Gospel of the Day

A Gospel according to Luke 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”

The Gospel of the Lord

A Wasted Life?

Today the Lord tells us that our personal and marital conversion is urgent.
He invites us to “lose our life.”

To lose one’s life means to give it — to offer up the gifts He has given me, freely and without measure, to those around me, and especially within my marriage, for this is my vocation.

Losing my life means saying “yes” to every circumstance He places before me in marriage: when I make my spouse a cup of coffee even though I’m tired, when I pick up what my husband or wife has left lying around, when I let go of my own opinions to live in deeper communion.

Does it cost me something? Then I’m on the right path — for the sacrifices that cost us are the ones that bear the greatest fruit of communion.
Our human vision is limited, but when we lift our eyes, we begin to see with His limitless vision — because Love has no limits, and Love without limits bears the fruit of eternal life. It gains eternal life.

This is how the Lord invites us to love today: give yourself to the very end.
And do not look back.

Brought Down to Married Life

Robert: Hello, Theresa! You know what? I’ve just received the invitation to the “Start of the Year” day for Marital Love Project in our diocese.
Theresa: Oh, Robert… but isn’t it enough that we already go to the catecheses and adorations during the year?
Robert: Well, I think it’s important that we start the year together — to know the direction we’re taking as a couple and within the community, and to keep deepening our vocation more and more.
Theresa: Hmm… I think that might be too much. We’re already so busy with everything else…
Robert: Alright, love — as you wish…
(After a while, with a much brighter tone)
Theresa: Robert, after praying about it, the Lord has shown me that there’s nothing more important than deepening our vocation — the very purpose for which He created us — even if it means letting go of other activities. So yes, let’s go to the “Start of the Year” day. Thank you, Robert, for helping me pause and see what truly matters most. Thank You, Lord, for such a wonderful husband.
Robert: And thank you, love, for being open to what I shared.

Mother,

Help us to renounce our own selves and to give our lives by saying “yes” in every circumstance we live.
Blessed and praised be the Lord!