“Woe to you Pharisees! Woe also to you scholars of the law!”

A reading from the Gospel of Luke 11:42-46

The Lord said:
“Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Unleashing Love

Watch out for the law and burdens. First for ourselves, and second for placing them on our spouses and children. 

Our faith is based on love, and everything in it is driven by love. What moves me to pray? First, the Love of Christ, I discover how  tremendously loved I am, and second, the love that arises in me in response. Love with a capital “L” calls for love with a lowercase “l.” 

It is then that I discover that He calls me to give myself to my spouse, it is then that I discover the value of my spouse to the Lord, it is then that I discover the value of my spouse to me, it is then that my spouse discovers the value I have for him or her, and it is then that I feel loved by my spouse. 

Everything starts from the Love of God, which unleashes our love.

Applied to Married Life:

Tony: When did you convert to Christian marriage? 

Diana: First, I got married because I felt attracted to you and loved by you in a worldly way. I liked that you pampered me, that you were head over heels for me. It was totally a lustful kind of love. 

Tony: And then came work, the difficulties of living together, arguments because of in-laws… And everything collapsed for you. Right? And finally, your conversion to Christian marriage. 

Diana: Exactly. The first thing was discovering God’s Love. Knowing that I am loved by Him. And He made me realize that you are my mission, your true beauty, and your real worth, and that I love you not only for who you are now but for who you are called to be. And that this journey I had to walk with you, through loving you and giving myself for you. I love you, and I want to see you holy, you know? 

Tony: I know. Me too. I love you, and I want to see you holy.

Mother,

May our giving of ourselves always be out of love, seeking the good of my husband or wife. Praise be to the Lord who loves us so much.

GOSPEL 

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.

Gospel

Sell what you have and follow me.
From the Gospel according to Mark. Mk 10:17-30 
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.”
He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”
Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

Christian Husband? One Thing is Lacking

We are drawn to authenticity. An authentic person captivates us. What we truly desire is authentic love. Authenticity demands it all, and love between spouses requires complete surrender. One cannot love at 90%, for if so, the spouse will desperately seek the 10% that is missing.
The rich young man was not an authentic Christian—one thing was lacking: renouncing his wealth. What is preventing me from being an authentic Christian husband? What is preventing me from giving myself fully in my marriage? Those words of the Lord will always resonate in our ears: “one thing is lacking.” Could it be my pride? Most likely, for pride is the source of many other marital problems. I do not fully give myself because I want to keep something to myself, as if it belongs only to me.

Applied to married life:

Rapha: Do you dare to pray with me now about what prevents us from fully giving ourselves to each other?
Mary: Sure. I think we don’t have enough faith.
Rapha: however, practically speaking, I get home late from work, and by the time I arrive, you are already too tired for us to pray together.
Mary: Let me see what else… Many times, I judge you because I feel like you don’t understand me.
Rapha: And I sometimes feel like you are too dependent on your mother.
Mary: I often feel that you can’t forget the wrong things I’ve done to you.
Rapha: And I can’t stand that you don’t tell me everything.
Mary: I also feel like you’re very harsh and say hurtful things.
Rapha: In the end, we’re not able to love in these situations because “one thing is lacking” for us to be Christian spouses.
Mary: Yes, spouses who love like Christ in His Passion. Christ loved us as Spouse even though His Bride had no faith, did not treat Him well, and did not recognize His sacrifice… We must do the same.

Mother,

Our “self” keeps demanding, keeps focussed on itself, remains incapable of fully giving itself in difficult times, and continues to “measure” the love of the other. We still have not realized that marriage is a vocation, a response to the immense Love of God. Teach us to love, Mother. Amen.

Gospel

From the Gospel according to Luke. LK 11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

The Motivation of Mary

I believe we don’t fully appreciate the love that Our Lady has for us. How prompt she was to appear and offer her intercession for us while still alive. What a gift to leave us that Pillar for the construction of the first temple in the world dedicated to Her. And what a typical gesture of Hers that her day is celebrated on October 12th, the very same day that Columbus would later reach the Americas, thus making her, rightfully, the patroness of the Hispanic world.

However, whether we are Hispanic or not, blessed are we who hear the Word of God and keep it. That was the motivation of the Blessed Virgin. That continues to be Her motivation in all She is interceding for today, including through the Project of Spousal Love. Thank you, Mother, for loving us so much.

Applied to Married Life:

Martha: We have this family problem, and I don’t see a solution.

Greg: All we can do is pray and wait for their hearts to soften.

Martha: The most effective way is to entrust it to Mary and trust, just as the Father entrusted her with the motherhood of all His children. If God has that kind of confidence in Her, we should too. Her love for us is incredibly strong, and so is Her mediation before God. We have every reason to be joyful.

Gregg: That sounds wonderful. We entrust it to Her.

Mother,

For this intention, we ask You: Turn, then, O gracious Advocate, Your eyes of mercy toward us.