Monthly Archives: March 2024

Inseparable Commandments: Reflection for marriages: Mk 12:28-34

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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.

Inseparable Commandments

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.

And there is no other. Reflection for marriages: Lk 11:14-23

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GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

And there is no other.

The Lord teaches us that there are no half-hearted loves. Either we love or we do not. Either I give myself or I do not, but if I reserve something for myself, however small, then I have not fully surrendered. So it is also in marriage.

Applied to Married Life:

Marcos: I give myself to you every day of my life.
Lucía: I give myself to you every day of my life.
(And they did, and the miracle happened)

Mother,

Such is the conjugal love, and there is no other. Praise be to the Lord who thus surrenders Himself to us.

Predisposed to Love. Reflection for marriages: Mt 5:17-19

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GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Predisposed to Love.

Sin introduces disorders in the heart of man, and God gives us minimal laws to act with righteousness. But it’s not just about external actions; the purity of intention is more important. That’s what Christ comes to show us: How to be pure in heart so we can see God in everything and everyone.

Applied to Married Life:

Inma: The children of God are distinguished by being considerate towards others. They mind their manners and avoid anything that might be unpleasant because they consider others important, worthy of much respect.
Manuel: I recognize that I need to improve in that aspect, and it’s true that being inconsiderate is a lack of charity. It shows a lack of consideration towards them.
Inma: Moreover, being considerate predisposes us to be charitable. Avoiding thinking ill or judging unfairly.
Manuel: Yes. And how important that predisposition is to avoid falling into worse disorders. Thank you, Inma, you’ve made me think.

Mother,

Being faithful in little helps me to be faithful in much. Thank you, Mother, for teaching me to be considerate.

Issue of capacity. Reflection for marriages: Mt 18:21-35

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GOSPEL

From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Issue of capacity.

When in those adventure movies, after a lot of challenges and risks, the protagonist enters a room carved in the rock and discovers a mountain of gold and jewels, but it turns out that he only has a small bag, I always think, What a waste!

It’s true that, filling his pockets and the small leather pouch, he already has enough to live the rest of his life like a king, but… What a waste! Well, that’s how immense God’s mercy is, much more than that mountain of gold. And my heart is that small pouch. 
In order for the treasure to fit, I first have to empty it of my poisonous trinkets: quarrels, resentments, and grudges towards others. 
But how to enlarge its capacity? 
There is no other way than to continue forgiving my husband. Because forgiving him is what enlarges my heart.

Applied to Married Life:

Lola: Before, when I had to forgive you for something, it was hard for me because I fed on my resentment to demand compensation.
Julio: That’s usual. That’s why it’s so hard for us to forgive. We feel humiliated, mistreated, and demand restitution.
Lola: It’s a mirage, but that’s our motivation, yes. But today I learned that forgiving you widens my heart so that more of the treasure of merciful Love that God wants to give me can fit in it. That which heals me and saves me.

Mother,

I want to empty the saddlebags and open them wide to fill them with the Love that God wants to give me. Praised be forever and ever.

Joy in trials. Reflection for marriages: Luke 4, 24-30

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GOSPEL

Jesus, like Elijah and Elisha, was not sent alone the Jews.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke 4:24-30

When Jesus came to Nazareth, he said to the people in the synagogue:
“Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Joy in trials.

Lord, we come together as a family to ask you to increase our faith. These are days to demonstrate our faith through deeds: Love, understanding, joy… When fear tries to overcome us, may our faith make you more present through our service, by thinking of others, through our prayers. May you come to visit us as you visited the widow like Elijah, may you come to heal us as you healed the leper, from the leprosy of our souls which also need your healing. Because in these days that give us the opportunity to pray more as a family, to love more as a family, may you find us loving and praying.

Applied to married life:

(The whole family gathers to see how each one can contribute so that during these days the Love of God reigns more than ever)
Javier (the 6-year-old): Lord, I won’t throw tantrums and I’ll be obedient.
Silvia (15 years old): Lord, I’ll bake a chocolate cake so we can all have it together tomorrow.
Antonio (18 years old): Lord, I want to apologize for the times I resist praying with the family united. I commit to encouraging my siblings to do so from now on.
Mercedes (wife and mother): Lord, I will encourage my family to continue attending Mass, taking the necessary precautions, but let us not lack the nourishment of life. I will find a church to make it possible.
Mario (husband and father): Lord, I offer to pick up the guitar and animate family prayer to make the celebration more beautiful for you.
(They continued on their journey of the Gospel and the Lord protected them because they had faith in Him)

Mother,

Teach us to fix our gaze on the Heart of Your Son. To learn from you. When things got complicated, You looked to heaven and knew how to see God’s providence in everything. Thank you, Mother!