20250613 FORTITUDE IN OUR FIDELITY TO CHRIST AND HIS TEACHING ON PURITY
13 June 2025, Friday, 10th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
2 Corinthians 4:7-15 |
Such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us
We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 115(116):10-11,15-18 |
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I trusted, even when I said:
‘I am sorely afflicted,’
and when I said in my alarm:
‘No man can be trusted.’
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
O precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Jn10:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Ph2:15-16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:27-32 |
If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.
‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’
FORTITUDE IN OUR FIDELITY TO CHRIST AND HIS TEACHING ON PURITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Cor 4:7-15; Ps 116:10-11,15-18; Mt 5:27-32]
In today’s gospel, Jesus gets to the heart of adultery, and by extension, to all other sins. It begins with seeing through the wrong mind, leading to desire, and then to the act itself. Jesus said to His disciples, “You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Indeed, before an evil action is committed, it always begins with desire, which is often aroused by sight and touch. This is how the sin of lust works within us. The Devil and the world seek to arouse our natural appetite for sex and sensual pleasure by presenting to us something or someone attractive and enticing. Very often, to tempt us to desire sexual pleasure, the object is presented in such a seductive and sensual manner that, when seen by the viewers, it arouses in them the desire to possess, because we seek to possess what we desire. This was the case with Eve, who fell because the Devil presented to her how nice and wonderful it would be for her to eat the forbidden fruit in the middle of the Garden.
For this reason, Jesus made it clear that adultery has already begun in the mind and heart of the person before it is carried out in action. We can prevent sinful actions only by first controlling our sight, mind and thoughts. A person who does not know how to avoid occasions of temptation and sin will surely fall into sin in due time, no matter how strong his or her will may be. By allowing ourselves to enter into sin – first by looking at sensual objects, then by dwelling on lustful thoughts – the desire increases until we can no longer resist and eventually succumb to sin. This is why the world floods social media with pornography and sensual images and movies: because a picture is more powerful than a thousand words.
What is the cure to avoid falling into the sin of impurity and/or adultery? Jesus says, “If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.” In other words, we must avoid the occasion of sin at all costs, even if it means cutting ourselves off from certain situations or circumstances.
We need to guard our eyes and prevent ourselves from looking at objects that disturb our peace of mind and lead us away from love and purity of heart. St Paul in his letter to the Philippians wrote, “whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8f)
What if your spouse has been unfaithful to you? The normal course of action today is to file for divorce on the grounds of infidelity. This has always been society’s way of dealing with infidelity in marriage since time immemorial, including the time of Moses. Jesus referred to the Mosaic Law. “It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal.”
We can appreciate the difficulties involved in human relationships, especially in marriage and family life. We know the challenges that couples face: lack of time for each other, lack of/or poor communication, the demands of work and social obligations, disagreement over in-laws and child rearing, financial stress, and personal struggles with uncontrolled anger, violence or the destructive habits of spouses such as gambling, smoking and heavy drinking.
But is divorce the only way to resolve these issues? When divorce becomes an easy and immediate option for solving the relationship problems, then it points to deeper emotional and personal issues within the individual. It may indicate a lack of maturity in sustaining a relationship, unrealistic expectations of the other person, an inability to compromise and seek mutually beneficial solutions, a tendency to impose one’s values and demands on the other, a desire to control and dominate the spouse, or a lack of self-awareness of one’s faults – using divorce simply as a means of escaping from self-reflection and personal responsibility whilst attributing blame entirely on the other person.
Most of the time, every problem takes two hands to clap. So, in cases of marital failure or difficulty, it is important for both parties to examine themselves individually first, before even attempting dialogue and reconciliation. Without self-awareness there is no possible growth, even when one enters a new relationship because history will repeat itself.
For Christ and the Church, we are called to uphold marriage at all costs because the Lord insists on the indissolubility of marriage. This truth is rooted in creation itself, as the Lord cited the text from Genesis. He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.” (Mt 19:8f)
Of course, among Christians, there are different views on how today’s text should be interpreted. Matthew appears to give an exception when he recorded Jesus as saying, “But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” The word “fornication” in Greek is “porneia” which can be translated as sexual sins and often refers to adultery.
Some Christians interpret this word, “porneia” in this way and hence permit divorce on grounds of adultery. However, the Roman Catholic Church, since its foundation, has always understood this term as referring to invalid marriages arising from marriage within certain degrees of blood-relationship, which were forbidden in Jewish Law. Some exegetes suggest that Matthew was applying Christ’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage to the Gentile Christians who had contracted such marriages within prohibited degrees of blood-relationship.
Regardless of one’s interpretation, the intention of Christ is clear – that there should be no divorce whatsoever if the marriage is valid. This is God’s plan for us all, so that our families may remain stable, our children grow up holistically, and society remains united. To destroy the family is to destroy the bedrock of society. This is precisely what the devil and the world are seeking to do, resulting in more and more children growing up without parents, or raised by only one parent.
Nevertheless, we must recognize the genuine struggles faced in marriages that are really incompatible and at times violent. How do we help such couples? How do we seek to be true to the Gospel teaching while preserving the family together – or even our own sanity? The first reading invites us to follow the path of Paul who, in the face of struggles against the difficulties in his ministry said, “We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed.” Do we follow that example? How can we be that earthenware jar, remaining strong amid conflicts and difficulties?
Paul reminds us all that we need to rely on God and seek to grow in maturity in the Lord by dying to ourselves. “Wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So, death is at work in us, but life in you.”
We need to die to our ego and pride, and our own sins if we want to repair our marriage. Most of all, we must rely on the power of the Risen Lord, as Paul says, “But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us.” With Christ, nothing is impossible. God can help us transform our marriage if both spouses will turn to Christ, sincerely confess their sins, find healing of their wounds and hearts, read the Scripture and be enlightened in the truth and walk the way of Christ. Being Christ to each other is the key to resolving conflicts in relationships.
Of course, we must also turn to the Church, the Christian community for help. In the Church, there are many programs and movements that help couples to be faithful to each other and to Christ. We have Marriage Preparation Course, Couple Mentoring, Couple Empowerment program, Engaged Encounter, Marriage Encounter and Retrouvaille. So, the resources and help are many, provided couples are serious in growing and improving their married life and are humble enough to admit that they cannot live this marriage alone but with the help of Christ and His community.
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.
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