Years ago, I journeyed with someone who became a close spiritual sister. She appointed me as her prayer warrior. She would text me big and small concerns and ask for prayers. Later, she opened up about all the heartaches her unfaithful husband has caused. Despite her suffering, she remained steadfast in her faith.

I was saddened when she got a life-threatening disease. I was outraged to learn that her condition didn’t move her husband to faithfulness. Even as her condition worsened, his misdeeds continued.

When she passed, I couldn’t help but think her heartache caused her illness. After all, research has found that negative emotions can impact our health. When I read the passage above, she and her marriage immediately came to mind. Husbands are tasked to give their lives to their wives as Christ gave His life for the Church. I’m writing this reflection in the hope that it may touch an erring husband (or even wife) to stay true to their marriage vows. Save a life today. Love your spouse! 

Lella M. Santiago (lellams88@gmail.com)

reflect

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 3:3)

Lord, may our love for each other be a mirror of the love You have for us, a love that sacrificed even life itself.

Saint Florentius, pray for us.

Today’s reading reminds husbands and wives about the mutual submission of one to the other in marriage. It is not a one-way street, so to speak, with one person in control. Successful marriages are those built on an understanding and practice of mutual submission in all aspects of married life. 

²¹ Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²² Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the Body. ²⁴ As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her 26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, ²⁷ that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So also, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body. ³¹ For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. ³² This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. ³³ In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R: Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

¹ Blessed are you who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways! ² For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored. (R) ³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table. (R) ⁴ Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord. ⁵ The Lord bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. (R)

Gospel | Luke 13:18-21

The Kingdom of God never enters our lives as a fully formed reality. There is still work to be done in us to prepare for the day we meet the Lord face to face. Just as a seed must die and take root before it can grow branches and bear fruit, so too must the Gospel take root in our hearts—transforming us from within for the sake of our salvation.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

¹⁸ Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” ²⁰ Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? ²¹ It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Reflect

How can your heart become fertile soil for God’s Word to take root and bear fruit?

Read the Bible in one year! Read ISAIAH 21 - 24 today.

Jesus used two parables to illustrate the Kingdom of God. One, it is like the tiny mustard seed that grows into a large bush and provides a home for the birds. It is also like a yeast, which produces a whole lot of leavened dough when mixed with flour. The Kingdom of God helps us grow to our full potential as children of God.

The Kingdom of God is not a place as we understand it in terms of area, perimeter, and space. Maybe we point to the skies above as the heavens, where God is and reigns in His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God, as it obviously communicates, is where God reigns supreme, holds control, and rules. Where God reigns, perfection is achieved. It is present in our midst, in every place, every thing, every situation, and every person. Jesus is calling us to allow God to reign—in our hearts, in our minds, and in our whole person so that we may reach our full potential. Only with God can we achieve our fullness of life.

Goodness, holiness, love, peace, justice, forgiveness, and other Gospel values abide in the Kingdom. In other words, when God reigns, there is spiritual growth, fruit, development, and success. Evil will have no place in it. It is a state of bliss, perfection, and love. It is an experience of the divine.

God reigns in the family that prays together. God reigns when friends forgive each other. God reigns when members of the community play their particular roles. God reigns when the rich take care of the poor. God reigns when there is peace instead of war. God reigns here and now when people live in harmony and cooperation. Let us pray and journey towards the Kingdom of God. Our God reigns! 

Fr. Benny Tuazon

reflection questions

Do you believe in “heaven on earth”? Have you experienced God’s Kingdom? Describe it.

God, our Father, we long to be in Your Kingdom. It is our true destiny. May our journey here on earth find its haven in Your Kingdom. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________