From the Gospel according to John

1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel.”
John testified further, saying,
“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

Recognising Him

Spouses are called to be witnesses of God’s Love through our marriage. On the day of our wedding, God made a covenant of Love with us, and the Holy Spirit made us one! This is truly astonishing. The Holy Spirit is among us; He dwells in my heart and in my spouse’s heart, and we make Him present in every act of self-giving and welcoming between husband and wife. Yet it can happen that the concerns and busyness of daily life, urgent tasks, the noise of the world, prevent us from being aware of this truth, and we fail to recognise Him.

Today we look at the attitude and disposition of John: doing the will of God, baptising with water until the Messiah was revealed, and remaining attentive to the signs. This allowed him to identify the Holy Spirit in the dove that descended upon Jesus, and thus to recognise Him as the Lamb of God. Only then did he come to know the divine identity of his cousin. And once he recognised Him as the Messiah who was to come, he could no longer remain silent — bearing witness became an urgent necessity that sprang from the depths of his being, and which eventually led him to become the first martyr in defence of the truth of marriage.

And what about us? Are we attentive to recognising the signs of the Holy Spirit in our life, in our spouse? For in order to recognise God in His mediations, we must be disposed to do so: to cultivate inner silence, to live a life of prayer, to fulfil the will of God… to be attentive, like John.

Spouses, if we are attentive, we will see the Holy Spirit at work in us every day. And if we live in His grace, we will become a channel through which that Spirit reaches our spouse. Only then will I be able to recognise God in my spouse — in my fitting help, in the one who administers to me the grace of our sacrament. And this is how we will give true witness to the Love of God.

Brought into Married Life:

(James and Lucy had attended a Marital Love Project retreat a few months ago. There they had experienced God’s Love between them and renewed the covenant of their sacrament.)

Lucy: James, every time I remember what we lived at the retreat, I get emotional. The Holy Spirit is among us! And it’s true — I can really feel it…

James: Yes, I do too. Though sometimes I get so caught up in work and problems that I seem to forget.

Lucy: Well, the truth is that it happens to me as well sometimes… but the important thing is that now we know the Holy Spirit is among us. What we need to do is remember it every day. Shall we do that? It will help us keep the Holy Spirit more present.

James: All right — we can remind each other in the morning, before starting the day…

Lucy: Yes, brilliant! Every morning, when I wake up, after thanking God for a new day with Him and by your side, I’ll give you a kiss and, looking into your eyes, I’ll ask the Holy Spirit to help me stay attentive throughout the day, to recognise Him in you and in the events of the day, through His signs…

James: And I also want to be attentive and ready to recognise Him in you, my wife. Come, let us pray together: Holy Spirit — (now both together) — come each day into our hearts; teach us and urge us to live our marital love according to the will of the Father…

Lucy: I love it… this really is starting the day with the Holy Spirit! How happy I am to have you by my side!

Mother,

Teach us and help us always to be attentive, to recognise God as you did, and to say Yes to God’s plan as you did, even when we do not understand it. Blessed and glorious are you, Mother! May the Lord be praised for ever!