Pablo Vidal, 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)
Holy Spirit, come into my heart. Give me more faith, more hope and more love. Help me to open myself to your presence, so that I may hear your voice during this time of prayer. I want to experience your love in my life and for this I place myself in your presence, I want to let myself be loved by you, help me to do so.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 3:16-21
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that none of those who believe in him should perish, but that they should have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in him will not be judged; he who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of God's only Son. The judgment consists in this, that the light has come into the world, and men have chosen darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who works wickedly hates the light and does not draw near to the light, lest he be accused of his deeds. But he who does what is true comes to the light, so that his works may be seen to be done according to God.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
Jesus, just as you once addressed these words to Nicodemus, today I know that you want to address them to me as well. You are talking about yourself when you say that God gave you to the world to save us. You gave yourself to me willingly, to save me. Help me that this truth may enter my heart.
Sometimes I may feel that I do not need so much of your Sacrifice on the cross. It may seem to me that I have enough strength, that I can solve my problems, that I can pray on my own, that I can help others, that I can come and go, that I can be holy. Me, me, me, me and me again... And when I feel like this, how hard it is for me to fail you. How hard it is to get up again from my mistakes when I think that everything depends on me. But it doesn't! It doesn't depend on me, it depends above all on you. And You have already given Yourself, You have already won the battle.
What do you want to tell me today with these words? You probably want to give me peace, you want to tell me that, if I believe in you and strive to live like this, giving you the first place, then You will be my light. And I want to believe it Lord, I want to believe that You are the light that overcomes my darkness. I want to believe that no matter how many times I fall into sin, it is enough for me to believe in you to get up. I want to believe that you are the light that illuminates my sin and brings me back to the right path. I want to believe that you have not come to judge me, but to save me. I want to believe Lord, help me to believe.
«By what measure do I measure others? by what measure do I measure myself? is it a generous measure, full of God's love, or is it a measure at the level of the ground? and by that measure will I be judged, not another: that one, the one I make. And by that measure I will be judged, it will be no other: that one, the one I make. What is the level at which I set my yardstick? Did I set it high? We have to think about that. And we see this not only, not so much in the good things we do or the bad things we do, but in the continuous way of life.». (H.H. Francis, Homily of January 30, 2020).
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 repeat a few times during the day, «The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?» to remind myself of what you have said to me during prayer.
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.
