Strip oneself of Everything

Jesus stripped Himself of everything He had before going to the Father, even of His most precious treasure, His Mother. But He did not simply leave her behind. Instead, He entrusted her to His beloved disciple and, in doing so, gave her as a gift to all humanity, so that she could always care for each and every one of us.

We spouses are also called to live this kind of self-giving: to leave behind the “I”, my rights, my plans, my preferences… in order to build a true “we.” This does not mean ceasing to be who we are, but discovering that we reach our fullness when we learn to make ourselves a gift for the other.

How difficult it is for us to let go! There is always some little aspects of our lives that we want to keep for ourselves. That is why everything begins in prayer. Let us learn to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord, because even in our self-giving to Him, we often keep some hidden aspects that we find difficult to offer Him.

Applied to Married Life:

After praying together as a couple.

Helen: You know, this Gospel has made me remember those second Saturdays of the month that were reserved for you and your friends…

Frank: Oh, sweetheart, you’re right! How badly I misunderstood what it meant to give myself out!

Helen: The truth is that, at the time, I thought I was handling it really well. On top of that, I used to boast to my friends about what a good wife I was, “letting you have” one Saturday a month with your friends. But deep down, I was actually finding it really difficult.

Frank: I had no idea, Helen! You know, thinking back to that time, there were quite a few occasions when I really couldn’t be bothered to go, because it had become a routine, something that I “had to do,” and the plan was always the same… If I had known you were struggling with it, I wouldn’t have gone. I’m so sorry!

Helen: Don’t be sorry, Frank. It’s just that, at that time, nobody had explained to us all these things that we are learning now through Marital Love Project. I was convinced that giving up one day a month with you was a good thing, so that you could have your own space and time to rest, or at least, that’s what I had been told. But I understand now that our space should be shared between the two of us, and if you need to have a space that is just yours, it should be to spend it with God.

Frank: Yes, sweetheart. Our self-giving is to the Lord and to our spouse, and then to our family. With you, I am called to become one flesh, not with my friends… I’m not saying I should abandon them, but keeping a space just for myself, I can see now that it doesn’t really fit with the meaning of our sacrament.

Mother,

Help us to surrender ourselves completely to the Lord, so that we may know how to give ourselves fully in our marriage. Glory and praise to the Lord!