Twenty Seventh Sunday of the Year: B: October 3, 2021

 MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE                                                              ' Is divorce permitted?'

First Reading: Genesis 2: 18-24

Second Reading: Hebrews 2: 9-11

Gospel Reading: Mark 10: 2-16

   *First reading is from the book of Genesis. An account of how the Lord God created man and woman and  how He brought the woman to man is described. When man saw her, he readily acknowledges her as "The bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" - which implies an intimate and close relationship between man and woman.

   *Second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to Hebrews. Paul speaks of the humiliations, sufferings and death of Jesus on the cross. Through Jesus' death salvation of humankind is perfected through sufferings. It instructs us that in order to be sanctified we too need to undergo sufferings in our lives.

'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?'                                                                     Today's Gospel reading is from St. Mark. While Jesus was teaching the people, some of them put the above question to Jesus. This question is repeated ever since. Is divorce permitted by the Church? Today's Gospel reading gives us some interesting and deep insights into this very difficult and very relevant question. Jewish law permitted divorce. However when asked, Jesus clearly and unequivocally states that it was allowed due to the hardness of their heart. God never intended that married couples should ever divorce. Hence the answer given by Jesus- "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder" - is very important.  His disciples later ask Him about the matter. So Jesus clarifies the matter and says, one who divorces his or her legally married partner and marries another commits the sin of adultery. Hence indissolubility of the marriage bond is affirmed by Jesus. As we are aware, breakdown of many marriages is due to selfishness and lack of acceptance of one another by partners. Unfortunately these breakdowns are on the rise everyday. Often it ends up in endless blame games, court battles and eventually divorce. 

"Marriage is act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family- a domestic Church." - St. Pope John Paul II