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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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December 12/2009 - Saturday
of 2nd
Week of Advent
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"Elijah does come, and he is to
restore all things"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
Pontiff Receives Vietnamese
President
SAINT OF THE DAY
Our Lady of Guadalupe
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
Book
Six - Chapter VI
JESUS BROUGHT BEFORE PILATE. THE SCOURGING AND
CROWNING WITH THORNS.
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy Diary -
Inspirational Quotes
Chosen Souls
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
The
Prodigal Son
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Saturday (12/12): "Elijah
does come, and he is to restore all things"
Scripture: Matthew 17:10-13 [alternate readings in the
USA: Luke 1:26-38
or Luke
1:39-47]
10 And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that
first Eli'jah must come?" 11 He replied, "Eli'jah does come, and he is
to restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Eli'jah has already come,
and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also
the Son of man will suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples
understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
Reading: Sirach 48:1-4,9-11 (deutero-canonical)
1 Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like
a torch. 2 He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them
few in number.
3 By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times
brought down fire. 4 How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous
deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have? 9 You who were
taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire; 10
you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the
wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the
father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. 11 Blessed are
those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also
shall surely live.
Meditation: God gives signs to show what he is about to do.
John the Baptist is one such sign, who pointed to Jesus and prepared the
way for his coming. John fulfilled the essential task of all the
prophets: to be fingers pointing to Christ. John is the last and
greatest prophet of the old kingdom, the old covenant. The Jews expected
that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would appear to announce his
presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the way for the
coming of Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal. As
watchful servants, we, too must prepare for the Lord's coming again by
turning away from sin and from everything that would keep us from
pursuing his will. Are you eager to do God's will and are you prepared
to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns in glory?
"Lord Jesus, stir my zeal for your righteousness and for your
kingdom. Free me from complacency and from compromising with the ways of
sin and worldliness that I may be wholeheartedly devoted to you and to
your kingdom."
Psalm 80:2-3, 15-19
2 Stir up thy might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved!
15 the stock which thy right hand planted.
16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish
at the rebuke of thy countenance!
17 But let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man
whom thou hast made strong for thyself!
18 Then we will never turn back from thee; give us life, and we will
call on thy name!
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let thy face shine, that we may be
saved!
www.dailyscripture.net
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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Pontiff Receives Vietnamese President
Visit Is a 1st for the Communist Country
VATICAN CITY, DEC. 11, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI became the first Pope to receive the leader of Communist Vietnam in an audience at the Vatican, the Holy See is reporting. A communiqué issued today by the Vatican press office reported that the Pope received Nguyen Minh Triet, and noted that the 40-minute meeting represented "a significant stage" in establishing closer ties with the nation.
"The Holy See expressed its pleasure at the visit," the noted said, calling it "a significant stage in the progress of bilateral relations with Vietnam, and expressed the hope that outstanding questions may be resolved as soon as possible."
The Vatican added that the "cordial" discussions touched on "certain themes concerning co-operation between Church and state," and took into account the message Benedict XVI sent to the Church in Vietnam for the opening of the current Jubilee Year.
The year marks 350 years since the establishment of its first two apostolic vicariates and 50 years since the hierarchy was put in place. In the French-language message issued last month, the Holy Father encouraged the faithful of the country to engage in "a profound evangelization that will lead the whole of Vietnamese society to the evangelical values of charity, truth, justice and rectitude."
Tension
The Vatican communiqué noted that Benedict XVI and Triet also spoke of "the current international situation, with particular reference to the commitment of Vietnam and of the Holy See in the multilateral field."
In recent years, tensions have risen between the Catholic Church and authorities in Vietnam, mainly over government seizures of church property.
In June, upon receiving in audience bishops from Vietnam, Benedict XVI noted that a "healthy collaboration between the Church and the political community is possible."
After the papal audience, Triet met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states.
There are an estimated 6 million Catholics in Vietnam, which constitutes 8% of the population and makes it the largest Catholic community in Asia.
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DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT |
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http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay
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GENERAL
MARIOLOGY |
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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.
(continued from November 5/2009)
596. In their wrath the Jews were anxious to dispose
Pilate favorably toward their project and they wished
him to pronounce the sentence of death against Jesus
without the least delay. When they perceived his hesi
tation, they ferociously raised their voices, accusing Jesus
over and over again of revolting against the government
of Judea, deceiving and stirring up the people (Luke
23, 5), calling Himself Christ, that is an anointed King.
