SAINT JOHN EUDES, PRIEST (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

“Don’t touch the stove; it will burn your fingers!” “Don’t cross the street until you look both ways.” Just as our parents gave us warnings to keep us safe, Jesus is giving us a warning in today’s Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14). He is warning us about the sad consequences people will face if they arrive at heaven’s gate without the mysterious “wedding garment” (Matthew 22:11).

What is this wedding garment? The Book of Revelation gives us a clue. It describes the citizens of heaven as wearing robes that have been made white “in the blood of the Lamb” (7:14). It tells us that those who have been baptized into Christ—that great multitude who have immersed themselves in the gospel message of Jesus’ death and resurrection—will know the privilege of joining the Lord at his final glorious banquet.

Now, it’s one thing to receive this wedding garment at Baptism, but it’s another thing to keep that garment clean and pure throughout our lives. Each and every day, God wants us to put on our wedding garment—the holy character of Christ—and let the grace it represents shape the way we think and act.

It is tempting to become so consumed with the demands of life in this world—as the people in today’s parable were—that we lose sight of the magnificent feast that awaits us in heaven. That’s why Jesus gives us a glimpse of that feast every time we celebrate Mass. There, gathered as royal wedding guests, we nourish ourselves with the words of Scripture and we receive Jesus’ own Body and Blood. This beautiful assembly, coupled with the grace of Confession, gives us all we will ever need to keep our wedding garments clean and spotless as we await the final banquet call.

Jesus tells us, “Many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). God is inviting you today. Accept his invitation! Heed his warning! A glorious life awaits all who keep their wedding garments clean.

“Thank you, Jesus, for clothing me in your grace. Help me to be pleasing to you today.”

Judges 11:29-39
Psalm 40:5, 7-10
Matthew 22:1-14

WORD AMONG US