Gospel
‘I must preach to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.’
Luke 4:38-44
At that time: Jesus arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, ‘I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.’ And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
The Gospel of the Lord
Everything as You Would, Lord.
Dear Lord, what a great gift You have given us, impossible to thank You for sufficiently. By becoming man, You have not only redeemed us and opened the gates of Heaven, but You also teach us how to live.
We only have to listen to You. In silence. Attentive to what You want to tell us. And then put it into practice.
In this Gospel we see You giving Your life. Giving every moment of Your day to others. With one key aspect: sustained by prayer, seeking to do the Father’s will on every occasion. Helping, evangelising, giving Yourself… Without considering Your tiredness, without looking to see whether people returned the favour. Without looking at Yourself. Looking only to the Father and to our neighbour.
Lord, may I give myself to my spouse in this way. Without looking at myself. Without keeping score. Without expecting anything in return. Turning away from my own ways of thinking. Seeking only to do Your Will. Doing everything as You would do it.
Help me to forget myself, to look only to You and to dedicate myself solely to giving myself on every occasion, welcoming everything with Your love. To love as You would love.
Jesus, help me to persevere. I will do my part: prayer, the sacraments, formation and acts of love. You will do the rest.
A thousand thanks, Lord, for giving me the grace to achieve this.
Applied to Married Life:
Luke: Louise, forgive me. In my prayer I realised that yesterday I was very focused on myself, hardly putting myself in your shoes at all. And that made me more irritable, and I spoke badly to you. Forgive me.
Louise: Thank you so much, Luke. I give great thanks to God for what He is doing in our hearts. We used to experience many situations like that, but we didn’t realise what was happening and blamed each other. Without prayer, God cannot give us His light; He cannot guide us.
Luke: Without a doubt. Without prayer, it is inevitable that I see life only from my own perspective. And I deceive myself into thinking that I am right. Without God’s light, I am walking in darkness. And in prayer, when I am silent and listen to Him, God guides me.
Louise: Yes, and He shows me my selfishness, my attachments… so that, from there, I can set myself concrete tasks to free myself from these disordered attachments and grow in virtue and love.
Luke: It is true that it is difficult. Especially at first, what I found hardest was persevering in prayer and remembering to keep working on those tasks. And when I didn’t do it, I would return to the hell of seeing everything in a negative light. But by persevering, God is able to do His work in our hearts, and it is a liberation. How great the Lord is!
Mother,
Please help us to persevere in prayer and on the path of purification, so that Your Son may teach us to love. Blessed and praised be God!