Introit
Kyrie
Gloria
Collect
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading Is 25:6-10a
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said: "Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!" For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.
Responsorial Psalm
R/. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul. R/.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage. R/.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. R/.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come. R/.
Second Reading Phil 4:12-14,19-20 2
Brothers and sisters: I know how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia Cf. Eph 1:17-18
Gospel Mt 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests."But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ Many are invited, but few are chosen."
Catena Nova
Whatever can this wedding garment be, then? For an answer we must go to the Apostle, who says: “The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” (1 Tim 1:5) There is your wedding garment. It is not love of just any kind. Many people of bad conscience appear to love one another, but you will not find in them “the love that springs from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.” Only that kind of love is the wedding garment. “If I speak in human and angelic tongues,” says the Apostle, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Cor 13:1-2) In other words, even with all these gifts I am nothing without Christ. Does that mean that prophecy has no value and that knowledge of mysteries is worthless? No, they are not worthless but I am, if I possess them but have no love. But can the lack of one good thing rob so many others of their value? Yes, without love my confession of the name of Christ even by shedding my blood or offering my body to be burnt will avail me nothing, for I may do this out of a desire for glory. The Apostle also declares that such things can be endured for the sake of empty show without any real love for God. Listen to him: “If I give away all I have to the poor, if I hand over my body to be burnt, but have no love, it will avail me nothing.” So this is what the wedding garment is (St. Augustine).
What, dearest brothers and sisters, are we to think He means by a wedding garment? If we say it is baptism or faith, who is there that has entered these nuptials without baptism or without faith? For whosoever is outside, it is because he has not yet believed. What then are we to understand by the wedding garment, if not charity? For whoever in the Church possesses faith, but has not charity, comes in to the wedding, but does not come in with a wedding garment. Rightly is charity called a wedding garment; for our Creator wore this upon Him when He came to the marriage of Himself with the Church. It was solely through the charity of God that His Only-Begotten joined to Himself the souls of the chosen among men. It was because of this that John says: For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son for us (Jn. 3:16). He therefore Who came to us because of charity, has made known to us that charity is the wedding garment. And each one of you who through believing is now within the Church, has already come to the wedding. But they come without a wedding garment who do not safeguard within them the grace of charity. And we know well, brothers and sisters, that if anyone were invited to an earthly marriage, they would change their garments, and try to show by the suitability of their dress that they shared in the joy of the bride and bridegroom; and they would be ashamed to be seen in soiled garments among the guests rejoicing and celebrating there. We have come to the nuptials of God, and we do not trouble to change the garment of our soul. There is joy among the angels at the coming of the Elect to heaven. With what mind do we look upon these spiritual nuptials who have not the wedding garment, namely, charity, which alone makes us pleasing to God? (Pope St. Gregory the Great).
Open the eye of thy intellect, and gaze into Me, and thou shalt see the beauty of My rational creature. And look at those creatures who, among the beauties which I have given to the soul, creating her in My image and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment (that is the garment of love), adorned with many virtues, by which they are united with Me through love. And yet I tell thee, if thou shouldest ask Me, who these are, I should reply" (said the sweet and amorous Word of God) " they are another Myself, inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will, and are clothed with Mine, are united to Mine, are conformed to Mine." It is therefore true, indeed, that the soul unites herself with God by the affection of love (St. Catherine of Siena).
O Jesus, Sun of Justice, come, let me clothe myself in Thee,(cf. Rom. 13:14) that I may live as Thou wouldst have me live. Let me so follow Thee that I may keep the garment of my baptismal innocence white, holy, and unspotted, and bring it unimpaired before Thy judgment seat, to keep it unto eternal life. Amen. Come, O Love, let Thy perfect love for me be my end and my perfection. When evening falleth, show me the covenant of spiritual marriage which my heart now entereth upon with Thee. In the countenance of my God, whom I love surpassingly, Thou art the Light of the evening star. O my beloved and glorious Evening, graciously appear unto me at the hour of my death, that I may have in Thee the long-desired evening of my sojourn upon earth, and gently fall asleep and take my repose in the blessed haven of Thy breast. O Love, O God, Thou who art my deliverance, graciously infold my soul within Thee; then, arrayed in Thee and in Thy regal beauty, I shall appear worthily in the presence of my eternal Bridegroom, clad in my wedding garment and bearing my bridal dowry (St. Gertrude of Helfta).
O honeyed flame, sweeter than all sweet, delightful beyond all creation!
My God, my Love, surge over me, pierce me by your love, wound me with
your beauty.
Surge over me, I say, who am longing for your comfort.
Reveal your healing medicine to your poor lover.
See, my one desire is for you; it is you my heart is seeking.
My soul pants for you; my whole being is athirst for you.
Yet you will not show yourself to me; you look away; you bar the door, shun me,
pass me over;
You even laugh at my innocent sufferings.
