Edgar Maldonado, 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)
My Father, You called all things by name and the whole creation, without hesitation, was shaped according to Your Word, according to the name You gave it. Say my name, Father, reveal to me my identity, say my name and I will dedicate the rest of my days to model my life after your Word.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 1:1-18
In the beginning there was already the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In the beginning the Word was with God. Through the Word everything was made, and without the Word nothing was made that has been made. In the Word there was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not receive it. [And there arose a man sent from God, whose name was John: he came as a witness, to bear witness of the light, that through him all might come to faith. He was not the light, but a witness of the light]. The Word was the true light, which enlightens every man. It came into the world, and was in the world; the world was made through it, and the world knew it not. It came into his own, and his own received it not. But as many as received her, to them she gives power to become the sons of God, if they believe in her name. These were born, not of blood, nor of fleshly love, nor of human love, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. [John bears witness to him and cries out, saying, “This is he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me passes before me, for he was before me.’” For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God: it is God the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, who has made him known].
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Merry Christmas! St. Paul asks us to rejoice in the Lord, today a child has been born to us, today life is born; The Virgin gave birth to the Light. Contemplating the holy family, we realize how difficult it is to prepare a place for the child Jesus. If it was a challenge for Mary and Joseph to give the Son of God a grotto in Bethlehem, after two thousand years it is still just as complicated to prepare a place for the Son of God in our inner grottoes, our hearts.
How do we prepare a place for the Son of God? The first thing is this, true worshipers of the Father, will worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, without double faces or half measures. When we worship the true God, the Father, our whole person is involved in the worship of a Father so tender and loving that he has not hesitated to give us everything, even his own Son. Traditionally we have been told that the birth of Christ took place at night, well, let us listen attentively to the voice of the Lord in the middle of the night of our heart. Let us allow ourselves to be touched and challenged by the Word of God as it is read by you or by someone else. Listen to the Lord pronounce your name
«But what does this mean for us? That the Son of God, the blessed by nature, comes to make us blessed children by grace. Yes, God comes into the world as a son to make us children of God. What a wonderful gift! Today God amazes us and says to each one of us: “You are a marvel. Sister, brother, do not be discouraged. Are you tempted to feel out of place? God says to you: ”No, you are my child! Do you have the feeling of not making it, fear of not measuring up, fear of not getting out of the tunnel of trial? God says to you: “Take courage, I am with you”. He does not say it to you in words, but by making you a son like you and for you, to remind you what is the starting point for you to begin again: to recognize yourself as a son of God, as a daughter of God. This is the starting point for any new birth. This is the indestructible heart of our hope, the burning core that sustains existence: beyond our qualities and our defects, stronger than the wounds and failures of the past, than fears and worries about the future, lies this truth: we are beloved children. And God's love for us does not and will never depend on us: it is gratuitous love. Tonight has no other explanation: only grace. Everything is grace. The gift is free, without any merit on our part, pure grace“. (H.H. Francis, Homily of December 24, 2021).
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.
Lord, you know how hard life can be, sometimes I have felt abandoned, forgotten; I have come to feel so alone... when I have thought that there is nothing special here on this earth, you have come to accompany me and motivate me to keep on fighting. Living is so beautiful, there is so much to do, so much to love; I ask you, be you the love of my life. Be you my reason for living... speak to me, say my name.
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.
Answer these questions and bring my answers to the tabernacle:
What reason do I have to love God?
What reason do I have to love my neighbor?
What reason do I have to love myself?
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.
