Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: James 5:9-12
A Call for Constancy
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[9] Do not grumble, brethren, against one another, that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the doors. [10] As an example of suffering and patience, brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. [11] Behold, we call those happy who were steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
The Value of Prayer. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick
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[12] But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.
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Commentary:
7-11. Just before he ends his letter, St James again (cf. 1:2-4, 12) exhorts his readers to be patient, perhaps in case some are tempted to avenge themselves: on the rich. He uses the simile of the farmer, who patiently waits for the earth; to yield the fruits of his work: in the same kind of way the oppressed will be rewarded for all their afflictions when the Lord comes. St James encourages them also by reminding them of the patience and long-suffering of the prophets and of Job.
Christian hope, and the patience it induces, enables people to put up with injustice in this present life; but it is not an easy way out of one's responsibilities nor an invitation to be passive. A Christian should strive to make this world a place of justice and peace, but should realize it is a transient place, and not make these temporal ideals an absolute goal. "God did not create us to build a lasting I city here on earth. [...]. Nevertheless, we children of God ought not to remain aloof from earthly endeavors, for God has placed us here to sanctify them and , make them fruitful with our blessed faith, which alone is capable of bringing true peace and joy to all men wherever they may be [...]. We urgently need to christianize society. We must imbue all levels of mankind with a supernatural outlook, and each of us must strive to raise his daily duties, his job or profession, to the order of supernatural grace. In this way all human occupations will be lit up by a new hope that transcends time and the inherent transience of earthly realities" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 210).
7-9. St James' words show how vividly the early Christians realized that the Christian life should be a time for watchfulness and for looking forward to the Parousia of the Lord, when our redemption will be finally sealed (cf. Lk 21:28). Jesus did not choose to reveal the precise moment of his coming (cf. Mt 24:36); he stressed. rather, the need to be watchful, to make sure it found us ready (cf. Mt 24:42, 44; 25:13). Therefore, every Christian should live in the expectation of that event which surely will come, though he knows not when. This is also what the Apostle means when he says "the coming of the Lord is at hand" and "the Judge is standing at the doors", for he may come at any moment.
10-11. The lives of the prophets are a very good model of patience and endurance in the adversity. Some of them in particular (Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah) underwent great suffering on account of their obedience to God. "You have seen the purpose of the Lord ": this is the interpretation of St Bede and St Augustine, referring to the example of patience set by Jesus in his passion and death on the cross. Most commentators prefer the other possible translation, "You have seen the outcome the Lord gave him", referring to Job, who bore patiently the trials God sent to him (cf. Job 42:10ff), because, for one thing, it avoids having to give the term "Lord", which appears twice in the same verse (v.11), two different meanings—Jesus Christ and God one and three.
12. This exhortation is almost an exact echo of the words of the Lord: "Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, anything more than that comes from evil” (Mt 5:37). The Jews of the time tended to take oaths far too readily and had developed an elaborate casuistry about them (cf. note on Mt 5:33-37); our Lord criticized these abuses, and St James repeats his teaching. However, that does not mean that oath-taking is always wrong: in fact Sacred Scripture itself praises it when it is done in the right way for good reasons (cf. Jer 4:2), and St Paul sometimes resorts to it (cf., e.g., Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23). Hence the Church teaches that it is lawful and even does honor to God to take an oath when it is strictly necessary and provided one acts in accordance with truth and justice.
St James’ “let your yes be yes and your no be no” is in fact a summing up of the virtue of sincerity, a virtue which is very pleasing to God (cf. Jn 1:47) and essential in human relationships.
From: Mark 10:1-12
The Indissolubility of Marriage
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[1] And He (Jesus) left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to Him again; and again, as His custom was, He taught them.
[2] And Pharisees came up and in order to test Him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" [3] He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" [4] They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." [5] But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment. [6] But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'; [7] `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, [8] and the two shall become one.' So they are no longer two but one. [9] What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
[10] And in the house the disciples asked Him about this matter. [11] And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; [12] and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
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Commentary:
1-12. This kind of scene occurs often in the Gospel. The malice of the Pharisees contrasts with the simplicity of the crowd, who listen attentively to Jesus' teaching. The Pharisees' question aimed at tricking Jesus into going against the Law of Moses. But Jesus Christ, Messiah and Son of God, has perfect understanding of that Law. Moses had permitted divorce because of the hardness of that ancient people: women had an ignominious position in those primitive tribes (they were regarded almost as animals or slaves); Moses, therefore, protected women's dignity against these abuses by devising the certificate of divorce; this was a real social advance. It was a document by which the husband repudiated his wife and she obtained freedom. Jesus restores to its original purity the dignity of man and woman in marriage, as instituted by God at the beginning of creation. "A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24): in this way God established from the very beginning the unity and indissolubility of marriage. The Church's Magisterium, the only authorized interpreter of the Gospel and of the natural law, has constantly guarded and defended this teaching and has proclaimed it solemnly in countless documents (Council of Florence, "Pro Armeniis"; Council of Trent, "De Sacram. Matr."; Pius XI, "Casti Connubi"; Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 48; etc.).
Here is a good summary of this doctrine: "The indissolubility of marriage is not a caprice of the Church nor is it merely a positive ecclesiastical law. It is a precept of natural law, of divine law, and responds perfectly to our nature and to the supernatural order of grace" (St J. Escriva, "Conversations", 97). Cf. note on Matthew 5:31-32.
5-9. When a Christian realizes that this teaching applies to everyone at all times, he should not be afraid of people reacting against it: "It is a fundamental duty of the Church to reaffirm strongly [...] the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage. To all those who, in our times, consider it too difficult, or indeed impossible, to be bound to one person for the whole of life, and to those caught up in a culture that rejects the indissolubility of marriage and openly mocks the commitment of spouses to fidelity, it is necessary to reaffirm the good news of the definitive nature of that conjugal love that has in Christ its foundation and strength (cf. Ephesians 5:25).
"Being rooted in the personal and total self-giving of the couple, and being required by the good of the children, the indissolubility of marriage finds its ultimate truth in the plan that God has manifested in His revelation: He wills and He communicates the indissolubility of marriage as a fruit, a sign and a requirement of the absolutely faithful love that God has for man and that the Lord Jesus has for the Church.
"Christ renews the first plan that the Creator inscribed in the hearts of man and woman, and in the celebration of the sacrament of matrimony offers `a new heart': thus the couples are not only able to overcome `hardness of heart' (Matthew 19:8), but also and above all they are able to share the full and definitive love of Christ, the new and eternal Covenant made flesh. Just as the Lord Jesus is the `faithful witness' (Revelation 3:14), the `yes' of the promises of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20) and thus the supreme realization of the unconditional faithfulness with which God loves His people, so Christian couples are called to participate truly in the irrevocable indissolubility that binds Christ to the Church, His bride, loved by Him to the end (cf. John 13:1).
"To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 20).