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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 1/2009 - Tuesday
of
1st Week of Advent
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"Many prophets and kings desired to
see what you see and to hear what you hear"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
On God's Presence and Coming
SAINT OF THE DAY
Blessed John of Vercelli
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
Nativity of the
Virgin Mary
THE GOSPEL OF THE
NATIVITY OF MARY
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy: The Miracles
Ugo Festa
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Tuesday (12/1): "Many prophets and kings
desired to see what you see and to hear what you hear"
Scripture: Luke 10:21-24
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I
thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these
things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yes,
Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been
delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the
Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him." 23 Then turning to the disciples he said
privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! 24 For I tell
you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did
not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall
rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3
And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by
what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the
meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his
mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. 5
Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the
girdle of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the
fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the
bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion
shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The sucking child shall play over the
hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's
den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the
sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the
peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be
glorious.
Meditation: Do you hunger for wisdom and understanding of God
and his kingdom? Jesus remarked that many prophets and kings before him
longed to see and understand God's plan of redemption. When King David’s
throne was overthrown and vacant for centuries, God promised,
nonetheless, to raise up a new king who would rule forever! The kind of
king which God promised his people was different from their
understanding. They had hoped for a Messiah King who would rule over the
land of Israel. God's plan of redemption included not only the Jewish
people but all the nations of the earth as well. How would God
accomplish his plan? By sending a Messiah who would defeat sin, death,
and Satan through his victory on the cross and over the grave. Through
his death and resurrection Jesus makes us citizens of heaven and friends
of God. The Lord Jesus wants us to live in joyful hope and confident
expectation that he will come again to fully establish his kingdom of
righteousness and peace.
What does Jesus' prayer (Luke 10:21-22) tell us about God and about
ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and Lord of earth
as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he has
made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at
the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All
fatherhood and motherhood are derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).
Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the
love and knowledge of God. Pride closes the mind to God's truth and
wisdom for our lives. Jesus contrasts pride with child-like simplicity
and humility. The simple of heart are like "babes" in the sense that
they see purely without pretense and acknowledge their dependence and
trust in God who is the source of all wisdom and strength. They seek one
thing – the "summum bonum" or "greatest good" which is God himself.
Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues,
because humility inclines the heart towards grace and truth. Just as
pride is the root of every sin and evil we can conceive, so humility is
the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes
the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all. "God
opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Prov. 3:34, James
4:6). The grace of Christ-like humility inclines us towards God and
disposes us to receive God's wisdom, grace, and help. Nothing can give
us greater joy than the knowledge that we are God's beloved and that our
names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Do you seek God's wisdom and
grace with humility and trust?
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the
perfect revelation of God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to
knowing something about God – who he is and what he is like. We can know
God personally and be united with him in a relationship of love, trust,
and friendship. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally
know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In
Jesus we see the perfect love of God – a God who cares intensely and who
yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his
life for them upon the cross. Do you pray to your Father in heaven with
joy and confidence in his love and care for you?
"Lord Jesus, give me the child-like simplicity and purity of faith to
gaze upon your face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love.
Remove every doubt, fear, and proud thought which would hinder me from
receiving your word with trust and humble submission."
Psalm 72:1, 7-8, 12-13, 17
1 Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal
son!
2 May he judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in
righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to
the needy, and crush the oppressor!
5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout
all generations!
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that
water the earth!
7 In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the
moon be no more!
12 For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no
helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the
needy.
17 May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun!
May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed!
www.dailyscripture.net
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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On God's Presence and Coming
"He Is Here and Comes to Visit Us"
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave Saturday at First Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
With this evening celebration we enter the liturgical time of Advent. In the biblical reading we just heard, taken from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul invites us to prepare for the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:23), keeping ourselves irreproachable, with the grace of God. Paul uses, in fact, the word "coming," in Latin adventus, from whence comes the term Advent.
Let us reflect briefly on the meaning of this word, which can be translated as "presence," "arrival," "coming." In the language of the ancient world it was a technical term used to indicate the arrival of a functionary or the visit of a king or emperor to a province. But it could also indicate the coming of the divinity, which goes out of concealment to manifest itself with power, or which is celebrated as present in worship. Christians adopted the word "advent" to express their relationship with Jesus Christ: Jesus is King, who has entered into this poor "province" called earth to visit everyone; he brings to participate in his advent those who believe in him, all those who believe in his presence in the liturgical assembly. With the word adventus an attempt was made essentially to say: God is here, he has not withdrawn from the world, he has not left us alone. Although we cannot see or touch him, as is the case with tangible realities, he is here and comes to visit us in multiple ways.
