First reading James 5:9-12
Do not ask for judgement, or you may receive it
Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord; remember it is those who had endurance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the patience of Job, and understood the Lord’s purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear by heaven or by the earth, or use any oaths at all. If you mean ‘yes’, you must say ‘yes’; if you mean ‘no’, say ‘no.’ Otherwise you make yourselves liable to judgement.
Responsorial Psalm 102(103):1-4,8-9,11-12
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
Gospel Mark 10:1-12
What God has united, man must not divide
Jesus came to the district of Judaea and the far side of the Jordan. And again crowds gathered round him, and again he taught them, as his custom was. Some Pharisees approached him and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’
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Everything was very good
In the book of Genesis, we have the account of the creation of the world. On the sixth day, God created men: ‘God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.’ (Gn 1:27) To have the same image of God means that we have been created with His same essence, which is love. St. John describes God as ‘Love’. That is what He is. As His children, we share in His love.
We all have the capacity to love and the need to be loved because love is the prime matter of our nature. Without love, we may survive but not fully live. In the marriage, two persons unite themselves in Christ’s love. He is the one who will assist them in moments of difficulties and conflicts. Jesus invites us to return to the reality that we have been created in God’s image, by being aware that God’s love is in us, and that is what we need to reflect to our family members, friends and those we meet each day.
Reflective question:
Have I experienced God’s love in my life?
Have I experienced God’s love in my life?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
