“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.” (GN 45: 4-5)
Somebody said that because we are God’s children, whatever happens in our lives will always end well, so if it is not “well,” that means this is not an end. We are really God’s children, and He always takes care of us. We don’t understand His plans; we can’t predict why this happens to us, but He knows. And one day we will understand all these WHYs.
“The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.” (MT 9: 32-33)
The gift of speaking, so important in our lives, given by God to express our love, respect and our relationship has an eternal enemy—“the demon.” How often he attacks our homes, making married couples “mute”—they don’t speak, they don’t communicate, they only share matters to be dealt with. Our fifth step—communication, reminds us how important is to communicate with our relatives, how important they are for us, how much we love them, and how much we are grateful for them for what we receive through their lives.
“I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I come back safe to my father’s house, the LORD shall be my God.” (GN 28: 20-21)
It is so good to start, or to finish, every day with a list of five things we are so grateful for. Every day, “on this journey I am making,” God takes care of me “giving me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear.” He protects us when we travel and when at home; He never leaves us and always loves us. When we are grateful to our spouses for all kinds of gestures of love, we make our relationship stronger; gratitude strengthens—expectations weaken.
“Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.”
“At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.” (LK 10: 1)
I strongly believe that this is not only for missionaries, but in a very special way it is also for married couples. When husband and wife apostolate together and when they serve with their talents and individual charisms “to every town and place,” we can expect miracles. Marriage has a bigger mission than just living together; their vocation within the Church is extremely important.
“Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” (MT 9: 17)
Assisting and coaching couples for so many years, I found many times they make the same mistakes, trying to “put new wine into old wineskins.” They have just one solution for every problem; it worked for so many years, so why not to use it again? It could be an emotional blackmail or silent days, punishing through avoiding intimacy or fights and many similar tactics. Every marriage needs new skills, “fresh wineskins,” like a new form of expressing respect and gentleness, new surprises showing free, creative and joyful gift of self, or new rituals which can change with our years together. There are so many “fresh wineskins” we can install in our relationship.
“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (MT 9: 12-13)
How comforting are these words: “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” We have our limits, our wounds, and our bad memories, and they seem to appear at the worst possible moments—when we experience difficult times in our relationship and when the unity and peace is the most wanted. But Our Lord knows it perfectly, and we can come to Him as to the “physician” and ask Him for help. He is merciful and He always answers.
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.’” (MT 9: 2)
It happens in our relationship that when we are busy for a long time with many things, but not really working to protect our marriage and our unity, we become like the paralytic; “lying on a stretcher,” we can’t work toward any of our idealistic visions, our expectations and our demands. And this is a very important moment for our friends, who can bring us to Our Lord, inviting us to the Program or retreats, or praying for us and helping us to see the situation from different positions. It is so good to have friends who take care of our marriages, not just us.
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (EPH 2: 21-22)
God created man and woman to be united, to be “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” When we protect our time to be together and when we keep our rituals, we consciously cooperate with Our Lord, through Whom “the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord.” Our small rituals could have outstanding consequences, revealing the infinite value in our small deeds.
“You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!” (Gospel Acclamations)
“The men were amazed and said, ‘What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?’” (MT 8: 27)
Our Lord can protect us and our relationship from all kinds of “winds.” We can feel being totally alone, in danger and far away from any harbor or coast, but we are never alone because He loves us. But also, whenever we are under “the wind” or in “the sea,” we can always start with something which brings comfort to our relationship: gentleness, respect and rituals.
“I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But he still persisted: ‘Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?’ He replied, ‘For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.’” (GN 18: 32)
In our Programs’ workshops, groups are normally 5 or 6 couples, and this is enough for God to save our cities or our towns. Our Program is not only to save marriages and families, it is to save this world. God promised: “for the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Gospel Acclamation)
