Luke 9:51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.
The Gospel of the Lord
In the Face of Indifference or Rejection: Give Yourself
In this Gospel passage, we see how the Samaritans refused to receive the Lord because of His appearance. Faced with this rejection, James and John wanted vengeance—they felt offended. But what does Jesus do? He rebukes them and shows compassion towards those who, “seeing, do not see,” because their hearts were still closed to Him.
The Lord is constantly seeking us, longing to dwell with us. Yet if we do not welcome Him, He simply continues on—He never forces love, but waits with infinite patience until He is received.
And so it must be with us as spouses: even when we fail to see our husband or wife with the dignity of a child of God, even when we feel unloved or unacknowledged, we are still called to love—without anger, without offence—continuing along the path and waiting for another moment when our spouse’s heart may be ready to receive us.
To live like this, we need daily time with the Lord in prayer: to fall in love with Him, to grow more like Him, and, ultimately, to love as He loves.
Applied to Married Life
Andrew: Congratulations, my love—today is such a special day! Nineteen years of marriage. Do you know something? This morning in prayer, Jesus showed me that from the very beginning He has wanted to reign in our marriage and make us truly happy… but because of the hardness of our hearts, we often didn’t let Him. How patient He has been with us! Today I just want to thank Him for His mercy.
Natalie: Congratulations to you too, my dear husband! Yes, it’s so striking how He never grows tired of waiting and keeps seeking us out with all kinds of means. He has sent us family members who shared with us the miracles of the Rosary, priests who accompanied and advised us, and friends who encouraged us to attend a “Marital Love Project” retreat and join catechesis groups. Truly, He has always been by our side, even when we didn’t recognise Him.
Andrew: Now it all makes so much sense—the wonderful gifts He has given us, but also the trials that caused us such pain. They were necessary to purify our hearts. Without them, in our pride, we would never have opened ourselves to Him. All of it was part of His plan.
Natalie: How great is the Lord, who allows us to bear witness that by His mercy it is possible to make the old new again—to transform a broken marriage into one that has discovered the treasure of its vocation!
Mother,
we thank you for coming to the aid of so many marriages in difficulty, so they do not feel alone.
Glory to the Lord, who makes all things new!