Mk 10, 1-12 They are no longer two but one flesh

Mark 10

(Mk 10, 1-12) They are no longer two but one flesh

[1] He set out from there and went into the district of Judea (and) across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them. [2] The Pharisees approached and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. [3] He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" [4] They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." [5] But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. [6] But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. [7] For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), [8] and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. [9] Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." [10] In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. [11] He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; [12] and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

(CCC 1627) The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband" (GS 48 § 1; OCM 45; cf. CIC, can. 1057 § 2). This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh" (Gen 2:24; cf. Mt 10:8; Eph 5:31). (CCC 1639) The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself (Cf. Mk 10:9). From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine law,… even in the eyes of society" (GS 48 § 1). The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man: "Authentic married love is caught up into divine love" (GS 48 § 2). (CCC 1640) Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom (Cf. CIC, can. 1141).