Presence

Dear Jesus, today I call on You in a special way. Mostly I come asking for favours. Today I’d like just to be in Your presence. Let my heart respond to Your Love.

Freedom

“A thick and shapeless tree-trunk
would never believe that it could become a statue,
admired as a miracle of sculpture,
and would never submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor,
who sees by his genius what he can make of it.” (Saint Ignatius)
I ask for the grace to let myself be shaped by my loving Creator.

Consciousness

Jesus, thank You for this moment where I am conscious of Your presence with me. Help me to be more and more aware of Your presence in my daily life, and in everyone I meet.

The Word of God

⁹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.

¹⁰And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹²But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Inspiration

The tax collectors and sinners felt totally accepted in the company of Jesus. God has always loved the sinner and hated the sin. Jesus came to bring salvation to all of us. Do I, as the Pharisees did, judge others and condemn them?

Here Jesus recalls the prophet Hosea: ‘What I want is mercy not sacrifices, knowledge of God not holocausts’ (6:6). Jesus came to seek out the lost sheep. Our God is a God of mercy and love, and we need to keep this before us constantly, for we are all sinners in need of his mercy. When Pope Francis called for the Year of Mercy, he said that this was God’s other name.

Conversation

Remembering that I am still in God’s presence,
I imagine Jesus Himself standing or sitting beside me,
and say whatever is on my mind, whatever is in my heart,
speaking as one friend to another.

Conclusion

Filled with the loving presence of God,
I ask Him to bless me and guide my steps
as I go to do His work in my daily life.

Amen