Therefore, what God has joined together, let no man separate. God has joined, by making one flesh of man and woman: this the man cannot separate, unless perhaps by the power of God alone. Man separates, when, due to desire for a second spouse, he dismisses the first. God separates, who had also joined, when by consent due to the service of God (because time is limited) we have wives as though we have none (I Cor. VII).
19:7
(Verse 7) They said to him, 'So why did Moses command us to give a bill of divorce and dismiss?' They open the trap they had prepared. And certainly the Lord had not given his own opinion, but had remembered the old history and commandments of God.
19:8
(Verse 8.) He said to them: because Moses allowed you to divorce your wives due to the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. This is what he meant: Can God be opposed to himself, so that he would command one thing before and then nullify his own command with a new one? It should not be understood this way. Rather, Moses, seeing that because of the desire for second wives, who were either richer, younger, or more beautiful, the first wives were being killed or leading a bad life, preferred to tolerate discord rather than continue with hatred and murders (Deut. XXIV). At the same time, consider that God did not allow it because of the hardness of your hearts, but Moses did, so that, according to the Apostle's counsel (1 Corinthians 7), it may be a human choice, not a commandment from God.
19:9
(Verse 9.) But I say to you, that whoever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery. And he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery. Only fornication is what overcomes a wife's affection: indeed, when she divides one flesh into another, and separates herself from her husband through fornication, she should not be held: lest she also make her husband subject to a curse, as Scripture says: Whoever holds onto an adulteress, is foolish and wicked. Therefore, whenever there is fornication, or even suspicion of fornication, the wife is freely dismissed. And because it could happen that someone falsely accuses the innocent person and implicates them in an old crime due to a second marriage, the husband is commanded to divorce the first wife so that he does not have a second wife while the first one is still alive. For what he says is as follows: If you divorce your wife not for lust but for injury, why do you expose yourself to the danger of unhappy previous marriages by entering into new ones? Moreover, because it could happen that, according to the same law, a wife could also give a divorce to her husband, the same caution is prescribed so that she does not marry a second man. And because a prostitute, and one who has once been an adulteress, does not fear disgrace, the same caution is prescribed for the husband, that if he marries such a woman, he is subject to the crime of adultery.
19:10
(Verse 10.) His disciples said to him: If such is the case between a man and his wife, it is not expedient to marry. The burden of wives is heavy, for apart from the cause of fornication, they cannot be divorced. For what if she is drunken, if she is angry, if she is of bad morals, if she is lascivious, if she is gluttonous, if she is wandering, if she is quarrelsome, if she is abusive? She must be endured. For when we were free, we willingly subjected ourselves to servitude. Therefore, seeing the heavy burden of wives, the apostles express their thoughts and say, if it is so, it is not expedient for a man to marry.
19:11
(Verse 11.) He said to them: Not everyone can understand this word, but only those to whom it is given. No one should think that under this word, either fate or fortune is introduced: these are the virgins to whom it has been given by God, or whom certain circumstances have brought to this, but it has been given to those who have asked, who have desired, who have worked to receive it. For everyone who asks will receive, and the one who seeks will find, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened (Matthew 7:8 and Luke 11:10).
19:12
(Verse 12.) For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it. There are three types of eunuchs: those who are eunuchs from birth, those who are made eunuchs by men, and those who make themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Some are born eunuchs, others are made eunuchs by men, and others choose to be eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. And those who can accept it should accept it. A reward is promised to these people, but to the previous ones, for whom the necessity of chastity is not voluntary, nothing is owed at all. We can say differently. There are eunuchs who are born from their mother's womb, who are of a colder nature and do not desire lust. And there are others who are made by humans: whom either philosophers make, or they are softened into women because of the worship of idols: or they pretend chastity due to heretical persuasion, in order to lie about the truth of religion. But none of them will inherit the kingdom of heaven unless he has castrated himself for the sake of Christ. Therefore, it is concluded: He who is able to receive this, let him receive it; so that each person may consider his own abilities, whether he can fulfill the commands of virginity and chastity. For chastity is enticing in itself, attracting anyone to itself. But one's abilities must be considered, so that he who is able to receive it, may receive it. It is like the voice of the Lord urging and inciting his soldiers to the reward of chastity. Let whoever is able to understand, understand; let whoever is able to fight, fight, overcome and triumph.
19:13-14
(Verses 13, 14.) Then little children were brought to him, so that he could lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'
19:15
(Verse 15.) Allow the children, and do not prohibit them from coming to me: for such is the kingdom of heaven. And when he had laid his hands on them, he departed from there. He specifically said 'such', not 'these', to show that it is not age that reigns but character; and that those who have similar innocence and simplicity will be rewarded. The apostle also agrees with this sentiment: Brothers, do not be children in your thinking, but be infants in evil, and mature in your thinking (1 Corinthians 14:20).
19:16
(V. 16.) And behold, one approached him and said to him: Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said to him: This one who asks how to obtain eternal life is both young and wealthy, and proud; and according to another evangelist, he asks not out of a desire to learn, but to test (Mark X).
19:17
(Verse 17) Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one good God. Because he had called a good teacher, and not God, or the Son of God, he learns that even a holy man is not good in comparison to God, of whom it is said: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good (Psalm 117:1). But lest anyone think that the goodness of God excludes the Son of God, we read in another place: The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (John 10). And in the Prophet, the good Spirit and the good earth. Therefore, the Savior did not reject the testimony of goodness. But the teacher eliminated error without God.
19:18-19
(Verse 18, 19.) But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, 'Which ones?' Jesus replied, 'You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.' This young man is tempting, and from this we can prove that when the Lord tells him, 'If you want to enter life, keep the commandments,' he deceitfully asks what those commandments are: as if he himself had not read them, or as if the Lord could command something contrary to God.
19:20
(Verse 20.) The young man said to Him: All these things I have kept from my youth, what do I still lack? Jesus said to him: The young man lies. For if he had fulfilled the commandments: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, how then, upon hearing: Go, sell what you have and give to the poor, did he go away sad, for he had many possessions?