GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew 3:1-12

John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea

and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:

A voice of one crying out in the desert,

Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair

and had a leather belt around his waist.

His food was locusts and wild honey.

At that time Jerusalem, all Judea,

and the whole region around the Jordan

were going out to him

and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River

as they acknowledged their sins.

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees

coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.

And do not presume to say to yourselves,

‘We have Abraham as our father.’

For I tell you,

God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees.

Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit

will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

I am baptizing you with water, for repentance,

but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.

I am not worthy to carry his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fan is in his hand.

He will clear his threshing floor

and gather his wheat into his barn,

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

The word of the Lord

The Diagnosis

John’s language is stern yet nourishing for my soul. In Advent, a sound diagnosis is necessary to stop doing what makes us ill. It is the preliminary step towards being healed, towards preparing ourselves for what is to come—or rather, for who is to come.

What deeds, thoughts, or omissions are preventing me from becoming one with my husband? Let us name what is happening within me. The time is now. There is nothing worse than becoming accustomed to sin, to falsehood, to hypocrisy. John calls us to the truth. He invites us into the desert, to discover the emptiness within me that I tend to anaesthetise with distractions and comforts…

If a baptism of fire is coming, how much of me will burn? How much of me is incompatible with our communion? What must I purify?

Applied to Married Life

The words with which she had answered her husband harshly the night before still echoed in her mind. Andrew had shared how hard his day had been, and she, almost without thinking, replied:

“Well, everyone has hard days; you’re not the only one.”

The following morning, kneeling before the Tabernacle, she asked herself in silence:

What is happening to me? Why do I always have a complaint, a judgement, or a correction for Andrew?

She felt within her the need to face the truth, yet at the same time something in her resisted. She did not want to.

“I’ve suffered enough with this,” she told herself, “it’s something I want to forget.”

But the more she tried to flee, the stronger that inner voice became, speaking with tenderness and firmness:

“Share that pain with your husband. I am in him and I want to heal you. Your husband is the steward of the gifts I long to give you. Allow yourself to be shaped. Rest in him, trusting in Me. I desire to pour out My Spirit upon you through the sacrament of marriage, to transform your lives with My Power and to heal your hearts with My Love. Do not be afraid.”

Leaving the church, her soul still trembling, she took her phone and wrote a message:

“Darling, today I need to talk with you. I love you.”

In her heart, still expanded, a new hope had been born.

She was not alone.

Mother,

Teach us to know ourselves through the mystery of Your Son. Blessed and praised forever be He, who redeemed us with His Blood.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Then he summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

Little Shepherds for the Harvest

“Freely you have received; freely give,” says the Lord. We have received freely from the Father all that we are and all that we have, beginning with life itself, baptism which has made us children of God, faith, my spouse, our marriage… freely we have been healed of our blindness, deafness, spiritual leprosy… freely we have received the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven in our marriage, freely we have been born into a new life… how many, many marriages are being raised to new life through Proyecto Amor Conyugal!

Yet it is enough to look around us to see that there are still many marriages who do not yet know the beauty and greatness of marriage as God intended it. Like the crowds, they are weary and abandoned because they are unaware of the Covenant the Lord has made with them and with their marriage, pouring out even the last drop of His Blood to save them.

Husbands and wives, today Jesus Christ calls us, and just as He went through all the towns and villages, He now sends us to all these “lost” marriages so that we may proclaim with our testimony this Good News: the beauty and greatness of our sacrament. The Lord wants to count on us and urges us to give freely what we have freely received.” Husbands and wives, will you take up the work in the Lord’s harvest?

To Apply in Married Life

John: Virginia, I was praying and I remembered how we were before doing the Proyecto Amor Conyugal retreat, and I compare it with how we are now. Isn’t it amazing?

Virginia: Absolutely. It did us so much good. We’ve changed and grown so much. Each of us, and as a couple.

John: Yes, the truth is that since we’ve persevered in going to the marriage group meetings and to the adorations, the change must have been remarkable, because even our parish priest has noticed.

Virginia: The parish priest? Has he said something?

John: Yes, he asked me, wanting to know what had happened to us. And afterwards he mentioned the possibility of opening a marriage group in our parish.

Virginia: That would be wonderful, John. We’ll have to talk it over with the little shepherds of our group, to see how it’s done.