And yet you snatch your lovers away from all earthly things.
You lift them above every desire for worldly matters.
You make them capable of loving you -
and love you they do indeed.
So they offer you their praise in spiritual song
which bursts out from that inner fire;
they know in truth the sweetness of the dart of love.
Ah, eternal and most loveable of all joys,
you raise us from the very depths,
and entrance us with the sight of divine majesty so often!
Come into me, Beloved!
All ever I had I have given up for you;
I have spurned all that was to be mine,
that you might make your home in my heart,
and I your comfort.
Do not forsake me now, smitten with such great longing,
whose consuming desire is to be amongst those who love you.
Grant me to love you,
to rest in you,
that in your kingdom I may be worthy
to appear before you world without end (Bl. Richard Rolle).
If is the peace-loving and meek King, Christ Jesus, who brings us into that banquet hall to accomplish in us wonderful and surprising things. He assumes the title of king to signify the magnificence of his gifts, the extent of his infinite power and, at the same time, wishes to show us his most tender love by which he leads us into this asylum of peace. He will make us rich in merit and virtue, it we only respond to his graces. He uses the image of a banquet hall to remind us of the conduct that we should observe so that we might receive and cherish his heavenly favors by means of a most intimate recollection in prayer. So, ultimately, let us be guided in our approach in order that in his banquet hall the most loving Lord may serve us with substantial food and drink. His nourishment will renew our hearts and fortify our souls unto salutary works for life eternal....Since the King of Glory has brought us into this banquet hall, let us establish here our own peaceful abode in time. Also, let us reenforce the foundations of the holy city of God with the bonds of charity. Let us remember that the nuptial bed of the peace-loving King is the Cross, and, that our souls upon this nuptial bed yearn for the most tender embraces of affection toward Jesus. He has redeemed us through love, has shed all his Blood in love, and through him we have a mystical dwelling in his heart (St. Gaspar del Bufalo).
Let us remember that this business of not ‘wearing a wedding garment’ cannot be read as a reference to someone’s moral behavior, for Matthew has emphasized that all were called in, good and bad alike. Besides, it is known that the custom of that age and place was to provide tunics to place over one’s street clothes so as to participate in a wedding party, and which would have been at the disposal of all the guests on their way in, without the slightest consideration for how good or bad they were. Here there is something of what we had in the previous parable [of the wicked tenants]. The problem with the silent guest is that he does not imagine himself to be at a wedding banquet, but in a place of judgement, and for this reason does not dare to speak when he is addressed, and so receives treatment according to his imaginatio (James Alison).
Homily
Dressed for the Occasion
Ever been to an Italian wedding? Lots of friends and relatives: the whole clan is there, just like in the parable, the bad and the good, and then some. There’s even more food than guests, if you can imagine that. The unaware, otherwise known as ‘Mericans, always fill up on the first plate, thinking that’s the main course. By the time the rest of the meal comes, you know you’ll be having agita. There are certain expectations of guests, of course. The all-important one is known as la busta-- that’s the envelope, please. If you don’t bring that, with the correct amount, there’ll be wailing and grinding of teeth, just like in the parable.
Seriously though, a wedding banquet, Italian style, is a wonderful image of what God has in store for us (minus the cheap relatives) on the day of salvation: A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines (I).
And that’s what we’re doing here at the Lord’s Table. Getting ready for the great wedding feast of the Lamb. Jesus the Bridegroom has sent out the invitations. We, his friends, have sent back the reply: “We’re coming.” The table is set. And the food laid out. Soon we’ll hear the marriage vows: This is my body given up for you. This is my blood poured out for you. We’ll give our consent, by singing Amen! Then we’ll no longer be just friends of the Groom, but his Bride as well. For this nuptial banquet takes us into the king’s chamber, returning love for love, one spouse to another in a holy Communion.
And yet, we know this is but a glimpse of what’s to come, for here we have but a foretaste of consummation. Our worship is a mixture of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. Because for all its glorious riches in Christ Jesus (II), the Eucharist does not satisfy our longing fully. It leaves us wanting for more: more of its truth, more of its joy, and more of its love. It is, in other words, the pledge of a heavenly banquet, an eternal wedding feast, when Christ the Groom will be all in all, and his Bride will finally and forever be faithful in the reign of God.
This food, then, is for those who hunger for more; this drink, for those who still thirst. This banquet hall is not for people sated and slaked, people who’ve arrived, whose lives are settled, one to his farm, another to her business. Our hall is for people who come in from the streets of life, yes, the bad and good alike (cf. G). A place for people who know how famished they really are, and how parched their throat truly is. Why else would you come here, if you didn’t realize how the veil that veils all people veils you too; how the web woven over all nations has snared you too; how the reproach of [God’s] people falls on our heads too (I).
