Reading 1 Jos 24:1-13

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people:
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
In times past your fathers, down to Terah,
father of Abraham and Nahor,
dwelt beyond the River and served other gods.
But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River
and led him through the entire land of Canaan.
I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac.
To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.
To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle,
while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

"Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies
which I wrought in her midst.
Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea,
the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea
with chariots and horsemen.
Because they cried out to the LORD,
he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians,
upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them.
After you witnessed what I did to Egypt,
and dwelt a long time in the desert,
I brought you into the land of the Amorites
who lived east of the Jordan.
They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power.
You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them,
the two kings of the Amorites, before you.
Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab,
prepared to war against Israel.
He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you;
but I would not listen to Balaam.
On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him.
Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho,
the men of Jericho fought against you,
but I delivered them also into your power.
And I sent the hornets ahead of you that drove them
(the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites,
Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites)
out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.

"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."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24

R. His mercy endures forever.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.

Alleluia See 1 Thes 2:13

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but, as it truly is, the word of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel 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."
They said to him, "Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"
He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery."
His disciples said to him,
"If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

From: Joshua 24:1-13

Joshua and the renewal of the Covenant

[1] Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and summoned the
elders, the heads, the judges and the officers of Israel; and they presented them-
selves before God. [2] Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the
God of Israel. ‘Your fathers lived of old beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father
of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. [3] Then I took your father
Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and
made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; [4] and to Isaac I gave Jacob and E-
sau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir in which to possess, but Jacob and
his children went down to Egypt. [5] And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued
Egypt with what I did in the midst of it; and afterwards I brought you out. [6] Then
I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians
pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. [7] And when
they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and
made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did
to Egypt; and you lived in the wilderness a long time.

[8] Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of
the Jordan; they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took
possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. [9] Then Balak the
son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and in-
vited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, [10] but I would not listen to Balaam;
therefore he blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. [11] And you went
the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, and
also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites,
the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I gave them into your hand. [12] And I sent
the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the A-
morites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. [13] I gave you a land on which
you had not laboured, and cities which you had not built, and you dwell therein;
you eat the fruit of the vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant.’

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

24:1-28 The book of Joshua is not so much a report about a military campaign
as a vivid lesson in theology about how faithfully God keeps his promises, and
a call to respond to that faithfulness. This is borne out by the fact that the book
ends with a ratification of the Covenant: the nation that has taken possession of
the promised land renews the undertakings given by their fathers at Sinai. This
ceremony takes place at Shechem. After an historical introduction recalling what
God has done for the Israelites (vv. 2-13), Joshua asks the people about their de-
termination to stay faithful to the Lord (vv. 14-24). Once they have all made a com-
mitment to serve the Lord and obey him in everything, the Covenant is ceremon-
ially ratified (vv. 25-27). Elements of this rite are to be found in Hittite rites of vas-
salage of the second millennium BC. So, the Covenant is not only a religious act;
it also has the force of secular law.

The Covenant lies at the basis of Christian morality, because it implies the con-
viction that God directs the course of history and he chooses people who are to
make a specific commitment of fidelity: “There is no doubt that Christian moral
teaching, even in its Biblical roots, acknowledges the specific importance of a
fundamental choice which qualifies the moral life and engages freedom on a ra-
dical level before God. It is a question of the decision of faith, of the obedience
of faith (cf. Rom 16:26) ‘by which man makes a total and free self-commitment
to God, offering “the full submission of intellect and will to God as he reveals”
(Dei Verbum, 5). […] In the Decalogue one finds, as an introduction to the vari-
ous commandments, the basic clause: ‘I am the Lord your God . . . ‘ (Ex 20:2),
which, by impressing upon the numerous and varied particular prescriptions their
primordial meaning, gives the morality of the Covenant its aspect of complete-
ness, unity and profundity. Israel’s fundamental decision, then, is about the fun-
damental commandment (cf. Jos 24:14-25; Ex 19:3-8; Mic 6:8)” (Bl. John Paul
II, Veritatis splendor, 66).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 19:3-12

Marriage and Virginity

[3] And Pharisees came up to Him (Jesus) and tested Him by asking, “Is it
lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” [4] He answered, “Have you not read
that He who made them from the beginning made them male and female, [5] 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’? [6] So they are no longer two but one. What
therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” [7] They said to Him,
“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her
away?” [8] He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to
divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9] And I say to you: who-
ever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adul-
tery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

