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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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November 11/2009 - Wednesday of 32nd Week
of Ordinary Time
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"He fell on his face at Jesus' feet,
giving him thanks"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
US Bishops: Lawmakers
Honored Obama's Promise;
Vatican Considers Life on
Other Planets
SAINT OF THE DAY
St. Martin of Tours
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
The
birth of Mary the Holy Mother of God,
and very
glorious Mother of Jesus Christ
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy in My Soul
NOTEBOOK VI
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
The Truth About Love & Sex
It's Worth the Wait
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Wednesday (11/11): "He fell on his face at
Jesus' feet, giving him thanks"
Scripture: Luke 17:11-19
11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama'ria and
Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who
stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us." 14 When he saw them he said to them, "Go and
show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed. 15
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising
God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving
him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then said Jesus, "Were not ten
cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give
praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 And he said to him, "Rise and
go your way; your faith has made you well."
Meditation: What can adversity teach us about the healing
power of love and mercy? Proverbs states: A friend loves at all
times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). When
adversity strikes you find out who truly is your brother, sister, and
friend. The gospel records an unusual encounter between people who had
been divided for centuries. The Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with
one another. And they were openly hostile whenever their paths crossed.
In this gospel narrative we see one rare exception – a Samaritan leper
in company with nine Jewish lepers. Sometimes adversity forces us to
drop our barriers or to forget our prejudices. When this band of lepers
saw Jesus they made a bold request. They didn't ask for healing, but
instead asked for mercy.
The word mercy literally means "sorrowful at heart".
But mercy is something more than compassion, or heartfelt sorrow at
another's misfortune. Compassion empathizes with the sufferer. But mercy
goes further; it removes suffering. A merciful person shares in
another's misfortune and suffering as if it were his own. And he or she
will do everything in their power to dispel that misery. Mercy is also
connected with justice. Thomas Aquinas said that mercy "does not
destroy justice, but is a certain kind of fulfillment of justice.
..Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; (and) justice
without mercy is cruelty." Pardon without repentance negates
justice. So what is the significance of these ten lepers asking for
mercy? They know they are in need of healing, not just physical, but
spiritual healing as well. They approach Jesus with contrition and faith
because they believe that he can release the burden of guilt and
suffering and make restoration of body and soul possible. Their request
for mercy is both a plea for pardon and release from suffering. Jesus
gives mercy to all who ask with faith and contrition.
Why did only one leper out of ten return to show gratitude?
Gratefulness is related to grace – which means the release of
loveliness. Gratitude is the homage of the heart which responds with
graciousness in expressing an act of thanksgiving. The Samaritan
approached Jesus reverently and gave praise to God. If we do not
recognize and appreciate the mercy shown to us we become ungrateful.
Ingratitude is forgetfulness or a poor return for kindness received.
Ingratitude easily leads to lack of charity and intolerance towards
others, as well as to other sins, such as discontent, dissatisfaction,
complaining, grumbling, pride and presumption. How often have we been
ungrateful to our parents, pastors, teachers, and neighbors? Do you
express gratitude to God for his mercy towards you and do you show mercy
to your neighbor?
"Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize your love and mercy toward
me. Fill my heart with gratitude and thanksgiving and free me from
pride, discontentment, and ingratitude. Help me to count my blessings
with gratefulness and to give thanks in all circumstances."
Psalm 82
1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment:
2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
[Selah]
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the
afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the
wicked."
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in
darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I say, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like any prince."
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations!
www.dailyscripture.net
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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US Bishops: Lawmakers Honored Obama's Promise
Stupak Amendment Finds Its Way Into Health Care Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C., NOV. 10, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops are praising the decision of the House of Representatives to block federal funding of abortion in the current health care reform package, and are urging the Senate to do the same.
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the U.S. episcopal conference, issued a statement on behalf of the conference Monday that thanked the U.S. House of Representatives for honoring President Barack Obama's "commitment to the Congress and the nation that health care reform would not become a vehicle for expanding abortion funding or mandates."
The House of Representatives passed the health care reform bill Saturday, which aims to extend coverage to most Americans. Pro-life lawmakers added an amendment to the plan from Representative Bart Stupak that blocks federal tax dollars from being used to fund abortions.
