Gospel

A man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark 4, 26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”

He said, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

The Word of the Lord.

Against a wall.

The kingdom of God is being established in me to the extent that I allow the grace of God to act in my soul. The “sleeping” in the Gospel is not so much about doing nothing as it is about allowing oneself to be acted upon. When I do not allow myself to be acted upon, I find myself up against a wall that I keep hitting until, with humility, I accept my hardness of heart and then overcome it with the strength of grace. Today we invoke the Full of Grace.

Applied to Married Life:

María José: Juan, sometimes I feel like I’m getting stuck on my spiritual path. I think it’s because I don’t submit to you. I rebel against that idea. Whereas you, you submit very often.
Juan: Well, I have other walls that I also struggle to overcome, María José, but it’s true that without mutual submission we cannot build a beautiful confluence between us.
María José: It’s just beyond my strength.
Juan: Of course, because it is the grace of God who does it. Ask for it and you will see how it helps you.
María José: Hey, what about that pimple that has come up on your back?
Juan: That is because the kingdom of God is already within me. Three weeks ago, I pulled a muscle and I was stiff. That was the stem. The following week, I grew a tuft of hair back there. That was the ear. And finally, the grain has come out!
María José: Haha, you’re such a joker, Nene.
Juan: So that you laugh better, Nena.

Mother,

In reality, everything revolves around being obedient to the action of grace, but that too is grace. Give us that grace, blessed Mother.

GOSPEL

Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The Lord’s word.

They will not harm you.

Silvia: What a blessing we have with Conjugate Love Project, Nacho. God has given us the opportunity to have a place to talk about Him. And married couples come to listen! It’s incredible.
Nacho: Of course. And how much this helps our marriage to go together in pairs to proclaim the Gospel. Because you believe in the Gospel, don’t you, Silvia?
Silvia: Of course! Down to the last comma. And that big box you brought, what is it?
Nacho: Open it and you’ll see.
Silvia: Aaaaaagh! A snake! What a horror! How scary. It’s okay that with your new business you fill the house with strange creatures, but a snake!
Nacho: Hahaha
Silvia: It’s not funny. And what if it bites us?
Nacho: Don’t worry. It doesn’t do anything. Besides, didn’t you believe in the Gospel? Well, today the Lord says, “they will pick up snakes with their hands and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them.” Hahaha

Mother,

How much the Lord protects us from evil. How much we perceive His grace. Praise be to God.

GOSPEL

A sower went out to sow.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 4, 1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

The word of the Lord.

The umbrella, upside down.

It seems that God always sends us the graces we need. The question is, am I open enough to receive them? And this is the key. If I do not make progress, it is because I am closed off to receiving them or being perseverant in them. Effetá: Open up! I need to open myself to God’s will, to His grace. To receive His Word and be willing to let Him work in me, day after day, and another day, and another day, and another…

Applied to Married Life:

Arzanegui: What a rainy day. I’m soaked. I’m going to change and then come with you to pray together. Okay? I’m really looking forward to it!

Carlos: Okay, Arzanegui. I’ll be waiting for you eagerly.

(After a few minutes, Arzanegui comes out of the dressing room and finds Carlos lying on the bed with an open umbrella upside down)

Arzanegui: Carlos, what are you doing in bed with that umbrella open? Is there a leak?

Carlos: Nooo, don’t worry. I just want to love you more and for that I need to be filled with more of God’s grace. So I’ve put the umbrella upside down to receive all the rain of graces that will come with our prayer tonight.

Arzanegui: I don’t know if you will gather grace, but you will definitely find me, as I am melting for you. Haha

Carlos: Mmmm! Can I dunk bread in it? Haha

Mother,

May we always be willing to grow in love. Praise be to God, who gives us His grace to make it possible.

GOSPEL

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? Luke 6:43-49
Reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Luke.

Jesus said to his disciples : “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?

I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.

That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.

But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

The word of the Lord.

Dessert or ham.

