Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and doctor of the Church
Br. Juan Diego Ballesteros, 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, I believe that you are here, increase my weak faith. I trust in your infinite love, increase my confidence. I love you, Lord, but increase my love.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 3:31-35
At that time, they came to where Jesus was, his mother and his relatives; and they stood outside and sent for him. A crowd was sitting around him, when they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, looking for you.”.
He answered them, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Then, looking at those sitting around Him, He said, “These are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
These beautiful words of Christ are the fruit of a conversation, of words addressed by someone to the Master. The first point to reflect on is precisely this sublime reality of the dialogue that the creature can have with the Creator, the disciple with the Master, man with God. It is this same dialogue that you can have with Christ, where Christ himself, God of the Universe, listens to what you have to say to him and then responds to you with words of eternal life.
This Gospel is also a beautiful homage of the Son of God to his Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is through her words that Christ wants us to know who his Mother is. She is the one who always listens to the Word of God and fulfills it.
Mary is not only his Mother for Christ. She is also his sister, brother, etc. What does our Lord mean by this? That she is everything for Him, the person of greatest importance. What a great and sublime dignity that of our Lady! Likewise I, you, are called to be everything for Christ, to be his mother, his brother, sister, etc., by the simple and great fact of listening to the Most Holy Will of God, revealed in our conscience, and putting it into practice.
«In response to a special vocation of the Lord, bonds much stronger than those of kinship are established. A consanguinity with Jesus, proper to those who have been reborn of water and the Holy Spirit and according to the words of the Divine Master: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister and my mother”. This special bond of consanguinity and familiarity is also manifested in the mutual relationships between people: everyone is called by name, never by surname, and in daily relationships the familiar “you” is used.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, May 10, 2018).
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.
My Mother, look at me and thank me for following your example; for always being attentive to what God wants for my soul, for my life, what He wants from me, knowing that, to the extent that I fulfill His plan for my life, with docility of spirit, to that same extent I will be happy, and to that same extent, I will also be gaining for my soul the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.
My Lord, the only thing I ask of You is that You always give me the necessary strength to follow You wherever You go, knowing that many times I will have to go against the current, I will have to act differently, I will have to do what others do not like. But may I do everything to please You, knowing that if I give testimony of You before men, you will give testimony of me before your Heavenly Father. Give me your love and graces that this is enough for me.
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 do two of the things I feel God is asking me to do.
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.
