GOSPEL

Whose will it be what you have prepared?
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”

The word of the Lord.

Insurance company.

The best life insurance is not of this world. It is not a life insurance policy, but rather Life with a capital L. Because the best life insurance consists of being rich before God. 
Therefore, the best insurance company for us is the company of our spouse, because in our Marital Love, we can be rich before God!

Grounded in Married Life:

Silvia: Why do you use a capital ‘L’ for Life in today’s commentary? 
Paco: Because today we should talk about how to achieve Life with a capital ‘L’ in our daily married life. 
Silvia: And how would you say we do that? 
Paco: I believe our marriage is like an insurance contract in love, which we maintain by paying daily premiums of love, so that when an accident occurs, we have that insurance providing us with the necessary coverage. 
Silvia: Oh dear! It’s so clear you’re a man… That sounds rather unromantic. But well, I understand what you mean. That security comes not from the things of this world, but from maintaining God’s love between us. 
Paco: Bravo… you’ve put it much more beautifully. The things of this world decay and disappear. The Love that God gives us through the Holy Spirit remains and leads to eternal Life.

Mother,

May we be rich before God through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Praise be to God who gives us treasures for heaven through our marriage.

GOSPEL

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
From the Gospel according to Mark 10:35-45 or 10:42-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee,came to Jesus and said to him,
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink,and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them,”You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them,and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you.Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Submitting to Save

When Jesus steps into a dispute among His disciples, He doesn’t rely on human reasoning to settle it; instead, He applies the Gospel. In those moments, He encourages them to serve one another, to submit just as He does, giving His life as a ransom for many.

Applied to married life.

Martha: Thank you, husband, for teaching me through your willingness to submit. I’ve noticed that when I feel upset with you, instead of standing your ground, demanding what you think is fair, you choose to submit, humble yourself, and love me.

William: Thank you for the recognition, but you know this isn’t something that comes from me. It’s the Lord, who helps me give myself for your sake.

Martha: Praise the Lord. I hope to be open to the Holy Spirit, to no longer oppose you, but to submit to you as I would to the Lord.

Mother,

May we learn to be humble and small, so that the Lord may lift up our love. Blessed be God.

GOSPEL

“For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”
From the Gospel according to Luke 12:8-12
Jesus said to his disciples:“I tell you,everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.
“Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spiri will not be forgiven.When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Questioning His Presence.

We ask ourselves: When we doubt that Christ is part of our marriage, are we not, in a way, denying Him before others? And when we speak against our spouse in front of others, are we not also denying Christ? What we do to our spouse, we do to Christ.

Applied to married life

Lourdes: When I feel rejected by you, the pain is much deeper than if it came from someone else. This is because we are truly united as one. 
Antonio: And when I reject you, I feel a heavy guilt, especially in my spiritual life and in other areas. 
Lourdes: That’s because there is a Sacrament between us, meaning the Lord is present in our relationship.

Mother,

We will never deny the Lord. Grant us the love we need to remain faithful, no matter what comes our way. Praise be to the Lord.

GOSPEL

“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few”
From the Gospel according to Luke 10:1-9

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.He said to them,”The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.Go on your way;behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;and greet no one along the way.Into whatever house you enter,first say, ‘Peace to this household.’If a peaceful person lives there,your peace will rest on him;but if not, it will return to you.Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,for the laborer deserves payment.Do not move about from one house to another.Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,eat what is set before you,cure the sick in it and say to them,’The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'”

The Gospel of the Lord

Careful! They Are His.

The harvest belongs to the Lord! Let us never forget this, please. The harvest is God’s, and He sends us to His harvest. One of our problems is that we tend to take possession of His harvest. In church movements and parishes: Everyone belongs to the Lord, and we owe them the freedom to choose that place within the Church that brings them closer to the Lord. Let us not forget that. Many of the faithful are suffering because they are made to feel unfaithful for going to a different ecclesiastical setting that helps them draw closer to the Lord. We belong to Christ, they belong to Christ.

In the domestic church, which is our home, the same thing happens. Sometimes we want to take possession of our spouses or our children. They too belong first and foremost to God, and from that comes the enormous dignity and reverence with which we should treat them.

Applied to Married Life:

Charlie: I used to want to change you and mold you to fit my own image. Now I love it when St. John Paul speaks about the respect we owe one another. It’s not the kind of respect that says, “Do whatever you want, I have to respect you,” but the respect that comes from knowing that you belong to God and that God resides in your soul.

Teresa: And out of respect for who we are, children of God, we must behave as such. I ask you to help me make this a reality, encouraging me to belong to Christ. I was born for Him.

Charles: The truth is, I feel very small and unworthy of you and of this mission to which God is calling me: To administer His Love so that you may reach Him, through my self-giving. You are His princess, and that makes me tremble before God.

Teresa: We are very small for this mission. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of Piety, so that He may be the one to accomplish it.

Mother,

May we treat the harvest with the dignity of those who are sent by God. Praise be to Him, who shares His mission of salvation with us

GOSPEL

“This generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah”
From the Gospel according to Luke 11:47-54
The Lord said:“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed.Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors,for they killed them and you do the building.Therefore, the wisdom of God said,‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles;some of them they will kill and persecute’in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!Woe to you, scholars of the law!You have taken away the key of knowledge.You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”When Jesus left, the scribes and Phariseesbegan to act with hostility toward himand to interrogate him about many things,for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Tools of the devil

How important it is to stay close to the Lord through prayer so that the Spirit can grant us the gift of knowledge. Through this gift, we discern what is right and wrong and recognize when we start to stray. It helps us to value human matters in the light of God. The devil is very clever and can confuse us, just as he did with the Pharisees, but this gift of the Holy Spirit frees us from those errors and misunderstandings that can lead us astray, and cause us to lead others astray as well.

Applied to married life:

Laura: Lately, I’ve noticed that you’re getting very distracted by looking at new car models. Why are you suddenly so interested? I thought you had gotten over that attachment years ago.

Michael: A couple of weeks ago, you mentioned that our car was getting outdated, and that sparked my interest in looking at what’s available, in case we decided to replace it. But you’re right, it’s capturing too much of my attention, and I’m losing focus on what’s central to my life: God and you.

Laura: A few months ago, the same thing happened to me. While thinking about changing the living room cushions, I got caught up in browsing a ton of décor stuff. Thank God I realized it and put an end to it.

Michael: Yes, thank you. It helped a lot that you pointed it out. God bless you. Honestly, the internet and those algorithms that analyze our behavior—they’re like tools of the devil. They show you what grabs your attention, whether you want it or not.

Laura: We need to be alert in all these things and discern what is truly necessary, so we don’t give undue attention to what doesn’t deserve it.

Mother,

We asked for the gift of knowledge so we don’t stray from the path of Love. Praise the Lord, who is the center of our lives.