23 Aug 2018
The Wedding Garment
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For 23 August 2018, Thursday of week 20 in Ordinary Time, based on Matthew 22:1-14
 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.â€
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
24 August 2018 @ 12:03 am
Thank you for your reflection on the constancy of God’s Infinite Love and all he asks is for us to receive it. The
Gospel also reminds me of the woman at the well,
when Jesus says to her, “if you only knew who was asking you for a drink.â€
24 August 2018 @ 12:23 am
Thank you for your reflection. However, I did not appreciate your comment about “the Jews.” I found it to be judgmental. In light of Nostra Aetate and subsequent documents of the church on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church, I found your comment disappointing and outdated. We need to focus on ourselves and the message of the Gospel for us. We have so much for which we must repent as a Church.
24 August 2018 @ 3:41 am
Thank you for your constructive criticism concerning the homily given on the wedding garment. I shall read Nostra Aetate and be more sensitive in the future.
Louis Mary Passeri, O.P.
25 August 2018 @ 3:42 am
In the spirit of Dominican dialogue, I would like to share that I also found the following documents instructive:
1. Guidelines and Suggestions for Implementing the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate (n. 4). (1974)
2. Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church.
3. The Twelve Points of Berlin: A Call to Christian and Jewish Communities Worldwide. (2011)
4. The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable. (2015)