The meaning of the expression "advent" includes therefore also that of visitatio, which means simply and properly "visit"; in this case it is a visit of God: He enters my life and wants to address me. We all experience in daily life having little time for the Lord and little time for ourselves. We end up by being absorbed in "doing." Is it not true that often activity possesses us, that society with its many interests monopolizes our attention? Is it not true that we dedicate much time to amusements and leisure of different kinds? Sometimes things "trap" us.
Advent, this intense liturgical time that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to grasp a presence. It is an invitation to understand that every event of the day is a gesture that God directs to us, sign of the care he has for each one of us. How many times God makes us perceive something of his love! To have, so to speak, an "interior diary" of this love would be a beautiful and salutary task for our life! Advent invites and stimulates us to contemplate the Lord who is present. Should not the certainty of his presence help us to see the world with different eyes? Should it not help us to see our whole existence as a "visit," as a way in which he can come to us and be close to us, in each situation?
Another essential element of Advent is expectation, expectation that at the same time is hope. Advent drives us to understand the meaning of time and history as "kairos," as a favorable occasion for our salvation. Jesus illustrated this mysterious reality in many parables: in the account of the servants invited to await the return of their master; in the parable of the virgins who await the bridegroom; or in those of the sowing and harvesting. Man, in his life, is in constant waiting: When he is a child he wants to grow, as an adult he tends to his realization and success, growing in age, he aspires to his deserved rest. However the time comes in which he discovers that he has waited too little if, beyond his profession or social position, he has no choice but to wait. Hope marks the path of humanity, but for Christians it is animated by a certainty: The Lord is present in the course of our life, he accompanies us and one day he will also dry our tears. In a not too distant day, everything will find its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God, Kingdom of justice and peace.
However, there are very different ways of waiting. If time is not filled by a present gifted with meaning, the waiting runs the risk of becoming unbearable; if something is expected, but at this moment there is nothing, namely, if the present is empty, every instant that passes seems exaggeratedly long, and the waiting is transformed into a weight that is too heavy because the future is totally uncertain. When, instead, time is gifted with meaning and we perceive in every instant something specific and valuable, then the joy of waiting makes the present more precious.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us live the present intensely, when we already have the gifts of the Lord, let us live it projected to the future, a future full of hope. The Christian Advent thus becomes an occasion to reawaken in ourselves the true meaning of waiting, returning to the heart of our faith which is the mystery of Christ, the Messiah awaited for long centuries and born in the poverty of Bethlehem. Coming among us, he has brought us and continues to offer us the gift of his love and of his salvation. Present among us, he speaks to us in many ways: in sacred Scripture, in the liturgical year, in the saints, in the events of daily life, in the whole of creation, which changes in aspect if he is behind it or if it is obfuscated by the mist of an uncertain origin and an uncertain future. In turn, we can speak to him, present to him the sufferings that afflict us, impatience, the questions that spring from the heart. We are certain that he always hears us! And if Jesus is present, there is no time deprived of meaning and void. If he is present, we can continue to wait also when others can no longer give us their support, even when the present is exhausting.
Dear friends, Advent is the time of the presence and the expectation of the eternal. Precisely for this reason it is, in a particular way, the time of joy, of an internalized joy, that no suffering can erase. Joy because of the fact that God became a child. This joy, invisibly present in us, encourages us to walk with confidence. Model and support of this profound joy is the Virgin Mary, through whom the Child Jesus has been given to us. May she, faithful disciple of her Son, obtain for us the grace to live this liturgical time vigilant and diligent in waiting. Amen.
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GENERAL
MARIOLOGY |
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Nativity of the Virgin Mary
The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
Translation by Saint Jerome
CHAP.
4--Thereafter he appeared to Anna his wife,
saying: Fear not,
Anna, nor think that it is a phantom which thou
seest. For I am that angel
who has presented your prayers and alms before
God; and now have I been
sent to you to announce to you that thou shalt
bring forth a daughter, who
shall be called Mary, and who shall be blessed
above all women. She, full
of the favour of the Lord even from her birth,
shall remain three years in
her father's house until she be weaned.
Thereafter, being delivered to the
service of the Lord, she shall not depart from
the temple until she reach
the years of discretion. There, in fine, serving
God day and night in
fastings and prayers, she shall abstain from
every unclean thing; she shall
never know man, but alone, without example,
immaculate, uncorrupted,
without intercourse with man, she, a virgin,
shall bring forth a son; she,
His hand-maiden, shall bring forth the
Lord--both in grace, and in name,
and in work, the Saviour of the world. Wherefore
arise, and go up to
Jerusalem; and when thou shalt come to the gate
which, because it is plated
with gold, is called Golden, there, for a sign,
thou shalt meet thy
husband, for whose safety thou hast been
anxious. And when these things
shall have so happened, know that what I
announce shall without doubt be
fulfilled.
CHAP.
