H. Francisco J. Posada, 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)
May I experience your love more deeply in my life, Lord, so that this Lent I may resolve to love you more as I learn to love my brothers and sisters more.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 6, 36-38
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful. Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given to you: you will receive a good measure, well shaken, pressed down, and running over in the folds of your robe. For with the same measure with which you measure, you will be measured.”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
A generous attitude is always rewarded. Someone who lends his things and time, even if at the precise moment he is not paid back, surely in God's eyes earns a lot. It is like someone who is always available for those who need him. He helps as quickly as possible, he is always on the phone, because at any moment a call or a message may come from a person with a need or because he just needs someone to talk to. This person will surely earn a great reward and the friendship of many people.
Another aspect of this Gospel is confession. The example of God who has forgiven us of all our sins, those we have committed and those we will commit. From this should arise our attitude of forgiveness for others. The experience of God's mercy in our lives is the experience of Christ, who is present, who listens to us and really speaks to us and tells us not to worry, that everything will be all right. This is the first step of our experience of God: to feel Him close and to be able to talk to Him. He fills all our great aspirations and desires. We discover that everything we want to know is in God, everything we desire most deeply is in Him, everything good that our heart desires is God, the ultimate goodness.
«It is necessary to speak the same language of Jesus, the language of love, the language of you. The tongue of Jesus is not spoken by those who say “I”, but by those who come out of 'I'. And yet, how often, even in doing good, the hypocrisy of self reigns: I do what is right, but to be considered good; I give, but to receive in return; I help, but to attract the friendship of that important person. This is how the tongue of self speaks. The Word of God, on the other hand, urges us to an "unfeigned love", to give to those who do not have in order to give back to us, to serve without seeking rewards and counter-rewards. We can then ask ourselves: Do I help someone from whom I will not be able to receive? Do I, as a Christian, have at least one poor person as a friend?
The poor are precious in the eyes of God because they do not speak the language of self; they do not support themselves by their own strength; they need someone to take them by the hand. They remind us that the Gospel is lived in this way, as beggars reaching out to God.»
(Pope Francis, homily Nov. 17, 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.
To approach the sacrament of reconciliation, if I need it. To share my experience with someone else.
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.
