Everyone who looks at a woman with lust
Published Jun 10, 2022 12:05 am
REFLECTIONS TODAY
The first part of the Gospel illustrates the deeper meaning of the sixth beatitude: “Blessed are the clean of heart (Greek katharoi tē kardia), for they will see God” (Mt 5:8). It invites us to see man and woman as partners in a covenant relationship, rather than as mere physical bodies or objects of desire. Jesus teaches that the outward act of adultery already starts from the wayward desires of the heart, “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy” (Mt 15:19). The uncontrolled desires of the heart lead to sexual relations outside of marriage, and eventually destroys it; whereas, to be “pure in heart” is to perceive the human body as the image of God, and temple of the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 364, 2519).
Commenting on this beatitude, Pope Francis writes, “A heart that loves God and neighbour (cf. Mt 22:36-40), genuinely and not merely in words, is a pure heart; it can see God. In his hymn to charity, Saint Paul says that ‘now we see in a mirror, dimly’ (1 Cor 13:12), but to the extent that truth and love prevail, we will then be able to see ‘face to face’… Keeping a heart free of all that tarnishes love: that is holiness” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 86).
GOSPEL • Matthew 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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 to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
The first part of the Gospel illustrates the deeper meaning of the sixth beatitude: “Blessed are the clean of heart (Greek katharoi tē kardia), for they will see God” (Mt 5:8). It invites us to see man and woman as partners in a covenant relationship, rather than as mere physical bodies or objects of desire. Jesus teaches that the outward act of adultery already starts from the wayward desires of the heart, “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy” (Mt 15:19). The uncontrolled desires of the heart lead to sexual relations outside of marriage, and eventually destroys it; whereas, to be “pure in heart” is to perceive the human body as the image of God, and temple of the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 364, 2519).
Commenting on this beatitude, Pope Francis writes, “A heart that loves God and neighbour (cf. Mt 22:36-40), genuinely and not merely in words, is a pure heart; it can see God. In his hymn to charity, Saint Paul says that ‘now we see in a mirror, dimly’ (1 Cor 13:12), but to the extent that truth and love prevail, we will then be able to see ‘face to face’… Keeping a heart free of all that tarnishes love: that is holiness” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 86).
GOSPEL • Matthew 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 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 to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.