From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 17:22-27

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,

Jesus said to them,

“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,

and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”

And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum,

the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,

“Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?”

“Yes,” he said.

When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,

Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon?

From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?

From their subjects or from foreigners?”

When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him,

“Then the subjects are exempt.

But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,

and take the first fish that comes up.

Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.

Give that to them for me and for you.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Rights of Children

This Gospel has always seemed strange to me. What does the passion of Christ have to do with paying taxes? The key is that Jesus is talking about His “duties” as the Son first and then about His “rights”. Jesus is God and comes to give His life for us. How incredible it is that He submits to all our laws. He humbles Himself and submits to humanity. Truly astonishing.

But today, let’s focus on the scene where Jesus demonstrates that He receives the coin from the King Father through a fish and shares it with Peter. It’s a way of telling Peter (and through him, all of us): “Hey! You are also children of my Father, and you have the same duties and therefore, can participate in the same rights as I do.”

Indeed, being children obliges us to follow Christ and surrender our lives into the hands of men, but as children, God also gives us the opportunity to share in the rights of the Son. Concerning our earthly debts, we need not worry; God will provide. Husbands and wives, children of God, embrace the duty that God grants us to love like the Son, so that we may first be resurrected in our marriage and then in our lives. Incredible!

Applied to married life:

Sara (Ramón’s mother): Your wife doesn’t deserve you. She’s never appreciated you. Why don’t you come and stay with us for a few days and take a break from her?

Ramón: You offend me by criticizing my wife. Besides, you don’t understand that my mission is to give myself to her, just as my Master did, even when His sacrifice wasn’t appreciated.

Sara: I’m sorry, Ramón, but I’m your mother, and it hurts me to see you suffer. I think you should teach her a lesson, maybe she’ll finally wake up.

Ramón: No, Mum. I know you mean well, but my place is with her. I’m grateful that God gives me the opportunity to love like Him so that I can be His son. He will take care of me, you’ll see.

(And during that difficult time, God made that husband a little more holy.)

Mother,

in these situations, I trust that you will also be my Mother and will not fail me. Teach me to be a child in the Son. Amen.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

Jn 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,

“I am the bread that came down from heaven, “

and they said,

“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?

Do we not know his father and mother?

Then how can he say,

‘I have come down from heaven’?”

Jesus answered and said to them,

“Stop murmuring among yourselves.

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.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Being Attractive

We are an indivisible union of body and soul. Today, there’s a lot of focus on the body, but how does our soul look? Personally, I’m much more attracted to the state of the soul than the state of the body. Those who focus on their bodies seek to draw attention to themselves, while those who focus on nourishing their souls draw others toward God. So, who do I want to be attractive for?

Body diets vary according to the desired outcome: some are more energizing, others healthier, others more indulgent. But when it comes to nourishing the soul, there is only one menu: Christ. Nothing else fills the soul, only Him. The nourishment of the body determines earthly life, and the nourishment of the soul determines eternal life.

As Saint John Paul II said, we discover that the invisible determines us more than the visible. Marriage is a relationship of love, and as such, it is more conditioned by the state of the soul than by the body, even though it is common to focus more on the body in relationships between men and women. But marriage is much more conditioned by the soul than by the body, and the best nourishment for marriage is the Eucharist.

Spouses, strengthen your souls, and you will see how your marital relationship improves.

Applied to married life:

Andrés: Many people ask me what we did to fix our marriage and why we are now living it as something new.

Marga: What do you tell them?

Andrés: It’s clear that we had to make an effort, but what truly changed our marriage was introducing the Grace of God into it. When we started living the Eucharist daily, that is how our transformation stated.

Marga: Our marriage went from being something almost exclusively physical and earthly to a plane where the most important element was introduced: the spiritual. Our mere attraction was transformed into the strength of the Holy Spirit, who is the only one who can make us one. Since we have had the Lord present in our marriage, everything human has been enveloped in a Divine halo, which elevates it, beautifies it, and makes it stronger than death.

Mother,

What a gift from God to be able to receive Christ in the Eucharist. He transforms us and makes all things new. Through Christ, with Him, and in Him, to you, Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honour and glory, forever and ever. Amen.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to John

JN 12:24-26

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat;

but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it,

and whoever hates his life in this world

will preserve it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me,

and where I am, there also will my servant be.

