H. Francisco Posada, 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, teach me to listen to you in my heart so that I may respond to your call and thus communicate your words to others.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 3:1-6
At that time Jesus went into the synagogue, where there was a man who had a crippled hand. The Pharisees were spying on Jesus to see if he would heal on the Sabbath so they could accuse him. Jesus said to the crippled man, “Stand up and stand there in the middle.” Then he asked them, “What is it permitted to do on the Sabbath, good or evil? Can a man's life be saved on the Sabbath, or must he be left to die?” They were silent. Then, looking at them in anger and sadness, because they did not want to understand, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was healed.
Then the Pharisees went out and began to make plans with those of Herod's party to kill Jesus.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
A person in need appears before Jesus. This encounter takes place in a synagogue, a religious context. There were people in the synagogue who, knowing what Jesus did, were on the lookout for how he would act in the special circumstances presented to him. The Sabbath law, ordained by God and followed by the Jews, stated that the Sabbath was a day of total rest, no activity was permitted, no wood was to be gathered and no fire was to be lit, etc. This Sabbath precept had to be respected by not working miracles.
Jesus shows the reason why he will perform the miracle: to do good, because nothing and no one should prevent us from doing good. It is love that moves Christ to do this healing, beyond what others say and the difficulties that may arise; He knows what is most important and acts according to that great ideal.
Let us keep in mind that at the end of our days we will be examined on love, as St. John of the Cross says, so that our life should be a living example of love and charity towards God and our neighbor.
Today God invites us to draw close to Him so that He can heal us because, in different ways, we are in need of His care. So that we can be His instruments and He can heal someone through us, we need to extend our hand and trust in the Lord, only then we will be channels or means of His grace sharing His healing mission in the world.
«The early Christian communities often presented the Lord Jesus as a “physician,” emphasizing the constant and compassionate care he had for those suffering from all kinds of illnesses. His mission consisted, first and foremost, in approaching the sick or disabled, especially those who were despised and marginalized for that reason. Jesus thus breaks the judgment of condemnation that often labeled the sick as sinners; with this compassionate closeness, he manifests the infinite love of God the Father for his most needy children. The care of sick people appears, then, as one of the constitutive dimensions of Christ's mission; and for this reason it has remained so also in that of the Church.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, June 22, 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.
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.
Make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament to pray for someone who is ill.
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.
