I in You, You in Me. Reflection for married couples. John 13:16-20

Gospel

‘Whoever receives the one I send receives me.’
John 13:16-20

After Jesus had washed the feet of his disciples, he said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, “He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.” I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.’

The Gospel of the Lord

I in You, You in Me
Lord, the Father is in You, and therefore, whoever receives You also receives the Father. But how much of You is in me, so that whoever receives me also receives You, and thus the Father? When we serve one another, we leave a part of ourselves in those we serve, and part of them remains in us. Entering into someone’s intimate space means that part of their heart becomes inscribed within ours. You came to serve, and in doing so, You remained with us. Your Heart became human, and humanity became part of You—each and every one of us. We are no longer just body and soul; now we are body, soul, and Spirit. What a beautiful gift it is to give myself to my spouse and to receive my spouse’s gift in return, making us one through the Spirit that now dwells in us. The dynamic of love is so beautiful: I in You, You in me, my spouse in me, I in my spouse, You in us, and the Father in all of us… United by the same Spirit.

Applied to Married Life:

Matthew: Darling, we need to live with a sense of “supernatural awareness”. If the Spirit is already part of us, we can’t live as if we are just body and soul. Our body needs to be governed by our soul (understanding and will), and our soul by the Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord. These are the powers that guide us.
Michelle: I get it, but that sounds quite abstract. How do we actually use the Spirit’s power in our daily lives?
Matthew: Well, we don’t need to worry about that. We just need to stay close to Him, acknowledge His presence, and make ourselves available to Him. Then, He will act, guiding us and giving us the gifts we need at each moment. We just need to be with Him and let ourselves be led. Alright?
Michelle: I don’t fully understand, but I trust what you’re saying.
Matthew: That’s the right attitude. Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, You have free rein. We are ready for You to lead us.

Mother,

We welcome the Lord with joy in every prayer, in every Eucharist, and we strive to make our lives a personal Eucharist by giving ourselves to others in His name—whenever, however, and wherever He wills.
Praise be to the Lord.

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