October 7, 2012
Is-27 Ħadd matul is-Sena
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.
L-Ewwel
Qari
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/
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
may you see the prosperity of
all the days of your life. R/
May you see your children's children.
Peace be upon
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 127(128)
R/ `Iberikina l-Mulej, il-jien kollha ta’
hajjitna.
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/
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.'
It-Tieni Qari
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 not enter it." Then
he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.
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.
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Marriage and the Family: Humanity's Future
A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
Rather than commenting in
detail on each of the readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), I
would like to offer some general reflections on marriage and family life that
flow from Sunday’s readings. In today’s Gospel (Mark 10:2-16) the Pharisees
once again confront Jesus with the divisive issue of divorce and its
legitimacy: “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?”
“What did Moses command
you?” Jesus asked. They replied that Moses permitted a husband to write a bill
of divorce and dismiss the wife. Jesus declares that the law of Moses permitted
divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) only because of the hardness of hearts (Mark
10:4-5). In citing Genesis 1:27 and 2:24, Jesus proclaims permanence to be the
divine intent from the beginning concerning human marriage (Mark 10:6-8). He
reaffirms this with the declaration that what God has joined together, no human
being must separate (verse 9).
Jesus wisely and prudently
responds to the loaded question by appealing to God’s plan of complete unity
and equality in drawing men and women together in marriage. He affirms that
husband and wife are united so intimately that they actually become one and
indivisible. In answering a direct question that was deliberately designed to
entrap him, Jesus was speaking of the nature of marriage and of that only. His
emphasis is on its holiness and covenant fidelity and not on the illegitimacy
of divorce. The goal of marriage is not divorce and annulment!
Divorce, annulment
and remarriage
Jesus did not condemn people
who did their best and ended up divorced. He was not judging such people,
throwing them out of the community of the Church, or assigning them places in
hell. He was only affirming the outlook taken by couples themselves when they
stand before the Church’s minister and pronounce their wedding vows.
Today Catholic annulments
look to many like a simple Catholic divorce. Divorce says that the reality of
marriage was there in the beginning and that now the reality is broken.
Annulment is a declaration that the reality was never there. The Church
declares many marriages invalid because of some impediment present at the time
of the marriage.
Over the years of my
pastoral ministry, I have met many divorced people who feel very alienated from
the Church. For many, divorce was the last thing they ever dreamed of or
wanted. In many instances, it hit them unexpectedly, forcefully and tragically.
No one I met ever told me that they looked forward to a divorce. They simply
didn’t see any other alternative.
Some divorced men and women
have erroneously been told by well-meaning people that they are excommunicated
from the Catholic Church, which is certainly not true. Their pain is often
enormous; their need for understanding and acceptance is great. They need
unambiguous Catholic teaching to enlighten them and lead them to Christ. They
need friends, people to pray for and with them, and they need God in their
lives in the midst of rupture and brokenness. They deserve our understanding
and our prayerful care.
A positive teaching on
annulments should be offered in every parish community. Though it may be a
tedious and painful process for some people, an annulment can be an instrument
of grace, healing, closure, and peace of mind and heart.
The future of
humanity passes through marriage and the family
In the papal encyclicals
from "Humanae Vitae" (1968) to "Evangelium Vitae" (1995)
and especially the apostolic exhortation "Familiaris Consortio"
(1981) and the magnificent "Letter to Families" (1994), Popes Paul VI
and John Paul II have dedicated much attention to marriage and the family in
today’s culture. From the first year of his pontificate, John Paul II
constantly emphasized: “the family is the way of the Church." The family
is a school of communion, based on the values of the Gospel.
In 2008, on the occasion of
the 40th anniversary of the encyclical "Humanae Vitae," the bishops
of Canada
“In short, Pope Paul Vl’s
encyclical 'Humanae Vitae' and the subsequent 'theology of the body' developed
by Pope John Paul II issue an immense challenge to a world that is too often
occupied with protecting itself against the extraordinary life potential of
sexuality. In the wake of these two prophetic Popes, the Church, 'expert in
humanity,' issues an unexpected message: Sexuality is a friend, a gift of God.
It is revealed to us by the Trinitarian God who asks us to reveal it in turn in
all its grandeur and dignity to our contemporaries at this start of the third
millennium. The theology of the body has been compared to a revolution that
would have positive effects throughout the 21st century of Christianity. We
invite the faithful to be the first to experience its liberating potential.”
Signs of hope for marriage, family life and vocations
To accept Jesus’ teaching on
marriage requires the openness of children and a sense of dependence on God’s
strength matching the child’s sense of dependence on parents. When love is
authentic, strong, sincere and firm, it is accompanied by vision, joy and
creativity, new life and a desire for holiness. When married couples allow
Christ to be at the center of their project, they experience deeply the peace
outpoured by God -- a peace that flows forth to their children and
grandchildren.
The crisis of vocations in
the Western world requires that we rethink not only our manner of promoting
vocations, but the terrain where seeds of vocations are sown. This fertile soil
for vocations is the family, the domestic Church. This reality is brought about
by the presence of Christ in the home, from the graces of the sacraments,
especially the Eucharist, and from fidelity to the Gospel and the teachings of
the Church.
There are some voices in our
society and Church that don’t have much hope for the sacrament of marriage and
for family life. I beg to differ with such voices of doom and despair. Each of
us is responsible for fostering a true culture of marriage and family life as
well as a culture of vocations to the priesthood and religious or consecrated
life.
Over the past year in
particular, I have witnessed some very hopeful signs for marriage and family
life among young adults in various parts of the world. I had the privilege of
leading two retreats for university students -- one for the John Paul II
Catholic Chaplaincy of Sheffield’s Hallam
University in England and the other for the Catholic Students’
Association of Victoria University in British Colombia in Canada
The wise, ecclesial
leadership of university chaplains -- Sister Anne Lee, NDS in Hallam and Father
Dean Henderson in Victoria
I never had more open
conversations about marriage and family life than I did with those students in
Hallam and Victoria these past months. Many spoke openly about their parents
who were divorced and alienated or simply absent from the Church. The students
said that they learned from the mistakes and losses of their parents, and
wanted to pursue the path of a holy marriage and family life. They desire to
have Christ, the sacramental life, and the teachings of the Church at the
center of their lives.
I have also been very moved
and edified by the young men and women who form the staff of the Salt and Light
Television Network in Canada
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