THEY ARE NO LONGER TWO, BUT ONE FLESH
Ez 16,1-15.60.63 opp. Ez 16,59-63; C Is 12,2-6; Mt 19,3-12
17 AUGUST
It is more than necessary to do justice to Moses. In Deuteronomy repudiation is granted, but for heavy reasons, of shame, because the woman has behaved dishonestly, creating great embarrassment in her husband. At the time of the Pharisees, from grave reason repudiation was reached to for any reason. Here Moses really must stay out of it.
“When a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and therefore he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house: if on leaving his house she goes and becomes the wife of another man, and the second husband, too, comes to dislike her and dismisses her from his house by handing her a written bill of divorce; or if this second man who has married her, dies; then her former husband, who dismissed her, may not again take her as his wife after she has become defiled. That would be an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring such guilt upon the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage (Dt 24,1-4).
But it is even more necessary to do justice to the Lord, who through his prophet Malachi had manifested hatred towards the repudiation, because of which his altar was profaned. Victims were offered with an unclean heart.
This also you do: the altar of the Lord you cover with tears, weeping and groaning, Because he no longer regards your sacrifice nor accepts it favourably from your hand; And you say, “Why is it?” – Because the Lord is witness between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have broken faith though she is your companion, your betrothed wife. Did he not make one being, with flesh and spirit: and what does that one require but godly offspring? You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith with the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, And covering one’s garment with injustice, says the Lord of hosts; You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith (Mal 2,13-16).
Christ Jesus came to effuse the Holy Spirit into the heart of every man. The Spirit comes, takes away the heart of stone – the one and only foundation on which repudiation is based – and creates in its place a new heart, capable of loving and observing every Law of God.
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.”
It is not enough to receive the Holy Spirit to walk according to the Spirit, in order to produce its fruits. The Spirit must always be revived. In addition, marital fidelity is the most pure grace to ask the Lord from moment to moment. If the Christian detaches himself from the Holy Spirit, he abandons the source of every grace that is the Eucharist, he leaves the Gospel, he will return with the heart of stone and he will complete the works of the heart of stone. The Eucharist is to be desired before the divorce, before any adultery and before any concubinage. First one leaves it. Then when he is with the heart of stone, he wants it, but not to get the heart of flesh back, but to stay with the heart of stone.
Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that the Christian always walks according to the Spirit.