H. Leonardo Garzon, 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 Jesus, teach me to open my heart to receive your word; give me strength to put your commands into practice. Enlighten, Lord, my ways so that I may walk the paths of justice and love in which I may find you. Amen.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 12:44-50
At that time, Jesus exclaimed with a loud voice: “He who believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me; he who sees me, sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me may not continue in darkness.
If anyone hears my words and does not put them into practice, I will not condemn him; for I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.
He who rejects me and does not accept my words has already someone to condemn him: the words that I have spoken will condemn him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but my Father, who sent me, has commanded me what I should say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has spoken to me.”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
- «I have come into the world as light»
In this Gospel Christ reveals to us his mission, the task that the Father has entrusted to him by sending him into the world. Christ has come to enlighten the lives of those who are in darkness, to be the relief of those who suffer, the consolation of those who mourn, the health of those who are sick.
Today more than ever we may find ourselves in a situation where our lives have been cast down by «darkness». Perhaps it is some illness that darkens our lives, perhaps the fear of the uncertainty of the future, or perhaps the loss of a loved one. There are many things that can cover our lives with darkness and fill us with feelings of fear, insecurity and sadness.
However, Jesus, who sees into the depths of our souls, has come to lead us out of the darkness that weighs upon us. God is the only one who can give meaning to our sufferings; it is He who strengthens us to continue in the struggle, and it is He who illuminates our path. No matter how strong the darkness that oppresses us, we can always overcome it with the help of our Lord. All we have to do is to let Him come to us and illuminate the path we must take.
- « ...I have not come into the world to condemn the world»
Sometimes we may be tempted to think that everything bad that happens to us is a divine punishment, that the illnesses and sufferings that overwhelm us are a punishment for our sins. This is not so...
First of all, God is a father, and he is the father par excellence. Just as a loving father wants the best for his children, so God wants the best for each of us. He is not a terrible God who judges us for the crimes we have committed, but he is a father who sees us with eyes of mercy.
Jesus has come to reveal to us the love of the Father, He Himself says so: he who sees me, sees the one who sent me. Jesus does not come as an executioner to execute sentences on sinners, but as the elder brother, sent by a loving father in search of the younger brother who had gone astray.
«By listening respectfully to reality and trying to discern together the signs of the Spirit's presence, which generates liberation and new possibilities, we can help everyone to walk joyfully on the path of goodness. The realities to listen to are, above all, the sufferings and hopes of those whom the thousand forms of the power of sin continue to condemn to insecurity, poverty and marginalization. St. Alphonsus realized very early on that it was not a question of a world to defend against and even less to condemn, but to heal and liberate, imitating the action of Christ: to become incarnate and share the needs, to awaken the deepest expectations of the heart, to assure that each one, however fragile and sinful, is in the heart of the Heavenly Father and is loved by Christ even to the cross. The one who is touched by this love feels the urgency to respond by loving. All the words of moral theology must allow themselves to be shaped by this merciful logic, which makes us find them, in fact, as words of life in fullness. In fact, they are an echo of those of the Master who tells his disciples that he did not come «to condemn the world, but to save it.»
(Address H.H. Francis, February 9, 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.
Before I go to sleep, I will try to recall five graces that God has granted me today.
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.
