Quát

Nhiều người quát nạt bảo anh ta im đi, nhưng anh ta càng kêu lớn tiếng: "Lạy Con vua Đavít, xin dủ lòng thương tôi!" (Mc 10,48)

The Authority of Compassion
 The Church often wounds us deeply. People with religious authority often wound us by their words, attitudes, and demands. Precisely because our religion brings us in touch with the questions of life and death, our religious sensibilities can get hurt most easily. Ministers and priests seldom fully realize how a critical remark, a gesture of rejection, or an act of impatience can be remembered for life by those to whom it is directed.
There is such an enormous hunger for meaning in life, for comfort and consolation, for forgiveness and reconciliation, for restoration and healing, that anyone who has any authority in the Church should constantly be reminded that the best word to characterize religious authority is compassion. Let's keep looking at Jesus whose authority was expressed in compassion.
(Nouwen G)

Sám hối

“Nếu các ông không chịu sám hối, thì các ông cũng sẽ chết hết y như vậy" (Lc 13, 5)

Hiddenness, a Place of Purification
One of the reasons that hiddenness is such an important aspect of the spiritual life is that it keeps us focused on God. In hiddenness we do not receive human acclamation, admiration, support, or encouragement. In hiddenness we have to go to God with our sorrows and joys and trust that God will give us what we most need.
In our society we are inclined to avoid hiddenness. We want to be seen and acknowledged. We want to be useful to others and influence the course of events. But as we become visible and popular, we quickly grow dependent on people and their responses and easily lose touch with God, the true source of our being. Hiddenness is the place of purification. In hiddenness we find our true selves.

Jesus Is Merciful
Jesus, the Blessed Child of God, is merciful. Showing mercy is different from having pity. Pity connotes distance, even looking down upon. When a beggar asks for money and you give him something out of pity, you are not showing mercy. Mercy comes from a compassionate heart; it comes from a desire to be an equal. Jesus didn't want to look down on us. He wanted to become one of us and feel deeply with us.
When Jesus called the only son of the widow of Nain to life, he did so because he felt the deep sorrow of the grieving mother in his own heart (see Luke 7:11-17). Let us look at Jesus when we want to know how to show mercy to our brothers and sisters.
(Nouwen G)

Dấu chỉ thời đại

Cảnh sắc đất trời, thì các người biết nhận xét, còn thời đại này, sao các người lại không biết nhận xét? (Lc 13,57)

The Coming of the Son of Man
The spiritual knowledge that we belong to God and are safe with God even as we live in a very destructive world allows us to see in the midst of all the turmoil, fear, and agony of history "the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:27). Even though Jesus speaks about this as about a final event, it is not just one more thing that is going to happen after all the terrible things are over. Just as the end-time is already here, so too is the coming of the Son of Man. It is an event in the realm of the Spirit and thus not subject to the boundaries of time.
Those who live in communion with Jesus have the eyes to see and the ears to hear the second coming of Jesus among them in the here and now. Jesus says: "Before this generation has passed away all will have taken place" (Luke 21:32). And this is true for each faithful generation. (Nouwen G)

Lửa

Thầy đã đến ném lửa vào mặt đất, và Thầy những ước mong phải chi lửa ấy đã bùng lên (Lc 12,49)

The Source of All Love
Without the love of our parents, sisters, brothers, spouses, lovers, and friends, we cannot live. Without love we die. Still, for many people this love comes in a very broken and limited way. It can be tainted by power plays, jealousy, resentment, vindictiveness, and even abuse. No human love is the perfect love our hearts desire, and sometimes human love is so imperfect that we can hardly recognise it as love.
In order not to be destroyed by the wounds inflicted by that imperfect human love, we must trust that the source of all love is God's unlimited, unconditional, perfect love, and that this love is not far away from us but is the gift of God's Spirit dwelling within us.

Becoming the Living Christ
Whenever we come together around the table, take bread, bless it, break it, and give it to one another saying: "The Body of Christ," we know that Jesus is among us. He is among us not as a vague memory of a person who lived long ago but as a real, life-giving presence that transforms us. By eating the Body of Christ, we become the living Christ and we are enabled to discover our own chosenness and blessedness, acknowledge our brokenness, and trust that all we live we live for others. Thus we, like Jesus himself, become food for the world.
(Nouwen G)

Sẵn

Anh em hãy sẵn sàng, vì chính giờ phút anh em không ngờ, thì Con Người sẽ đến (Lc 12, 40)

Mỗi năm, mất 40.000 tỉ đồng vì tai nạn giao thông
TTO - Ông Nguyễn Hoàng Hiệp - phó chủ tịch chuyên trách Ủy ban ATGT quốc gia - cho biết như vậy tại họp báo sáng 23-10 về tháng hoạt động cao điểm hướng tới “Ngày thế giới tưởng niệm các nạn nhân tử vong vì TNGT” tại VN 2012.

>> Tai nạn giao thông: “9 tháng chết bằng 1 sư đoàn” (chín tháng đầu năm 2012 cả nước đã xảy ra gần 24.000 vụ TNGT, làm chết gần 7.000 người, bị thương hơn 25.000 người.)
>> Đừng để có thêm những nỗi đau...

Theo ông Hiệp, thống kê 10 năm vừa qua nước ta đã có hơn 100.000 người chết vì tai nạn giao thông (TNGT). Trung bình mỗi ngày có 30 gia đình mất người thân, 200 gia đình chịu những tổn thất về vật chất và tinh thần do TNGT.
“Đồng thời những người gây tai nạn và người gánh hậu quả tai nạn sẽ phải chịu những dằn vặt tinh thần suốt cuộc đời. Cho đến bây giờ, Việt Nam vẫn đứng thứ 11 trong số các nước có số người chết vì TNGT lớn nhất thế giới. Bình quân mỗi năm nước ta mất 40.000 tỉ đồng (gần 2 tỉ USD) để khắc phục hậu quả TNGT. Số tiền trên có thể xây dựng được 10 bệnh viện cấp tỉnh, 1.123 trường học, 6.400 căn nhà tình nghĩa trên cả nước” - ông Hiệp so sánh.
Ông Nguyễn Hoàng Hiệp cho biết để nhắc nhở mọi người luôn ý thức về hiểm họa TNGT, năm 1993, Tổ chức Hòa bình đường bộ (Road Peace) đã khởi xướng “Ngày thế giới tưởng nhớ các nạn nhân tử vong do TNGT”. Ngày 27-10 - 2005, Đại hội đồng Liên Hiệp Quốc chính thức công nhận và chọn ngày chủ nhật tuần thứ ba của tháng 11 hằng năm là “Ngày tưởng niệm các nạn nhân tử vong do TNGT” trên phạm vi toàn cầu.
(http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-Xa-hoi/517376/Moi-nam-mat-40000-ti-dong-vi-tai-nan-giao-thong.html)

Being Ready to Die
Death often happens suddenly. A car accident, a plane crash, a fatal fight, a war, a flood, and so on. When we feel healthy and full of energy, we do not think much about our deaths. Still, death might come very unexpectedly.
How can we be prepared to die? By not having any unfinished relational business. The question is: Have I forgiven those who have hurt me and asked forgiveness from those I have hurt? When I feel at peace with all the people I live with, my death might cause great grief, but it will not cause guilt or anger.
When we are ready to die at any moment, we also are ready to live at any moment.
(Nouwen G)

Chủ về

Khi chủ về mà thấy những đầy tớ ấy đang tỉnh thức, thì thật là phúc cho họ. Thầy bảo thật anh em: chủ sẽ thắt lưng, đưa họ vào bàn ăn, và đến bên từng người mà phục vụ. (Lc 12,37)

Standing Erect
About the end-time Jesus says: "There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the turmoil of the ocean and its waves; men fainting away with terror and fear at what menaces the world, for the power of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:25-28) All of this is already taking place. For anyone who has listened deeply to the heart of God, the despair of the world and the coming of the great liberation are both visible every day.
What then should we do? Jesus says it clearly: "Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand" (Luke 21:28). There is so much hope here. We do not have to faint but can stand straight, welcoming our Lord with outstretched arms.

Của cải

Nhưng Thiên Chúa bảo ông ta: "Đồ ngốc! Nội đêm nay, người ta sẽ đòi lại mạng ngươi, thì những gì ngươi sắm sẵn đó sẽ về tay ai? Ấy kẻ nào thu tích của cải cho mình, mà không lo làm giàu trước mặt Thiên Chúa, thì số phận cũng như thế đó." (Lc 12,20-21)

The Treasure of the Poor
The poor have a treasure to offer precisely because they cannot return our favours. By not paying us for what we have done for them, they call us to inner freedom, selflessness, generosity, and true care. Jesus says: "When you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again" (Luke 14:13-14).
The repayment Jesus speaks about is spiritual. It is the joy, peace, and love of God that we so much desire. This is what the poor give us, not only in the afterlife but already here and now. (Nouwen G)

Loan báo

Anh em hãy đi khắp tứ phương thiên hạ, loan báo Tin Mừng cho mọi loài thọ tạo (Mc 16,15)

Empowered to Speak
The Spirit that Jesus gives us empowers us to speak. Often when we are expected to speak in front of people who intimidate us, we are nervous and self-conscious. But if we live in the Spirit, we don't have to worry about what to say. We will find ourselves ready to speak when the need is there. "When they take you before ... authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say" (Luke 12:11-12).
We waste much of our time in anxious preparation. Let's claim the truth that the Spirit that Jesus gave us will speak in us and speak convincingly.


