GOSPEL
This is my Son, the beloved.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Mark 9, 2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice,
“This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone who but Jesus alone with them.
As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone,
except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what rising from the dead meant.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Awe-Inspiring Marriage.
The things of God awe us to unimaginable limits. God is very great, and we are very small. Therefore, living life as if God did not exist is to remain in a very shabby aspect of life. Missing out on the things of God means missing out on everything that really matters. Living a marriage based on the things of this world is lackluster. Living a marriage facing God is awe-inspiring, dazzling… contemplate it, and you will be radiant.
Applied to Married Life:
Javier: Darling, tonight, instead of going out for dinner as we had planned, I would like us to stay at home and watch together how the gifts of the Holy Spirit influence our Sacrament. Does that sound good to you?
Laura: Well, I was really looking forward to the dinner, but the topic seems super interesting.
(As night falls)
Javier: If you agree, let’s go over each gift and take turns saying how it influences our marriage. Alright? I’ll start with the gift of understanding. This gift allows us to deepen our faith and understand God and His ways. And certainly, the Sacrament is very much His. I would love to continue discovering more about this mystery with you.
Laura: And me. The second one is the gift of Wisdom. To savor the things of God and especially the conjugal charity that unites us. For example, today, we have given up a delicious dinner, but here we are together savoring the things of God between us.
Javier: Very well. I like that example. Another gift is the gift of counsel. How important it is to seek God’s will when we try to advise each other. It’s important that we advise each other not from the indignation of “you’re not doing things as I told you,” but from God’s counsel.
Laura: I love it. Gift of Fortitude. It allows us to be perseverant in our commitments in the face of difficult situations. For this, it is essential that we support each other greatly and help each other to be faithful, for example, to daily conjugal prayer or to the commitments we have in our personal purification journey. In a way, we have to put our gift of fortitude at the service of the other’s weakness and tendency towards comfort or conformity.
Javier: Totally agree. The gift of Knowledge: Well, it’s easy because it’s what we are doing right now. Looking to God, His presence in everything that happens. Helping us interpret things from His salvation Plan.
Laura: Piety. Very important. Knowing ourselves as children of God and always treating each other as children of God. If we only carry this forward, we’ll do great.
Javier: Fear of God: Being aware of the consequences it would have for our marriage to push God away, to forget the sacramental grace, as if He is not the one who does everything between us. That would be marital suicide.
Laura: Phew, that sounds harsh, but it’s true. It’s killing the love of communion. Can we write all this on a board and put it in our room? I would like not to forget it and review it from time to time. These are the gifts we have received, and we have to make use of them.
Mother,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.