John: He hinted that we could be the little shepherds. Do you feel up to it?

Virginia: Us?

John: Yes. And praying today’s Gospel, I see how the Lord is asking us to work for His harvest, because there is much to be done and few labourers. And the truth is that this transformation in our marriage has been a gift the Lord has given us, freely. And He asks us to give freely what we have freely received.

Virginia: Well, I wouldn’t dare on my own, but if I go with you… Together for the Lord!

Our Mother ,

Teach us to have a grateful heart like Yours, and to give ourselves to others. Blessed and glorious are You, Mother! Praised be the Lord for ever!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,

“Son of David, have pity on us!”

When he entered the house,

the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,

“Do you believe that I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.

Then he touched their eyes and said,

“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

And their eyes were opened.

Jesus warned them sternly,

“See that no one knows about this.”

But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

The word of the Lord

Do You Believe It Possible?

When we ask the Lord for something, do we truly do so with faith? To the blind men in today’s Gospel He says, “Let it be done to you according to your faith.”

The best way to have faith, and for it to grow, is through persevering prayer. That constant relationship with the Lord increases our trust in Him, and in this way our faith is strengthened. Knowing that the most important thing is that His will be done in our lives, we must not neglect prayer of petition and intercession for others.

Applied to Married Life

Jack: Esther, to be honest I don’t see any solution to the situation our friends Joseph and Ana are going through. It looks impossible to me!

Esther: Darling, at this stage you say it’s impossible? With all the miracles we’ve seen at the retreats, beginning with our own marriage.

Jack: You’re absolutely right, of course. But there’s no way they want to attend the retreat. We’ve tried everything, but with no result. On Friday they have an appointment with the lawyer to begin divorce proceedings.

Esther: We must trust that Our Mother does not consider any marriage lost. It’s true we’ve tried almost everything, and that “almost” is important, because we’ve missed the main thing: intercessory prayer. Let’s begin to pray fervently that they attend the retreat, and share it with our prayer groups.

Jack: That sounds excellent, and we’ll also offer sacrifices of giving and receiving for one another. Let us trust in the Lord, who makes all things new.

(And a few months later Joseph and Ana attended the retreat and began a journey of rebuilding their marriage and family.)

Mother,

You are our best model of faith and trust in God. Help us to keep in our hearts what we do not understand, and to place our confidence in Him. Blessed and praised be the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar!

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’

will enter the Kingdom of heaven,

but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them

will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.

And everyone who listens to these words of mine

but does not act on them

will be like a fool who built his house on sand.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

The word of the Lord

Rock or Sand?

How easy it is to do the will of God, and yet how readily we complicate our lives by following our own ideas. The Lord speaks to us simply, but we twist His words because they do not suit us, or we think it does not matter if we put them off until later. How easily we place the pleasures of the world before the call of the Lord. The choice is ours.

It may seem that God asks for great things, but that is not so. He begins by asking what may appear most difficult precisely because it is so simple: to love in the small things. Without realising it, we are building upon rock. But when we think it is little and act according to our own judgement, we are in fact building upon sand, for great deeds done without love collapse quickly.

In marriage, the same often happens. How easy it is to love in the small things, in those everyday details we let slip by without giving them importance. It seems we wait for grand occasions to give ourselves, and in doing so we lose the chance to love in those hidden acts that only God sees, which strengthen our communion.

Let us choose to love in the small things and build upon rock, strengthening our union as we draw closer together to the heart of Jesus.

Applied to Married Life

Iggy: Hello María, how has your day been? I’ve been thinking of you a great deal.

María: Thank you, dear Iggy, you are always so attentive and I love it.

Iggy: It’s the least I can do. Through the illness the Lord has allowed us, He has taught me what truly matters.

María: It’s amazing how this illness is drawing us closer together and how much we are learning. I never imagined that in the face of difficulty I would be able to respond in this way.

Iggy: The Lord knows best and permits the trials He knows we can embrace. All we need to do is accept His will.

María: Yes, to accept His will and to be certain that the Lord is at our side, sustaining us, and that everything is for our good—this brings a peace and security that is hard to explain. We are truly privileged.

Iggy: Let us give thanks together to God for choosing us as instruments of His work.

María: Blessed be God.

Mother,

Help us to build upon rock, loving in the small things and accepting the will of your Son. Blessed and praised be God.