Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is-27 Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin B p 481

Reading 1            -              Genesis 2:18-24

The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;  whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.  So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.  This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari    -    mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi 2, 18-24

Il-Mulej Alla qal:   "Mhux sewwa li bniedem jiqa' waħdu.Ħa nagħmillu għajnuna tgħodd għalih." U l-Mulej Alla sawwar mill-art l-annimali selvaġġi  u t-tajt kollu tal-ajru, u ġiebhom quddiem  il-bniedem biex jara xi jsemmihom, u skont ma jkun il-bniedem semma lil kull ħliqa ħajja, dak ikun isimha. U l-bniedem ta isem  lil kull bhima u 'l kull tajra tal-ajru,  u 'l kull annimal selvaġġ;  imma għall-bniedem ma nstabet ebda  għajnuna tgħodd għalih. U l-Mulej Alla tefa' nagħsa tqila fuq il-bniedem;u dan raqad. U ħadlu waħda minn kustiljih  u flokha mlieh bil-laħam.   U l-Mulej Alla sawwar il-kustilja,  li kien ħa mill-bniedem,   f'mara, u ġiiebha lill-bniedem. Imbagħad il-bniedem qal:   "Din id-darba  din hi  għadma  minn għadmi, u  laħam minn laħmi, għalhekk tissejjah mara, għax mir-raġel ittieħdet hi." Għalhekk ir-raġel iħalli lil missieru u lil ommu u jingħaqad ma' martu  u jsiru ġisem wieħed. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                     Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (cf. 5) May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.                                     R/

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
your children like olive plants
around your table.                                                                   R/

Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.                                                           R/

May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon Israel!                                                              R/

Salm Responsorjali    - Salm 127(128)

R/   Iberikna l-Mulej il-jiem kollha ta' ħajjitna.

Ħieni kull min jibża' mill-Mulej,

kull min jimxi fit-triqat tiegħu!

Mix-xogħol ta' idejk inti tiekol,

ħieni int, u riżqek tajjeb.                              R/

Martek tkun bħal dielja għammiela

Fl-irkejjen ta' darek;

uliedek bħal xitel taż-żebbuġ

madwar il-mejda tiegħek.                          R/

Ara, kif ikun imbierek

il-bniedem li jibża mill-Mulej!

Ibierkek il-Mulej minn Sijon!     R/

Jalla tara l-ġid ta' Ġerusalemm

tul ħajtek  kollha!                            

Jalla  tara wlied uliedek!

Sliem għal Iżrael!                                             R/

Reading 2       Hebrews 2:9-11

Brothers and sisters:  He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, " that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers.'   This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Qari      -   mill-Ittra lil Lhud 2, 9-11           

Ħuti, lil dak li għal ftit taż-żmien, kien imniżżel ftit inqas mill-anġli,  lil Ġesu', aħna issa qegħdin narawh imżejjen fil-glorja u l-ġieħ minħabba fil-mewt li hu bata, biex, għall-grazzja  ta' Alla, il-mewt li daq tkun  għall-ġid ta' kulħadd. Għax kien jixraq li Alla, li għalih u bih sar kollox, waqt li jwassal ħafna wlied għallll-glorja, jagħmel li l-Awtur tas-salvazzjoni tagħhom  ikun perfett  bis-saħħa tas-sofferenzi.  Għax kemm dak li jqaddes,  u kemm dawk li jiġu mqaddsin, ilkoll huma mill-istess wieħed. U għalhekk Ġesu' ma jistħix isejħilhom ħutu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

Gospel                                               Mark 10:2-16

The Pharisees approached Jesus 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."  And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the  kingdom of God like a child will no  enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju    -   Qari skond San Mark 10, 2-16           

 F'dak iż-żmien, resqu xi Fariżej lejn Ġesu' u biex  iġarrbuh staqsewh jekk raġel jistax jitlaq 'il martu. Weġibhom u qal:  "X'ordnalkom Mose?" Qalulu:  "Mose' ta  l-permess li wieħed jagħmel  il-kitba tad-divorzju, u jibgħatha." Imbagħad weġibhom Ġesu':  "Minħabba l-ebusija ta' qalbkom kitbilkom din l-ordni.  Iżda sa mill-bidu   tal-ħolqien Alla għamilhom raġel u mara. Għalhekk mela raġel jħalli lil missieru u 'l-ommu u jingħaqad ma' martu, u t-tnejn isiru ġisem wieħed. Għalhekk  mhumiex iżjed tnejn, imma ġisem wieħed. Mela dak li għaqqad Alla ma għandux jifirdu l-bniedem." Xħin daħlu d-dar id-dixxipli reġgħu staqsewh fuq dan, u hu qalilhom:  "Min jitlaq lil martu u jiżżewweġ oħra jkun ħati ta' adulterju kontra l-ewwel waħda; u jekk mara titlaq lil żewġha u tiżżewweġ ieħor tkun ħatja ta' adulterju." Ġibdulu quddiemu  xi tfal ċkejknin biex iberrikom, iżda d-dixxipli tiegħu qabdu jgħajtu magħhom. Ġesu', meta ra hekk, inkorla u qalilhom: "Ħalluhom it-tfal iż-żgħar jiġu għandi; iżżommuhomx, għax ta' min hu bħalhom hija  s-Saltna ta' Alla.   Tassew  ngħidilkom, li min is-Saltna ta' Alla ma  jilqgħhiex bħal tifel ċkejken ma jidħolx fiha."   Imbagħad ħaddanhom  miegħu u qiegħed idejh fuqhom u berikom. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.