The Senate has yet to debate the bill, but hopes to as early as next week.
In an urgent letter sent Friday, the bishops had urged the lawmakers to keep abortion funding out of health care reform, and to "ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all."
"In an essential step," Cardinal George stated today, "the House voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm the longstanding and widely supported precedent that no federal funds will be used to pay for elective abortions."
"We will work to persuade the Senate to follow the example of the House and include these critical safeguards in their version of health care reform legislation," he continued. "We also thank the members of the House who took this courageous and principled step to oppose measures that would force Americans to pay for the destruction of unborn children, and the Democratic leadership for allowing the Representatives to vote on this amendment that protects the common good."
"The conference will remain vigilant and involved," the cardinal assured, "throughout this entire process to assure that these essential provisions are maintained and included in the final legislation."
Cardinal George told the legislators that the Church remains "deeply concerned about other aspects of health care reform as the debate now moves to the Senate, especially as it affects the poor and vulnerable, and those at the beginning and end of life."
"We will continue to insist that health care reform legislation must protect conscience rights. We support measures to make health care more affordable for low-income people and the uninsured," he added. "We remain deeply concerned that immigrants be treated fairly and not lose the health care coverage that they now have."
Vatican Considers Life on Other Planets
Holy See Hosts Study on Astrobiology
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 10, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- Both scientists and believers posit that life is a "special outcome" in a "vast and mostly inhospitable universe," and to study this common understanding, the Vatican brought together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to work on and study astrobiology.
The conclusions of the five-day work-study were presented today by a Jesuit priest and leading professors from Italy, France and the United States.
"Astrobiology is the study of life's relationship to the rest of the cosmos," one of the professors explained. "Its major themes include the origin of life and its precursor materials, the evolution of life on earth, and its future prospects on and off the earth."
The Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Vatican Observatory hosted the study days. Presenting the conclusions today were Jesuit Father José Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory; Jonathan Lunine, professor at the department of physics in Rome's Tor Vergata University; Chris Impey, professor at the department of astronomy in the University of Arizona and the Steward Observatory, Tucson; and Athena Coustenis, professor at the "Observatoire de Paris-Meudon," in France.
Father Funes explained that the Vatican is involved in astrobiology because, although it is "an emerging field and still a developing subject, the questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very interesting and deserve serious consideration. These questions offer many philosophical and theological implications."
Hub of scholars
Lunine said the study days provided a "special opportunity" since it was interdisciplinary and gave scientists the chance "to spend an intensive week understanding how the work in their particular specialty might have an impact on, or be impacted by, that in other areas."
"Nowhere is this more evident than in the work being done on how life formed on the earth and evolved with the changing environment," he observed. "It is becoming clear that Earth’s climate has not been particularly stable over time, and major environmental crises have occurred that are documented in the geologic record.
"How life has responded to this, and what the implications might be for Earth-like planets around other stars with somewhat different histories, cuts across all the disciplines of astrobiology from astronomy, to planetary and geological sciences, to biology."
Self-image
Impey spoke of the possibilities of life outside of Earth.
"In the past 15 years, technological breakthroughs have led to the discovery of over 400 planets beyond the solar system," he explained, noting that the smallest of these is "not much more massive than the Earth."
"Meanwhile," the Arizona-based professor continued, "lab experiments have made progress in tracing the processes by which simple chemical ingredients might have evolved into cells about four billion years ago, and scientists have discovered life in surprisingly diverse, inhospitable environments on the Earth. It is plausibly estimated that there are hundreds of millions of habitable locations in the Milky Way, which is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe."
"We still only know of one planet with life: our own. But there is a palpable expectation that the universe harbors life and there is hope that the first discovery is only a few years away," the scholar suggested."
Impey acknowledged that making contact with an intelligent species in space would have profound implications for our self-image.
"It is appropriate that a meeting on this frontier topic is hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences," he stated. "The motivations and methodologies might differ, but both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe. There is a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a biological universe."
