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Called to Be Witnesses. Reflection for marriages John (3:31–36)

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Gospel of the Day

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (3:31–36)
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.

Called to Be Witnesses
In this Easter season, we are called to be witnesses of God’s action in our hearts, in our lives, and in our marriage and family. God is a merciful Father who, through Jesus Christ, his only Son, has redeemed us on the cross and, by rising again, has given us eternal life.
If we have been transformed by his grace, we feel an urgency to bear witness. We are sent by God, two by two, to proclaim the Good News: Jesus is risen and sends us the Holy Spirit so that we may live as beloved children of the Father. We are heirs of eternal life!

Applied to Married Life
Louis: This Holy Week has been intense, hasn’t it?
Lucy: Yes, it has truly been a blessing to live it in community and in prayer, experiencing each moment with the Lord—sharing in his suffering and also in the joy of his Resurrection.
Louis: It has been a blessing, and it should show in us. We must be witnesses to the great love God has for us.
Lucy: Yes, so that everyone may discover it and live with the joy of knowing that God loves us and is alive. Life is so much more beautiful this way.
Louis: Absolutely—and no one should miss out on this. Shall we get started?
Lucy: Let’s do it!
Prayer

Mother,
thank you for your “yes” which gave us Jesus, and with him, eternal life.
Blessed are you, Mother!

I trust in You, Infinite Love. Reflection for marriages John 3:16–21

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Gospel of the Day
From the Gospel according to John 3:16–21
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

I trust in You, Infinite Love
“So much did God love the world that he gave his only Son.”
How can I sometimes doubt, good Father, your Love?
How can I not feel loved?
You, the Almighty God, love me to the point of giving your only Son for me.
Is there any greater proof of love?
And you give your Son so that I may “have eternal life”,
so that I may live forever with you,
enjoying you, a child in the Son.
What do I choose: the smallness of the world or the fullness of your Love?
My selfish self or the beauty of giving myself to you?
Darkness or Light?
Forgive me for having chosen so many times the small comforts of the world—
mere appearances, immediate satisfaction that can never truly fill me.
I choose You, Father, Infinite Love.
You know everything, You can do everything, You love me infinitely.
I trust in You.
You know what I have been through and what I am going through.
You are always with me. You know better.
Even if I cannot see, I know your Love sustains me,
and that you will bring something very great out of this.
What must I do?
Listen to You. Listen to your Word.
And make it my life:
“Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself,
take up his cross each day, and follow me.”
Let your Will be done, not mine.
Thank you very much, good Father.
Applied to Married Life
Myriam: When I read the Word of God, everything is clear. God is my good Father, He loves me infinitely, and with Him I fear nothing… But then, in daily life, many things overwhelm me, and I fall again… I don’t know what to do.
James: Myriam, the light of the Spirit is visible in your words. God is our Father who loves us infinitely. We need to listen to His Word, take it into our hearts, and see how to live it out. And we do this by persevering on this path of prayer and the sacraments, through formation in community, and through acts of love that purify our hearts.
Myriam: Thank goodness I have you by my side. You give me the light I lack. I can see clearly that my light fades when I do not persevere—when I become weak in prayer and in living it out.
James: We will continue to fall because we are very small. But if we persevere—discovering each day the Love of God, recognising the attachments that bind us to the world and prevent us from doing His Will, and living out His Word—we will begin to live Heaven here on earth.
Myriam: Yes… sometimes I deceive myself into thinking things will work out without giving myself, without striving. I know God will act, but He needs my “yes”, my determination in concrete steps. Let’s go for it! No excuses! Thank you, my love. Thank you, Lord.
Prayer

Mother,

please help us to persevere.
You long for our happiness,
but you need our “yes” and our determination.
Thank you very much, Mother.
Blessed and praised be God!

Believing Without Understanding. Reflection for marriages John (3:7b–15)

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Gospel of the Day
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (3:7b–15)
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

Believing Without Understanding
It is striking that nowadays we are used to “knowing” everything — and if we do not, we simply look it up on our phones or ask AI. Through this Gospel, we see that the things of God do not work like that. That is why Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again.
The same happens in our marriage. We try to understand each other through human logic, and then it can seem as though we have completely opposite characters, that our gifts — instead of helping — become obstacles, or even that we made a mistake because we feel we have nothing in common with our spouse.
But God does everything well. He invites us to strip ourselves of our ego and be born again. Only then can there be a true marriage: becoming one flesh means being reborn within our marriage, allowing the Lord to dwell at the centre of our sacrament — making it something eternal, not something fleeting as the world often suggests today.

Applied to Married Life
Henry: Alicia, do you know I was speaking with my cousin Charles this morning? I hadn’t seen him well lately, so I asked if something was wrong.
Alicia: Poor thing… what did he say?
Henry: I was quite shocked. He told me he is considering separating from Carmen. He thinks they’ve been together too many years, that their marriage has become routine, that they have opposite characters, and now that their children have left home, it feels like they have nothing in common. He thinks maybe it is time to start again — each on their own.
Alicia: That’s heartbreaking… they must be suffering so much. If you agree, Henry, speak to him again and I will talk to Carmen. We can tell them that the Lord is giving them a new opportunity to begin again in their marriage — a “rebirth”. That they should ask each other for help, go to Mass together, pray together, and that we will be there for whatever they need.
Henry: That sounds like a great idea. I also mentioned to Charles that we have the Proyecto Amor Conyugal retreat next month, but he said he couldn’t be bothered to give up a weekend for that, and he doesn’t think anything can be fixed in just two days.
Alicia: Well, with God’s help, we must convince them that this weekend could be the best investment of their lives… shall we get started?
Henry: Let’s do it! We’ll call them now. But first, let’s pray the Rosary for them — above all, they need prayers.
Prayer

Mother,

Help us to be born again in the Lord.
May He be forever blessed and praised!

