It is 30th October 2018. The readings are from Ephesians 5:21-33; and the Gospel from Luke 13:18-21. People who are in love have no difficulty in offering the place and presence to the other without much difficulty. When there is no love and when lust dominates in one’s life, people find it hard to recognise the presence and place of the other. We all come from families. Some of us come from healthy and functional families. Families that are fruitful and functional are the ones who have not only demonstrated love but also dealt with the individualism and selfishness of all kinds. Allowing the other to succeed is the basic motive in such families where husband does not walk on the feet of the wife and the wife picks up every emotional cues of the husband and acknowledge it with respect and love. What is happening in most of our families is that someone wants to dominate the other and make the members to feel the pain, anxiety and fear all through the year. Ignoring, indifference, indecent vocabularies, ill treatments, lack of acknowledgment of presence of God and one another, refuse to appreciate and value the other as they are, depravation of pleasures and intimacy are on the rise where one spouse suppress the freedom and liberty of the other. In the first reading, St. Paul strongly insists that the dignity of each person must be respected and upheld by all members. No one needs to chock, strangle, suppress the other for one’s own happiness and pleasure. Every one needs to offer the rightful place and respect for the other person. Every member of the family needs to play their roles with due appreciation towards the others and their contributions. A well-organised family is the one depends on God, and recognises the power of God’s presence in everyone. The climate of the family is forecasted in the way unity and love are shared and spread among the members of the family. Each one has the wings of prayer to connect with the holiness of the others. Ultimately, marital love is not all about physical intimacy rather it is the emotional and spiritual health in relating with the other. When every member of the family promotes the dignity of the person, there is no shortage of respect, love and intimacy. The responsorial Psalm praises, “O blessed are those who fear the Lord.” (Ps.127:1). The Gospel points out that growth in the kingdom of God is infused by God and nurtured by us. We all have to provide means and measures to allow the seeds of love, peace and mercy to grow in our hearts, homes, and lives. We are all journeying together towards the same destination called Heaven. Let us try our best to pervade and spread the goodness in us not the poisonous ideologies and action to anyone. The leaven of Christianity has brought so many saintly persons. Can we become one of them by our dedication, commitment and sacrifices? May the help us to promote unity, peace and love among all starting from our families. May you have a good day. God bless you.