Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the 19th week in ordinary time, August 14, 2026, Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr

Delivered by Thia Santos from the Church of Divine Mercy Shah Alam in the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ezekiel 16: 1-5.60.63; Rs psalm: Is 12: 2-3.4bcd.5-6; Matthew 19: 3-12.FAITHFUL FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END Our meditation today has the theme: Faithful from theBeginning to the End. Faith leads us to be bound from beginning to end, firstand last time with God. We have a covenant with God. God is eternal andunchangeable, so what He has decreed applies from the beginning to the end. A decree that is mentioned by our reading today is themarriage consent between a man and a woman. The basis for this covenant is thecreation of every man and woman in the image and likeness of God. Each of themis endowed with the ability to choose, like and ensure each one’s love to thebeloved. This can happen thanks to God's intervention. That is why we believethat the marriage of a man and a woman depends very much on God's design andprovidence. The Lord, through the Church, continues this divine interventionto reach the moment of the celebration of sacred marriage. The love of a manand a woman celebrated in the Church is a sign that God blesses it. To this pointof celebration, the bond that has been made from the beginning is confirmedbefore God and the world, and should be maintained until the end of life. Godis eternal, so his decree and will must indeed be eternal. What if there is a failure that causes the marriage consentdoes not last? That was the problem that Moses faced in the first place withthe Israelites who divorced their spouses. This problem also happened in thetime of Jesus and then to our day. In essence, the act of destroying and breakingthe marriage covenant, Jesus says, is the sin of adultery. This is a great sin.This sin clearly offends God's plan and will.  How do we maintain and guard this bond of love? Theremust be many ways and signs. In the light of God's Word and today'scelebration, there is one way we can use to strengthen the bonds of marriageand family life. It is the way in to follow and imitate the model. We know thatthe ways of teaching, guiding, mentoring, and taking spiritual accompaniment shouldbe for us the useful and effective methods, but imitating examples are the mostconcrete and enduring way that one can do. Jesus Christ is our primary and precious model. Longbefore Jesus was born into the world, the prophet Ezekiel had already told hislisteners that God remained faithful even though man often acted unfaithfully.Because He remains faithful, He will always attract unfaithful people to returnto faithfulness. Saint Maxsimilian Kolbe and all the other saints are also ourmodels to become faithful to the end.    Letus pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord Jesus Christ, make us faithful asYou faithfully do the Father's will to the end. Hail Mary, full of grace ... Inthe name of the Father ...