GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
“Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered him,
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
“It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”
He answered them, “The man who made me well told me,
‘Take up your mat and walk.'”
They asked him,
“Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
“Look, you are well; do not sin anymore,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

The Gospel of the Lord

Be attentive to the Grace

Like the paralytic, we must be attentive to when the Lord stirs the water to respond immediately. The Lord will come to our rescue if He sees our desire for conversion. He will give us sufficient grace in every moment. He has committed Himself through our sacrament, which has healing grace. Today, I look again at the pool of humility that I’ve been gazing at from the edge, over and over again. But today, I feel the hand of the Lord touching my shoulder from behind and with that transforming voice, He tells me: “Rise, take hold of your self-love and walk on your spiritual path.” But of course, if reaching humility is difficult, maintaining it is even harder. That’s why the Lord tells me again: “Go and sin no more, do not allow something worse to happen to you.”

Applied to Married Life:

Mar: I’m living in peace and harmony with you. With just one day that you’ve done everything right, you’ve won my heart back. Furthermore your dedication to service and your good humour have remained. Not so much pressure that suffocates.

Alberto: Yes, Mar. I’m aware of my tendency to focus on the bad things, towards perfectionism, towards monitoring everything you do, towards rolling my eyes as soon as something isn’t done the way I think it should be… towards sarcastic or inappropriate comments. When I think about humility I see it as something what is missing in my life to be able to love you as you deserve. Therefore, I ask the Lord for it every day, so He can prepare me properly and according to His times, He will free me from my bad behaviour towards you. I would like to love you, Mar.

Mar: Thank you, Alberto. It comforts me to know that you’re aware of your issues and your willingness for the Lord to convert your heart. My stumbling block is sexuality, so I also would like to ask the Lord to heal me and not judge you for what you have giving me or for the way you treat me, but rather teach me to always be with you regardless of your behaviour. My love for you cannot depend on your actions.

Alberto: Lord, today we’ve experienced that You always approach` us with the intention to heal us. We eagerly await for You to take us out of our paralysis, but only when You see us ready.

Mar: Amen.

Mother,

We love You and we want to be in Your Heart. We ask the Lord to lead us into it. Thank You, Lord. Praise be to You