Is divorce permitted?

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?”  (Matthew 19: 3).

Is divorce permitted? The Pharisees asked Jesus.  Jesus used this question to teach us God's original plan for marriage between one man and one woman.  God joined man and woman together to become one for life.
If this is so, what is the reason for the prevalent heart-wrenching divorces? Hardness of heart or sin is the cause, Jesus answered.  This is how the Church explains the progression of the hardness of heart:

"The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject "to its bondage to decay".Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will "return to the ground", for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history."  (CCC 400).

What sin has torn asunder, Jesus Christ has reconciled in His body by giving man and woman the means and tools to live in harmony.  The Church accompanies the married couples on their journey of faith with the Sacraments: Matrimony, Eucharist, Reconciliation. The Church provides a number of effective tools as aid to harmony: marriage preparation classes, counseling, Cursillo, Encounters, etc.

Like any vocation, it is impossible for marriage to work outside the framework of sacraments, tools and resources provided by the Providence of God for the institution today.

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