Green Pastures. Reflection for married couples. John 10:1-10

Gospel

‘I am the door of the sheep.’
John 10:1-10

At that time: Jesus said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
  So Jesus again said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.’

The Gospel of the Lord

Green Pastures

The only way to lead our small flock to green pastures is to enter through the Gate that is Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If I enter through Him, our sheep will not be scattered.

Applied to Married Life:

Daniel: We’ve spent so many years raising our children with worldly values, and now that we’ve discovered the Lord and the Gospel—what can we do?
Melissa: First, we need to ask their forgiveness. And second, since they’re already adults, the only thing we can do now is to set an example through our lives as Christian spouses.
Daniel: That’s a great idea. Let’s love each other with the love of Christ, and He will take care of the rest. I also thought that as a Christmas gift, we could give them a retreat from the Project Marital Love—maybe it will touch them like it did us. What do you think?

Mother,

We want to remain in your Immaculate Heart, for it is the way to enter through the Heart of Christ.

The Ultimate Compliment. Reflection for married couples. John 10:27-30

Gospel
‘I give eternal life to my sheep.’

John 10:27-30

At that time: Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.’

The Gospel of the Lord

The Ultimate Compliment

Lord, You say: “What my Father has given me is greater than all things.” And among those the Father has given You are my spouse and me. To You, we are more important than anything else.
What a wonderful feeling it is to know that! Although I know You love us to the very end, I never really considered that we are the most important to You, and I love knowing it. Thank You, Lord, for that beautiful compliment.

Applied to Married Life:

Maggie: You know, just knowing that I am as important to you as I am to the Lord would be enough. I don’t need anything more.
Nathan: And that’s exactly how it is. Sometimes it might not seem that way because of my lack of sensitivity. But knowing how well you understand my clumsy ways, you’ll see that yes, you really are the most important person to me.
Maggie: I know you try to show it every day. It’s true that sometimes I don’t look at you with a clear and pure heart, and I let my feelings guide me, interpreting your actions through my own judgements. But thank you for reassuring me. From now on, I will make an effort to see it.
Nathan: And I will make an extra effort to make it more visible for you.
Maggie: I love you. Will you hug me?
Nathan: I love you too.

Mother,

You, who are the Mother of Conjugal Love, pray for us.

As a result of this. Reflection for marriages. John 6:60-69

From the Gospel according to John
John 6:60-69
Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Stumbling Stones?

Lord, sometimes my misery, my failures, or my lack of virtue may seem like obstacles on the path to You, and I live them as stumbling stones. They are stones that could discourage me. But today I have discovered that no, they are actually a help. The more I fall into the valley of personal humiliation, the more ready I am to love. The more open I am to embrace others, anyone, no matter how despicable they may seem—because I am also despicable. And what’s more, I discover that only You, only You can do it. I have only You. I have nothing else… and nothing less. Lord, You have the words of eternal life, and I know that You are the Holy One, and only You can lead me to holiness.

Grounded in married life:

Ramón: Tere, I think I’m not going to the marriage group anymore. We learn things, but then they don’t help us. We still argue often, you lose your temper, like yesterday, and become furious.
Tere: I know, Ramón, but we’re still on the journey. We’re moving forward little by little. We’re learning about the truth of marriage, and we’re making an effort, even though we should take it more seriously. We’re starting to recognize our mistakes, and there are seasons when we improve. But I’ll tell you one thing: if we stop learning about the truth of marriage, if we don’t sit down to talk about it at least once a month, if we don’t have a reference group, if we don’t commit to meeting once a month—where are we going to end up? The Spirit is in the Church, and we are part of it. That’s the path, Ramón.
Ramón: I understand—I’m being tempted. It’s true that leaving this path wouldn’t be a better alternative. On the contrary, it would lead me to ruin. Only perseverance in the path the Lord shows us will save us.

This close. Reflection for marriages. John 6:52-59

From the Gospel according to John
John 6:52-59

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

This close.

He who eats Your Flesh and drinks Your Blood remains in You. And to eat Your Flesh and drink Your Blood, I must remain in You; otherwise, I will eat and drink my own condemnation. But if I do not eat and drink Your Flesh and Blood, I will not have life within me. So I consume my Lord so that my Lord may make me His, and I may remain in Him and He in me.
This close You want me,
this much Yours You make me,
this deep You enter within,
this full You fill me,
this great You make me grow,
this soft You soften me,
this low You lower Yourself,
this high You lift me,
this much I am Yours and You are mine,
this much You are mine and I am Yours.
Amen.

 

Grounded in married life:

Ángel: Since we’ve had a life of prayer, I feel so much like yours and feel you so much mine…
Carmen: Since we’ve shared a spiritual life together, I feel so inside you and feel you so inside me.
Ángel: It’s as if there’s life in me now.
Carmen: It’s as if my life is in you and yours in me.
Ángel: The mysteries of God, right?
Carmen: Right. They are His mysteries of Love.

 

Mother,

We want to be in Your Immaculate Heart. Thank you, Mother.

 

Listen, Learn, and Live. Reflection for marriages. John 6:44-51

From the Gospel according to John
John 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

 

Listen, Learn, and Live.

The process is made clear by Jesus: 1st Listen, 2nd Learn, 3rd Live the Truth. If we change the order, that’s when we go astray. If we think we know the truth without learning, we end up messing up, and this is what happened to those of us who got married thinking we already knew how to love each other. If we learn from others who haven’t listened to the Father, we go off track and become miserable. This happens to everyone who follows ideologies that promote other types of families or marriages, which are not as God created them. To live a happy marriage, or in other words, a Holy marriage, I first need to listen to the Word. That way, I learn and begin to walk towards the Truth, which gives Life. Because yes, I have to confess, my marriage gives me life.

 

Applied to married life:

Laura: Do you remember when I used to tell you that I’ve learned almost everything with you?

Jaime: Yes, we were so young when we started dating…

Laura: But now I believe that we’ve learned everything together since we encountered the Lord and started reading the Word. It’s changed the way we think, live, our priorities, our preferences…

Jaime: Yes, it has turned our life around in an incredible way. I can’t stop thanking God for all He’s given us since He rescued us. We were on a very bad path, and He has redirected our lives. Praise be to the Lord!

Laura: Praise be.

Mother,

We also want to be disciples of God. Lord, feed us with Your Flesh to give life to our marriage and our family. **Praise be to You forever!**