Michael Vargas, 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)
Lord Jesus, teach me to follow the right path, so that I may carry out your holy will.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark 12, 13-17
At that time, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some of Herod's followers, to ask him a trick question. So they came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you do not care what people say, because you do not try to flatter men, but you teach in all truth the way of God. Is it permissible or not to pay tribute to Caesar? Shall we give it to him or not?” Jesus, noticing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you set a trap for me? Bring me a coin so that I may see it.” They brought it to him, and he asked them, “Whose image is it, and whose name is written on it?” They answered him, “Caesar's.” Then Jesus answered them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.” And they were astonished.
Word of the Lord
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
“Present in the world, but not fully of the world.” Reflecting on this phrase and placing our gaze on Jesus Christ, we can discover great teachings in today's Gospel. We are in the world yes, but we are not totally of the world, which reveals to us again and again two fundamental certainties that are present in our life.
In the first place, to recognize that we are pilgrims in this world, and that, as pilgrims we have a path to follow and an end or goal to which we must arrive; but it is not only to travel it without any sense, with sadness or despair, on the contrary, it is to travel it with the certainty that we go under the light of a God, who is Father, companion and guide, it is to travel it with love, hope and charity; With love, to make sweet all those moments of difficulty, hope to follow the path with joy and charity, to help other pilgrims who follow our same path.
Secondly, we can learn that, on that path, there are two directions, which Jesus Christ remarks in the Gospel: “What is Caesar's, pay Caesar, and what is God's, pay God”. In the first direction, we can find everything that today's world offers us, money, fame, power, but at the end of the day, and in the face of God, we will notice that in it we will not fully find happiness.
In the second direction, which leads us to God, we will find good, love, truth, even the cross, but, although it sounds contradictory, that same cross, which Jesus Christ carried out of love for each of his children, will fill our hearts to the full.
And you, which path do you want to follow?
«Jesus posed, from the question asked by the Pharisees, a more radical and vital question for each one of us, a question that we can ask ourselves: to whom do I belong? To the family, to the city, to friends, to school, to work, to politics, to the State? Yes, of course. But first of all - Jesus reminds us - you belong to God. This is the fundamental belonging. It is He who has given you everything you are and have. And therefore, our life, day by day, we can and must live it in the recognition of our fundamental belonging and in the heartfelt recognition of our Father, who creates each one of us in a singular, unrepeatable way, but always according to the image of his beloved Son, Jesus».
(Homily of H.H. Francis, October 22, 2017).
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 make an act of charity and make known the joy of being God's pilgrim in this world.
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.
