GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

So the Jews said to him,

“Now we are sure that you are possessed.

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,

‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

Or the prophets, who died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;

but it is my Father who glorifies me,

of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

You do not know him, but I know him.

And if I should say that I do not know him,

I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;

he saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him,

“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

So they picked up stones to throw at him;

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

The word of the Lord

 

Very effective.

What Christ is saying to the Jews makes no sense from a natural perspective, because He is speaking to them about supernatural experiences.

What world do I want to live in? In the earthly world of the Jews who don’t recognise Christ despite being before Him, or in the supernatural world of God, where the Lord is discovered in everything and everyone?

 

Applied to Married Life:

Thomas: This seeing with faith changes your marriage.

Ines: It changes your life. But what do you mean?

Thomas: I mean, when I see that we are no longer two, but one, discord is over, because no one goes against themselves.

Ines: And how do you see us as one?

Thomas: I can’t. It’s through the action of the Holy Spirit. But it’s very effective. Whoever sees Jesus can see His works, and our union is the work of His Spirit.

 

Mother,

Give us more faith to always see ourselves as one. Thank you, Mother.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!”
So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

The word of the Lord

What the beloved does.

We do what our Father does only when we truly love Him. We believe and trust in Jesus Christ only when we truly love Him and love the Father. The Father has chosen to love me as much as His Son. I am an adopted Son, but an adopted son is loved as much as a natural son, and we can respond to our adoptive Father by loving him as much as His natural Son loves him. So, let us truly love the Father as children and do what He does.

Applied to Married Life:

Ricardo: What are you praying for, Martha?

Martha: Well, look, Richard, I ask the Father to let me recognise all His Love.

Ricardo: And why do you want to recognise His Love?

Martha: To love you better!

Richard: That sounds like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood: To devour you better…!

Martha: Hahaha. How silly you are.

Ricardo: But what does one have to do with the other?

Marta: Well… by recognising the Father’s love, I will love Him more, and by loving Him more, I will want what He wants, and He wants me to love you.

Ricardo: Phew, you want it all. Hahaha. But I understand. Thank you for wanting to love me more.

 

Mother,

We love the Father, but we want to love Him more, even to the point of doing what He does. Praise be forever.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

John 8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

“I am going away and you will look for me,

but you will die in your sin.

Where I am going you cannot come.”

So the Jews said,

“He is not going to kill himself, is he,

because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”

He said to them, “You belong to what is below,

I belong to what is above.

You belong to this world,

but I do not belong to this world.

That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.

For if you do not believe that I AM,

you will die in your sins.”

So they said to him, “Who are you?”

Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.

I have much to say about you in condemnation.

But the one who sent me is true,

and what I heard from him I tell the world.”

They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.

So Jesus said to them,

“When you lift up the Son of Man,

then you will realise that I AM,

and that I do nothing on my own,

but I say only what the Father taught me.

The one who sent me is with me.

He has not left me alone,

because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

The word of the Lord

 

Are these my inspirations?

Jesus acts as a human being, totally dependent on God. He learns everything from Him, Jesus says everything He tells him, and does everything that pleases Him.

This must be the case with us as well. We can do nothing on our own; we do everything good through sanctifying grace and the infused virtues that God has placed in us. Every good inspiration we receive from God, every good act comes from His grace. We can only prepare ourselves to welcome the grace that comes from God and let it act.

If I believe this, then what can I brag about? What can I demand that others value in me? How can I be better than others if God does everything? My vanity is gone.

 

Applied to Married Life:

Teresa: Forgive me Francisco because for some time now I’ve been measuring your love according to how you value my skills. And that’s unfair. 

Francisco: I love you just the way your are, Teresa, because I see the image of God in you. By God’s mercy, you have the right to be loved as much as He loves me. That is your true worth.

Teresa: I know. God has decided to make me a part of Him, and that is what I am. The rest is vanity of vanities.

 

Mother,

Forgive us because sometimes we feel like the protagonists of our own genius ideas or our good deeds. If the Lord is silent, what shall we say? Praise the Lord.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,

and all the people started coming to him,

and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery

and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

“Teacher, this woman was caught

in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So what do you say?”

They said this to test him,

so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him,

he straightened up and said to them,

“Let the one among you who is without sin

be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one,

beginning with the elders.

So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.

Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” 

The word of the Lord

 

It became a sin

It is very likely that the woman had been caught in adultery by her own husband, and he would be the one to condemn her so that she could be stoned.

He was willing to live without his wife rather than tolerate her sin.

The question today is: What is stronger, blaming my husband/wife for his/her sins or my love for him/her?

For Christ, there is no doubt, because He has demonstrated that He became sin out of love for His Wife.

 

Applied to Married Life:

Thomas: Lord, my wife has offended me by questioning my love for her without a valid reason. Allow me to do penance for the forgiveness of her offense, united to Your Sacrifice of salvation.

Agnes: Lord, my husband has scorned me by mocking my devotion. Allow me to do penance for the forgiveness of his offense, united to Your Sacrifice of salvation.

(And so both were justified by the love of their spouse.)

 

Mother,

May our sin be a reason to love one another more. Praise be to our Savior.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,

and all the people started coming to him,

and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery

and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

“Teacher, this woman was caught

in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So what do you say?”

They said this to test him,

so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him,

he straightened up and said to them,

“Let the one among you who is without sin

be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one,

beginning with the elders.

So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.

Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

The word of the Lord

 

I run towards the goal

The law exists, and Jesus does not deny it. What sin is more painful and harmful than adultery within the family context? There are few situations as hard for a husband. Jesus does not diminish the magnitude or severity of the act. Hence, the strong imperative: ‘From now on, do not sin anymore.’ But the love of God is always greater and stronger than the sin. That ‘Neither do I condemn you’ in the face of such a great infidelity against the will of God, He manifests it greatly. Does she deserve condemnation? Yes, but she is liberated through love.

Applied to married life:

Ana: Don’t argue with me anymore; I know I’ve done wrong. I’ve already asked you for forgiveness because I am very regretful. What else can I do?

Jaime: It’s just that I feel it’s not enough. You’ve hurt me a lot, you know?

Ana: I know, and I know I deserve an unpayable punishment, but that’s why I ask for your forgiveness. Will you have mercy on me as God has mercy on you?

Jaime: You’re right. Other times you have also had mercy on me. I am also a sinner, and I don’t have the right to apply a punishment to you that I have not received myself. I sincerely forgive you and ask for forgiveness for having taken so long to forgive you.

Mother,

Like Saint Paul, I decide not to look back and I run towards the goal that Christ has chosen for me. Praise be to the Lord for His mercy.”