GOSPEL
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’
And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.
To the spouses who believe, these signs will accompany them (Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia 163):
“The love we promise each other surpasses any emotion, feeling or mood, although it may include them. It is a deeper desire, with a decision of the heart that involves the whole existence. Thus, amidst an unresolved conflict, and even though many confused feelings may swirl around the heart, the decision to love, to belong, to share life together, and to remain loving and forgiving is kept alive each day. Each of the two embarks on a path of growth and personal change. In the midst of this journey, love celebrates every step and every new stage…The bond finds new modes and demands the decision to knead it again and again. But not just to preserve it, but to develop it. It is the path of building oneself day by day. But none of this is possible unless the Holy Spirit is invoked, unless His grace is sought every day, unless His supernatural strength is called upon, unless He is earnestly asked to pour out His fire upon our love to strengthen it, guide it, and transform it in every new situation.”
The Holy Spirit is what unites us, but the Holy Spirit is very “sensitive” to our freedom. If we set any boundaries between us, He cannot flow between the two of us. Let us remove the pleasures that hinder our union, let us remove the passions that drive us apart, let not my will be done nor rely on my judgments. If we do this, then the Spirit that dwells deep within us will flow between us and will be able to do His great work. His immense work of Love.
Applied to married life:
George: I no longer seek what I like, nor my comfort. I no longer reject you when my feelings urge me to do so. I no longer insist on my will and am docile. I now distrust my judgments, for God is very great and I may be wrong now as I was in the past. And it is now that I experience what the Holy Spirit can do in our union.
Maddie: Now indeed we experience what it is to contemplate together, now we live the full joy. The experiences we are living are indescribable, my dear husband.
George: I look at you and wonder, who are you? I have not yet discovered all the greatness that God has meant to give you.
Come Holy Spirit,
Come into our marriage. Give us the strength and courage to decide to love each other despite the circumstances; give us the counsel to discern in complicated situations; give us God’s wisdom to view our relationship from His Truth; give us the understanding to grasp the Truth of the mystery of our sacrament, give us the knowledge to value our spouse as a child of God; the piety to open up to the tenderness of the Father and towards the spouse; and the fear of God, the fear of offending Him and the desire to remain in love. Holy Spirit, transform our marriage. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.