H. Alexis Montiel, 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)
My Jesus, your heart is the only thing I ask for; give me strength and confidence to follow you wherever I go.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 4:35-41
One day, when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go to the other side of the lake.” Then the disciples sent the crowd away and led Jesus away in the same boat he was in. And there were other boats with them.
Suddenly there was a strong wind, and the waves crashed against the boat and filled it with water. Jesus was asleep in the stern, reclining on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Master, do you not care that we are sinking?” He awoke, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be silent, be silent!” Then the wind ceased and a great calm ensued. Jesus said to them, “Why were you so afraid, have you still no faith?” They were all amazed and said to one another, “Who is this man, whom even the wind and the sea obey?”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Whenever I walk down the street I am asked something about religion; I could answer that there is only one religion or that the truths of religion are superior or that there is an afterlife that we call heaven where good people go... but if all this is true, it is of no use if we consider God as a simple judge or a watchmaker who does not put his hand in us again, as some writers used to say.
Jesus is someone, someone who accompanies us, someone who protects us, he is the one who gives meaning to all the things we have mentioned and, since he is someone, we have to call on him. The apostles teach us that we should not be afraid to ask and to ask for things, to ask him for help; although the help the apostles asked for was human, Jesus offers us supernatural help.
Today we have stopped asking for human help, we ask for supernatural things, or things that are not necessary, but we do not ask for what should really matter to us, such as a heart capable of forgiveness or a little company; we do not ask with the confidence of a friend, we do not ask with the assurance of a child who will receive things from his father. Let us ask the Lord.
«And while we wait for the Lord to come and calm the storm, by our silent witness in prayer, we give ourselves and others reason for our hope. This will help us to live in the holy tension between the memory of the promises, the reality of the cruelty present on the cross and the hope of the resurrection.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, April 14, 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 go to someone who finds it hard to forgive and invite them to ask God for the grace of forgiveness. Or I will ask for the grace not to separate myself from the love of God and, also, for a friend.
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.
