Gospel

‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.’
Mark 8:14-21

At that time: The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’

The Gospel of the Lord

Face or Facade?

Yeast makes the dough rise. The “yeast” of the Pharisees aimed to lift the crowds by seeking their approval—by pretending to be something they were not. Who hasn’t put on their best face in public, only to wear a much different expression at home? Often, that face is not so pleasant.
This is a common struggle; it always has been. That’s why Jesus speaks so firmly, “Beware of pretending to be something you are not!”

Applied to Married Life:

Charles: What matters more to you—what people think of you or what God thinks?
Myriam: I should say what God thinks… but the truth is, I put far more effort into my image in front of people. It’s sad, but that’s the reality.
Charles: Well, don’t worry. The Lord also sees your moments of repentance, and those aren’t things that others can see. You have a beautiful heart, and only God and I can see it.
Myriam: Thank you, my love. God is so merciful with me, and you truly love me just as I am.
Charles: I know the real you, and I love you despite your flaws. And what about me? Do you love me, even with my imperfections?
Myriam: I do. I love you—a lot.

Mother,

Help us to focus on loving more, rather than merely appearing better or feeding our pride. Praise be to the Lord.

Gospel

‘Why does this generation seek a sign?’
Mark 8:11-13

At that time: The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Gospel of the Lord

A Sign of Love

Two days ago, we celebrated the feast of Saint Claude de la Colombière. What stands out most about him is his great act of trust—something completely opposite to the distrust of the Pharisees, who demanded a sign from Jesus as proof.
Let it not be so among us. Let us trust, and we will see many signs.

Applied to Married Life:

James: We’ve fallen again. How embarrassing. It’s as if we were beginners.
Lucy: Yes. But the Lord has allowed it so we can realise that without Him, we are nothing. Still, we trust because we know how much He loves us. Trusting in Him, whatever has happened doesn’t matter. The Lord knows we love each other, and we love Him, even in our weakness.
James: In Him, we trust, and in Him, we find joy.

Mother,

We don’t need any more signs because we already know that the Lord loves us. Praise be to Him forever.

Gospel of the day St. Luke 6, 17. 20-26

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you poor,
For yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,
For you shall be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
For you shall laugh.

Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.

Woe to you who are full,
For you shall hunger.
Woe to you who laugh now,
For you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
For so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Whatever they may say.

If we follow the Lord, there will be a cross. As soon as we go deeper, as soon as we enter the radicality of the Gospel, as soon as we proclaim the cross as the necessary path to achieve salvation, as soon as we talk about desiring holiness… There will already be people around who get upset, criticize, point fingers, or slander…
This is the moment to rejoice because I am finally on the path of Truth.

Applied to Married Life:

Montse: There are people who rebel against St. John Paul’s teaching on sexuality in marriage. It’s a shame because they miss out on the greatest thing.

Vicente: Indeed! They haven’t yet discovered the enormous dignity that God has given them, and that dignity obliges them to abstain from certain acts even within marriage. What they don’t know is what they gain by living the union of souls and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that happens.

Montse: Totally. Of course, our dignity demands a respect for the one who seeks communion, and pleasure is always a consequence, not a goal. When we don’t respect ourselves as temples of the Holy Spirit, we later pay for it in marital life. The thing is, they criticize us for announcing it this way.

Vicente: So then… Glory to God.

Mother,

We thank God for showing us the truth. Blessed be He forever.

Gospel of the day Luke 10:1-9

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Guaranteed assistance.

The battle of the demon against marriage and the family is fierce. Our Lady of Fatima warned us about this through Sister Lucia. But she also told us that Her Immaculate Heart will triumph. For this, she needs an army of apostles to fight with the weapons of God: proclaiming the good news of marriage, its beauty and greatness, being compassionate and merciful to those who suffer…

Our Mother is pushing hard to save many marriages. She needs a holy marriage to change the world; she needs many hands to reach many. There are marriages suffering today. There are families on the brink of destruction today, yes, today. There are others already destroyed, but they can still be saved if we have hope and place ourselves at the service of Mary. “Pray, then, to the Lord of the harvest,” the Lord tells us. Hands, voices, witnesses… and prayer. Lots of prayer.

If you don’t believe in us, believe in His works. Wherever you are, offer yourselves to His service in this His Marital Love Project. And the Hearts of Jesus and Mary will triumph.

In marital life:

Marta: Jesus, shall we join in this mission to save marriages?

Jesus: Us? We’re not ready for that.

Marriage Mentor: The Pope says that, through Baptism, we are guaranteed the assistance of the Holy Spirit. What is certain is that if we do nothing, we won’t help anyone. It’s better to be a married couple that go in the name of the Lord than to be a married couple that fail due to the omission of responsibilities. You don’t have to be experts, you just need to be Christian spouses. We’ll have time to grow and form ourselves more every day.

Jesus: Well, you’re right. If we wait until we consider ourselves ready to bring the good news of marriage, we’ll die trying.

Marriage Mentor: Moreover, we already have the experience that married couples that give of themselves grow much more as a couple and as Christians than those who only receive. You know, God gives back a hundredfold, always. All the custodian and mentor married couples say it. It has helped them immensely in their marriage and in their faith journey together. So, as Saint John Paul II said, don’t be afraid!

Marta: We can’t wait to start. Right, Jesus?

Jesus: It makes my head spin, but I trust in Our Mother. With Her, there’s no fear!

Mother,

We know how much You love us because we feel how much You push us. You need marriages that offer sacrifices of mutual self-giving to make Christ present… Marriages willing to save the world under Your Mantle. Lord, send workers to Your harvest. Amen.

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mark 7:24-30

Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs.”
She replied and said to him,
“Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.”
Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone.

It’s by faith. 

“The crumbs that the children throw away.” How sad that we waste the graces that God gives us, and there are so many that they could heal others who have more faith. Today we highlight, on one hand, the sorrow of wasting the grace we’ve received, largely through the Sacrament of Marriage, and on the other hand, the power of our faith, which can cast demons out of our children. Here, the Lord doesn’t look at the daughter, He relates only to the mother, but by the power He has granted to the mother’s faith, the daughter is saved. Amazing! Let’s not waste this grace for our children (biological or spiritual) due to a lack of faith. 

Applied to married life: 

Inés: We’re going through a rough patch, first with our children, who seem to be getting farther away, and there’s no way to bring them back to God; and second with our mentees, who hardly pay attention to what we tell them, so there are no advancements, and it seems they’re starting to get tired.
Pedro: This is the time for faith, Inés. This is the time for faith. Let’s ask the Lord for them and trust that the Lord will act for sure. One word from Him will be enough to heal them.
Inés: Thank you, Pedro. Sometimes I forget that we can do nothing without Him, but with Him, being united, you and I can do everything through the strength of our Marriage Sacrament.
Pedro: He will do as much as our faith allows. He already said it, and He never lies. 

Mother, 

Increase our faith. Always more, we always need more. Blessed be the Lord who allows us to act through faith.