St. John Paul II, Pope
H. Edgar Maldonado, 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 myself in God's presence)
Send, Lord, your creative Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Send your Spirit of love and enlighten the hearts of your children.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 12, 49-53
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already burning! I have to receive a baptism, and how I anguish while it is coming!
Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? Not at all. I have not come to bring peace, but division. From now on, out of five in a family, three will be divided against two and two against three. It will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire”. What is that fire? It is the fire that will descend upon the apostles in the form of tongues on the day of Pentecost, it is the Holy Spirit of whom he spoke at the Last Supper when he said, “It is expedient for you that I go away, so that the Paraclete may come”. That fire is the Holy Spirit. He is fire because he comes to kindle our hearts with love for God the Father and for his beloved Son. He comes to bring fire to purify us of all that keeps us distant from the Father. He purifies us of all hatred and opens us to forgiveness. He purifies us from all lies in order to welcome the truth. He purifies us from every disordered desire in order to desire only the will of the Father.
How will the Spirit come? It will come when the Lord receives his baptism, it is the baptism that he will receive from the hands of the Baptist, but the Baptist will say of Jesus “he will baptize you with fire”. Paradoxically, Jesus will say that one must be reborn of water and spirit to enter the Kingdom. In the water to be cleansed of all uncleanness, or in the spirit so that the same spirit may be poured into our hearts and move us to exclaim Abba! It is the fire of the love of a son for his father, of a creature in need of his good and provident creator, who does not test us beyond our strength, but in every trial gives us the grace to emerge victorious.
«In order to participate in the building of an open, pluralistic and supportive society, it is essential to constantly and unwaveringly develop and embrace the culture of dialogue as the path to follow; collaboration as the way forward; reciprocal knowledge as the method and criterion. This is the path we are called to follow without ever tiring, to help us overcome together the tensions and misunderstandings, the masks and stereotypes that always lead to fear and opposition, and thus open the way to a spirit of fruitful and respectful collaboration. Indeed, it is essential to oppose fanaticism and fundamentalism with the solidarity of all believers, taking as invaluable references for our actions the values that we share in common.». (Address of H.H. Francis, March 30, 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.
Jesus, make me strong to bear your name. Make me strong to present myself to you as I am.
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.
In front of a crucifix say “thank God for the gift of baptism”.
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.
