World Mission Sunday
St. Luke, Evangelist
H. Luis Alejandro Huesca Cantú, 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 Jesus, on this day, I place myself in your hands like a newborn child. I want to tell You that I have my hope in You alone. I expect everything from You. I, without You, I can do nothing...
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 22, 15-21
At that time, the Pharisees gathered together to see how they might, by insidious questions, make Jesus fall into something of which they could accuse him.
So they sent to him some of his followers, together with some of Herod's party, to say to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and teach the way of God in truth, and that nothing daunts you, for you seek no one's favor. Tell us, then, what do you think: Is it lawful or unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar?”.
Knowing the malice of their intentions, Jesus answered them, “You hypocrites, why do you try to surprise me? Show me the coin of tribute”. They presented him with a coin. Jesus asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They answered him, “Caesar's.” And Jesus concluded, “So give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.”.
Word of God.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
A few years ago, in 2016, I had the opportunity to volunteer at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland. On the last day, we volunteers had a meeting with Pope Francis. I remember very vividly that he said to us these words with great force: «Young people, you are the hope of the future, but if you want to be that light of hope for the world, I ask two things of you: have memory of the past & courage in the present».» ... What an arduous task the Pope has left us! Memory of the past is to remember all that our parents and grandparents have done, all that the little great men who have transformed the world have done, and also to remember the first Christians.
The letter to Diognetus of the second century gives us a beautiful testimony of those first Christians: Christians [...] spend their lives on earth, but they have their citizenship in heaven. They obey the laws in force, but with their lives they go beyond the law. They love everyone and by everyone they are persecuted.... (ch. 5:9-11)
This little letter, which I recommend you read, is a beautiful testimony of how the first Christians lived. And the fact is that we Christians are not strange people. We also live everyday things: we go to university, we work in politics, business and industry. We wash the dishes and sweep the house. We Christians know how to give to Caesar what is Caesar's. We are honest. We are honest, we also pay our taxes and follow the rules. But we also know that we are citizens of heaven. We know that in heaven the only King is Jesus Christ. He is waiting for us and we want to see Him face to face. We are men who do good every day, with patience and perseverance, knowing that the treasures we lay up are not of this earth, but that we lay up treasures in heaven, living charity day after day. In this way we give to God what is God's, what belongs to God.
Now, in this moment of prayer, before the King, I invite you to renew your desire to be a good citizen of this earth and to accumulate treasures in heaven, which is our true homeland.
«The Christian is called to engage concretely in earthly realities, but illuminating them with the light that comes from God. To entrust oneself as a priority to God and to hope in him does not imply a flight from reality, but rather a laborious restitution to God of what belongs to him. For this reason, the believer looks to the future reality, that of God, in order to live earthly life to the full and to respond courageously to its challenges. May the Virgin Mary help us to live always in conformity with the image of God that we carry within us, giving also our contribution to the building of the earthly city.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, October 22, 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.
On this day I will try to live honesty as a good citizen who wants to build a country in order and accumulate treasures in heaven.
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.
