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First Reading: Jos 24:1-13
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods. But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies which I wrought in her midst. Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea with chariots and horsemen. Because they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians, upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them. After you witnessed what I
did to Egypt, and dwelt a long time in the desert, I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan.
They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them, the two kings of the Amorites, before you. Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to war against Israel. He summoned
Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you; but I would not listen to Balaam. On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him. Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power. And I sent the hornets ahead of you that drove them (the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites) out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow.
“I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 136:1–3, 16–18, 21–22 and 24
R His mercy endures forever.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.
R His mercy endures forever.
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.
R His mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.
R His mercy endures forever.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached him. They wanted to test him and asked, "Is a man allowed to divorce his wife for any reason he wants?"
Jesus replied, "Have you not read that in the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and he said: Man has now to leave father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body? So they are no longer two but one body; let no one separate what God has joined."
They asked him, "Then, why did Moses command us to write a bill of dismissal in order to divorce?" Jesus replied, "Moses knew your stubborn heart, so he allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not so in the beginning. Therefore I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, unless it be for infidelity, and marries another, commits adultery."
The disciples said, "If that is the condition of a married man, it is better not to marry." Jesus said to them, "Not everybody can accept what you have just said, but only those who have received this gift. Some are born incapable of marriage. Some have been made that way by others. But there are some who have given up the possibility of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who can accept it, accept it."
Opening Prayer
God, your name is love;
everyone who loves knows you
and anyone who fails to love
can never have known you.
Keep us from separating what you have united:
husbands and wives, parents and their children,
your Son and his Church, friends in their joys and sorrows.
Let all live in your creative, lasting love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Joshua's address to the people inculcates two points: first, God is the God of the history of his people and the people are what they are and where they are by the grace of a God who took pity on them and loved them; second, the promised land they now live in is God-given and belongs to God. Cannot the same be said of us, God's people today? Are not the land we live in and the earth we "possess" a trust of God? Is even the Church not something we do not possess, but only provisional for a people on the march in hope to their true promised land?
Gospel Introduction
God reveals some qualities of his own love in the love of husband and wife. It is a love that reveals, in which a person discloses himself to another person as intimately as possible. It is a love that accepts the other person as he or she is and is willing to share everything together. It is a love that sacrifices all self-interests for the partner. It is a faithful love. It is also a love that is creative, that brings out the best in the other person. Is this not an image of God's love and, conversely, is God's Trinitarian love and his love for us not the model of all human love?
General Intercessions
- For the homes built on unselfish love, that through them we may understand better all the depth of God's love, we pray:
- For homes that are broken and for partners who have failed each other, that people may show them understanding and that God may give them mercy, we pray:
- For those who have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God, that they may never become loners but that their hearts may be spacious and warm, open to all people and to all needs, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
around this table with bread and wine
we celebrate our community
and remember Jesus' love.
Let your Son accompany us
wherever we share the same food
and walk side by side toward the future
in faithfulness and trust.
Make us keepers of one another's happiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Faithful God of the covenant,
you have entrusted love to us
not as a finished product
but as an assignment for life.
Let the love of Jesus invest our love
with indestructible fidelity and generosity
that it may weather all storms
and keep growing in depth
until you crown it with your joy for ever.
Blessing
What God has joined together, let no one separate. Husband and wife are one, and they have promised to be one in sickness and health, in good days and in bad days. May God keep them united and may he bless you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
