From You to You. Reflection for marriages Saint Luke 4:38-44

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GOSPEL
It is necessary for me to evangelize also to the other cities, for this is why I have been sent.  
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Luke 4:38-44
After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.
At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases
brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Word of the Lord.

From You to You.
The Lord was laying hands on each of the sick until dawn, healing them one by one. Could He not have performed a general healing? He also took the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law to heal her.  
The Lord wants to have a personal relationship with me. A relationship from You to You, with me.  
Every time I stand before Him, He is alone with me. That is how the Lord loves me; He dedicates intimate and personal attention to me.  
That is the relationship He desires to have with me despite my smallness. A relationship of intimacy, from Heart to heart.
Grounded in Marital Life:
On one occasion, a couple told us that the husband would come home very irritable from work, and that was seriously affecting their relationship. So we asked him, “And if she gave you a hug and a kiss as soon as you got home, would that help you disconnect from work?” “Of course!” he said, “That would make everything disappear!”  
Spouses, let us touch each other, caress each other, kiss each other, look at each other, embrace each other. Our flesh is part of the mystical Body of Christ. Through it, His love is transmitted. Let us do as Jesus did, who touches to heal. How many relationships would be healed simply because spouses touched each other more?

Mother,

How important the gestures of affection are; how important it is that we pay attention to one another. It is worth staying up late or overcoming fatigue, just as Christ did. Praised be our Master who spares no effort, who is a close God, and personally heals me in every confession.

To the core. Reflection for marriages St. Luke 4:31-37

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GOSPEL

I know who you are: the Holy One of God.  
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 4:31-37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!”
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
“What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out.”
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.
The word of the Lord.

To the core.
There are words and words. There are empty words and words that carry within them the power of God. That was the fear of the unclean spirits, that the Word of Christ cast them out.  
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there without having watered the earth and made it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).  
It is the Word of God.

Grounded in married life:
Carlos: And you all, why are you so eager to pray the Gospel daily in your Conjugal prayer?  
Carmen: Because the Gospel is not like any other reading. The Gospel has a healing, transforming power. The Gospel expels evil from us and fills us with the Holy Spirit.  
Carlos: We still find it difficult to do conjugal prayer every day.  
Carmen: Saint Paul says to the Hebrews: that the Word “penetrates to the dividing line of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow; and it discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” When you experience this, you will understand what it is to live a truly deep experience between you.
Mother,
May the Word penetrate us and transform us. Blessed be God who gives us His Heart and His wisdom.

Not getting used to you. Reflection for marriages St. Luke 4:16-30

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GOSPEL
He has sent me to evangelize the poor… No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke 4:16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
The Word of the Lord.
Not getting used to you.
Mismanaged trust poses a serious danger, which is getting accustomed to the presence of the Beloved (with an uppercase letter) and not valuing it to the height it deserves. 
We wonder today what the Lord sees from the Custody when He is exposed before us. How many lost gazes, how many distractions, how many vague thoughts jumping from one trivial theme to another without paying attention to the impressive presence of the Most High before us.
May we not get accustomed to the Beloved with an uppercase letter nor to the beloved with a lowercase letter. Grant us this grace, Lord.
Grounded in married life:
Juanjo: How many times do couples come to talk to us, each filled with mutual complaints (which are usually authentic nonsense), and they are not able to appreciate the “great” man or woman they have by their side.
Marisa: They are hearts of immense beauty and they cannot appreciate it. It makes one want to shout at them: Have you looked closely at your spouse lately?
Juanjo: How important it is to do exercises of “mutual unaccustomedness.”
I love looking back at you as if receiving a gift and unwrapping it slowly as if it were the first time.
Marisa: I love that you look at me with those eyes and make an effort to please me. It helps me a lot to recognize the impressive value that God has given you.
Mother,
May we learn to value the gift of the closeness of the Beloved with an uppercase letter and of the beloved husband who has been entrusted to me as a task. Blessed be the Lord for so much.

Not getting used to you. Reflection for marriages St. Luke 4:16-30

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GOSPEL
He has sent me to evangelize the poor… No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to St. Luke 4:16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
The Word of the Lord.
Not getting used to you.
Mismanaged trust poses a serious danger, which is getting accustomed to the presence of the Beloved (with an uppercase letter) and not valuing it to the height it deserves. 
We wonder today what the Lord sees from the Custody when He is exposed before us. How many lost gazes, how many distractions, how many vague thoughts jumping from one trivial theme to another without paying attention to the impressive presence of the Most High before us.
May we not get accustomed to the Beloved with an uppercase letter nor to the beloved with a lowercase letter. Grant us this grace, Lord.
Grounded in married life:
Juanjo: How many times do couples come to talk to us, each filled with mutual complaints (which are usually authentic nonsense), and they are not able to appreciate the “great” man or woman they have by their side.
Marisa: They are hearts of immense beauty and they cannot appreciate it. It makes one want to shout at them: Have you looked closely at your spouse lately?
Juanjo: How important it is to do exercises of “mutual unaccustomedness.”
I love looking back at you as if receiving a gift and unwrapping it slowly as if it were the first time.
Marisa: I love that you look at me with those eyes and make an effort to please me. It helps me a lot to recognize the impressive value that God has given you.
Mother,
May we learn to value the gift of the closeness of the Beloved with an uppercase letter and of the beloved husband who has been entrusted to me as a task. Blessed be the Lord for so much.

 

Thank you blessed mother. Reflection for marriages Mark 7:8,14-15, 21-23

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GOSPEL

“You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition”
From the Gospel according to Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus,they observed that some of his disciples ate their mealswith unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,do not eat without carefully washing their hands,keeping the tradition of the elders.And on coming from the marketplacethey do not eat without purifying themselves.And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,”Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the eldersbut instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”He responded,”Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:This people honors me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me;in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines human precepts.You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”
He summoned the crowd again and said to them,”Hear me, all of you, and understand.Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;but the things that come out from within are what defile.
“From within people, from their hearts,come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,adultery, greed, malice, deceit,licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from within and they defile.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Thank you, Blessed Mother.

Today is the anniversary of Conjugal Love Proyect. On a day like today, 22 years ago, Our Lady of Fatima confirmed this mission for marriage and family with a sign. Today’s readings couldn’t have a clearer message for us: to be faithful to what has been entrusted to us. To be faithful to the teachings of the Church, and above all, to be faithful to the Gospel without adding anything of our own. If we do this, this Word is capable of saving our lives, and we will become a first fruit for many who still follow human criteria.

Applied to Married Life:

Husband : If there is something that stands out about Conjugal Love Proyect,  it is that it is super faithful to the truth.
Wife : And another thing that stands out is that it gives life to thousands of spouses and their families.
Husband: Yes, starting with ours.
Wife: And more and more each day.
Husband: Truly, this has to be from the Virgin. There is no other explanation.
Wife: Mary is guiding this. Blessed be.

Mother,

Thank you for this gift of Conjugal Love Proyect.  How many marriages and families have been saved by your generous hand. Thank you, Mother, thank you, thank you… Blessed are you.