It was necessary. Reflection for marriages John 6, 16-21.

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GOSPEL

They saw Jesus walking on the sea.
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John 6, 16-21.
When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,
and they began to be afraid.
But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”
They wanted to take him into the boat,
but the boat immediately arrived at the shore
to which they were heading.
The Gospel of the Lord.
It was necessary.
Jesus is always present in our lives and in all the circumstances we go through. We would like not to have to row, but He considers it necessary for us to do so. We need to miss Him, we need to discover our weaknesses and limitations without His grace to know how much we depend on Him.
Applied to Married Life:
Mercedes: I pray the rosary daily, I also go to Mass daily, we have conjugal prayer every day. Why is there still a conflict of wills between us?
Ramón: Mercedes, before the Lord starts leading us from the fifth dwelling that Saint Teresa explains, we must go through the previous four, and that means rowing a lot until we have a soft and humble heart. Without that, He can do nothing.
Mercedes: Yes, it’s true that I am a bit impatient, but I have such a strong longing for communion… I can’t help but feel pain for not being faithful to God’s will.
Ramón: Your longing is precious, and God has planted it in your heart so that you desire His plan with great strength. We embrace your longing and look at it with hope, knowing that the Lord accompanies us through our Sacrament. Praised be His name.
Mother,
Accompany us in this valley of tears. All for Him, with Him, and in Him.

I only ask for patience. Reflection for marriages John 6, 1-15

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GOSPEL

He distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint John 6, 1-15.
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
The word of the Lord.
I only ask for patience.
Jesus tests Philip by making him realize a need that they did not have the capacity to fulfill. He then intervened to perform the miracle, an abundant miracle that far exceeded their need.
Do you know that Jesus also tests you and me? How many times do we experience our limitations and our inability to meet what our spouse needs from us, to respond also to what God expects from us?
We remember that great prayer of St. Augustine: “Lord, give me what you ask of me and ask me for what you want.” What a powerful and real prayer, because this prayer led St. Augustine from being a vicious, pleasure-addicted, and uncorrectable Augustine… to becoming the saint he was. And this change is not human. His mother suffered greatly and surely experienced desperation facing a son so lost and uncorrectable. But then God comes with His abundant grace, listens to their prayers, and exceeds all of St. Monica’s expectations.
So now, go, and do likewise. I only ask for “patience.”
Relating it to Married Life:
Clara: Forgive me, Javier, because how many times have I despaired because you weren’t doing what needed to be done on our path of conjugal spirituality. And precisely, clinging to my own strength and abilities has led me to live our marriage as if Christ were not in it.
Javier: I have to admit that I resisted a lot because your insistence and pressure pushed me back, Clara. Honestly, I didn’t see in you an example to follow, and that made me doubt a lot about your proposals.
Clara: But after hitting rock bottom many times, I have decided to rely on the grace of the Sacrament that unites us, which is much more powerful than me. So, I have relaxed and trusted. And “bam”, a miracle. The Lord has exceeded my expectations by far. Now I realize that He was testing me to see if I trusted in Him. Blessed and praised be the Lord.
Javier: Yes. When you relaxed and put your trust in Him, I started to see in you the reflection of the light that comes from the Lord, and that encouraged me to follow Him too. Blessed and praised be the Lord.
Mother,
May we overcome these tests that the Lord puts us through so that He can work the miracle and we can witness His love and His power. Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ forever.

