Gospel

Satan is lost.
Reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Mark 3, 22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Word of the Lord.

Recalculating together.

If a family is divided, it cannot subsist. If a marriage is not united, it cannot subsist. A marriage is united when it does not each go in a different direction, but both support each other to move in the same direction. We need a common goal, so that a sin of my spouse is considered a project of both of us and vice versa, to come out victorious together.

Bishop Munilla spoke to us about one of the keys to marriage, a process that is triggered in the GPS when we take the wrong path: “Recalculating.” Our struggle is not one against the other, it is both against the devil, so in the face of any sin, from one or the other, we already know what to do: ask for forgiveness, forgive, and…”recalculate” the path.

Applied to matrimonial life:

Juanjo: I don’t care what she says. The Spirit is stronger. God is much stronger. I am going to keep fighting to save my wife and my marriage, because for God nothing is impossible, and I firmly believe in that. God created her for me, so that with her I can reach Him, and I am not going to abandon the mission He has entrusted to me.
Juanjo’s mother: Son, but she doesn’t deserve it. She has shown that she doesn’t love you, that you don’t matter to her. She yells at you, emotionally blackmails you, and speaks ill of you to everyone.
Juanjo: Mom, she is not my enemy. Our common enemy is the devil, and he has blinded her. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. But she has me to help her see the light.
Juanjo’s mother: Son, you’re scaring me. What if you’re losing your mind?
Juanjo: No, Mom. I haven’t lost my mind. I have faith in the Almighty, I have faith in the One who is all Love. And you have taught me that. Now is the time to demonstrate that faith.
(Juanjo, with God’s help, reconquered his wife, and today they keep their family united. Their marriage was strengthened by that crisis. Today, Cristina, his wife, is certain that Juanjo loves her more than himself. In a way, she feels indebted to him, and wants to show him that she also has blind faith in what God can do in their marriage).

Mother,

Faith is shown in moments of difficulty. That’s when it is put to the test. Let the Devil not have his way and let us continue to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.