To be born anew, again and again. Reflection for marriages John 3:1–8

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A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 3:1–8

There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus at night and said to him,
“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God,
for no one can do these signs that you are doing
unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to him,
“How can a man once grown old be born again?
Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”
Jesus answered,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and Spirit
he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
What is born of flesh is flesh
and what is born of spirit is spirit.
Do not be amazed that I told you,
‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills,
and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

To be born anew, again and again
When Jesus speaks of “being born again”, it is a direct call to each one of us: love cannot be sustained only by what it was at the beginning; it needs to be reborn constantly. The “yes” of the wedding day is not enough — we must choose one another again.
Nicodemus thinks in a literal way (“How can one return to the womb?”), just as we often do: “this is just how it is”, “this is how I am”, “this is how the relationship is”. But Jesus opens up another dimension: it is not about repeating the past, but about allowing something new to happen from within. We must allow love to be purified (water), cleansing wounds, resentments, and reproaches; and we must allow love to be lifted up (Spirit). Jesus speaks of the Spirit, confirming that this new birth is not something we achieve by ourselves, but something that is accomplished in Him. In fact, “to be born” is a verb that hides its passivity, because properly speaking, “we are born”: we owe our birth to our mother, who labours and brings us into life. And this new birth we owe to the Holy Spirit, who gradually disposes us towards a different way of living — a way of living in the freedom God originally dreamed for us, enabling us to love more freely, more patiently, and more generously.
Jesus reminds us that if a relationship remains only at a superficial level (attraction, routine, cohabitation), it becomes impoverished (“What is born of the flesh is flesh…”). But when the “Spirit” enters — self-giving, forgiveness, openness to the other as they are — love is transformed. A living marriage is one that allows itself to be renewed time and again, one that learns to “be born again” together, even after crises, weariness, or the passing of years.

Applied to married life:
Paloma: Alfonso… I feel that lately we’ve been on autopilot, don’t you? As if everything has become routine.
Alfonso: Yes… like when I put the car on autopilot… although ours doesn’t even have that.
Paloma: (laughs) Something like that… but seriously, it saddens me that we might lose what we once had.
Alfonso: Me too. But I was thinking today… perhaps we need to “start again”.
Paloma: Start again? That reminds me of “being born again”… as if God were giving us another opportunity within the same marriage.
Alfonso: Another opportunity? Are we going to have another marriage now? At our age, that sounds exhausting.
Paloma: (smiles) Silly… no, seriously. I think it means allowing God to renew what we have from within — not just changing external things.
Alfonso: So… fewer arguments about silly things and more… loving each other better?
Paloma: Yes. Clearing away what weighs us down… and making space for something new. As if love could begin again, but more deeply — asking God for help, because on our own we won’t manage.
Alfonso: Well, I could do with that… because sometimes there’s more “flesh” than “spirit” in me.
Paloma: That happens to all of us. But if we let God breathe… even if we cannot control it, He can do something beautiful in us.
Alfonso: So… shall we begin again?
Paloma: Let us choose each other again. And this time, with God at the centre.
Alfonso: Alright… but just so it’s clear — if we are “born again”, I’m not changing any nappies!
Prayer

Mother,

grant that, like you, we may trust even when we do not understand everything, and allow the Spirit to renew our lives.
Blessed are you, Lord, for these lights you inspire within us.

Mercy, our God. Reflection for marriages John 20:,19-31

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From the Gospel according to John20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood in their midstand said to them, “Peace be with you.”When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit.Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,was not with them when Jesus came.So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”But he said to them,“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his handsand put my finger into the nailmarksand put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again insideand Thomas was with them.Jesus came, although the doors were locked,and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,and bring your hand and put it into my side,and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciplesthat are not written in this book.But these are written that you may come to believethat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord

Mercy, our God

It is striking to see how, just a few days earlier, the disciples entered Jerusalem full of excitement and human expectations, following a “triumphant” Messiah and feeling part of a “successful project.” The Cross shatters all of that.
Now they are locked away, afraid, confused… and confronted with their own weakness. They have gone from expecting things from God to needing God Himself. What a great blessing! Yes, it is now that they are ready to receive the Love that comes to meet them in their misery.
Today we celebrate the Mercy of our God—His “Plan of Love” in our history.

Applied to married life

A prayer of a married couple before the Blessed Sacrament:
Lord, today we come to You as husband and wife, in the midst of this cross that we struggle to understand.It weighs on us, it hurts… and so often we don’t know how to carry it.
We recognize that we have tried to sustain our marriage with our own strength, demanding from each other what only You can give.And today we see that we cannot do it on our own.
So we ask for Your help, our Lord.Come and stand between us.Hold together what is breaking, heal what is wounded, and bring light to what we do not understand.
Teach us to look more at You than at our difficulties, and to walk together toward You—even in the midst of pain.
We surrender our need to “fix things” so that You may act within us.Lord, in You we trust!


Mother,

Teach us to trust in the plan of your Son.Forever blessed and praised be He who redeemed us with His Blood.