Cycle B - Year II:  

7 October 2018: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Genesis 2:18-24

Second Reading:   Hebrews 2:9-11

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 10:2-16

God has joined them together!

My generation grew up and struggled with the concept of "colonial mentality". Have you ever heard or remembered such a term? It is the belief that foreigners and everything associated with them were far superior than locals.

Shades of "colonial mentality" still persists today when developing nations tend to follow anything that developed countries do and say.

For example, the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same sex "marriage" is used by local groups to pressure the Philippine Congress and Senate to follow suit including a divorce law.

But it is a fallacy to believe that developing countries must always follow in the footsteps of developed nations in the name of "progress". In the issues of divorce and same sex "marriage", it is a tragic error that harms the common good.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us in this Sunday's Gospel what is God's plan for the human race from the very beginning of creation in dealing with the issue of divorce.

"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." (Mk 10:6-9)

What did Jesus mean when He said that a husband and wife are to be "one flesh"?  He intended it to mean more than just a mere partnership for establishing a family or intimate relationship between two individuals. Because in fact marriage involves a partnership of not just two persons of husband and wife, but a third as well. For it is God Himself who joins with a husband and wife when they become "one flesh" in the Sacrament of Marriage.

St. Paul the Apostle used marriage as an analogy for Christ and the Church, His bride. (Eph 5:32) God wants an unbreakable union between Himself and His people, which is possible only through the gift of the Holy Spirit who purifies us and makes us one in Christ.

So as followers of Christ, let us steadfastly proclaim the goodness, and bear witness to the truth and beauty of marriage, and protect our families in the face of unceasing and well-funded efforts by some sectors of our society to destroy marriage and the family and our beautiful Filipino values.

The persistent but deceiving argument that we are the only remaining nation without a divorce law, is actually a blessing rather than a curse. For we bear witness, and live by, the truth... from the very beginning of God's creation.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us pray for our Filipino families: Heavenly Father, please bless our families with Your love and protect us from harm. Give us Your grace to forgive, strength to overcome the difficulties we face, and keep us together when the world tries to pull us apart. In Jesus's name, Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!