Memory of Jesus crucified
Memorial of Saint Stephen (+1038), king of Hungary. He was converted to the Gospel and promoted the evangelization of his country.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 19,3-12
Some Pharisees approached him, and to put him to the test they said, 'Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?' He answered, 'Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh? They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.' They said to him, 'Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?' He said to them, 'It was because you were so hard-hearted, that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: anyone who divorces his wife -- I am not speaking of an illicit marriage -- and marries another, is guilty of adultery.' The disciples said to him, 'If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is advisable not to marry.' But he replied, 'It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born so from their mother's womb, there are eunuchs made so by human agency and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Pharisees pose to Jesus a question that was highly discussed in their schools. It was about the interpretation of a passage of Deuteronomy (24:1) in which the Law considered the possibility of divorce. Jesus does not want to enter the question directly but prefers to recall God's original desire for the union between man and woman: the family should be based on indissoluble love. Not only does Jesus not accept the interpretation of their rabbis, but he condemns the practice of divorce that the Pharisees practiced on a more or less large scale. And he took up the teaching of Moses. It is true that he later allowed divorce from the command of the beginning. But he did so because of the hardness of the human heart. Jesus reinforces the primacy of love in human relationships, including between a man and a woman when they unite in marriage. Irrevocability seemed a heavy burden even then. Today it appears even more so in a cultural climate where any prospect of stability seems impossible. Pope Francis, without dampening the ideal of marriage, has asked us not to abandon anyone and to understand with mercy the frailties we encounter. But this is possible within the horizon of the primacy of the Gospel of love that welcomes all, that accompanies all, and that helps all so that we may grow in love for the Lord and for his kingdom. And it is at this point that Jesus reaffirms the primacy of the kingdom of heaven in the life of the disciples, of all disciples. And so high is the ideal of the kingdom that there are some who do not marry "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven." Being celibate for the kingdom has an extraordinary value, not because it demonstrates a capacity for sacrifice, but because it demonstrates a radical choice for the Lord. It is to say even with life: God alone is enough for it.