20260814 MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY: SACRAMENT OF GOD’S LOVE
14 August 2026, Friday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
irst reading |
Ezekiel 16:1-15,60,63 |
I clothed you with my own splendour but you made yourself a prostitute
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, ‘Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her filthy crimes. Say, “The Lord says this: By origin and birth you belong to the land of Canaan. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. At birth, the very day you were born, there was no one to cut your navel-string, or wash you in cleansing water, or rub you with salt, or wrap you in napkins. No one leaned kindly over you to do anything like that for you. You were exposed in the open fields; you were as unloved as that on the day you were born.
‘“I saw you struggling in your blood as I was passing, and I said to you as you lay in your blood: Live, and grow like the grass of the fields. You developed, you grew, you reached marriageable age. Your breasts and your hair both grew, but you were quite naked. Then I saw you as I was passing. Your time had come, the time for love. I spread part of my cloak over you and covered your nakedness; I bound myself by oath, I made a covenant with you – it is the Lord who speaks – and you became mine. I bathed you in water, I washed the blood off you, I anointed you with oil. I gave you embroidered dresses, fine leather shoes, a linen headband and a cloak of silk. I loaded you with jewels, gave you bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your throat. I gave you nose-ring and earrings; I put a beautiful diadem on your head. You were loaded with gold and silver, and dressed in fine linen and embroidered silks. Your food was the finest flour, honey and oil. You grew more and more beautiful; and you rose to be queen. The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed you with my own splendour – it is the Lord who speaks.
‘“You have become infatuated with your own beauty; you have used your fame to make yourself a prostitute; you have offered your services to all comers. But I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last for ever. And so remember and be covered with shame, and in your confusion be reduced to silence, when I have pardoned you for all that you have done – it is the Lord who speaks.”’
Responsorial Psalm | Isaiah 12 |
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.
Truly, God is my salvation,
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song,
he became my saviour.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the greatness of his name.
Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.
Sing a psalm to the Lord
for he has done glorious deeds;
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Your anger has passed, O Lord, and you give me comfort.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps110:7,8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 19:3-12 |
Husband and wife are no longer two, but one body
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and to test him they said, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext whatever?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body? They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’
They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable’ he said ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of fornication – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’
The disciples said to him, ‘If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.’ But he replied, ‘It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.’
MARRIAGE AND CELIBACY: SACRAMENT OF GOD’S LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ez 16:1-15,60,63; OR Ez 16:59-63; Is 12:2-6; Mt 19:3-12]
Marriage in the Bible is always used as a symbol of a loving commitment between God and His people. Love is the highest desire of every person. We are created for love. Even if we have all the things of this world, without love, as St. Paul says, we are nothing: “If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Cor 13:2). We are created by love and for love; only love can fulfil a person’s life and give it meaning. But this love must also be faithful, singular, and devoted. God wants all our love so that, in loving Him, we can love others with all His love.
Within this context, we can appreciate the first reading from Ezekiel, which describes the infidelity of Israel, the People of God. In His mercy and graciousness, God chose Israel to be His spouse. They were nobody–only slaves in Egypt. “No one leaned kindly over you to do anything like that for you. You were exposed in the open fields; you were as unloved as that on the day you were born.” But God, in His mercy and compassion, chose them and saved them from their slavery. God liberated them and bestowed upon them gifts of fine clothes, jewellery, and good food: “I gave you embroidered dresses, fine leather shoes, a linen headband and a cloak of silk. I loaded you with jewels, gave you bracelets for your wrists and a necklace for your throat. I gave you a nose-ring and earrings; I put a beautiful diadem on your head. You were loaded with gold and silver, and dressed in fine linen and embroidered silks.” Israel became prosperous, and their fame reached the ears of other nations: “You grew more and more beautiful; and you rose to be queen. The fame of your beauty spread through the nations, since it was perfect, because I had clothed you with my own splendour.”
Unfortunately, in her beauty, Israel betrayed the Lord for false gods. The jewellery God gave them was used for idols, and the children they had given birth to were sacrificed to idols: “You have become infatuated with your own beauty; you have used your fame to make yourself a prostitute; you have offered your services to all comers.” No longer did they show forth the glory of God in their lives.
