Balam Loza, 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)
Good Father, I come into your presence to listen to your will. What do you want of me? What is your will for my life? Give me, my Father, the strength to fulfill what you ask of me. It is very easy to say «yes, I want what you want» but the truth is that when the test comes or you ask me to make a little more sacrifice, I quickly forget my good desires and begin to complain. Today I come before you to ask your forgiveness for how uncommitted I am and to ask for your strength, for what is man without you? Father, I trust in you.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 21:28-32
At that time Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, “What do you think about this? A man who had two sons went to the first and ordered him, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today. He replied, ’I am coming, sir, but he did not go. The father went to the second and said the same thing. He said to him, ‘I do not want to go,‘ but he repented and went. Which of the two did the father's will?’ They answered him, ”The second.“ Then Jesus said to them, ”Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes have gone ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of God. For John came and preached the way of righteousness, and they did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. You, even after you have seen, have neither repented nor believed in him.“.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
«I don't want to» How many times have we encountered laziness or reluctance in our lives! Undoubtedly, more than once we have said these two simple words to family, friends, co-workers. Yes, it is very sad and more than one may think very badly of us when we act like this. It doesn't matter. If we never had moments of tiredness or anger we would cease to be flesh and blood people. And it doesn't matter, above all, because our Father God loves us regardless of what we may do wrong.
There are always mistakes. At the same time there is always the possibility of saying an even simpler word and that is: «sorry», «sorry». This is the beauty. The possibility, as Dickens would say in the mouth of Mr. Carton, «to return to the fight, to begin again, to leave vice and sensuality and bring the abandoned combat to a victorious end» (A Tale of Two Cities).
We can all fall, and we will all put down the gun at some point. But no one is made to lie on the ground, no one is made to live in sin. We are all weak and each one of us knows well the foot on which he limps. In the same way, everyone has his strengths and knows them very well. If we are weak, it is so that someone can help us when we lack strength, and if we are strong, it is to offer our arm to another.
I think countless times about the image of the jigsaw puzzle. You can want a world where everyone thinks the same way you do, where everyone goes in the same direction as you. The puzzle, on the other hand, has many pieces and each one is unique. What happens when you lose one and it is the one that is missing to finish? Everyone starts to get anxious and to look everywhere. The Father loves everyone for what they are, with their pluses and minuses. He has thought of each one of us from all eternity. We are called to be brothers, children of the same Father.
«Jesus addresses the chief priests and the elders of the people and that means those who had the authority, the juridical authority, the moral authority, the religious authority. But they had no memory because they had forgotten even the Ten Commandments of Moses because of this construction of the intellectualist, sophisticated, casuistic law, this law that became like a golden calf - another golden calf - instead of the law of Moses. In the case of the first of the two sons sent by the father to work in the vineyard: initially he says no, but then he repented and went. Whereas these chiefs did not know what repentance was, because they felt they were perfect. Also today Jesus says to all of us and to those who are seduced by clericalism: “sinners and prostitutes will precede you into the kingdom of heaven”».
(Cf Homily of H.H. Francis, December 13, 2016).
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.
Today I will go to mass with the illusion of approaching the Father, preferably with my family, to give thanks for all the good things I have received.
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.
