One Minute Reflection – 15 June – Friday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel Matthew 5:27-32
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress and whoever marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”…Matthew 5:31-32
REFLECTION – “Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realise that it takes its origin from God, who is love… Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design. As a consequence, husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves alone… develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives. The marriage of those who have been baptised is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church (Eph 5:32).
In the light of these facts the characteristic features and exigencies of married love are clearly indicated. This love is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life but also to grow, so that husband and wife become, in a way, one heart and one soul and together attain their human fulfilment.
It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner, loves not only for what he receives but loves that partner, for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself.
Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other and this until death. This is how husband and wife understood it on the day on which, fully aware of what they were doing, they freely vowed themselves to one another in marriage… Finally, this love is fecund. It is not confined wholly to the loving interchange of husband and wife; it also contrives to go beyond this to bring new life into being.”…Blessed Paul VI – Humanae vitae, 8-9
PRAYER – Yours is the day and Yours, the night, Lord God and we are Your children. Grant we pray, that the weakness of our humanity, the drive of our emotions and flesh may not overpower us. Lead us Lord, through the dangers of our day, give us strength and true love, wishing only our final home for those who share our lives, especially our spouse. Mary, pray for us, that we may imitate your faithfulness in all things, St Joseph be a guide and a support to us all. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
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