GOSPEL
Lord, today You show me that in order to truly know God, we must become small—humble. How well You know us! When we discover the gifts You’ve given us and misuse them, we begin to think of ourselves as “wise and learned,” and how easily pride and arrogance creep in. And from there, envy, anger…
The same happens in marriage—how often do we think we’re better than our spouse? But You ask us to be humble, small, in need of one another. That’s how You designed it—that we would need each other. And in that mutual fragility, if we lean on one another with humility, if we welcome and support each other, then little by little we grow in knowledge of one another. And from there arises the union, the Communion we are called to.
But the road isn’t easy. We can’t do it alone. That’s why You come to meet us, and through our Sacrament You give us the grace and strength to overcome our pride. Little by little, You reveal Your humility to make us small—yes, small, but united, close together.
Today, as we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we look to our Mother’s humility—may she teach us how to live it.
Applied to Married Life:
Julia: It’s terrifying! It’s only been three months since our “Marital Love Project” retreat, and now we’ve got to present the catechesis at our next group meeting… But we don’t have a clue what we’re doing!
Anthony: Honestly, yes—it’s a bit overwhelming. We’ve got no theological training. Some people in the group are really knowledgeable…
Julia: True, but they’ve told us not to worry—that all we need to do is read the catechesis, pray it together over the course of the month, and try to live it out.
Anthony: That’s what they always say—it’s not meant to be a lecture. And that’s a relief! We’re definitely not “lecture” material, haha.
Julia: No, but we are excited! We’ve started something new and beautiful. So we’ll just keep going as we have—living what the catechesis invites us to in the small things, day by day. Leaning on couple’s prayer and the sacraments.
Anthony: That’s true. Everyone who’s shared before us has simply explained how the catechesis helped their marriage—how they applied it to daily life. It was very experi… what’s the word?
Julia: Experiential, Anthony… experiential! And we already have experience—these past three months: praying together (which we never did before!), noticing how we treat each other differently, look at each other differently… and especially how we’ve come to know one another—and the Lord—through our couple’s prayer.
Anthony: You’re right. What a gift! And there’s still so much more to learn, to live, to pray… We have so much to thank the Lord and Our Lady for. They’ve truly rescued us.
Julia: Yes—thank you, Lord. Thank you, dear Mother!
Mother,
Thank You for this path You’ve inspired in the heart of the Church. Thank You for Your “yes” and for the “yes” of so many couples who make Your project possible.
We praise You and give thanks, Lord, for giving us Your Blessed Mother!