October 11, 2020
Jesus is inviting us to the Wedding Feast of the Lord when we unite ourselves with Him in Holy Communion. Respond by clothing yourself in trust, faith and righteous deeds and stand among those who are blessed to be called to the banquet of the Lord.


Key Points
- The invitation to the Feast of our Lord requires a personal independent response to the invitation.
- John of the Cross’s difficult approach to the Lord was given to him as a foretaste of the union of the soul with God.
- It is difficult to accept God’s call due to our belief of unworthiness and lack of trust in His call.
- The wedding garment of fine linen, bright and pure, is the “righteous deeds of the faithful’ and is a sign of our participation by our readiness and cooperation.
- Do not be lured by the devil’s traps. Be aware of all the evil and attachments that distract us.
- We can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in our acceptance of the invitation from our Lord.
Summary
In today’s Gospel, we see people being invited to the wedding feast of the king and their varying responses. Jesus is comparing that to our invitation to His kingdom in Heaven. We should respond as those in the reading today. Our life is essentially an invitation to the King’s wedding feast and union with God.
Our great decision is how we will respond to the invitation. It is a call for very ordinary people. You may think you are too sinful to be called but making an act of trust is one of the main conditions.
Gospel of Matthew 22:1-14 “Behold I have prepared My banquet……..come to the feast” – in this Gospel, Jesus is speaking to His enemies – a lot of harshness – hidden behind that is a lot of mystery about your life – a mystery hidden by all the evil we experience in this world – the mystery is that your life is essentially an invitation to the kings wedding feast – great decision of our life is how will I respond to this invitation – it’s a personal response – no one else can make it for you – one thing we can do already at this Mass is to take a few minutes to reflect on that invitation – what is the invitation to – something that none of us has ever experienced – in this gospel scripture the Lord is comparing it to the wedding feast – in the first reading from Isaiah 25:6-10 there is another comparison about the feast on the mountain – “On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and pure choice wines – representing the joy, the delight of this experience – “on this mountain He will destroy the veil….for the Lord has spoken” – it’s also the deliverance from all sorrow that has accumulated in our life – St. John of the Cross speaks of how difficult the approach to the Lord can be – but he also writes of the living flame of love – he was given a foretaste of the union of the soul with God – there is no human experience that can compare to this union with God – we need to be purified and transformed for this experience – who is called to this extraordinary experience? – Jesus stresses in the gospel that it is very ordinary people who are being called – the people are surprised that they are being called, it’s not just open to a select few – each one of us is also called – but there are obstacles to arriving there – two big obstacles – one is that it is hard to believe – like it is a scam – we might feel that we are so sinful and so unworthy that it can never be for us – so one of the main conditions is an act of trust – to believe that God is truly calling you – because of His mercy – the gospel mentions another obstacle in all the evil and attachments that distract us – devil is always trying to lure us into his traps – he is willing to offer any human treasures, if he can trap us by that way – that’s why often the very poverty we can experience, the emptiness, can make us much freer to respond – because it makes us much less attached, and easier to let go – example of St. Paul, who was making great use of his time on earth but was not trying to hold onto it at all – on the contrary, he was very willing to go – Jesus says, “many are called but few are chosen” – what does He mean by that – He doesn’t mean that God is at the door rejecting most of the people who are coming – He means that many who are called, do not respond – for this wedding invitation, each one of us has to make a personal response – God respects your freedom – you are free to respond or not – then the gospel speaks of a wedding garment –
What is that wedding garment – we have an indication in the book of Revelations – it says ”let us rejoice and exalt, give God the glory, for the marriage has come – that great moment after the battle when the marriage of the lamb is taking place – His bride, which is the Church, completely purified, the Church which is everyone who responds – so that can be you and I – and the bride has made herself ready – it was granted “to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure” – so what is that fine linen? – Bible says that the fine linen is “the righteous deeds of the faithful” – so this garment is our righteous deeds – at the time of the gospel, it was customary for the king to give each one a special garment to put on, as a sign of their participation – so the king was giving them an opportunity – and God gives us an opportunity right now to begin preparing, with His mercy and grace to begin preparing by our cooperation, to be ready and be properly prepared – but we also have to do our part – the guests that were rejected were the ones who didn’t bother to put on the wedding garment that was offered to them – so we have to cooperate – so our life is an invitation, and if we respond, our life can become our path to this wedding feast – Jesus comes down to earth and follows His path, with a lot of poverty, struggles, which leads Him to the cross, to the total gift of Himself – but it doesn’t end there – it goes to His resurrection – and to glory, which prepares the wedding feast of the Lamb – Jesus walked this journey and is now calling us to meet Him at this great wedding feast – so that’s the reason for the Holy sacrifice of the Mass – calling us to union with the sacrifice of Jesus – the union to Holy Communion with Jesus – the Holy Communion at Mass is leading us to the wedding feast of the Lamb – “Blessed are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb – (the passage that is recalled right before Holy Communion) – as we celebrate this Mass, we can ask our Blessed Mother to help us respond – realize that by an act of faith, God is calling you personally, to His wedding feast – where you are called not to be just a guest, but called to be the ones who enter into the union with God – in spite of our unworthiness – what He needs from us is trust and faith – we can ask the Holy Spirit to help us let go of the things that are keeping us from responding – so at this Mass, with the Blessed Mother, and the Holy Spirit we can respond to the invitation to the wedding feast of the King