Archive for year: 2026

Happy Corpus Christi! In honor of the Eucharist, I am going to focus on understanding how
Marriage and Eucharist are intertwined.
First, notice the words at the Consecration: “This is my body, given for you. This is my blood,
given for you.” These words remind us of the powerful and limitless self-gift of Jesus Christ to
each of us in the Eucharist. It was not enough for the Lord to draw near to us in the flesh. Christ,
rather, sought to draw so near to us that he would be received into us and into our very hearts
so that he could find rest there. These words, a powerful sign of the reality we receive in communion, also speak to the mystery of marriage.
In marriage, each person literally gives himself/herself over to the other person. Marriage is
literally meant to be a living witness of the words “this is my body, given for you.” This approach
to understanding marriage as a complete gift is opposed to our popular understandinging, and
yet it speaks to the deeper elements within marriage. Marriage, like Christ’s own Passion,
involves a death to self. Marriage, like Christ’s own Passion, can involve moments of suffering.
Yet marriage, in all of its imperfections, is meant to purify the will of husband and wife in their
choice to remain with each other “in good times and in bad.” This is not an ideal; it is reality.
This understanding of marriage has several implications that should, therefore, be drawn out for
our understanding:

1. We must learn to understand marriage as necessarily involving sacrifice. Marriage is not
   meant to only be filled with joy. It also involves sacrifices in the midst of suffering by which
   the choice of the couple to remain with each other until death is tested as “gold in the fire.”
2. From that sacrifice comes life. This life is not just the life of the children. It is also a deeper
   experience of the beauty of marriage that is able to, through our continued “yes,” touch the
   depths of our hearts and make them more and more sacrificial and loving. This life is meant
   to be a fountain of Christ’s own grace through its Eucharistic connection.
3. Marriage, therefore, requires supernatural grace to be sustained. This means that it will
   only harm the couple if they choose to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony without following
   through on the practice of the Catholic Faith. The Eucharist, therefore, is the life of Christ that
   is meant to be received by married couples together so that the same life of Christ may
   sustain their sacrifice and bring it to fulfillment in his One Sacrifice on the Cross.
   Stay tuned for more next week!

¡Feliz Corpus Christi! En honor a la Eucaristía, me centraré en comprender cómo el matrimonio y la Eucaristía están entrelazados.
En primer lugar, observemos las palabras de la Consagración: «Este es mi cuerpo, entregado por vosotros.
Esta es mi sangre, entregada por vosotros». Estas palabras nos recuerdan la entrega de sí mismo, podero
sa e ilimitada, de Jesucristo a cada uno de nosotros en la Eucaristía. No bastaba con que el Señor se acer
cara a nosotros en la carne; Cristo quiso acercarse tanto que fuera recibido en nuestro interior y en nues
tros propios corazones, para poder hallar allí su descanso. Estas palabras, signo poderoso de la realidad
que recibimos en la comunión, nos hablan también del misterio del matrimonio.
En el matrimonio, cada persona se entrega literalmente a la otra. El matrimonio está destinado, literalmente,
a ser un testimonio vivo de las palabras: «este es mi cuerpo, entregado por vosotros». Esta perspectiva del
matrimonio como entrega total contrasta con nuestra concepción habitual, y sin embargo, apunta a los ele
mentos más profundos de la unión matrimonial. El matrimonio, al igual que la propia Pasión de Cristo, impli
ca morir a uno mismo. El matrimonio, como la Pasión de Cristo, puede conllevar momentos de sufrimiento.
No obstante, el matrimonio —con todas sus imperfecciones— busca purificar la voluntad de los esposos en
su decisión de permanecer unidos «en la alegría y en la adversidad». Esto no es un ideal; es una realidad.
Esta comprensión del matrimonio conlleva varias implicaciones que debemos tener presentes:

