Saint Francis de Sales, bishop and doctor of the Church
Br. Juan Pablo García Hincapié, L.C.
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, here I stand before You. Today You are passing through my life. I want to rekindle in me your call. Give me the grace to follow you generously. Give me the grace to be a fervent apostle of your Kingdom so that I may bring, to those I meet today, your Gospel through my life given to you.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 3:13-19
At that time Jesus went up on the mountain, called those whom he wanted, and they followed him. He appointed twelve to stay with him, to send them out to preach and to have the power to cast out demons.
He then constituted the twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; then James and John, sons of Zebedee, to whom he gave the name Boanergues, that is, “sons of thunder”; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the Alpheus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed him.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Today Christ calls his apostles by name to carry the Gospel. The times when I am most renewed in my love for my vocation is when I remember that Christ calls me by name. We can remember that, at a specific moment in life, Jesus called us, but this call continues today in the present moment. This call comes alive because Christ continues to call us today by our own name. He knows that, in pronouncing our name, he is calling his apostle, with his virtues, qualities, personality and even with defects. Knowing all this, Christ continues to pronounce our name, day by day, because his mercy is eternal; and in the same way he knows how many souls can approach him through our surrender. Perhaps we do not know how much we are doing for the King, but we are sure that his Kingdom is extending because it has begun to emerge in our hearts as apostles.
«Even today the world needs to see in the Lord's disciples prophets, that is, people who are courageous and persevering in responding to the Christian vocation. People who follow the “push” of the Holy Spirit, who sends them to announce hope and salvation to the poor and excluded; people who follow the logic of faith and not of miracles; people dedicated to the service of all, without privileges or exclusions. In short: people who are open to accept in themselves the will of the Father and are committed to faithfully witnessing it to others. Let us pray to Mary Most Holy, that we may grow and walk with the same apostolic zeal for the Kingdom of God that animated the mission of Jesus.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, February 3, 2019).
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.
I will remember, on a visit to Christ the Eucharist, my first call to be his apostle.
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.