In other words, a lot like the Last Supper was. Talk about not being dressed for the occasion! There’s Peter the denier with his stained outfit; Judas the betrayer with his tattered suit; Thomas the doubter with his loose-fitting duds; Philip who didn’t know he could see God in Jesus wearing his threadbare tunic; James and John, who vied to be first in the kingdom with matching, in their too-tight tuxes. And don’t forget Matthew the tax collector and Simon the revolutionary with their coarse attire. They were all there at the first wedding banquet of the Bridegroom. Only by way of exception do we find the unnamed Beloved Disciple who rested his head on Jesus’ breast and, of course, the women who would stand near the cross the following day -- the Bridegroom’s Best Man and the Maids of Honor.
So you see, the bad and the good alike have been guests at this banquet from the start, and it seems more of the former than the latter have filled the hall. People whose journeys are not completed, whose paths are not always straight, whose destinations are not always clear. That’s who belongs here it seems -- among the few who are chosen, while the many invited go their own way (cf. G).
So there’s no need to put on your “Sunday best” to come here: the ideal self we like to present before God and others, at times rather different from our “Monday worst.” It’s all right to bring who you are to this table, letting your light mix with your shadow, your plenty with your hunger, your satisfaction with your thirst. Your humble circumstances will do just fine here.
But what about that poor soul who was thrown out altogether for his lack of a wedding garment? Seems like we do need something to get into the reception hall. And I’m not just thinking about your busta for the collection plate! That poor guy was bound hand and foot, cast into the darkness outside (G). What was he missing? Some say it was good works. I doubt it. Otherwise, how’d the apostles get into the Last Supper? I think it was something far more necessary than our works. I think it was the merits of Christ, that clothe us like a wedding garment, that cover our nakedness, our poverty, and our reproach.
We don’t get into the wedding hall for anything we’ve done, but for what Jesus has done on our behalf. As Paul says, I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me (II). Apart from him, I can do nothing, and all my works amount to nothing. For it’s Jesus who prepares his Bride for the wedding banquet; it’s Jesus who washes our robes white in the blood of the Lamb: the only source of merit before our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (cf. II).
Creed
Intercessions
For the church, for her leaders and teachers, servants of the great king who are sent to summon all to the banquet of His mercy, for their holiness and their courage.
For a more just distribution of the goods of the earth, that everyone will have a share of life’s banquet.
That we may learn the secret of being content in abundance as well as in need, in humble circumstances as well as in wealth, doing everything peacefully in the One who strengthens us.
That all Christians, clothed in the shining garment of their baptism, may one day be united at the wedding table of the Lord.
For those who have asked us to remember them in God’s presence, that in answer to our earnest prayer, the Father will wipe away the tears of their struggles.
That the Lord who will destroy death forever may bring our faithful departed to the feast of eternal life.
God of goodness and kindness, you invite all peoples to the banquet and offer them a feast beyond compare. Give us your saving grace to keep unstained the robe of our baptism until that day when you welcome us to heaven’s joyful table. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Offertory Hymn
God’s own reign can be envisioned
As a royal wedding feast
Unto which the king invited
Both the greatest and the least.
Those invited spurned his goodness,
So the call was then sent out:
Go into the roads and shout:
“All is ready for the banquet!
Bring within the good and the bad—
There are seats still to be had!”
In the days which soon will be coming,
God will on the mount provide
Lavish food and finest vintage,
Wiping tears from ev’ry eye.
Death itself will be vanquished.
And our God will then erase
All that keeps us from grace;
On the mountain God established
We shall dwell eternally,
There restored, renewed, set free.
In our hardships, we are strengthened
By the love of Jesus still.
God shall, all our needs perceiving,
Richly give in gracious will.
Thus invited to the banquet,
Where the feast shall ever last,
We by God shall be kept fast.
Let us live in light of mercy
That our wedding garment bright
Find full favor in God’s sight.
Lord’s Prayer
We pray that God’s reign may come as Jesus taught....
Spiritual Communion
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, embolden me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within Thy wounds hide me. Never permit me to be parted from You. From the evil Enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. and bid me come to thee, that with Your saints I may praise thee for age upon age. Amen.
Communion Antiphon
Closing Hymn (John Michael Talbot)
Let us kiss with the touch of our life
Call me, Lord, to your chambers
For your kiss is an excellent wine
Flowing smoothly, poured out for a lover
For the bride belongs to the lover
And the bridegroom yearns for his bride
So come to the night, there to empty our life
To be fulfilled with the flowers of dawn.
Let us go to the vineyard, my love
To see if the vines are in bloom
If the vines have opened to blossom new life
So I will open to you
As the flowers send forth their fragrant perfume
So the doors of my love shall be open
For I have stored up my treasure for you
And now I give you my love
For the bride belongs to the lover
And the bridegroom yearns for his bride
So come to the night, there to empty our life
To be fulfilled with the flowers of dawn.