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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 18/2009 - Wednesday
33rd Week
of
Ordinary Time
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"As for these enemies of mine, who did
not want me to reign over them"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
Holy See Urges Reform of
Security Council Veto;
Scholar: Christians Fighting
More Than Iraqi State
SAINT OF THE DAY
Dedication of St. Peter and Paul
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
Nativity of the
Virgin Mary
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy in My Soul
My
Preparation for Holy Communion
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
Why
Forgive?
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Wednesday (11/18): "As for these enemies of
mine, who did not want me to reign over them"
Scripture: Luke 19:11-28
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable,
because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the
kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, "A
nobleman went into a far country to receive a kingdom and then return.
13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten pounds, and said to
them, `Trade with these till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him and
sent an embassy after him, saying, `We do not want this man to reign
over us.' 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded
these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him,
that he might know what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came
before him, saying, `Lord, your pound has made ten pounds more.' 17 And
he said to him, `Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful
in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the
second came, saying, `Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' 19 And he
said to him, `And you are to be over five cities.' 20 Then another came,
saying, `Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin;
21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up
what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 He said to
him, `I will condemn you out of your own mouth, you wicked servant! You
knew that I was a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down and
reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into
the bank, and at my coming I should have collected it with interest?' 24
And he said to those who stood by, `Take the pound from him, and give it
to him who has the ten pounds.' 25 (And they said to him, `Lord, he has
ten pounds!') 26 `I tell you, that to every one who has will more be
given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over
them, bring them here and slay them before me.'" 28 And when he had said
this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Meditation: How does God establish his kingdom here on the
earth? The Jews in Jesus' time had a heightened sense that the Messiah
would appear soon to usher in the kingdom of God's justice, love, and
peace on the earth (Isaiah 11:1-9). Jesus, in fact, spoke in messianic
terms of the coming reign of God. Perhaps his entry into Jerusalem would
bring about such a change and overthrow of Roman domination. Jesus
speaks to their longing for a new kingdom in the parable of a nobleman
who went away to receive a kingdom. The parable reveals something
important about how God works his plan and purpose with the human race.
The parable speaks first of the king's trust in his subjects. While he
goes away he leaves them with his money to use as they think best. While
there were no strings attached, this was obviously a test to see if the
king's subjects would be faithful and reliable in their use of the money
entrusted to them. Third, the king rewards those who are faithful and he
punishes those who sit by idly and who do nothing with his money.
The Lord Jesus offers us a kingdom of justice, love, and peace and he
calls us to live as citizens of this kingdom where he rules as Lord and
Master. Through his atoning death on the cross and through his
resurrection victory, Jesus frees us from a kingdom of darkness where
sin and Satan reign. Through the power of the Holy Spirit the Lord gives
us freedom to live as his servants and to lay down our lives in loving
service of our neighbors (Galatians 5:1,13). The Lord entrusts us with
his gifts and graces and he gives us freedom to use them as we think
best. With each gift and talent, the Lord gives sufficient grace and
strength for using them in a fitting way. As the parable of the talents
shows, God abhors indifference and an attitude that says
it's not worth trying. God
honors those who use their talents and gifts for doing good. Those who
are faithful with even a little are entrusted with more! But those who
neglect or squander what God has entrusted to them will lose what they
have. There is an important lesson here for us. No one can stand still
for long in the Christian life. We either get more or we lose what we
have. We either advance towards God or we slip back. Do you trust in
God's grace to make good use of the gifts and talents he has given you?
"Lord Jesus, be the ruler of my heart and mind and the master of my
home and goods. Fill me with a generous and wise spirit that I may use
the gifts, talents, time, and resources you give me for your glory and
your kingdom."
Psalm 17:1-8
1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer
from lips free of deceit!
2 From thee let my vindication come! Let thy eyes see the right!
3 If thou triest my heart, if thou visitest me by night, if thou testest
me, thou wilt find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress.
4 With regard to the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have
avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to thy paths, my feet have not slipped.
6 I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God; incline thy ear to
me, hear my words.
7 Wondrously show thy steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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Holy
See Urges Reform of
Security Council Veto
Calls for More
Transparency and
Accountability
NEW YORK, NOV. 17,
2009 ( Zenit.org).-
The abolishment of
the veto for the UN
Security Council
isn't a feasible
option, but the use
of the veto does
need to be
curtailed, says the
Holy See.