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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
birth of Mary the Holy Mother of God,
and very
glorious Mother of Jesus Christ
The Protoevangelium of James
Apocrypha
| 13. And she was in
her sixth month; and, behold, Joseph came back
from his building, and, entering into his house,
he discovered that she was big with child. And
he smote (6) his face, (7) and threw himself on
the ground upon the sackcloth, and wept
bitterly, saying: With what face shall I look
upon the Lord my God? and what prayer shall I
make about this maiden? because I received her a
virgin out of the temple of the Lord, and I have
not watched over her. Who is it that has hunted
me (8) down? Who has done this evil thing in my
house, and defiled the virgin? Has not the
history of Adam been repeated in me? For just as
Adam was in the hour of his singing praise, (9)
and the serpent came, and found Eve alone, and
completely deceived her, so it has happened to
me also. And Joseph stood up from the sackcloth,
and called Mary, and said to her: O thou who
hast been cared for by God, why hast thou done
this and forgotten the Lord thy God? Why hast
thou brought low thy soul, thou that wast
brought up in the holy of holies, and that didst
receive food from the hand of an angel? And she
wept bitterly, saying: I am innocent, and have
known no man. And Joseph said to her: Whence
then is that which is in thy womb? And she said:
As the Lord my God liveth, I do not know whence
it is to me.
14. And Joseph was greatly afraid, and
retired from her, and considered what he should
do in regard to her. (10) And Joseph said: If I
conceal her sin, I find myself fighting against
the law of the Lord; and if I expose her to the
sons of lsrael, I am afraid lest that which is
in her be from an angel, (11) and I shall be
found giving up innocent blood to the doom of
death. What then shall I do with her? I will put
her away from me secretly.
And night came upon him; and, behold, an angel
of the Lord appears to him in a dream, saying:
Be not afraid for this maiden, for that which is
in her is of the Holy Spirit; and she will bring
forth a Son, and thou shall call His name Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins.
(12) And Joseph arose from sleep, and glorified
the God of lsrael, who had given him
this grace; and he kept her.
15. And Annas the
scribe came to him, and said: Why hast thou not
appeared in our assembly? And Joseph said to
him: Because I was weary from my journey, and
rested the first day. And he turned, and saw
that Mary was with child. And he ran away to the
priest,(13) and said to him: Joseph, whom thou
didst vouch for, has committed a grievous crime.
And the priest said: How so? And he said: He has
defiled the virgin whom he received out of the
temple of the Lord, and has married her by
stealth, andhas not revealed it to the sons of
lsrael. And the priest answering, said: Has
Joseph done this? Then said Annas the scribe:
Send officers, and thou wilt find the virgin
with child. And the officers went away, and
found it as he had said; and they brought her
along with Joseph to the tribunal. And the
priest said: Mary, why hast thou done this? and
why hast thou brought thy soul low, and
forgotten the Lord thy God? Thou that wast
reared in the holy of holies, and that didst
receive food from the hand of an angel, and
didst hear the hymns, and didst dance before
Him, why hast thou done this? And she wept
bitterly, saying: As the Lord my God liveth, I
am pure before Him, and know not a man. And the
priest said to Joseph: Why hast thou done this?
And Joseph said: As the Lord liveth, I am pure
concerning her. Then said the priest: Bear not
false witness, but speak the truth. Thou hast
married her by stealth, and hast not revealed it
to the sons of Israel, and hast not bowed thy
head under the strong hand, that thy seed might
be blessed. |
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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.
During the June
devotions, the Lord said to me, My daughter, My
favor rests in your heart. When on Holy Thursday I left Myself in the
Blessed Sacrament, you were very much on My mind.
After these words, my love made great efforts
to express to Him what He was to me, but I was at a loss for words and burst
into tears in my helplessness. And Jesus said,
For you, I am mercy itself; therefore I ask you to offer Me your misery and
this very helplessness of yours and, in this way, you will delight My Heart.
Today, a living flame of divine love entered my
soul; if it had lasted any longer, I would have been consumed by the fire,
freeing myself from the bonds of the present. It seemed to me that, if it
had lasted an instant longer, I would have been drowned in the ocean of
love. I cannot describe these arrows of love that pierce my soul.
