“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Friday, 12th August 2016,
Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Ez 16: 1-15, 60, 63;
Is 12: 2-6;
Mt 19: 3-12
MARRIAGE – A COVENANT OF LOVE!
Today’s Gospel reading is a source for reflection and inspiration for both married and religious life. Christ stresses the indissolubility of marriage. Let not man separate - the man referred to here is the husband and not some third party like a judge. In Judaism marriage was a contract, which could be broken by the male partner (Deut 24:1). The Pharisees take this as the positive commandment, whereas Jesus in the Gospel understood it as merely a concession because of people’s hardness of heart. He contrasts this concession with God’s original will for men and women expressed in the creation story.
Today the understanding of marriage, divorce and celibacy is getting newer meanings and newer orientations. The generation of today finds it difficult to accept the concept of marriage as a life time commitment. When people think that the relationship does not work, they opt for divorce as the easy way out. Live-in relationships are attracting the youth of today as it appears very pragmatic and convenient. To bring back forcefully the message of Jesus Christ would be the challenge for all of us.
Prayer: God our loving Father we pray that what you have united, human beings may not divide. Amen.
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