Archbishop Celestino
Migliore, permanent
observer of the Holy
See at the United
Nations, said this
Friday when
addressing the
debate on reforming
the Security Council
before the 64th
session of the U.N.
General Assembly.
The United Nations
is also debating the
expansion of the
council from 15
member states to 31,
but the Holy See
focused on the issue
of the veto.
"Many valid and
clear positions and
views have been
expressed with
regard to the right
of veto," noted
Archbishop Migliore.
"At this stage of
the
intergovernmental
negotiations,
however, the
abolishment of the
veto seems to be the
least feasible.
Hence, its reform is
more suitable and
realistic."
He noted that on
many occasions the
use of the veto has
"slowed down and
even obstructed"
action that was
needed to secure
peace. "Too often it
is the failure to
intervene that does
the real damage,"
the Holy See
representative
noted.
The reform of the
veto is all the more
necessary at a time
when we experience
the obvious paradox
of a multilateral
consensus that
continues to be in
jeopardy because it
is still
subordinated to the
decisions of a few,
whereas the world’s
problems call for
interventions in the
form of collective
action by the
international
community.
"The world’s
problems call for
interventions in the
form of collective
action by the
international
community," said
Archbishop Migliore,
adding that the veto
consolidates the
decision-making
power to only a few.
One reform supported
by the Holy See is
that it should not
be used "in
situations where
genocide, crimes
against humanity,
war crimes, serious
violations of
international
humanitarian law or
similar acts are
involved."
Archbishop Migliore
also called for
greater
"accountability and
transparency in
using the right of
veto," as well as
"open dialogue and
cooperation" in
considering
resolutions.
"A deeper search for
ways of pre-empting
and managing
conflicts is
needed," he added,
"by exploring every
possible diplomatic
avenue and by giving
attention and
encouragement to
even the faintest
sign of dialogue or
desire for
reconciliation."
Scholar:
Christians
Fighting
More
Than
Iraqi
State
Archbishop
Says
Social
System
Is Root
of
Persecution
By
Jesús
Colina
ROME,
NOV.
17,
2009
( Zenit.org).-
The
problems
faced
by
Christians
in
Iraq
are
not
caused
by
the
state,
but
the
very
social
system,
says
one
representative
of
the
Catholic
community
there.
Archbishop
Jules
Mikhael
Al-Jamil,
procurator
of
the
Syrian
Catholic
Patriarchate
in
Rome,
presented
this
analysis
at a
press
meeting
organized
at
the
Italian
Chamber
of
Deputies.
The
prelate,
71,
said
that
in
Iraq's
social
system,
Christians
have
no
supports
to
defend
themselves,
thus
becoming
easy
victims
of
common
criminals
or
terrorist
groups.
He
said
their
situation
can
be
called
a
"religious
persecution"
caused
by a
social
system
that
is
inspired
by a
view
of
the
Quran,
according
to
which
Islam
and
its
followers
must
dominate
and
regard
believers
of
other
religions
as
citizens
with
fewer
rights.
The
archbishop,
expert
in
Arab
culture
and
literature,
explained
that
according
to
the
Quran,
Islam
is a
religion
that
is
above
all
others.
In
the
past
in
Iraq
(and
some
still
hold
this
view),
"Christians
who
were
under
a
Muslim
regime
or
doctrine
were
free
to
believe
in
Islam,
to
leave
their
land,
or
to
pay
a
tax
to
live
in
peace,"
he
said.
Nevertheless,
Archbishop
Al-Jamil
noted,
Christians
used
to
be a
quite
influential
minority.
They
made
a
decisive
contribution
to
the
country's
culture
in,
for
example,
the
creation
and
development
of
the
first
University
of
Baghdad.
These
contributions,
the
prelate
explained,
allowed
them
to
"enjoy
respect."
"But
this
doesn't
mean
that
they
enjoy
the
same
rights"
according
to
certain
interpretations
of
the
Quran,
he
continued.
"A
Christian
cannot
rule
over
a
Muslim"
in a
Muslim
regime.
"A
general
of
the
army
cannot
be a
Christian."
Now
that
Christians
have
lost
their
political
weight
and
social
influence,
and
many
have
abandoned
their
land,
they
suffer
the
persecution
of a
dominant
social
system
that
keeps
them
defenseless,
Archbishop
Al-Jamil
said.