The Father will honour whoever serves me.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Stingily?

There is a phrase from Saint Paul to the Corinthians that relates to this Gospel and that I think is excellent for marriage: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” That’s how conjugal love works: Do you give or do you give yourself? To the point that if I don’t give myself, I won’t bear fruit, and if I do give myself, I will bear much fruit.

But Saint Paul’s phrase doesn’t end there; it continues, and it’s great: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, God loves a cheerful giver.” Because we’ve all experienced giving “under compulsion,” while inwardly resisting, and that sooner or later takes a toll on the relationship. Don’t find joy in giving? That’s because I haven’t discovered the beauty and greatness of marriage. Do I want to live a beautiful and great marriage? Then I have to give myself with joy.

Applied to married life:

Alberto: I got married and started focusing on making my wife happy and on raising and educating my children well. I discovered how much it cost me. I discovered my selfishness. I continue to struggle every day to give myself completely and to stop being self-centred.

Susana: I married an austere husband. He made sure that no food was wasted and that we didn’t buy unnecessary things. At first, it bothered me that he complained, but then I realised that I was being frivolous and wasn’t able to appreciate what I had. So, I started letting myself be guided by him, learning to make the most of the blessings God gives us. Now, I don’t need as much as I used to, and little by little, I’m becoming freer.

Alberto: I have a strong temper, and I always need to be right. I realised that my wife suffered a lot because of this, as I often got angry. I started making an effort not to hurt her. I’m gradually gaining more control over my impulses, I’m mastering my actions, and being with her is making me gentler, giving me much more peace.

Susana: I had a very spiritualised faith. I loved being with the Lord, but then I’d come home and couldn’t tolerate my husband’s flaws. I realised that I wasn’t really following Christ but was seeking my own comfort in faith. So, I began asking for mercy and made an effort to love like Christ. Little by little, the Lord is freeing me from my spiritual pride.

Both: We thank God for our marriage because it constantly allows us to step out of ourselves and into the other, making us increasingly free to give ourselves to each other. Only by falling to the ground and dying can we bear fruit. Truly, marriage is a path to holiness.

Mother,

Today I become more aware that only by giving myself to my spouse will I bear fruit. The Lord wants from us a love like His: Incarnated. Praise be to the Lord.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 16:13-23

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

and he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Then he strictly ordered his disciples

to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”

He turned and said to Peter,

“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

The word of the Lord

The Other Stone.

We are very clear that Christ gave His life on the cross out of Love for us. He taught us to love to the extreme in His own flesh. But it is very difficult for us to accept that we have to do the same.

When situations arise in our daily lives that require giving, renouncing, and/or sacrificing, the devil whispers in our ear: He was God, you don’t have to put up with this… “Get away from me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me…”

The same stone (Peter) that a few minutes before was the support of the Church, suddenly becomes a stumbling block for the Lord. Unfortunately, many followers of Jesus could be stumbling blocks for married couples with issues as to avoid suffering in their marital relationship, can advise not to suffer any longer and to separate or seek an annulment.

Whether we like it or not, we were created to give our lives, and the sooner we accept and discover the greatness of the person who does so, the sooner we will begin to live a full life. Then you will hear the Lord say to you: Blessed are you, because that was revealed to you by my Father who is in heaven and you have accepted it.

Applied to Married Life:

Lorenzo: What has conversion meant for you?

Ana: For me, it has meant a total transformation. What I used to see as a drag, like prayer, now excites me; it’s a whole experience. On the other hand, what used to excite me, like knowing I was attractive to others, now I don’t understand how I ever needed it so much to feel secure about myself.

And for you, what has conversion meant?

Lorenzo: Just like you, a radical change in my life and my desires. I’ll give you an example: I didn’t like when you used to tell me what I had to do, but now I highly value mutual obedience. I believe our salvation depends on it, just as the salvation of the world depended precisely on the obedience of Jesus. These are difficult things, but later you discover their true value.

Ana: Certainly, they are not easy to understand. You have to live it to recognise it.

Lorenzo: The Lord shows us this in the Gospel.

Mother,

It is very difficult for us to stop thinking like men and start thinking like God. You know we are full of weaknesses, quirks, and whims. You know we seek immediate results… Mother, protect and guide us so that we build a holy marriage; this is our only desire. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.