At that time: A certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’
  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ After saying these things, he said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’
  Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’
  When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, ‘The Teacher is here and is calling for you.’ And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’
  Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be a smell, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’
  Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.

Just as Jesus loved Lazarus, so He loves each one of us—personally, individually. And just as He wept for His friend Lazarus, He also weeps for us. Not because our bodies have died, but because our souls do.
He is Life itself. And every time, within our marriage, we forget Him and try to do things on our own—imposing ourselves on our spouse, forgetting that without Him we can do nothing—we begin to die. Every time we fail to recognise our poverty, our sin, we move further from life. Because He is the Life—the only life truly worth living: through Him, with Him and in Him.
As we continue through Lent, we are encouraged to rekindle our hearts and our intimacy—with Him and with one another—so that when Easter comes, we too may rise again, like Lazarus.

Applied to Married Life

Rachel: Daniel, during prayer today, the Lord showed me that we’re not really living Lent well—we’ve become a bit complacent.
Daniel: Well, not entirely… although it’s true that we always start Lent with lots of resolutions, and then they slowly fade away.
Rachel: That’s exactly what I mean. I think we’ve just drifted along, treating it like any other Lent. We’ve tried to rely on our own strength—and it hasn’t worked.
Daniel: You’re right, Rachel—we haven’t really counted on Him. But it’s not too late to start again. I suggest we begin with a good confession, to prepare our hearts for Easter.
Rachel: Yes, we need to ask for forgiveness. And maybe we could also make a small sacrifice—perhaps help at a retreat, and take time for Adoration as well. We really need those quiet moments with the Lord.
Daniel: Agreed. And finally, let’s make a real effort to live Holy Week accompanying the Lord.
Rachel: Yes—but first, we need to ask for His help, so that with His grace, and our effort, this can truly become a beautiful time.
Daniel: Right then—let’s begin. First, prayer—together, united in the Lord.

Mother,

help us to recognise our smallness, so that, in humility, we may ask the Lord to call us
and raise us from the sin that leads us to death. Praised be the Lord!