From the Gospel according to John17:1-11a
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,“Father, the hour has come.Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,just as you gave him authority over all people,so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.Now this is eternal life,that they should know you, the only true God,and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.I glorified you on earthby accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.Now glorify me, Father, with you,with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,and they have kept your word.Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,because the words you gave to me I have given to them,and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,and they have believed that you sent me.I pray for them.I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,because they are yours, and everything of mine is yoursand everything of yours is mine,and I have been glorified in them.And now I will no longer be in the world,but they are in the world, while I am coming to you”
The Gospel of the Lord
We Belong to the Father
Lord, You tell us that we were the Father’s first—that we belong to Him—and that He gave us to You. You say we’ve kept Your Word, and then You pray to the Father for us, those of us who are still in the world, reminding Him again that we are His.
We are Yours, Lord. We belong to the Father. We are His children, Your friends, and Your brothers. And both You and the Father pray for us. So, what should we be afraid of? Nothing—except failing to live according to Your Word. Everything else, we leave in Your hands. Thank You, Lord. We trust in You completely!
Applied to Married Life:
Steve: I’m feeling really down, love. I’m scared. Nothing seems to be working out lately. It’s like everything I try just falls apart. I don’t know what to do anymore. Sometimes I ask myself—where is God in all of this? Why isn’t He answering my prayers?
Anne: My darling, God is with us. He loves us more than we can imagine, and He’s taking care of us—always. Even in this pain, there’s a chance to grow closer to Him, to trust Him more, to give ourselves more completely to Him. And the beautiful thing is that we’re in this together. Our marriage gives us a special grace—the love of Christ is alive in our relationship, in our acts of love. So the harder things get, the more we need to trust in Him and the closer we should draw to each other. That’s how His love will win.
Steve: You’re right. My pride makes me afraid of failure—it makes me want things to go my way. But I know God’s plan is different… and so much better. I want to love more in these moments, to be more united with you, and to let God work through our love. I need more prayer, more time with the sacraments—and I know He’ll do the rest. I love you deeply.
Mother Mary,
Help us to truly understand how much You and the Father love us. Then we’ll know that with You, there’s nothing to fear. Thank You, Mother.