From the Gospel according to Luke 9:57–62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Forward with You

My good Jesus, these words are painful: “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” You are God, and yet You feel so alone. We get caught up in our own lives and forget about You most of the time. How often we turn to You only when we need something!

And You suffer greatly. But You suffer for us, not for Yourself, for You have fullness with the Father and the Holy Spirit. You suffer for us because You know us, You created us, and You know that we cannot be happy if we are concerned only with our own affairs, those things we consider so important.

You know that our happiness lies in receiving Your Love, in knowing that we are infinitely loved by You. We need to be loved, and the only love that can truly fill us is Yours.

And we need to love. Yet we can only love truly if we renounce our self-love, allow ourselves to be filled with Your love, and love as You love. For this, You have given us our spouse, our suitable helpmate, so that we may learn how to love.

This is what You urge us towards in today’s Gospel: to learn to set our priorities properly, to put first what truly matters in our lives — You, our life of prayer, the Sacraments and sacrifice, and our self-giving to our spouse.

And You call us to look ahead, to leave the past behind in the Hands of Your Mercy, and, with urgency, to begin a new life with You. A life made new each day.

Brought into Married Life:

Lucy: That’s enough, Luke! Stop thinking only about yourself! You don’t help me at all!

Luke: You’re so demanding! You never stop asking things of me!

(After their prayer together as a married couple)

Luke: Lucy, I want to ask your forgiveness for leaving you to deal with everything at home. I’m truly sorry for being so focused on my own things.

Lucy: Thank you so much, Luke. Forgive me for being so demanding. I don’t put myself in your shoes. You don’t do it out of malice; you simply don’t realise that I need help. And because of my pride, instead of asking you calmly, I keep quiet until I explode.

Luke: No, poor you. The truth is, I spent many years not paying enough attention to you. And now, even though I’m trying to be more attentive, I still get it terribly wrong. I really will try to do better.

Lucy: How grateful I am to the Lord! Since we began walking this path of prayer and the Sacraments, formation and acts of love, He has been able to carry out His work in our hearts. Before, it was all selfishness. Each of us was convinced that we were right. How proud we were! Now, aware of our littleness and weakness, we are trying to seek only the will of God. And although we still fall sometimes, His Hand is already becoming visible. Thank You so much, Lord! Thank you so much, Luke!

Mother,

Please help us to listen to God, to recognise our poverty, and to receive the love of your Son, so that we may love one another as He loves us.

Blessed and praised be God!