Claiming the Identity of Jesus
When we think about Jesus as that exceptional, unusual person who lived long ago and whose life and words continue to inspire us, we might avoid the realisation that Jesus wants us to be like him. Jesus himself keeps saying in many ways that he, the Beloved Child of God, came to reveal to us that we too are God's beloved children, loved with the same unconditional divine love.
John writes to his people: "You must see what great love the Father has lavished on us by letting us be called God's children - which is what we are." (1 John 3:1). This is the great challenge of the spiritual life: to claim the identity of Jesus for ourselves and to say: "We are the living Christ today!"

Superabundant Grace
Over the centuries the Church has done enough to make any critical person want to leave it. Its history of violent crusades, pogroms, power struggles, oppression, excommunications, executions, manipulation of people and ideas, and constantly recurring divisions is there for everyone to see and be appalled by.
Can we believe that this is the same Church that carries in its center the Word of God and the sacraments of God's healing love? Can we trust that in the midst of all its human brokenness the Church presents the broken body of Christ to the world as food for eternal life? Can we acknowledge that where sin is abundant grace is superabundant, and that where promises are broken over and again God's promise stands unshaken? To believe is to answer yes to these questions.
(Nouwwen G)

Nói

"Khi người ta đưa anh em ra trước hội đường, trước mặt những người lãnh đạo và những người cầm quyền, thì anh em đừng lo phải bào chữa làm sao, hoặc phải nói gì, vì ngay trong giờ đó, Thánh Thần sẽ dạy cho anh em biết những điều phải nói." (Lc 12,11-12)


Witnesses of Love
How do we know that we are infinitely loved by God when our immediate surroundings keep telling us that we'd better prove our right to exist?
The knowledge of being loved in an unconditional way, before the world presents us with its conditions, cannot come from books, lectures, television programs, or workshops. This spiritual knowledge comes from people who witness to God's love for us through their words and deeds. These people can be close to us but they can also live far away or may even have lived long ago. Their witness announces the truth of God's love and calls us to act in accordance with it. (Nouwen G)


A RELIC OF JOHN PAUL II WILL BE TAKEN TO LOURDES
Vatican City, 19 October 2012 (VIS) - A relic of Blessed John Paul II will be transported to the French shrine of Lourdes during a pilgrimage organised by UNITALSI (Italian National Union for Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines). The pilgrimage is to take place from 21 to 27 October.
Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, has granted UNITALSI permission to take a reliquary containing blood of John Paul II, so that it can be seen and venerated by pilgrims from all over the world.
Speaking on Vatican Radio Salvatore Pagliuccia, president of UNITALSI, noted that we currently are in the Year of Faith, and the Synod of Bishops is meeting to examine the question of new evangelisation, "a theme very close to John Paul II's heart". That Pope's "influence is still felt in the Church and among the faithful", he said. Thus, "the presence of the reliquary of the blessed on the pilgrimage is a very significant sign, because it represents the presence of his ideas and his sentiments, above all the presence of the love which, as man and as pastor, he gave to people, to the faithful, and in particular to the sick and those with disabilities".


INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC AND ART TO BE DEDICATED TO THE YEAR OF FAITH
Vatican City, 19 October 2012 (VIS) - The eleventh edition of the International Festival of Sacred Music and Art - which takes place during the autumn in Rome's patriarchal basilicas and in the Vatican - is to be dedicated to the Year of Faith.
The festival serves to promote the activities of the "Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra", an organisation presided by Hans-Albert Courtial which has the mission of restoring the artistic treasures contained in the patriarchal basilicas, and ensuring that sacred music continues to be played there.
This year's programme includes seven concerts due to take place between 2 and 13 November. The first will be the Requiem Mass of Giovanni Sgambati to be performed by the Roman "Sinfonietta" Orchestra in the basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In the same basilica on Wednesday 7 November the Orchestra of Rome's "Teatro dell'Opera" will play Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. On 11 November a private concert will take place in the Vatican at which the Sistine Chapel Choir will sing the "Missa Anno Santo", composed by the Pope's brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. On the same day in the basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the Johann-Rosenmuller-Ensemble will perform Claudio Monteverdi's "Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary". On 12 November a concert will take place in the papal basilica of St. Mary Major with a performance of "Polyphony of the Roman School" by the Sistine Chapel Choir, and "Six Centuries of Catholic Choral Music from the British Isles" by the Westminster Cathedral Choir. On 13 November, the Westminster Cathedral Choir conducted by Martin Baker will sing during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Also on 13 November, the festival will come to an end with a concert at the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at which the Wiener Philharmoniker Chamber Orchestra will play a programme of music by Mozart.
Commenting on the coming festival Cardinal Comastri, who is honorary president of the "Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra", said: "This a music born of the faith, and thus a music which also attracts to the faith. All art in the Church is, in fact, nothing other than an expression of inner beauty translated into exterior forms".

Sợ

Ngay đến tóc trên đầu anh em cũng được đếm cả rồi. Anh em đừng sợ, anh em còn quý giá hơn muôn vàn chim sẻ. (Lc 12,7)

Vỡ bờ bao, hàng trăm hộ dân ngập nặng TTO - Khoảng 5g ngày 18-10, bờ bao của rạch Cầu Ông Ngữ đoạn ở đường Bình Thới, P.28, Q.Bình Thạnh, TP.HCM bị vỡ khiến hàng trăm hộ dân sống ở khu vực này chìm trong nước.
Ghi nhận tại hiện trường, chúng tôi thấy bờ bao bị vỡ một đoạn khoảng 2m, đồng thời bức tường xây bằng gạch chắn quanh khu vực trên cũng bị sụp đổ một đoạn gần 6m. Nhiều nhà dân nước vẫn ngập tới thắt lưng, đồ đạc trong nhà nổi lềnh bềnh.
(http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-Xa-hoi/516520/Vo-bo-bao-hang-tram-ho-dan-ngap-nang.html)

Taking the Sting Out of Death
Dying is returning home. But even though we have been told this many times by many people, we seldom desire to return home. We prefer to stay where we are. We know what we have; we do not know what we will get. Even the most appealing images of the afterlife cannot take away the fear of dying. We cling to life, even when our relationships are difficult, our economic circumstances harsh, and our health quite poor.
Still, Jesus came to take the sting out of death and to help us gradually realise that we don't have to be afraid of death, since death leads us to the place where the deepest desires of our hearts will be satisfied. It is not easy for us to truly believe that, but every little gesture of trust will bring us closer to this truth. (Nouwen G)


Trusting in the Fruits
We belong to a generation that wants to see the results of our work. We want to be productive and see with our own eyes what we have made. But that is not the way of God's Kingdom. Often our witness for God does not lead to tangible results. Jesus himself died as a failure on a cross. There was no success there to be proud of. Still, the fruitfulness of Jesus' life is beyond any human measure. As faithful witnesses of Jesus we have to trust that our lives too will be fruitful, even though we cannot see their fruit. The fruit of our lives may be visible only to those who live after us.
What is important is how well we love. God will make our love fruitful, whether we see that fruitfulness or not.(Nouwen G)

Can đảm

Anh em hãy ra đi. Này Thầy sai anh em đi như chiên con đi vào giữa bầy sói (Lc 10,3)

A Courageous Life
"Have courage," we often say to one another. Courage is a spiritual virtue. The word courage comes from the Latin word cor, which means "heart. A courageous act is an act coming from the heart. A courageous word is a word arising from the heart. The heart, however, is not just the place where our emotions are located. The heart is the centre of our being, the centre of all thoughts, feelings, passions, and decisions.
When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met," we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people.

Spiritual Courage
Courage is connected with taking risks. Jumping the Grand Canyon on a motorbike, coming over Niagara Falls in a barrel, or crossing the ocean in a rowboat are called courageous acts because people risk their lives by doing these things. But none of these daredevil acts comes from the centre of our being. They all come from the desire to test our physical limits and to become famous and popular.
Spiritual courage is something completely different. It is following the deepest desires of our hearts at the risk of losing fame and popularity. It asks of us the willingness to lose our temporal lives in order to gain eternal life.

