It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
“Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.

Jesus heals the leper, but then sends him to offer his purification. Let us reflect on this—on purification.
God’s forgiveness alone is not enough. Sin leaves a mark within us, a disorder that must be purified. This means that we will spend our whole lives being purified, and whatever is not purified here will need to be purified in purgatory.
The work of purification belongs to God, but we must cooperate through our good dispositions. Our soul needs a natural and supernatural re-education, one that requires our active collaboration.
Union with God and with His infinite purity demands that we draw close to Him.
Moreover, the closer we come to the Light, the more clearly we perceive our impurities—like water that appears crystal clear until it is viewed under a microscope. There may be much more than what we can see right now.
Spouses, let us work on our own purification so that the love of God may reign between us, and so that we may reach that longed-for spousal charity.

Brought into Married Life

Marina: Arthur, today I want to ask your forgiveness for everything I have demanded of you during this time—for my insatiable desire to live perfect communion between us.
Arthur: Don’t worry, Marina. I have deserved each and every one of your corrections.
Marina: The main issue is not that you need correcting, but that I need to purify my soul so that I can draw closer to the Lord and allow His love to act between us.
Arthur: I understand. But have you experienced this yourself, or is it something you have read?
Marina: I have been putting it into practice for a while now, and it is completely true. It works! Haven’t you noticed that we have been doing much better lately?
Arthur: Yes. We have been going through a wonderful period.
Marina: And you, don’t you love me more?
Arthur: Yes. Absolutely.
Marina: That is all I have done—worked on my purification, gradually reordering my soul with the grace of God.
Arthur: How wonderful. Glory be to God!

Mother,

Help us in our purification, for we long to reach spousal charity here on earth and heaven there.Blessed be God, who purifies us by His grace.

As on that day, Lord, when the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in You, we ask that today the experience of living Your Kingdom in our marriage may be fulfilled in us as well.

We know that we are still far from it, but we trust that it is not impossible, because it is Your love that You gave us on the day of our wedding. We have spent many years striving, sowing, and watering that seed. And so, Lord, may Your promise be fulfilled in us today, for the greater glory of the Father.

Brought into Married Life

Louis: Do you think we will ever live the Kingdom of God between you and me?

Mary: I do not think so, I am sure of it. It is the Lord’s promise, and you and I are taking it seriously, giving everything we can and constantly turning to God’s grace. Do you really think the Lord will not respond to our deepest desire?

Louis: I believe He will. I trust in Him and in His promise. Shall we ask together that it may be today?

Mary: We ask You, Lord.

Louis: We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mary: Amen.

Mother,

We ask You as well to intercede for us. May it be fulfilled today, Mother. We thank God for hearing our prayer.

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

There are times when we work with the Lord’s strength and witness great things, like those seen by the disciples in the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes. But at other times it is good for us to discover our own fragility, because with our own strength we can do nothing.

That is what the disciples experience today as they row on the Sea of Galilee with the wind against them. And it is good for us too, so that we never forget that strength comes from the Lord, and so that we become aware of just how much we need Him.

Brought into Married Life

Michael: Rachel, have you ever rowed with a strong headwind?

Rachel: You know, Michael, I am more the type to lie down and soak up the sun.

Michael: Yes, of course. What a silly question… But it is incredible. When the wind blows hard, I can hardly move forward at all, no matter how much effort I put into rowing.

Rachel: Well, you are strong and you have been rowing for years. If you cannot manage, imagine me. Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?

Michael: Because that is exactly my experience without the Lord. When His Spirit pushes, what He allows me to do is astonishing. But when He does not, I discover my complete inability.

Rachel: Well, today He tells you not to be afraid. Even when there are times when it seems you are not moving forward or you feel like you are failing, He is walking nearby, waiting for the right moment to step into your boat.

Mother,

May we not be afraid when we fail relying on our own strength.The Lord wants to teach us humility, just as He did through You. Praised be the Child God.

At first, what moves Jesus to compassion is that the people were in need of hearing His Word, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
Later, He is moved with compassion because they lack food.

These are the two key moments of the Eucharist:
the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

If the Lord sees us hungry for His Word and for His Bread, and if we are aware of how little we can do on our own, He will be moved with compassion and will give us all the nourishment our soul needs, until there is more than enough, until we can receive no more.

Brought into Married Life

Natalia: Today Adoration felt too short. You know, Joseph, I am really looking forward to the Eucharist. I want so much to listen to the Word and to receive the Lord in Communion.

Joseph: I would love to go with you, Natalia, and to ask God to give me a deep hunger for the Eucharist. May the Lord be moved with compassion toward us and fill our souls with His grace.

Natalia: I also tell Him that we are hungry for communion between us. Even though we are growing a lot, our hunger is still there.

Joseph: These Christmas days have left us with such a desire to be together and to experience God’s love between us.

Natalia: Lord, fill our hearts. We are not seeking anything for ourselves. We only want to give You glory.

Joseph: Only to give You glory, because we belong entirely to You.

Mother,

We are hungry for Your Son, hungry for His Love. We are hungry, Mother. Tell Your Son about our hunger, so that He may be moved with compassion for us.

Amen.

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

From the very beginning, great crowds followed the Lord—not for who He was, not because they recognized Him as the Messiah, but because He healed many. Yet the Lord did not mind their initial motives. At first, it was enough for Him that they followed Him and listened to Him. In time, He Himself would purify their intentions and lead them to the truth of the Kingdom of God.

Brought into Married Life:

Julia: What should I do so that my husband draws closer to God?
Charles: What are you currently doing to try to make that happen?
Julia: I correct him whenever I see things that aren’t worthy of a child of God.
Charles: And what does he say to you?
Julia: That I should leave him alone with all those corrections—that I’m exhausting.

Charles: The same thing used to happen to me with my wife. When she began to love me and please me as she never had before, that encouraged me to keep striving more than ever. She encouraged me and inspired me whenever she could. Little by little, I fell more deeply in love with her and with our marital vocation, and that led me to grow deeper in faith and to trust more fully in God’s love.

Julia: So… less theory and more spousal love. That’s your advice.
Charles: That’s how you’ll help him most. Win his heart, and that will draw him closer to the Lord more than any advice ever could. You’ll see. Only the love of God gives life—and you administer that love through your spousal love.

Mother,

May we use all the means available to us to win our spouse’s heart and, from there, draw them closer to God. Adored be the Child Jesus.