GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 12:20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee,
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew;
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them,
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?
‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name.”
Then a voice came from heaven,
“I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”
The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder;
but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Jesus answered and said,
“This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.
Now is the time of judgment on this world;
now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.”
He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

Word of the Lord:

Husband’s priestly role.

Letting go of self-centered love. That’s the only path to genuine love. Sacrificing oneself for love is the key to communion, embracing humiliations, shame, and contempt out of love for one’s spouse and their salvation. Jesus shows us how to be spouses who embody priesthood by sacrificing ourselves for the salvation of our spouse, our family, and other couples.

Applied to Marriage:

Alex : I’m discovering how to live out my marriage as a baptized priest.
Rachel: A priest? I’m confused.
Alex: Yes, just as Christ marries the Church as a high priest, clothed in an unsewn robe, He wants me to love you. That’s my mission as a priest.
Rachel: Okay, but how does that play out in our everyday married life?
Alex: It means I used to blame you for your sins, but now I understand that’s not the way. As a Christian husband, it means sacrificing myself, alongside Christ in our Sacrament, for the cleansing of your sins.
Rachel: So, being a priest in our marriage means seeing your sins as an opportunity to love you through my sacrifices for your sake and your salvation. It’s a remarkable shift in how we view marriage. I love the idea of being both husband and priest, following Christ’s example of self-sacrifice.

Mother,

Continue guiding us to be spouses like Christ the Bridegroom. Forever praised.