Iván Yoed González, 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, I believe in you. You offer me the gift of believing in you. I accept it and I believe in you. I come to you. I want to learn from you.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark 6, 14-29
At that time, because the fame of Jesus had spread so widely, the rumor reached the ears of King Herod that John the Baptist had risen from the dead and his powers were at work in Jesus. Others said that he was Elijah; and others, that he was a prophet, comparable to the ancients. But Herod insisted, “It is John, whose head I cut off, and who has risen again.” Herod had sent for John and had him thrown into prison and chained in chains. Herod had married Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife as your wife”. So Herod had him imprisoned. Herodias therefore had a great grudge against John and wanted to take his life; but she did not know how, because Herod regarded John with respect, for he knew that he was an upright and holy man, and he kept him under guard. When he heard him speak, he was disconcerted, but he liked to listen to him. The occasion came when Herod gave a banquet for his court, his officials and the chief people of Galilee, on the occasion of his birthday. The daughter of Herodias danced during the feast and her dancing pleased Herod and his guests very much. The king then said to the young woman, “Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” And he swore to her several times, “I will give you whatever you ask of me, even if it is half my kingdom.” She went to ask her mother, “What shall I ask of you?” Her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.” She immediately returned to the king and said, “I want you to give me right now, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist.” The king was very sad, but because of his oath and the guests, he did not want to snub the young woman, and immediately sent an executioner to bring John's head. The executioner went, beheaded him in prison, brought the head on a platter, gave it to the young woman, and she gave it to her mother. When John's disciples heard of this, they went and picked up the body and buried it.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Master, here I stand before you once more, is it not beautiful to be able to come before my Creator, simply to converse? It is nothing less than impossible for many to even imagine that a creature would literally sit and converse with Truth, with the Beginning and the End of all that exists. Already even these very concepts abyss me. I have the choice of falling into fear or into sublimation. I choose to listen to you.
You, Lord, dwell in the depths of our being, even more: you are everything in us. Because of you I live, I move, I breathe, I blink my eyes. You give me the gift of existence and you give me the awareness of recognizing you. There are no greater gifts, in truth, than those that direct me to you.
Herod was a man. He had a conscience too. As a human being he perceived within himself a call to welcome you, his God and mine. But freely, perhaps moved in part by fear of his entourage, he chose not to heed your voice. That is what I see in this passage. I cannot judge this man, but I can learn from him.
Did he behead John the Baptist to appease his conscience? It is probable. We do not know the final whereabouts of this man, but we hope for the best. What we do know is that Christ met him once again shortly before he was crucified and that he chose to remain silent in the face of an ambitious face of curiosity and pleasure.
With your silence, did you want to cry out to his conscience?... So many words, so much advice, so many admonitions this man had received in his life; little or nothing would move him a few more. But perhaps your silence, Lord, perhaps seeing your silence would be his salvation.
A silence of God that can mean so much! And how much I suffer them at times! But, how much I can hear you in them... I choose to listen to you.
«It is the bewilderment that, in the face of the novelty that revolutionizes history, closes in on itself, in its achievements, in its knowledge, in its successes. The bewilderment of those who sit on wealth without being able to see beyond it. A bewilderment that springs from the heart of those who want to control everything and everyone. It is the bewilderment of those who are immersed in the culture of winning at any cost; in that culture that only has room for the “winners” and at any price. A bewilderment that is born of fear and fear of what questions us and puts at risk our securities and truths, our ways of clinging to the world and to life. And Herod was afraid, and that fear led him to seek security in crime».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, January 6, 2017).
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.
When faced with criticism or negative comments about a person, I will seek to say something positive and/or divert the conversation to another topic, regardless of what others think or say.
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.
