1. Two kinds of listeners.
Two kinds of people listened to Christ. One kind listened to Him in order to learn the truth. These are the true disciples. The other, the Pharisees, in order to trap Jesus to say something condemnable. Both approached Christ. And the Pharisees asked their trap question wherein either answer could condemn Jesus.
2. The Catholic teaching on divorce.
‘Is it permissible for a husband to divorce his wife?’ If Christ said ‘yes’ they would refute Him with ‘at the beginning of creation….etc.’ And if Christ said ‘no,’ then they would refute Him with ‘Moses permitted divorce and the writing of a decree of divorce.’
Christ did not answer right away and, then, gave His answer; neither God nor Moses allowed divorce. So neither should Pope Francis or anybody for that matter.
3. The first answer; ‘at the beginning of creation…..’ Christ’s gave His answer that eschatologically showed God’s future plan for His Church. Let us look and explain each line.
Firstly, God created Adam to His own image and likeness, thus giving him a mind and a will. The mind to enable Adam to believe in Him. And the will to enable Adam to love Him. There, we have a human being capable of becoming a member of the Church. Though Adam could love God, which is the first commandment of God, he could not love his neighbor, the second commandment of God because there was no neighbor.
Secondly, so God created another person like unto Adam who he can love because as Genesis noted Adam could not love his neighbor by loving the giraffe. So, now we have two persons that could make up the Church but who are not yet members of the Church.
Thirdly, so Adam and Eve are now capable of being one mind and heart thus making up the Church since two or three are needed to make up the Church.
Fourthly, but since it is better to have three members of the Church rather than two, God made the other a Woman so she can give birth and produce new members for the Church. There. We have all the elements needed to make up the Church in Paradise. But up to this point there is no Church yet because Adam and Eve, though they have minds and wills, those faculties are not one, yet. They had their own mind and their own hearts.
Fifthly. so God gave them a command that both of them can know and both of them can obey. Their knowing and obeying this command will make them one mind and one heart. Their knowing and obeying that command of God is what will make them the Catholic Church in Paradise.
Sixth, in order to enable them to provide new members for this intended Church, God make Eve a woman capable of giving birth to new persons with minds and wills that can know and obey the Will of God.
This is how God did things at the beginning, Christ said. Everything was prepared for the creation and continuation of the Catholic Church. But things did not go well in Paradise. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to chose their own mind and will rather than God’s. They sinned and that was called ‘original sin’.
4. Adam and Eve were stubborn. And their children followed suit. These were the ones Moses was going to lead. The descendants of Adam and Eve stubbornly choosing to sin rather than obey God’s original plan for the first family in Paradise. Because of their stubbornness the Church could not be established during the entire Old Testament. The Chosen People were constantly disobedient. And one among their favorite act of disobedience was against the 6th and 9th commandment of God. They often desired their neighbor’s wives and committed adultery with them.
To sin against the 6th and 9th commandment, some husbands would murder their wives to be able to marry another wife. I guess Moses could foresee Henry VIII. So Moses made a provision mentioned by the Pharisees; ‘Moses permitted divorce and the writing of a decree of divorce.’ Did Moses go against God’s command that husband should not divorce their wives? No. Moses tried to obey God but knew his incapacity to impose God’s law. So he thought of a delaying tactic.
5. If he delayed the divorce long enough both parties might just change their mind and call it off. It was a good move. This will be adapted, also, in the New Testament. So Moses employed a scribe to write the decree of divorce after which the couple could divorce. Except that during those time it took a long time to write a decree. Well, you had to import the paper and pen from abroad; you have to write the decree in Babylonian script, etc…..So it could really take years before a decree of divorce could be written down. In the meanwhile, the scribe is instructed to discourage the couple from divorcing. In most cases it worked.
But a few could really be so hard headed in their desire to marry their neighbor’s wife and the real wife could really be in danger of being murdered. So Moses would give them the writ of divorce. Moses thinking was; if this guy is bent on committing a mortal sin by murdering his wife, he might as well commit the mortal sin of divorcing his wife and committing adultery. Either way he would go to hell. The writ of divorce did not mean the husband can now go to heaven. So, the two ‘Motu propios’ of Pope Francis will allow you to divorce your wife and marry another; but it will still bring you to hell because that is still the mortal sin of adultery.
6. Now, let us see the two ‘Motu Propios’ in the light of today’s Gospel lesson on ‘divorce.’ Let us return to ‘At the beginning God created them male and female.’ We shall see that Pope Francis’ ‘Motu propios’ go against every thing in the Gospel.
St. Paul states that the husband personifies Christ and the wife personifies the Church; ‘Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church.’ So firstly, the husband, like Christ, should know the commandments of God. And the husband, like Christ, should obey the commandments of God. Otherwise he would not be like Christ and we cannot continue our comparison.
Then as St. Paul states; the husband should love the wife as Christ love the Church. So the husband should now teach his wife the commands of God and encourage his wife to obey the commands of God……..as Christ did to His Church. Husbands who love their wives as Christ love the Church do not divorce their wives. Imagine Christ divorcing His Church!!!
7. The two ‘Motu Propios’ is an encouragement for both husbands and wives not to learn the commands of God, i.e. not to have Faith. And is encouragement for both not to obey the commands of God, i.e. not to love God and neighbor (Charity.)
This in turn will make it impossible for both husband and wive to be one heart and one mind; i.e. impossible for them to enter the Catholic Church.
And lastly, it will make it impossible for them to have children that will go to heaven. The Gospel states; it will prevent children to come unto Him. By going against how God did things at the beginning, it will be the end of the Catholic Church.
8. Annulment for unconsummated marriage. Did the Catholic Church annul unconsummated marriages? Never!! Like in the time of Moses this was allowed because of your stubbornness. Even if your marriage is annulled because it is unconsummated you will still go to hell because of your stubbornness. Did you ever think that there was no marriage between Joseph and Mary just because their marriage was unconsummated? The Church recognizes Joseph as the husband of Mary. So they were more married than most consummated marriages. The great scandal in the Catholic Church is that there are so many marriages with several children and they are annulled! This divorce had never disappeared because of original sin. Today, the Vatican simple made it ‘easy, fast and free of charge.’ Big help….for hell.
If ‘coveting your neighbor’s wife is a sin; if ‘just looking at a woman and lusting after her is a sin……how much more divorcing your wife and marrying another?
9. The situation today is very bad. And most bishop might really have a harder time than Moses. But at least don’t make divorce easy, fast and free. Be wise enough to use delaying tactics lest we become accomplishes to the crime and pay the same price.
10. Many questions; Popes are supposed to lead us to heaven. How come the direction we see is leading us to hell? Popes are supposed to be infallible in matters of dogma and morals. How come there is so many mistakes both in dogmas and in morals.
What kind of listeners are we? The ones who wish to learn? Or the one to trap the Truth? With so many questions to answer, at least stick to the essentials; Scripture has it; obey God and not man. St. Paul said ‘if an Angel gives you another Gospel, let him be anathema. Don’t obey.’ Well, the ‘Motu propio’ was written just by a man.