Conference on Mercy.
My daughter, know that My Heart is mercy itself.
From this sea of mercy, graces flow out upon the whole world. No soul that
has approached me has ever gone away unconsoled. All misery gets buried in
the depths of My mercy, and every saving and sanctifying grace flows from
this fountain. My daughter, I desire that your heart be an abiding place of
My mercy. I desire that this mercy flow out upon the whole world through
your heart. Let no one who approaches you go away without that trust in My
mercy which I so ardently desire for souls.
Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties, obtain for them
trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the
least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in
their final moments depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My
mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner
would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace
a trusting soul.
My resolution continues to be the same: to
unite myself to Christ-Mercy.
Conclusion of the Retreat.
Last conversation with the Lord.
Thank You, eternal Love, for Your inconceivable kindness to me, that You
would occupy Yourself directly with my sanctification. –
My daughter, let three virtues adorn you in a
particular way: humility, purity and intention and love. Do nothing beyond
what I demand of you, and accept everything that My hand gives you. Strive
for a life of recollection so that you can hear My voice, which is so soft
that only recollected souls can hear it…
I could not sleep until midnight today, so
deeply was I stirred by tomorrow’s renewal of vows. The greatness of God
embraced my whole being.
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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by Keith & Tami Kiser
Waiting for the Right Moment
Brett couldn't wait to ask Alicia to marry him.
He was head-over-heels in love with her. He had
waited several weeks for the diamond ring to be set. At
last, the ring was finally sitting on his desk in his
dorm.
As soon as he picked up the ring from the jewelry
store, he wanted to run to Alicia's room and give her
the ring. But he didn't. He resisted. He was waiting for
the right moment. He had it all planned out: Brett
wanted to ask Alicia for her hand in marriage in the
perfect way.
Over the next several weeks, he resisted several good
opportunities to give Alicia the ring -- a romantic
dinner, a spring party. But these opportunities weren't
the way he had planned to give her the engagement ring.
No, he must be patient. He wanted it to be just right.
Finally, that opportunity arrived. Brett asked Alicia
to take a walk on the college campus. As they walked
hand-in-hand through the campus, Brett led Alicia to the
most romantic spot on campus, Rainbow Bridge. This
bridge spans a creek in the woods on the campus of Grove
City College. It was here that he had been planning for
months to ask Alicia to marry him. Brett had been
patiently waiting for these circumstances --just Brett
and Alicia leaning on the rail of the moonlit bridge on
a warm spring night in the middle of the woods. Yes, the
time was finally right. This was the perfect
opportunity.
Brett inconspicuously pulled the ring box from his
pocket. Hands trembling nervously, Brett opened the ring
box and started to ask Alicia to be his wife. But as he
pulled the ring from the box, it suddenly slipped from
his hand and fell twenty-five feet below into the creek!
You can imagine the expression on Alicia’s face as
she watched the ring splash into the water. She
panicked. So did Brett. He buried his face in his hands
and slumped over as if in pain. When Alicia realized how
bad Brett felt, she put her arms around him and
whispered in his ear, "Yes, Brett. I'll marry you." Just
then, Brett removed his hands from his face and there in
his right palm was a gorgeous diamond ring -- even
bigger than the first! Brett had tricked Alicia. He had
dropped a fake ring into the creek!
When Alicia realized what had happened, she gave
Brett a wallop on the shoulder and then a huge hug and a
great big kiss. For the next twenty minutes, the two
newlyweds-to-be stood on the bridge arm-in-arm weeping
for joy at the new life they would share together.
Brett pulled it off -- the perfect proposal. In the
preceding month, Brett resisted several other
opportunities to ask Alicia to marry him. But in the
end, his patience paid off with a very memorable start
to an engagement.
Patience Pays Off
Throughout this book, we've tried to show you that
you have been given a very good gift from God. Your
sexuality is an awesome gift from God! Pope John Paul II
even goes so far as to call human sexuality "a treasure"
in his 1994 "Letter to Families." It promises to bring
you a tremendous amount of happiness if you are called
to the vocation of marriage.
