Br. Jose Torres, 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)
Lord, give me a meek and humble heart like yours.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 14:7-14
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, you know my Father also. From now on you know him and have seen him”.
Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough for us”. Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you so long, and you still do not know me? He who has seen me sees the Father, so why do you say, ‘Show us the Father,’ or do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not say on my own. It is the Father, who abides in me, who does the works. Believe me: I am in the Father and the Father is in me. If you do not give faith to me, believe it by works. I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater works than I do, because I go to the Father; and whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. I will do whatever they ask me in my name”.
Word of the Lord
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Lord, show us the Father and that is enough for us.. With these words Philip shows his innocence and gives us a very simple, but very profound example of how we should act before God. Perhaps it may surprise us that someone who lived with the Master had not yet realized that he was in the presence of God, of God made man, of the eternal Son of the Father; but the same thing can happen to us. How many times do we go through life without realizing the presence of God? How many times do we ask him for proof? Or worse, we forget that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are bearers of his Word, that we should be a sign of peace and hope. And that is why today the liturgy of the day invites us at the beginning to reflect on this. There is also a more important detail which is love, charity, this virtue by which we unite ourselves to the redeeming love of Christ; it is by charity that shows itself, in love for our neighbor, in beneficence, in being able to be another Christ, in short, a true apostle, and in this way to be able to see the Father.
Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater works than I do, because I am going to the Father, The Lord asks us something very simple, but so difficult for us who are so complicated; we are so preoccupied with the things of this world and we forget the most important things, which are the things of heaven. Today's Gospel invites us to trust fully in grace, in the strength of faith and in the energy of hope, grounded in mercy, in the love that God has for each one of us. If we have a Father who loves us, who waits for us and trusts us, now is the opportunity to go out of ourselves and give ourselves to him with all our heart and soul, so that we can act as he wishes, so that his kingdom may be present here and now.
I will do anything you ask on my behalf. In these days, so difficult for humanity, these are days for our prayer to become a prayer of intercession for all those health workers and all those who, in some way, are involved in combating this pandemic. Let us ask with a humble and simple heart, let us place in the hands of the merciful Father all our needs, our daily fatigues, which He will transform into graces and blessings.
«…Only those who have a heart like the little ones are capable of receiving this revelation. Only the humble, meek heart that feels the need to pray, to open itself to God, that feels poor. Only those who walk with the first beatitude: the poor in spirit. Many can know science, even theology. But if they do not do this theology on their knees, that is to say, humbly, like the little ones, they will not understand anything.».
(Homily of Pope Francis, Tuesday, December 2, 2014, in Santa Marta.
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer. Be willing 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 make a spiritual communion asking for all the people who are suffering because of the pandemic.
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.