Downward Mobility
The society in which we live suggests in countless ways that the way to go is up. Making it to the top, entering the limelight, breaking the record - that's what draws attention, gets us on the front page of the newspaper, and offers us the rewards of money and fame.
The way of Jesus is radically different. It is the way not of upward mobility but of downward mobility. It is going to the bottom, staying behind the sets, and choosing the last place! Why is the way of Jesus worth choosing? Because it is the way to the Kingdom, the way Jesus took, and the way that brings everlasting life.
(Nouwen G)

Nô lệ

Khốn cho các người, hỡi các người Pharisêu! Các người nộp thuế thập phân về bạc hà, vân hương, và đủ thứ rau cỏ, mà xao lãng lẽ công bình và lòng yêu mến Thiên Chúa. Các điều này phải làm, mà các điều kia cũng không được bỏ. (Lc 11,42)

Called out of Slavery 
 The Church is the people of God. The Latin word for "church," ecclesia, comes from the Greek ek, which means "out," and kaleo, which means "to call." The Church is the people of God called out of slavery to freedom, sin to salvation, despair to hope, darkness to light, an existence centered on death to an existence focused on life. When we think of Church we have to think of a body of people, travelling together. We have to envision women, men, and children of all ages, races, and societies supporting one another on their long and often tiresome journeys to their final home.(Nouwen G)

Trong

Tốt hơn, hãy bố thí những gì ở bên trong, thì bấy giờ mọi sự sẽ trở nên trong sạch (Lc 11, 41)

Sharing the Abundant Love
Why must we go out to the far ends of the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus when people do not have to know Jesus in order to enter the house of God? We must go out because we want to share with all people the abundant love and hope, joy and peace that Jesus brought to us. We want to "proclaim the unfathomable treasure of Christ" and "throw light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through all ages in God, the creator of everything" (Ephesians 3:8-9).
What we have received is so beautiful and so rich that we cannot hold it for ourselves but feel compelled to bring it to every human being on earth. (Nouwen G.)

Dấu lạ

Quả thật, ông Giôna đã là một dấu lạ cho dân thành Ninivê thế nào, thì Con Người cũng sẽ là một dấu lạ cho thế hệ này như vậy. (Lc 11,30)

Being Living Signs of Love
Jesus' whole life was a witness to his Father's love, and Jesus calls his followers to carry on that witness in his Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into this world to be visible signs of God's unconditional love. Thus we are not first of all judged by what we say but by what we live. When people say of us: "See how they love one another," they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that Jesus announced and are drawn to it as by a magnet.
In a world so torn apart by rivalry, anger, and hatred, we have the privileged vocation to be living signs of a love that can bridge all divisions and heal all wounds. (Nouwen G)

Bán

“Hãy đi bán những gì anh có mà cho người nghèo, anh sẽ được một kho tàng trên trời. Rồi hãy đến theo tôi” (Mc 10,21b)

Burning With Love
Often we are preoccupied with the question "How can we be witnesses in the Name of Jesus? What are we supposed to say or do to make people accept the love that God offers them?" These questions are expressions more of our fear than of our love. Jesus shows us the way of being witnesses. He was so full of God's love, so connected with God's will, so burning with zeal for God's Kingdom, that he couldn't do other than witness. Wherever he went and whomever he met, a power went out from him that healed everyone who touched him. (See Luke 6:19.)
If we want to be witnesses like Jesus, our only concern should be to be as alive with the love of God as Jesus was.

Being Unconditional Witnesses
Good news becomes bad news when it is announced without peace and joy. Anyone who proclaims the forgiving and healing love of Jesus with a bitter heart is a false witness. Jesus is the savior of the world. We are not. We are called to witness, always with our lives and sometimes with our words, to the great things God has done for us. But this witness must come from a heart that is willing to give without getting anything in return.
The more we trust in God's unconditional love for us, the more able we will be to proclaim the love of Jesus without any inner or outer conditions.
(Nouwen G)

Phúc

Đúng hơn phải nói rằng: Phúc thay kẻ lắng nghe và tuân giữ lời Thiên Chúa (Lc 11,28)

Jesus Living Among Us
The Eucharist is the place where Jesus becomes most present to us because he becomes not only the Christ living within us but also the Christ living among us. Just as the disciples at Emmaus who had recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread discovered a new intimacy between themselves and found the courage to return to their friends, we who have received the Body and Blood of Jesus will find a new unity among ourselves. As we realise that Christ lives within us, we also come to realise that Christ lives among us and makes us into a body of people witnessing together to the presence of Christ in the world. (Nouwen)

Quỷ

"Khi đến nơi, nó thấy nhà được quét tước, dọn dẹp hẳn hoi. Nó liền đi kéo thêm bảy thần khác dữ hơn nó, và chúng vào ở đó. Rốt cuộc tình trạng của người ấy lại còn tệ hơn trước." (Lc 11,25-26)

Jesus Living Within Us
When we gather around the Eucharistic table and eat from the same bread and drink from the same cup, saying, "This is the Body and Blood of Christ," we become the living Christ, here and now.
Our faith in Jesus is not our belief that Jesus, the Son of God, lived long ago, performed great miracles, presented wise teachings, died for us on the cross, and rose from the grave. It first of all means that we fully accept the truth that Jesus lives within us and fulfills his divine ministry in and through us. This spiritual knowledge of the Christ living in us is what allows us to affirm fully the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection as historic events. It is the Christ in us who reveals to us the Christ in history.

Ban Thánh Thần

Vậy nếu anh em vốn là những kẻ xấu mà còn biết cho con cái mình của tốt của lành, phương chi Cha trên trời lại không ban Thánh Thần cho những kẻ kêu xin Người sao? (Lc 11,13)

Companion of the Souls
When the two disciples recognised Jesus as he broke the bread for them in their house in Emmaus, he "vanished from their sight" (Luke 24:31). The recognition and the disappearance of Jesus are one and the same event. Why? Because the disciples recognised that their Lord Jesus, the Christ, now lives in them ... that they have become Christ-bearers. Therefore, Jesus no longer sits across the table from them as the stranger, the guest, the friend with whom they can speak and from whom they can receive good counsel. He has become one with them. He has given them his own Spirit of Love. Their companion on the journey has become the companion of their souls. They are alive, yet it is no longer them, but Christ living in them (see Galatians 2:20).
(Nouwen G)

Hôm nay khai mạc Năm Đức Tin toàn cầu.

Học cầu nguyện

Thưa Thầy, xin dạy chúng con cầu nguyện (Lc 11,1)

Cầu nguyện là việc quan trọng nhất.
Khi cầu nguyện, ta gặp Chúa (Gặp Chúa mà không quan trọng sao?).
Ta lắng nghe Lời Chúa (Lời Chúa là ánh sáng cho cuộc đời )
Ta nói với Chúa (Nhân vật quan trọng nhất mà ta cần tâm sự)
Ta kết hợp với Chúa (Còn gì tuyệt hơn?).
Ta lãnh được mọi ơn cần thiết cho cuộc sống (Bảo đảm an toàn!)

Cầu nguyện là việc cần học cả đời, và học từng ngày.
Mẫu mực cho lời cầu: Kinh Lạy Cha.

Strongly anti-gay bishop installed in “gay capital” city

He's been installed, escaped a drunk driving charge, riled the city's massive gay community and unwittingly insulted a fellow bishop. For Salvatore Cordileone, it's been a busy week.

