Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

Learning to Love

Jesus reminds us of the summary of the commandments of God’s law: “You shall love the Lord your God above all things, and your neighbour as yourself.” Yet so often the stain of sin draws us to seek love in return — to love only in proportion to the love we receive — the sadly well-known “today for you, tomorrow for me.” And it is such a pity, for us to waste the greatness of love.

One of the world’s biggest problems is that we do not know how to love; we must learn. And Jesus tells us very clearly in this Gospel: love your enemies, and treat others as you would have them treat you. How often in marriage we may fall into giving ourselves only according to the giving of our spouse, only to find that such a response drives us further apart.

But, specially through the grace of our sacrament, we are called by God to be merciful as He teaches us, to respond always without expecting anything in return, and to reach the point of “today for you, and tomorrow for you, and for you, for you, for you…” The Sacred Heart of Jesus is always waiting for us to pour into us that generous, full, pressed down and overflowing measure — just as we are to pour it out for our spouse and for all others.

Brought into Married Life:

Paula: What’s happened? You seem to be a bit on the edge.

Christopher: Nothing new. I’ve argued with my mother again. She keeps saying how neglected she feels by me, but she doesn’t understand that I only want the best for her.

Paula: She is your mother, and you can’t let yourself be carried away by your feelings. She has always been at your side when you needed her.

Christopher: Yes, I know, and that’s why I try so hard to make sure she’s well cared for, but it seems it’s never enough.

Paula: That’s true, she is getting older, and you are the one who has to give way. You can’t care for her based on how she responds to you, but on what she truly needs.

Christopher: Yes, that’s easy to say, but when she ignores me it’s exhausting and makes me want to give up. Besides, I’ve got other siblings who could take care of her too.

Paula: I understand, but you need to be patient. She’s also going through a hard time with your father’s absence, and you can’t leave her alone, no matter how much she goes against you. You’re being a great example for your children — and I’m sure also for your siblings, who no doubt care for her in their own way.

Christopher: You’re right again. I know my giving cannot depend on her response, and I can’t rely on my feelings. I need to yield and stay by her side.

Paula: Brilliant! You deserve great credit for loving in difficult situations when everything seems against you. And it’s not only with your mother — it’s amazing how much you’ve changed, putting others first.

Christopher: Perhaps, but I know the credit is not mine alone.

Mother,

May your Immaculate Heart be our model for loving our enemies — doing them good, blessing them, and praying for them. Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke
6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Searching for the treasure 

Our life is a journey towards definitive union with God.

Jesus sheds light on this path. With these four beatitudes and four misfortunes, it seems the Lord is handing us a compass for our way to heaven — a road map so that we do not lose our bearings.

The treasure is not where we usually seek it: in riches, comforts, being well-fed or applauded. In this Gospel, Jesus shows us that the treasure is precisely in those difficult situations that we normally reject. The treasure is in the Cross.

Where there is a difficulty, there is a cross; and where there is a cross, there is an opportunity to grow in love. If the Cross makes us grow in love, then we have found the treasure!

In the daily life of marriage we face situations of misunderstanding, humiliation, judgement, contempt… The marvellous thing is that the Lord uses them to draw us closer to Him. Let us not forget that we are Christian spouses, and that the Cross is our identity.

The Kingdom of God in marriage flourishes when, in the midst of tears, weariness, and renunciations, we continue to choose to love.

Husbands and wives, blessed are we if, in the trials that confront us, we find the treasure hidden within them!

Brought into Married Life:

Alice: I feel so discouraged, with no desire for anything. So many problems are robbing me of joy and the will to live. Nothing goes right: my boss has worn me down, the car repair costs a fortune we don’t have, these pains won’t go away day after day… but worst of all was the argument last night with our children. The older they get, the worse it seems… and I could go on with the list if you like… None of this makes sense. What’s the point of praying if afterwards all this happens to us? It’s just not fair!

Joseph: Well, I think that praying is precisely what we need. Look, today’s Gospel really unsettled me… Notice how Jesus blesses these difficult situations. I think the Lord is asking us to place our trust in Him… And how could we show Him our trust if everything were going perfectly for us and we had no difficulties at all?

Alice: So what are you saying — that everything happening to us is good?

Joseph: Not that it is good in itself, but with the Lord it truly can be very good. They can be moments of grace for us.

Alice: Thank you for that way of looking at it. Seen like that, everything does take on another meaning.

Mother,

You too lived through many difficult situations. Help us to encounter Jesus in each one of them. Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us!

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke 6:12-19

Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.

You Decide

The truth is — let’s not deceive ourselves — we always have time for what we truly want. If I do not live a life of prayer, it is because for me it is not a priority. And if it is not, it means I do not understand what I am risking by living without it.

Perhaps you have come away from one of our retreats filled with the great joy of seeing that it is indeed possible to live a happy marriage. But if time has gone by, and you no longer see it so clearly, what you are lacking is prayer.

Do you want to live a marriage as God intended it? Pray.

Do you want to have peace? Pray.

Do you want to be happy? Pray.

Do you say you love God and yet do not pray? The measure of your love for God is the measure of your prayer. If God always has time for me, how could I ever say that I do not have time for Him?

We see our Lord spending whole nights in prayer. Jesus always prayed (and He was God), but at the critical moments of His life on earth, He prayed even more. We came forth from God and we shall return to Him. Sooner or later we shall enter eternal life. Choose the way of prayer, so that your destination may be heaven. You decide.

