Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable.
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”‘
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.'”

Lord, in this parable you show me three attitudes: that of a father who loves without measure, that of a son who thinks only of himself, and that of a son who appears righteous. Today this Word speaks to my heart and invites me to ask myself how I behave with my spouse.

Do I act like the younger son, allowing selfishness and pride to distance me from him? Do I recognise my sins and know how to say “sorry” without excuses? Do I rise and return to his heart when I have betrayed his trust?

Or do I behave like the elder son, silent but with a hardened heart, judging inwardly, thinking that I do more, that I never fail, measuring everything with justice but without mercy?

Or am I able to love like the father? To give without receiving, even when there have been failures; not constantly recalling past mistakes, but restoring with love, without demanding explanations, without interrogating, simply embracing your spouse with mercy.

Brought Down to Married Life

Michael: Beatrice, sometimes I still feel ashamed when I remember how I behaved with you and with the girls… how I turned our home into an extension of my work. Just work and more work, obsessed with being promoted, excusing myself by saying I wanted to give you the best, while neglecting you.
Beatrice: My love, those were difficult years. I simply prayed and asked the Lord to come and meet you, because it hurt me to see how your heart was becoming harder and harder.
Michael: Beatrice, and now I can say it with joy — how the Lord listened to you. When I lost my job I felt everything collapsing. I felt I was worth nothing anymore. And yet, what awaited me was the best of all… you embraced me as if nothing had happened, and in your eyes I saw an infinite mercy, like the Lord saying to me, “Do not worry, you have come home.”
Beatrice: I was waiting for you to return, Michael. The moment your main pillar collapsed, I could only give thanks to the Lord, because you were returning to me, because you needed me… And it was from that moment that we began this path of communion between us.
Michael: Truly, I can only thank the Lord for bringing me home.

Mother

Lead us always by the hand to Jesus, so that our home may be a reflection of his mercy and communion.
Blessed and praised be you forever, Lord.

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.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

How clearly Jesus made it known to the Pharisees, and how clearly he makes it known to us spouses today as well.
Am I aware of the gift the Lord has given me? Am I aware that a gift cannot be hidden or ignored, and that it requires a task? What am I doing with the gift of my spouse and the gift of my marriage? Am I bearing fruit with these gifts?
I must be like a good farmer who produces fruit from what the Lord has entrusted to him. Am I being a good farmer?

Brought Down to Married Life

Jack: Lucy, I’ve been thinking, and I don’t think I’m doing everything I should for you or for our marriage.
Lucy: You know what, Jack? I feel a bit the same… I think I should love you better than I have until now.
Jack: The other day during prayer, the Lord made me see how wonderful it is to have you, and that I should give myself much more, because I wasn’t valuing enough the gift God gave me in you.
Lucy: Thank you, Jack. Your words are beautiful. I also want to do my part, so if I ever fail to treat you with God’s love, tell me so I can do better.
Jack: I will! Thank you so much. How good the Lord is, who loves us so much!

Mother

Teach us to be fruitful and draw us closer to your Son so that we may bear abundant fruit. Praised be the Lord!

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'”

Jesus in Gethsemane looked upon all the sin of humanity at once. He saw every rejection of God, every act of ingratitude, and he willingly took it all upon himself. He saw the suffering of so many marriages, the abyss that sin opens between so many spouses, and he suffered in agony. He took upon himself all our sins and became the greatest sinner so that, through his love, he might free us from them.
Dear spouses, in these days of Lent, when an abyss opens between you, when communion becomes difficult, when you are tempted to think there is no solution, go and seek Jesus in Gethsemane. You will see him sobbing and trembling with cold and fear. Embrace him, console him, and simply say to him: my dear Lord, I no longer want to make you suffer. I accept your salvation. I want to love with you.

Brought Down to Married Life

George: This morning I took some time to pray in front of the tabernacle. I had a small booklet about the Stations of the Cross and I found myself contemplating the station of Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. I simply could not leave. I felt that the Lord was asking me to stay and console him.
Louisa: Are you keeping the resolution you told me about for this Lent, using your coffee break at the office to go to the church?
George: Yes. The first few days were difficult. I always had an excuse: not enough time, a colleague inviting me for coffee… But the Lord is filling me with a desire to be with him. Some days I have simply stood there looking at the tabernacle, knowing that he is there. Nothing more.
Louisa: I love that you share this with me. And I want to accompany you, for both of us to be with him. There is no better way for us to be more united.
George: Yes, I love that. The two of us with him, in his Heart.