Indeed, adultery–which is a betrayal of relationship–strikes at the heart of marriage. Being betrayed by love in an intimate relationship is something that true lovers find difficult to accept, especially in a marriage. For marriage is an exclusive relationship of love given to one person, as cited by our Lord in the Gospel: “Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that He said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.” For marital love to last and be truly fulfilling, it must be faithful, singular, and indissoluble. No one wants to share his or her spouse with someone else. This is because the sexual union between a man and a woman makes them one in mind, body, and soul. Consequently, adultery breaks the bond of marriage, intimacy, trust, and love.
What is said of marriage between a man and a woman is also analogous to God’s relationship with us. He expects from us a singular devotion of love and commitment to Him. God, being the source of our being and the Lord of lords, requires of us total love: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.” (Ex 20:2-3).
Yet the truth remains: human beings are easily distracted by the things and pleasures of the world, the flesh, and the Evil One. Very often, because of pleasure or temptation to the good things of this world, some fall into sin–just like the Israelites. Like them, we are led astray by beauty of all kinds. We are enticed by the Evil One, and the desires of our flesh take control over our will. We forget that pure and true love–the love of God and the love of our spouse–is what makes us truly happy.
In view of human weakness, Moses gave some leeway to the command of God when He said, “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave or anything that belongs to your neighbour.” (Ex 20:17). This is also how the Lord explained it when He was asked whether divorce is permissible: “They said to him, ‘Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal should be given in cases of divorce?’ ‘It was because you were so unteachable,’ he said, ‘that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning.'” We have fallen from the ideal of what marriage is and what it entails. This has been the perennial weakness of men and women throughout the generations. Today, the situation is even worse due to promiscuity, a lack of stable marriages, fragile upbringings, and insecurity stemming from division at home, beginning with parents.
Yet, men and women are desperately seeking love. The truth remains that without love, life is incomplete. But even with love, there is much misery and pain simply because human beings struggle to love faithfully. When love is not rooted in truth, but merely in pleasure and passing romance, it only leads to heartbreak and misery. Many have gone to the other extreme, giving up on marriage and choosing to cohabitate because they feel incapable of lasting love. But this leads to deeper insecurity, as cohabitation is even less secure. Others choose same-sex relationships, believing they might communicate and understand each other better. However, the root of the problem is not whether a partner is of the same or opposite sex, but whether we are capable of faithful love. Combined with modern life, which is full of stress and demands, communication between couples weakens–further undermining marriages and destroying the foundation of the family.
For this reason, Jesus appeals to the fundamental truth of the matter: “Now I say this to you: the man who divorces his wife–I am not speaking of fornication–and marries another, is guilty of adultery.” For Catholics, this clearly means that no divorce is permitted, and if one remarries, that person commits adultery. Once married, the couple becomes one and belongs to each other. Marriage, in the eyes of our Lord and the Church, is therefore indissoluble, faithful, and fruitful. God’s love is faithful, as He said to Israel: “But I will remember the covenant that I made with you when you were a girl, and I will conclude a covenant with you that shall last forever.”
Given these demands and challenges, the disciples said in despair, “If that is how things are between husband and wife, it is not advisable to marry.” Marriage is only possible if a couple grounds their love in the Lord, since it is the Lord who unites them. Only when our love is celebrated as a sign of God’s love for us–which is what the Sacrament of Matrimony is all about–can we live out that love, not through our own strength, but through His grace. Marriage, as St. Paul tells us, is a sign of Christ’s love for His Church: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendour, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind–yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:25-27, 31-32).
What is said of fidelity in marriage is equally true for those who are single and those who are consecrated to God’s work. Jesus said, “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Celibacy is a gift from God, but it is not a gift given to everyone. Regardless, whether single by choice or circumstance, all are called to live a life of chastity and faithfulness–both to God and to the people they are called to serve. For those who take the vow of celibacy to imitate Christ, as St. Paul did, they too must remain faithful to their promises: “The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about the affairs of the world, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin are anxious about the affairs of the Lord, so that they may be holy in body and spirit.” (1 Cor 7:32-34).
In summary, whether we are married or single, let us be faithful and fruitful in love so that God’s glory may be seen in our lives as we devote ourselves to building His kingdom.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