Brought into Married Life

(Mary speaks with her mentor)

Mary: Rachel, we’re back to the same old thing again. I admit I’m unbearable, but Paul doesn’t help either. The other day we were leaving the house and already running late. Same story as always: he takes ages to get ready, I lost my patience, shouted at him, shouted at the children — well, at him too a bit. Then he got angry with me… In the end we even went to bed without speaking, can you believe it? It felt just like the beginning again!

Rachel: How long has it been since you last prayed together?

Mary: Ugh…

Rachel: Mary, there is no life of love without prayer. You know this already. It’s not about praying one day and not the next. Live a life of prayer — faithful, daily — because, as the Lord tells us: “Without Me you can do nothing.” It is up to you to make the decision. Courage!

Mary,

You who are full of grace, because your life was prayer, because everything you did was done in union with God: help us to persevere in prayer, help us to realise that without a life of prayer, there can be no life of grace. Blessed are you forever, Mother!

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Matthew
1:1-16, 18-23

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

In Three Steps

Today we celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And, on this day, she gives us Jesus. The marvellous thing is that, although it is her birthday, she is so generous that she gives herself so that the gift may be ours. Nothing less than this: she gives us the Saviour who delivers us from our sins.

God prepared a people and a womb in which to be born. A love story answered by Mary, who cradles this God who longs to “pitch His tent” among us. Salvation reaches every marriage that welcomes Jesus into the story of their family.

Mary signifies a new beginning for the chosen people. That is why we entrust ourselves to her, so as to begin new, despite our wounds. If we are as docile as she is, and welcome the plan of Love that God has for our marriage, we shall witness great miracles.

We also look to the docility and trust of Saint Joseph, who, though feeling unworthy of so great an honour, accepted the mission entrusted to him: to guard the Saviour of humanity. In spousal prayer, husbands and wives receive their mission to collaborate in God’s plan, and, like Joseph, we feel bewildered by our smallness.

Three steps for a gift. First, Jesus waits for us to welcome Him into our marriage. Then, through the Eucharist, the Sacraments, and our self-giving, He transforms our hearts and deepens our union. This is the path of salvation. Finally, God proposes to us a mission, according to the gifts He has given, and calls us to collaborate in His plan of salvation for humanity. Shall we say yes, as the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph did?

Brought into Married Life:

Naomi: I think we did the right thing in moving to another country. It was what the family needed. Though I do miss our marriage group, the catechesis, the times of adoration… I’m afraid of loosing everything we have received.

James: That’s true. Welcoming Jesus between us, spousal prayer… it has brought about a change in our life that we never could have imagined… It has saved us!

Naomi: There are so many marriages here in this country that need to know the truth… What if what they told us is really true – that God has sent us here for them?

James : Us? Well, the Virgin would have had poor judgement indeed! No, no, no… Though we shall bring it to prayer, and let the Holy Spirit tell us.

(After that prayer, and with the bewilderment of feeling so small, they accepted the mission that the Holy Spirit entrusted to them. They went to the priest of their parish, and today many couples have come to know this gift and, with the grace of God, have been able to transform their marriage.)

Mother,

Thank you for the gift you have brought to humanity; thank you for Jesus our Saviour. Thank you, Saint Joseph, for saying yes and trusting, accepting the mission of guarding God, who had made Himself small and weak in order to assume our humanity. Praise be to God!

From the Gospel according to Luke

14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

To Triumph in the Battle

A disciple is one who follows the Master so as to have His very heart, and thus to be able to act like Him, live like Him, love like Him. We are wounded by sin and do not know how to love. Even when we try, on our own we cannot. We must first be filled with the love of God, so that our heart may begin to resemble that of Jesus. Then I shall be able to love my husband, my father, mother, children, brothers and sisters, and so forth. That is why the Lord tells us that if we wish to love as He loves, we must first follow Him, carrying our cross. He will give us what we need in order to triumph in the battles against sin.

Brought into Married Life:

(Claire comes home and once again finds everything left in a mess and unclean.)

Claire: Once again everything’s been left lying around… no doubt each one is in their own room doing what they want. (But as she goes to look for her children to scold them, she stops and thinks: I don’t believe this is the right moment to start a war; I shall place myself in the Lord’s hands. She withdraws to her room to pray.)

Claire: Lord, I am weary of the same thing day after day. Yet I know that You are at my side. I shall seek a passage where You show me how to act. (She opens the Gospels and comes upon the passage of the Passion where Jesus looks at Peter after his denial. She reflects on what that look must have been — the gaze of Jesus each time we deny Him and give way to our passions… At that moment Peter arrives.)

Peter: Hello, darling!

Claire: Hello, my love! You know, I feel truly blessed to have you as my husband, to have this family, and above all because the Lord watches over us each day and teaches me how to love and to feel loved by Him.

Peter: I love coming home! Since we did the retreat, everything has changed, and I can see in your eyes the love of God.

Claire: It is a great grace indeed that He has granted us: that we have discovered how He loves us, and so may strive to love like Him in every circumstance of our life.

Peter: Only He can make this possible. Let us continue to trust. I love you, my wife.

Mother,

Do not allow us to turn aside from this way to which You have called us, that You might teach us how to love. Glory be to God!