Reflection for February 25, Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 10:1-12

Gospel: 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.”

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Reflection: 

How is your married life?  

Many marriages are successful, it last a lifetime. If we would ask the couples about the secret of their successful marriage they would normally tell us that God is at the center of their marriage lives. When God is present in the lives of couples the chance of betrayal is nil. There is also the equal presence of Humility, Forgiveness, Patience and Love between husband and wife.  

From the very start the plan of God for married couples is to stay forever together. But the sad reality is some couples are separated and separating and some couples are betraying their vows of marriage.  

 Why is this happening? This is brought about by weak faith in God. There’s no fear and love for God anymore that is why married couples betray their sacred vows of marriage. Many are not even anymore afraid of the negative consequence of separation to their children.  

We may not know this but we are actually hurting ourselves and those we love whenever we betray the sacred vows of marriage. We give ourselves and those we love undeserved stress and problems. We also disturb the innocent minds of our children, try asking a child if he wants his parents to separate he/she surely would say no!   

Whenever we are tempted to betray our vows of marriage let us carefully think of the many aftershocks that it will create in our lives and in the lives of those that we love. -  Marino J. Dasmarinas