Marriage Matters Reflections Year C

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Amos 8: 4-7; 1 Timothy 2: 1-8; Luke 16: 1-13)

Money, money, money not much changes!

Dishonest traders, crippling taxes, money lenders and unpaid debts – things haven’t changed much since the time of Amos. Honesty and trust are vital regarding all forms of wealth. Let us ask God for the gift of wisdom when deciding together how to use our money, wealth or scarcity. Dishonesty about money shows lack of trust and often leads to divorce.

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; 1 Tim 1:12-17;  Luke 15:1-32)

Driving together on the way to heaven

The readings contain a sense of hope. His forgiveness seems never-ending and His mercy shows no limits.  He never stops ‘rescuing’ us as the lost sheep of His flock, or ‘finding’ us, like the widow’s mite, when we feel lost within our marriage. God’s way of working is like a ‘satnav’, with the destination set as eternal life.

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for The Triumph (or Exaltation) of the Cross

The Triumph (or Exaltation) of the Cross (Number 21: 4-9; Philippians 2: 6-11; John 3: 13-17)

Do not be afraid

When difficulties assail us we can have the courage to take our lead from Jesus; the paradox of the cross can be a sign for us.  When we are at our weakest and most vulnerable, the love of our spouse can lift us up, make us whole again and strong enough to continue the beautiful life we have been given

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom 9:13-18;  Phil 9-10, 12-17;  Luke 14:25-33)

Consent to love God above all else; seek to not force anything

Today, Jesus sets out the cost of discipleship: “none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions”. Throughout His life and in dying for us, Jesus demonstrated a self-emptying way of loving. As His disciples, our call is to follow Him by putting each other first; thereby dying to selfishness and setting ourselves free.

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Eccl 3:17-20, 28-29; Heb 12:18-19, 22-24; Luke 14:1, 7-14)

Raised by our love

We live in a world where self-promotion is at the heart of many superficial relationships.

But ours is a New Covenant of love – Jesus refers to this in the Gospel. In this unique relationship we seek to encourage and raise each other higher. When we fail, as inevitably we do, He calls us to ask forgiveness of each other.

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Isaiah 66: 18-21; Hebrews 12: 5-7; Luke 13: 22-30)

Our calling is to be a sign of God’s love

Married couples have a special calling to evangelise. God created man and woman to live intimately together so that the people we meet see a living example of His love for each of us. Many of us at some time have seen a couple together and felt intense joy or sensitivity in them – living examples of His love for us. 

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53)

Our Sacrament: a sign of grace

When we married we entered into a Covenant of unconditional love, summed up in the vows we made to each other. By imitating Jesus’ unconditional love for his bride, the Church, we became a Sacrament – a sacred sign of God’s love for all to see. Living out our ‘life-style choice’ is made possible only by ‘the graces of the Sacrament’.

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for The Assumption

The Assumption (Rev 11:19; 12:1-6, 10; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Luke 1:39-56)

Being thankful for the good times

Our Lady is blessed because she kept the commitment she made at the Annunciation.  We are blessed for the ways we reach out to each other.  Sometimes this leads to a moment of deep joy: just being alone together on the settee when the television is off.  What about a prayer every night in thanks for the good times?

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Wisdom 18:6-9; Heb 11:1-2, 8-9; Luke 12:32-48)

Too tired to love!  Where is our treasure?

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  It is easy to get life out of balance and let other activities be more important than loving our spouse, and then falling into bed too tired to talk or make love.  If our love is the most important thing in our lives, we must spend prime time together daily. 

A Reflection from Marriage Matters (www.twoinoneflesh.org.uk) for this Sunday

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2: 21-23; Col 3: 1-5, 9-11; Luke 12: 13-21)

To love as God loves

It’s easy to be drawn into the world’s plan for material success and lose sight of why we married each other.  Slightly changing the words of the Gospel we might read, ‘Fool, who will benefit from this hoard when your married love has died?’ Let us work hard at making us rich in love for each other and with God.