GOSPEL

“Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

From the Gospel according to Mark 8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

The Gospel of the Lord,

Stubbornness of heart.

The heart resembles a slippery fish that you attempt to grasp but keeps slipping through your fingers repeatedly. You try to tie it to the Lord, but as soon as you let your guard down, it has already wandered off and is restless with so many things. Subsequently,  it come the worries, the anxieties, the complaints, the judgments among us. You stand before the Blessed Sacrament and shout to your heart: “You are with the Lord!” But when you go out, you realize it has slipped away from God’s hands again, and the works of the flesh return in marriage.

We implore the Lord to remove this stubbornness from our hearts and give us a spousal heart that beats in Him at His rhythm, at the rhythm of the Trinitarian God. With this aspiration, we enter Lent tomorrow.

Applied to Married Life:

Henry: You know when you attempt to lay a towel on the sandy beach, and the moment you turn away, it’s already covered in sand? That´s the same as my self-love. Like the sand, it always ends up on top. And when there’s a bit of wind, don’t even get me started.

Eleanor: I don’t even want to tell you… And of course, when we’re not in the Heart of Christ, everything gets disorganized, and disordered passions shoot up and wreak havoc between us. In the end, it all boils down to that – are you in Him or not?

Henry: Exactly. That’s it! Being in Him. That’s the key. Because being in Him, the soul rests. It was created for that.

Eleanor: To rest in Him.

Mother,

Take away this stubbornness from our hearts so that,  we are always in the Lord, at all times. Praise be to Him, glory be to Him forever.

GOSPEL

Why does this generation seek a sign?

From the Gospel according to Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

The Gospel of the Lord,

Love, Not Signs.

Some may pay more attention to extraordinary signs than to the love of God. These signs, defy the laws of physics and can impress us like a magician’s trick. Others may simply pursue relief from suffering.

But we are saved by faith, not by witnessing impressive miracles or by ceasing to suffer. The Apostle James says that faith fosters patience. In other words, the one who has faith considers above all the love of God, and waits on Him and His will without demanding that He act according to one’s own desires or motivations.

Applied in Married Life:

Jack Darling, does the situation with our daughter-in-law bother you less now?

Katie: The situation is painful and it will never truly goes away. Why do you ask?

Jack: Well, because lately it seems like you complain less and accept the situation more peacefully.

Katie: It’s not about that; it’s about realizing that my strength comes from faith. God loves me, and God loves her. I trust that He will untangle this situation when He deems it right. That’s why I endure this with patience, a patience rooted in faith in Him

Mother,

May our faith in the love of God sustain us. Praise Him forever.

GOSPEL

GOSPEL

He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.
From the Gospel according to Mark. Mk 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Renewed Relationship.

In the time of Jesus, a deaf-mute person couldn’t have a relationship with anyone, not even with God, because they couldn’t hear God’s law.

The fact that Jesus opened his ears and loosened his tongue was like opening him up to life. It was like making him be born again.

That’s what happens in our relationship with the Lord. It makes us new. Yes, new.

Applied to Married Life:

Nick: We’ve been having problems in our relationship for a long time, and we can’t find a way to break out of the cycle we’re in.

Louise: The only solution is to look to the Lord and let Him heal our relationship.

Nick: And how do we do that?

Louise: Through marital prayer, of course, but also, since we are particularly wounded by our pride, what do you think if we only talk about God for a week?

Nick: I think it’s wonderful because it will heal our bond and reactivate our Sacrament. We attend confession, receive communion, and start anew. Does that sound good to you?

Alicia: I love it.

Mother,

The Lord creates us again, every time. Praise be to Him forever.