Br. Juan Pablo Espino, 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)
Lord, here I am before you. I want this moment to be just for the two of us. I place all my worries in your hands. Holy Spirit, enlighten me and teach me to listen to you. I believe that you are here and that you want to speak to me. Help my faith to believe more firmly. I trust that you always want the best for me, but help me to abandon myself more docilely to your will. I know that you care for me and love me, but help this poor heart to experience more deeply this love that you have for me.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 10:17-24
At that time the seventy-two returned very glad and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” He answered them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and all the host of the enemy. And he will do you no harm. However, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you; rejoice because your names are inscribed in heaven.”.
At that moment, filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, he exclaimed: “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the simple. Yes, Father, for so it seemed good to you. My Father has delivered all things to me, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father; nor who the Father is except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal him.” And turning to his disciples, he said to them apart, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Thank you, Lord, for hearing these words comforts me. I am small, I am poor. I am small in my faith and in my trust. I am troubled by many things and they constantly take away my peace. It comforts me to know that not only can I be small and poor, but that this smallness is what unites me to you. Thank you, Father, that I am small.
The truth is that I don't always like feeling small, powerless. I don't like knowing that I can't do everything myself. I don't like it when I experience my limits in my commitments, in my relationships, in my work. Nor do I like it when I experience the smallness of those around me. Those limits that sometimes bother or hurt me.
There are moments when I wish all those little things were gone. I would like to change and solve all my limitations and change the limitations of those I love. I would like to always succeed, not to fail or be failed. Guide me so that in those moments I remember that my joy is You. I do not know how to love the little things.
Mother, ask the Lord to help me to transform my heart so that it may be like yours, to always see the smallness in me and in my brothers and sisters as that which leads us to God. Transform my heart, not so that it will not suffer, but so that I may love as you love. Teach me to love in the little things.
«One hundred years after the end of the First World War, and with the memory of the young men who fell during the fighting and the devastated civilian populations, we know better than ever the terrible lesson of fratricidal wars, namely that peace can never be reduced to a simple balance of force and fear. Keeping others under threat means reducing them to the status of objects and denying them their dignity. This is why we reaffirm that the increase in intimidation and the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons are contrary to morality and to the search for true harmony. The terror exercised on the most vulnerable people contributes to the exile of entire populations in search of a land of peace. Political discourse that tends to blame migrants for all evils and to deprive the poor of hope is unacceptable. Instead, it should be emphasized that peace is based on respect for each person, regardless of his or her history, on respect for the law and the common good, for the creation entrusted to us and for the moral wealth handed down by past generations.». (H.H. Francis, Message for the Second World Day of Peace).
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.
When I see a smallness in myself or in those around me, instead of getting angry or losing patience, I will say: “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours”, so that I may learn to love in the small things.
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.