Shut
in
The
archbishop
later
told
ZENIT
he
is
not
in
favor
of a
proposal
to
protect
the
rights
of
Christians
by
creating
a
Christian
enclave
in
Nineveh
(where
there
is a
Christian
majority),
since
Christians
are
part
of
the
social
fabric
of
the
whole
country.
Archbishop
Al-Jamil
is
not
in
favor
of
emigration
either,
stating
that
"the
Church
must
be
the
presence
of
Christ
in
the
country.
If
we
Christians
flee
when
the
situation
is
difficult,
then
we
don't
give
that
necessary
witness.
And
if
the
generations
are
uprooted
then
they
will
never
return."
According
to
the
prelate,
in a
democratic
country,
which
Iraq
says
it
is
and
wants
to
be,
Christians
should
enjoy
the
same
rights
as
the
rest
of
the
citizens.
The
meeting
in
the
Mapamundi
Hall
of
the
Italian
Chamber
of
Deputies
was
sponsored
by
the
Save
the
Monasteries
foundation,
which
aims
to
create
awareness
about
the
situation
of
the
churches
and
monasteries
that
are
being
destroyed
in
Iraq,
Pakistan
and
Kosovo.
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DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT |
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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.
--After these things, her nine months being
fulfilled, Anna
brought forth a daughter, and called her Mary.
And having weaned her in her
third year, Joachim, and Anna his wife, went
together to the temple of the
Lord to offer sacrifices to God, and placed the
infant, Mary by name, in
the community of virgins, in which the virgins
remained day and night
praising God. And when she was put down before
the doors of the temple, she
went up the fifteen steps (1) so swiftly, that
she did not look back at
all; nor did she, as children are wont to do,
seek for her parents.
Whereupon her parents, each of them anxiously
seeking for the child, were
both alike astonished, until they found her in
the temple, and the priests
of the temple themselves wondered.
CHAP. 5. --
Then Anna, filled with the Holy Spirit, said
before them
all: The Lord Almighty, the God of Hosts, being
mindful of His word, hath
visited His people with a good and holy
visitation, to bring down the
hearts of the Gentiles who were rising against
us, and turn them to
Himself. He hath opened His ears to our prayers:
He hath kept away from us
the exulting of all our enemies. The barren hath
become a mother, and hath
brought forth exultation and gladness to lsrael.
Behold the gifts which I
have brought to offer to my Lord, and mine
enemies have not been able to
hinder me. For God hath turned their hearts to
me, and Himself hath given
me everlasting joy.
CHAP. 6. --
And Mary was held in admiration by all the
people of
Israel; and when she was three years old, she
walked with a step so mature,
she spoke so perfectly, and spent her time so
assiduously in the praises of
God, that all were astonished at her, and
wondered; and she was not
reckoned a young infant, but as it were a
grown-up person of thirty years
old. She was so constant in prayer, and her
appearance was so beautiful and
glorious, that scarcely any one could look into
her face. And she occupied
herself constantly with her wool-work, so that
she in her tender years
could do all that old women were not able to do.
And this was the order
that she had set for herself: (2) From the
morning to the third hour she
remained in prayer; from the third to the ninth
she was occupied with her
weaving; and from the ninth she again applied
herself to prayer. She did
not retire from praying until there appeared to
her the angel of the Lord,
from whose hand she used to receive food; and
thus she became more and more
perfect in the work of God. Then, when the older
virgins rested from the
praises of God, she did not rest at all; so that
in the praises and vigils
of God none were found before her, no one more
learned in the wisdom of the
law of God, more lowly in humility, more elegant
in singing, more perfect
in all virtue. She was indeed stedfast,
immoveable, unchangeable, and daily
advancing to perfection. No one saw her angry,
nor heard her speaking evil.
All her speech was so full of grace, that her
God was acknowledged to be in
her tongue. She was always engaged in prayer and
in searching the law, and
she was anxious lest by any word of hers she
should sin with regard to her
companions. Then she was afraid lest in her
laughter, or the sound of her
beautiful voice, she should commit any fault, or
lest, being elated, she
should display any wrong-doing or haughtiness to
one of her equals. (3) She
blessed God without intermission; and lest
perchance, even in her
salutation, she might cease from praising God;
if any one saluted her, she
used to answer by way of salutation: Thanks be
to God. And from her the
custom first began of men saying, Thanks be to
God, when they saluted each
other. She refreshed herself only with the food
which she daily received
from the hand of the angel; but the food which
she obtained from the
priests she divided among the poor. The angels
of God were often seen
speaking with her, and they most diligently
obeyed her. If any one who was
unwell touched her, the same hour he went home
cured.
