“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.” (MT 6: 22-23)
How important is it to protect the way we see others. When our eyes are sound, we see people’s good intentions, good hearts, and dignity; when we are in a bad mood, we can’t see positives. Taking care of our tendency to see idealistic spouses instead of realistic ones can benefit our relationship.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” (MT 6: 14-15)
Forgive first, and then you will be forgiven. We always start with ourselves. Do we want to make changes in our marriage, in our family? Start with yourself; look for areas you can make better. When our first reaction to somebody’s action is to see goodness, it will be much easier for us to forgive things we recognize as “transgression”; how often it was only our misinterpretation. Defending spouses always brings benefits.
“You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.” (MT 6: 1)
When we do “righteous deeds” because of love, we are happy serving others, bringing them joy, and showing them how important they are for us. We are happy, and we want to share our happiness with others. When we demand, we are looking for satisfaction from others; we do things to manipulate them and provoke them to do things for us. True, righteous deeds come from inside and connect us with God’s love.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (MT 5: 48)
God’s vision for perfection is about loving others, not about perfectionism at your work or behavior or something else. Therefore, there is only one need—to love others without expecting any reward, love unconditionally, and be a free, creative, and joyful gift of self.
“I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” (MT 5: 42)
A different perspective: from an egoistic point of view to altruistic, from seeing the world from my perspective to seeing others, to protect them, to serve and support. Our Lord came to expand our imagination, to show us the world where giving brings more happiness than receiving or demanding.
“A lamp to my feet is your word, a light to my path.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (LK 2: 51-52)
Mary and Jesus’ hearts are always connected. She took care of Our Lord, and He was always in her heart, “keeping all these things in her heart.” And in Our Lord’s heart, His mother is always His beloved mother and Queen of Heaven. Spouses and parents connected by hearts perfectly understand this, but it doesn’t matter how far they are. We also can be united and always count on Her heart and Her love.
“Blessed is the Virgin Mary who kept the word of God and pondered it in her heart.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.” (JN 19: 33-34)
Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus—one of the most beautiful feasts in our calendar. The mystery of God’s love is expressed in this spectacular way. The symbol of the Baptism and the Eucharist, and Merciful love of Our Lord. Today we can bring all our wounds, all our deficits, and bring to Our Lord and put them into His open heart.
“God first loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I tell you unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.” (MT 5: 20)
The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was legal, based on the law, and very detailed. Our Lord came to bring us the “new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” We can practice all the rules of our religion without any concern to love more my spouse or our kids. We can be very pious in the church and very rude on the street or aggressive at home. We remember that we will be recognized for the fruits we bring. If there is no love expressed by respect, gentleness, and gift of self, we should escape from the spirituality we practice; there is something wrong.
“I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” (MT 5: 19)
Again, we have a simple strategy recognized as the “greatest in the Kingdom of heaven”: “whoever obeys and teaches these commandments.” This key phrase contains the words: “obeys and teaches.” If we want to teach, we need to obey; only those who obey can teach because teaching without practicing will confuse and bring a lack of respect.
“Teach me your paths, my God, and guide me in your truth.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (MT 5: 16)
We are connected with members of our family, our neighbors, our friends, those with whom we work, and have the responsibility to “shine before others.” The best that we can do for others is to be an inspiration for them.
“Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Gospel Acclamation)
