Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Preparatory Prayer (to place myself in God’s presence)
My Lord, You are my God, my Lord, my Redeemer. I want You to be my only King, the absolute Owner of my life. Take my freedom, my will, my mind, and my heart. I want the strength of Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your charity to guide my activities today.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 18:33-37
At that time, Pilate asked Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him: “Do you ask this on your own, or have others told you about me?” Pilate replied: “Am I a Jew? Your own people and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered: “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have fought to prevent my being handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from here.”
Pilate said to him: “So you are a king?” Jesus answered: “You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Word of the Lord.
Reflect on what God tells you in the Gospel (we suggest you read what the Pope said)
Christ is the center of the People of God.
“Jesus is the center of creation; and thus, the attitude asked of the believer, who wants to be such, is to recognize and embrace this centrality of Jesus Christ in life, in thoughts, words, and deeds. And so our thoughts will be Christian thoughts, thoughts of Christ. Our deeds will be Christian deeds, deeds of Christ, our words will be Christian words, words of Christ. Conversely, the loss of this center, replacing it with anything else, only causes damage, both to the environment around us and to man himself.
Besides being the center of creation and the center of reconciliation, Christ is the center of the People of God. And today, He is here, at the center. He is here now in the Word, and He will be here in the altar, alive, present, among us, His people. […]
Today, it will be good for us to think about our history, to look at Jesus, and from the heart, to repeat often, but sincerely, each one of us: “Remember me, Lord, now that You are in Your Kingdom. Jesus, remember me, because I want to be good, I want to be good, but I lack strength, I cannot: I am a sinner, I am a sinner. But remember me, Jesus. You can remember me because You are at the center, You are precisely in Your Kingdom.” How good! Let’s do it today, everyone, each in their heart, many times. “Remember me, Lord, You who are at the center, You who are in Your Kingdom.” (Homily of Pope Francis, November 24, 2013).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare to speak with much love to the One who loves you.
Purpose
Set a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved… or, if you believe it is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
Having Christ at the center of my life must necessarily lead me to humility in service; today I will serve with special attention to my family.
