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)
My Father, I want to do your will at all times.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 6, 7-15
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “When you pray, do not talk much, like the pagans, who think that if you talk a lot, you will be heard. Do not imitate them, for the Father knows what you need before you ask him. You, therefore, pray in this way:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
If you forgive men their trespasses, the heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will the Father forgive you their trespasses”.
Word of God.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Every time we pray the Lord's Prayer, one of the things we ask of the loving Father is "Thy Kingdom come! Thy Kingdom come!
In 2016 I was at the World Youth Day. It was in Krakow, Poland. I was part of the volunteers and I saw something incredible. These words of the Gospel were coming alive in thousands of young people: Thy Kingdom come! Christ was reigning in our hearts. Young people from Chile, Angola and Mexico. Also from Italy, Canada, Poland and India. It seemed that this plea of the Our Father was fulfilled. Christ and the Father of mercies reigned in the young heart of the universal Church. We were all following a king who took for his throne a cross and accepted a crown of thorns. And the message at that time was one: mercy. A mercy to which Pope Francis invited us to live in the gerund: «mercifully». To live by forgiving. This is to make Christ's Kingdom present in the world. This is what today's Gospel invites us to do. To ask God for forgiveness, but also to forgive our brothers and sisters.
This is how this petition that we raise to the Father (Thy Kingdom come!) becomes a mission. It is both supplication and mission. For by forgiving, Christ reigns. Resentment and vengeance are very worldly, very much of a horizontal plane. On the other hand, forgiveness and mercy are vertical. They are to unite heaven and earth. They are to make the Kingdom of Christ come. They are to make Him reign in the hearts of all men.
In this moment of prayer, let us contemplate the greatness of Christ's Kingdom in our hearts and in our lives and let us ask the King: How can we help You so that You may reign in the hearts of men?
«A prayer that does not distinguish, does not separate, does not marginalize, but echoes the life of the neighbor; intercessory prayer that is able to say to the Father: “Thy kingdom come”. Not with violence, hatred or ethnic, religious, economic and other supremacy, but with the power of compassion poured out on the Cross for all men.»
(Address of Pope Francis, March 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.
Forgive from the heart someone who has caused me an injury, either consciously or unconsciously.
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.
