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The Truth Sets Free. Reflection for marriages. Mark 11:27-33

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From the Gospel according to Mark 11:27–33

Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?” they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Truth Sets Free

In this Gospel, Jesus leads the chief priests to confront the truth of their own hearts. They are not sincerely seeking the will of God, but rather protecting their position, their image, and their pride. We spouses can also fall into this attitude: arguing while convinced that we are right, clinging to our own version of the truth, and closing ourselves off to the truth of Christ, who always calls us to humility, listening, and love.
The love of Christ does not seek to win or impose itself; it seeks to give itself. When spouses allow Christ to transform their hearts, they lower their defenses, stop constantly justifying themselves, and learn to look at each other with mercy. Then communion flourishes.
Do I sincerely seek the truth that Christ reveals in my heart, or do I only defend my own position? Do I want to be right, or do I want to love?

Applied to Married Life:

Martha: You left the lights on again, Bob?
Bob: And you point it out the moment you walk into the house again, Martha… Sometimes I feel like you arrive with a radar that only detects my mistakes.
Martha: Forgive me. I came home tired, I saw the light on, and I reacted badly. And I realize that many times I speak to you out of exhaustion and frustration, not out of love.
Bob: And I immediately become defensive, as if I have to justify myself all the time… Lately it seems like we speak more to defend ourselves than to understand each other.
Martha: Because we both think we’re right. I cling to my truth, you cling to yours… and we leave little room to listen to what Christ wants to teach us in the middle of all this.
Bob: You’re right, Martha. In the end, the light being left on or the reason for the argument no longer matters. What weighs us down is pride… that pride that makes us want to win instead of love.
Martha: And without realizing it, we stop looking at each other with tenderness. We respond to protect ourselves, not to care for one another.
Bob: Maybe today the Lord is asking exactly that of us: to stop defending our pride so much and begin opening our hearts more. I’m realizing that when I only want to be right, I end up distancing myself from you. But when I try to love like Christ, I find you again.

Mother,

Lead us to live in the truth of your Son and to love with a humble heart. Blessed and praised be the Lord.

Grace or Disgrace. Reflection for marriages. Mark 11:11-26

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From the Gospel according to Mark 11:11–26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples? But you have made it a den of thieves.”

The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city.

Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”

Grace or Disgrace

Today we see the Lord saying: “Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’? But you have made it a den of thieves.”
Here I see how many times I turn my heart, which is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells, into a den of thieves. I let myself be carried away by selfishness toward my spouse, and I fall into complaining. Or I let myself be carried away by pride, and I place myself above my spouse… And even more, I make it difficult for my spouse’s heart to see the Holy Spirit in my heart. Because of my concupiscence, I do not administer the grace of God, but rather “disgrace.” But You, Lord, redeemed us and left us the sacraments so that we can begin again. And You gave us the Theology of the Body so that we may learn that the Grace of God is far greater than my concupiscence, and that fills us with hope.

Applied to Married Life:

Isabella: Paul, how many times have I told you not to leave your glasses on the sofa? They’re going to get broken!
Paul: Yes, Isabella, I forget…
Isabella: It’s always the same, you always forget, and there’s no way you’ll remember, honestly…
Paul: Well, Isabella, what do you want me to do? I’m absent-minded, that’s all.
Isabella: This is really getting out of hand…
That night, Isabella read this Gospel passage, and after their marital prayer…
Isabella: Paul, forgive me, because the Lord has shown me that I should not accuse you but help you. My pride blinds me so much. And when I come home tired, it only gets worse…
Paul: No, don’t worry please. The Lord shows me that I should welcome your gift of tidiness, as well as your gift of perseverance in prayer. What would I do without your perseverance!
Isabella: Lord, I ask You to help me grow in humility.
Paul: Lord, I thank You for my wife’s perseverance in prayer.
Together: Glory to God!

Mother,

Teach us the path to having a pure heart like yours, so that we may not offend the Lord. Glory to God! 

Jesus, I Trust in You. Reflection for marriages. Matthew 26:36-42

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From the Gospel according to Matthew 26: 36–42

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Jesus, I Trust in You

It is wonderful, a great gift and a grace that through the Gospel we are able to know the feelings of Jesus. In it, He reveals His emotions to us: moments of joy, tenderness, anger, and also moments of suffering and anguish. Today the Word tells us that, as His Passion drew near, Jesus withdrew to pray and began to feel sorrow and anguish. Sorrow unto death. So much sorrow and anguish that He fell with His face to the ground. In our lives there may also be moments when emotions take hold of us, moments of fear, uncertainty, sadness, and anguish. Moments in which our imagination overwhelms us and makes us suffer even more. Today Jesus teaches us how to live through those moments: in prayer, united with Him, abandoned into His Heart. Repeating from the depths of our soul: Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Jesus keeps watch with us; He does not fall asleep. He remains. He is there. He is always there.

Applied to Married Life

John: Today the suffering feels so heavy that I feel I cannot keep going.

Ily: Take my hand, dear husband; together we can lean on Jesus and rest in Him.

John: Thank you for not leaving me alone in this very difficult moment.

