Ephesians 5:21-33, Psalm 128:1-4, Luke 13:18-21

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Blessed are you Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. Mt 11:25

Ephesians 5:21-33, Psalm 128:1-4, Luke 13:18-21

Ephesians 5:21-33

My soul's beloved, to ask a wife to be subordinate to her husband in this present age is anathema simply because the concept of marriage has not been understood as Paul explains it in these verses. To be subordinate is not to be subservient or servile. Paul does not say that the two are unequal. However, what he does say is that a truly mature man will understand  that in the yielding of his wife to him in love, in total surrender and trust, does not belittle her in any way for he recognizes that she is bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh and therefore he is willing to lay down his life for her as You lay down Your life for Your Church which is Your Body. A husband is called to be Christ to his wife. He loves her most tenderly, he cares for her as if it were himself he cares for. The Sacrament of Matrimony is a great gift in which grace is made available always to help both husband and wife to love, honor, and cherish each other in good times and bad, through all the vicissitudes of life, until death parts them. Without the help of God it would not possible - but with You as the third partner in a marriage it is for we are members of Your Body and it is You who binds us and makes us truly one.

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.

This is a great mystery,

but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.

In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,

and the wife should respect her husband.

Psalm 128:1-4

My soul's beloved, You will grant favor upon favor to those who love You and walk in the way of truth. The light it sheds makes clear their path as they walk in freedom as children of God. Those who come together in the Sacrament of Marriage, are granted every grace and blessing they need to live joyous, fruitful lives. A good wife is a jewel in the crown of her husband. A loving, faithful, and generous wife enables her husband to be the man that God created him to be. Their children are a blessing for they grow in grace in the warmth of love of their parents in a home where You are always present.

Luke 13:18-21

My soul's beloved, the Kingdom of God must have its beginnings in every Christian home. The mustard seed of love is planted in the garden of the home. Here it is nurtured, cherished, guarded, from the wiles of the enemy that is constantly attacking the home bringing division, discord, divorce, and treating children like commodities, selfish about their sacred duty in raising their sons and daughters as children who belong to God first. However, through grace, poured upon both husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony, both man and wife are bountiful in love and are prepared to lay down their lives for each other and most especially for their children who are the fruit of their love. In such a home there is room for all as they are open to all that God desires of them. They are a blessing to the world and to the Church, for they are witness to what the Kingdom of God is like and a world where every family is a mustard seed of the Family of God, then truly the Kingdom of God is among us.