CHAP. 7. --
Then Abiathar the priest offered gifts without
end to the
high priests, in order that he might obtain her
as wife to his son. But
Mary forbade them, saying: It cannot be that I
should know a man, or that a
man should know me. For all the priests and all
her relations kept saying
to her: God is worshipped in children and adored
in posterity, as has
always happened among the sons of Israel. But
Mary answered and said unto
them: God is worshipped in chastity, as is
proved first of all. (4) For
before Abel there was none righteous among men,
and he by his offerings
pleased God, and was without mercy slain by him
who displeased Him. Two
crowns, therefore, he received -- of oblation
and of virginity, because in
his flesh there was no pollution. Elias also,
when he was in the flesh, was
taken up in the flesh, because he kept his flesh
unspotted. Now I, from my
infancy in the temple of God, have learned that
virginity can be
sufficiently dear to God. And so, because I can
offer what is dear to God,
I have resolved in my heart that I should not
know a man at all. |
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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
My Preparation for
Holy Communion
J.M.J.
Today, I am renewing
my act of submission to my King, by faithfulness to interior inspirations.
Today, I am not forcing myself to make any special preparations. I cannot
think of anything, though I feel many things. I long for the time when God
will come to my heart. I throw myself in His arms and tell Him about my
inability and my misery. I pour out all the pain of my heart, for not being
able to love Him as much as I want. I arouse within myself acts of faith,
hope and charity and live on that throughout the day.
Today, my preparation is brief. A strong and living faith nearly tears away
the veil of love. The presence of God penetrates my heart as a ray from the
sun penetrates crystal. At the moment when I receive God, all by being is
steeped in Him. Amazement and admiration overwhelm me when I see God’s great
majesty, which stoops down to me who am misery itself. There bursts forth
from my soul immense gratitude to Him for all the graces that He imparts to
me, and especially for the grace of being called to His exclusive service.
Today, in Holy Communion, I want to unite myself to Jesus as closely as
possible, through love. I yearn for God so ardently that it seems to me that
the moment will never come when the priest will give me Holy Communion. My
soul falls as if into a swoon because of my longing for God.
When I received Him into my heart, the veil of faith was torn away. I saw
Jesus who said to me, My daughter, your love
compensates Me for the coldness of many souls.
After these words, I was once again alone, but throughout the whole day I
lived in an act of reparation.
Today, I feel an abyss of misery in my soul. I want to approach Holy
Communion as a fountain of mercy and to drown myself completely in this
ocean of love.
When I received Jesus, I threw myself into Him as into an abyss of
unfathomable mercy. And the more I felt I was misery itself, the stronger
grew my trust in Him.
In this abasement, I passed the whole day.
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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By Ky Nguyen
here are many things that can be classified as "easier
said than done," and forgiveness is among these. We all talk
about forgiveness and we all admit how necessary it is in our
life. We are quick to advise others to forgive and forget. On
TV, there is even a talk show entitled "Forgive or Forget."
But how easy is it to forgive? Are we ourselves convinced of the
reasons for forgiveness?
In this reflection, I do not attempt to
offer anything new. In fact, I have a feeling that deep down
inside, we all know the reasons to forgive. But for some reason
or another, many of us can't quite get ourselves to
whole-heartedly go along with these important reasons.
Forgiveness isn't that strange. We all
have forgiveness issues in our lives. The moment we learned how
to talk, we probably said something to offend somebody. Every
time we disobeyed our parents or lied to our friends, it was a
time that we needed their mercy. On the other hand, every time
someone made an offense against us, it was an opportunity for us
to exercise forgiveness.
Ironically, we all desire forgiveness for
our shortcomings, but it is often difficult for us to forgive
others. Most people think that when we forgive someone, we are
doing them a favor. We free them from suffering the consequences
that they truly deserve. Of course, few of us want to do a favor
for someone who deserves no favor.
