He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts
Matthew 19:8
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.”
Reflection
The Pharisees question Jesus about marriage, asking if divorce is lawful. He replies that it is not, for even though this was the law of Moses, in the beginning it was not so, and the hardness of the peoples’ hearts made it a law.
While divorce is a tough issue to discuss in today’s society, as many marriages end in divorce, another focal point of the Gospel should be hardness of heart. The divorce law existed because of the people’s hardness of heart. God gives us the sacraments and many graces because of our personal hardness of heart.
Many times, we are unwilling to hear what God has to say to us. Our closed heart and mind can prevent us from fully receiving the graces God wants to give us, so that we may persevere in our earthly pilgrimage. Reflect on areas in your life where the hardness of your heart prevents you from truly receiving God as you ought – how can you improve?
Saint of the Day
St. Maximilian Kolbe: 1894 – 1941
| “The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers.” St. Maximilian Kolbe |
