consign to them in spirit the "Final Message" of this synodal Assembly. It is a message that comes from Rome, the see of the Successor of Peter, who presides over the universal communion, but one can say, in a sense that is no less true, that it has its origin in Africa, whose experiences, expectations, plans, it gathers and now returns to Africa, bearing wealth of an event of profound communion in the Holy Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters who listen to me from Africa! I entrust to your prayers in a special way the fruits of the labors of the Synod fathers, and I encourage you with the words of the Lord Jesus: be salt and light in the beloved African land!
As this Synod concludes, I would like now to recall that next year a Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. On the occasion of my visit to Cyprus I will have the pleasure to consign the "Instrumentum laboris" of this meeting. I thank the Lord, who never tires in building up his Church in communion, and I invoke with confidence the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary.
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DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT |
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http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay
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GENERAL
MARIOLOGY |
THE DIVINE HISTORY AND
LIFE
OF THE
VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
BOOK SIX
The Marriage
at Cana; How Most Holy Mary Accompanied the Re-
deemer of the
World in His Preaching: the Humility shown by the
Heavenly Queen
in regard to the Miracles Wrought by Her
Divine Son;The
Transfiguration of the Lord;His Entrance
into
Jerusalem; His Passion and Death; His Triumph
over Lucifer
and his Demons by His Death on
the Cross; the
Most Sacred Resurrection
of the Savior
and His Wonderful As-
cension into
Heaven
CHAPTER VI.
JESUS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE. THE SCOURGING AND
CROWNING WITH THORNS.
At the dawn of Friday morning, say the Evangelists (Matth.
27, 1; Mark 15, 1; Luke 22, 66; John 11, 47), the ancients, the chief
priests and scribes, who according to the law were looked upon with
greatest respect by the people, gathered together in order to come to a
common decision concerning the death of Christ. This they all desired;
however they were anxious to preserve the semblance of justice before
the people. This council was held in the house of Caiphas, where the
Lord was imprisoned. Once more they commanded Him to be brought from the
dungeon to the hall of the council in order to be examined. The
satellites of justice rushed below to drag Him forth bound and fettered
as He was.
They again asked Him to tell them, whether He was the
Christ (Luke 22, 1), that is, the Anointed. Just as all their previous
questions, so this was put with the malicious determination not to
listen or to admit the truth, but to calumniate and fabricate a charge
against Him. But the Lord, being perfectly willing to die for the truth,
denied it not; at the same time He did not wish to confess it in such a
manner that they could despise it, or borrow out of it some color for
their calumny; for this was not becoming his innocence and wisdom.
Therefore He veiled his answer in such a way, that if the pharisees
chose to yield to even the least kindly feeling, they would be able to
trace up the mystery hidden in his words; but if they had no such
feeling, then should it become clear through their answer, that the evil
which they imputed to Him was the result of their wicked intentions and
lay not in his answer. He therefore said to them: "If I tell you that I
am He of whom you ask, you will not believe what I say; and if I shall
ask you, you will not answer, nor release Me. But I tell you, that the
Son of man, after this, shall seat Himself at the right hand of the
power of God" (Luke 22, 67). The priests answered: "Then thou art the
Son of God?" and the Lord replied: "You say that I am." This was as if
He had said: You have made a very correct inference, that I am the Son
of God: for my works, my doctrines, and your own Scripture, as well as
what you are now doing with Me, testify to the fact that I am the
Christ, the One promised in the law.
But this council of the wicked was not disposed to
assent to divine truth, although they themselves inferred it very
correctly from the antecedents and could easily have believed it. They
would neither give assent nor belief, but preferred to call it a
blasphemy deserving death. Since the Lord had now reaffirmed what He had
said before, they all cried out : "What need have we of further
witnesses, since He himself asserts it by his own lips?'' And they
immediately came to the unanimous conclusion that He should, as one
worthy of death, be brought before Pontius Pilate, who governed Judea in
the name of the Roman emperor and was the temporal Lord of Palestine.
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DIVINE MERCY
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Divine Mercy In my soul
The Mercy of the Lord I will sing Forever.
Divine Mercy in my soul.
Sr. Faustina, Diary
NOTEBOOK V I
J.M.J.
This evening the Lord
asked me, Do you not have any desires in your
heart? I answered, “I have one great desire,
and it is to be united with You forever.” And the Lord answered me,
that will happen soon. My dearest child, your
every stirring is reflected in My Heart. My gaze rests kindly upon you
before any other creature.
I asked the Lord today that He might deign to
teach me about the interior life, because of myself I can neither understand
nor conceive anything perfectly. The Lord answered me,
I was your Teacher, I am and will be; strive to
make your heart like unto My humble and gentle heart. Never claim your
rights. Bear with great calm and patience everything that befalls you. Do
not defend yourself when you are put to shame, though innocent. Let others
triumph. Do not stop being good when you noticed that your goodness is being
abused. I myself will speak for you when it is necessary. Be grateful for
the smallest of My graces, because your gratitude compels Me to grant you
new graces…
Toward the end of the Way of the Cross which I
was making, the Lord Jesus began to complain about the souls of religious
and priests, about the lack of love in chosen souls.
