Tag: indissolubility

Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19:13-15)

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.

The commitment of the Israelites to the LORD in the first reading echoes in the Gospel passage as the children come willingly to Jesus to be blessed. Just as Joshua and his household commit to serving the LORD, Jesus suggests that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to “such as these,” the ones who come willingly to be blessed by him. Jesus lays his hands on the children and blesses them before he departs. This act of blessing signifies his love and care for children and his his desire for them to experience God’s welcoming embrace and goodness.

God, help me understand today’s Gospel. To remain childlike in faith means to be unafraid of the experiences that life teaches. If Jesus had sent away the children, would they have grown up to be cynical in the presence of holiness and learned to scoff at the alleged goodness of persons? Help me put aside any experiences I have had that prevent me from approaching you with the same complete trust that a child approaches you. Doing this is not to return to a former state of life, an abandonment of an adult understanding of the world and its responsibilities, but to put aside anything that would prevent me from coming to you for every need and to receive your blessing.

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Lord, let me come to you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 19:3-12)

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

In today’s readings, God’s mercy throughout the ages is pronounced first by God himself and then by Jesus in the Gospel passage. Speaking through Joshua, God said to the Israelites: “I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” Like the land the Israelites had not tilled and the vineyards they did not plant, the sacrament of marriage is a gift of God to spouses. In the Gospel, Jesus responds to the question posed by the Pharisees by saying that because God made us male and female, a man leaves his mother to be joined to his wife, and the two are made into one flesh. In responding to their question about Mosaic Law, which allowed for divorce, Jesus directs the Pharisees to the original intention of God for marriage, a sacramental gift of his mercy, a sacred bond that reflects the union of Christ and the Church.

God, help me understand the fullness of the gift of the sacrament of marriage. In that covenant is a reflection of the love and unity between Christ and the Church. No human law or authority can dissolve the marriage bond, which you yourself have established. Help me trust in your mercy for the tragedy of marriages that end in divorce. Help me be a witness of hope to those whose marriage has been compromised or debilitated or brought to an end through divorce. Just as you gave the Israelites all they needed as they journeyed to the land of milk and honey, give me what I need for this day to be a witness to your love and mercy.

From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” Stay with me, Lord; rouse me when I forget you.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.