For some of us, forgiving is also
threatening because we feel that in doing so, we leave ourselves
open for further abuse. The other individual may view our
willingness to forgive as passivity or weakness. This would then
be a carte blanche for him to continue to do harm against us and
will simply be forgiven once more. Thus, by not forgiving, we
feel that we are protecting ourselves and tell the other party
that he cannot harm us and get away with it.
Still, for others among us, we convince
ourselves that we are in fact doing the offender a favor by not
forgiving him. We hope that the offender will feel the pain of
alienation and repent his mistakes.
If we seriously reflect on forgiveness,
we will find out that none of these ideas are true. In fact,
these are simply reasons that we use to justify not doing the
right thing. We all know that when someone offends us, our pride
is hurt in some way. We say to ourselves, "How can she do
that to me? I thought she was my friend. I thought I was
important to her." By not forgiving, we think that we are
taking the necessary steps to regain our pride. But that is
simply not the case.
Usually, when we refuse to forgive, we
are doing more harm to ourselves than we realize. My doctor once
told me of a patient that was in his care. This patient was
estranged from her family for many years because she felt that
they were not supportive of her in her low times. In fact, she
felt that they had abandoned her. Although she saw them from
time to time, the resentment that she held towards them was so
strong that every meeting was a terrible ordeal for her.
The patient saw the doctor on a regular
basis because she had a series of health problems including
abdominal pain, headaches, and high blood pressure. While these
were physical problems, my doctor knew that the woman's problems
went deeper than that and he began to talk to her about her
personal life. As she revealed to him the anger and frustration
that were harbored in her heart, it became clear to him why she
was facing the host of health problems on a daily basis. Thus,
he continued to treat her with medicine; however, he advised her
that her health would never improve significantly unless she did
something about the emotional issues in her life. After a while,
the woman stopped seeing the doctor and apparently moved on with
her life. He thought that he would never hear about her again
until one day, he bumped into her during a Sunday mass, much
healthier than how he remembered her before. It was then that
she told him of her reconciliation with her family, which
subsequently led to improvements in her ailments. She thanked
him profusely and continuously apologized for not sending him a
thank you letter before.
It is through such experiences that my
doctor strongly believes in having emotional healing before
physical healing can take place. In several studies that I have
come across, it is indicated that when one becomes angry, there
is a direct unhealthy change in heart function. Therefore, we
should not be surprised that many diseases may be linked to
having too much anger harbored inside ourselves. As we can see,
forgiving is not doing others a favor. Forgiving is not being
weak and leaving ourselves open to abuse. Forgiving is not
teaching others a lesson. Instead, forgiving is a way to empower
ourselves and take charge of our well-being. It is in fact, us
doing ourselves a favor!
Beside the emotional and physical benefit
of forgiving, there is a Biblical basis as well. In Mark's
Gospel, Jesus said, "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if
you have anything against anyone; so that your Father in heaven
may also forgive you your trespasses" (11:25). What does
this mean? It means that if someone has done us wrong, we must
forgive them if we expect to be forgiven for our shortcomings.
In this respect, we ourselves have to play the more noble person
by forgiving even the one who doesn't deserve our mercy.
Why is this necessary? Forgiveness is
necessary because it is essential to living a life of Christian
love. When we refuse to forgive (whether the person has repented
or not), we ourselves develop an unforgiving, hardened, and
defensive heart. As Christians, called to be disciples of Jesus,
our primary purpose is to love one another as Jesus has loved us
and care for each other as Jesus cared for us. In refusing to
forgive, we are doing precisely what is opposite of Christian
love and charity.
As Christians, we must strive to be
perfect. As Jesus advised us, "Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Imagine if God
held a grudge against us, then no one, not even the Saints could
hope to be saved. Many times, we cannot remember everything we
have said, everything we have done. It is probably true that we
all have made mistakes that we don't realize we have made. It is
probably true that we have said something against somebody
without realizing it. In these things, we would not have the
opportunity to ask for forgiveness even if we wanted to. Imagine
if God held us to these mistakes. What would happen to our fate?
Thankfully, God is merciful and offers forgiveness, even for
those sins that get by us without our notice. And so, we must
forgive those who sin against us, even when they don't deserve
it or don't ask for it. Because although they might not deserve
forgiveness, we do. And unless we ourselves forgive, we cannot
expect our sins to be forgiven as well. |
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