Lisa Leff
United States
October 5, 2012

Amid heavy security and the splendor of his faith’s most sacred rites, the new Roman Catholic archbishop of San Francisco assumed office Thursday without referring to the distress his appointment has aroused in this gay-friendly city, but offering self-deprecating jokes about his recent drunken driving arrest.
Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, wearing gold and red robes with a matching miter, told an audience of more than 2,000 invited guests at his installation mass that he was grateful for the messages of support he had received from people of different religious and political viewpoints following the Aug. 25 arrest in his home town of San Diego.
“I know in my life God has always had a way of putting me in my place. I would say, though, that in the latest episode of my life God has outdone himself,” Cordileone said with a chuckle as he delivered his first homily as archbishop.
The 56-year-old priest, the second-youngest U.S. archbishop, went on to say he did not know “if it’s theologically correct to say God has a way of making himself known in this way,” and asked for the indulgence of other high-ranking church leaders in the audience.
The connection, he said, was that the compassion he was shown “in the wake of the regrettable mistake I made to drive after drinking” made him hopeful the Bay Area’s Catholic community has the tools it needs to be part of a broader rebuilding of the church.
Cordileone had been scheduled to appear in court on the misdemeanor charge next Tuesday. Court records show he pleaded guilty on Monday to a reduced charge of reckless driving, an option frequently given to first-time DUI offenders, said Gina Coburn, a spokeswoman for the San Diego City Attorney.
U-T San Diego reports the San Diego native was fined and placed on three years’ probation.
The standard sentence for reckless driving is three years’ probation and a $1,120 fine, Coburn said.
As Cordileone spoke during Thursday’s mass, about three dozen gay rights advocates gathered outside St. Mary’s Cathedral to protest his induction opposite a much larger group singing hymns of welcome for the new archbishop.
Cordileone, who served as bishop of neighboring Oakland for the last three-and-a-half years, has a nationwide reputation as a fierce defender of the Catholic Church’s positions on homosexuality in general and same-sex marriage in particular.
He was one of the early engineers of California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in 2008, and since 2011 has chaired the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ subcommittee charged with opposing efforts to legalize gay unions.
Several members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a performing arts troupe of men dressed in nuns’ habits, showed up to highlight Cordileone’s connection to the “dogma of bullying” they said the same-sex marriage ban represents.
“Silly Sally, you have no power here!” they chanted.
Meanwhile, interfaith tensions over the marriage issue threatened to mar the Cordileone’s day. The Rev. Marc Andrus, the Episcopal bishop for Northern California and a strong same-sex marriage supporter, reported that he was snubbed when he showed up for the cathedral service, which came three days after Andrus had written an open letter offering a spiritual home to any Catholics who felt disowned by the archbishop’s views.
Andrus said he was taken to a basement room with other invited guests, then left waiting as ushers showed everyone but him to their seats in the sanctuary, Joseph Mathews, an Episcopal spokesman said. He was still waiting when the mass had started, so he left, Mathews said.
San Francisco Archdiocese spokesman George Wesolek chalked it up to a misunderstanding. Andrus had arrived late and missed the procession of interfaith clergy who were to be seated up front. Church staff were looking for an opportunity to bring the bishop in without disrupting the service, according to Wesolek. When they went to retrieve him, he had already left.
Full Story: Salvatore Cordileone, SF Archbishop Selection, Riles Gay Rights Advocates
Source: Huffington Post

Bối rối

Chúa đáp: "Mácta! Mácta ơi! Chị băn khoăn lo lắng nhiều chuyện quá! Chỉ có một chuyện cần thiết mà thôi. Maria đã chọn phần tốt nhất và sẽ không bị lấy đi." (Lc 10,41-42)

Lo nhiều chuyện phụ tùy thì sẽ bối rối.
Chỉ có một chuyện chính cần tập trung: Lắng nghe Lời Chúa.
Lắng nghe Lời Chúa khi cầu nguyện.
Lắng nghe Lời Chúa khi gặp giỡ giao lưu.
Lắng nghe Lời Chúa khi làm việc.
Lắng nghe Lời Chúa khi gặp rủi may, thành công hay thất bại.

Trở nên thân cận

Ai đã tỏ ra là thân cận với người đã bị rơi vào tay kẻ cướp? (Lc 10,36)

Hãy yêu mến người thân cận như chính mình.
Nhưng ai là người thân cận của tôi?
Ai đã tỏ ra là người thân cận với người đã bị rơi vào tay kẻ cướp?

Vấn đề không phải là tìm xem ai là thân cận của tôi
mà là tôi phải tìm cách trở nên thân cận với mọi người.

Trở nên thân cận bằng cách dám can đảm quên đi những trở ngại cá nhân để cảm thương
 và dám quảng đại giúp đỡ người khác.

Sinh

Này đây bà sẽ thụ thai, sinh hạ một con trai, và đặt tên là Giê-su. (Lc 1,31)

Jesus, Our Food and Drink
Jesus is the Word of God, who came down from heaven, was born of the Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit, and became a human person. This happened in a specific place at a specific time. But each day when we celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus comes down from heaven, takes bread and wine, and by the power of the Holy Spirit becomes our food and drink. Indeed, through the Eucharist, God's incarnation continues to happen at any time and at any place.
Sometimes we might think: "I wish I had been there with Jesus and his apostles long ago!" But Jesus is closer to us now than he was to his own friends. Today he is our daily bread!

Rao

“Các con hãy đi rao giảng Tin Mừng... Các con đừng mang theo tiền bạc, bao gậy...” (Mt 10,10)

Về cuộc tranh luận giữa Obama và Romney tối thứ tư (sáng thứ năm tại VN)
Molly Ball (The Atlantic): Nhìn theo cách nào thì đây vẫn là một thắng lợi lớn cho ông Romney. Ông nhanh nhẹn, đầy năng lượng và sẵn sàng tấn công trong khi ông Obama nói lan man và phần lớn thời gian là phòng ngự. Tổng thống có thể muốn tỏ ra là người đứng trên cả cuộc tranh luận thế nhưng ông lại trở thành chệch hướng và ông Romney dường như có khả năng đặt mình vào vị trí của người kia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/world/2012/10/121004_us_election_pundits.shtml


Thánh Phanxicô Assisi
Thánh Phanxicô chào đời vào khoảng cuối năm 1182, tại thành Assisi, ở phía bắc thủ đô Rôma. Cha là ông Phêrô Bênađônê, một thương gia chuyên nghề bán len dạ; mẹ là bà Pica, một phụ nữ hiền đức, hiếm có.
Cậu Phanxicô rất hào hoa, lại được gia đình giàu có nuông chiều, nên cậu mặc sức ăn chơi phung phí. Mộng công danh thôi thúc, Phanxicô theo bá tước Gôthiê đơ Briênnơ đi chinh phục vùng Apulia, gần thành Assisi. Nhưng ý Chúa nhiệm mầu đã khiến Phanxicô đau nặng và bắt buộc phải trở về quê hương.
Lần này, tuy vẫn ăn chơi như trước, nhưng Phanxicô cảm thấy những thú vui xưa kia dần dần mất hết ý nghĩa. Thế rồi Phanxicô đi tìm lý tưởng cao đẹp hơn. Một hôm, lúc đang cầu nguyện trong nguyện đường Đamianô nhỏ bé, Phanxicô nghe tiếng Chúa phán ra từ cây Thánh Giá: “Phanxicô, con hãy đi sửa lại ngôi đền thờ của ta đang đổ nát!” Phanxicô hiểu câu nói này cách nông cạn, nên tình nguyện đi xin từng viên đá đem về sửa lại ba ngôi nguyện đường cạnh Assisi. Phanxicô chưa hiểu rằng, ngôi đền thờ mà Chúa muốn nói chính là Hội Thánh.
Ngày 24.2.1208, đang buổi lễ, Phanxicô nghe được đoạn Phúc Âm: “Các con hãy đi rao giảng Tin Mừng... Các con đừng mang theo tiền bạc, bao gậy...” (Mt 10,10). Phanxicô nhận ra tiếng gọi của Chúa, từ nay quyết tâm triệt để sống khó nghèo và theo Chúa trên con đường Thập Tự (Mt 19,21 ; Lc 9,1-6 ; Mt 16,24). Phanxicô vừa đi rao giảng Tin Mừng vừa khất thực.
Phanxicô yêu những người nghèo, những bệnh nhân mà ngài nhìn thấy Chúa Giêsu ở nơi họ. Ngài chỉ muốn giống Chúa Giêsu cách trọn vẹn trong khó nghèo, trong tình yêu, trong sự giảng dạy và trong đau khổ.
Năm 1220, vì những khó khăn nội bộ của Hội Dòng do một số anh em cấp tiến muốn sửa đổi lý tưởng nghèo khó thuở ban đầu, Phanxicô phải bỏ cuộc truyền giáo cho người Hồi giáo để trở lại nước Ý. Một cuộc tử đạo đặc biệt sắp bắt đầu. Năm 1224, Phanxicô xin rút lui về ẩn mình tại núi Laverna.
Nơi đây, ngài được Chúa in năm dấu thánh của Người trên chân tay và cạnh sườn. Phanxicô đã sống một cuộc tử đạo trong hai năm trời; các vết thương luôn rỉ máu, cộng với nỗi đau khổ do một số anh em sống xa lý tưởng ban đầu gây ra. Trong nỗi cô đơn và đau khổ do bệnh hoạn, ngài chỉ muốn hoàn tất ý định của Thiên Chúa cho đến khi “Bạn Chết” của ngài đến kết thúc cuộc đời vào ngày 3.10.1226.
Đức Giáo Hoàng Grêgôriô IX đã phong ngài lên bậc hiển thánh vào ngày 16.7.1228.
Nhờ lời cầu bầu của thánh Phanxicô. Xin Chúa cho chúng ta biết yêu chuộng hoà bình, hòa bình với mọi người và nhất là với những người đối nghịch với chúng ta.

