Thursday, August 17, 2006

 

Friday 19th Week in Ordinary Time


August 18, 2006
Friday 19th Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II

EZEKIEL 16:1-15, 60, 63
The word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, make known to Jerusalem
her abominations. Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: By origin and
birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and
your mother a Hittite. As for your birth, the day you were born your
navel cord was not cut; you were neither washed with water nor
anointed, nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling
clothes. No one looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of
these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as
something loathsome, the day you were born. Then I passed by and saw
you weltering in your blood. I said to you: Live in your blood and grow
like a plant in the field. You grew and developed, you came to the age
of puberty; your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were
still stark naked. Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old
enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover
your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with
you; you became mine, says the Lord God. Then I bathed you with water,
washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil. I clothed you with
an embroidered gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave
you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear. I adorned you with
jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms, a necklace about your neck, a
ring in your nose, pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon
your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments
were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and
oil were your food. You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of
a queen. You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect
as it was, because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the
Lord God. But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your
renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on
every passer-by, whose own you became. Yet I will remember the covenant
I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting
covenant with you, that you may remember and be covered with confusion,
and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for
all you have done, says the Lord God.

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."

REFLECTION
The general principle of Jesus' vision of Christian marriage is clear:
marriage is indissoluble. Jesus interprets Genesis: "Whom God has
joined, let no man separate."

Moses, however, did allow divorce. And so the Pharisees bring this up
to Jesus. Jesus responds, "What Moses said was not a law, it was a
concession." The Jews of Moses' day were hardheaded, he says, they
refused to accept that a man must remain united with one woman for
life.

The Pharisees' understanding of Moses' attitude toward divorce provides
Jesus with an opportunity to present his vision of what marriage is.
And a very beautiful vision it is! A lifelong love commitment: a shared
life stretching over many years, so intimate in every aspect of its
reality that the two spouses can be called one flesh; a life of love,
issuing in the gift of love the spouses give to each other and to God,
the child; the years of loving nurture and care which will allow the
child to grow into a loving adulthood in the service of God and
neighbor.

A truly inspiring vision.

Only with the help of Christ and his Holy Spirit can the couple develop
the sympathy, the understanding, the forgiving spirit, the caring love,
which any marriage would welcome, which Christian marriage demands.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
-for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
-for the eternal repose of the soul of Lt. Felimon Burayag.
Eternal rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon
him. May he and all the souls of the dearly departed rest in Peace
-for better health of Manuel Calvo and Russel Corcuerra
-For peace of mind for Yolanda and Olivia Calvo
-for peace for the people of Israel and Lebanon
-for thanksgiving of Lydia & Jennette
-for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary
-Birthday: Ditas Gruet
-for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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