Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
  He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.

Jesus chose 12 from among His disciples. The successors of these 12 are our shepherds, the bishops. We must understand that they are chosen by God to shepherd the flock in each local Church.
It is not for us to judge their decisions or to assess whether they are better or worse. We should welcome them as God’s chosen ones and submit ourselves to them. They, in turn, have the responsibility to shepherd the flock and will answer to God at the end of their days, for they represent the Good Shepherd, no more and no less.
We find reassurance in priests who do not criticise their bishops and in Christians who do not criticise their bishop, for they are the ones who believe in the divine nature of God’s choice and the power He grants each one.

Applied to Married Life:

Martha: I love our spiritual director because he views every situation through the lens of grace and divine transcendence.
Leo: Yes. He always stands by his bishop and the Pope. If he believes and trusts in the ministry that God has bestowed upon them, it’s because he also believes and relies on the power God has given him as a priest, and likewise trusts in the grace God has given us as a married couple.
Martha: Exactly. I see how he guides me, always relying on the sacramental grace we have received, not on his own ideas. That gives me great confidence, because he truly trusts in the action of the Holy Spirit. It brings me peace, knowing we are being led by a true shepherd of Christ.
Leo: We give thanks to God for our spiritual director.
Martha: Thank you, Lord!

Mother,

Thank you for the shepherds You have placed in our path. They are a blessing. Thank you, Mother.