What is my diet? Reflection for marriages John 3:31-36

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GOSPEL

The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John 3:31-36.
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
What is my diet?
We are immersed in the trend of taking care of our bodies, and practically everyone pays a lot of attention to their diet. But what about the food for the soul? What spiritual diet do I follow? If I feed on the world, I will live with limited aspirations and a poor life. I cannot talk about God’s things or live according to them if I do not receive them from Him. Without communication with Him, I cannot understand His ways. Sometimes His ways may seem absurd, impossible, or I may be unable to grasp His greatness and beauty. The things of God, the greatest and most beautiful things that exist, might seem boring or uninteresting to me.
What I need to receive from God fundamentally is that immense Love of communion that They live within Themselves. That is our driving force, our origin. But to embrace it, I must have an open heart. Whoever welcomes God speaks of God’s things and acts like God, in His name, and that is far above any other mission in this world.
Relating it to married life:
Carmen: Today I was talking to my mother. Pedro, join me in praying for her and my sister’s family. My mother was telling me that my sister should separate, that she should not continue living with a man like that… It’s terrible! But what’s even worse is that she tells it to my sister like that. Can you believe it? On top of everything, pushing her to separate.
Pedro: Calm down, dear. I will join you in that prayer, so that the Holy Spirit may enlighten them. We ask for them to see the truth of the Gospel and desire to follow the ways of the Lord.
Carmen: Thank you very much, Pedro. I appreciate it so much because I know it is the only solution. I will also try to help the Lord as His instrument. I will talk to my sister, and invite her to a retreat of Proyecto Amor Conyugal so they can align with what God has designed for them.
Pedro: Great! We have a new mission from God. Let’s go for it!
Carmen: I love you.
Mother,
Give me that thirst for God, that gentleness to accept His will, and the enthusiasm to be a spouse who lives in His service. Send us His Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Darkness or Light. Reflection for marriages John 3:16-21

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Gospel
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John 3:16-21.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
The word of the Lord.
Darkness or Light
Lord, when I center my hopes on worldly things, I drift away from You, and Your things become less appealing to me, and vice versa. I am realistic; I know I have a heart affected by concupiscence, and there is a battle within my heart for its purification. A struggle between worldly passions and the soul’s longings that come from You. I know I must deny myself so that my soul can draw closer to You. This is how to avoid darkness and prefer the light, this will be my judgment. I desire to approach the light, even if my misdeeds are exposed; I do not mind the humiliation as long as I am with You.
Husband, I ask for your loving help on this path of purification.
Applied to married life:
Ángel: After the good intentions this morning, I have messed up again. The attitude of one of our children and their criticisms after I corrected them made me lose patience and kindness. I wanted to use any circumstances of my day to deny myself, accept adversities as a means of purification, but once again, I did not. Anna, I thank you because after the scene, you remained calm and seemingly fine. I assume it must have required significant self-control for you.
Ana: (Remains silent, but it is true that she suffered and offered that suffering without reproaching her husband or making faces.)
Ángel: (After a long silence in which Ángel gives Ana the opportunity to speak) What I can offer you now, Lord, is the humiliation of recognizing my smallness. As I approach Your light, I feel ashamed and annoyed for not taking advantage of this circumstance you gave me so that my heart could be freer and closer to you. But I still love you and above all, I want to be by Your side.
Mother,
I choose the light, I accept any humiliation, any adversity as a means of purifying my heart to make it capable of loving. Give me the opportunity to live them with hope, Mother. I thank you because I know you will grant me this desire. Amen.

Where it seeps in. Reflection for marriages St. John 3, 5a. 7b-15

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GOSPEL

No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
Reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John 3, 5a. 7b-15.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Where it seeps in.
The truth is, if I had been Nicodemus, I wouldn’t have understood anything either. Now, in hindsight, after knowing the life of Christ, all of this makes sense. We have even been able to experience things related to what Jesus said.
Now we know that if we let ourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, we don’t know where we will go. And we know that things that have happened and that we didn’t understand at the time have made sense because they were His work. Also, thanks to the Lord, we have some experience of heavenly things, through faith. And we also understand what Christ meant when he spoke of being lifted up. We have seen Him lifted up on the cross and we have seen the healing consequences that it has had for us and our Marriage.
The kingdom of God is already here and transforms our lives, if we draw close to the Lord and let Him transmit His Spirit to us.
Applied to Married Life:
Mercedes: It’s amazing, Javier, how much you’ve changed. You who always planned everything and got very nervous every time the plans were disrupted, I am very surprised to see how confidently you now handle the unexpected.
Javier: Well, I learned that from you when you told me that the Holy Spirit seeps in through the unexpected. I have had so many experiences of the Spirit that have been a result of unexpected events… because it is true that if everything goes as I expected, where do I leave room for the Spirit to seep in?
Mercedes: So now, every time there’s an unexpected event, you look at God and ask Him, “What do You want from this, Lord?” I love it. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “God still loves the world and sends you and me to be His love… So, that is our mission wherever we are.”
Javier: Thank you, Mercedes, for being that love of God for me.
Mother,
Your Son has been lifted up, and we have been freed to love through the action of the Holy Spirit. Praise be to Him forever.