If you are called by God to marriage, your gift is
meant to be shared with only your future spouse. Sex is
really only part of the total gift that you will give to
your future wife or husband. In marriage, you are giving
your entire self to your future spouse. Sex is the
physical expression of that total gift of love.
Between now and when you marry, you may encounter,
like Brett did with his proposal, what appeared to be
"good" opportunities to give your gift before you
intended. Please don't give in. Your patience will pay
off in the long run. Marital sex is well worth the wait.
Sex outside of marriage is not fulfilling. It's
ultimately selfish. It doesn't give a total gift. It
takes what doesn't belong to the unmarried partner. As a
result, it will leave you emotionally bankrupt. It robs
you of self-esteem and zaps the true joy out of being a
teenager.
Sex outside of marriage is a lie. It engages two
people, who are not totally committed to one another, in
an act that says, "I give myself to you totally and
freely forever." People who aren't married cannot give
themselves totally to the one with whom they are
sleeping. Their unmarried status won't allow for it.
It's important to understand that sex is not
something that involves just your body. The whole person
is involved in sexual intercourse. Some people have the
idea that what they do with their bodies doesn't affect
who they are as a person. They are wrong.
Sexual intercourse is designed to make you one flesh.
But not only one flesh, it's intended to make spouses
one heart and one soul. And through this loving union,
God may bring a new life into the world. Sex is
powerful!
Ask God to prepare your future spouse for you. Ask
God to prepare you for your future spouse. He will
listen to you. Trust him. Pray to God for help to
practice the virtue of chastity -- to keep the gift of
yourself wholly intact, untainted, and unused, for your
spouse. Pray to God to forgive your past sins against
chastity. Go to Christ in the sacrament of
reconciliation. He will forgive you. He can make you and
your gift new again.
He Lives, So Live Life to the Full!
At the center of our Catholic faith is the belief in
the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Belief in the
resurrection should have a radical effect on the way we
live our lives. Jesus is not dead like old historical
figures. He's alive! Right now. And he is present with
his Church.
We are writing this on the feast of the ascension of
our Lord into heaven. Before he ascended bodily into
heaven, Christ made sure that his disciples knew that
even though his body was going into heaven, he would be
with them always -- to the end of the world. As we said,
Jesus is present within the Church. And he is present
within you, a baptized Christian. He is present within
you because he wants to give you life -- real life, life
to the full, eternal life. He wants you to be totally
happy and totally human.
Jesus wants you to use your sexuality in a way that
will contribute to your happiness. He wants you to
practice chastity. Jesus knows that chastity gives you
life. Sexual sins take life away.
Sure, we live in a hypersexual, or oversexed, world.
Sure, chastity is difficult under these circumstances.
But it is not impossible. Chastity is not for super-holy
people only. Chastity is meant for all people, for all
teenagers, for you!
Chastity is possible for you because Jesus Christ is
alive. If you try to practice chastity by relying only
on your own strength, chances are quite good that you
are not going to do so well. But "I can do all things in
him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). These words
of the apostle Paul apply even to chastity. Jesus lives
in you. If you ask him humbly, he will empower you to
practice the virtue of chastity.
Our Hope for You, Our Prayer for You,
Our Guarantee to You
Our hope for you is that you would value and protect
your gift, your treasure of sexuality. We hope that you
won't give in to peer and media pressure, which tends to
reduce sex to a plaything or a conquest on Friday night.
We hope that when temptation overwhelms you and you sin
against chastity, you will pick yourself up and begin
again through reconciliation.
We pray that God will reveal to you your life's
calling. If it's to the priesthood, religious life, or
single life, we hope and pray that you come to
understand how to embrace the special challenges that
this unmarried state in life places upon chastity. If it
is to the married life, we pray that God will help you
and your future spouse to practice chastity both now and
in your future marriage (by being faithful to each other
and open to life).
We guarantee that if you strive to practice the
virtue of chastity, in five to ten years when you marry,
you will be very glad that you said no to the
hypersexual world in favor of chastity. Marriage is
great. Marital love is awesome. Marital sex is
definitely worth the wait! Save your gift until it is
the absolute best moment to give it -- your wedding
night. |
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