This malicious accusation they pressed particularly, hop
ing to stir Pilate to fear for the temporal welfare of
his government, with which he was charged by the
Romans. Among the Jews the kings were anointed;
therefore they insisted, that Jesus in having called Him
self Christ, intended to constitute Himself as King, and,
as Pilate was a heathen and knew nothing of the anoint
ing of kings, they wished to persuade him, that calling
oneself Christ among the Jews was identical with calling
onself king of the Jews. Pilate asked the Lord : "What
dost Thou answer to the accusations which they bring
against Thee?" But the Savior answered not one word
in the presence of his accusers, causing much wonder in
Pilate at such silence and patience. But, desiring to
inquire more closely, whether Jesus was truly a King,
he withdrew from the clamoring Jews and brought
Jesus into the pretorium. There he asked Him face to
face: "Tell me, can it be that Thou art a King of the
Jews?" Pilate could not bring himself to think that
He was a King in fact; since he knew that Christ was
not reigning. Therefore he wished to find out, whether
Jesus claimed or really possessed any right to the title
of King. Our Savior answered him: "Sayst thou this
thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of Me?"
(John 18, 34). Pilate replied : "Am I a Jew? Thy own
nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee up to
me. What hast Thou done?" Jesus answered: "My
kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of
this world, my servants would certainly strive that I be
not delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not
from hence." The judge partly believed this assertion
of Jesus and therefore answered: "Art Thou a king
then?" Jesus answered: "Thou sayest that I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world.
Every one that is of the Truth, heareth my voice."
Pilate wondered at this answer and asked: "What is
truth?" But without waiting for an answer, he left Him
in the pretorium, and said to the Jews : "I find no cause
in Him. But you have a custom, that I should release
one unto you at the Pasch: will you, therefore, that I
release unto you the King of the Jews, or Barabbas?"
This Barabbas was a thief and murderer, who had killed
some one in a quarrel. All the people raised their voice
and said: "We desire that you release Barabbas, and
crucify Jesus." In this demand they persisted until it
was granted.
597. Pilate was much disturbed by the answers of
Jesus and the obstinacy of the Jews. For on the one
hand, seeing that they were so determined on the death
of Jesus, he well knew, that it would be difficult to satisfy
them without consenting to their demands; and on the
other hand, he clearly saw that they persecuted Him out
of mortal envy and that their accusations about his dis
turbing the people, were false and ridiculous (Matth.
17, 18). In regard to the imputation, that He had made
Himself King, he was likewise satisfied of the contrary
by the answers of Christ and by his humility, poverty
and patient forbearance toward their calumnies. By the
light and grace which Pilate received, he became fully
convinced that Jesus was truly innocent, although he
never pierced the mystery of his Divinity and the great
ness of this innocence. The living words of Christ
created an exalted idea of Him in his mind and made
him think that some great mystery was connected with
Him; therefore he desired to free Him and finally deter
mined to send Him to Herod. But all these shifts failed,
because Pilate made himself unworthy by his sin and
paid attention only to his worldly prospects, allowing
himself to be governed by them and not by the dictates
of justice, but more by the suggestions of Lucifer,
as I have related above (No. 423), than by the truth,
which he so clearly knew. Fully understanding the true
circumstances, he acted the part of a wicked judge in
continuing to treat the cause of an innocent Man with
those who were his declared enemies and false accusers.
Thus he committed the still greater crime of condemning
Jesus to such an inhuman scourging and then to death,
without having any other cause than to satisfy the Jews.
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DIVINE MERCY
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| So I turn to you, you - chosen
souls, will you also fail to understand the love of My Hear?
Here, too, My Heart finds disappointment; I do not find
complete surrender to My love. So many reservations, si much
distrust, so much caution. To comfort you, let Me tell you
that there are souls living in the world who love Me dearly.
I dwell in their hearts with delight. But they are few. In
convents too, there are souls that fill My Heart with joy.
They bear My features; therefore the Heavenly father looks
upon them with special pleasure. They will be marvels to
Angels and men. Their number is very small. They are a
defense for the world before the justice of the Heavenly
Father and a means of obtaining mercy for the world. The
love and sacrifice of these souls sustain the world in
existence. The infidelity of a soul specially chosen by Me
wounds My heart most painfully. Such infidelities are swords
which pierce My Heart. (367) |
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| My Heart if sorrowful...
because even chosen souls do not understand the greatness of
My mercy. Their relationship [with Me] is, in certain ways,
imbued with mistrust. Oh, how much that wounds My Heart!
