GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 16:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward

who was reported to him for squandering his property.

He summoned him and said,

‘What is this I hear about you?

Prepare a full account of your stewardship,

because you can no longer be my steward.’

The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,

now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?

I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I shall do so that,

when I am removed from the stewardship,

they may welcome me into their homes.’

He called in his master’s debtors one by one.

To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’

He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.

Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’

Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’

He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’

He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;

write one for eighty.’

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

For the children of this world

are more prudent in dealing with their own generation

than the children of light.”

The word of the Lord.

What is from God…

Any owner from this world hires managers for their own profit. But God, the owner of all things, chooses His stewards to distribute His riches among many, so that even the stewards themselves gain more. Therefore, what would be considered an unfaithful manager by the world’s standards becomes a faithful one to God’s eyes.

Today’s guiding principle could be: Give what is from God and become part of Him. The Love of God is the only good that, the more you share, the more you have.

Applied to Married Life

Paco: Do you know that I love you?

Carmen: Yes, I know you really love me.

Paco: And what can I do to make you feel even more loved?

Carmen: Continue getting closer to the Lord and filling yourself with Him so that you can fill me with His Love. Paco: I love that. That’s why the Lord chose me for you.

Mother,

Thank you for being the mediator of all graces. Blessed are you, Mother, for all that you have given us.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,

but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So Jesus addressed this parable to them.

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them

would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert

and go after the lost one until he finds it?

And when he does find it,

he sets it on his shoulders with great joy

and, upon his arrival home,

he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,

‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’

I tell you, in just the same way

there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents

than over ninety-nine righteous people

who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one

would not light a lamp and sweep the house,

searching carefully until she finds it?

And when she does find it,

she calls together her friends and neighbors

and says to them,

‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’

In just the same way, I tell you,

there will be rejoicing among the angels of God

over one sinner who repents.”

The word of the Lord

A Thread

How ugly is to gossip, and how beautiful is the joy over those who turn back to God. How wonderful it is to look at the sinner with the hope of finding even a small thread, which, if gently pulled, might lead them to conversion. Indeed, there is no act of love more beautiful between us than the acts of repentance and asking for forgiveness. These are truly beautiful acts of love that bring immense joy to the entire Church.

Applied to Married Life

Jack: While I was praying, feeling deeply sorry for what I said to you yesterday, I asked the Lord, “What can I do to relief the pain I caused my wife?” And the Lord said to me, “Your wife loves you, which means the greatest joy you can give her is to show her your repentance and ask for her forgiveness.”

Monica: How well the Lord knows me! First, because He knows how much I love you, and second, because He knows that there is no greater joy for me than seeing you return to Him and return to me.

Jack: Forgive me, my wife, for not treating you with the dignity and gentleness you deserve as a daughter of God and my wife.

Mónica: I forgive you, my husband, and I restore in my heart the dignity that is yours as my husband and as a son of God.

Mother,

Blessed be Jesus Christ, who came to rescue us to make us His own. Praised be He. Amen

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,

and he turned and addressed them,

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,

wife and children, brothers and sisters,

and even his own life,

he cannot be my disciple.

Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me

cannot be my disciple.

Which of you wishing to construct a tower

does not first sit down and calculate the cost

to see if there is enough for its completion?

Otherwise, after laying the foundation

and finding himself unable to finish the work

the onlookers should laugh at him and say,

‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’

Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down

and decide whether with ten thousand troops

he can successfully oppose another king

advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?

But if not, while he is still far away,

he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.

In the same way,

everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions

cannot be my disciple.”

Calculation of strengths

Have I made the calculations? It’s clear that building a marriage is completely beyond my abilities. I need God’s Love, but to rely on Him, I must first abandon everything to Him. Yes, everything! Is it daunting? The alternative is failure in marriage and family, failure in the Love for which I was created.

I want to follow You, Lord, and I even renounce myself, so that You may be the one to accomplish the work.

Applied to Married Life

Luis: I spent so many years trying to make you love me, to make you desire me, to fill your heart with my love. Only now, since I truly converted and gave myself entirely to the Lord, has He begun to do through me what I couldn’t do on my own.

Marisa: Lord, thank You for my husband. Husband, I thank you for receiving the Lord. Being filled with Him fills my heart.

Luis: The Lord allows me to put everything else aside—my wife, my children… But He does not ask me to abandon you; He only asks that I set you aside for a moment because I first need Him, I need to be filled with His Love.

Mother,

With fear and trembling I say to you: Do not allow me to stray from Your Immaculate Heart. Outside of You, I cannot be. Thank you, Blessed Mother.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him,

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

He replied to him,

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.

When the time for the dinner came,

he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,

‘Come, everything is now ready.’

But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

The first said to him,

‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;

I ask you, consider me excused.’

And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen

and am on my way to evaluate them;

I ask you, consider me excused.’

And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,

and therefore I cannot come.’

The servant went and reported this to his master.

Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,

‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town

and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out

and still there is room.’

The master then ordered the servant,

‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows

and make people come in that my home may be filled.

For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

This is the Gospel of “yes, but…”

The answer is “yes,” but what’s missing is the immediacy in the “yes.” However, the response of the man who has invited everyone is that none of guests will taste the banquet.

Is my response to God’s will immediate? And is my response to my husband’s needs—even to simply please him—immediate?

Applied to Married Life

Jaime: Did you notice the three excuses the Lord mentions in this Gospel? One is for earthly possessions, another for work, and another for family relationships. These are exactly the three excuses given by the couples we mentor when they say they don’t have time for marital prayer or daily Eucharist.

Lucia: It’s sad, isn’t it? They think they’re saving time by not praying, but they don’t realise how much time they’re actually losing by not praying.

Jaime: Absolutely. Just in arguments alone—how much time is wasted, right?

Mother,

May we never make excuses to avoid the Lord’s call, however, whenever, and wherever He wills. Amen.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 14:12-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The word of the Lord

Nothing to Give Him

Usually, we expect to be reciprocated in love. If we give more of ourselves, we hope for a greater response in return. In contrast, we look to God’s Love, which we cannot reciprocate because He is all in all. The only significant thing we can offer Him is the very gift of His own Sacrifice, which He has given to us.

We might feel inadequate for this, as we have nothing of our own to give Him, except our sins for Him to heal. But we can welcome Him. As the Bride of Christ, we can receive His sacrifice and use it to build up our hearts for His greater Glory.

Applied to Married Life

Carlos: Have you comforted the Lord today?

Marta: Yes, today has been a special day to bring Him comfort.

Carlos: And what did you do for Him?

Marta: What I did was to be grateful for so much Love and to embrace in faith the grace of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, as well as the grace of our own Sacrament through you, also in faith. The Heart of Jesus is burning with Love, and it aches if we do not receive it and share it with each other without asking for anything in return. I also receive Him through you, my husband, by the strength of our Sacrament.

Mother,

May we learn to receive all the Love that the Lord wants to give us. May our hearts be set ablaze. Praise be to God.