Javier Castellanos, 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)
Mary, this Saturday I want to pray with you. Teach me to pray, as you taught Jesus when he was a little boy. Tell me about your Son, help me to know him from your motherly gaze. I place myself in your hands and offer you this day. Guide me and help me to do God's will for me. Amen.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark 6, 30-34
At that time, the apostles met Jesus again and told him all that they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Come away with me to a lonely place, and rest a while. For there were so many coming and going that they had no time to eat. Jesus and his apostles went away in a boat to a quiet, secluded place. The people saw them going and recognized them, so they came running overland from all the villages to that place and overtook them. When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd waiting for him, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
For Jesus there were no working hours. There were no vacations for him. Or rather, even moments of rest were included in his «work». Even today we read in the Gospel that on his «day of rest» his plans were broken. In that secluded place, the crowd keeps looking for him, and he readjusts his plans. It could be said that his working hours were the others.
The apostles saw this act. What did they perceive in Jesus? What lesson did they learn? That day they saw through the Heart of Jesus, and they narrate the event so that we too may enter into this mystery. For Christ, mission was part of his life, and not just a job. He knew he was sent by the Father, and out of love he gave himself fully. No timetable. No reservations.
Surely Christ learned this quality in his hidden life. He must have seen it in her home every day: Mary did not have a «mom schedule.» She was mom. When she cooked or did the laundry, but also when they rested on the Sabbath or went to the Easter feasts. At no time did she cease to be the mother of Jesus. Moreover, we can imagine that Jesus as a child, with his human intelligence, must have had a lot of questions. And he knew that he could go to his mother at any time of the day to learn about the leaven, the shepherds, the sheep, the coins... We can well suppose that Mary would have left the rest aside, teaching Jesus calmly.
Let us ask Mary today to teach us to be «full-time» Christians. May she make us like Jesus, who lived to give rest to others, and himself rested by giving himself to anyone who came near. May she help us to discover that love is the rest of the soul.
«Rest is necessary, as well as time for leisure and personal enrichment, but we must learn to rest in a way that increases our desire to serve generously. Closeness to the poor, to refugees, to immigrants, to the sick, to the exploited, to the elderly suffering from loneliness, to the imprisoned and to so many other of God's poor will teach us another kind of rest, more Christian and generous.».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, September 24, 2015).
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 try to live this day united to God through small ejaculatory prayers.
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.