[10] The disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is
not expedient to marry.” [11] But He said to them, “Not all men can receive this
precept, but only those to whom it is given. [12] For there are eunuchs who have
been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men,
and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the
Kingdom of Heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

4-5. “Marriage and married love are by nature ordered to the procreation and edu-
cation of children. Indeed children are the supreme gift of marriage and greatly
contribute to the good of the parents themselves. God Himself said: ‘It is not good
that man should be alone’ (Genesis 2:18), and ‘from the beginning (He) made them
male and female’ (Matthew 19:4); wishing to associate them in a special way with
his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: ‘Be fruitful
and multiply’ (Genesis 1:28). Without intending to underestimate the other ends
of marriage, it must be said that true married life and the whole structure of family
life which results from it is directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiant-
ly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and en-
rich His family from day to day” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 50).

9. Our Lord’s teaching on the unity and indissolubility of marriage is the main
theme of this passage, apropos of which St. John Chrysostom comments that
marriage is a lifelong union of man and woman (cf. “Hom. on St. Matthew”, 62).
On the meaning of “except for unchastity”, see the note on Matthew 5:31-32).

11. “Not all men can receive this precept”: our Lord is fully aware that the de-
mands involved in His teaching on marriage and His recommendation of celiba-
cy practised out of love of God run counter to human selfishness. That is why
He says that acceptance of this teaching is a gift from God.

12. Our Lord speaks figuratively here, referring to those who, out of love for Him,
renounce marriage and offer their lives completely to Him. Virginity embraced for
the love of God is one of the Church’s most precious charisms (cf. 1 Corinthians
7); the lives of those who practise virginity evoke the state of the blessed in Hea-
ven, who are like the angels (cf. Matthew 22:30). This is why the Church’s Magis-
terium teaches that the state of virginity for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven is
higher than the married state (cf. Council of Trent, “De Sacram. Matr.”, can. 10;
cf. also Ven. Pius XII, “Sacra Virginitas”). On virginity and celibacy the Second
Vatican Council teaches: “The Church’s holiness is also fostered in a special
way by the manifold counsels which the Lord proposes to His disciples in the
Gospel for them to observe. Towering among these counsels is that precious
gift of divine grace given to some by the Father (cf. Matthew 19:11; 1 Corinthians
7:7) to devote themselves to God alone more easily in virginity or celibacy [...].
This perfect continence for love of the Kingdom of Heaven has always been held
in high esteem by the Church as a sign and stimulus of love, and as a singular
source of spiritual fertility in the world” (”Lumen Gentium”, 42; cf. “Perfectae Ca-
ritatis”, 12). And, on celibacy specifically, see Vatican II’s “Presbyterorum Ordi-
nis”, 16 and “Optatam Totius”, 10.

However, both virginity and marriage are necessary for the growth of the Church,
and both imply a specific calling from God: “Celibacy is precisely a gift of the
Spirit. A similar though different gift is contained in the vocation to true and faith-
ful married love, directed towards procreation according to the flesh, in the very
lofty context of the sacrament of Matrimony. It is obvious that this gift is funda-
mental for the building up of the great community of the Church, the people of
God. But if this community wishes to respond fully to its vocation in Jesus Christ,
there will also have to be realized in it, in the correct proportion, that other gift,
the gift of celibacy ‘for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven’” (St. John Paul II,
“Letter To All Priests”, 1979).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading	Joshua 24:1-13 ©

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; then he called the elders, leaders, judges and scribes of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people:

‘The Lord, the God of Israel says this, “In ancient days your ancestors lived beyond the River – such was Terah the father of Abraham and of Nahor – and they served other gods. Then I brought your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan. I increased his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountain country of Seir as his possession. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there. So I brought you out of it. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the Sea of Reeds. There they called to the Lord, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes the things I did in Egypt. Then for a long time you lived in the wilderness, until I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan; they made war on you and I gave them into your hands; you took possession of their country because I destroyed them before you. Next, Balak son of Zippor the king of Moab arose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his hand.

‘“When you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, those who held Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites and Perizzites, the Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I put them all into your power. I sent out hornets in front of you, which drove the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the work of your sword or your bow. I gave you a land where you never toiled, you live in towns you never built; you eat now from vineyards and olive-groves you never planted.”’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 135(136):1-3,16-18,21-22,24 ©

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good.