Cycle B - Year I:  

3 October 2021: 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!

We were warned by Sr. Lucia in the 1980s: "The final battle between the Lord and the reign of satan will be about marriage and the family."  These are her prophetic words and they are happening in our world today.

Do you remember Sr. Lucia?  She was the eldest of the three shepherd children who saw the visions of Mama Mary at Fatima in 1917.  She was the only one of the three who actually spoke to the Virgin, asking her own questions and answering others from our Lady.  The other two children were her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

The biblical concept of marriage --one man for one woman-- is under severe assault today.  Recently, a bill on divorce is being resurrected in the Philippine Congress, believe it or not, in the midst of this pandemic.  Clearly, this is rejection of the authority of God's Word by undermining the Bible itself.

So the Gospel proclamation for this Sunday is a timely reminder and a wake up call for us Christians on the sanctity of marriage and the blessing of family.

Our Lord Jesus reminds us about 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)

Now, 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.

Marriage, therefore, becomes our model for our future in God's kingdom. We are called to form ourselves throughout our lives to live as His children by our family lives, including weddings and married life. And welcoming children becomes a large part of that formation.

So as followers of our Lord Jesus 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.

During his last visit to our country, Pope Francis called on the people of the Philippines to be a prophetic witness in a world facing attacks on marriage and life, warning that "every threat to the family is a threat to society itself."

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!