TO WHOM IT IS GRANTED

PRAYER MOMENT                      

Friday 15 August 2014

TO WHOM IT IS GRANTED

Pause. Be still in God’s presence.

Reading: “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted.” (Matt 19:3-12)

Reflection. The Catholic Church is often seen as having lots of rules. But rules are there to support the spirit of a person. Our passage from Matthew today speaks of marriage – “he made them male and female” – and the Pharisees wanting to trap Jesus in a discussion about rules. Jesus proposes the ideal, which “not everyone can accept,” as that to which everyone is called – married or (by implication) celibate.- as God’s plan “from the beginning.” The church’s rules should be seen in the context of this ideal. They are there not to torture people but to support those who try to live the ideal. Currently, under Pope Francis’ leadership, the church is searching for ways of making the compassion of God more manifest in the daily life of Christians who find many of the rules out of harmony with what they find within their hearts. There is a meeting in Rome in October on this very subject.     

      

Prayer. Lord, help us to strive for the ideal in our married or celibate life. Help your church to proclaim both the ideal and the mercy of the gospel. Amen

David Harold-Barry SJ