GOSPEL

“Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it”

From the Gospel according to Luke 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

The Gospel of the Lord

Full-time.

What characterizes a disciple of Jesus? Three things: that he denies himself, takes up his cross every day, and follows him. What characterizes the one who is not? That he dedicates his life to saving himself. It is the Lord who sets the rules.

And you? Do you want to be a genuine disciple of Jesus?

Applied to Married Life:

Emilia: This Lent, I ask the Lord to be His disciple full-time. I’ve realized how often throughout the day I’m still preoccupied with myself—whether it’s pondering why you communicated something, how it was expressed, or why certain preferences or needs of mine weren’t considered. It’s quite overwhelming! I suspect I’m my own disciple, as I’m still following my own inclinations.

James: What a good reflection, Emilia. Thanks. It serves like a wonderful motivation to desire to forget about myself. Following oneself only results in having a foolish follower, and I don’t want to lose my life foolishly. So, this Lent, I’m signing up to be a disciple of Jesus full-time.

Emilia: Thank you, James. Today I give myself to you. And tomorrow, I hope to do the same, and the day after…

James: Today, I give myself to you, and tomorrow and the day after…

Mother,

We are disciples of Jesus. That’s what we say. Help us this Lent to truly be His disciples

GOSPEL

” Your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

From the Gospel according to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:”Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

The Gospel of the Lord,

In secret

In secret, in the depths, in the most intimate place. There is God. He sees everything, scrutinizes everything, knows everything in me. Everything. Including my unspoken thoughts and the motives behind every action. Everything! Consequently, any aspect of my life not dedicated to Him, that which is lived merely for public visibility, is putting myself ahead of Him instead of seeking to make Him known: “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

So, what am I? A son or a thief of my Father’s things? The Father who remains in me is the one who performs the works, says Jesus. And the one who ceases to be a son to become a thief loses what would have been rightfully his as a son.

I surrender my intimate self as a child, living in accordance with it, and in return, He bestows upon me His own essence. This gift includes regeneration and life, enabling me to exist beyond my own self.

Applied to Married Life:

Eduard: Forgive me, Lord, for overshadowing you. Every time I make excuses, every time I complain, every time I do not submit, every time I demand, every time I boast, every time I apply my own justice… I am like that annoying child who stands in front of the screen and doesn’t let others see. In all of this, I do not let you be seen, Lord, not by my wife, not by my children, not by many others.

Vanessa: Forgive me, Lord, because I forget that I carry you inside, that you are in me, that all my good deeds are yours. And I, in my own way, cast a shadow on you. You so great, and I so small, yet I enlarge my shadow by appropriating Your light.

Eduard: But we love you, Lord. We don’t want to overshadow you; we want everyone to know you. Do in us what you need to do so that only you shine. We know it involves humility. So go ahead, Lord.

Vanessa: Go ahead, Lord. Even if it hurts.

Mother,

Only by seeing how great you are and how little you appear in Sacred Scripture, we get an idea of what our role should be. To appear even less. The important one is the Lord. May everyone see Him, Mother. Praise Him forever.

GOSPEL

“Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

From the Gospel according to Mark 8:14-21

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

The Gospel of the Lord,

Stubbornness of heart.

The heart resembles a slippery fish that you attempt to grasp but keeps slipping through your fingers repeatedly. You try to tie it to the Lord, but as soon as you let your guard down, it has already wandered off and is restless with so many things. Subsequently,  it come the worries, the anxieties, the complaints, the judgments among us. You stand before the Blessed Sacrament and shout to your heart: “You are with the Lord!” But when you go out, you realize it has slipped away from God’s hands again, and the works of the flesh return in marriage.

We implore the Lord to remove this stubbornness from our hearts and give us a spousal heart that beats in Him at His rhythm, at the rhythm of the Trinitarian God. With this aspiration, we enter Lent tomorrow.

Applied to Married Life:

Henry: You know when you attempt to lay a towel on the sandy beach, and the moment you turn away, it’s already covered in sand? That´s the same as my self-love. Like the sand, it always ends up on top. And when there’s a bit of wind, don’t even get me started.

Eleanor: I don’t even want to tell you… And of course, when we’re not in the Heart of Christ, everything gets disorganized, and disordered passions shoot up and wreak havoc between us. In the end, it all boils down to that – are you in Him or not?

Henry: Exactly. That’s it! Being in Him. That’s the key. Because being in Him, the soul rests. It was created for that.

Eleanor: To rest in Him.

Mother,

Take away this stubbornness from our hearts so that,  we are always in the Lord, at all times. Praise be to Him, glory be to Him forever.

GOSPEL

Why does this generation seek a sign?

From the Gospel according to Mark 8:11-13

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

The Gospel of the Lord,

Love, Not Signs.

Some may pay more attention to extraordinary signs than to the love of God. These signs, defy the laws of physics and can impress us like a magician’s trick. Others may simply pursue relief from suffering.

But we are saved by faith, not by witnessing impressive miracles or by ceasing to suffer. The Apostle James says that faith fosters patience. In other words, the one who has faith considers above all the love of God, and waits on Him and His will without demanding that He act according to one’s own desires or motivations.

Applied in Married Life:

Jack Darling, does the situation with our daughter-in-law bother you less now?

Katie: The situation is painful and it will never truly goes away. Why do you ask?

Jack: Well, because lately it seems like you complain less and accept the situation more peacefully.

Katie: It’s not about that; it’s about realizing that my strength comes from faith. God loves me, and God loves her. I trust that He will untangle this situation when He deems it right. That’s why I endure this with patience, a patience rooted in faith in Him

Mother,

May our faith in the love of God sustain us. Praise Him forever.