Will I Respond Now? Reflection for married couples. Luke 7:31-35

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Gospel

From the Gospel according to Luke
7:31-35

Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

The Gospel of the Lord
Will I Respond Now?

My beloved Jesus, these words of Yours pierce my heart. I feel as though You are saying to me, with a gaze both sorrowful and merciful, “What are you waiting for? Will you respond now? Will you truly listen to Me and do what I ask of you?”
You want me to be truly happy. You have given me everything I need to begin to be so here on earth, and to rejoice with You for all eternity. You love me beyond measure, You have died for me, You have remained with us in the Eucharist, You have sent me the Holy Spirit, You have given me Your Mother, the Sacraments… And yet You look at me with sadness, because You see that I still go on seeking happiness where it cannot be found. I still cling to other masters in my heart, which prevent You from reigning there. Masters that seem harmless: that extra time on my phone, that little “necessity,” my work, insisting on being right… But they are not harmless — they are hidden chains that bind my heart and keep it from being filled with Your Love.
And filled with Your Love, my heart could then truly love — to love You, to love my spouse, my family… just as You desire. And that is where true happiness lies.
Lord, today I want to say “yes” to You, once and for all. With the firm determination to do Your Will in every moment. With the help of Your grace, I know I will succeed. Thank You so much, Jesus.

Brought down to Married Life

Brian: Oh Alice, what a fright — what a dream I had! I dreamt that you died. How dreadful! And I realised just how much I love you, and how many opportunities I have wasted to tell you, to look into your wonderful eyes, to be tender with you…
Alice: How sweet you are! I often think that if I were to die today, how much would be left undone. Of what use would all the time spent on chats, series, my little whims… have been? That is why I try each day to begin with prayer and Mass, so that the Lord may centre me and I may only seek to do His Will, not mine.
Brian: The truth is, it shows. I’ve been noticing for some time how you’re more affectionate with me, you lose your temper less, and I see you more joyful and happy. And I want to follow you. I don’t want to waste any more time. I see clearly that true happiness lies in ceasing to look at myself and beginning to look only at the Lord and at you. Please help me to start building daily habits — you know how hard I find it. Shall we go to Mass together and pray beforehand? Or is there something else you think would help me?
Alice: What helps me a great deal is making small hidden sacrifices: that piece of bread I don’t eat, that shirt left on the floor which I pick up without saying anything, that last word I hold back… Those little sacrifices, made with love, I offer to God for our marriage, and they really help me to turn away from myself and focus on what matters.
Brian: That’s wonderful! I’ll pray about what I can do. It will be hard for me, but I know that with the Lord’s help — and yours — I will manage.

Mother,

What joy it is to see how, by Your Hand, this path of prayer and the sacraments is already bearing fruit. And through mortification, helping me to overcome my selfishness… A thousand thanks, Mother! Praise be to the Lord!

Imitating Mary at the Cross. Reflection for married couples. John 19:25-27

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Gospel

From the Gospel according to John 19:25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

The Gospel of the Lord

Imitating Mary at the Cross

From the Cross, Christ does not forget us. His Love continues to flow even in pain. When everything was taken from Him —life, dignity, companionship— He still had something left to give: His mother, and He entrusted her to us as our mother too.
Mary did not turn away from the Cross, even though it tore her apart to see her Son die in such a cruel and unjust way. She remained steadfast, offering her pain with love. Can you imagine watching your child die? Or seeing your husband “crucified” by his sins or wounds? And yet, Mary did not flee. We, on the other hand, so often run away from suffering when it manifests in others. It is hard for us to embrace the cross when marriage becomes difficult.
But pain, when united with Christ, ceases to be a meaningless punishment and becomes an offering and redemption. Like Mary, we can offer our tears, our weariness, or our disappointments for the soul of the other. That is the greatness of marital love: to love also at the Cross, not only in joy.
Today, the Lord reminds us that it is indeed possible to stand by the one who suffers, and that Mary is both model and mother on our marital journey. With her, we learn to remain, to love, to offer.

