What God has joined together, no human being must separate

17 AUGUST (Mt 19,3-12)

Man, in the very act of his creation, was made in the image of God, in his own likeness, with a particular, singular, and unique vocation, that does not exist in the rest of creation. He must be the sacrament, sign, instrument, means through which the mystery of our God which is a mystery of unity and the trinity; manifests itself in the world.

Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” (Gen 1,26-28).

The unity between man and woman is created in marriage, it is not an accidental, peripheral, epidermic, and only body unity. On the contrary, it is a unity of essence, and substance. A single flesh is created in it. A single breath of life is formed. It is an indestructible, and eternal unity. It dissolves only with death. Marriage is the great mystery of life. All of humanity draws life from it and never without might there ever be life.

The Lord God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. (Gen 2,18-25).

However, this unity is not separable from God. It can only be lived in God, with Him and for Him. As soon as a man is separated from his God, instantly he separates from his woman. With sin man lacks the principle of his very unity. The history of sin attests and reveals the debacle, the destruction, the annihilation of the mystery of marriage.

Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘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.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” [His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”

Jesus comes to heal man in his deepest essence. He comes to make him true, filling him with grace and Holy Spirit. He comes to tie him again to the very essence of God, making him partaker of the divine nature. This essential rebuilding of man gives truth even to wedding, which returns to be indissoluble. The only flesh is recomposed. The mystery returns to be form, essence, and source of life. But if man is separated from Jesus Christ, from his truth, from his grace, the flesh takes over and the mystery is destroyed again.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels, and Saints make us a single thing with Jesus.