I will allow convents and churches to be
destroyed. I answered, “Jesus, but there are so
many souls praising You in convents.” The Lord answered,
that praise wounds My Heart, because love has
been banished from convents. Souls without love and without devotion, souls
full of egoism and self-love, souls full of pride and arrogance, souls full
of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep
them alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon
them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them, because
they are neither good or bad. I called convents into being to sanctify the
world through them. It is from them that a powerful flame of love and
sacrifice should burst forth. And if they do not repent and become enkindled
by their first love, I will deliver them over to the fate of this world… How
can they sit on the promised throne of judgment to judge the world, when
their guilt is greater than the guilt of the world? There is neither penance
nor atonement. O heart, which received me in the morning and at noon are all
ablaze with hatred against Me, hatred of all sorts! O heart specially chosen
by Me, were you chosen for this, to give Me more pain? The great sins of the
world are superficial wounds on My Heart, but the sins of a chosen soul
pierce My Heart through and through…
When I tried to intercede for them, I could
find nothing with which to excuse them and, being at the time unable to
think of anything in their defense, my heart was seized with pain, and I
wept bitterly. Then the Lord looked at me kindly and comforted me with these
words: Do not cry. There are still a great number
of souls who love Me very much, but My Heart desires to be loved by all and,
because My love is great, that is why I warn and chastise them.
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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SEX: WHY WAIT FOR MARRIAGE?
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Why wait, if you're in love? Is marriage just
a permit to make love? Is getting married like
passing your driver's test? Does that not
over-value sex and its place in marriage? Is it
not just a rule decreed by spoilsport celibate
priests and Religious with a sour-grapes
attitude? Can't the Church catch up with the
times for once?
I've been asked those questions umpteen
times. I also know many religion teachers and
catechists who feel at a loss before such
interrogations.
But there are, of course, many answers to
such questions. We might try a neat, short, and
sweet answer: "Before marriage, saying yes to
love means saying no to sex." But young people
are not satisfied with that. "Why?" they will
inevitably ask.
"For the same reason," I tell them, "that you
don't attach a trailer to the front of a car;
for the same reason a seminarian does not hear
your confession or celebrate Mass before getting
ordained." But that still does not convince
everybody.
And I've certainly lost them if I argue from
scriptural texts or the magisterium of the
Church.
Then there's always one persistent
interrogator who will bring the topic back into
focus. "But why," he or she will ask, "are we
not allowed even one test drive just in case...
I mean, if there's a problem, it's better to
find out beforehand."
"You know," I'll tell such inquisitors, "the
fact is, for those who are in love,
compatibility is easily reached. It's only when
people are not able to love, because they are
too immature or selfish, that incompatibility
becomes a problem." How do I know? My married
friends have told me all about it. Usually,
though, I still have not won.
Sooner or later, we get back to the basic
question. And at this point I try a bit of
reasoning: "Because," I tell my audience, "sex
is about commitment. It's like making a very
serious promise. And so, unless you've made that
promise before witnesses, so you can't easily
break it, then you shouldn't make it privately
through sex, because private promises are too
easily abandoned." OK, they finally concede,
that makes sense. But still, why is it wrong if
you are officially engaged and going to be
married and therefore committed and people know
about this commitment?
This is the ultimate question about
premarital sex. Not only teenagers, but engaged
couples also ask this question. Even mature
engaged couples who consider themselves serious
Christians are troubled by it.
It is not, after all, easy to undergo the
torments of the desert before reaching the
promised land, especially when the world is
telling you that you don't really need to be
tormented at all.
Meanwhile, for the majority who precociously
have entered into sexual intimacy, bypassing the
necessary stages of courtship, the question is
just as perturbing. And when they notice it,
that inevitable uneasiness creeps into their
relationship as they try to come to grips with
the new dimension sex has engendered in their
friendship. They suffer regrets and qualms of
conscience, the cause of which they can't
explain. If they do not agree with the teachings
of Scripture or the Church regarding this
matter, then how can they explain their qualms
of conscience?
In time, such individuals experience a sort
of involuntary alienation from the Church and
become afraid of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. They try to justify themselves.
But I've yet to come across a Christian couple
who really feels totally at ease with an
unmarried sexual relationship. The reason? The
answer brings us to the essence of the original
question.
Sex is not wrong before marriage because it's
bad, but because it is good, important; it means
so much. Sex, in body language, means: "I am
giving You all that I am, all that I have to
give, and through this act we declare our
exclusive commitment to each other for life."
Through the first act of sexual intercourse
between two people in love, a pledge of fidelity
and everlasting love is consummated. That is not
a nice Judeo-Christian interpretation
superimposed onto sex. That is what happens,
just as other bodily actions also have built-in
meanings, from a smile to a menacing fist. So,
to promise everything with my body when I have
not confirmed this publicly through marriage is
not being true to myself or to my beloved. And
if a couple considers sex just a bit of fun
together and nothing more, then that is probably
all they'll be attributing to marriage when they
exchange their vows. They thereby devalue both
marriage and sex.
Furthermore, at that sacred moment when a
couple pronounces their vows, they need to be
able to do so in perfect freedom; so much so
that they should still feel free until they
speak their vows to call it off. But if they
have engaged in pre-marital sex, then they are
not really free. From my own experience of
officiating at weddings, there is something
extra special present at the marriage of those
couples who have not slept or lived together
previously.
That quality stems precisely from the sense
of freedom the couple still possesses. Because
of this, I really believe the level of intimacy
and the level of commitment must match each
other in courtship, and that until one's
commitment is absolute and is made so by the
vows of matrimony, then neither should one's
intimacy be total. In other words, until we are
ready for all that marriage entails, we are not
ready for all that sex means, and we certainly
cannot adequately express it in sexual
intercourse.
Finally, the essence of marriage preparation
is premarital love! There is hardly a poorer
preparation than premarital sex--not because of
what it is in itself, but for what it says about
the relationship. Those who cannot wait for sex
are unable to wait for anything else.
In a loving relationship, patience is an
essential component. Without patience,
communication is impossible. And marriage, we
know, is impossible without communication.
Premature sex will usually indicate an immature
commitment--definitely not a good foundation for
a lifelong covenant of love.
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