Rubén Tornero, 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)
Jesus, once again I come to You. You know well all that is in my heart, all my wounds and all my desires... I place everything in your hands so that you may transform it and place it in your Heart. You love me. Many times, in the midst of the daily hustle and bustle, I forget that your loving gaze rests upon me and that you smile with my joys and cry with me. You never abandon me. You are always ready to reach out to me when I am down, to comfort me when I am sad, and to welcome me into your arms at all times. Thank you. Increase my faith to discover you in my life and to listen to what you want to tell me in this prayer.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 2, 1-12
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the time of King Herod. Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the King of the Jews who has just been born? For we saw his star rising and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was startled, and all Jerusalem with him. He summoned the chief priests and the scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. They answered him, “In Bethlehem of Judah, for so the prophet has written, ”And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the illustrious cities of Judah, for out of you shall come forth a leader, who shall be the shepherd of my people Israel.“” Then Herod secretly summoned the magi, so that they might tell him the time when the star had appeared to them, and sent them to Bethlehem, saying to them, "Go and find out carefully what there is of this child, and when you find him, let me know so that I may also come and worship him." After hearing the king, the magi set out, and suddenly the star they had seen rising began to guide them, until it stopped above where the child was. When they saw the star again, they were filled with immense joy. They entered the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then, opening their coffers, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Warned in their sleep not to return to Herod, they went back to their own land by another way.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Jesus, today in the Gospel you speak to me about the encounter that the Magi had with Herod. In my heart resounds the question they asked the tetrarch, “Where is the king of the Jews?” That question troubled him deeply because it questioned his identity, the way he saw himself.
Many times, beloved Jesus, I have had the same experience when there are moments, people and situations that make what I believe of myself jump through the air, the image that I have forged of myself with the passage of time, but that does not always correspond to the way You see me. So many times I have believed myself to be better or worse than I really am and I have become an underhanded flatterer or a merciless judge. You know who I am and You knew who Herod really was. When I look at the figure of Herod, many times I have seen a ruthless and murderous king...I have not known how to look at him as You see him: a son of Yours, much loved by You.
If only I were more aware of this truth, my life would change! I would know how to look at others as You see them... I would see myself for what I am: Your beloved child! I would not get angry because situations or others put my identity in crisis, for I would know that no matter what happens, no matter what I do, I would never cease to be what I am: one dearly loved by You.
That question that troubled Herod is nothing other than an attempt of your love to remove the mask he had made for himself and to show him his true self, his deepest identity; it was nothing other than an attempt of your infinite love to show him what he really was.
Jesus, help me to look as You look and to engrave in my heart with letters of fire my truest and deepest identity: I am YOUR child and You love me.
«The Magi did so: they found the Child, “fell down and worshipped him” (v. 11). They did not just look at him, say a circumstantial prayer and leave, no, but they worshipped him: they entered into a personal communion of love with Jesus. Then they gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh, that is, his most precious goods. Let us learn from the Magi not to dedicate to Jesus only the lost moments of time and a thought now and then, otherwise we will not have his light. Like the Magi, let us set out, let us clothe ourselves with light, following the star of Jesus, and let us adore the Lord with our whole being».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, January 6, 2017).
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 seek to have a look like that of Jesus: Merciful to myself and to others.
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.
