From the Gospel according to Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. 
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned. 
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way. 
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
They answered him,
“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.” 
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

Cornerstone

Today You show us that You are the stone that sustains us, Lord. For so long we were unaware of this reality, and how often, even now that we know this truth about our marriage, we cast it aside. We want to do things our own way, according to our own ideas, without taking into account God’s will for each of us and for our marriage, rejecting Your plans.

But we know that You are the “cornerstone” of our marriage, and that without You everything we have built falls apart. That is why, Lord, we never stop turning to You. When we fall, we ask You to hold us up once again, and You, who are so good, lift us up, forgive us and once again take Your place at the centre of our lives.

May we never cast You aside. May You always be our support, our cornerstone, the stone that holds up the building of our marriage and our family. Thank You, Lord, for never abandoning us.

Brought into Married Life:

Alice: James, sometimes I wonder what would have become of us if we had never come to know the Lord.

James: I’m sure we would have been completely lost, because our marriage was heading straight towards the edge of a cliff.

Alice: Yes, the Lord rescued us, and He continues to rescue us every day.

James: You’re right, because after saving us from the cliff and bringing Proyecto Amor Conyugal into our lives, we learnt to place Him at the centre of our marriage, at the centre of our home.

Alice: Yes, it was like the lifebuoy the Lord threw to us: through the catechesis, the Eucharist, Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation and so many married couples walking beside us. We have learnt that what truly matters is remaining in a state of grace and keeping the Lord always present in our lives.

James: Yes. He is like the most important part of a building, just as the Gospel says: the cornerstone of our “building”, of our marriage and our family.

Alice: How wonderful, James! Let’s say our prayer, beginning by thanking God for this great gift that is Proyecto Amor Conyugal.

Mother,

Thank you for showing us who truly holds the reins of our lives, our marriage and our family.

Glory be to God!