5.--Therefore, as the angel had commanded, both
of them setting
out from the place where they were, went up to
Jerusalem; and when they had
come to the place pointed out by the angel's
prophecy, there they met each
other. Then, rejoicing at seeing each other, and
secure in the certainty of
the promised offspring, they gave the thanks due
to the Lord, who exalteth
the humble. And so, having worshipped the Lord,
they returned home, and
awaited in certainty and in gladness the divine
promise. Anna therefore
conceived, and brought forth a daughter; and
according to the command of
the angel, her parents called her name Mary.
CHAP.
6.--And when the circle of three years had
rolled round, and the
time of her weaning was fulfilled, they brought
the virgin to the temple of
the Lord with offerings. Now there were round
the temple, according to the
fifteen Psalms of Degrees,[1] fifteen steps
going up; for, on account of
the temple having been built on a mountain, the
altar of burnt-offering,
which stood outside, could not be reached except
by steps. On one of these,
then, her parents placed the little girl, the
blessed virgin Mary. And when
they were putting off the clothes which they had
worn on the journey, and
were putting on, as was usual, others that were
neater and cleaner, the
virgin of the Lord went up all the steps, one
after the other, without the
help of any one leading her or lifting her, in
such a manner that, in this
respect at least, you would think that she had
already attained full age.
For already the Lord in the infancy of His
virgin wrought a great thing,
and by the indication of this miracle foreshowed
how great she was to be.
Therefore, a sacrifice having been offered
according to the custom of the
law, and their vow being perfected, they left
the virgin within the
enclosures of the temple, there to be educated
with the other virgins, and
themselves returned home.
CHAP.
7.--But the virgin of the Lord advanced in age
and in virtues;
and though, in the words of the Psalmist, her
father and mother had
forsaken her, the Lord took her up.[2] For daily
was she visited by angels,
daily did she enjoy a divine vision, which
preserved her from all evil, and
made her to abound in all good. And so she
reached her fourteenth year; and
not only were the wicked unable to charge her
with anything worthy of
reproach, but all the good, who knew her life
and conversation, judged her
to be worthy of admiration. Then the high priest
publicly announced that
the virgins who were publicly settled in the
temple, and had reached this
time of life, should return home and get
married, according to the custom
of the nation and the ripeness of their years.
The others readily obeyed
this command; but Mary alone, the virgin of the
Lord, answered that she
could not do this, saying both that her parents
had devoted her to the
service of the Lord, and that, moreover, she
herself had made to the Lord a
vow of virginity, which she would never violate
by any intercourse with
man. And the high priest, being placed in great
perplexity of mind, seeing
that neither did he think that the vow should be
broken contrary to the
Scripture, which says, Vow and pay,[1] nor did
he dare to introduce a
custom unknown to the nation, gave order that at
the festival, which was at
hand, all the chief persons from Jerusalem and
the neighbourhood should be
present, in order that from their advice he
might know what was to be done
in so doubtful a case. And when this took place,
they resolved unanimously
that the Lord should be consulted upon this
matter. And when they all bowed
themselves in prayer, the high priest went to
consult God in the usual way.
Nor had they long to wait: in the hearing of all
a voice issued from the
oracle and from the mercy-seat, that, according
to the prophecy of Isaiah,
a man should be sought out to whom the virgin
ought to be entrusted and
espoused. For it is clear that Isaiah says: A
rod shall come forth from the
root of Jesse, and a flower shall ascend from
his root; and the Spirit of
the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of
wisdom and piety; and he
shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of
the Lord.[2] According to
this prophecy, therefore, he predicted that all
of the house and family of
David that were unmarried and fit for marriage
should bring there rods to
the altar; and that he whose rod after it was
brought should produce a
flower, and upon the end of whose rod the Spirit
of the Lord should settle
in the form of a dove, was the man to whom the
virgin ought to be entrusted
and espoused. |
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DIVINE MERCY
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Divine Mercy:
The Miracles
Ugo Festa
Ugo Festa
was born in Vicenza, Italy in 1951. He was struck down at an early age with
multiple sclerosis. Gradually his health deteriorated. This led to many
other problems in his young life. By the age of thirty-nine he was suffering
from multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. Early in 1990 his
spine was becoming distorted and he was having seizures daily. He had been
continually attending doctors since he first contracted the disease, but
they could do nothing for him. He decided there was nothing left to try but
prayer.
On the 28th April 1990 Ugo went with a pilgrimage to Rome. In his
unfortunate situation he was introduced to Mother Teresa who was in Rome at
the time with a group whom he also became acquainted with. Ugo was invited
along with this group to a retreat at the shrine of Divine Mercy in Trent,
but he refused. On leaving, one of the group, a nun, gave him five copies of
the Divine Mercy Image and a Divine Mercy medal.
