St. Matthew 19: 3-12

Let us all remember that we are in the Holy presence of God.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit

St. Matthew 19: 3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, 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.”

Reflection
Even at the beginning of God’s creation, marriage is already considered as a blessed sacrament and a union between a man and a woman. Within this agreement, it is the responsibility of both the husband and wife to make their marriage work and to remain with each other’s household until death separates them. The Gospel for today is also a call in our present time that a man and a woman should take a mindful task to pray for a lifetime partner whom they will spend the rest of their life (since the decision is no turning back once you finally into the sacrament of marriage). It is indeed a reminder for us (especially those who are married) that despite of the ups and downs in the marriage life, both parties need to solve their problems successfully and work-out the personality differences. On the other hand, the #7 of the Ten Commandments instructed us to “Thou shalt not commit adultery"; indeed, it is our Christian obligation to follow this and to protect the marriage to the best of one’s ability. The message can also be connected about the reverence for life; in marriage, the husband and wife must always cherish and appreciate the life of each other (“Till death do us part”) and only God has the right to take away one’s life since He is the source of everything. Up to what extent you can sacrifice and preserve your marriage up to the end of time?

Lasallian Guiding Principle
The LGP book stated “Stewardship, therefore, means that creation is entrusted to humans, not to exploit and use as they please, but to rule with mercy, love and real concern for the welfare of all.” (Sean McDonagh, Passion for the Earth. Claretian Publication 1994, p. 140) “Integrity of creation means firstly, that all of creation has its own intrinsic value, dignity and reason for being; and secondly, that all of creation is closely linked and interdependent.” We, human beings are created by God and we are the stewards of His creation. Where ever we are and no matter what is our status in life, it is our responsibility to take good care of our environment; to use it appropriately and as much as possible, avoid wasting and abusing it. As part of the Lasallian community, we take part on being good stewards of God since we participate in some of the activities in promoting material order. As an institution we actively support the activities that manifest the care for the environment (proper disposal of garbage, recycling materials and waste materials / items, engaging in tree planting activities just to name a few). It is good to note also that we in some way take into account the 4 core values of this institution especially the reverence for life since we protect our environment, we also protect people’s health, and even the other living and non-living things. Thus, we are participating in putting things in material order and we show our love, care, mercy and shows integrity and respect to all the creations of God. May God continuously use us to become better stewards and blessing to everyone we encounter.

Prayer
ONE COMMITMENT PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
You love us all and make us your brothers and sisters.
You call us to follow you.
You invite us to announce the Good News.
Lord, grant us the courage to live our commitment.
Teach us to go beyond our borders.
Teach us to discover you in the lowliest
Teach us to see with the eyes of faith
Teach us to share our mission with all Lasallians
Throughout the whole world.
We make this prayer through the intercession of Mary,
Queen and Mother of the Christian Schools,
And through the intercession of St. John Baptist de la Salle, patron of teachers. Amen.
St. John Baptist de la Salle, pray for us.
St. Miguel Febres Cordero, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (sign of the cross) Amen.

VALUE: Reverence for Life (Nurturing Life)
CULTURE THEME: We care for the environment
PRODUCTIVITY THEME: Material Order
INSTITUTIONAL COMMON VIRTUES (ICV): We comply to the rules and regulations on the
protection of the environment
Sources:
(n.d). Daily Gospel retrieved on July 31, 2019, from https://dailygospel.org/AM/gospel/2019-07-15
Guiding principles of the Philippine Lasallian family book

Prepared by: Mia Maila P. Mangoba