Monthly Archives: July 2024

Yes, it can. Reflection for marriages Saint Matthew 11, 20-24

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GOSPEL

The day of judgment will be more bearable for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom than for you.
Reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew 11, 20-24
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.
The Word of the Lord.
Yes, it can.
Miracles, beyond the amazement they cause, are signs that prove the existence of God. Then there are those who stubbornly close themselves off and no matter what they see, they do not want to believe. It becomes more difficult to believe their arguments than the very existence of God. There are also those who remain focused on the wonder of the event itself and forget that it is just a sign. They need to focus on Who is behind it and the message or mission that God wants to convey. These are the miracle-seekers who feed on astonishing impacts but do not delve deeper. Thirdly, there are the “apologists” who see signs of the end times in everything, meaning they already have the message they want to believe in their heads and only seek extraordinary facts to corroborate it. Finally, there are those who believe and delve until they find what God wants from them when He has made them partakers of a supernatural event. These last ones, will truly live.
Applied to Married Life:
Carlos: Do you believe in the Sacrament of Marriage? I wonder how many miracles the Lord may have refrained from doing among us due to our lack of faith and gratitude.
Teresa: Now I truly believe in the grace of our Sacrament, because we have discovered it and experienced it, but it is true that for many years we did not believe in it.
Carlos: In a marriage that lacks belief, the Lord cannot perform miracles. Now I know that this love I feel towards you is greater than myself.
Teresa: Now I know that my love cannot satisfy you, but God’s love through me can.
Mother,
We receive so much grace every day, at all times, through the work of the Holy Spirit administered by you. We believe in You, and we do not want to waste even a bit of Your love for us. Praise be to God for so much, always and completely.

Worthy of Him. Reflection for marriages St. Matthew 10, 34 – 11, 1

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GOSPEL
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword
Reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 10, 34 – 11, 1
 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
At that time, Jesus said to his apostles:
 The Gospel of the Lord.
Worthy of Him.
There is only one path of goodness, and that is to follow Christ. Anything other than following Him is in opposition to Him. It is true that sometimes family members may stand against us. He had already warned us about this. But that cannot stop us from following Him, evangelizing, and working in the mission for the Kingdom of God. They will understand one day, even if not in this world. Because what we do will also benefit them, and the entire Church. We are not alone in this mission; we go in the name and representation of the Church. United with it.
Applied to married life:
Jaime: I know you are struggling to improve. I pray that the Lord gives you strength. I also benefit from learning from you and being influenced by you. I know the Lord works through you, and as I surrender to you, our life together will have a much greater and more transcendent meaning.
Merche: I am in love with the Lord and I know how small I am, but I cannot resist being with Him, and I want to be in communion with you. I know that the path is for me to make an effort and bless you, speak well of you. That is what the Lord wants from me.
Mother,
If we do not become one, as is our mission as spouses, where are we going? Thank you, Lord, for redirecting our paths towards love.

The mision. Reflection for marriages Mark 6:7-13

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GOSPEL 
Began to send them.
From the Gospel according to Mark. 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mission
Jesus sends his disciples to evangelize in pairs, anticipating the mission He entrusts to us as Christian spouses. By sending us in pairs, Jesus emphasizes the importance of experiencing this spiritual journey together, the mutual support we need, and the unity that marriage implies. However, we are to travel light, placing our trust in divine providence for our evangelization efforts. Christian spouses are called to live our love with simplicity and detachment.
Applied to Married Life:
Loretta: How are we going to leave everything we have pending and go to help to a retreat?
James: It is the Lord who sends us. Our Mother told us to take care of Her matters and She would take care of ours, and surely She knows how to do it much better than we do.
Loretta: If this mission comes from Her, it cannot go wrong. Our Mother never disappoints.
James: She needs us, marriages and families need us. She is our Mother. She will not forget us, you’ll see.
Mother,
You have called us to be a light for the world, take care of our tasks and our children during the times we are absent and grant us quality time with them. Thank you, Blessed Mother.

Longings of the Soul. Reflection for marriages Matthew 10:24-33

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GOSPEL 

Do not be afraid from those Who kill the body. 

From the Gospel according to Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master.If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Longings of the Soul

For marriages, this Gospel is a call to live their spiritual union above all, putting their flesh at the service of the desires that God has sown in their soul. Neither the things of the world, those that affect the material and the temporary, can affect the love between us, which by the action of the Holy Spirit endures forever.

Applied to married life:
Helen: I am so tired of these little falls we have between us… Our marriage should be on another spiritual level.
Ian: (Taking her hand) I know, my love. But we can’t lose hope. The Lord has committed to making us holy through our marriage.
Helen: Yes, but I have a thirst for communion, an insatiable thirst that seems never to be quenched.
Ian : What really matters is our love and our faith, not so much our results, which depend on God’s grace. If we stay united in God, nothing can destroy our marriage.
Helen: You are right. We must not let difficulties distance us from God or from hope in our marriage.
Ian: Together we can learn to love each other despite any obstacle. Let’s trust in God and in the power of our sacrament.
Helen: I love you so much…
Ian : And I love you. You know that my love for you is supernatural, don’t you?
Helen : I know.

Mother,

Praised be the Lord who has given us this precious gift of the Sacrament of Marriage to begin living the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Do not get tired. Reflection for marriages Matthew 10:16-23

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GOSPEL


“For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
From the Gospel according to Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

Don’t get tired.

No one can take away the glory of God from us. Have I tried to humiliate my spouse or has my spouse try to humiliate me? Don’t get tired and don’t let him/ her get tired, because neither of you has the power to take away even a bit of His glory. On the contrary, depending on the attitude of the persecuted, God might glorify them, as He does with the Holy martyrs.
So, do  not feel defeated. These situations can bring much glory to God.

Applied to married life:

Tony: Our daughters are lost because of you; you raised them this way.
(Three days later)
Tony: Why are you trying to impose your views on me? I know more about this subject because I’ve studied it.
Margaret: You are the one who raises our daughters poorly because you’ve always been too hard on them. Things don’t go your way because you’re always wrong, while I’m always right. That’s the reality.
(And so, day after day)
Margaret: (In prayer) Forgive my pride. To purify my soul, Lord, you ask me for meekness and humility. You are with me, steering my life, what can I fear? I truly deserve all contempt, and You deserve much more for Your greater glory. My greatest desire, Lord, is to resemble You and not hold any ill will against my husband. So, Lord, I promise not to reproach him anymore and offer myself for his sanctification.
Tony: (In prayer) Lord, forgive my immense pride. As reparation, I have the opportunity to offer myself in all the reproaches my wife makes towards me. Don’t hold it against her and accept my sacrifice for her salvation and for Your greater glory.
(And both accepted the cross and sanctified each other).

Mother,
Let us live persecutions in your Heart. Praise be to the Lord who wants to strengthen and purify our love.