Santa Monica
H. Emmanuel Toro, 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, help me to seek your will. May I be faithful to you in happy moments and in times of difficulty. Fill my life with your light, lead me by the hand to the safe harbor.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 24, 42-51
At that time Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch and be ready, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Be sure of this, that if a householder knew at what hour a thief was coming, he would keep watch and not let him get in through a hole in his house. You also be ready, for at the hour you least expect it, the Son of Man will come.
Consider a faithful and wise servant, whom his master appointed to be in charge of all the servants to provide him with food in a timely manner. Blessed is that servant if, when his master returns, he finds him doing his duty. I assure you that he will put him in charge of the administration of all his property.
But if the servant is a wicked man, and thinking that his master will be late, he begins to beat his fellow servants, to eat and get drunk, his master will come on the most unexpected day, at an unexpected hour, and will punish him severely and make him suffer the same fate as the hypocrites. Then all will be weeping and despair”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Throughout the Gospels Jesus talks about being «awake» and paying attention. Am I so preoccupied with the busyness of life and my particular concerns that I sometimes forget to watch and pray?
We face the constant temptation to run in the present, as if there are no significant changes to be made in our lifestyle. We may be comfortable with the way things are, or annoyed and cynical about the poor state of the world, but are we doing anything to improve it? Jesus urges us to take the long view; to believe that God is in charge of human history and wants us to play our part in bringing it about. We are to be «faithful and wise» and live as if the Son of Man is about to come.
The idea that God can come at any time makes some people nervous and afraid. If I let Jesus lead me to a deeper love of God, I realize that I have nothing to fear because I am able, at any moment, to say to God, «Look, Lord, here I am, I trust in your mercy.».
«What are we? We are «almost a nothing,» says another psalm; our days pass quickly: though if we lived a hundred years, it would all seem like a sigh at the end. Many times I have heard old people say: “Life has passed me by like a sigh...”. Thus death strips our life bare. It makes us discover that our acts of pride, anger and hatred were vanity: pure vanity. We realize with regret that we have not loved enough and that we have not sought what was essential. And, on the contrary, we see the good that we have really sown: the affections for which we have sacrificed ourselves, and which now hold us by the hand.»
(Audience of H.H. Francis, October 18, 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.
Offer today a small sacrifice to God and ask Him for the grace to acquire the virtue you need most. to grow in love for 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.
