From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 8:1-4

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.

Word of the Lord.

Connatural.

Let’s talk about faith. Nowadays, it seems one must do something extraordinary to achieve faith. But that’s not the case. Faith is connatural to man because it is a gift from God and is inscribed in the human heart. If not for ideological influences and psychological manipulation, we would all seek divinity, as all human tribes and castes have done throughout history. Unwittingly, we tend to believe in the supernatural action of God. Some through alternative medicine or esotericism… substituting the true God.
Let us strip away those external influences from the couples around us so they can open themselves to the gift of faith.

Applied to Married Life:

She knelt before the Lord. For years, she had seen her husband as the villain. She had compelling reasons. But why was a relationship with God possible for her husband, yet she was unable to maintain it? It was her pride, which came from within and prevented her from seeing that she was as guilty or more than he was, and she was looking at him with a sinful and destructive gaze.
He knelt beside his wife before the Lord. He, too, had spent years rejecting his wife’s corrections with enormous pride. He was fed up with her. But that day, he asked himself: Why doesn’t God get fed up with her but loves her infinitely? There was something in him that wasn’t in God. And so he discovered his pride, which prevented him from seeing that he was also responsible for the lack of purification in their union, as God had entrusted to him. He had a tainted view of her that prevented him from considering her a gift and giving himself to her.
Both, with their hearts broken into pieces, knelt before the Lord, begging Him to change their hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
And God took pity on them, forgave them, and placed many means of purification along their path: differences of opinion, unjust judgments of one another, offenses… but this time, they did not experience these as if the other were a pariah but received them as a path God was laying out for them to overcome their pride. This time, they constantly asked for forgiveness and accepted each other’s humiliations as a gift.
That marriage was built up, healed, and today, thanks to God, they are one. They are a tender heart, pleasing to God.

Mother,

Praise be to the Lord for the miracles He is working in so many marriages around us. It is wonderful to see how He purifies hearts, transforms lives, and fills homes with joy. As we draw near to Him and persevere with that “if you are willing, you can make me clean,” He rebuilds, heals, unites… Glory to God.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 7:21-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.

Word of the Lord.

Then he sinks.

The rock is Christ. He is my support, my strength, my way. And what keeps me united to Him? Listening to His Word and, very importantly, fulfilling it! If I fulfill it, He will make His dwelling in me.
In the Old Testament, we see how, time after time, when the people are unfaithful, there are grave consequences. Now it seems that it’s not like that, but it is. The difference is that now the consequences are more for the soul than for the body, although the body ends up being affected as well. The consequences are for the heart, and love grows if Christ is in me, or it crumbles and scatters if He is not, as happened in the time of Nebuchadnezzar with the treasure of the temple of Israel.

Applied to Married Life:

Jaime: It’s true that for the past few days I’ve been making mistakes, and I’ve created painful situations with you.
Merche: And I with you.
Jaime: But at least I know that it’s because I have acted outside the Word of God, and of course, inevitable consequences for love follow.
Merche: As soon as we disobey, it happens to us like Peter when Jesus told him to walk on the water to come to Him. As soon as he looked at the storm and disobeyed by taking his eyes off the Lord, he began to sink. That’s what has happened to us.
Jaime: Let’s reconcile with the Lord and with each other and continue building our marriage on the rock. What do you think?
Merche: I think it’s wonderful.

Mother,

As soon as we do not act according to the Gospel, we start sinking. Mother, do not let us fall into temptation. Amen.
Sent from my iPhone

From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them.

Word of the Lord.

Bringing Out the Best.

Someone who believes they are a good Christian and close to the Lord, but who has complaints against their spouse, constantly corrects them, or demands that they change but cannot love them with their sins and limitations, is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They appear devout, appear holy before many, appear knowledgeable, and give many pieces of advice based on their wisdom, but the fruits they bear with their spouse are some of the works of the flesh: adultery, fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, witchcraft, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, disputes, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

Someone who does not believe they have the right to demand anything from their spouse because they know their own wretchedness, someone who knows they need many humiliations to subdue their self-love, someone who does not believe they have any rights because their Master gave up all His rights to give Himself out of love, someone who makes themselves small and brings out the best in their spouse, this person is led by the Holy Spirit and therefore bears fruits of holiness, generating fruits of charity, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.

Applied to Married Life:

Clara: Lucas, do you think I am bringing out the best in you and helping you achieve holiness?
Lucas: I don’t think so, Clara. You demand, you correct, you highlight what I do wrong, and I feel despised because of it.
Clara: I don’t understand what’s wrong with me. I pray a lot and love the Lord, but I don’t know why I am not bearing fruit.
Lucas: For the same reason as me. Pride makes us believe we have the right to make demands of each other. We lack the keys on which holiness is built: humility and meekness. Until we progress in these, we will not advance in our communion, nor in our communion with the Lord.
Clara: You are right. The Lord presents me with many situations to destroy my self-love, and I am not taking advantage of them. Thank you, Lucas, for enlightening me.

Mother,

Praise be to the Lord, who is a light for our steps.

From the Gospel according to Matthew
MT 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:
Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.

Word of the Lord.

For the freedom of the gift.

The gates of heaven have been opened by the Lord, for He is the gate. And He has already shown us the way, for He is the way. The way is a surrender like His to reach His glory, and that surrender happens on the Cross. In our case, that cross is the daily cross, and surrendering to yesterday’s cross does not exempt me from surrendering to today’s.

Each of us knows the kinds of crosses we bear, but let us illustrate with some examples.

Word of the Lord.

The gates of heaven have been opened by the Lord, for He is the gate. And He has already shown us the way, for He is the way. The way is a surrender like His to reach His glory, and that surrender happens on the Cross. In our case, that cross is the daily cross, and surrendering to yesterday’s cross does not exempt me from surrendering to today’s.

Each of us knows the kinds of crosses we bear, but let us illustrate with some examples.

Applied to Married Life:

Him: When my wife tells me that I have not considered her, and I ask for forgiveness without making excuses.
Her: When my husband makes a decision without consulting me, and I embrace it as my own.
Him: When I hear her complaints repeatedly, the same as always, and I listen with understanding, whether she is right or not, which is irrelevant.
Her: When I am feeling down, and he ignores me, seeming not to care.
Him: When she suggests something that seems absurd to me, and I join her with joy.
Her: When he says it’s time to go, and I get up and go without needing to be asked twice.

And a long list of similar acts until we are freed from our attachments, from our pride, and become free for the freedom of the gift.

Mother,

Help us prepare to enter through the narrow gate by the way of Christ’s Love. Through Him, we ask this for His greater glory.

Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marvelled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbours. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.