Theo

Thưa Thầy, Thầy đi đâu, tôi cũng xin đi theo (Lc 9,57)

Nhìn lại quãng đường đầy chông gai đã đi qua, Khải chiêm nghiệm: “Khi đã yêu và tin vào tình yêu của mình thì chỉ có hai người mới có thể quyết định tiếp tục hay đầu hàng chứ không phải yếu tố bên ngoài. Từ khi cưới Quỳnh đến giờ, tôi luôn nghĩ làm sao cho Quỳnh hạnh phúc vì biết hai đứa đã quá đau khổ mới đến được với nhau. Bây giờ mỗi lần nhìn hai đứa con ngoan vui đùa trong căn nhà nhỏ ấm áp, đón nhận sự thương yêu của ông bà nội ngoại, chúng tôi biết rằng mình đã đúng khi dám yêu nhau và bảo vệ đến cùng cho tình yêu”.
http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-Xa-hoi/Phong-su-Ky-su/512758/Ben-nhau-du-tan-the.html

Bạn & vệ sĩ

Thầy nói cho anh em biết: các thiên thần của họ ở trên trời không ngừng chiêm ngưỡng nhan Cha Thầy, Đấng ngự trên trời. (Mt 18,10)

Jesus Gives Himself to Us
When we invite friends for a meal, we do much more than offer them food for their bodies. We offer friendship, fellowship, good conversation, intimacy, and closeness. When we say: "Help yourself ... take some more ... don't be shy ... have another glass," we offer our guests not only our food and our drink but also ourselves. A spiritual bond grows, and we become food and drink for one another other.
In the most complete and perfect way, this happens when Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist as food and drink. By offering us his Body and Blood, Jesus offers us the most intimate communion possible. It is a divine communion. (Nouwen G)

Trẻ

Đức Giêsu liền gọi một em nhỏ đến, đặt vào giữa các ông và bảo: "Thầy bảo thật anh em: nếu anh em không trở lại mà nên như trẻ nhỏ, thì sẽ chẳng được vào Nước Trời. (Mt 18,2-3)

Giáo dục đang đi lạc đường!"
TTO - “Giáo dục đang đi lạc đường!” là ý kiến của GS Hoàng Tụy tại hội thảo góp ý đổi mới giáo dục do Liên hiệp hội khoa học kỹ thuật Hà Nội tổ chức ngày 29-9 tại thủ đô Hà Nội.
Nhiều chuyên gia giáo dục, nhà khoa học đã có ý kiến phản biện và kiến nghị về nhiều vấn đề của giáo dục trong bối cảnh Bộ GD-ĐT và Ban Tuyên giáo T.Ư đang xây dựng đề án “Đổi mới giáo dục căn bản và toàn diện”.
Hơn 20 tham luận và nhiều ý kiến trực tiếp tại hội thảo trên tiếp tục phân tích và tranh luận về nhiều vấn đề của giáo dục hiện nay. GS Hoàng Tụy, một trong những cây đại thụ của ngành giáo dục VN, cho rằng giáo dục đang lạc đường khi “triết lý giáo dục bao cấp” được hiển hiện ở tất cả các khâu của giáo dục hiện nay: chương trình, phương pháp giảng dạy, cách thức thi cử đến tổ chức giáo dục, chính sách tuyển chọn, bồi dưỡng, sử dụng cán bộ…

Cần Ủy ban cải cách giáo dục quốc gia
GS Chu Hảo điểm lại nhiều ý kiến đề xuất của các nhóm trí thức trong và ngoài nước kêu gọi cải cách giáo dục, từ ý kiến của Đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp đến kiến nghị của 24 nhà khoa học do GS Hoàng Tụy chủ biên. Nhiều kiến nghị khác đến từ các nhà khoa học VN ở nước ngoài, các nhà khoa học thuộc Liên hiệp các hội khoa học kỹ thuật VN, nhóm các nhà giáo dục do nguyên Phó chủ tịch nước Nguyễn Thị Bình đại diện.
GS Hảo cho rằng cần có một cuộc tổng điều tra để có thể biết rõ nền giáo dục chúng ta yếu kém nhất ở những khâu nào, yếu kém đến mức độ nào bởi "nếu không có một cuộc tổng điều tra đó thì mọi kiến nghị cải cách chỉ mang tính gợi ý chứ không thể tạo ra các chương trình hành động khả thi”.
GS Phạm Thị Trân Châu nêu ý kiến cần phải nghiên cứu và làm rõ về những tác động tiêu cực của xã hội hiện nay đến giáo dục như tình trạng “chạy tiền để mua việc trong vấn đề tuyển dụng nhân lực” và rất nhiều tiêu cực khác đang trở nên phổ biến.
Trong khi đó, GS Nguyễn Minh Đường liệt kê tới sáu cái “không thực hiện” của nền giáo dục hiện nay, trong đó có vấn đề phân luồng sau THCS và THPT, liên thông giữa các trình độ đào tạo, ngành nghề, chuẩn hóa hệ thống đào tạo và xây dựng mạng lưới cơ sở đào tạo hợp lý.
http://tuoitre.vn/Giao-duc/513748/Giao-duc-dang-di-lac-duong.html

Mở

Ông Gioan nói với Đức Giêsu : "Thưa Thầy, chúng con thấy có người lấy danh Thầy mà trừ quỷ. Chúng con đã cố ngăn cản, vì người ấy không theo chúng ta".
Đức Giêsu bảo :"Đừng ngăn cản người ta, vì không ai lấy danh nghĩa Thầy mà làm phép lạ, rồi ngay sau đó lại có thể nói xấu về Thầy. Quả thật, ai không chống lại chúng ta là ủng hộ chúng ta.
(Mc 9,38-40)

Baptism, the Way to Freedom
When parents have their children baptised they indicate their desire to have their children grow up and live as children of God and brothers or sisters of Jesus, and be guided by the Holy Spirit.
Through birth a child is given to parents; through baptism a child is given to God. At baptism the parents acknowledge that their parenthood is a participation in God's parenthood, that all fatherhood and motherhood comes from God. Thus baptism frees the parents from a sense of owning their children. Children belong to God and are given to the parents to love and care for in God's name. It is the parents' vocation to welcome their children as honored guests in their home and bring them to the physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom that enables them to leave the home and become parents themselves. Baptism reminds parents of this vocation and sets children on the path of freedom.

 Baptism, the Way to Community 
 Baptism is more than a way to spiritual freedom. It also is the way to community. Baptising a person, whether child or adult, is receiving that person into the community of faith. Those who are reborn from above through baptism, and are called to live the life of sons and daughters of God, belong together as members of one spiritual family, the living body of Christ. When we baptise people, we welcome them into this family of God and offer them guidance, support, and formation, as they grow to the full maturity of the Christ-like life.

Baptism, a Call to Commitment
Baptism as a way to the freedom of the children of God and as a way to a life in community calls for a personal commitment. There is nothing magical or automatic about this sacrament. Having water poured over us while someone says, "I baptise you in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," has lasting significance when we are willing to claim and reclaim in all possible ways the spiritual truth of who we are as baptised people.
In this sense baptism is a call to parents of baptised children and to the baptised themselves to choose constantly for the light in the midst of a dark world and for life in the midst of a death-harbouring society.

Lên xuống

Người lại nói: "Thật, tôi bảo thật các anh, các anh sẽ thấy trời rộng mở, và các thiên thần của Thiên Chúa lên lên xuống xuống trên Con Người." (Ga 1,51)

Baptism and Eucharist
Sacraments are very specific events in which God touches us through creation and transforms us into living Christs. The two main sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. In baptism water is the way to transformation. In the Eucharist it is bread and wine. The most ordinary things in life - water, bread, and wine - become the sacred way by which God comes to us.
These sacraments are actual events. Water, bread, and wine are not simple reminders of God's love; they bring God to us. In baptism we are set free from the slavery of sin and dressed with Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ himself becomes our food and drink. (Nouwen G)

Hỏi

Hôm ấy, Đức Giêsu cầu nguyện một mình. Các môn đệ cũng ở đó với Người, và Người hỏi các ông rằng: "Dân chúng nói Thầy là ai? " (Lc 9,18)

The Sacredness of God's Handiwork 
How do we live in creation? 
Do we relate to it as a place full of "things" we can use for whatever need we want to fulfill and whatever goal we wish to accomplish? 
Or do we see creation first of all as a sacramental reality, a sacred space where God reveals to us the immense beauty of the Divine? 
As long as we only use creation, we cannot recognise its sacredness because we are approaching it as if we are its owners. 
But when we relate to all that surrounds us as created by the same God who created us and as the place where God appears to us and calls us to worship and adoration, then we are able to recognise the sacred quality of all God's handiwork.
(Nouwen G)

Rao

Người sai các ông đi rao giảng Nước Thiên Chúa và chữa lành bệnh nhân.(Lc 9,2)

The Created Order as Sacrament
When God took on flesh in Jesus Christ, the uncreated and the created, the eternal and the temporal, the divine and the human became united. This unity meant that all that is mortal now points to the immortal, all that is finite now points to the infinite. In and through Jesus all creation has become like a splendid veil, through which the face of God is revealed to us.
This is called the sacramental quality of the created order. All that is is sacred because all that is speaks of God's redeeming love. Seas and winds, mountains and trees, sun, moon, and stars, and all the animals and people have become sacred windows offering us glimpses of God.

