GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The two main and inseparable commandments: Love for God and for one’s neighbour. Especially for us spouses, who love God in our spouse.
C.S. Lewis used to say that when man’s love is separated from God, it becomes “love” of the demon.
Therefore, my love for my spouse is inseparable from the love for God, and from God’s Love.
I see the Spouse (with capital letters) on the Cross and I wonder, was His Love for the Father separable from His Love for us? No, right? Well, that’s how Christian spouses should learn to love each other.
Applied to the context of marriage:
Jaime: Sometimes I see that I pray a lot but on the other hand, I’m not delicate with you, and a Christian husband cannot allow that.
Marta: What I do is contemplate how much the Lord loves you on the Cross and understand that to be with Him, I have to love you at the same time as He loves you, since His sacrifice on the Cross was for your salvation just as mine should be.
Jaime: I understand. The Lord loves you not because you’re perfect, but He sacrifices Himself for you to make you perfect, because He loved you first.
Marta: That’s right. If you love Him, you’ll love me like He does, and if you love me, you’ll love Him because He loved me first.
Mother,
Praise be to God forever.