Lectionary: 422
Reading 1
Ezekiel 36:23-28
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Gospel
Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the 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 the king 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.
He 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.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: CLOTHES LINES
"How is it you came in here not properly dressed?" –Matthew 22:12
Are you properly dressed for the wedding feast of heaven? We must clothe ourselves with Christ (Gal 3:27). We must "put on a new man, one who grows in knowledge as he is formed anew in the image of his Creator" (Col 3:10). We are to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Rm 13:14).
By the Holy Spirit, we "are clothed with power from on high" (Lk 24:49). In the Spirit, we clothe ourselves with humility in our relationships (1 Pt 5:5). Also, we clothe ourselves "with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" (Col 3:12).
Our heavenly habitation will envelop us, "provided we are found clothed and not naked" (2 Cor 5:2-3). "Happy the man who stays wide awake and fully clothed for fear of going naked and exposed for all to see!" (Rv 16:15) "For this is the wedding day of the Lamb; His bride has prepared herself for the wedding. She has been given a dress to wear made of finest linen, brilliant white. (The linen dress is the virtuous deeds of God's saints.)" (Rv 19:7-8)
PRAYER: Father, may my baptismal garment become a heavenly wedding garment.
PROMISE: "I will give you a new heart and place a new Spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put My Spirit within you." –Ez 36:26-27
PRAISE: Pope St. Pius X combated selfishness by encouraging frequent Communion and by allowing that privilege to the children of the Church.
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