Balam Loza, 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)
As I look at the flight of the swallows, the blooming of the flowers, the beautiful mountain view, I see your hand in each of these events. Who am I? Nothing and everything. Nothing because in reality man is a speck of dust, but everything because I am your son. That is worth more than everything. I feel in your hands as a child feels safe in his father's arms. Father God, today I want to enjoy myself as when I had fun as a child with my father. I want to brag about you among my friends; I want to say with great simplicity: “My Dad is the best in the world”.”
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 10:25-37
At that time, a doctor of the law came to Jesus to test him and asked him, “Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read in it?” The doctor of the law answeredJesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your soul and with all your being, and your neighbor as yourself”. Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; if you do that, you will live.”. The doctor of the law, in order to justify himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus said to him, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who robbed him, wounded him, and left him half dead. It happened that a priest was going down the same road, and he saw him and passed by. Likewise a Levite who was passing by saw him and went on ahead. But a Samaritan who was on a journey, when he saw him, took pity on him, went up to him, anointed his wounds with oil and wine and bandaged them; then he put him on his mount, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend extra, I will repay you on my return.’ Which of these three do you think behaved as a neighbor to the man who was assaulted by robbers?” The doctor of the law answered him, “The one who had compassion on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
“The Christian's message is a message of love. But this love is not magical or platonic. It is not a love that is achieved without effort. It requires constant, sacrificial, detached work. It is, in two words, crucified love. It costs, but what it costs is worth it. The production of a small amount of silk costs a large part of the life of a caterpillar and long months of delicate care. Christ loved me to the end, giving the last drop of his blood.
It is not possible to imagine a life dedicated to others that does not cost. And Jesus, in this Gospel, says to the Pharisee, who knew the theory inside out: “Go on, do it! It is useless to know what we have to do if we do not do it. Every day must be a fresh start. No doubt we will have ups and downs. There will be times when we will let ourselves get carried away by comfort or selfishness. But we will always have a new opportunity to pick up, clean and clothe the needy.
Our calendars are full of activities that barely leave us a moment to breathe, to look into the eyes of others, to ask questions and take an interest in those with whom we spend so much of our time. No doubt many of those who passed by the Samaritan did not even turn to look at this poor man. He was an item for which there was no room in their agenda or expense account.
Do I have room for another in my life? Am I willing to say “no” to my own things in order to say “yes” to others? No matter the answer, all of life is a search and a struggle to reach this perfect love. No doubt all those who passed by the Samaritan and said “no” said “yes” at other times. We may have failed many times but there is always another chance.
«In the face of this essential content of the faith, the Church cannot afford to act as the priest and the Levite did with the man abandoned half-dead on the road. One cannot look the other way and turn one's back so as not to see many forms of poverty that cry out for mercy. To turn our backs in order not to see hunger, sickness, exploited people..., is a grave sin; it is also a modern sin, a present sin. We Christians cannot afford it. It would not be worthy of the Church or of a Christian to “pass by” and pretend to have a clear conscience just because we have prayed or because we have gone to Mass on Sunday».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, September 3, 2016).
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 stop when I see a poor person and buy him something to eat. I will also dedicate some of my time to him without worrying about anything 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.