Vatican II: The Council of Rapprochement

John W. O’Malley, S.J.

Georgetown University

(This article was published originally in French

in the September 2012 issue of Études)

         When the Second Vatican Council ended almost fifty years ago, Catholics were convinced something of great importance had happened.   They felt its impact immediately in the changes in the liturgy: mass celebrated in the vernacular, the priest turned to face the congregation, and the first part of the mass, “the liturgy of the word,” risen to new prominence.  Even five years earlier such changes would have been unthinkable.

         But there was much more.  For the first time in history Catholics were encouraged to foster friendly relations with non-Catholic Christians and even to pray with them.  The church entered into formal dialogues with other churches and revisited doctrines that had for centuries divided Catholics from both the Orthodox and the Protestants.  Breaking with a long-standing tradition, the council affirmed the principle of religious liberty and, in so doing, reaffirmed fidelity to conscience as the norm for moral decision-making.  In the long shadow cast by the Holocaust, it categorically repudiated anti-Semitism.

         Important though these and similar changes were in their own right, they do not singly or collectively capture the sense pervasive at the time of the council that something further happened, something of which the particulars were but manifestations. The council’s import, that is to say, included but also transcended its specific enactments.

          To express this larger import people began to speak of “the spirit of the council.”  They did not mean to imply that the “spirit” was at odds with the “letter” of the council’s documents, but, rather, that it, while building on the letter, rose to a higher level of generalization.  In so doing it served as a lens in which to interpret the particulars and to fit them into more general patterns.

         But questions arose about the expression.  What, in this context, did one mean by “spirit”?   Was it not a slippery term, susceptible to manipulation?  Your “spirit of Vatican II” may not be my “spirit of Vatican II”!  The expression became suspect, and in some quarters it was contemptuously dismissed as frothy and unsubstantial, unworthy of the council.  It distorted the council’s true meaning, which was to be found exclusively in its specific enactments.

         There are, certainly, problems with the expression, but we should be loathe to abandon it. After all, the distinction between spirit and letter is venerable in the Christian tradition. Based loosely on 2 Corinthians 3:6 (“the letter kills, the spirit gives life”), it for centuries served theologians and exegetes as a standard and indispensable category of interpretation.   It is, moreover, a distinction often made in everyday speech, which suggests a certain cognitive validity.  I here argue that, in fact, it (or some equivalent) is not only useful for understanding Vatican II but indispensable.

         “The spirit of Vatican II” properly understood points to a set of basic orientations that are clearly expressed not simply in one or two documents of the council but that run through them almost from the first to the last. In so doing, it points also to the style in which those orientations are formulated.  It is therefore solidly based on “the letter” in the fullest sense, which includes both form and content.  If understood in this way, the expression emerges as a key for unlocking the council’s larger meaning.

         In comparison with other councils, Vatican II is special because its documents considered as a single corpus evince such orientations.  As a set of issues-under-the issues or issues-across-the-issues or even leitmotifs, the orientations imbue the council with a coherence unique in the history of such meetings.  In other words, the documents of Vatican II are not a grab-bag of discreet units.  When examined not one by one but as a single, though complex, corpus, the pervasiveness of certain issues clearly emerges and vindicates the intuition that the council had a message to deliver to the church and to the world that was bigger than any document considered in isolation.

          Among such issues was rapprochement—or reconciliation.  How was the church to deal with certain realities it had for long considered anathema?  Could it and should it seek reconciliation with them?  Pope John XXIII placed the problem before the council on the day it opened, October 11, 1962, in his remarkable address to the prelates assembled in Saint Peter’s. In it he tried to provide the council with its orientation.  He distanced it from the scolding and suspicious attitude toward “the world” that had pervaded official Catholic thinking for over a century, as if everything modern was bad.  The council, according to the pope, should not simply wring its hands and deplore what was wrong but engage with the world so as to work with it for a positive outcome.   It should, more generally, “make use of the medicine of mercy rather than of severity” in dealing with everyone.  It should eschew as far as possible the language of condemnation.

         Although Pope John did not use the word reconciliation, that was what he was speaking of.  He asked for reconciliation with “the world” —with the world as it is, not as it was supposed to be according to the fantasy of an idealized “Christian Middle Ages” that still held many Catholics in thrall.  He wanted to end the siege mentality that had gripped Catholic officialdom in the wake of the French Revolution and the subsequent seizure of the Papal States, a mentality that feared all things modern.

         John XXIII, we must remember, had a unique experience of “the world,” wider than any pope for centuries.  As a young priest he had served as a medical orderly and then as chaplain in the Italian army during World War I.  He afterward spent decades as a papal diplomat among either predominantly Orthodox or predominantly Muslim populations. While stationed in Istanbul during World War II he at first-hand experienced the plight of refugees from Nazi persecution and did his best to help them.  He later performed well as nuncio in Paris at a most delicate moment for the church in the immediate post-war years.  Then, just before his election as pope, he served with distinction as bishop (technically, patriarch) of Venice.

         We should not be surprised, therefore, that at the crucial moment of the council’s opening he introduced the theme of reconciliation. It was not a new theme with him. When he three and half years earlier, in 1959, announced his intention to convoke the council, he gave as one of the its two principal aims the extension of a “cordial invitation to the faithful of the separated communities to participate with us in this quest for unity and peace, for which so many long in all parts of the world.”  His invitation found response from other Christian bodies that was as positive as it was unanticipated, and it resulted in the extraordinary phenomenon of the presence at the council of sometimes as many as a hundred or more representatives of the Protestant and Orthodox churches.  Nothing like this had ever happened before.

         Thus, even before the council opened reconciliation had begun to take hold as an issue and goal.  During the council its scope broadened.  The first document the council approved, the decree On the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum concilium, implicitly asked the church to break out of its Eurocentrism and to admit other cultures as partners.  The church had of course consistently presented itself as catholic in the sense of embracing all peoples and cultures.   Although there was considerable truth in that claim,Catholicism was so strongly imprinted with the culture of the West as to seem identical with it.  With the voyages of discovery of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries came the shock of large populations and altogether different cultures that had not heard of Christianity. The discoveries severely challenged the claim of universality.

         A vigorous program of evangelization followed, which in virtually every case entailed the simultaneous introduction of Western traditions and values, as if these were inseparable from the gospel message.  There were important exceptions, as with the Jesuits in China led by Matteo Ricci.  Out of respect for their hosts the Jesuits in Beijing tried in their life-style and mind-sets to become Chinese.  They even won permission to celebrate mass in Chinese, and they published a Chinese missal. The Jesuits undertook similar experiments in Japan and in parts of India.

         In the eighteenth century the Holy See condemned such experiments.  Then, during the great surge of missionary activity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, both Catholic and Protestant missionaries saw themselves as bearing “the white man’s burden” of bringing Western ways to their flocks. It was this approach the council gently but firmly repudiated. 

         Sacrosanctum concilium set the council on its course when it affirmed, “The Church cultivates and fosters the qualities and talents of different races and nations” and admits their customs “into the liturgy itself, provided they harmonize with its true and authentic spirit.” (37) In subsequent documents the council repeatedly took upthe theme of reconciliation with cultures other than Western, most notably in the decree on the church’s missionary activity.

         Of course, the most obvious and direct act of reconciliation were the decrees On Ecumenism and On Non-Christian Religions.  The former opens, “The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council.” (1)  It bids Catholics to respect the beliefs of those not in communion with the church, and, as mentioned, sets in motion a process of respectful dialogue with them.  These steps might seem cautious and minimal, but they constituted a dramatic reversal of course from condemning all other Christian bodies and counseling Catholics to avoid as far as possible all contact with them. The Code of Canon Law of 1918 forbade Catholic participation in any non-Catholic religious service, even weddings and funerals.

         In the middle of the seventeenth century the conclusion of the catastrophic Thirty Years’ War brought to a close a century of wars between differentChristian churches waged in the name of the God of love.  From that point forward the church eschewed violence as a means of settling religious differences, but until the eve of the council Catholic theologians and apologists denigrated other churches and cast them in the worst possible light.  On a higher and less contemptuous level, Pope Pius XI in 1928 in his encyclical Mortalium animos forbade all Catholic participation in the ecumenical movement.

         The decree On Ecumenism signaled a change of 180 degrees, so much so that a small minority during and after the council denounced it as heretical.  As the result, however, of decades of study and conversation carried on semi-officially and behind the scenes, the council accepted it with unexpected ease.  After centuries of alienation, the time had arrived for seeking common ground and reconciliation.

