The Wedding Feast: Invited and Chosen

God is madly in love with us, His people. Do we realize this? Let's be honest with ourselves when we ask the question.

I think knowledge of this is the fuel that gave the saints their fire. Holiness begins with this realization: God is Love, and that He loves each one of us. Not just a generic, "Jesus loves you." But the reality that He loves each one of us personally, that He became man for us, and died and rose for each one of us in particular. 


The Christian life is a Wedding Feast! God and man come together in covenant and the two "become one flesh." Jesus grafts us onto Him through Baptism and our sharing in His Paschal Mystery so that "we are one Body, one Spirit in Christ." We have put on the white garment in our Baptism. It is beautiful to reflect briefly on the ceremonies on the rite of Baptism. 

You have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ. 
See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the everlasting life of heaven. 

We have been exhorted by the Church to keep our garments white and unstained! We have been invited to the participate in the life of holiness. This is what the Second Vatican Council was getting to when it spoke of the Universal Call of Holiness: 

 The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and everyone of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: "Be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect". Indeed He sent the Holy Spirit upon all men that He might move them inwardly to love God with their whole heart and their whole soul, with all their mind and all their strength(217) and that they might love each other as Christ loves them.(218) The followers of Christ are called by God, not because of their works, but according to His own purpose and grace. 

Thus it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity;(4*) by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society. In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. 

"God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God and God in Him".(227) But, God pours out his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us;(228) thus the first and most necessary gift is love, by which we love God above all things and our neighbor because of God. Indeed, in order that love, as good seed may grow and bring forth fruit in the soul, each one of the faithful must willingly hear the Word of God and accept His Will, and must complete what God has begun by their own actions with the help of God's grace. 

Our challenge today is to receive God's love for us and to "abide in it." (cf. John 15:4) The Lord has not only invited us but chosen us "in Christ." We have to chose to walk in His love, the spousal love, for in doing so we will  not only "bear fruit"  (fecundity is part of marital life) but also after being invited to the wedding feast keep our garments clean. This beautiful white garment we put on at our Baptism is a light and witness to the world of God's love for us and beckons others to come to the feast and see what marvels the Lord is doing for us and desires to do for them as well. 

Sunday's 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."