///////////////////////////

Father Cantalamessa on Marriage:

                          The Two Shall Become One Flesh

The topic of this 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time is marriage. The first reading (Genesis 2:18-24) begins with the well-known words: "The Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'"

In our days the evil of marriage is separation and divorce, whereas in the time of Jesus it was repudiation. In a certain sense, the latter was a worse evil, because it also implied an injustice in regard to the woman, which, sadly, persists in certain cultures. Man, in fact, had the right to repudiate his wife, but the wife did not have the right to repudiate her husband.

There were two opposite opinions in Judaism, in regard to repudiation. According to one of them, it was lawful to repudiate one's wife for any reason, hence, at the discretion of the husband. According to another, however, a grave reason was necessary, established by the law.

One day they subjected Jesus to this question, hoping that he would adopt a position in favor of one or the other thesis. However, they received an answer they did not expect: "Because of the hardness of your hearts he [Moses] 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."

The law of Moses about repudiation is seen by Christ as an unwanted disposition, but tolerated by God (as polygamy and other disorders), because of hardness of heart and human immaturity. Jesus did not criticize Moses for the concession made; he recognized that in this matter the human lawmaker cannot fail to keep in mind the reality in fact.

However, he re-proposed to all the original ideal of the indissoluble union between man and woman -- "one flesh" -- that, at least for his disciples, must be the only form possible of marriage.

However, Jesus did not limit himself to reaffirming the law; he added grace to it. This means that Christian spouses not only have the duty to remain faithful until death; they also have the necessary aids to do so. From Christ's redeeming death comes a strength -- the Holy Spirit -- which permeates every aspect of the believer's life, including marriage. The latter is even raised to the dignity of a sacrament and of living image of the spousal union with the Church on the cross (Ephesians 5:31-32).

To say that marriage is a sacrament does not only mean -- as often believed -- that in it the union of the sexes is permitted, licit and good, which outside of it would be disorder and sin; it means even more yet, to say that marriage becomes a way of being united to Christ through love of the other, a real path of sanctification.

This positive view is the one that Benedict XVI happily showed in his encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" on love and charity. In it the Pope does not compare the indissoluble union in marriage to another form of erotic love; but presents it as the most mature and perfect form, not only from the Christian, but also from the human point of view.

"It is part of love's growth toward higher levels and inward purification that it now seeks to become definitive, and it does so in a twofold sense: both in the sense of exclusivity (this particular person alone) and in the sense of being 'forever.' Love embraces the whole of existence in each of its dimensions, including the dimension of time. It could hardly be otherwise, since its promise looks toward its definitive goal: love looks to the eternal" (No. 60).

This ideal of conjugal fidelity has never been easy (adultery is a word that resounds ominously even in the Bible!). But today the permissive and hedonist culture in which we live has made it immensely more difficult. The alarming crisis that the institution of marriage is going through in our society is easy for all to see.

Civil laws, such as that in Spain, permit (and indirectly, in this way, encourage!) beginning divorce proceedings just a few months after life in common. Words like: "I am sick of this life," "I'm going," "If it's like this, each one on his own!" are uttered between spouses at the first difficulty.

Let it be said in passing: I believe that Christian spouses should accuse themselves in confession of the simple fact of having uttered one of these words, because the sole fact of saying them is an offense to the unity, and constitutes a dangerous psychological precedent.

In this marriage suffers the common mentality of "use and discard." If a device or tool is in some way damaged or dented, no thought is given to repairing it -- those who did such repairs have disappeared -- there is only thought of replacing it. Applied to marriage, this mentality is deadly.

What can be done to contain this tendency, cause of so much evil for society and so much sadness for children? I have a suggestion: Rediscover the art of repairing!

Replace the "use and discard" mentality with that of "use and repair." Almost no one does repairs now. But if this art of repairing is no longer done for clothes, it must be practiced in marriage. Repair the big tears, and repair them immediately.

St. Paul gave very good counsels in this respect: "Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil," "forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other," "Bear one another's burdens" (Ephesians 4:26-27; Colossians 3:13; Galatians 6:2).

What is important is that one must understand that in this process of tears and repairs, of crises and surmounted obstacles, marriage is not exhausted, but is refined and improves. I perceive an analogy between the process that leads to a successful marriage and one that leads to holiness.

In their path toward perfection, the saints often go through the so-called dark night of the senses, in which they no longer experience any feeling, or impulse.

They have aridity, are empty, do everything through will power alone and with effort. After this, comes the "dark night of the spirit," in which not only feelings enter into crisis, but also the intelligence and will. There is even doubt that one is on the right road; if it has not all been an error; complete darkness, endless temptations. They go forward only through faith.

Does everything end then? On the contrary! All this was but purification. After they have passed through these crises, the saints realize how much more profound and selfless their love of God now is, in relation to that of the beginning.

For many couples, it will not be difficult to recognize their own experience. They have also frequently gone through the night of the senses in their marriage, in which the latter have no rapture of ecstasy, and if there ever was, it is only a memory of the past. Some also experience the dark night of the spirit, the state in which the profoundest option is in crisis, and it seems that there is no longer anything in common.

If with good will and the help of someone these crises are surmounted, one realizes to what point the impulse and enthusiasm of the first days was but little compared to the stable love and communion matured over the years.

If at first husband and wife loved one another for the satisfaction it gave them, today perhaps they love one another a bit more with a love of tenderness, free of egoism and capable of compassion; they love one another for the things they have gone through and suffered together.  

[Translation from the Italian original by ZENIT]  © Innovative Media Inc.

///////////////////////////////////