Gospel

“This generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,except the sign of Jonah”
From the Gospel according to Luke11:29-32
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,“This generation is an evil generation;it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,except the sign of Jonah.Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,so will the Son of Man be to this generation.At the judgmentthe queen of the south will rise with the men of this generationand she will condemn them,because she came from the ends of the earthto hear the wisdom of Solomon,and there is something greater than Solomon here.At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generationand condemn it,because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

The Gospel of  the Lord.

“Spiritual Cell”

Could there be something perverse in my heart? The truth is, I may be projecting my own evil onto my husband, contributing to the corruption of his heart. When I judge him, when I focus on the devil’s work in him rather than God’s work in him, and I reproach him, projecting that evil onto him, might I not be harboring a perverse heart? Like Jonah, when my husband offends me, I don’t ask for mercy for him, but for punishment—so that he’ll learn! So that he’ll realize the harm he’s done to me and finally repent! But God, on the other hand, is satisfied with any gesture of repentance to pour out all His mercy upon him.

The Virgin of Fatima said, “Flee from evil, for that is the work of Satan. Look at all that is beautiful and good, for that is the work of God.” Many times we’ve considered how we’d like to live a sort of “spiritual cell”  where, although we walk in the world, we remain contemplating God at every moment. The Sisters of Bethlehem wear a hooded habit and say it is to carry the cell with them. The cell is the place where they are with the Lord, and by wearing the hood, they remain with Him even when outside their physical cell.

Well, today I have come to the conclusion that, out of the many windows in my “spiritual cell,” I must only open one to the world—the one through which God looks at everything and everyone from within me. Thus, by looking at the world and my husband through His eyes, I will remain united with Him at all times, and the mercy I lack with my husband will flow from me.

Applied to married life:

Carmen: Forgive me, husband, for not seeing all the good and beauty in you, for killing my faith that God is within you. I see evil in you and stop believing in you and the graces that God wants to give me through you. My heart is wicked because it focuses on and holds onto the bad I see in you. I store your offenses in my memory and revisit them, feeling you are unworthy of me and my love. I dwell in my sadness, making myself the protagonist of our story, pushing God and His mercy aside. In doing so, I project my own evil onto you, sinking and discouraging you. Lord, give me a humble heart like Yours, for when You see even a trace of good in a heart, You magnify it to give life. Above all, You forget the sin and save the sinner. Help me to see all the good and beauty in my husband. Only that.

Mother,

Grant me the grace to live with You in my spiritual cell, so that I may always be with You and with God, wherever I may be. Hold me close and never let me stray from Your side. Amen.