St. Rita of Cascia, nun
H. Alejandro de Jesús Rondón Castillo, 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)
In this moment of prayer I place myself in your presence, Lord, to ask you for the grace to know how to listen to you with a sincere heart and to follow you with determination along the path of the Gospel and of love. My Jesus, today I want to accompany you after the example of John and follow you after the example of Peter. Today I do not want to betray You with my infidelities, but I want to follow You with my limitations so that You can heal me and I can love You a little more.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 21:20-25
At that time Jesus said to Peter, «Follow me». Peter, turning his face, saw that there was following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, the same one who at supper had reclined on his breast and asked him, «Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?» When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, «Lord, what will happen to this one?» Jesus replied, «If I want this one to remain alive until I return, what about you? You, follow me.
That is why the rumor began to spread among the brethren that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die, but, «If I want him to remain alive until I return, what about you?»
That is the disciple who testifies to these things and has put them in writing, and we are certain that his testimony is true. Many other things Jesus did and I believe that, if they were recounted one by one, they would not fit in all the books that would be written.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
The love of Jesus must be enough for Peter. He must not give in to the temptation of curiosity, of envy, as when, seeing John nearby, he asked Jesus, «Lord, what about him?» But Jesus, in the face of these temptations, answered him, «What about you? You, follow me. This experience of Peter is also an important message for us.
The Lord repeats today to each one of us: “Follow me. Do not waste time in useless questions or gossip; do not dwell on the secondary, look at the essential and follow me. Follow me in spite of difficulties. Follow me in the preaching of the Gospel. Follow me in the witness of a life that corresponds to the gift of the grace of Baptism. Follow me in speaking of me to those with whom you live, day after day, in the effort of work, dialogue and friendship. Follow me in proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially the least, so that no one may lack the Word of life, which frees from all fear and gives confidence in God's faithfulness. You, follow me.” (Cf Homily of H.H. Francis, June 29, 2014)
«When we forget this, we appropriate the gift and transform it into a function, we lose the heart of the ministry, we lose the gaze of Jesus who looked at all of us and said to us: ‘Follow me’, we lose gratuitousness. In this context, when this contemplation of the gift, of ministry as gift, is lacking, all those deviations we know arise, from the ugliest, which are terrible, to the most everyday ones, which make us focus our ministry on ourselves and not on gratitude for the gift and on love for the One who has given us the gift.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, September 19, 2019, in Santa Marta).
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 Jesus today the Gospel invites me to follow You. It is true that it is You who should be the most important in my life, but all these distractions and the things I have to do sometimes keep me away from You, or lock me up inside myself. Help me, please, to see You as the most necessary thing for my life, the greatest love, the most precious treasure and the most desired gift. Make me care for nothing else but to follow your will.
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.
To make a visit to the tabernacle and implore God's help to put Him in the first place in my heart. To make an examination of conscience and see what are the things that most separate me from Him.
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.
