Íker Trillas, 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 you are near, help me to prepare my heart for your coming.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 3:10-18
At that time the people asked John, “What shall we do then? He answered, ”He who has two coats, let him divide them with him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.“ Some tax collectors also came to be baptized and asked him, ”Teacher, what do we do?“ He answered them, ”Do not demand more than what is prescribed.“ Some military men asked him, ”What shall we do?“ He answered them, ”Do not extort or take advantage of anyone, but be content with your pay.“ The people were in expectation, and they all wondered whether John might not be the Messiah; he spoke and said to them all, ”I baptize you with water; but he who is more able than I is coming, and I am not worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; he has in his hand the pitchfork to winnow his flock and gather his wheat into the barn and burn the chaff in a fire that is not quenched.“ Adding many other things, he exhorted the people and proclaimed the Gospel to them.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Sunday of go! The third Sunday of Advent, the Church decided to call it the Sunday of go. Gaudete in Latin means, “rejoice”, “be joyful”. The Lord is near! There are two days in the liturgical calendar where the color pink is used; today is one. The Church wants to change the color, to change from the ordinary, so that our hearts open our eyes to the joy that is near. Today is also the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! Today is a great day for all the faithful children of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We thank God for this manifestation of love so concrete and close that He has given us with the maternity of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe.
Today, the Gospel shows us the figure of St. John the Baptist who announces the coming of the Savior, your Savior. And today, we have the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. The one who appears in the image with a ribbon signifying that she is pregnant, who carries Jesus in her womb and in her heart to a people who are waiting for him. John the Baptist carries Jesus in his heart to announce his coming. They want to share the joy of Jesus. The joy of having Jesus in their hearts. The Lord is near! He is coming, he is coming. Get ready. Is there room in your heart for Him? That is where Jesus is coming.
John prepares us by telling us to have only what is necessary to make room for Jesus. If Jesus sees a heart with things that take up space, He cannot stay there. He will not have room to be there. He would be competing with worldly things, with those idols that sometimes the soul lodges in the heart. Prepare your heart, take the unnecessary out of your heart, take the unnecessary out of your house so that true joy may come to you.
«And looking at the image of our Mother awaiting the blessed, the full of grace awaiting the blessed, we understand a little of this abundance, of saying good, of the “blessing-saying”. We understand this of the gift, the gift of God presented to us in the abundance of his Son by nature, in the abundance of his Mother by grace. God's gift was presented to us as a blessing, in the blessed by nature and in the blessed by grace. This is the gift that God presents to us and that he has continually wished to emphasize, to reawaken throughout revelation.» (H.H. Francis, Homily of December 12, 2020).
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.
What is in your heart that does not allow Jesus to enter? Jobs, attachments, clothes, travel, comfort, money, shopping too much. Take all that out of your heart to give air and space to Jesus.
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.
