H. Leonel de las Cuevas, 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, thank you for always remembering me, for giving me the gift of a new day, and for being with me, accompanying me in every step I take. Your presence and company are the greatest gift you can give me. With You I lack nothing, never let me be separated from You. I want to be always by your side.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 6, 44-51
At that time, Jesus said to the Jews, "No one can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him; and him I will raise up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: All will be disciples of God. Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God. He has seen the Father.
Truly I say to you, he who believes in me has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and yet they died. This is the bread that came down from heaven, that whoever eats it may not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give you is my flesh so that the world may have life.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
The Old Testament tells us how the Jews complained to Moses in the desert about the lack of bread and food. God, in his goodness and love, provided them with manna so that they could have their daily bread. But God is a good Father and had something even better prepared. He knows that man does not live by material bread alone, and, although it is important, its satiety is fleeting. God has something to give that is far more valuable than that, or any other material gift. His most valuable gift, the true bread, is the gift of Himself, who gives Himself totally to us in order to enter into our life and remain in it, in total union of love with Him. God is not a Father who gives only «things», he is a Father who gives us his whole person, all his love and all his company. He is a Father who wants to be always there, at our side.
For this reason, the Eucharist is the most precious gift that God has left us, because it is not about «something», it is about «Someone». It is about being face to face, in a moment of total union, with the one who loves and protects us most. Let us pray that we may always know how to enjoy the Eucharist. May we enjoy the presence of the One for whom being with each one of us is so important.
Christ is the bread of life. The only food capable of satiating us and transforming our lives, making them, little by little, ever fuller. Only united to God do we begin to live true life.
«The bread that we ask for today is also the bread that many lack every day, while a few possess the superfluous. The Our Father is not a prayer that reassures, but a cry before the shortages of love of our time, before the individualism and indifference that profane your name, Father. Help us to hunger to give ourselves. Remind us, each time we pray, that to live we need not to preserve ourselves, but to share ourselves; to share, rather than to hoard; to sustain others, rather than to satiate ourselves, for well-being is such if it belongs only to all.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, May 31, 2019).
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.
To remember those moments of intimacy that I have spent with Christ the Eucharist, to thank Him for them, and to firmly resolve to go to communion the next time I have the opportunity.
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.
