The Gospel of the Mass shows Jesus teaching a multitude that came from all the neighboring towns. And in the midst of these simple people who eagerly received the Word of God, some Pharisees appeared with twisted intentions, wanting to confront Christ with the Law of Moses. They ask him whether it is lawful for a husband to put away his wife. Jesus said to them, "What did Moses command you? They said, Moses permitted to write her a bill of divorcement and to put her away. This was admitted by all, but it was disputed whether it was lawful to put away the wife for any reason2, for a trifling cause, even for no reason at all.
Jesus Christ, Messiah and Son of God, knows perfectly well the meaning of this Law: Moses had permitted divorce because of the hardness of heart of his people, and he protected the condition of women, for it was so degrading that she was considered in many cases as a slave without any rights, by prescribing a document (the libel of repudiation) by which the repudiated woman regained her freedom again. This certificate was a real social advance for those times of barbarism in so many customs3.
But Jesus restores the dignity of marriage to its original purity, as God instituted it at 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 that they are no longer two, but one flesh
What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.
This teaching resounded extraordinarily demanding in the ears of all, in such a way that the disciples themselves - as St. Matthew tells us - said to him: If such is the condition of a man with regard to his wife, it is of no account to marry.4 And the conversation must have dragged on, because again, at home, they asked him again. And the conversation must have been prolonged, because again, when they were at home, they asked him again. And Jesus declared forever: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if the wife divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
The Lord points out how God established in the beginning the unity and indissolubility of marriage. St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this teaching, expresses in a simple and clear formula that marriage is from one to one and forever5. The Magisterium of the Church, guardian and interpreter of the natural and divine law, has constantly taught that marriage was instituted by God with a perpetual and indissoluble bond, and "that it was protected, confirmed and elevated not by the laws of men, but by the very author of nature, God, and the restorer of the same nature, Christ the Lord; laws, therefore, which cannot be subject to the will of men, not even to the contrary will of the spouses themselves "6. Marriage is not a simple private contract; it cannot be broken by the will of the contracting parties.
There is no human reason, however strong it may seem, capable of justifying divorce, which is contrary to natural and divine law.
John Paul II encouraged Christian spouses to be faithful to the Christian project of family life, even when they live in environments where the norms of Christian life are not taken into due consideration or are under strong contrary pressure7. And we should pray frequently for the stability of families - beginning with our own - and we should always strive to be instruments of unity through willing service, continuous joy and an effective apostolate that leads everyone to God. Do we pray every day for those in the family who need it most? Do we pay more attention to the weakest and most vulnerable? Do we take care of those who are sick?
Hablar con DIos