Ily: We are spouses. Marriage is also this: walking together through pain and supporting one another with faith.

John: Lord, even though my heart is weary, I want to surrender myself to You.

Ily: Jesus, give us serenity, strengthen our hope, and remain in our home.

John: When we pray together, I feel the fear slowly disappearing.

Ily: Because Christ gives us a deep peace that no suffering can take away.

John and Ily: Jesus, I trust in You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Mother,

Teach us to remain in your Heart so that we may rest in the Heart of Jesus. Blessed are you, Mother.

Teach Me to Love. Reflection for marriages. Mark 10:32-45

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From the Gospel according to Mark 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “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 who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Teach Me to Love

Lord, how is it possible that You do not get angry with James and John? You are telling them that You are going to be arrested, scourged, killed… and they are only thinking about securing an important place for themselves. It is so wrong, so unfair that they ignore You and think only of themselves! Shouldn’t You say something to make them realize it, so they can learn? And the others too, shouldn’t You correct them? They are not upset in order to defend You, but because they also want those places of honor.
My Lord, why don’t You get angry? Don’t their words hurt You? Surely it hurt You to see their inability to stop thinking about themselves, their inability to put themselves in Your place. But it hurt You for their sake, not for Yours. Because You truly love. You do not love wrongly, that is, You do not love Yourself in a selfish way. You have no self-centered pride. That is why You react the way You do. Because You are filled with love for them, saddened inside by their sin, yet You embrace their poverty with tenderness and excuse them. You realize that they are unable to see clearly. You are not concerned that they fail to notice Your self-giving, but rather that they desire the first places. There Your love is revealed: love for them, not self-love. That is why You do say something to them, but not by reproaching them for not caring about You. Instead, You show them that it is not right to focus on wanting to rule over others. You tell them that love means giving oneself. That life is not about thinking of oneself, but about loving as You love. About freeing oneself from the slavery of selfish pride, which wounds both oneself and others, and becoming filled with the freedom of God, with Your Love.
Come, Holy Spirit! Teach me to love. Free me from selfish love so that I may love with You.

Applied to Married Life:

Martin: This Gospel is wonderful. It shows us how Jesus teaches us to behave, how to react in situations that hurt us.
Maureen: Absolutely! I would have been outraged by such a great injustice. I tell my closest friends that I am going to be killed, and they just ignore me!
Martin: Yes, and Jesus does not get angry. He does not focus on the fact that they ignore Him, but rather on the fact that life is meant for self-giving, for serving, not for being served. For thinking about others, not about oneself.
Maureen: Because He truly loves. He has no selfish pride; He does not love Himself above others. By contemplating Jesus, I see so clearly so many moments when I become angry at what I consider unfair, when I react badly, when I throw things back in people’s faces thinking that I have to say them, that it is for their own good so they will learn… But really, I am thinking about myself. I am not putting myself in the place of others. I am not loving the way God wants me to love.
Martin: We need to let the Lord fill us with His Love. Only then will we be able to love as He loves. And for that, we need to die to our selfish pride. Please, let us fully commit ourselves to this path of prayer, sacraments, and sacrifices that purify our hearts so that God may do His work within us.

Mother,

Teach me to love as You do, thinking only of doing the will of God. Blessed and praised be God!

Leaving Things Behind. Reflection for marriages. Mark 10:28-31

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From the Gospel according to Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.” 

Leaving Things Behind

Does the Lord really ask us to let go of all our possessions and even leave behind our relatives and the people we love so much? Little by little, God shows us that what truly matters is knowing how to prioritize and understanding that everything we have and everything around us should be a means to attain eternal life.

Sometimes we act as if this passing world was our ultimate goal, and we place our hearts in material things and even in certain people. We need to become aware that everything is a mediation from the Lord; even we ourselves are a mediation for our spouse, helping them reach eternal life. That is our true purpose and what we should aspire to: to leave everything behind in order to live the Gospel within our marriage and thus reach Heaven together!

 

Applied to Married Life:

Ethan: Happy anniversary, Eli! My goodness, it’s already been eight years since we got married… time flies…

Eli: It really does… Just yesterday, during prayer, I was thanking the Lord for everything we’ve lived through together, and He showed me how our life has changed over these past years. Do you remember how, at the beginning, we put so many unimportant things ahead of our marriage? Our hearts were set on work, material possessions, or spending more time with friends than strengthening our union, and that caused us a lot of suffering. How good the Lord is, for He has been showing us that the only thing truly important is our marriage, and that in this way we can fight for it and build it together.

Ethan: I’m really beginning to understand what this sacrament is all about, and it seems so precious to me that now I see only God could have created it. I’m also beginning to understand that the differences we have bring us closer every day, and I see how, with your patience and affection, you help me grow closer to God. Now I truly see myself capable of reaching Heaven with you, hand in hand.

Eli: Ethan, when you speak to me like this, that’s when I discover your great heart, and it makes me fall even more in love with you, because I see the Lord in you!

Mother,

We ask you to show us what is truly important, so that we may continue building our union and reach Heaven together. Praise be to the Lord!