GOSPEL

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all”

From the Gospel according to Mark  9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Crossing the treshold

Jesus announces the cross, and His disciples understand nothing. They couldn’t imagine that glory is not the result of a discussion among them to see who deserves more or who imposes themselves over the others. Glory is a fruit of the cross, and the cross means giving oneself completely. Everything! Not wishing to defend myself, not wishing to take revenge, not accusing the one who despises me… Why? Because it is the way of the Lord, and that path allows me to be with Him first and to be in Him afterward.

Do I complain about being on the cross? I am no longer in Him because He does not complain. Do I get tired of being on the cross? I am no longer in Him because He remains in the Blessed Sacrament and enclosed in the Tabernacles long before I was born, and He will remain there long after I die.

But who lives the cross like this? Only the one who loves the Lord more than themselves, and that is a grace from God.

Applied to Married Life:

Martha: I still do not love the Lord more than myself, because I keep complaining about you, I am still hurt by what you say, and I react against you in my heart or even in word or deed.

Charles: We ask the Lord to allow us to cross the treshold of the cross, the one that separates the altar of sacrifice from everything else.

Martha: We ask this of you, Lord.

Mother,

We want to be the last, the servants of all. Ask the Lord for this grace for us. Praised be He forever.