Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr
Br. Alvaro Garcia, 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)
Jesus, I love you, I love you so much. Stay in my heart and continue to fill it with your deep joy and enthusiasm. I want your peace, I want your love. I want, in short, your Holy Spirit. Give me light to deepen your words.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 12, 24-26
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat sown in the ground dies, it remains unfruitful; but if it dies, it will produce much fruit. He who loves himself loses himself; he who hates himself in this world secures for himself eternal life.
Whoever will serve me, let him follow me, so that where I am, there may my servant be also. He who serves me will be honored by my Father”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Today is St. Lawrence and tonight the «rain of stars» will be seen in the sky representing his tears of sorrow as he offered his life for Jesus. St. Lawrence was a deacon born in Hispania during Roman times. Emperor Valerius issued a persecution, and Deacon Lawrence was imprisoned and later burned on a gridiron.
Is it true that all Christians are to die for Christ? What is this about the dead seed that bears fruit? We are all called to give our lives for Christ, each one in the way God asks of him. Some will be as missionaries. Others, it will be by working with exemplarity and charity in their daily work. Others... But all always with a basic attitude: «I no longer exist, I am dead to myself». When we begin to think about our own well-being, the unhappiness of dissatisfaction arises, even when we give ourselves to our brothers, but we continue to look for ourselves.
If we want to follow the Lord, He asks only one thing of us: let us take up our cross, let us not think so much of ourselves but of making others happy. Then God will honor us as the Gospel says, and will give us deep happiness and much spiritual fruitfulness. Just as St. Lawrence gave his life for the Lord in such a brutal way over the fire, let us give it every day in the blazing fire of charity, even if it brings a few tears to our eyes. To die to the world is to live for Christ.
«But he who has Christ on his own side really fears nothing. And that is why Christians, true Christians, are never easy-going, easy-going men. Their meekness is not confused with a sense of insecurity and submission. St. Paul spurs Timothy to suffer for the Gospel and says: “God has given us a spirit of timidity, but of strength, charity and prudence. Fallen, they always rise again. This, brothers and sisters, is why the Christian is a missionary of hope. Not by his merit, but thanks to Jesus, the grain of wheat that does not fall into the earth and die, remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
(Audience of H.H. Francis, October 4, 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.
I will suffer with patience the adversities and defects that my neighbor will suppose to me on this day. As St. Therese used to say, I will be that grain of sand that everyone can trample on and ignore, knowing that Jesus is the only love I care to receive.
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.