1. Debemos aprender a entender que el matrimonio implica necesariamente sacrificio. El matrimo
   nio no está destinado a estar lleno únicamente de alegría; también conlleva sacrificios en medio
   del sufrimiento, mediante los cuales la decisión de la pareja de permanecer unida hasta la muerte
   se prueba «como el oro en el fuego».
2. De ese sacrificio brota la vida. No se trata solo de la vida de los hijos, sino también de una expe
   riencia más profunda de la belleza del matrimonio que, a través de nuestro «sí» constante, es ca
   paz de tocar lo más profundo de nuestros corazones y hacerlos cada vez más capaces de sacrifi
   cio y de amor. Esta vida está llamada a ser una fuente de la gracia de Cristo gracias a su vínculo
   con la Eucaristía.
3. Por tanto, el matrimonio requiere gracia sobrenatural para sostenerse. Esto significa que la pareja
   solo se verá perjudicada si decide recibir el sacramento del Matrimonio sin vivir la fe católica. La
   Eucaristía es, por lo tanto, la vida de Cristo destinada a ser recibida conjuntamente por los esposos, para que esa misma vida de Cristo sostenga su sacrificio y lo lleve a plenitud en el único Sa
   crificio de Él en la Cruz.
   ¡Estén atentos a más novedades la próxima semana!

Happy Sunday! As we continue our reflections on the Sacraments of Vocation, we are going to begin with
Marriage in order to reflect on the gift that this Sacrament is for so many. To that end, we will spend a great
deal of time focusing on this Sacrament and various aspects of it
In order to better understand marriage, we need to look at the definition which is found in The Catechism of
the Catholic Church (1601): “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between
themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and
the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by
Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” From this definition, we note the following:

1. Marriage is a covenant: This is a total gift of self for the good of another. It necessarily begins a
   process of purification by which those who enter into this sacrament are moved to surrender their
   ego and truly love and respect those entrusted to them.
2. Marriage is between man and woman: Marriage is always between one man and one woman as
   was established by God at the moment of creation. This complementarity of being is meant to
   draw each of the spouses out of themselves and into a relationship of respect while ensuring that
   both mother and father are present to each other and their children.
3. Marriage is for the whole life: It is not something we opt in and out of. Spouses remain and never
   stop living this covenant. This is why the Church does not support divorce: Christ desires respect
   and permanence in marriage, and this often requires a great deal of humility and forgiveness.
4. Marriage is ordered towards the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of
   children: Through the grace of this Sacrament, married couples participate in the creation and
   formation of life through their intimate union. This union is meant to ground the couple more
   deeply in their love for each other and allow room, through openness to life, for God to entrust the
   number of children that he desires to each couple. This act of entrustment on the part of God is
   fundamental to understand this part of Marriage. God already has in his mind the number and
   personalities of the children he intends to send a couple. This openness to life is a surrender to
   God and a reception of his gifts as he desires to send them. God, for his part, wants to entrust
   souls to his married couples so that they can form disciples of Christ and future citizens of
   Heaven through their living of this Sacrament by which they form each other as well.
   Stay tuned for more!

¡Feliz domingo! Continuando nuestras reflexiones sobre los Sacramentos de Vocación, comenzaremos con
el Matrimonio para reflexionar sobre el don que este Sacramento representa para tantas personas. Con
este fin, dedicaremos bastante tiempo profundizando en este Sacramento y en sus diversos aspectos.

Para comprender mejor el matrimonio, debemos examinar la definición que se encuentra en El Catecismo
de la Iglesia Católica (1601): “La alianza matrimonial, por la que un hombre y una mujer constituyen entre sí
una comunidad de toda la vida, ordenado por su misma naturaleza al bien de los cónyuges y a la
generación y educación de la prole, ha sido elevada por Cristo Señor a la dignidad de sacramento entre
bautizados.” De esta definición, notamos lo siguiente:

