Iván Yoed González Aréchiga, 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)
Thank you for always calling me to meet you. I want to come to you and listen to your word. And also to speak to you. I want you to know how I am. I want you to know, from my voice, a little bit of me.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 5, 43-48
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, ”Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and slander you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, who makes his sun rise on the good and the evil, and sends his rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you deserve? do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you do that is so great? do not the heathen do the same? You, therefore, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect".
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
This doctrine is more than just a sentiment. This doctrine looks into the deepest of hearts. Only in this doctrine can I trust that I have a value that I will never lose. Even if I were the most sinful, the most imperfect person, the one who never achieves what he seeks or desires, even so, my value does not change. God created me. He endowed me with dignity. I am his image and likeness. And so is every woman and every man.
This is what the commandment is all about: learning to look at the heart. Wouldn't it be beautiful if we all looked at each other's hearts? Then there would not be constant mistrust, prejudice, false opinions. It is not true that every opinion is acceptable. Sometimes we can indeed be wrong about our neighbor. Jesus commanded us, therefore, to love also those whom we would consider our enemies. And those can be just as simply those people we don't like. How often I hate someone or criticize someone just because of the way they ‘are’ even when in essence they are not bad.
Today I will train my gaze once again. I will seek to look from God. From the One who loves everyone. From the One who loves me too - in spite of my defects, but also with my many qualities. In the same way, every woman and every man has so much that is good! Teach me, Lord, to look as You do.
«When we speak of “enemies” we do not have to think of who knows what people who are different and distant from us; we speak also of ourselves, who can come into conflict with our neighbor, sometimes with our relatives. How many enmities in families, how many! Let us think about this. Enemies are also those who speak ill of us, who slander us and treat us unjustly. And it is not easy to digest this. We are called to respond to all of them with good, which also has its strategies, inspired by love.
(Homily of H.H. Francis, February 19, 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 train my Christian gaze. The one that looks at the heart with appreciation and charity even those that I do not like something about their person or way of acting.
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.
