Alvaro Garcia, LC
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)
I believe, Lord, that your kingdom is in me. I love you for it, and I thank you for it. Make me discover it more and more each day, and love it more strongly at every moment.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 17:20-25
At that time, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come?” Jesus answered them, “The Kingdom of God does not come in a flash. You will not be able to say, ‘It is here’ or ‘It is there,’ because the Kingdom of God is already among you.” Then he said to his disciples, “The time will come when you will want to enjoy the presence of the Son of Man for even one day, and you will not be able to. Then you will say to them, ‘He is here’ or ‘He is there,’ but do not go running to see, for just as the brightness of the lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will be the coming of the Son of man in his day. But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the men of this generation.”.
Word of the Lord
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
When is the Kingdom of God coming? The Kingdom of God is in me. Maybe in my day to day life I am looking for the Kingdom of God in the wrong way. My routine is very dry, unmotivated, quiet... and I keep waiting for a special light from God, something that will instantly inflame me and make me feel a burning zeal. But it should not be like that.
The Kingdom of God is not an emotion, it is not about acquiring a passionate personality. Elijah also expected to find God in the hurricane, in the earthquake or in the lightning, but he found him only in the gentle breeze.
In the same way I will not find the Lord in specific activities, or in appearing a certain type of foreign personality (even when that appearance is virtuous). The Kingdom is not a hallucinatory lightning, nor is it sought outside, but the Kingdom is in you, God put it in you.
The Kingdom is in your tranquility and in your passion, in peace and in action; it is in your sorrows as well as in your joys, in the most adventurous mission as well as in the simplest conversation. Don't look for it outside, don't chase it around like a desperate man. It is within you and you must share it.
«With these demands, the Lord wants to prepare his disciples for the feast of the coming of the Kingdom of God by freeing them from this harmful obstacle, one of the worst forms of slavery: living for oneself. It is the temptation to enclose oneself in small worlds that ends up leaving little space for others: the poor no longer enter, the voice of God is no longer heard, the sweet joy of his love is no longer enjoyed, the enthusiasm for doing good no longer palpitates. Many, by shutting themselves away, may feel “apparently” secure, but end up becoming resentful, complaining, lifeless people. This is not the option for a dignified and fulfilled life, this is not God's desire for us, this is not the life in the Spirit that flows from the heart of the risen Christ».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, September 8, 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.
What friend of mine lives uneasy and lacking in security? I will go to him, and repeat to him, as a good disciple, the words I learned from our Lord: “God made you as you are and continues to love you as His best friend. Your personality and soul are beautiful and precious to Him. Seek the Kingdom within you.
Farewell
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.