Mother

Let us go together to Gethsemane. Let us not leave your Son alone. Blessed and praised be the Lord forever.

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,
he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves,
and said to them on the way,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.”

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

My good Jesus, this Gospel hurts. You come to give your life for us. And when you are telling your friends about it, instead of being concerned for you, they are concerned only with themselves.
You might have thought: I have just told them that I am going to be tortured and killed, and they are thinking only of their own matters. And I am going to do it for them, I will pay for their sin so that they may be saved.
But no. You look into their hearts and see that they are dull, that they cannot see. In silence, you excuse them before your Father, you pray for them, and you give yourself. You do not accuse them. You lower yourself to their level, to what they are capable of understanding, and you love them in their weakness.
Lord, how alone you were. How alone you are. How alone we leave you. As you said, “This Heart which has so loved men and receives only ingratitude.” We do not understand. You love us infinitely. You have given everything for us, to the very last drop of your blood. You have paid the debt of our sin. And we remain absorbed in ourselves, whether my spouse does this or fails to do that, whether it is fair or unfair…
Lord, help me to recognise my sin. To recognise that I do not see. That the problem lies in my own heart, not in my spouse. That I do not know how to love.
Teach me to excuse, not to focus on receiving but on giving. To love in every circumstance.
Thank you, Lord.

Brought Down to Married Life

Peter: Martha, this Gospel moves me deeply. I truly want to thank the Lord for all his love for us, to console him for so much ingratitude. And I know that what pleases him most is that I give myself to you without conditions.
Martha: Yes, he is so good. I too want to console him by giving myself to you without asking for anything in return. Not thinking about myself, but focusing on you. I want to be aware that every time I do so, he smiles.
Peter: And I have not known how to love you in your weakness. I want to change that. I know the only way is to walk with real determination in a life of prayer and the sacraments.
Martha: Yes, and through self-denial. I am going to make good use of Lent to practise more acts of self-denial. I know it is my attachments that prevent me from loving you as God desires.
Peter: Without self-denial, that “denying myself” the Lord speaks about is impossible. I am not capable of loving as I wish. But by denying myself, my heart will be filled with God’s love, and he will accomplish it.
Martha: Then let us begin. Let us help one another to walk this path with determination. For Jesus, who is so good!

Mother,

Please help us to live this Lent focused on pleasing your Son by giving ourselves to our spouse.
Blessed and praised be God.

What a beautiful Gospel we are given today, in which the Lord teaches us what truly matters: humility. At times we allow ourselves to be carried away by vanity, by the desire to stand out, by our “I”. It can even happen in our marriage, when we do things so that our spouse will notice us, serving in order to be praised. How mistaken we are.
It is beautiful to move forward along the path Jesus shows us, where we discover that it is precisely the opposite: to recognise ourselves as sinners before Him and before our spouse, to give thanks for our littleness, to accept our poverty, and to take the lowest place, with the sole desire of offering everything to the Lord and seeking only to please Him.
Gradually renouncing my own criteria, placing Jesus where He truly belongs in my heart, and allowing myself to be conformed to Him, this is what enables me to love my spouse not from above, but from the place of one who knows they are humble. And then, I shall be lifted up.

Brought Down to Married Life

(James and Alice, on their way home after their catechesis group meeting)

James: My love, I need to confess something… Tonight, when it was our turn to present this month’s catechesis, I let myself be carried away by vanity. I loved seeing how the other couples were looking at me, appreciating how much work I had put into it, how well it was going—especially the little experience you had organised. And do you know what? At one point I realised I was not letting you speak. I had left you sitting there in silence. And the catechesis was about dying to oneself in order to build a love of communion. How awful…
Alice: To be honest, James, your attitude at the beginning did surprise me a little. But it was beautiful when you realised what was happening, asked my forgiveness in front of everyone, gave me a kiss, and we were able to finish presenting it together. It is such a gift to see how the Lord is gradually working in your heart. A few months ago, you would have presented the catechesis on your own.
James: That is true, Alice. Thank you for your patience, for always being there and praying for me… What wonders the Lord works when we give Him the place He deserves in our hearts.

Mother,

Teach us to become small and humble, so that we may see the Lord as our only God.
Blessed and praised be He for ever.