Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
  ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

Everyone seeks happiness, and it turns out that Jesus tells us how to attain it – we just don’t always believe Him. Happiness and freedom are closely connected, because when one is free from oneself and focused on God, they can be happy in any situation. As the Virgin Mary said, “My spirit rejoices in God.” That is the key.

Applied to Married Life:

HAPPY:

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
John: Ever since I learned that nothing truly belongs to me – that everything is God’s, and whatever I have, little or much, is meant to build His kingdom on earth – I no longer care about having or not having. With God by my side and our children, I have all I need.

Blessed are those who hunger, for they shall be satisfied.
Mary: Darling, I need us to keep growing in our love for one another, more and more each day. I want us to be saints, and I will fight for that, and for our children to be saints as well.
Peter: Yes, let’s give it everything we’ve got. Jesus promises us that one day, by God’s grace, we will experience the fullness of that.

Blessed are those who weep, for they shall laugh.
Peter: What’s the matter, love? You look sad.
Mary: Yes, I just feel like crying.
Peter: Tell me, talk to me. I want to be with you, to cry with you, to feel what you feel, so that by understanding you, I can help lift you out of your sadness.

Blessed are those who are excluded because of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy, for your reward will be great.
Arthur: Hey, shall we meet for dinner? Let’s enjoy a good steak… But let’s not invite Peter and Mary. They always bring up God and the Church. It’s like they can’t talk about anything else, and they end up ruining the evening.
Anna: Yes, let’s not call them. Besides, they don’t know how to enjoy a good meal. They’ll just say it’s gluttony, hahaha. It’s one thing to go to Mass on Sundays and be normal, as we always have, and quite another to be like them. They seem obsessed.

Mother,

Help us to belong to Christ, walking against the current, in the face of the world, the Devil, and the flesh. Even if we are criticised or slandered, help us to love everyone, even if they don’t accept us. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
  He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.

Jesus chose 12 from among His disciples. The successors of these 12 are our shepherds, the bishops. We must understand that they are chosen by God to shepherd the flock in each local Church.
It is not for us to judge their decisions or to assess whether they are better or worse. We should welcome them as God’s chosen ones and submit ourselves to them. They, in turn, have the responsibility to shepherd the flock and will answer to God at the end of their days, for they represent the Good Shepherd, no more and no less.
We find reassurance in priests who do not criticise their bishops and in Christians who do not criticise their bishop, for they are the ones who believe in the divine nature of God’s choice and the power He grants each one.

Applied to Married Life:

Martha: I love our spiritual director because he views every situation through the lens of grace and divine transcendence.
Leo: Yes. He always stands by his bishop and the Pope. If he believes and trusts in the ministry that God has bestowed upon them, it’s because he also believes and relies on the power God has given him as a priest, and likewise trusts in the grace God has given us as a married couple.
Martha: Exactly. I see how he guides me, always relying on the sacramental grace we have received, not on his own ideas. That gives me great confidence, because he truly trusts in the action of the Holy Spirit. It brings me peace, knowing we are being led by a true shepherd of Christ.
Leo: We give thanks to God for our spiritual director.
Martha: Thank you, Lord!

Mother,

Thank you for the shepherds You have placed in our path. They are a blessing. Thank you, Mother.

James: (Praying) Lord, once again, my wife is being unbearable. She’s harsh, demanding, with that look on her face… But I know You have an irresistible desire for mercy. Fill me with You, Lord, fill me with Your love so I can see her worth in this moment and, with Your love, calm her fire and her anguish. Here, as I kneel before You in the Blessed Sacrament, I ask You to fill me with Your love. I want to give her what You want to give her. I know she’s going through a time of trouble, and You want to help her. Make me Your instrument—help me bring peace to her anxiety, joy to her sadness, and hope to her frustration. Fill me, Lord, fill me with Your Spirit, fill me with Your mercy. Praise be to You, Lord.
(And he returned home, and the Lord allowed him to be an instrument of His mercy, and James experienced just how much God loved his wife.)

Mother
,
What great hope we find in knowing Christ, His feelings, His motivations. He cannot help but love me, cannot help but forgive me, cannot help but heal me. How much I long to act this way with my spouse! Praise be to the Lord who has a great heart for love.