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Reading from the book of Joshua. In
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those days Joshua assembled all the
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tribes of Israel at Sheckchham and
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summoned the elders, the leaders, the
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judges, and the officials who presented
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themselves before God. Then Joshua spoke
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to all the people. This is what the
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Lord, the God of Israel, says, "Your
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fathers, Tur, the father of Abraham and
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Naher, lived on the other side of the
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Euphrates River and served other gods.
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But I brought your father Abraham up
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from the borders of Mesopotamia and led
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him throughout the land of Canaan. And I
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multiplied his descendants. I gave him
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Isaac, and to him I gave Jacob and Esau.
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And to Esau, one of them I gave Mount
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Seir as a possession. But Jacob and his
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sons went down to Egypt. Then I sent
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Moses and Aaron and punished Egypt with
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wonders which I performed among them,
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and afterward I brought you out of
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there. So I brought your fathers up out
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of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The
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Egyptians pursued your fathers with
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chariots and horsemen as far as the Red
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Sea. Then your fathers cried out to the
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Lord, and he placed them in the Red Sea.
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Darkness fell between you and the
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Egyptians. Then I brought the sea upon
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them, and it covered them. Your eyes saw
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all that I did in Egypt, and you lived
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in the wilderness a long time. I brought
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you into the land of the Amorites, who
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lived beyond the Jordan River. And when
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they fought against you, I gave them
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into your hands, and you occupied their
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land and destroyed them. Then Balac son
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of Zipier, king of Moab, arose and
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fought against Israel. He sent Fabalam,
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son of Beer, to curse you. But I would
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not listen to him. Instead, I blessed
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you through his mouth and delivered you
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from his hand. Then you crossed the
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Jordan and came to Jericho. But the
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inhabitants of that city, the Amorites,
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the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the
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Hittites, the Jurgosites, the Hivites,
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and the Jebusites fought against you.
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But I have delivered them into your
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hands. I sent hornets before you, and
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they drove them out before you, the two
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kings of the Amorites, not with your
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sword or your bow. I gave you a land you
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did not till, cities you did not build,
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and you live in them, vineyards and
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olive groves you did not plant, and you
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eat their fruit. Word of the Lord.
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Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St. Matthew. Glory
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to you, Lord. At that time, some
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Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
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tempting him, "Is it lawful for a man to
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divorce his wife for any reason?" Jesus
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answered, "Have you never read that he
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who made them from the beginning made
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them male and female?" and said, "For
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this reason a man will leave his father
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and mother and be united to his wife,
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and the two will become one flesh. So
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they are no longer two, but one flesh."
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Therefore, what God has joined together?
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Let no man separate." The Pharisees
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asked, "How is it then that Moses
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commanded a man to give a certificate of
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divorce and to divorce his wife?"
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Jesus answered, "Moses permitted you to
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divorce your wife because of the
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hardness of your hearts. But it was not
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this way from the beginning. Therefore,
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I tell you, whoever divorces his wife,
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except for illegitimate marriage, and
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marries another commits adultery."
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The disciples said to Jesus, "If this is
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the situation between a man and a woman,
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there is no point in marrying."
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Jesus answered, "Not everyone can
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understand this except those to whom it
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has been given. For there are some who
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are incapable of marriage because they
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were born that way, others because men
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made them that way. And still others
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have made themselves incapable of
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marriage for the sake of the kingdom of
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heaven. Whoever can understand, let them
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understand." Word of salvation. Glory to
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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imagine for a moment that you are
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leafing through an album of old
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photographs. Each page reveals precious
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moments of a family. The parents first
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meeting, the wedding, the children's
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first steps, birthday celebrations,
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moments of overcoming difficulties
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together. These images tell a story of
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love, fidelity, and growth through the
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generations. Today, in the readings we
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have heard, we are invited to reflect on
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two stories of fidelity. The story of
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God's unbreakable love for his people
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and the story of human love and
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marriage, both connected by the golden
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thread of the sacred covenant. In the
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first reading, Joshua gathers the people
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of Israel at Sheckchham for a solemn
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ceremony. But before any commitment or
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decision, he does something fundamental.
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He tells the story. Thus says the Lord,
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the God of Israel, and then unfolds
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before the people an extraordinary
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narrative that spans generations. It is
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the story of Abraham called from a
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distant land to begin a new life of
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faith. It is the story of Isaac and
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Jacob, imperfect men who became
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patriarchs of a great nation. It is the
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story of slavery in Egypt and the
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miraculous liberation through Moses. It
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is the story of a journey through the
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desert, of impossible victories, of a
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promised land finally reached. But
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realize, my brothers and sisters, who is
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the true protagonist of this story,
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these are not human heroes, however
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important they may be. The protagonist
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is God himself. I took you. I gave you.
