GOSPEL

It would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Luke 13:31-35

Some Pharisees came up to Jesus. ‘Go away’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.
  ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:
‘Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’

The Gospel of the Lord

Spouses Under His Wings

Lord, today I weep with You for all the spouses who do not embrace the grace of the Sacrament, a grace You suffered so much to give us, flowing from Your pierced Heart. How many souls remain empty, how many of God’s Projects of Love remain unfinished, left barren. We want to keep walking with You, hand in hand with Mary, today, tomorrow, and the day after… for as long as You will it, for Your greater Glory and the salvation of marriages.

Applied to Married Life:

Mark: How much grace we’ve let slip away since the day God united us in our Sacrament. All that time without considering the Lord between us… Such pain for the Lord and for us.
Anna: Absolutely. It’s been awful. But today, we say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” He has come to redeem our marriage.
Mark: Today, I also want to cry out to the heavens: “Blessed is the wife who has come to me in the name of the Lord.” Today, I welcome you as His messenger, as the true help He has given me for my sanctification.
Anna: The Lord has changed how I see you, and I want to cry out too: “Blessed is the husband who has come to me in the name of the Lord.” Thanks to the Lord, I see you today as a blessing from heaven.

Mother,

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Clinging to You, we walk towards Him, helping other spouses to take shelter under His wings like young chicks.

The last shall be first and the first last

The kingdom of God is like the yeast that leavened three measures of flour
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Luke 13:18-21

Jesus said, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’
  Another thing he said, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

The Gospel of the Lord

The Atomic Bomb of Love

It’s clear that the kingdom of God doesn’t arrive all at once; instead, God plants it, and it slowly matures in my soul. The Lord stands before me on the cross, giving Himself for the salvation of what I hold most dear in this world—my spouse. He allows me to look upon Him, letting His sacrifice seep into my heart, drawing me to fall in love with Him.
He appears before me in the Eucharist, where I see Him break and pour out His Blood for my spouse. And He waits patiently for me to respond… He gradually conquers my heart, making me His own, until I surrender everything to Him, celebrating His enthronement in my heart.
“I am Yours, for You I was born; what would You have me do?”

Applied to Married Life:

Sophia: Can you believe it? We’ve been married for over 30 years, and our love keeps growing. With our stumbles to keep us humble, but still, it’s growing.
Arthur: Saint John Paul II’s teachings on marriage are a boundless treasure trove, revealing the riches of our sacrament little by little. I’m truly amazed by it.
Sophia: The Holy Spirit, an endless source of love, wisdom, knowledge… And the seed grows and grows, reaching our children, family, friends, even strangers…
Arthur: The atomic bomb of Love has exploded between us, and as long as we stay connected to the Vine, this is unstoppable. Long live Project Marital Love!
Sophia: Long live!

Mother,

I love this path you have called us to walk. Thank you, Blessed Mother. How could I ever repay you?

GOSPEL

He chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles.  
Reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke 6:12-19  

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the 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 Jerusalem and 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.

Word of the Lord.  

They do not nullify your dignity.

What attracts people to Jesus the most is the mercy of God. The more aware we are of our need for Him, the more “interest” arises to draw closer to Him. Then love will come because the one who has been forgiven much loves much.

The Lord, like in the story of the Prodigal Son, does not see our sins but our wasted dignity, and He comes to restore it and to give us back the dignity of children who are admitted once again into the Father’s house. But mercy is not only compassion; it is also bringing good out of all evil. And that is what Jesus does. Blessed mercy of God that recovers us in our lost dignity. What good do I draw from the evil of my husband? How do I collaborate to restore his wasted dignity?

Grounded in Married Life:

Carlos: What allows you to love me in the moments when I am not loving you?

Sonia: For me, it is looking to the Lord, delving into His Heart, and acting as He would out of love for Him. And you, what gives you strength?

Carlos: For me, after the Lord has shown me your worth in prayer, the value of your soul, and what you are called to be, the desire to give myself to you calls me. In those moments, I continue to see the enormous value you have and the immense good you are simply for being loved by God for who you are. Your sins do not take that away from you. Your sins do not nullify your dignity as a daughter of God. That is why it is worth it to commit myself to your salvation, to pay for your sins and bear the consequences, as Christ did for you in Gethsemane. As I am a part of Him, I must do the same.

Sonia: How beautiful, because in the end, we both draw good from each other’s evil. I find refuge in the Heart of the Lord that protects me from a bad gaze, and you lean on the value that God has conferred upon me.

Carlos: That is what true help is called, from one to the other.

Mother,

Before sin, love turns into mercy. We are sinners; therefore, we can only be united by the merciful love of Jesus. Blessed be He forever.

GOSPEL

Master, I want to see. 
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Word of the Lord.

I like it more and more.

Apparently, Bartimaeus was not blind from birth, but rather an illness affected his vision.  
The same happens with sins, which tremendously affect the vision of the soul.  
That is why today I make this prayer my own: My Lord, my Master, Merciful Father, have compassion on me, for I know that I have no merits to come to You through the union with my husband, and I know I do not have the ability to earn them. I completely depend on You and Your mercy. I know that You love me and cannot resist my call if it is sincere. I have full faith that You can purify me and transform my heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Call me, Lord, call me to You, to Your feet.

Grounded in Married Life:

Marisa: The more I know the Lord, the more I fall in love with Him.  
Luis: The more I know the Lord, the more I fall in love with you, the more I strongly feel the call to become one with you, and the more He empowers me. I experience a supernatural love that unites me to you and is stronger than I am and than my sins.  
Marisa: Blessed are the two calls from God, to be Christians and to be Spouses. What a precious plan for us.  
Luis: I love them, and I like them more and more. I like the Lord more and more, and I like you more and more. Now I understand what the Lord meant when He said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Mother,

We have all our faith placed in the Lord, and He who called us through you will complete His work in us. Blessed be the Lord who called us by our name.