“It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God.”

 

Today, there are those who say that marriage is out of fashion. Is it out of fashion? In a culture of relativism and the ephemeral, many preach the importance of ‘enjoying’ the moment. They say that it is not worth making a life-long commitment, making a definitive decision, ‘for ever’, because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. I ask you, instead, to be revolutionaries, I ask you to swim against the tide; yes, I am asking you to rebel against this culture that sees everything as temporary and that ultimately believes you are incapable of responsibility, that believes you are incapable of true love. I have confidence in you and I pray for you. Have the courage ‘to swim against the tide’. And also have the courage to be happy.” – Pope Francis: (World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro)

Gospel Text: (MK 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.”

Divorce is commonplace in our society. Many see it as a “necessary evil”, while others see it as a positively good choice or option. However, Jesus is very clear. Divorce and remarriage is morally equivalent to adultery, with the difference that while adultery is a mortally sinful act, divorce and remarriage is a mortally sinful state.

Nonetheless, Jesus puts this condemnation within a positive context. He explains why marriage cannot be dissolved by any human person. To claim the power to dissolve a marriage is to claim power over God. To claim this power is to deny the essence of marriage: that two have become “one flesh.”

http://www.foryourmarriage.org/catholic-marriage/church-teachings/annulments/