Hard Hearts
Friday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
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.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
Divorce is a terrible, widespread reality today. Because it is so common and so hard to deal with, many people try (unsuccessfully) to treat divorce as insignificant or even as good. But Jesus points out that God has had an intentional plan for marriage from “the beginning,” and He did not intend divorce. (“The beginning” refers to the Creation in the Book of Genesis, which starts with the words, “In the beginning.”)
Jesus does not form His standards of marriage and family around the law, around what others do, or around what others think. He forms it around God’s original plan. This is the plan the Church teaches (see the Catechism or a simple explanation of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body). God intends married couples and families to be closely united. We need quality time together. If constant soccer makes this impossible, cut back. If house projects or hobbies do, stop. If volunteering does, quit. If church groups do, quit them. If we are serious about living God’s plan for marriage and family, we will look different than most other families. Are we serious? In prayer, tell God whether or not we are willing to sacrifice other things to become closer as a couple or family. Then pick out what needs to be cut back to make more room for us.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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