“I Hate Divorce” | A reflection by Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ

Left: Icon of the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius of Antioch; right: "The Prophet Malachi", painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna, c. 1310 (Wikipedia)

“I Hate Divorce” | Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ

The prayers and readings of the Divine Office offer some clear messages appropriate to issues being discussed at the Synod

During the extraordinary synod on the family—that was  the theme, wasn’t it?—as I have been praying the Divine Office I have reflected on the fact that the synod fathers were praying the same prayers and reading the same readings as I. Often I have been struck by what seemed to me a clear message in Scripture directed especially at them, a spiritual “daily  bread” to nourish and fortify them for this particular moment.
 
Today, Friday October 17th, the feast of the great early Martyr Ignatius of Antioch, the message in the Office of Readings seemed clearer than ever.
 
The Psalm for the Office is Psalm 55, which is a lament (“My heart is stricken within me”) for a betrayal (“If this had been done by an enemy I could bear his taunts….But it is you my own companion, my  friend. How close was the friendship between us. We walked together in harmony in the house of God”.) is a fitting prelude to the Scriptural reading from the prophet Malachi (emphasis not orthographically in the original):
 
“And here is something else you do; you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and wailing, because he now refuses to consider the offering or to accept it from your hands. And you ask,’Why?’ It is because the Lord stands as witness between you and the wife of your youth, the wife with whom you have broken faith, even though she was your partner and your wife by covenant. Did he not create a single being that has flesh and the breath of life? And what is this single being destined for? God-given offspring. Be careful for your own life, therefore, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel, and I hate people to parade their sins on their cloaks, says the Lord Sabaoth. Respect your own life, therefore, and do not break faith like this” (Mal 2:13-16).
 
Perhaps this might be included in the final report of the synod?
 
Postsript: The passage from Malachi in the Office ends where my excerpt ends. And I see no need to comment. However, in checking the exact reference in my Bible, I came across the verse immediately following, verse 17, which also needs no comment, although I will say that it has a double message for all to hear:
                                                                                                                                                                                          
“You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘Every one who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice?’

I pray that the synod will be truly prophetic—in the footsteps of the inspired Malachi.

Comments

[Bill Russell]

Note this ominous comment:
AFP) This synod will be followed by a year of consultations, and a follow-up questionnaire will be sent out to dioceses around the world. A second, larger synod will then be held in October 2015.

After that, the results will be handed to the Argentinian pope, who will have the final say in outlining the Church's stance on family matters.

Adolfo Nicolas, superior general of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits -- to which Francis belongs -- told the I.Media religious news agency to watch for a possible "revolution" a year from now.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich, an ally of the pope, said there was no turning back. "There have been two steps forward, there may be one step backwards, but certainly not two."

[Bill Russell]

Cardinal Burke said that the Pope "has done a lot of harm." More than two-thirds of the Synod bishops saw this first draft Relatio for what it was: an attempt by six handpicked by the Pope to subvert the authentic Magisterium. The Pope read the Relatio and did not object. This was the first time in modern history - perhaps all history- that the bishops united to correct the Pope. And shockingly, a large minority of all the bishops favored the draft Relatio. This Synod was revolutionary, but not in the way that Weigel expected. Clearly the Synod did not go the way the Pope wanted. The first casualty was the Pope's close theological adviser, Cardinal Kasper, who was caught lying on tape. But the Jesuit Father Superior, a member of the initial draft committee, said that they are taking two steps forward and one back. Chairman Mao could not have said it better.