Gospel
From the Gospel according to Luke 20:27-40
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, forthey are like angels; and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, forthey are like angels; and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything
The Gospel of the Lord.
Am I a Burden?
God has set the path for us to move from our history of sin to the glory of redemption, and that path is through great tribulation. But in order to bear this journey, we need grace, especially for married couples, where the grace of the Sacrament of Marriage is essential.
However, the Lord will come in all His glory to take us to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. At that time, the grace of the Sacrament will no longer be needed, because we will see God face to face, and His divine presence will unite us for all eternity.
Applied to married Life:
Teresa: I struggle with accepting our imperfections. I look at Jesus, and I am captivated by Him, but then it’s hard to look at you with your miseries.
Louis: I understand. You long for heaven, you were created for glory, but we won’t access glory unless we first live through the cross.
Teresa: I do face many crosses. Every time you lack consideration, it feels like a cross for me.
Louis: But do you truly love me? Or am I just a burden to you, one that allows you to offer yourself to the Lord? If I don’t love you for who you are, if I don’t give myself to you out of love, then I’m not truly living the cross of Christ.
Teresa: That’s harder for me—to love you with your flaws that hurt me.
Louis: Let’s pray together that the Lord will purify our sight so we can see the gift in one another, to recognize the image of God in each of us, and then we can truly give ourselves for love.
Mother,
If only I could fully understand the gift of God in my husband… Praised be forever.