remember My Passion, and if you do not believe My words, at
least believe My Wounds. (379) |
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| When I approached the altar and
began to meditate on the Passion of the Lord Jesus, a
terrible pain immediately filled my soul because of the
ingratitude of so many souls living in the world; but
particularly painful was the ingratitude of souls especially
chosen by God. There is no notion of comparison [which can
describe it]. ... Each time I thought of God's great mercy
and of the ingratitude of souls, pain stabbed at my heart,
and I understood how painfully it wounded the sweetest Heart
of Jesus. With a burning heart, I renewed my act of
self-oblation on behalf of sinners. (384) |
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| The Lord gave me to know
who it is that upholds the existence of mankind: it is the
chosen souls. When the number of the chosen souls is
complete, the world will cease to exist. (926) |
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| Today, the Lord gave me knowledge of His anger
toward mankind which deserves to have its days shortened
because of its sins. But I learned that the world's
existence is maintained by chosen souls; that is, the
religious orders. Woe to the world when there will be a lack
of religious orders! (1434) |
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| Why are You sad today, Jesus? Tell me, who is
the cause of Your sadness? And Jesus answered me,
Chosen souls who do not have
My spirit, who live according to the letter [cf. 2 Cor. 3:6]
and have placed the letter above My spirit, above the spirit
of love. I have founded My whole law on love, and yet I do
not see love, even in religious orders. This is why sadness
fills My Heart. (1478) |
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| I saw the anger of God hanging heavy over
Poland. And now I see that if God were to visit our country
with the greatest chastisements, that would still be great
mercy because, for such grave transgressions, He could
punish us with eternal annihilation. I was paralysed with
fear when the Lord lifted the veil a little for me. Now I
see clearly that chosen souls keep the world in existence to
fulfil the measure [of justice]. (1533) |
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| Chosen souls are, in My
hand, lights which I cast into the darkness of the world and
with which I illumine it. As stars illumine the night, so
chosen souls illumine the earth. And the more perfect a soul
is, the stronger and the more far-reaching is the light shed
by it. It can be hidden and unknown, even to those closest
to it, and yet its holiness is reflected in souls even to
the most distant extremities of the world. (1601) |
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| Write for the benefit of
religious souls that it delights Me to come to their hearts
in Holy Communion. But if there is anyone else in such a
heart, I cannot bear it and quickly leave that heart, taking
with Me all the gifts and graces I have prepared for the
soul. And the soul does not even notice My going. After some
time, inner emptiness and dissatisfaction will come to her
attention. Oh, if only she would turn to Me then, Would help
her to cleanse her heart, and I would fulfil everything in
her soul; but without her knowledge and consent, I cannot be
the Master of her heart. (1683) |
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| .the
Lord Jesus began to complain about the ...lack of love in
chosen souls.....[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
nor 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, 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..[Sr.
Faustina records her tears which ensued as she reflected on
what Jesus had said]
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. (1702-3) |
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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| By Terry McDermmot
ve heard it so many times that I tune in and out.
Impetuous son takes the money and runs. Good times
abound – for awhile. Then things go bad. No more party.
No money, no food, no family, no friends. He blew it. So
he sucks it up, swallows his pride and goes home. Says
he's sorry. Father forgives. Father rejoices. Father
celebrates. Brother finds out. Brother gets hot! Brother
resents. Father explains. Case closed.
OK. I get it.
But I want to know what new lesson I'm supposed to
learn from my 500th review of this story. We go astray.
We repent. God forgives. We resent. Don't resent!
Every homilist asks me if I am asking for
forgiveness, forgiving, or resenting the forgiveness.
I admit it. I've done all three. Although asking and
resenting are more common to my experience.
But this time there is something different. I go back
and read again. And there it is! The unique revelation
about the true personality of God. One more reassuring
tidbit that has escaped me all these years.
The "prodigal" son (have you ever heard this word
used anyplace else?) has decided to go home and beg for
forgiveness. He'll live with the servants if he has to.
He'll slop the hogs. But at least he won't starve. As
God is his witness, he'll never go hungry again! So he
heads home. Ashamed. Defeated. Prepared to grovel.
But he doesn't make it home! Nor does he get the
opportunity to give all of his well-rehearsed speech to
his father. Because the father sees him coming and
goes out to meet him. The father doesn't know what
has happened. He doesn't know why his son has returned.
He doesn't care! His son has come home and everything is
OK. All is forgiven. No explanation necessary.
"While he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped
him in his arms and kissed him tenderly." (Luke
15:20-21)
I am now aware of a deeper level of mercy and
forgiveness from the God that I have often feared. He's
willing to meet me halfway. More than halfway. He sees
me and recognizes that I am a long way from where I
should be, but he also knows that I want to come back.
I'm hungry. I'm lonely. I want to go home. I know the
direction but I'm not sure that I'll be accepted when I
get back. But I don't have to get back. I only have to
want to get back and take the first steps. Because my
Father will see me even though I'm a long way off.
And He'll come to me!
The repentance aspect of this parable has always been
obvious. As has the forgiveness and resentment themes.
But this time the mercy/forgiveness angle is
highlighted, asterisked and underlined. My God cares
much more about my attitude and my heart's desire than
my ability to travel the long way home. So he sends a
limo! And he drives it himself. And the vehicle is
loaded with items that replenish a depleted spirit.
Accept the lift. Enjoy the ride. Don't look in the
rear view mirror. Move forward with gratitude for mercy
and appreciation for love. And go where the Driver takes
you.
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