(Optional Memorial for Saint Bernardine of Siena, Priest)
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| “Wedding Feast at Cana” by Rufilio Manetti, 1620 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: James 5:9-12
Do not complain, brothers and
sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing
before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship
and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the
name of the Lord.
Indeed we call blessed those who
have persevered.
You have heard of the
perseverance of Job,
and you have seen the purpose of
the Lord,
because the Lord is compassionate
and merciful.
But above all, my brothers and
sisters, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or
with any other oath,
but let your “Yes” mean “Yes” and
your “No” mean “No,”
that you may not incur
condemnation.
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Commentary on Jas 5:9-12
Just prior to this excerpt from
the Letter of St. James, there is an exhortation to patience. There is also a
clear expectation that the Parousia is at hand. The author then points to the
example of the prophets, especially Job, to keep God foremost in their minds,
especially during trying times, reemphasizing Christian patience. He concludes
with a prohibition against “oath taking,” a means by which the Jewish community
circumvented the binding force of the law, and avoided using God’s name in vain.
CCC: Jas 5:12 2153
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R. (8a) The Lord is kind and
merciful.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy
name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from
destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and
compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the
Lord,
slow to anger and abounding in
kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath
forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above
the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness
toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the
west,
so far has he put our
transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
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Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9,
11-12
Psalm 103 is a song of praise to
God for his mercy. It recognizes both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for
it. The psalm describes the qualities of God's mercy, its enduring expression
of love for his people through the forgiveness of their sins.
CCC: Ps 103 304
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Gospel: Mark 10:1-12
Jesus came into the district of
Judea and across the Jordan.
Again crowds gathered around him
and, as was his custom,
he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him and
asked,
“Is it lawful for a husband to
divorce his wife?”
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, “What
did Moses command you?”
They replied,
“Moses permitted a husband to
write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her.”
But Jesus told them,
“Because of the hardness of your
hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of
creation, God made them male and female.
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,
no human being must separate.”
In the house the disciples again
questioned Jesus about this.He said to them,
“Whoever divorces his wife and
marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband
and marries another,
she commits adultery.”
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Commentary on Mk 10:1-12
This passage gives us the
scriptural support for the Church’s view of the Sacrament of Matrimony. The
Pharisees’ question to Jesus, and their response to his question: “Moses
permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her," shows that
the Mosaic Law they were referring to (Deuteronomy 24:1) dealt
with a contractual relationship. Jesus, in quoting Genesis (see Genesis 1:27 and 2:24), speaks instead of the
spiritual bond which joins husband and wife. This bond cannot be broken (“…what
God has joined together, no human being must separate").
CCC: Mk 10:8 1627; Mk
10:9 1639, 2364, 2382; Mk
10:11-12 1650; Mk
10:11 2380
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Reflection:
Understanding
the reading from the Gospel of St. Mark is critical for us if we are to
understand the Church’s view of the Sacrament of Marriage. In the past the view was popularly held that
the Church forbade divorce entirely because of the statement: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries
another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and
marries another, she commits adultery.”
The
historical difficulty here is the clear reference earlier in the passage
stating: “Therefore what God has joined
together, no human being must separate.” The key idea in this verse is that God has
joined the couple, not man. Marriage is not a civil contract that can be
ratified by a Justice of the Peace or a civil judge. Those whom God has joined in marriage share
an unbreakable bond. It is a covenant that
includes God the Father and is seen as a living symbol of Christ and his bride,
the Church. If this bond is truly present,
it cannot be broken.
Does
this mean that all marriages witnessed by the Church include this sacramental
bond? We do our very best to insure they
do, but the Sacrament of Marriage is a lived sacrament. The Church does not “administer” the
Sacrament of Marriage as it does Baptism or the Eucharist.
The
Church, through its marriage preparation programs, tries to insure the sacramental
bond is present. But, it is like a
scientist using a very powerful microscope to look at the molecular structure
of some material. Is he able to see the
chemical bonds that hold the material together and make it the compound it
appears to be? No, he cannot see the
bonds but, depending upon how the material reacts under different circumstances
(especially when he tries to take it apart) the bonds demonstrate their
existence, even though they are invisible to the human eye.
The
civil contract of marriage can be easily broken. It is just like any business contract. There are terms and conditions and there are
remedies in civil law. The only cost is
legal fees. If the civil contract is
nullified in what was presumed to have been a Sacramental Marriage, does that
mean the sacramental bond that was presumed to have existed at the time it was
validly witnessed in the Church was also nullified? No!
That is why there is a Marriage Tribunal in each diocese. It is their job to make sure that the
sacramental bond was never present. If
present, it cannot be broken, if not present, the civil bond was all that bound
the couple in the first place. And just
to be very clear, like all other dogmatic and magisterial teaching about the
Sacrament of Matrimony, Amoris Laetitia,
the Holy Father’s Apostolic Exhortation on the family, did not change this
understanding.
This
whole view is widely misunderstood, even within the ranks of the faithful and ,
whenever we encounter these misunderstandings, we need to correct them. Jesus said; “What God has joined together, no
human being must separate.” Thank God
for his unfailing love for us.
Pax
[2]
The picture today is “Wedding Feast at Cana” by Rufilio Manetti, 1620
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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