         In the council Nostra aetate, the decree On Non-Christian Religions, did not enjoy the same easy course.  The opposition to it was so severe that at one point it was almost withdrawn from the agenda. John XXIII himself had been responsible for putting it there. Out of his deep concern about anti-Semitism and Christian responsibility regarding the Holocaust, he mandated that the council consider a document On the Jews. In its early drafts, therefore, Nostra aetate dealt exclusively with them.  Objections were raised against it on theological grounds—were not the Jews an accursed race?—but also on political.   The prospect of a document On the Jews stirred up fear in Arab countries that this was a step toward Vatican recognition of the state of Israel, which up to that point it had not done.  Those countries made their objections well known to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.

         The council was finally able to convince them that Nostra aetate had nothing to do with Israel.  Exegetes and theologians were able to convince virtually all the bishops of the theological acceptability of the document.  With such problems resolved, Nostra aetate won approval, but only after it was expanded to include other non-Christian believers, most notably the Muslims. The small minority that rejected the decree On Ecumenism rejected this one even more adamantly.               

         Nostra aetate treats the Muslims at much greater length than any of the other religious group, except the Jews.  No longer were they “our eternal and godless enemy,” as Pope Paul III described them in 1542 in his bull convoking the Council of Trent, but people deserving respect, who shared with Christians many of the same religious traditions going back to the common patriarch, Abraham.

         Few decrees of the council seem more timely today in our post-9/11 era.  Nostra aetate sounds a note of reason and compassion.  It is the diametrical opposite of hate-inspired polemics, and it invests Catholics with a special role as agents of reconciliation in the present tense international situation. In this regard Pope John Paul II performed a marvelous service.  His gestures of reconciliation with the Jews are well known.  Less well known but today perhaps more important were the many times he met with Muslim groups in attempts to increase mutual understanding and decrease tensions. 

         The council’s final document was entitled “The Church in the Modern World.”

  Although the church-world relationship was not on the agenda when the council opened, it had clearly emerged by the end of the council’s first year.  No wonder, for it in fact took up the theme of reconciliation with the modern world that John XXIII proposed in his address opening the council.  The title is significant: not the church for the modern world; not the church against the modern world; not the church either above or below the modern world, but simply in the modern world.  The title is a simple recognition of fact.  Every member of the church lives, perforce, “in the world.”  There is no alternative, even for cloistered religious.  We mere mortals cannot escape from time and space.

         Beyond recognizing the fact that the church is now and ever has been “in the world,” the document goes the further step of recognizing the consequences of that fact:  church and world are reciprocally dependent and interdependent, “The church, which is both a visible organization and a spiritual community, travels the same journey as does all humanity and shares the same earthly lot with it.”(40)  The church is to act as a leaven, but it also receives from the world as well as gives to it.  Obvious though such an affirmation might seem, it was unprecedented in official church documents, most especially since rampant suspicion of modernity began to dominate Catholic officialdom.

         By being addressed to all men and women of good will, whether believers or not, the document extended the reconciliation theme to its ultimate limits.  The council, “as witness and guide to the faith of all God’s people, [wants to express] this people’s solidarity, respect, and love for the whole human family.”   It “offers the human family the sincere cooperation of the church in fostering a sense of sisterhood and brotherhood.” (3)

         John XXIII’s speech opening the council sounded the theme of reconciliation but in an understated and altogether generic way.  The council took it up as a fundamental orientation and imbued it with a remarkable scope. It extended it to the church’s relationship to non-Western cultures, to non-Catholic Christians, to non-Christian believers, and, in this final document, to “all humanity.” (became Catholic)

         There is, however, an even more pervasive level at which the theme operated so as to substantiate the intrinsic relationship between spirit and letter.  We must return to John’s opening address.  When he asked to council to refrain from condemnations, he introduced the question of the style of discourse the council was to adopt.  On the very first working day of the council, October 22, 1962, Cardinal Joseph Frings of Cologne explicitly brought that question to the floor of the council. Other prelates subsequently took it up.  By the end of that first period of the council, the question had become a major issue and was already on the way to a remarkable resolution.

         As the second period opened in the fall of the next year, discussion began on a drastically revised draft of On the Church, now titled Lumen gentium. With that document the council had found its distinctive voice. The first chapter was strikingly different from the earlier version in that it was filled with biblical images and patristic allusions.  This feature intensified by the time the document achieved its final form, which almost overflows with images of the church and its members that suggest fecundity, dignity, abundance, charism, goodness, safe haven, welcome, tenderness, warmth, communion, and reconciliation.

         The council began to speak in a new style.  It began to speak through a literary form and a vocabulary that was new for councils.  The most common literary form for councils up to that point had been the canon, that is, a short ordinance prescribing or proscribing some action, to which penalties were generally attached for non-compliance.  Most canons ended with anathema. The Roman Synod of 1960 was an assembly of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, which was considered at the time  the “dress rehearsal” for Vatican II.  The Synod issued 755 canons.

         Vatican II, which concluded five years later, issued not a single one.  Instead of issuing such ordinances it held up ideals for emulation.  For instance, in the decree On Bishops, Christus Dominus, it painted the picture of the ideal bishop and proposed goals for him.  Through its new language the council wanted to touch consciences to strive for positive goals. It tried to present the church in all its aspects in accord with John XXIII’s description of it in his opening address, “the loving mother of all, benign, patient, full of goodness and mercy.” The council chose to praise the positive aspects of Catholicism and establish the church’s identity on that basis rather than by trying to make the church look good by making others look bad.

         A most remarkable feature of Lumen gentium, little commented upon, is “the call to holiness,” the subject of the fifth chapter in the final version.  That call then became a leitmotif of the council recurring again and again in the documents.  Holiness, the council said, is what the church is about.  This is an old truth, of course, and in itself not remarkable.  Yet previous councils, intent on exterior compliance with regulations, had never explicitly asserted this ideal and certainly never developed it so repeatedly and at length as did Vatican II.  

         The literary forms and vocabulary of those councils, arising from the assumption that councils were judicial-legislative bodies, inhibited the emergence of such a theme, just as the form and vocabulary of Vatican II encouraged it.  The call to holiness is something more than external conformity to an enforceable code of conduct.  It is a call of conscience that, though it must have external forms, originates in the God-given higher impulses of the human spirit, which in the council often got specified in commitment to the service of others and to the search for communion with them.    

         The shift in form required adopting a vocabulary that was new to councils, in which the theme of reconciliation, though expressed in a variety of terms, emerged with dominant force.

Instead of words consisting primarily in anathemas and verdicts of guilty-as-charged, the council spoke most characteristically in words of friendship, partnership, kinship, brotherhood, sisterhood, reciprocity, dialogue,  collegiality, conscience, and a call to interiority—a call to holiness. 

         Such words occur too frequently and too consistently in the documents of the council to be dismissed as mere window-dressing or casual asides.  They imbue Vatican II with a literary and, hence, thematic unity unique among church councils.  They express an overall orientation and a coherence in outlook. They are central to understanding the council.

         They express values. The values are anything but new to the Christian tradition.  They are as common in Christian discourse, or more common, than their opposite numbers.  But they are not common in councils, nor did they up to that time play such a determinative role in official church pronouncements.  Vatican II did not invent the words or imply they were not already fundamental in a Christian way of life.  Yet, taken as a whole, they convey the sweep of a newly formulated and forcefully specified way of proceeding that Vatican II held up for contemplation, admiration, and actualization.  That way of proceeding was the most pervasive of the issues-under-the-issues or the issues-across-the-issues at Vatican II.  It was the essence of the “spirit of Vatican II.”

         A simple pairing of the model implied by this vocabulary with the model it wanted to replace or balance conveys the vocabulary’s import: from commands to invitations, from laws to ideals, from threats to persuasion, from coercion to conscience, from monologue to dialogue, from ruling to serving, from exclusion to inclusion, from hostility to friendship, from suspicion to trust, from rivalry to partnership, from fault-finding to appreciation, and from behavior-modification to inner appropriation.

         In promoting the values implicit in this model, the council did not deny the validity of the contrasting values.  No institution can, for instance, be simply open-ended. Sooner or later decision is required.  No institution can be all-inclusive and not in the process lose its identity.  Certainly, no institution whose very reason for existence is proclaiming the gospel message can be so committed to reconciliation as to compromise that message. Yet, what is more constitutive of the message than love of neighbor?

         The opening words of Gaudium et spes encapsulate the message and take us to the heart of Vatican II: “The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men and women of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the grief and affliction of the followers of Christ as well.  Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.” (1)       

 The council was a rich and complex event, in which it is easy to get lost in the trees and lose sight of the forest.  If it is important to reflect on how the council changed us in certain particulars, it is even more important to grasp the new orientation the council envisaged for the church and, in so doing, for every Catholic.  Despite the way leaders in the council sometimes expressed themselves, they fully realized that Vatican II as a self-proclaimed pastoral council was for that reason also a teaching council.  Vatican II taught many things but few more important than the style of relationships that was to prevail in the church.  It did not “define” that teaching but taught it on virtually every page though the form and vocabulary it adopted. By examining the form and vocabulary, the “letter,” we arrive at the “spirit,” which is not a momentary effervescence but a consistent and verifiable reorientation. 

