Always faithful to God.

In the Book of Holy Scripture, which we also call the Book of Books, we can find a thought every day that is always temporal. So it is today. In the history of salvation, the relationship between man and God used to be likened to that of a model husband and wife. This was sure because, among the Israelites, great emphasis was placed on married life. Their marriages were, therefore, always solemnized with great solemnity. Unfortunately, in the case of faithfulness to the Lord God, they often sinned grievously, and consequently, the Lord often rebuked them severely for it. The prophet Hosea tells of one such transgression of Israel against the Lord God. It was when the northern tribes broke away from Jerusalem in the time of King Solomon. Therefore, they gradually forgot the Lord God and worshipped various idols, thanking them for blessing them. The prophet Hosea sternly admonishes the nation. And when they finally turned away from the models, the Lord welcomed them back with the kind of love only a good husband receives from his wife. The Lord promised them salvation, and man was reunited with his heavenly Father in the days of the Redeemer.

In the Gospel, the Pharisees reproached Jesus for his disciples’ failure to fast: ‘John’s disciples often fast and pray, even the disciples of the Pharisees, and yours eat and drink’ (Lk 5:33).

Moses prescribed the Israelites to fast once a year. But the Pharisees commanded frequent fasts. However, they did this not out of love for the Lord God, but only so that the people would admire them. Therefore, the Lord Jesus answered them: “Can you ask the wedding guests to fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (Lk. 5:34). In other words: The Old Testament is now coming to an end, along with all our false regulations. With my Church, I now begin the New Testament, the basis of which will be the union of the soul and heart with the Heavenly Father, as much as being married to Him. At such a solemn moment, let us not be ashamed and grieved, for this wedding is a time for rejoicing. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then in those days, they will fast. So Christ is God’s bridegroom, and the Church is his bride.

In reality, however, the Church is all of us; therefore, we owe our heavenly Bridegroom a kind of marital fidelity.
In Holy Baptism, we are brought into such close union with the Lord Jesus that it is as if our souls were married to the Lord forever. Thus were fulfilled the prophetic words in which the Lord foretold of His people: “Then will I betroth thee forever; I will betroth thee for truth and righteousness, love and mercy; I will betroth thee for faithfulness, that thou mayest know the Lord” (Hos. 2:21-22).

Jesus is called the betrothed of our soul in the Gospel. And as the betrothed of our soul, he wants to share his love, happiness, and peace with us. He expects the same from us, who are betrothed to him. St. Paul urges us to realize vividly that there is a much deeper union between Christ and his betrothed, the Church, than there is, for example, between spouses. This union is not written in ink but by God Himself, not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of human hearts.

When we were sinners, the Lord Himself had mercy on us. He entered into a close union with us, which should oblige us to live in the humility of deep appreciation, joy, and happiness and should be shared with our neighbors with whom we form the bride of Christ, the holy Church. In this respect, we should learn from the chosen people’s history. They have always paid heavily for it when they have embezzlemarriagee Lord God and broken their marriage to Him. Therefore, we should always live so that we never die our unity of union with the Lord and are always His alone.

But what does our practical life tell us? We must admit that we have many weaknesses in this respect. We may outwardly pretend that we have not forsaken our God and Lord, but we worship false idols in our hearts. In self-love, we curse ourselves, our pleasures, and our wealth. On Sundays, as it were, we honor the Lord so as not to be told, but we bow down to everything but Him all week long. We have no right to condemn the people of the Old Testament. This is especially so because the Lord has given us far more than them. He has entirely given us revelation, which they only longed for. The Lord has given us His Spirit to guide us, sanctify us, and give us an increase in the grace of God. He has given us the sacraments so that in them, His risen Son may nourish us spiritually so that we may not starve on life’s journey.

Therefore, let us not be surprised that the Lord expects much more from us for all this. He desires our unwavering faith, fidelity, and sincere love so that our marriage to Him may be as close as possible and our happiness as complete as possible. At every Holy Mass, Our Lord wants to cement his bonds of marriage to us, to his betrothed, the Church. He, therefore, desires our complete devotion and fidelity.

That is why He has called us here to give ourselves entirely to Him today, because tomorrow may be too late. If, therefore, we give ourselves entirely to the Lord, He can also say of us the words of the Gospel, “Can you ask the wedding guests to fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (Lk 5:34). But they must grieve if they have lost Him by their unbelief. May the Risen Body of Jesus be our solemn commitment today that we are his alone – in our cares and joys, so that we may be prepared for his eternal wedding feast, which will never end in heaven with him.

Let us, therefore, reach more often to the Holy Scriptures for our instruction!