Readings: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63, Isaiah 12, Matthew 19:3-12
“Your fame spread among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect because of the splendour I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God. But you trusted in your beauty, and played the whore because of your fame, and lavished your harlotry on any passer-by.” (Ezekiel 16:14-15)
Prophet Ezekiel’s words in today’s first reading remain prophetic. Like the Israelites of old, we have been unfaithful to God; our worship is shallow, and we have bowed to foreign gods. Still, God hasn’t given up on us.
Speaking through Ezekiel, God says: “I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame when I forgive you all that you have done, says the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 16:62-63).
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus is asked for his opinion on divorce. Recall that Peter had just asked Jesus a question about forgiveness, and Jesus had said: “not seven, but seventy times seven.” Jesus explained that there is no room for divorce in God’s mind. From the beginning, God created marriage to last as long as the couple is alive.
Reading this passage in English, it is easy to assume that Jesus gave an exception for divorce: “except for unchastity.” However, the Greek word used here refers to “illegal marriage,” not “adultery.” Jesus is saying that the only way a couple can be divorced is if the marriage never took place in the first place.
In a culture where women were treated as property and a man could afford to “use and dump”, Jesus’ teaching on marriage aimed at restoring the dignity of women. However, to this day, many struggle to accept Jesus’ teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. For Jesus, if you do not intend to remain married for the rest of your life, don’t marry at all.
Even Jesus’ disciples asked: “If that is the case, then isn’t it better not to marry?” Jesus responded, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.” This means that celibacy is a gift, a special calling. The celibate life is not an escape route from the challenges of marital commitment.
Since, in God’s original plan, divorce is not an option, how can couples find joy in marriage? St. Paul would say: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Couples must learn to forgive each other seventy times seven times. If, despite our unfaithfulness, God still gives us second chances (as Ezekiel prophesies in today’s first reading), we should not give up on each other.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, born Raymund Kolbe on 8 January 1894, in Poland. Deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary, Kolbe had a life-changing vision at twelve, in which Mary entrusted him with two crowns symbolising purity and martyrdom.
In 1910, he joined the Franciscan order, adopting the name Maximilian, and was ordained as a priest in 1918. A highly educated priest, Kolbe earned doctorates in both philosophy and theology. During the German invasion in WWII, Kolbe provided shelter to refugees, including around 2,000 Jews, and refused to accept German citizenship.
In 1941, he was arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where he showed incredible selflessness by volunteering to die by starvation in place of a man who had a family. Throughout his imprisonment, Kolbe led prayers to Mary and maintained his peace until he was executed by lethal injection on 14 August.
For his extraordinary sacrifice, Kolbe was beatified in 1971 and canonised as a saint in 1982 by Pope John Paul II. He is the patron saint of drug addicts, prisoners, families, and the pro-life movement.
Let us pray: O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbour, graciously grant, through his intercession, that, striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, Martyr. Liturgical Colour: Red. Bible Study: Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63, Isaiah 12, Matthew 19:3-12)
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu