José Torres
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)
Father, I know that You are always watching over me and guiding me. The thought of your Providence fills my soul with peace, because in addition to the fact that you love me intensely and tenderly, you hold the reins of the universe and place everything at the service of that love. Lord, I trust in you.
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, 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 for one man to die for the people and not for the whole nation to 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 remained with his disciples. The Passover of the Jews was approaching, and many from the surrounding regions came to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. They looked for Jesus in the temple and said to one another, “What will happen, will he not come for the feast?” The chief priests and Pharisees had commanded that whoever found out where he was should let them know so that they might seize him.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
With the words of Caiaphas a sentence is signed, with those words the life of the Master, the life of our redeemer, begins to end.
How many times will God ask us to offer ourselves to save other souls? Perhaps this will never happen, but every day we have the means and the possibility to help Christ in this. With our daily work, with our ordinary life, there in our jobs, at home, is when Christ asks us to be faithful, to offer it and to do it in the face of God.
The little things are the moments to please God, the details in dealing with the people I find it hardest to deal with, the selfless and unselfish service, without expecting anything in return. Sometimes our great sacrifices, our yes to God will be just a smile, yes, something as simple as that. God does not ask us for extraordinary things, on the contrary, our goal is to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Every time we say, "Thy kingdom come," we ask him to make his kingdom present in our ordinary life so that we can transform it, so that our work will no longer be an obligation, because what difference would it have with the obligation or responsibility of someone who does it only for the money, or to boast of his qualities? The difference is that we want the kingdom of Christ to be present, that Christ be the center, our motor, and from there, everything will have a color, a special flavor.
«Let us invoke the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, who suffered first-hand the marginalization caused by slander and exile, so that she may grant us to be faithful servants of God. May she, who is the Mother, teach us not to be afraid to welcome the marginalized with tenderness; not to be afraid of tenderness. How often we are afraid of tenderness. May she teach us not to be afraid of tenderness and compassion; may she fill us with patience to accompany them on their journey, without seeking the results of worldly success; may she show us Jesus and make us walk like him.
(Homily of H.H. Francis, February 15, 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.
Today I will treat with kindness the people I have the hardest time dealing with.
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.
