Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17 / Mark 10:1-12
All of us have friends; we have good friends and even best friends.
But do we have true friends? That phrase "true friends" might sound rather strange because we seldom use it.
Yet the question remains. Do we have true friends? And what is a true friend?
The 1st reading gives us a description of what a true friend is. It says :
A faithful friend is a sure shelter, whoever finds one has found a rare treasure.
A faithful friend is something beyond price, there is no measuring his worth.
So do we have a true and faithful friend? For those of us who are married, is our spouse our true and faithful friend?
Married couples are not only true and faithful friends with each other, they are no longer two, but they are one body - one in mind and heart.
That is what Jesus said in the gospel and that is what married couples must strive for.
Let us reflect again on the 1st reading and see what God is telling us about true friendships and how is it is helpful for married couples in their understanding of their own marriage.
A faithful friend is the elixir of life, and those who fear the Lord will find one.
Whoever fears the Lord makes true friends, for as a man is, so is his friend.
Let us be true and faithful to the Lord, and we will have true and faithful friends.