We are all invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
This is the wedding feast of the Lamb.
And it is a foretaste of heaven.
We are being prepared for heaven by our participation in these sacred mysteries,
especially in our reception of Holy Communion.
Many are invited, but few are chosen,
because relatively few actually live the mysteries that we celebrate here
at the altar of God.
When our Lord first told this parable,
it wasn't immediately in the circumstances in which he spoke it.
It wasn't immediately about the Mass and the Eucharist.
It was about the relationship between the Jews and the Gentiles.
Our Lord was telling his hearers who were Jews
that while they were the first to be called,
because they had not responded,
because they were like those weddings,
guests who were invited,
but ended up either ignoring the invitation,
having other things to do that day,
or killing those he sent as his messengers,
which in this case would have been the prophets of the Old Testament.
Because of that, he was going to invite others who would be the Gentiles.
But in the end, the bottom line would be whether or not we were willing,
or in our Lord's case,
whether or not the Jews or the Gentiles were willing to follow,
the new law.
And the man who had been pulled off the byways
and brought into the wedding feast,
who was not dressed in a wedding garment,
was therefore thrown out.
So that was the context in which our Lord spoke this parable.
But there is a real application of this parable
to our being here today in this church,
participating in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
And we can ask ourselves,
where do we fit in to the parable?
Our Lord has his chosen, you might say,
but in those who were set aside in a particular way,
like the Jews, or the Blessed Mother, or St. Peter,
or anyone who has been given a special calling,
we've been chosen for God's work,
been chosen for the salvation,
for the salvation of all.
Priests who are called to the priesthood,
or men who are called to the priesthood,
are called for the church.
Not just for themselves, but for the church.
All of us who are baptized are baptized into Christ,
and we belong to him,
and we are chosen by him for his holy purposes.
But we're also chosen for his providence,
for the work that he wants to do in the church,
for others, for souls.
So if we've been given graces,
it is a tremendous gift,
it is a personal gift from God to us,
and yet at the same time,
it is a gift for the church.
We've been called for the church.
So if we correspond to God's calling,
we are not only working towards our own salvation,
but we are participating in the life of the church
and contributing to the common good of Christ's body.
When we correspond,
to the grace that God gives us,
we contribute to the welfare of the whole church.
We pray for the whole church
and the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
It's not just my prayer or your prayer.
It's the prayer of Christ,
and it's the prayer of the church
for each and every member of the church,
and for the whole church.
And when we participate fervently
in the state of grace in a holy way,
we are really and truly participating in the good,
for the good of the whole church.
If we fail to do that,
the opposite is true.
Sin is a mystery of iniquity
that affects the whole body of Christ.
There is no such thing as an isolated sin
or an isolated virtue,
even if it's done behind closed doors or hidden.
It does affect, in the order of grace,
the whole body.
And so, where do we fit in?
You know,
the Lord has chosen us to be here.
Are we here just physically,
or is there something more going on than that?
Are we here merely out of duty,
or do we fully appreciate the gift
that we receive in the Eucharist?
There is that old adage that is, you know,
characteristic of Catholicism,
probably throughout the ages,
but to some extent in our own age,
it's much more pronounced,
where we wonder whether we're really getting anything
out of the Mass,
and we want to go to a Mass
which is somehow going to help us to pray.
And that's, of course,
only natural that we should want to be able to find a place
where we can participate,
wholeheartedly.
But in the end,
every Mass is the sacrifice of Christ.
And if we are carrying our cross,
or striving to carry our cross,
and striving to unite it to the sacrifice of our Lord,
then we're participating in the Mass,
whether or not the Mass is beautiful,
or liturgically grand,
or whatever,
that is happening spiritually.
If, on the other hand,
we're just physically present,
or on the other hand,
just interested in the liturgical ceremony,
that's not really where it's at.
The liturgical ceremony is meant to help us
to appreciate what our Lord is doing for us in the Mass.
He's offering Himself for us
as a Sacrament.
He's offering Himself for us as a Sacrament.
And He's asking us to participate in that offering,
and to offer ourselves in union with that sacrifice.
And it's a great privilege.
It is our fundamental baptismal privilege.
By virtue of baptism,
we are given to Christ,
and consecrated to Him,
and we are consecrated priests,
every last one of us.
The ministerial priest is unique,
and he only alone can offer,
or confect the Sacrament,
as we say.
But all of us are called to offer the sacrifice of Jesus.
This is what we do as followers of Christ.
We offer sacrifice.
We unite our lives to the sacrifice of Christ.
And that is what gives,
what we say in the morning offering,
offering all our thoughts and words and deeds and actions of every day.
That's what gives all of those things meaning,
is the grace and the presence of Christ in our lives.
And this is why He tells us,
unless you eat My body and drink My blood,
you will have no life within you.
That's our vocation.
That's our calling.
That's what we have been chosen or invited to do.
That's our vocation. That's our calling. That's what we have been chosen or invited to do.
That's our vocation. That's our calling. That's what we have been chosen or invited to do.
And that is our dignity,
as Roman Catholics, as followers of Christ.
And we should understand that, of course,
appreciate it, and respond accordingly.
You know, and hence,
we need to constantly strive,
as those that have been chosen to be here,
we need to constantly strive
to live a life that is worthy,
of the mysteries that we celebrate.
When our Lord found that
the individuals that He had on His guest list
didn't want to be there,
He turned to the byways
and the highways
and invited whoever He found,
whoever was there and willing to come.
whoever was there and willing to come.