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I made you dwell. I sent you. This is a
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story of divine initiative, of love that
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endures through generations, of
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faithfulness that never fails. God is
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essentially saying to the people,
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"Remember who you are and where you came
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from. Remember all the times I carried
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you when you couldn't walk, all the
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battles I won for you, all the promises
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I kept." It's a call to memory because
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memory is the foundation of
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faithfulness. How often in our spiritual
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lives do we need this same reminder?
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When we go through difficult times, when
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our faith is tested, when we feel
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abandoned or forgotten, we need to go
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back to our spiritual photo album and
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remember all that God has done for us.
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Every prayer answered, every door opened
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at just the right moment, every strength
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received when we thought we couldn't go
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on. And it is precisely this standard of
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divine fidelity that Jesus evokes when
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the Pharisees question him about divorce
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in today's gospel. They come with a
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seemingly technical question. Is it
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lawful for a man to divorce his wife for
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any reason? But Jesus in his wisdom
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doesn't get bogged down by legal
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Instead, he takes them back to the
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beginning to God's original intention.
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Have you not read that he who created
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them from the beginning made them male
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and female? Jesus is doing exactly what
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Joshua did telling the story from the
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beginning. He takes them back to the
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Garden of Eden to that primordial moment
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when God looked upon man and said, "It
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is not good for the man to be alone."
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And then Jesus quotes the poetic words
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of Genesis. For this reason, a man will
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leave his father and mother and be
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united to his wife, and the two will
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become one flesh. What a beautiful
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image. It's not just a physical or
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emotional union, but a merging of lives,
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a creation of a new reality where two
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people become an indivisible unity.
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Jesus concludes with a statement that
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echoes through the centuries. Therefore,
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what God has joined together, let no man
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separate. These words are not a cold,
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inflexible law, but a reflection of
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God's very nature. Just as God is
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faithful to his covenant with his
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people, just as he never abandons or
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rejects us, marriage is called to be an
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earthly reflection of this divine
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faithfulness. But the Pharisees, trapped
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in their legalistic mindset, question,
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"Then why did Moses command a
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certificate of divorce to be given to
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her so that she could be put away?"
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Jesus answers with profound wisdom.
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Because of the hardness of your hearts,
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Moses permitted you to divorce your
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wives. But it was not so from the
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beginning. Here Jesus acknowledges human
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reality, our tendency towards
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selfishness, our difficulty in loving
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sacrificially, our hardness of heart.
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The Mosaic law on divorce was not an
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approval, but a concession to human
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weakness, an attempt to protect the
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vulnerable in already broken situations.
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But Jesus calls us to something greater.
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He invites us not only to live according
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to the minimum laws but according to the
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divine ideal. And what is that ideal? It
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is the love that reflects God's own
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love. Unconditional, persevering,
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sacrificial. This means that Christian
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marriage is not just a social contract
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or a convenient partnership. It is a
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sacrament, a visible sign of God's
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invisible love. It is a vocation, a call
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to love as Christ loved the church,
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giving ourselves completely without
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reservation to the end. But let us also
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recognize the reality of our human
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condition. Not everyone is called to
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marriage. Jesus himself acknowledges
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this when he speaks of those who made
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themselves unix for the sake of the
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Some are called to express their love
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for God through celibacy, dedicating
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themselves entirely to the service of
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the kingdom. And for those who find
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themselves in difficult or failed
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marital situations, Jesus word should
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not be an additional burden of
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condemnation, but an invitation to
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grace. The church as a loving mother
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offers healing, forgiveness, and when
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possible, paths to renewal and
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restoration. My dear brothers and
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sisters, whether married, single,
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divorced, or widowed, we are all called
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to fidelity. Fidelity to God who never
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fails in his love for us. Fidelity to
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the commitments we make. Fidelity to the
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values of the gospel. Even when the
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world around us chooses easier paths. As
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Joshua reminded the people of the story
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of God's faithful love, we too need to
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constantly remember divine fidelity in
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our lives. We need to cultivate grateful
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memory recognizing the many ways God has
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been faithful to us even when we fail to
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be faithful to him. And if you are
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married, see your marriage not as a
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burden but as a sacred opportunity to
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reflect God's love to the world. Every
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act of forgiveness, every gesture of
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sacrifice, every moment of choosing
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love, even when it is difficult, becomes
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a living testimony of divine fidelity.
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For those who are single, remember that
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your vocation is no less sacred. You are
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called to love with the same intensity
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and fidelity, perhaps even more broadly,
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serving the wider human family. And for
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all of us, regardless of our state in
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life, the call is the same. To be
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faithful to the love that first loved
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us. To be reflections of divine
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constancy in a world marked by
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inconstancy. To be signs of hope for
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those who have lost faith in true love.
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May we, like the people of Israel at
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Sheckchham, renew our commitment to
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fidelity. May our response be an echo of
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that ancient declaration. We will serve
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the Lord our God and obey his voice. And
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may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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manifested in the faithfulness of his
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covenant with us, enable us to live in
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fidelity to one another and to him today
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
