Thứ Sáu, 12 tháng 10, 2012

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.

Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 10, 2012

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.

Thứ Tư, 10 tháng 10, 2012

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

Thứ Ba, 9 tháng 10, 2012

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.

Thứ Hai, 8 tháng 10, 2012

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.

Chủ Nhật, 7 tháng 10, 2012

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!