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.......................... †JMJ† .......................... -- Friday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time -- ....................... † AMDG † ....................... FIRST READING – Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63 or 16:59-63 And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be his. (NAB: You are perfect because of my splendor, which I bestowed on you, you became a harlot.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. And thou shalt say: Thus saith the Lord God to Jerusalem: Thy root, and thy nativity is of the land of Chanaan, thy father was an Amorrhite, and thy mother a Cethite. And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel wits not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts. No eye had pity on thee to do any of these things for thee, out of compassion to thee: but thou wast cast out upon the face of the earth in the abjection of thy soul, in the day that thou wast born. And passing by thee, I saw that thou wast trodden under foot in thy own blood. and I said to thee when thou wast in thy blood: Live: I have said to thee: Live in thy blood. I caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field: and thou didst increase and grow great, and advancedst, and camest to woman's ornament: thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: and thou wast naked, and full of confusion. And I passed by thee, and saw thee: and behold thy time was the time of lovers: and I spread my garment over thee, and covered thy ignominy. And I swore to thee, and I entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God: and thou becamest mine. And I washed thee with water, and cleansed away thy blood from thee: and I anointed thee with oil. And I clothed thee with embroidery, and shed thee with violet coloured shoes: and I girded thee about with fine linen, and clothed thee with fine garments. I decked thee also with ornaments, and put bracelets on thy hands, and a chain about thy neck. And I put a jewel upon thy forehead and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head. And thou wast adorned with gold, and silver, and wast clothed with fine linen, and embroidered work, and many colours: thou didst eat fine hour, and honey, and oil, and wast made exceeding beautiful: and wast advanced to be a queen. And thy renown went forth among the nations for thy beauty: for thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. But trusting in thy beauty, thou playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and thou hast prostituted thyself to every passenger, to be his. Thou hast borne thy wickedness, and thy disgrace, saith the Lord God. For thus saith the Lord God: I will deal with thee, as thou hast despised the oath, in breaking the covenant: And I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth: and I will establish with thee an everlasting covenant. And thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed: when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thy elder and thy younger: and I will give them to thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and mayest no more open thy mouth because of thy confusion, when I shall be pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God. --------------- 2 "Make known to Jerusalem"... That is, by letters, for the prophet was then in Babylon. 11 "I decked thee also with ornaments"... That is, with spiritual benefits, giving you a law with sacrifices, sacraments, and other holy rites. REPONSORIAL PSALM – Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 Convérsus est furor tuus, et consolátus es me. Thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me (NAB: You have turned from your anger.) Thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me Behold, God is my saviour, I will deal confidently, and will not fear: O because the Lord is my strength, and my praise, and he is become my salvation. You shall draw waters with joy out of the saviour's fountains: Thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name: make his works known among the people: remember that his name is high. Thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath done great things: shew this forth in all the earth. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion: for great is he that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel. Thy wrath is turned away, and thou hast comforted me ALLELUIA – 1 Thess 2:13 Accípte verbum Dei, non ut verbum Hóminum, sed, sicut est vere, verbum Dei. R. Alleluia, alleluia [Therefore, we also give thanks to God without ceasing: because,] that when you had received of us the word of the hearing of God, you received it not as the word of men, but (as it is indeed) the word of God, who worketh in you that have believed. R. Alleluia, alleluia GOSPEL – Mt 19:3-12 Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said: For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away? He saith to them: Because Moses by reason of the hardness of your heart permitted you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery. His disciples say unto him: If the case of a man with his wife be so, it is not expedient to marry. Who said to them: All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it. ---------------------- 9 "Except it be"... In the case of fornication, that is, of adultery, the wife may be put away: but even then the husband cannot marry another as long as the wife is living. |
Friday, August 13, 2004
Meditation
Matthew 19:3-12
What God has joined together, no human being must separate. (Matthew 19:6)
These words can sound quite harsh to us, especially if we have been through a divorce, or if the marriage of a family member or close friend has broken apart. On one hand, we can say that Jesus knows what he is talking about and is confident in God’s power to heal even the most difficult of marriages. But on the other hand, experience tells us that divorce is a traumatic reality that can leave deep and lasting wounds.
Think about the pain that divorced couples feel. A relationship that began with high ideals, joy, and optimism has degenerated into rejection, distrust, anger, and self-pity. What was once “one flesh” has been torn apart, leaving deep wounds not only in the couple but in other family members as well. How can Jesus possibly sit in merciless condemnation of these people? He doesn’t. God didn’t send his Son into the world to condemn, but to save (John 3:17). Jesus doesn’t want to crush people by telling them only where they may have gone wrong. He wants to meet all of us wherever we are in our life journey and offer us healing and restoration.
If you are divorced, know that Jesus loves you just as much as ever. He shares your pain and suffers with you. Think about his encounter with the woman at the well (John 4:4-42). He didn’t condemn this woman, even though she had been married five times and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. Instead, he brought her to repentance, healed her, and sent her back to her village to tell other people about him.
Whether married, divorced, or single, we all need to know God’s healing. Our Father wants to mend the wounds in every marriage as well as the wounds of those who have been affected by divorce. Jesus wants to reconcile us, transform us, and use us to proclaim his kingdom—no matter what we have done in the past. He wants to put his arms around us and give us his blessing (Mark 10:16).
“Lord Jesus, help us to overcome all disunity. Pour out your grace on every family that has been through divorce. Heal them and restore their hope. Let your love flow in all of us and flow out of us so that we might be your witnesses.”