How is our spiritual life measured? By charity, because charity is the love of God through us. If He is not in us, if we have not become intimate with Him and allowed him to rule our hearts by removing all barriers, we will not be able to perform acts of charity. But acts of charity have several peculiarities: First and foremost is that the person who does them recognizes that this act does not come from him; secondly, that they do them with joy and kindness; thirdly, that the person who does them does not tire of doing them…; and fourthly, all the other things that Saint Paul says in the hymn to charity. And the fruits of these acts are the fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness… What? Is there spiritual life in you?

Applied to married life:

Álvaro: This ham is really good, isn’t it? Iberian and acorn-fed. It’s curious how the breed and what a pig eats can affect its flavor, its texture… In the case of meat, its quality is imparted by what it consumes. However, in the case of the soul, its quality is demonstrated by what comes out of it. The acts and what comes out of the mouth… Have you ever thought about it?

Alba: Honestly, I don’t usually think about those things while I’m eating a ham like this, but since you bring that up… I’m listening. Go on, go on… I’ll continue with the ham.

Álvaro: I mean, the Holy Spirit is at the center of our soul, and what comes out of the soul demonstrates the presence and intimacy I have with Him. Depending on that, will be my words and acts. There can be no deception in that.

Alba: Right. Well, there are times when what comes out of my mouth is not exactly pleasant, so I really need to step up my game.

Álvaro: No, but you have changed a lot. Before, you only talked about yourself, and now you almost always talk about the Lord. It’s clear that He is very present in you.

Alba: Thank you, Álvaro. You’ve moved me. Phew! I can’t take any more! With so much ham, I don’t have room for dessert.

Álvaro: I, on the other hand, have a looot of space… Mmm! It looks so delicious! Now it’s your turn to speak, and I’ll take care of this delicious chocolate dessert… Haha!

Alba: That’s it. Go ahead. You go ahead. Let’s see, with so much chocolate, if you become a pata negra (a high-quality ham produced in Spain)… Haha

Mother,

May we strengthen our married life based on the Gospel. Jesus came to show us the way. Thank you, Lord!

Gospel

Satan is lost.
Reading of the holy Gospel according to St. Mark 3, 22-30

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself,
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness,
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Word of the Lord.

Recalculating together.

If a family is divided, it cannot subsist. If a marriage is not united, it cannot subsist. A marriage is united when it does not each go in a different direction, but both support each other to move in the same direction. We need a common goal, so that a sin of my spouse is considered a project of both of us and vice versa, to come out victorious together.

Bishop Munilla spoke to us about one of the keys to marriage, a process that is triggered in the GPS when we take the wrong path: “Recalculating.” Our struggle is not one against the other, it is both against the devil, so in the face of any sin, from one or the other, we already know what to do: ask for forgiveness, forgive, and…”recalculate” the path.

Applied to matrimonial life:

Juanjo: I don’t care what she says. The Spirit is stronger. God is much stronger. I am going to keep fighting to save my wife and my marriage, because for God nothing is impossible, and I firmly believe in that. God created her for me, so that with her I can reach Him, and I am not going to abandon the mission He has entrusted to me.
Juanjo’s mother: Son, but she doesn’t deserve it. She has shown that she doesn’t love you, that you don’t matter to her. She yells at you, emotionally blackmails you, and speaks ill of you to everyone.
Juanjo: Mom, she is not my enemy. Our common enemy is the devil, and he has blinded her. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. But she has me to help her see the light.
Juanjo’s mother: Son, you’re scaring me. What if you’re losing your mind?
Juanjo: No, Mom. I haven’t lost my mind. I have faith in the Almighty, I have faith in the One who is all Love. And you have taught me that. Now is the time to demonstrate that faith.
(Juanjo, with God’s help, reconquered his wife, and today they keep their family united. Their marriage was strengthened by that crisis. Today, Cristina, his wife, is certain that Juanjo loves her more than himself. In a way, she feels indebted to him, and wants to show him that she also has blind faith in what God can do in their marriage).

Mother,

Faith is shown in moments of difficulty. That’s when it is put to the test. Let the Devil not have his way and let us continue to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.