St. Isidore, bishop and doctor of the Church
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)
Lord, I see you and contemplate you on the cross, nailed to the wood, where you show me your love. Help me that every time I encounter your cross, I may ask you for the strength to carry it. Be my only refuge and strength so that I may live in your presence until my last day. Thank you for your cross and for your love!
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 11:45-56
At that time many of the Jews who had gone to Martha and Mary's house, when they saw that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called the Sanhedrin together and said, “What good will it be to do? This man is doing many wonders. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy our temple and our nation.”.
But one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing. You do not understand that it is expedient that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” This, however, he did not say for himself, but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather together in unity the children of God, who were scattered abroad. Therefore, from that day they decided to kill him.
For this reason, Jesus no longer walked publicly among the Jews, but withdrew to the city of Ephraim, in the region adjacent to the wilderness, and there he stayed with his disciples.
The Passover of the Jews was drawing near, and many from the surrounding regions came to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus in the temple and said to one another, “What will happen, will he not come for the feast?”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
The reason why they wanted to kill Jesus was the fear that a political rebel group would be formed that would lead the Jewish people to have problems with the Roman authorities. At first glance it seems contradictory that they want to kill him for all the wonders he does, since this is extremely good, and who would not want people to be healed, even if he was a bad person, because there is always some goodness in the depths of every heart.
Jesus« mission is announced and for this he has been preparing for 33 years. The time of his last struggle with the forces of evil has come and it remains for him to wait for the evil people to begin to act. Surely in Christ's heart there are feelings of fear, but not of despair. How is it possible that a person, in the midst of so much evil and hardship, can go on? How can he continue to trust in God? Christ is faithful to the one who has given him the power to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out demons; this power that can do all things. This is why Jesus says, »I know in whom I have put my trust and he will not let me down".
In difficult times, something that can help us is to look at the crucifix on which Jesus stands, a man who trusted God to the point of death. We must allow ourselves to be challenged by his trust and love, which are infinite treasures because, if we are with God, who can stand against us?
Christ does not ask us only to believe, but also invites us, to the extent of our possibilities, to do what we can to increase our faith, our love, our trust, because man does not live by faith alone, but also by works.
«With people's lives it seems easier to put labels and tags that freeze and stigmatize not only the past but also the present and the future of people. We put labels on people: “this one is like this,” “this one did this, and that's it,” and they have to carry that for the rest of their days. That's how these people who gossip -the gossipers- are, they are like that. And labels, in the end, the only thing they achieve is to divide: here are the good and there are the bad; here are the righteous and there are the sinners. And Jesus does not accept that, that is the culture of the adjective, we love to adjectivize people, we love: “What is your name? My name is good”. No, that is an adjective. What is your name? -Who are you, what do you do, what are your illusions, how does your heart feel? The gossipers are not interested, they quickly look for a label to get rid of them. The culture of the adjective that disqualifies people. Think about that so as not to fall into this that is so easily offered to us in society.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, January 25, 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.
I will contemplate a crucifix and talk to Christ.
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.