Brought down to Married Life:

Monica: How happy I am, Victor, since we came back from the Pilgrimage; how many blessings we have received these days, showing themselves in our children.
Victor: Absolutely; seeing is believing. Now I clearly see that we need to look at life with perspective and not make a mountain out of every obstacle that comes our way. We would have spared ourselves so many headaches, especially with our children.
Monica: Exactly, we were lacking Faith, and I have learned that by entrusting our children to His care and relying on Her with our prayer and fasting, She will present everything to Her Son —and He is incapable of denying Her anything.
Victor: How simple everything really is, and yet how complicated we sometimes make it. If you had told me a few years ago that today I would trust so much in our Mother, I would have said you were crazy. I want to thank you for your patience in leading me to Her despite my disbelief and my negative attitude towards everything that came from you and your faith. I must have been a real cross for you all that time, and yet you remained beside me, together with our Mother, offering it in silence. I don’t know what would have become of me and the children if you had not embraced that cross.
Monica: We must give thanks to Our Lady for how She has protected, and continues daily to protect, this great family that loves Her so much. And we must ask Her to help us never let go of Your hand.

Mother,

Today we commemorate you as Our Lady of Sorrows, focusing on the seven sorrows that the Church recalls. Blessed and praised are You forever.

The Beautiful Life. Reflection for married couples. John 3:13-17

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Gospel

From the Gospel according to John
3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

The Gospel of the Lord

The Beautiful Life

Today I celebrate the source of the good life. The true life. The most beautiful life.
Today I exalt the way of living that Jesus teaches me through His Spirit. Born within me through baptism. Growing in the Eucharist. Loving in marriage. Healing me in confession.
Today I proclaim a way of dying that prepares my soul for His action, His motions, His gifts, His life, through the fruits/sacraments of His self-giving.

Brought down to Married Life:

James: Darling, do you remember what day it is today?
Nicole: I can’t quite recall.
James: Today marks five years since the day my addiction came to light. The day that could have been the worst of my life but instead became the first day of my new life. And I owe it all to you. To the way you welcomed me despite the pain I caused you.
Nicole: How happy and proud I am of you, my love. But you’re mistaken in one thing. The One we owe it to is our God, who through His death pierced our darkness and opened the doors to His life.
James: Darling, how much I learn from you. Your gaze is the place where God speaks to me and sustains me. I love you so deeply.
Nicole: Loving you is my way of letting myself be loved by Him.

Mother,

Blessed and praised be the fruit of your womb, Jesus, who redeemed us with His Blood.

He Had Compassion… Reflection for married couple.Luke 7:11-17

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Gospel
From the Gospel according to Luke
7:11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.

The Gospel of the Lord

He Had Compassion…

How moving it is to see how Jesus took pity on this poor widow, and how much hope it should inspire in us to know that the Lord has compassion on us too. At times, we may fall into the temptation of thinking that God is “too busy” with other, more important matters than us. Nothing could be further from the truth: He loves us infinitely and wants us to be happy, living out the plan He has prepared for us, for our marriage. And it pains Him when we turn away from that plan. And when do we turn away? Each time we think, do, or say anything guided by our own criteria rather than by love, we return to the Passion of the Lord; we scourge Him again, press the crown of thorns into His head, and nail Him once more to the Cross.
Let us therefore ask the Lord to help us have compassion, first of all for our spouse, and of course also for our children, family, and friends. At times, it may seem easier to have compassion for others, but we must be consistent with our vocation and live an undivided life, beginning this attitude in our own home.

Brought down to Married Life:

Benjamin: Darling, have you noticed how the children went off to school today? I think you should pay a little more attention to the details and help them get ready in the mornings.
Beth: Seriously, are you going to reproach me for how the children are dressed? You know that at that hour I barely have time to get everything done and, honestly, I can never count on you. By the time I realise, you’ve already left, and sometimes I feel very much alone.

