St. Andrew Kim Taegon, priest, Paul Chong Hasang and companions, martyrs.
H. Luis Alejandro Huesca Cantú, L.C.
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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)
My Jesus, it is this Sunday, I place myself in your presence! Let me see you through the lens of faith in this time of prayer. Let me feel your presence and your love. At this moment I want to open my heart to You, wounded like Yours, so that You may fill it completely....Our Father.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 20:1-16
At that time, Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who, at dawn, went out to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them to pay them a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. He went out again at midmorning, saw some who were standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ He went out again in the middle of the day and in the middle of the afternoon and did the same.
Finally he also went out in the evening and found others still in the square and said to them: ‘Why have you been here all day without working?’ They answered him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ And he said to them, ‘You also go into my vineyard.
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last until you reach the first’. So those who had arrived at dusk came forward and received a denarius each.
When it was the turn of those who came first, they thought they would receive more; but they too received a denarius each. When they received it, they began to complain to the owner, saying, ‘Those who came last worked only one hour, and yet you pay them the same as us, who bore the burden of the day and the heat.’.
But he said to one of them, ‘Friend, I do you no injustice; did we not agree that I would pay you a denarius? So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the one who came last the same as to you. Can I not do with mine what I want? Or will you grudge me because I am good?’
Likewise, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
I don't know how many times the Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned in the Gospel, but boy, is it mentioned many times. It sounds kind of interesting because it sounds like there are fine pearls, sea, vineyards, treasures, mustard seeds and fields to sow...Doesn't sound bad! But who is the king of the Kingdom of heaven? Does he have a throne and a crown? Where is the Kingdom of heaven?
Indeed, every kingdom needs a king... and the king of the Kingdom of Heaven is Christ.
Every king needs a throne... and the throne of Jesus is the cross.
Every king has a crown... and the crown of Jesus is made of thorns.
Every kingdom needs a territory... and the place where Jesus is king is the heart of every member of the Church.
Today's Gospel helps us to know a little more about the Kingdom of Heaven... Everyone wins the jackpot! It doesn't matter if someone arrives a little later, as in a marathon. The goal is to reach the finish line: Heaven. And you, do you want to reach the goal? Do you want to get to heaven? Don't be afraid, open the doors wide to Christ! Let Him reign in your heart. Put Him first. Let everything revolve around Christ: your family, your friends, your studies, your work. And you will see that the Kingdom of heaven is already present in your life.
«We find the parable of the workers called day laborers, which Jesus tells to communicate two aspects of the Kingdom of God: the first, that God wants to call everyone to work for his Kingdom; the second, that in the end he wants to give everyone the same reward, that is, salvation, eternal life [...] Jesus wants to make us contemplate the gaze of that boss: the gaze with which he sees each of the workers waiting for work and calls them to go to his vineyard. It is a gaze full of attention, of benevolence; it is a gaze that calls, that invites us to get up, to get going, because he wants life for each one of us, he wants a full, busy life, saved from emptiness and inertia. God does not exclude anyone and wants each one to reach his fullness. May Mary Most Holy help us to welcome into our lives the logic of love, which frees us from the presumption of deserving God's reward and from negative judgment of others.»
(Angelus of H.H. Francis, September 24, 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.
I will dedicate a little time to someone who I know needs a little love and so I will share the joy and beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven that I have experienced in my heart.
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.
