As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

My good Jesus, this Gospel hurts. You come to give your life for us. And when you are telling your friends about it, instead of being concerned for you, they are concerned only with themselves.
You might have thought: I have just told them that I am going to be tortured and killed, and they are thinking only of their own matters. And I am going to do it for them, I will pay for their sin so that they may be saved.
But no. You look into their hearts and see that they are dull, that they cannot see. In silence, you excuse them before your Father, you pray for them, and you give yourself. You do not accuse them. You lower yourself to their level, to what they are capable of understanding, and you love them in their weakness.
Lord, how alone you were. How alone you are. How alone we leave you. As you said, “This Heart which has so loved men and receives only ingratitude.” We do not understand. You love us infinitely. You have given everything for us, to the very last drop of your blood. You have paid the debt of our sin. And we remain absorbed in ourselves, whether my spouse does this or fails to do that, whether it is fair or unfair…
Lord, help me to recognise my sin. To recognise that I do not see. That the problem lies in my own heart, not in my spouse. That I do not know how to love.
Teach me to excuse, not to focus on receiving but on giving. To love in every circumstance.
Thank you, Lord.

Brought Down to Married Life

Peter: Martha, this Gospel moves me deeply. I truly want to thank the Lord for all his love for us, to console him for so much ingratitude. And I know that what pleases him most is that I give myself to you without conditions.
Martha: Yes, he is so good. I too want to console him by giving myself to you without asking for anything in return. Not thinking about myself, but focusing on you. I want to be aware that every time I do so, he smiles.
Peter: And I have not known how to love you in your weakness. I want to change that. I know the only way is to walk with real determination in a life of prayer and the sacraments.
Martha: Yes, and through self-denial. I am going to make good use of Lent to practise more acts of self-denial. I know it is my attachments that prevent me from loving you as God desires.
Peter: Without self-denial, that “denying myself” the Lord speaks about is impossible. I am not capable of loving as I wish. But by denying myself, my heart will be filled with God’s love, and he will accomplish it.
Martha: Then let us begin. Let us help one another to walk this path with determination. For Jesus, who is so good!

Mother,

Please help us to live this Lent focused on pleasing your Son by giving ourselves to our spouse.
Blessed and praised be God.