GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 11:45-56

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
“What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation.”
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
“You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish.”
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.

Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, “What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?”

The word of the Lord

Danger: Influencers.

Power is one of the three lusts of the flesh. How destructive it can be, not only because of the manoeuvring ability it allows but also because of the influence over other people. We see how most Jews appreciate Jesus, but the Pharisees and chief priests turned them all against Him. May those of us who have influence over others, starting with our children, be very delicate in managing that influence to lead everyone to love Jesus more.

Applied to Married Life:

Sole: Do you realise the responsibility we have towards so many marriages? How are we going to evangelise if we don’t stay united?

Rodri: That’s precisely why we make our prayer a priority every day. And that’s also why we take care of our marriage, each and every day.

Sole: That’s true. Those are our two priorities. I believe if we keep them that way, we are doing well.

 

Mother,

how much our Lord suffered. We need to give back so much of what He has given us… Praised be He forever.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 10:31-42

The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?”
The Jews answered him,
“We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God.”
Jesus answered them,
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, ‘You are gods”‘?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realise and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power.

He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptised, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
“John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true.”
And many there began to believe in him. 

The word of the Lord

 

Just a Little Attention

Jesus, to demonstrate His Divine affiliation, supports His argument through His works. The works are what bear witness; we are instruments of a good Father who does not rest, who continues creating through every person, every marriage, spreading His love, calling for conversion. Therefore, drawing near to the Father means that He will count on us for this task.

The Lord says, “Those to whom the Word of God came are gods.” And it is the Word, received with a loving heart, that enriches works of love. Just as when we listen to our spouse, we do so to know them, understand them, satisfy them… When we listen to the Word of God, it is because we desire to know Him, satisfy Him… With this welcoming attitude, the Father overflows with generosity, giving us a hundredfold. God comes and dwells in the heart of everyone who welcomes Him.

 

Applied to married life:

Ana: Paco, pray with me, come on.

Paco: Of course, Ana. I love praying with you.

Ana: I remember when you didn’t want to pray with me, and you would get upset if I asked you to. I’d like to see with my own eyes how God acts through prayer, what caused that change in you.

Paco: God has access everything, enriches everything, envelops everything. It’s mysterious, but our relationship has changed so much since we started praying together. I’m very pragmatic, and that’s why it was hard for me to believe, but I’ve seen it. We are more united, we look at each other with kinder eyes, there is more peace between us… This is real. I am a witness that God exists and is good, because I see His works in us, and it’s amazing.

Ana: Then I encourage you to give testimony of this to so many skeptical husbands. It’s a shame what they’re missing out on, because they are children of God but live as if they weren’t. And they have a sacred marriage to build.

 

Mother,

Every day we experience the action of God in us. How could we not believe? And those who don’t experience it, it’s because they don’t place themselves in His hands. Mother, how great and good God is. Just by giving Him a little attention, He pours Himself out upon us. Praised be He forever. Amen.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 8:51-59

Jesus said to the Jews:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

So the Jews said to him,

“Now we are sure that you are possessed.

Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,

‘Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.’

Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?

Or the prophets, who died?

Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing;

but it is my Father who glorifies me,

of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

You do not know him, but I know him.

And if I should say that I do not know him,

I would be like you a liar.

But I do know him and I keep his word.

Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day;

he saw it and was glad.”

So the Jews said to him,

“You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

So they picked up stones to throw at him;

but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.

The word of the Lord

 

Very effective.

What Christ is saying to the Jews makes no sense from a natural perspective, because He is speaking to them about supernatural experiences.

What world do I want to live in? In the earthly world of the Jews who don’t recognise Christ despite being before Him, or in the supernatural world of God, where the Lord is discovered in everything and everyone?

 

Applied to Married Life:

Thomas: This seeing with faith changes your marriage.

Ines: It changes your life. But what do you mean?

Thomas: I mean, when I see that we are no longer two, but one, discord is over, because no one goes against themselves.

Ines: And how do you see us as one?

Thomas: I can’t. It’s through the action of the Holy Spirit. But it’s very effective. Whoever sees Jesus can see His works, and our union is the work of His Spirit.

 

Mother,

Give us more faith to always see ourselves as one. Thank you, Mother.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 8:31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
“If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father’s presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father.”

They answered and said to him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!”
So they said to him, “We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me.”

The word of the Lord

What the beloved does.

We do what our Father does only when we truly love Him. We believe and trust in Jesus Christ only when we truly love Him and love the Father. The Father has chosen to love me as much as His Son. I am an adopted Son, but an adopted son is loved as much as a natural son, and we can respond to our adoptive Father by loving him as much as His natural Son loves him. So, let us truly love the Father as children and do what He does.

Applied to Married Life:

Ricardo: What are you praying for, Martha?

Martha: Well, look, Richard, I ask the Father to let me recognise all His Love.

Ricardo: And why do you want to recognise His Love?

Martha: To love you better!

Richard: That sounds like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood: To devour you better…!

Martha: Hahaha. How silly you are.

Ricardo: But what does one have to do with the other?

Marta: Well… by recognising the Father’s love, I will love Him more, and by loving Him more, I will want what He wants, and He wants me to love you.

Ricardo: Phew, you want it all. Hahaha. But I understand. Thank you for wanting to love me more.

 

Mother,

We love the Father, but we want to love Him more, even to the point of doing what He does. Praise be forever.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

John 8:21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

“I am going away and you will look for me,

but you will die in your sin.

Where I am going you cannot come.”

So the Jews said,

“He is not going to kill himself, is he,

because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come’?”

He said to them, “You belong to what is below,

I belong to what is above.

You belong to this world,

but I do not belong to this world.

That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.

For if you do not believe that I AM,

you will die in your sins.”

So they said to him, “Who are you?”

Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning.

I have much to say about you in condemnation.

But the one who sent me is true,

and what I heard from him I tell the world.”

They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.

So Jesus said to them,

“When you lift up the Son of Man,

then you will realise that I AM,

and that I do nothing on my own,

but I say only what the Father taught me.

The one who sent me is with me.

He has not left me alone,

because I always do what is pleasing to him.”

Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

The word of the Lord

 

Are these my inspirations?

Jesus acts as a human being, totally dependent on God. He learns everything from Him, Jesus says everything He tells him, and does everything that pleases Him.

This must be the case with us as well. We can do nothing on our own; we do everything good through sanctifying grace and the infused virtues that God has placed in us. Every good inspiration we receive from God, every good act comes from His grace. We can only prepare ourselves to welcome the grace that comes from God and let it act.

If I believe this, then what can I brag about? What can I demand that others value in me? How can I be better than others if God does everything? My vanity is gone.

 

Applied to Married Life:

Teresa: Forgive me Francisco because for some time now I’ve been measuring your love according to how you value my skills. And that’s unfair. 

Francisco: I love you just the way your are, Teresa, because I see the image of God in you. By God’s mercy, you have the right to be loved as much as He loves me. That is your true worth.

Teresa: I know. God has decided to make me a part of Him, and that is what I am. The rest is vanity of vanities.

 

Mother,

Forgive us because sometimes we feel like the protagonists of our own genius ideas or our good deeds. If the Lord is silent, what shall we say? Praise the Lord.