Raphael Meyer, 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)
Jesus, your longing for me is far greater than the longing I have to seek you. Allow me to meet you in this time of prayer so that you may always grow in me and I may grow in unity with you.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 5:17-19
«Think not that I am come to abolish the law or the prophets: I am not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Truly I say to you, that heaven and earth will sooner pass away than that every last letter or stroke of the law should fail to be fulfilled. He who skips even one of the least important precepts, and teaches it to men, will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven. But he who keeps and teaches them will be great in the kingdom of heaven».
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
In today's Gospel we see God's economy in a wonderful way. God gave the Israelites rules by which he led them along the path of freedom. Just as a mother often gives clear rules to her young children, she can relax them more and more as they grow up, to the extent that they have internalized them. God educates us in the same way. He gives us a clear direction to follow. When Jesus comes, he does not reject the commandments, he fulfills them. He does not abrogate the old, but fulfills them, he makes everything new (Rev 21:5). He also gives us a new law. Augustine says that just as “the law of works was inscribed on tablets of stone, so the law of faith is inscribed on the hearts of believers”.
It is a law of which Jeremiah speaks. “I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts” (Jer 31:33). It comes from within, it is infused. This law consists in the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is received through faith in Christ and acts through charity. With this new law we can live the virtues and especially charity. With this new law, Jesus gives us the possibility of being free and happy. It is the promise that we belong to him and that he has engraved the desire for him in our hearts. If we seek Him we will find Him, the compass is the inner law that leads us to Him. And when He has found us, we no longer need laws.
«When it is said of a person that he has the tongue of a serpent, what is meant? That his words kill. Therefore, not only should one not attempt against the life of his neighbor, but one should not pour out on him the poison of anger and strike him with slander. Nor should one speak evil of him. We come to gossip: gossip, too, can kill, because it kills a person's reputation. It is so ugly to criticize! At the beginning it may seem pleasant, even fun, like sucking a candy. But in the end, it fills our hearts with bitterness, and poisons us too. To tell you the truth, I am convinced that if each of us would make a resolution to avoid criticism, we would become saints in the end. It's a good way to go! Do we want to be saints? Yes or no?». (H.H. Francis, Angelus of February 16, 2014).
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 listen to the inner law that Jesus has placed within me, the one that tells me to do good and avoid evil.
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.
