GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke 10:21-24

Jesus 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.”

The Word of the Lord

Do Not Miss Christ

Only the soul that makes itself small before God and before its spouse can contemplate the truth without deception. For pride swells the heart and also swells the eyes, making them blind; whereas humility opens them to the light. How often we present ourselves before our spouse as though we were great! We think we know everything, we need nothing; we walk in the arrogance of “me, myself and I,” and in doing so we close the door through which grace enters.

It is those who recognise themselves as small who alone see what so many longed to see but did not: the divine love moving miraculously within two poor human creatures. Do not forget that it is within your reach to live a marriage in the image of Trinitarian Love, to live a love as ardent as Christ’s for His Church, for which He ardently longed to give Himself. But to enter into this supernatural love we must humbly confess that we are small — because we are — and strive that the heart may live in a constant cry of love: Lord, we need Your grace!

Do not say it is impossible, for then we deny the power of God, we scorn the strength of grace, we diminish the fire of our Sacrament. And I ask you: why then did Christ die upon the Cross? Why did He shed His Blood if we allow it to be wasted upon the ground like useless water? Let us not permit a single drop of the Blood of Our Lord to be lost. Gather it with reverence, kiss it with love — it is your Sacrament — and know that in that Holy Blood lies your strength to live a promise which the world misses because it misses Christ.

You will be witnesses of that which many longed to see and did not, to hear and did not, because they thought they already saw. Be light in the midst of darkness; shine, letting Christ shine. Enough of the great — what is needed are the small, who make Christ great in their marriage. And do not miss Him, I beg you, for in missing Him you miss Christ!

Applied to Married Life

Joe : Maria, SOS… Martha our daughter told me in the car, half in tears, that she hasn’t been invited to Lucía’s birthday… and I didn’t know what to say to her.

María: Don’t tell me, Joe.

Joe: Thank goodness Alfie was talking to me at the same time, so I started answering him instead. Anyway… I need your perspective, because I felt such sorrow… I was about to answer her out of my anger, honestly, because my heart broke, but now I know I mustn’t, even though right now I can’t see clearly. I need you.

María: Oh, our little Martha… It hurts me too… but it’s true that it’s never too early to teach them how God looks at each situation they face. We cannot pass on what is in our own hearts, but rather teach them to love as God loves.

Joe: Yes. I thought of telling her it doesn’t matter, that surely it was just an oversight… but I know that isn’t enough.

María: I see an opportunity to tell her first that she doesn’t have to be invited to every birthday, that not everyone always chooses us, and that it’s all right.

Joe: We could tell her that surely she too has, at some point, left out a friend from her own birthday party without realising it, even though that friend would have loved to come.

María: Exactly. And we can also teach her that, even though sometimes others don’t choose us, God always chooses us first. And that Jesus understands better than anyone what it means to feel excluded, to not be chosen. If she feels a little pain at not being invited to the party, Jesus feels that same pain in His heart when we don’t choose Him. So she has the chance to do something wonderful: to console the Heart of Jesus.

Joe: Afterwards we could tell her to go and give a kiss to the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and say: Now I understand you a little. I choose you.

María: I love that. May our children learn, as we are learning, that in every painful situation there is always a hidden treasure that draws us closer to Jesus.

Joe: What would I do without you?

María: And me without you!

Mother,

You presented yourself, even though you were the Mother of God, as the smallest of the small. In your humility lay your greatness. Praised be you forever! Praised be the Lord!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”

The Word of the Lord.

Simply.

The centurion, accustomed to the authority he exercised over his men, knew simply through his Faith that it was enough for Jesus to say the word for his servant to be healed; he saw it as something natural. We often overwhelm ourselves trying to grasp the mysteries of God and become frustrated when we collide with our limited understanding. Let us draw near with simplicity to ask Jesus, to be with Him, to delight in His presence in the Eucharist.

We have the example of Mary, who received with simplicity the great mystery that was revealed to her. She trusted in God’s Love in the face of what she could not fully comprehend, and she filled her heart with joy and gratitude — a reality perfectly expressed in the Magnificat.

Applied to Married Life

Peter: Laura, I’ve been feeling very unsettled these past few days. There are questions I struggle to answer; it seems that no matter how hard I try, I cannot grasp the doctrine. It makes me feel as though my faith is not genuine, as if I’m a bit of a fraud.

Laura: Sometimes we want to understand what many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have received from the Holy Spirit, after much prayer and by the Grace of God. When weighed down, we can miss the joy of God’s closeness to us, present in the Eucharist. Think of the peace we feel when we pray together in silence, when we share in conjugal prayer, or in Eucharistic adoration.

Peter: You’re right. I shall continue reading and praying, hoping to receive the grace of understanding.

Mother,

Help us to draw near to Jesus with your simplicity, with Faith that He will grant us what we need. Amen. Praise be to God!

Gospel

Gospel

Gospel