The bad and the good alike,
St. Matthew tells us.
And you might say that these individuals represent in the first place in our Lord's parable,
the Gentiles,
but it represents also those who are sinners
and who live far away from God.
They are also called to these sacred mysteries
and are called to receive an enlightenment,
and so when our Lord came,
He came for the lost sheep of Israel,
but He also came for those who are even further away from God,
who didn't know His name,
who didn't have the benefit of His revelation,
and even among His own people,
He found Himself ministering to the tax collectors and the prostitutes.
And as we've heard in some of the earlier weeks of the readings,
He said that they would be entering the kingdom of God before His own people
because they didn't appreciate what they had.
They didn't recognize the grace that they had available to them
within their own daily life.
You know, the coming of the Messiah
in prophecy and in the ceremony
and the signs and the Old Testament sacraments
of the Jews,
the Messiah belonged to the fabric of their daily life.
It was what they were expecting.
It was part of the way they lived.
And yet when He came,
for the most part,
they didn't recognize the hour of His coming.
So our Lord turned elsewhere,
and we have to recognize ourselves,
if we've been given many graces,
grace to be here at Mass,
grace to want to come
and to believe the fullness of the truth
and to try to practice it,
try to, you know, make our families holy families,
to live the sacrament of holy matrimony,
then we're going to be held to a higher standard.
And that's why, you know,
when we come to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
we should do so with this grandeur,
this grand realization
of the mysteries that we celebrate,
trying to do the best that we can
to participate not only worthily,
but fruitfully.
Not only a worthy reception of Holy Communion,
but a fruitful reception of Holy Communion.
Of course, the one is based on the other.
The fruitful reception of Holy Communion
is based upon
a worthy one.
So, in a spirit of humility,
we need to come before the Eucharist.
We need to understand
who it is that we receive,
what he has done for us,
and how we should respond.
You know, we so easily
become consumed
with ephemeral concerns.
We get preoccupied
with things that interest us.
It might be hobbies,
or it might be our work at home,
or out in the world,
or whatever it is.
But we can become so distracted
by our activities,
distracted by the way the world is going,
distracted by the financial crisis,
or the rotten politicians,
or whatever,
and lose our focus
on what is truly important.
And then haphazardly come down the aisle
and receive Holy Communion.
We should come with confidence before the Lord,
but a little fear and trembling
wouldn't hurt either.
And making sure that we never receive
a sacrilegious communion
would be a resolution, if kept,
that would
do more for our spiritual life
than we could begin to possibly imagine.
There is nothing more horrific
in the sacramental order
than to receive our Lord
in the state of mortal sin.
And whereas we are constantly bombarded
with the world and with its concerns,
we so easily say,
well, you know,
it's just a small thing,
or just simply not think about it a whole lot.
And especially those of us
who are concerned about the state of the church
and tend to be upset
about the way things go in the church,
one of the things that has happened,
perhaps one of the things that is most characteristic
but not been talked about a lot,
is the fact that there is so little sacramental preparation
and so little done to make sure
that the sacraments are received
worthily and fruitfully.
So we need to make sure
that we are receiving the sacraments
worthily and fruitfully.
We need to make sure
that we are making good confessions.
We need to make sure
that we are humbling ourselves
before the Lord
and before others.
We need to make sure that we are somehow
instruments of God's peace and mercy
for those around us.
And if we do come before the Lord in this way,
seeking always to receive Him worthily,
then through the grace of God,
through a life of prayer,
through our
confessions made well,
little by little,
we are being delivered
from our attachments to sin.
Saint Pius X said
that with frequent confession
and very frequent Holy Communion,
hopefully daily
or at least as often as we possibly can,
if we go to communion
and make an act of contrition,
even if it's just a very brief,
act in our own words,
and renew our sorrow for our past sins
and ask our Lord to allow us
to receive Him
as worthily and fruitfully as possible,
that through these two sacraments
we are being detached
from our sinfulness.
And that is the formula
for the making of a saint.
You know, if we receive
these two sacraments
fervently
as often as possible,
we would become saints.
And more than anything else
in this world right now,
that is exactly
what we need.
We have the men and the boys
come here three times a year
during the fair months
of the year from spring
to fall.
And we hope very soon
to start a more regular
group for the young boys,
perhaps once a month
on our MIM Cynical Sunday.
But they come
and they do guy things
and they do archery and fencing
and they camp out
and general mayhem
over the weekend.
And it's all very enjoyable.
But unless we are making saints,
we are doing really nothing
worthwhile at all.
And yet I think that is what we are,
certainly what we're trying to do.
And I think with the grace of God
and divine providence,
that is what we will accomplish.
Certainly that is our purpose.
And that is what is needed.
To be a man means to be strong.
And to be strong means
to recognize that our strength
is in Christ.
And the strength of Christ
led him to the cross.
It led him to pour himself out
on the cross.
These are the mysteries
that we celebrate.
This is what we have been invited to.
This is the wedding feast of the Lamb.
It is the sacrifice
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It is his suffering and death,
but it is also his victory.
And it is a mystery
that we can only appreciate
in a spirit of humility,
on our knees,
prepared by the sacrament
of confession,
and in a spirit of adoration
as we receive our Lord
in the Eucharist.
Many are invited.
Few are chosen.
May we be among the few
who have been chosen by our Lord,
not merely for ourselves,
but for others.
The salvation of others
depends upon our own willingness
to imitate Christ
and to live the sacred mysteries
that we celebrate.
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