St. Rita of Cascia, nun
Br. Jesús Alberto Salazar Brenes, 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, in this moment of prayer I want to ask you to bring peace to my heart and to know how to face the adversities of this day with faith and joy.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 16:20-23
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice. You will be sad, but your sadness will be transformed into joy.
When a woman is about to give birth, she is anguished, because her time has come; but once she has given birth, she no longer remembers her anguish, because of the joy of having brought a man into the world. So also now you are sad, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will be able to take away your joy. On that day you will ask me nothing”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
The Church today presents us with a great model of holiness, St. Rita of Cascia, who was a wife, mother of a family and a nun, and who, thanks to having engraved the words of this Gospel in her heart, attained holiness.
For us Christians sometimes it may seem that life is harder. We make the best decisions according to righteous ethics and not with respect to the world's criteria, but to please God and have our conscience at peace; we suffer some physical or spiritual evil where it seems that God is silent.
St. Rita in her life story also suffered all these problems, and if she succeeded, why can't we? The saints were normal people, with their struggles and sufferings, but the great difference lies in the fact that they knew on whom their gaze was fixed and towards Him they directed all their works because they were certain that the Lord was going to console them. If consolation did not come in this life, it would come in eternal glory.
The Lord promises us in the Word that he gives us today that nothing and no one will be able to take away our joy. The authentic Christian, on the road to holiness, is light wherever he goes. His joy is not only a superficial joy for a while, but a profound joy that, even if a thousand storms come upon him, has its anchor, its rock, in Jesus.
Who can rob us of the joy that your love gives us, Lord? Yes, you alone have words of eternal life that fill our hearts and make us light to bring to our brothers and sisters.
«God loves us with a Father's heart. And this is the beginning of joy. The fire of Jesus“ love makes this joy overflow, and it is enough to set the whole world on fire. How can you not be able to change this society and whatever you propose! Do not be afraid of the future! Dare to dream big! To that big dream I invite you today. Please do not get into the ”chiquitaje», do not have low flights, fly high and dream big".»
(Blessing of H.H. Francis, September 7, 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.
To create a good atmosphere of joy in my family.
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.
