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Today's Gospel: Matthew 19:3-12

Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

The Pharisees are trying to trick Jesus in today’s Gospel. They are trying to get Him to contradict the Torah or Moses concerning divorce. If Jesus chose either, it would not look good for Him. Jesus is smarter than the Pharisees. He disallows all of it and upholds the permanence of marriage. He does make an exception if the marriage was unlawful. This is why the Church allows annulments.

Jesus admits that marriage is difficult and says many people aren’t cut out for it. In some cases, He says a person is better off staying single.

We need to pray for married, single, and divorced people. Marriage is hard work. Divorce is devastating. We need to pray for single people to wisely enter into marriage. We need to help divorced people seek annulments. An annulment can provide much needed healing after a divorce. Most all, we need to stop judging everyone. We have no idea what others are going through. We must be humble enough to admit that.

Ponder:

What is my attitude about divorce? Do I judge those who have gone through it?

Do I question why people are single?

Do I pray for married people? Do I ask God to help them remain married?

Pray:

Lord, You have called us all to different ways of life. Teach me to pray for all married couples to grow and thrive with each other. Remind me to pray for single people to feel complete in You. Encourage me to reach out to divorced people to offer Your healing touch. Teach me not to judge but to trust in Your plan. Amen.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Ellen Toole