A Dynamite Meditation
December 7, 2004

"Not everyone who says to me, ´Lord, Lord,´ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

Saint Ambrose, bishop and doctor
Matthew Reinhardt, Consecrated Member of Regnum Christi

Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, ´Lord, Lord,´ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house, but it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house, and it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

Introductory Prayer:Lord Jesus, I want to enter the kingdom of heaven through this prayer. I need you to take me to bathe in your grace. I promise you a fighting spirit in this prayer and trust you will do the rest.

Petition:Lord, may I prove my love for you by doing your will with perfection.

1. Lip Service. Imagine a boy who promises his mom he will complete his chores if she will buy him a candy bar at the checkout lane. You can see the mom putting the candy bar in the cart out of love, but at the end of the day little progress may have been made with the chores. Christ states, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” Just as this mother might tell her son, “No dinner tonight because your chores are not done,” in our relationship with God, empty promises and simply going through the motions do not get us very far. But if we strive to do the will of the Father out of love, then we can reach heaven!

2. A Dynamite Meditation. It amazed me growing up to go downtown and see foundations being dug out for skyscrapers to be built. Sometimes the construction workers would use jackhammers or dynamite to break through the rocky ground and lay a deep foundation. Today those skyscrapers are standing strong in spite of winds, rains, and floods. For our spiritual life to be grounded in rock, sometimes we need to use the jackhammer of prayer and the dynamite of the sacraments to break through our own “rocky ground.” Then we will be “like a wise man who built his house on rock.” Building the house of our holiness is the best investment we can make because this house will stand the test of time, and we will be able to take it with us into eternity.

3. Listen and Act. Prayer is a foretaste of heaven. It consists in talking to Christ about what is on our heart, listening to what he wants to tell us, and then acting on what he tells us throughout the day. The difference between the wise man and the fool in the Gospel is not in the listening to Christ’s words, but in acting upon them. Today I have a great opportunity to put into practice what Christ is telling me in this meditation.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, I want to give you true love today. I don’t want a love built on the sand of my emotions but on the rock of my will united unconditionally to your divine will. Help me to complete everything you ask of me today and let this fidelity bring many others to you.

Resolution: I will do an act of charity for that person whom I find most difficult.

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 56 (57)
Morning prayer in time of affliction
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy. My soul flies to you for refuge. I will hide in the shelter of your wings until the time of ambush is past. I will cry to God the Most High, to the God who cares for me. He will send help from heaven to set me free. He will disgrace those who trample me underfoot. He will send forth his mercy and faithfulness. My soul lies among lion-cubs that would devour the children of men. Their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues are pointed swords. May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the whole earth. They prepared a trap for my feet; my soul was bent double under its burden; they dug a pit in front of me – but they fell into it themselves. My heart is ready, God. My heart is ready. I will offer you music and song. Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp. I will awaken the dawn. I will proclaim you among the peoples, Lord, and make music for you among the nations, for your mercy reaches as high as the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 56 (57)

Morning prayer in time of affliction

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy. My soul flies to you for refuge.
I will hide in the shelter of your wings until the time of ambush is past.
I will cry to God the Most High, to the God who cares for me.

He will send help from heaven to set me free. He will disgrace those who trample me underfoot. He will send forth his mercy and faithfulness.
My soul lies among lion-cubs that would devour the children of men. Their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues are pointed swords.

May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the whole earth.

They prepared a trap for my feet; my soul was bent double under its burden; they dug a pit in front of me – but they fell into it themselves.

My heart is ready, God. My heart is ready. I will offer you music and song.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp. I will awaken the dawn.
I will proclaim you among the peoples, Lord, and make music for you among the nations,
for your mercy reaches as high as the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the earth.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Canticle	Jeremiah 31
The joy of those whom God sets free
All you nations, listen to the word of the Lord, proclaim it in the farthest islands: “He who scattered his people Israel has brought them back together. He will care for them as a shepherd tends his flock”. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and freed him from the hand of his conqueror. They will come and sing praises on Mount Sion, they will flood in to receive the good things of the Lord, grain, and wine, and oil, and the young of both herd and flock. Their spirit will be like a richly watered garden, and they will hunger no more. The young girl will dance for joy, young men and old men too. “I will turn their weeping into gladness”, says the Lord, “I will comfort them and give them joy after sorrow. I will overwhelm my priests with rich food, and my good things will fill my people to overflowing”. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Canticle

Jeremiah 31

The joy of those whom God sets free

All you nations, listen to the word of the Lord, proclaim it in the farthest islands:
“He who scattered his people Israel has brought them back together. He will care for them as a shepherd tends his flock”.

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and freed him from the hand of his conqueror.
They will come and sing praises on Mount Sion, they will flood in to receive the good things of the Lord,
grain, and wine, and oil, and the young of both herd and flock.
Their spirit will be like a richly watered garden, and they will hunger no more.

The young girl will dance for joy, young men and old men too.
“I will turn their weeping into gladness”, says the Lord, “I will comfort them and give them joy after sorrow.
I will overwhelm my priests with rich food, and my good things will fill my people to overflowing”.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 47 (48)
Thanksgiving for the safety of the people
The Lord is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain is a beautiful sight, the joy of all the earth. Mount Sion is at its northernmost edge, the city of the great king. Here among its palaces, God has shown himself as its refuge. For the kings assembled, made alliance against it – but when they saw it, they were amazed. Panic took them and they scattered. Trembling took hold of them, pain like that of childbirth. With the east wind you will destroy the ships of Tarshish. What we had heard, we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God has founded for ever. We ponder your mercy, O God, as we stand in your temple. Your name, O Lord, and your praise will reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand delivers justice. Let Mount Sion be glad and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements. Go round Sion, see it all, count every tower. Feel its strength, visit its palaces, so that you can tell the next generation – Here is God, our God, here he remains for ever; and for ever he will lead us and guide us. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 47 (48)

Thanksgiving for the safety of the people

The Lord is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.
His holy mountain is a beautiful sight, the joy of all the earth.
Mount Sion is at its northernmost edge, the city of the great king.
Here among its palaces, God has shown himself as its refuge.

For the kings assembled, made alliance against it –
but when they saw it, they were amazed. Panic took them and they scattered.
Trembling took hold of them, pain like that of childbirth.
With the east wind you will destroy the ships of Tarshish.

What we had heard, we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God has founded for ever.
We ponder your mercy, O God, as we stand in your temple.
Your name, O Lord, and your praise will reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand delivers justice.
Let Mount Sion be glad and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements.

Go round Sion, see it all, count every tower.
Feel its strength, visit its palaces, so that you can tell the next generation –
Here is God, our God, here he remains for ever; and for ever he will lead us and guide us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Short reading	Isaiah 45:8 ©
Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open for salvation to spring up. Let deliverance, too, bud forth which I, the Lord, shall create.

Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Canticle

Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Prayers and Intercessions

Christ is the wisdom and power of God and he delights to be with the sons of men. Trustingly let us call on him: - Be close to us, Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, you called us to your kingdom of light:: make us live our lives rightly, pleasing God in all things.
You stand among us, unrecognised by the world:: show your face to mankind.
You are closer to us than we are to ourselves:: keep strong in our hearts the trusting hope of salvation.
You are the spring from which holiness flows:: let us be holy and unstained on the day when you come again.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Show forth your power, O Lord, and bring your great strength to our aid.
Although our sins impede our steps,
let your grace help us to go forward.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N