From the Gospel according to Matthew

MT 16:24-28

 

Jesus said to his disciples,

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world

and forfeit his life?

Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,

and then he will repay each according to his conduct.

Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here

who will not taste death

until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

 

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Spouses of the Heart

 

We can compare oil to the Holy Spirit, who is the Love of God. The one whose heart is always ready to receive the Husband, who doesn’t get distracted by other worldly attractions, can rest in the Lord because they will be ready when He comes to wed them.

But the conversion of the heart is not something that can happen overnight. It requires a path of purification, of cleansing bad habits, detaching from worldly things, seeking God in everything and everyone, and doing everything with the motivation of glorifying God. Our Mother was the Mother of God in her heart before she was in her womb. We must become spouses of the Husband in our hearts before the day of our death, the day when we will definitively become one with Him.

 

Applied to married life:

 

Alicia: If you could have anything right now, what would you ask for? I need to go away, to be alone with God. To fill myself with God’s Love.

Alexander: I would ask to become aware of everything I have. To keep living my day-to-day life, in the same circumstances, with the same people, with the same difficulties, but to understand that all these circumstances are means to help me detach. What bothers me, bothers me precisely because of my concupiscence, and I need to allow it to stay, bothering me, until my heart is purified out of love for you and for God.

Alicia: I think both things are complementary, and both purify our hearts. We need asceticism and mysticism…from the purifying suffering and redeeming grace.

Alexander: Then let’s help each other to achieve it. Does that sound good?

Alicia: It sounds good. I love you and want the best for you.

Alexander: And I for you.

 

Mother,

 

Help us purifying our hearts and prepare them through our marriage, for when the great moment of union with Christ comes. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.