1. El matrimonio es una alianza: Es una entrega total de sí mismo para el bien del otro.
   Necesariamente inicia un proceso de purificación mediante el cual quienes entran en este
   sacramento son movidos a renunciar a su ego y a amar y respetar verdaderamente a aquellos
   que les han sido confiados.
2. El matrimonio es entre un hombre y una mujer: El matrimonio es siempre entre un solo hombre
   y una sola mujer, tal como fue establecido por Dios en el momento de la creación. Esta
   complementariedad del ser está destinada a sacar a cada uno de los esposos de sí mismo y
   llevarlo a una relación de respeto, asegurando al mismo tiempo que tanto el padre como la madre
   estén presentes el uno para el otro y para sus hijos.
3. El matrimonio es para toda la vida: No es algo en lo que entramos y salimos a nuestro antojo. Los
   cónyuges permanecen unidos y nunca dejan de vivir esta alianza. Por esta razón la Iglesia no
   apoya el divorcio: Cristo desea respeto y permanencia en el matrimonio, y esto con frecuencia
   requiere una gran dosis de humildad y perdón.
4. El matrimonio está ordenado al bien de los esposos y a la procreación y educación de los hijos:
   Por medio de la gracia de este Sacramento, los matrimonios participan en la creación y formación
   de la vida a través de su unión íntima. Esta unión está destinada a arraigar más profundamente a
   la pareja en su amor mutuo y a dejar espacio, mediante la apertura a la vida, para que Dios
   confíe a cada matrimonio el número de hijos que desea. Este acto de confianza por parte de Dios
   es fundamental para comprender esta dimensión del matrimonio. Dios ya tiene en su mente el
   número y las personalidades de los hijos que desea enviar a cada pareja. Esta apertura a la vida
   es una entrega a Dios y una acogida de sus dones según Él desea concederlos. Dios, por su
   parte, quiere confiar almas a los matrimonios para que formen discípulos de Cristo y futuros
   ciudadanos del Cielo mediante la vivencia de este Sacramento, por el cual también se forman
   mutuamente.

Happy Sunday! As we continue our reflections on marriage, we need to go back to Genesis to
understand the foundations of marriage as God intended. Keeping in mind that the beauty of
marriage is woven into creation itself, we can note the following:

1. When God made Adam, he literally “made” or “formed” him ( , ר ַצָיto form) (Gen. 2:7).
   God made Adam with a purpose, and that purpose is to “tend” ( , ד ַב ָעabad) and
   “keep” ( , ר ַמ ָשshamar) the garden (Gen. 2:15). These words are priestly terms (e.g.
   Numbers 3 and 18) and speak to how a priest is to care for the sanctuary of God that
   has been entrusted to him. We are meant to understand, therefore, that Adam is a
   priest-figure in the eyes of God and that he is meant to care for that which is entrusted
   to him as if it were the sanctuary of God.
2. God notes, however, that it is not good for Adam to be alone (Gen. 2:18). God does not
   intend for Adam to undertake this mission alone, especially since the animals God has
   created prove to be unsuitable partners for Adam in the fulfillment of his mission. For
   this reason, God casts Adam in a deep sleep and draws the suitable partner from
   Adam himself.
3. God, however, does not make this partner he has envisioned for Adam. God, rather,
   builds ( , הָנ ָבbanah) this partner for Adam (Gen. 2:22). The symbolism here is clear:
   God is building a personified sanctuary to be Adam’s partner. This is the one who is to
   receive Adam, to be a sanctuary for his heart, and the one who is to support him in his
   mission. Adam, for his part, must never take her for granted. He is to receive her as the
   gift she is and care for her as one who is entrusted to him. This mutual gift of self will
   then result in man and woman participating in God’s own power through the act of
   creation itself.
4. This mutual self-giving by which Adam and Eve lay down their lives for each other is
   the foundation of marriage itself. Marriage is not something we enter into for our own
   pleasure: it is something we are moved to enter into through our own self-gift. This is
   why Adam “recognizes” Eve by saying here at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my
   flesh (Gen. 2:23).
   With all of this in mind, we can begin to see why this would be elevated to the level of a
   Sacrament by Christ. By living the foundation of marriage in the world, a married couple can
   become, by the grace of the Sacrament, a powerful sign for the Truth and Beauty of marriage
   and God’s love for every human person. Stay tuned for more!