The council therefore issued a message bigger than any particular.  Bold yet soft-spoken, the message was meant to find resonance in the hearts of all persons sensitive to the call of conscience.  It inculcated reconciliation with others and a search for communion.  It inculcated those goods, we must remember, not only in relationships with those outside the church but also with those within.

Today, in a world increasingly wracked with discord, rancor, name-calling, hate-spewing blogs, pre-emptive strikes, war and the threat of war, the message could not be more timely.  It is a message counter-cultural while at the same time responsive to the deepest yearnings of the human heart.  Peace on earth.  Good will to men. ###

Sáng

Vì chẳng có gì bí ẩn mà lại không trở nên hiển hiện, chẳng có gì che giấu mà người ta lại không biết và không bị đưa ra ánh sáng. (Lc 8,17)

When Jesus says:  "Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Luke 21:33), he shows us a direct way to eternal life.  The words of Jesus have the power to transform our hearts and minds and lead us into the Kingdom of God.  "The words I have spoken to you," Jesus says, "are spirit and they are life"  (John 6:63).
Through meditation we can let the words of Jesus descend from our minds into our hearts and create there a dwelling place for the Spirit.  Whatever we do and wherever we go, let us stay close to the words of Jesus.  They are words of eternal life. (Nouwen G)

Thực tế

"Người gieo giống đi ra gieo hạt giống của mình. Trong khi người ấy gieo, thì có hạt rơi xuống vệ đường, người ta giẫm lên và chim trời ăn mất. Hạt khác rơi trên đá, và khi mọc lên, lại héo đi vì thiếu ẩm ướt. Có hạt rơi vào giữa bụi gai, gai cùng mọc lên, làm nó chết nghẹt. Có hạt lại rơi nhằm đất tốt, và khi mọc lên, nó sinh hoa kết quả gấp trăm.” (Lc 8,5-8)

Lạc quan & thực tế.
Lạc quan: thế nào cũng có những hạt rơi vào đất tốt.
Thực tế: không chỉ có đất tốt.
Điều quan trọng: cần biết đối tượng là đất gì: tốt, gai, sỏi, chai?
Và tâm hồn mình: đất gì?
Mỗi tối: nhổ cỏ, nhặt sỏi, cày mềm...

Theo

Người bảo ông: "Anh hãy theo tôi! " Ông đứng dậy đi theo Người. (Mt 9,9) So sánh 2 Tin Mừng Mc và Mt. Nhờ theo Chúa mà Thánh Matthêu phát huy được mọi tài năng và ảnh hưởng của ông thật vô cùng lớn lao.

Soi

Chị đứng đằng sau, sát chân Người mà khóc,
lấy nước mắt mà tưới ướt chân Người.
Chị lấy tóc mình mà lau,
rồi hôn chân Người và lấy dầu thơm mà đổ lên. (Lc 7,36)

 Rửa mặt soi gương.
Gương soi là Chúa và Lời của Ngài.
Tha nhiều thì yêu nhiều.
Điều kỳ diệu xẩy ra.

Khó chiều

Vậy tôi phải ví người thế hệ này với ai? Họ giống ai?
Họ giống như lũ trẻ ngồi ngoài chợ gọi nhau mà nói:
"Tụi tôi thổi sáo cho các anh,
mà các anh không nhảy múa;
tụi tôi hát bài đưa đám,
mà các anh không khóc than.
(Lc 7,31-32)

Thăm

"Một vị ngôn sứ vĩ đại đã xuất hiện giữa chúng ta,
và Thiên Chúa đã viếng thăm dân Người" (Lc,7-16)

Làm sao cảm nhận được Chúa viếng thăm
giữa những lúc tăm tối nhất?
Thực ra lúc nào Chúa cũng ở với tôi,
và sự viếng thăm đây
chính là những nụ hôn thần thiêng Chúa dành cho tôi.
Những nụ hôn mang lại tràn thề sức sống và tình thương.

Phán

"Thưa Ngài, không dám phiền Ngài quá như vậy, vì tôi không đáng rước Ngài vào nhà tôi. Cũng vì thế, tôi không nghĩ mình xứng đáng đến gặp Ngài. Nhưng xin Ngài cứ nói một lời, thì đầy tớ của tôi được khỏi bệnh. (Mc 7,6-7)

A Comedian and a Cardinal Open Up on Spirituality

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, NYT,Sept 15,2012

The comedian Stephen Colbert and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York bantered on stage Friday night before 3,000 cheering, stomping, chanting students at Fordham University, in what may have been the most successful Catholic youth evangelization event since Pope John Paul II last appeared at World Youth Day.

The evening was billed as an opportunity to hear two Catholic celebrities discuss how joy and humor infuse their spiritual lives. They both delivered, with surprises and zingers that began the moment the two walked onstage. Mr. Colbert went to shake Cardinal Dolan’s hand, but the cardinal took Mr. Colbert’s hand and kissed it — a disarming role reversal for a big prelate with a big job and a big ring.

Cardinal Dolan was introduced as a man who might one day be elected pope, to which he said, “If I am elected pope, which is probably the greatest gag all evening, I’ll be Stephen III.”

The event would not have happened without its moderator, the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and prolific author who has made it his mission to remind Catholics that there is no contradiction between faithful and funny. His latest book is “Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life.”

Father Martin said in an interview earlier this week that the idea came from two young theology professors at Fordham University. The president of Fordham, the Rev. Joseph M. McShane, invited Cardinal Dolan to participate, and he readily accepted. Father Martin, who has made enough appearances on “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central to earn the title “official chaplain,” invited Mr. Colbert.

The event was announced with much fanfare by Fordham, and CNN was considering broadcasting it, Father Martin said. But then the university announced that it was closed to the media, without any explanation. Three thousand students and faculty members filled the Rose Hill Gymnasium, stomping on the bleachers, doing the wave, and chanting “Ste-PHEN” like the revved-up audiences for Mr. Colbert’s studio show.

Some journalists were admitted as guests, and the cone of silence was shattered when many students and an editor from the Catholic magazine Commonweal sent out live tweets narrating the most memorable one-liners of the evening.

Mr. Colbert shed his character for the evening, and offered several sincere insights into how he manages to remain a faithful Catholic while making fun of his own religion and most others.

“Are there flaws in the church?” Mr. Colbert said, “Absolutely. But is there great beauty in the church? Absolutely.”

He said he did not make jokes about the sacraments, or put a picture of the crucifixion on screen. But he said he liked to poke fun at the use and misuse of religion, especially in politics. “Then I’m not talking about Christ,” he said, “I’m talking about Christ as cudgel.”

Mr. Colbert is the youngest of 11 children, raised by Catholics who both attended Catholic colleges. His father and two of his brothers died in a plane crash when Mr. Colbert was 10. He said that after the funeral, in the limousine on the way home, one of his sisters made another sister laugh so hard that she fell on the floor. At that moment, Mr. Colbert said he resolved that he wanted to be able to make someone laugh that hard.

He is raising his children as Catholics, and he teaches Sunday school at his parish in New Jersey. “The real reason I remain a Catholic is what the church gives me, which is love,” he said.

Cardinal Dolan introduced Mr. Colbert’s wife, Evelyn, who was sitting in the audience, and brought her up to the stage. The cardinal put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and when Mr. Colbert feigned offense, the cardinal said, in a remark that brought down the house, “I can kiss your wife. You can’t kiss mine.”

Mr. Colbert used his time onstage with the cardinal to air his complaints about the new English translation of the Mass, which was just introduced in American parishes this year.

“Consubstantial!” Mr. Colbert exclaimed, using a particularly cumbersome word that is now recited in the Nicene Creed. “It’s the creed! It’s not the SAT prep.”

The audience sent in questions by Twitter and e-mail, which Father Martin pitched to the two men. Among them: “I am considering the priesthood. Would it be prudent to avoid dating?”

Cardinal Dolan responded that, on the contrary, “it’s good” to date, partly to discern whether the celibate life of a priest is what you want. Then he added, “By the way, let me give you the phone numbers of my nieces.”

Mr. Colbert said, “It’s actually a great pickup line: I’m seriously considering the priesthood. You can change my mind.”

Another question was even more pointed: “So many Christian leaders spread hatred, especially of homosexuals. How can you maintain your joy?”

Cardinal Dolan responded with two meandering anecdotes — one about having met this week with Muslim leaders, and another about encountering picketers outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

But Mr. Colbert’s response was quick and unequivocal. “If someone spreads hate,” he said, “then they’re not your religious leader.” ###