(Later that night, during their couple’s prayer…)

Benjamin: The Lord, through this Gospel, has shown me that I must first take care of you and the children, and only then of others, of my work… What use is it to do great things or big projects if, in the end, I fail to do so at home first? Forgive me — truly, I wasn’t aware of how alone I had left you. I will make an effort to be more attentive to you and the children, but I will need your help — and, if possible, without reproaches, because otherwise my pride makes it much harder for me.
Beth: Darling, I love that you can recognise what the Lord is saying to you and that you share it with me afterwards. I love you so much!

Mother,

We ask you to help us to recognise the needs of our spouse (and of all those close to us), so that we may live like the Lord, with hearts ready to give of themselves at all times.
Praise be to the Lord.

Putting the Word into Practice – Reflection for married couples – Luke 6:43-49

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Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke 6:43-49

Jesus said to his disciples:
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

 

Putting the Word into Practice

How important it is to listen to the Word of God! Jesus reminds us of it time and again. When He was asked which was the greatest commandment, before saying you shall love the Lord your God, He first said: “Hear, O Israel.” When Martha tried to criticise her sister Mary for listening to Jesus instead of helping her, He told her that Mary had chosen the better part. And in this Gospel He repeats it once more. Listening to the Word of God is essential for nourishing the spirit: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

But it is not only a matter of listening; we must also put the Word into practice — that is, to carry it in the heart and make it life, to live in accordance with the Word. Jesus calls prudent the one who listens to His Word and puts it into practice, the one who lives according to His teaching; and He calls foolish the one who listens but does not act. He compares the first to a man who builds upon rock, and the second to one who builds upon sand.

And I? What do I do? Do I build my life, my marriage, upon rock, or upon sand? Do I listen to Jesus and put His Word into practice? Do I listen to my spouse? Do I believe that the Lord speaks to me through my husband or wife? Do I try to please them at all times? Do I truly strive to become one flesh with my spouse? Do I make daily spousal prayer and share my intimacy with my husband or wife, seeking true communion?

For that is what Christ reminds us is the essence of marriage as God intended it: “A man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is God’s will for spouses: that they build a true communion.

 

Brought into Married Life:

(Leo sends a voice message to his wife)

Leo: Margaret, I have to accompany the boss to a reception, and we’ll finish late. Don’t wait for me for supper.

(When Leo arrives home, late, Margaret is waiting for him.)

Margaret: Hello, love. Have you eaten? Shall I make you something?

Leo: No need, darling. Thank God they gave us something at the reception. But thank you so much for offering.

Margaret: Do you think we could do our spousal prayer?

Leo: Margaret, sweetheart, it’s past midnight and I’m exhausted. What I need is to rest and sleep.

Margaret: But we didn’t pray yesterday either…

Leo: These are difficult days.

Margaret: Precisely for that reason — this is the moment to persevere, to keep choosing spousal prayer even when it costs us an effort, because we’ve already seen the good it does us. I believe we’re laying the proper foundations of our marriage now; even if the fruits aren’t immediately visible, they are allowing us to build firmly upon them. Look back and see how much we’ve grown as a couple since we began praying together.

Leo: Yes, spousal prayer has really united us.

Margaret: And we’ve also seen the consequences of leaving it aside.

Leo: Yes, the arguments over silly things came back, the resentments, and pride stopped us from recognising one another as the gift we are for each other.

Margaret: Exactly. I don’t want to go back to that again. That’s why I waited for you, even though I’m tired too, so that we can pray before bed and not let two days go by without spousal prayer.

Leo: You’re right, love. It’s the tempter trying to keep us from it, because he knows the good it brings. Thank you so much for your effort and your perseverance. Truly, prayer has changed our marriage, and I don’t want to go back to how it was before either. Let’s do our spousal prayer — I’m sure the Lord will grant us restful sleep afterwards.

(And they persevered in spousal prayer, and built their marriage upon rock, and their marriage grew and bore abundant fruit.)

 

Mother,

Teach us to listen to the Word of God and to live always in accordance with it, as you did — treasuring it in your heart and putting it into practice. Blessed are you, Mother! Praised be the Lord!