GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
The word of the Lord
Rock or Sand?
How easy it is to do the will of God, and yet how readily we complicate our lives by following our own ideas. The Lord speaks to us simply, but we twist His words because they do not suit us, or we think it does not matter if we put them off until later. How easily we place the pleasures of the world before the call of the Lord. The choice is ours.
It may seem that God asks for great things, but that is not so. He begins by asking what may appear most difficult precisely because it is so simple: to love in the small things. Without realising it, we are building upon rock. But when we think it is little and act according to our own judgement, we are in fact building upon sand, for great deeds done without love collapse quickly.
In marriage, the same often happens. How easy it is to love in the small things, in those everyday details we let slip by without giving them importance. It seems we wait for grand occasions to give ourselves, and in doing so we lose the chance to love in those hidden acts that only God sees, which strengthen our communion.
Let us choose to love in the small things and build upon rock, strengthening our union as we draw closer together to the heart of Jesus.
Applied to Married Life
Iggy: Hello María, how has your day been? I’ve been thinking of you a great deal.
María: Thank you, dear Iggy, you are always so attentive and I love it.
Iggy: It’s the least I can do. Through the illness the Lord has allowed us, He has taught me what truly matters.
María: It’s amazing how this illness is drawing us closer together and how much we are learning. I never imagined that in the face of difficulty I would be able to respond in this way.
Iggy: The Lord knows best and permits the trials He knows we can embrace. All we need to do is accept His will.
María: Yes, to accept His will and to be certain that the Lord is at our side, sustaining us, and that everything is for our good—this brings a peace and security that is hard to explain. We are truly privileged.
Iggy: Let us give thanks together to God for choosing us as instruments of His work.
María: Blessed be God.
Mother,
Help us to build upon rock, loving in the small things and accepting the will of your Son. Blessed and praised be God.