The Holy Gospel according to Mark (10:1-12).
Jesus came into the district of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them.
The Pharisees approached him 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: In today’s Gospel, Jesus reaffirms God’s original plan for marriage, a union of one man and one woman. This was difficult for the Jewish religious leaders to accept because they recognized marriage as a human institution that can be broken with divorce. It is difficult to accept this today given the divorce rate is anywhere from 40% to 50%, and because of the secular world redefining marriage. But Jesus teaches us otherwise.
Jesus stuns the Pharisees and his disciples by forbidding divorce. On what grounds? In words repeated in the marriage rite he insists, ‘What God has joined together, let no one separate.’ God who ‘from the beginning’ in his love created these two individuals now calls them together to commit without reserve to a lifelong union of hearts, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.
The world needs to see the beauty of marital love that grows over the years. On October 7, 2021, in a homily for the Synod on the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict said, “Matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming ‘one flesh’ in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis”. Marriage matters, not only as an interpersonal reality, not only for the nurturing of children, but for the good of society and the life of the Church.
In his apostolic exhortation, “On Love in the Family,” Pope Francis describes the beauty of a long-lasting marriage: “Just as a good wine begins to ‘breathe’ with time, so too the daily experience of fidelity gives married life richness and ‘body’. …The love present from the beginning becomes more conscious, settled, and mature as the couple discover each other anew day after day, year after year. …they now taste the sweetness of the wine of love, well-aged and stored deep within their hearts”.
This Gospel challenges us to see marriage not just as a human contract but as a divine vocation rooted in love, fidelity, and self-giving. Jesus calls us to a deeper understanding of love, a love that mirrors God’s faithfulness to us, the Church.
The solution to marriage difficulties is not desertion, but forgiveness and a rekindling of love.
Action for the Day: For those discerning marriage, this is a reminder to seek God’s will in relationships. For those who are married, this is a call to renew your vows daily through sacrifice and grace. For all of us, this Gospel invites us to uphold Jesus’ and the Church’s teaching on marriage in our families and communities, supporting married couples in their journey of faith and love. Today, pray one decade of the rosary, meditating on the Wedding feast at Cana, for the strengthening of marriages within our families and friends.
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Thank you, Deacon Mike. You and Martha are a beautiful example of what a married couple should be like. God bless you both.