Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 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.”
Hardness of heart
1. To test him. Life also puts you to the test in your constant and daily struggle where the key is to learn. From the tests that life challenges us with, we learn and draw conclusions in order to continue living. University and life are the same in some respects: the university is a place to learn; in life you also learn, you were not born knowing. Both at university and in life you are tested to continue. Now, the difference is that at university you are first taught and then you are tested, while in life it’s the other way around, first you are tested and that’s how you’re taught, how you learn.
2. Love. Remember that the key to true love is complete freedom and absolute consent. That’s why, when a couple is getting married, before they take the oath, the priest asks them if they are free. Sometimes we are not aware of what we’re doing and we’re not free, because we allow ourselves to get carried away. One of the crises that we live today is the fear of the eternal, of the idea of “for life”. And of course, married life is difficult, absolutely. As priestly life is also difficult. There are two strong temptations that affect these vocations: routine and activism (filling yourself with things so as to evade reality). Which of the two is affecting your life more?
3. The choice. It’s good to pause and ask yourself what you really want for your life. See if you’re following your inner self or if you’re only living to look good to others. Hardness of heart means looking only at yourself without considering the whole picture. Today God is inviting you to live.
Always remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
