Rubén Tornero, LC
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, thank you for this moment you grant me to be with you. You have brought me with your loving hand. Here I am, just as I am. Before you I can be who I am without any pretense. You know me and love me as I am. Increase my faith in you. I want to truly believe in the love you have for me; I desire to experience all the affection of one who loved me - and still loves me - so much that he gave himself for me on a cross and gives himself to me every day in the Eucharist. Help me to trust in you. I want to stop being afraid of the future, of pain, and allow you to do according to your will in my life. Teach me to love as you do. My heart longs to love and be loved. Do not let the difficulties and wounds of my heart hold back these desires to give my life for love. Give me your Heart and ignite in me the fire of your love. Amen.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 12:13-21
At that time, as Jesus was in the midst of a crowd, a man said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to share my inheritance with me.” But Jesus replied, “Friend, who appointed me a judge or arbiter between you?” And addressing the crowd, he said, “Beware of all kinds of greed, for no one's life is based on the abundance of possessions.” Then he told them this parable: “The possessions of a rich man yielded a great harvest, and he began to think to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have no place to store my crops? I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, ’You have plenty of goods laid up for many years; have good cheer, eat, drink, and be merry.‘ But God said to him, ’”You fool! This night your life will be demanded of you; and whose will those things be which you have prepared?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.".
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Today, Jesus, you tell me that my life does not depend on riches and that greed is not the solution to my problems. Deep down, Jesus, the problem with money is that it makes me put my trust in things that cannot fill me. Today you speak to me about money, but you say the same thing to me about excessive pleasure, about pride, about excessive self-confidence... all these things promise to fill my life at the cost of abandoning you. Many are the voices that invite me to stop working for your Kingdom.
They tell me it's foolishness, that nothing can change, that I shouldn't waste my life on something so fanciful, that it's too difficult, that it's not worth it... Help me trust in you, beloved Jesus! I believe that, even though it may seem like it's not worth working for You and Your Kingdom in this life, in the next, the reward will be greater than I could ever imagine: Yourself.
Jesus, do not let me be seduced by the glint of coins when You are the greatest treasure.
«Money is important, especially when there isn't any and food, school, and the children's future depend on it. But it becomes an idol when it becomes the end goal. Greed, which is not by chance a capital sin, is a sin of idolatry because the accumulation of money in itself becomes the ultimate purpose of one's actions.
(Homily of H.H. Francis, February 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.
Today I will seek to place my true treasure in God, dedicating an extra moment to prayer.
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.
