Memory of Jesus crucified
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 5,27-32
'You have heard how it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say this to you, if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body go to hell. 'It has also been said, Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of an illicit marriage, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Jesus mentions the sixth commandment: "You shall not commit adultery." This rule obliged both husbands and wives not to betray each other and hence to keep their marriage bond intact. Jesus does not abolish this commandment, but he knows that a mere external observation of it is not enough to guaranty the integrity of a marriage. The heart - a deep, interior involvement - is needed to build a solid and stable family. Love - the commitment to bind oneself to others - should be subject to our passing and selfish feelings. In the case of marriage, and not only, love means to choose to live together for life. This love was introduced at the climax of creation, when, after creating Adam, God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone." It is an affirmation of the superiority of communion over loneliness. It is good for the whole world to be built up as one family, from the domestic family to the family of nations. The love that Jesus demands is a commitment to building a world with the features of God's own love. It is a high choice irreconcilably opposed to the instinct to satisfy our personal feelings at all costs. This is why Jesus does not hesitate to say, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." And the same goes for our hand. Every concession to selfishness undermines love. There is a seriousness in following the Gospel and one cannot be a stumbling block (this is what "scandal" means) for one's brothers and sisters with one's self-centred behaviour. It is better to lose an eye or lose a hand if they are an occasion of scandal. Jesus, with these hyperboles, means to refer to cutting off one's instincts whose roots are in the heart.