The following day, on the 29th April Ugo wore the medal and carried in his
arms the images to be blessed to the papal audience at the Vatican. At the
bottom of the steps to St. Peters the Holy Father passed by. Ugo asked him
to bless his Divine Mercy pictures. After blessing the pictures the Pope
asked him how he was. Ugo told him he felt very despondent and was at a
crises in his life. The Holy Father said "How
could you have a crisis with Jesus the Divine Mercy in your arms? Entrust
yourself to Him and pray to my Sr Faustina to intercede"
With this advice Ugo changed his mind and
decided that he would go to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Trent. At the side
altar in the Villa O'Santissima Villazzano, Trent, there is a shrine to the
Divine Mercy with a life size icon of the Divine Mercy Image.
On the fourth day of praying in front of this icon Ugo suddenly noticed the
arms of the image stretch out to him and a tremendous warmth flowed through
his body. He found himself standing in his feet, (no longer bound to his
wheel chair) with his arms outstretched to the Lord and he heard himself
loudly praising Jesus the Divine Mercy. He saw Jesus coming down to him, His
white garment blowing as if in a breeze, he thought, "My God, this is the
Man from Galilee coming towards me". He heard Jesus say in a clear voice,
"Rise up and walk".
Ugo began to walk. All his ailments were at
that instant cured and he was more physically perfect than he had ever been
in his life. On August 19th, 1990, Ugo returned to the Vatican and during a
Papal Audience at Paul V1 Hall, he was taken to meet Pope John Paul 11
again, he told him about the great grace he had received and thanked him for
the words of inspiration which led him to Trent, and resulted in this great
miracle of Divine Mercy. He gave Pope John Paul a copy of the Divine Image,
with the signatures on the back of the many people who witnessed the miracle
on that day.
Today Ugo Festa devotes his life to Jesus voluntarily working in a Hospital
and spreading the message of Divine Mercy throughout Italy.
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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By Ngoc Pham
s I finish my final exams, it is time for me to turn
to the next important thing on my agenda--Christmas.
Outside, the snow has started to fall and the weather
has turned considerably colder. Christmas carols ring
out from my neighbor's apartment upstairs. I suppose
they have already gotten into the holiday spirit. How
could anyone not? All around us, signs of Christmas
abound. The TV commercials are reminding me that I have
about 90 other people that I need to send Christmas
cards to and dozens more for whom I need to buy
presents. My neighbors have put up icicle Christmas
lights around their house and Santa Claus stands on
their front lawn waving at passerbys.
Christmas for me is an important holiday. Even though
I am not a little kid anymore, there is still something
about this holiday that brings out the kid in me. I
enjoy looking at all the things on sale in the stores
and all the decorations that light up the city streets.
Walking through downtown, sometimes I have a feeling
like I'm in a fairyland.
But for me, the best thing about Christmas is the
reminder of the relationships that I have with people
around me. Every time I write a Christmas card to wish a
friend joy and happiness, I find myself saying a little
prayer for them. Usually, I don't express myself much. I
don't tell my parents that I love them and I don't tell
my brothers and sisters that I miss them because I live
far away. But during Christmas, I find myself writing
sentimental things in the cards and wishing that I could
be home for Christmas.
When I was young, my mom taught me a wonderful lesson
during Christmas. In our house, we had the nativity
scene that my father put up three weeks before
Christmas. But there was always the straws missing in
the stable. My mom told my siblings and me that it was
up to us to put in the straws, one by one. But in order
for us to put in the straws, we must first do something
nice. Every time that we did something nice for each
other, or that we made a sacrifice, we were allowed to
put in one straw. Anyone who put in the most straws
would receive an extra present. Of course, my siblings
and I were all very competitive kids and we wanted to be
the one to win. I think my mom knew that too, and that
was why she turned it into a competition to motivate us.
Even though I did nice things and made sacrifices
because I wanted to win the present, subconsciously,
that competition instilled in me a real sense of
Christmas. Reflecting back on it, I see that Christmas
is indeed a time when we pay more attention to the
people around us. It is a time for us to build and
rebuild relationships. By reaching out to others during
Christmas, we are also confirming the message of
Christmas. Christmas represents the day that God
extended Himself to us even more profoundly by giving us
His only Son as our Savior. God reached out to humankind
and made peace with us, despite our unfaithfulness
towards Him. Thus, when we reach out to people around
us, whether they are our family, friends, or strangers
on the street, the love of God is manifested in our
actions.
I think as Christmas come, I still think of the
parties that I will attend, the presents that I will
give and receive, and the places that I will go to
celebrate. But I know in my heart that there is more to
Christmas than these things. And so, let the sky snow,
let the carols play, and let the holiday bells ring, for
I am ready to greet Christmas with an open and joyous
heart.
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