‘You who have followed me will receive a hundredfold.’
Gospel according to Matthew 19:27-29

At that time: Peter said to Jesus, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you. What, then, will we have?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children or lands for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.’

The Gospel of the Lord

Always Choose Christ

Today, we ask the Lord the same question that Peter asked: “We have left everything… what then will we receive?” And Jesus reveals one of the secrets of the Kingdom: whoever leaves everything for His sake, in reality loses nothing but finds Everything. In our married life, what is it that prevents us from living the Kingdom of God among us? Our attachments—anything that occupies the place where Christ longs to reign. Attachment to my own will, my sense of security, my plans, my self-image, my wounds or my fears can close my heart to the gift that God wants to make of our marriage. Without even realising it, we can prevent the Bridegroom from dwelling fully among us. Today the Lord gently asks us: What am I holding on to that prevents Christ from reigning fully in our marriage? What attachment is stopping me from loving my spouse? When we dare to place that attachment into the Lord’s hands, our hearts are enlarged so that we can love more deeply. Then we discover that the “hundredfold” Jesus promises begins even now: in a deeper communion with Him, in a freer self-giving between husband and wife, and in a marriage that becomes a foretaste of the Kingdom and a sure path towards eternal life.

Applied to Married Life:

Christopher: Margaret, while praying with today’s Gospel, the Lord gave me a great deal of light. I’ve realised that lately we’ve become so focused on the grandchildren. We talk about them all the time, and whenever they call, we drop everything and rush straight to them.
Margaret: Christopher, they’re our grandchildren. How could we possibly say no?
Christopher: I’m not saying we shouldn’t help them, but it’s been weeks since we’ve had any time for ourselves—to talk, or to pray together.
Margaret: Christopher, are you saying that the grandchildren are drawing us away from God?
Christopher: No. I’m saying that our attachment to them may be drawing us away from our communion as husband and wife.
Margaret: Christopher, do you know what? You’re right. Because we’re afraid of letting them down, we’ve been neglecting what God entrusted to us—our first vocation, which is our marriage.
Christopher: Margaret, if we take care of our communion, we’ll become better grandparents too. Loving them doesn’t mean always being available.
Christopher: So, what do you think about setting aside one afternoon this week just for us—to talk peacefully, put our priorities back in the right order, and pray together?
Margaret: Yes. And if they call us, we’ll discern together whether we’re able to help or whether it’s time to say no, peacefully.

Mother,

teach us to place Christ at the centre of our marriage and to love with freedom, without attachments that draw us away from Him. Blessed and praised be the Lord.

‘It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father.’
Gospel according to Matthew 10:16–23

At that time: Jesus instructed his Apostles: ‘Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.’

The Gospel of the Lord

Lamb or Wolf?

Today the Lord gives us a warning, and the question we must ask ourselves is… Am I a lamb or a wolf in my marriage?
If I stay close to God and the Lord is my Shepherd, then I will listen to my spouse, I will be open to what they say, I will sow peace in our home and, ultimately, I will know the joy of loving and being loved, like a lamb with its shepherd.
If, however, I drift away from the Lord, my heart becomes increasingly selfish, arrogant and proud. I will want to be right, I will sow discord in our home and, in the end, I will become a wolf.
And you, what do you want to be—a wolf or a lamb?

Applied to Married Life:

Amelia: I thought I had everything under control… But then our arguments began, after that we both lost our jobs, and then came the financial difficulties…
Jonathan: Yes, Amy, I remember. And on top of that, we tried to solve our problems in a thousand different ways. We even tried every kind of therapy to save our marriage…
Amelia: Yes, and all those solutions only fed my pride, and I was still angry. Then the problems kept coming: our son was struggling at school…
Jonathan: And I became more and more sad and depressed. Our home was filled with nothing but shouting and silence, with each of us living our own separate life.
Amelia: Until my friend Catherine invited us to a Marriage in Love Project retreat. It was there that we realised the real cause of our bad temper, our anger and our crises: we had not allowed God to be with us or at the centre of our marriage…
Jonathan: That’s right. We had been building our marriage, our family and everything around us according to our own ideas.
Amelia: And what joy! What hope we found when we began to let the Lord work within us!
Jonathan: Yes, we started going to the catecheses and Eucharistic Adoration together… And everything gradually began to fall into place, didn’t it?n
Amelia: Now all I can do is thank God for everything—even for the difficulties He allowed, because they helped us to see that without Him there is darkness and sadness, but with Him everything changes!

Mother,
Help us to be lambs, united to Your Son. Praised be the Lord.

Gospel according to Matthew 10:7–15

At that time: Jesus instructed his Apostles: ‘Proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the labourer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.’

The Kingdom of Heaven Has Come

Jesus tells us to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven has come, but has it truly come? Has it come into our hearts, into our marriage, into our lives? The Kingdom of Heaven is He Himself; it is the Lord who stands at the door and knocks. Have we let Him in? Has He entered into the deepest part of our hearts? He transforms everything, cleanses it, purifies it, raises it up and makes it holy, because He is the Holy One. All we have to do is allow Him to work within us, trust in Him, and He will do the rest. That is why we need neither belt, nor bag, nor gold, silver or copper, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a walking stick. God alone is enough. He will provide everything we need, both materially and spiritually, so that we may live the Kingdom of Heaven and bring it to others. He needs only our permission to enter our hearts.

Applied to Married Life

(James and Mary, in prayer)
James: Lord, bring peace to my mind and my soul. I live overwhelmed, carrying everything on my shoulders, burdened by countless worries that rob me of Your peace and draw me further and further away from You. Lord, grant me the gift of humility and trust in You. You, my almighty Father, never abandon me, yet at times I live as though I were an orphan. I want to live in complete trust in You. Lord, increase my faith. Amen.
Mary: Lord, our Father, we want to open our hearts wide to You, so that You may reign in our lives and in our family. We want to place our complete trust in You, God of Mercy. Amen.

Mother,

show us the Sacred Heart of Jesus and teach us to place our complete trust in Him. Blessed are You, Mother!

Gospel according to Matthew 10:1–7

At that time: Jesus called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
  These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” ’

Gospel according to Matthew 9:32–38
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.’
At that time: Behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marvelled, saying, ‘Never was anything like this seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘He casts out demons by the prince of demons.’
  And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’