12 August 2022
Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
The story of God’s love for humanity is one of loving faithfulness, beyond that of even the most committed married couple. In our first reading for today (Ezek 16:1–15, 60, 63), God speaks of Israel as a young woman whom he cares for and then takes as his bride. Even when Israel acts like a harlot, God remains faithful and will pardon her because of his covenant that he made. Nothing, not even the most shameful acts of betrayal, can hold back God’s love for Israel.
Given that the Lord uses marital imagery to describe his love when speaking through the prophets, it should not surprise us when, in the Gospel reading today (Matt 19:3–12), Jesus declares that God’s plan for marriage “from the beginning” is that man and woman, once married, should not be separated. Only thus can marriage be a proper reflection of Christ’s love for his Church, as Saint Paul describes it to be (Eph 5:25–32).
In our prayer today, let us reflect on these images of God’s enduring faithfulness to Israel and to the Church. If we are in the married state, perhaps we can then use this as food for reflection on our own relationship with our spouse, asking for the grace to grow more toward the ultimate model God offers. And no matter our state of life, we can reflect on the faithfulness God has shown us personally, asking that we might better learn to return God’s love in the way he desires.