TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF YEAR B
3rd October 2021

Dear Parishioner

Today's Scripture readings are about the bond of love that marriage creates between a man and a woman, a bond that God intends to be permanent. These readings challenge the spouses to practice the fidelity of their ever-faithful God, honouring their holy covenant commitment before Him.

The first reading, taken from Genesis explains God's original plan concerning sex and marriage. It teaches us that God made man and woman for each other. Hence, in marriage they are no longer two but one, united by an unbreakable bond. The reading also describes the institution of marriage and shows that monogamy was God's intention from the very beginning. The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 128) expands the marital theme of the first reading and the Gospel to include the children born of the union. Since the children enrich the lives of their parents, the Psalmist prays: "May you see your children's children."

The second reading, taken from the Letter to the Hebrews, reminds us that Jesus became one of us, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. As one of us, Jesus "tasted death for everyone". He was not only the Sacrifice, but also the High Priest. We are now Jesus' brothers and sisters, bonded with Him, and through Him bonded with God. Thus, Christ became the Saviour of all people - the good, the bad, the divorced and everyone, and received all of us as brothers and sisters. Jesus' prohibition of divorce can be a source of suffering for those who face difficult married lives. Paul suggests that we have to accept pain as Jesus did, as the suffering we should endure on the way to glory.

Today's Gospel gives Christ's explicit teaching on marriage and divorce, the Divine origin of marriage, the sacredness of family life, and the indissolubility of marriage. These are difficult messages to preach in a society that embraces co-habitation and ignores both the escalating divorce statistics and the dangerous consequences of divorce. The Gospel teaches that family life is sacred, that husband and wife are partners with equal rights and that the destruction of the family by divorce is producing the destruction of society.

Fr Jijo George

Notices:
Please remember to pray for:

Daily for the sick clergy of our Diocese

The sick and housebound

Those who have recently died

Years Mind:
Monday: Fr Gordon Godfrey
Tuesday: Pope John Paul I
Thursday: Fr Bernard Wakeling
Sunday: Fr Michael Hopkins

NEXT SUNDAY'S READINGS - TWENTY-EIGHTH Sunday Year B

First Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11
Compared with wisdom, I held riches as nothing.

Second Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13
The word of God can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Gospel: Mark 10:17-30
Go and sell everything you own and follow me.