Luis Alejandro Huesca Cantú, LC
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Christ, our King.
Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord Jesus, You are here, make me feel Your presence! I ask you to increase my faith, I firmly believe that you are here. In the silence I hear your voice, I hear the whisper of your words.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 8:34-9:1
«And when he had called the crowd to join his disciples, he said to them, »Whoever wishes to come with me must deny himself and take up his cross and then follow me. For if anyone wants to save his life, he will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the sake of the good news will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he lacks his life? For what can he give to regain it? And if a man is ashamed of me and of my words among such idolatrous and sinful people, the Son of man will also be ashamed of him when he comes with the glory of his Father".
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
«What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses himself?» (Mc 8, 36). Many questions appear in the Gospels, but undoubtedly, this question of Christ particularly penetrates the heart, enters like a dart to the depths of the heart. It invites us to pause and reflect for a moment: «What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he loses himself?»
I remember a few years ago I admired the greatest winner in professional cycling. He won seven times in a row the Tour de France. He rode his bike up mountains faster than anyone else. Lance Armstrong's accomplishments were impressive. He had overcome cancer and continued to win races. He had conquered the highest peaks and seemed to have the world in his hands. In the end, the story does not have a happy ending. He had cheated himself, cheating others. All of us who admired him were greatly disappointed. Lance Armstrong was using substances that allowed him to have more endurance than his competitors in cycling. He had won the world, but he had lost himself.
But there are also the saints next door, as Pope Francis calls those who live the Gospel around us. They are those who have faced this question of the Gospel and have understood the answer. Being helpful, being kind, saying hello, doing small acts of charity and always being ready to forgive are the characteristics of the saints next door. They don't make the news. And they are most likely not famous in YouTube, But they have discovered that Christ has won them, and so they have found their place here on earth and a dwelling place there in heaven.
Have you discovered the saint next door? Are you that saint to the one who lives next door?
«I like to see holiness in the patient people of God: in the parents who raise their children with so much love, in those men and women who work to bring home the bread, in the sick, in the elderly sisters who keep smiling. In this constancy to go on day by day, I see the holiness of the Church militant. That is often the holiness next door, of those who live close to us and are a reflection of God's presence, or, to use another expression, the middle class of holiness.» (H.H. Francis, Gaudete et Exultate n. 7).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
To go out and help someone who needs me, even in simple things: opening the door, smiling, greeting, thanking.
Farewell
We thank you, Lord, for all your benefits, you who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
