Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of Galilee – or of Tiberias – and a large crowd followed him, impressed by the signs he gave by curing the sick. Jesus climbed the hillside, and sat down there with his disciples. It was shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover.
  Looking up, Jesus saw the crowds approaching and said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat?’ He only said this to test Philip; he himself knew exactly what he was going to do. Philip answered, ‘Two hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ‘There is a small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so many?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down.’ There was plenty of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready; he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing gets wasted.’ So they picked them up, and filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves. The people, seeing this sign that he had given, said, ‘This really is the prophet who is to come into the world.’ Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped back to the hills by himself.

Mother,

Today I join the young boy, who seemed to have very little to offer with his meal; yet when he gave what he had to Jesus, it fed a multitude. Mother, I give you my weakness, my inability to love as I should… offer it to Jesus for me, because I do love the spouse you have given me, but I want to do it better. Let none of what you give me be lost, Mother, protect it. Praise be to the Lord for His abundant generosity. Amen.

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

Applied to Married Life:

Mother,

Change our hearts, Mother, and give us a bigger heart so we can love each other in every situation, until we see God in our spouse. Amen.

There will, of course, be those who do not want to listen, or who lack patience, or who do not wish to persevere. But despite this, what we sow in the name of the Lord will yield a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold, for the greater glory of God.

Applied to Married Life:

Peter: My problem was that, although the Word of God told me that my wife is the suitable helper He created for me, I thought that must mean something else because I did not see any help in her. All I saw were her flaws. Later, I discovered that the problem was with my perception, and that she was truly a gift from God for me.

Beatrix: I was told that my husband is a precious gift from God to me, and that even the bad in him could be a path for growth as a person and as a couple. I was amazed when they explained this to me, and it seemed wonderful. But then I went back to my daily life and forgot everything. I treated him with disdain for not accepting his faults. I saw him as the bad one. Until one day, I decided I would no longer look at him that way and would try to discover the gift of God in him. By God’s grace, little by little, my heart was purified and my perception changed. We have learned and grown so much together since then.

Peter: Additionally, I was very focused on my business and football. Conversations with my wife seemed like “women’s talk” and I did not pay much attention. Until I realised that she and my relationship with her are the most important things in my life. It is my path to holiness. It is the legacy we will leave to our children. This changed my priorities, and now my marriage comes first, and everything else follows. If she is not well attended to, I do not attend to anything else.

Beatrix: This is how we both began to understand the greatness of our vocation. We discovered how well God had done all things, and we started to learn from each other, to unite against problems, to delve into each other’s hearts. Thus, we began to build a shared intimacy, united with God. We are still discovering the beauty and mysteries of this wonderful sacrament that God has entrusted to us.

Mother,

In His Word, the Lord gives us the keys to life, holiness, and happiness. Our problem is that we do not want to embrace it. Give us a heart like Yours, which always embraces the Word, meditating on it in the heart, from where both good and bad emerge. Thank you, Lord, for sharing your eternal Wisdom with us. Amen.