GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The word of the Lord

 

Nothing to Give Him

Usually, we expect to be reciprocated in love. If we give more of ourselves, we hope for a greater response in return. In contrast, we look to God’s Love, which we cannot reciprocate because He is all in all. The only significant thing we can offer Him is the very gift of His own Sacrifice, which He has given to us.

We might feel inadequate for this, as we have nothing of our own to give Him, except our sins for Him to heal. But we can welcome Him. As the Bride of Christ, we can receive His sacrifice and use it to build up our hearts for His greater Glory.

 

Applied to Married Life

Carlos: Have you comforted the Lord today?

Marta: Yes, today has been a special day to bring Him comfort.

Carlos: And what did you do for Him?

Marta: What I did was to be grateful for so much Love and to embrace in faith the grace of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as well as the grace of our own Sacrament through you, also in faith. The Heart of Jesus is burning with Love, and it aches if we do not receive it and share it with each other without asking for anything in return. I also receive Him through you, my husband, by the strength of our Sacrament.

 

Mother,

May we learn to receive all the Love that the Lord wants to give us. May our hearts be set ablaze. Praise be to God.