Gospel.

Lord, teach us to pray
From the Gospel according to Luke. Lk 11, 1-4.
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. 
Give us each day our daily bread. 
Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. 
And lead us not into temptation”.

The Gospel of the Lord.

As Part of You

We have a very “individualistic” view of prayer, but prayer is always in community. It seems that we address the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit personally. The reality is that the Father gives us everything through the Son in the Holy Spirit, and all our prayers reach the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Our prayer as the Body of Christ, as the Church, is united with Christ’s prayer to the Father and is made possible by the action of the Holy Spirit within us.
In this sense, there are people who do not understand marital prayer because they consider it should be something personal. But we ask ourselves: Is it possible, as spouses who are one, to pray without considering that we are one? Furthermore, is it possible to pray without considering our prayer as part of the prayer of the Church as the Bride, united with the Bridegroom to glorify the Father?
I may physically be alone, but can spiritual individualism exist? Our final destiny is the communion of saints. Let us move in that direction.

Applied to Marriage Life:

Alfred: When I stand before the Lord in prayer, I cannot present myself without considering you, without considering that we are one. Even if you are not by my side. Similarly, how couldn´t I have Jesus in mind when I speak with Mary or the Holy Spirit when I speak with the Father.

Carmel: I love the awareness of our vocation that the Spirit has given you, living marital spirituality in this way. That is something I need to learn. I find it hard to live contemplative prayer while experiencing myself as part of you.

Mother,

We unite ourselves with Your Son in His priestly prayer when He asks the Father that we may be one as You are one. Praise be to God, one and Triune.

Gospel.

Martha welcomed him. Mary has chosen the better part.
From the Gospel according to Luke. LK 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

First, “to be.”

As much as we may want to, what we can offer to the Lord is not comparable to what He can give us. In fact, He is more pleased when we receive the nourishment He offers us than with anything we might do for Him. For this reason, we have this principle: “To be, before doing.” Only if we ARE Eucharistic Spouses, we will be able TO BE Missionary Spouses, and in this way, we will carry His Word for the sanctification of many spouses who are busy with many things but, at the same time, they are lost like sheeps without a Shepherd.

Applied to married life:

Charlie: I have so many things to do that I don’t have time to pray, and when I do pray, I get distracted thinking about all my pending tasks. 
Margy: You don’t have time for God, nor do you have time for me. That is what happens when we are consumed with worldly things, which are vanity of vanities. In the end, pride takes hold of us because we believe we are indispensable, but the truth is, when we die, the world goes on as if nothing happened. 
Charlie: I understand what you’re saying, and I think you’re right, but how do I stop this whirlwind of a life I’m living? 
Margy: Your work is important, but I suggest you set a schedule and be inflexible with it because the rest of the time is needed for the only thing that is necessary. That’s how the Lord refers to that time with Him and with me: The only necessary thing.

Mother,

With each passing day, we are more aware of the fact that the Lord is the only thing necessary. Everything else will be given to us in addition. Praise be to the Lord, who gives Himself to us without measure.

And who is my neighbor?
From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Marital Mercy

Mercy can stop when your spouse is no longer in need. As long as he/she is getting knocked around by life and temptations… he/she needs me. So what should I give him/her? A piece of advice? Nah. I need to give what can really help him/she recover. Maybe some affection, a word of encouragement, or maybe even offer myself to God for them.

Putting it into a marital context:

John: Today, my wife woke up all anxious because she says things aren’t going well between us. I’ve tried to cheer her up, but that hasn’t worked. I made her breakfast and did some chores, but that didn’t calm her down. Lord, I offer myself for her. Give her peace and let me take on her nervousness. I’ll try to recognize what she feels it´s my fault, even if I don’t see it or understand it. Hopefully that helps.

Mother,

Show us the way of merciful love between spouses. Thanks, Blessed Mother.

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?”
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate.”
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this.
He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery.”

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
“Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these.
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

Word of the Lord.

One “self”.

No! We are no longer two. We know this because Jesus tells us so. This is indisputable, there is no room for alternative interpretations. We are now one, one flesh, because we have been united in the way of God, which is indissoluble for man.
Today, we want to emphasize that **we are one!** Do we live as one? Do we experience each other as part of the same “self” through love? This is how we must live, this is how God has ordained it, and this is how we emerged from the heart of Christ through our Sacrament.

Applied to Married Life:

Ricardo: What do you think are the implications for us, now that God has made us one? 
Marta: I think it means, for starters, that we cannot go against each other. Any feeling of opposition must be immediately discarded. It’s not possible. Also, we need to grow together in having the same feelings as Jesus, to seek God’s will together, to bear fruit together for the salvation of souls and for the greater glory of God, and to protect each other from the devil’s attacks. I don’t know, so many things… 
Ricardo: I think we need to pray and delve deeply into this awareness of being one. Let’s ask the Lord for this.

Mother,

You who already contemplate the Holy Trinity and have experienced unity with Them, teach us to be one, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

Word of the Lord.

Pride in humility.

We celebrate the obligatory memory of the Ember Days, a time of thanksgiving and petition, so that we do not forget that everything we have comes from God. We have so much of everything and tend to take credit for it or claim merit for achieving it, but all the means we have used, we have received from God: our intelligence, our strength, our perseverance, the love with which we do things, the family for whom we do them… Everything is ours, we are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Thanksgiving differentiates the proud from the humble. Let us give God what He deserves and gratefully manage what He gives us, though we do not deserve it.

Applied to Married Life:

**Mario:** I thank God for your testimony of humility. 
**Mercedes:** Why do you say that? 
**Mario:** Because before, you used to complain about all the mistakes I made, but now you don’t, even though I still mess up often. On the contrary, you continually thank God for me and for what you receive from me. That’s undeniable proof that you’ve grown a lot in humility. 
**Mercedes:** I have no merit in it. The Lord allows me to see all the good in you and justify your mistakes. But He is the one doing it. 
**Mario:** Yes, but you must be making an effort, for sure. 
**Mercedes:** Yes, but He gives me the strength too, which is why, every time I excuse you, I also thank Him in my heart. 
**Mario:** Thank you, Lord, for my wife. She’s the best wife!

Mother,

We have reasons to spend all day thanking God and you. May we turn every complaint into an act of gratitude. Thank you, Lord, thank you, Mother.