Gospel Reflection for The 13th day of June in the year of Our Lord, 2025
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Matthew 5:27-32
27 You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. 28 But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell.
31 And it hath been said, whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce. 32 But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.
Our Lord gave several hard teachings in His earthly ministry. Among them are the Eucharist, that bread and wine become the spiritual body and blood of Jesus, to turn the other cheek, to forgive our brother an unlimited number of times, the authority of the priesthood to forgive sins, the resurrection of the dead, His own resurrection, etc. But, chief among these is our Lord’s teaching on the permanence of marriage. Indeed, in each of the Gospels, Jesus is quoted in saying that marriage is an indissoluble sacrament. Divorce is not allowed for the Christian. Yet, every Christian Church on earth allows divorce save the Catholic Church. What does that tell you?
In many ways, all of Protestantism is founded on the denial of the simple words of Jesus. Each denominations says, “Well, Jesus didn’t really mean that…” Martin Luther railed against the priesthood and encouraged adultery... even murder. King Henry, VIII founded his church on divorce. Each denomination teaches something different from the Catholic Church, through a misrepresentation or denial of the words of Christ. When Martin Luther was confronted by other Protestants on this point, he admitted to changing the very words of Jesus in the Bible and sited his authority as “Dr. Luther.”
In terms of marriage though, our Lord also gave authority to His Church to bind and loose. If the Church finds that a marriage is invalid, an annulment may be granted. This is by no means a divorce. Neither is a civil marriage or a marriage in a Protestant Church or even another religion equal to a truly Christian marriage. While these marriages are valid and binding (if entered lawfully), only the Catholic Church has the power given by God to raise marriage to the position of a sacrament. Within the Catholic Church, special graces are given by Jesus, through His priest to the married couple.
In our time, divorce is common both among Protestant and Catholic. It is not a good thing. When we stand before our Lord, He will ask one why they did not follow His words in the Bible and the other His teaching through Sacred Tradition. Is it really so hard just to uphold the vows one makes in marriage? It doesn’t seem to have been for our grandparents, great grandparents, etc… something has changed, but it is neither God nor human nature. It is the permissiveness and degradation of our culture. Many “good Catholics’ need to realize that their chastity before marriage is hardly a virtue if they betray the solemn vows they take in the Sacrament of Marriage. More bad folks have found a path to salvation through marriage, as all Sacraments provide, than a good person has through divorce. Sometimes, a marriage must end due to abuse or other very serious issues, but divorce should never be taken lightly. A Protestant told me recently, “I got it right on the 4th try”… is that really any more moral than a promiscuous single person, a gay couple or even a pedophile priest? We all make mistakes, but refusing to identify sin as sin is actually worse than committing that sin out of weakness or ignorance. Marry with the intention of committing to be married for life and having a family (if biologically possible) or not at all. That is what Jesus commanded… not a request or a suggestion. It is the Word of God.
Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, A Daily Catholic Devotional, Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings July-December, 2025 It is Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F5BHFZ7X
and
Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is also Available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK
His podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic