San Charbel
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, help me to listen to your word with generosity and to be able to deepen it in my heart. May it be your Word that helps me to bear much more fruit and thus be able to extend your Kingdom in my heart, and in the heart of each one of those around me.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:18-23
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Listen to what the parable of the sower means. To every man who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the devil comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart. This is what is meant by the grains that fell along the way.
That which is sown on stony ground signifies one who hears the word and immediately accepts it with joy; but, being fickle, he does not let it take root, and as soon as tribulation or persecution comes upon him because of the word, he succumbs.
The sown among the thorns represents the one who hears the word, but the worries of life and the seduction of riches suffocate it and it remains unfruitful.
On the other hand, that which is sown on good soil represents those who hear the word, understand it and bear fruit; some, a hundredfold, others, sixty, and others, thirty”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Today the Gospel invites us to listen attentively. Often during the day we hear many things, but there are only a few to which we pay attention. The same thing happens today in the Gospel that explains the parable of the sower. The attention that this parable requires is radical because in itself it demands something that is deep, constant and must die in order to bear fruit. But how can we be constant in listening to the Word of God?
Christ himself wants to give us the answer. We need to have good soil, to be attentive to how we are taking care of, cultivating and producing the seeds of God that fall in our lives, especially in the moments in which we feel that his hand passes through our lives. To remember how God himself is touching our concrete history and what he is asking of us now to prepare the good soil in which the seed falls and multiplies a hundredfold.
«In this “destiny” of the Kingdom of God we can intuit the plot of Jesus“ life: he was also a weak sign for his contemporaries, an event almost unknown to the official historians of the time. He defined himself as a ”grain of wheat“ that dies in the ground, but only in this way can it bear ”much fruit“. The symbol of the seed is eloquent: one day the peasant plunges it into the ground (a gesture that looks like a burial), and then, ”whether he sleeps or rises, night or day, the grain sprouts and grows, without himself knowing how». A seed that sprouts is more the work of God than of the man who sowed it. God always precedes us, God always surprises us."
(Angelus of H.H. Francis, March 6, 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.
Lord Jesus, touch my life with love and renew my dedication so that when people see me, they may encounter you. May I be a living example of following your word.
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.
Give a smile to someone in need.
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.
