Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
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.”-Matt. 22:1-14
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.
This prayer, given by Our Lady at Fatima and familiar to many who pray the holy rosary as the conclusion of each mystery, is a perfect response to the message of the Gospel lesson of this Sunday. Considering its meaning is also a perfect preparation for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, to be celebrated on this Tuesday, October 13.
Our Lord has a special love for the celebration of marriage. His forerunner St. John the Baptist is called “the friend of the Bridegroom,” that, the best man at the marriage of God to souls. His first miracle, wrought at the intercession of his mother, was to increase the joy of a wedding banquet. He often compares the kingdom of heaven to a marriage and a marriage banquet. In the Apocalypse, usually called the book of Revelation, the marriage celebration is the key image for the completion of God’s design for his people throughout history: “The wedding feast of the Lamb has begun, and his bride is prepared to welcome him” (19:7).
This deep connection between marriage and God’s plans spans the beginning of our race to its fulfillment at the end of the ages. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that even before the Fall, Adam believed in the coming incarnation of the Son of God and his marriage with human nature, because of the revelation of the union of man and woman that was given him when God put him into a deep sleep before bringing forth his companion Eve, whom Adam rejoices to see as “bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.”
St. Thomas even goes so far as to say that “it is impossible that the first man did not know of Christ” on account of his offspring, the greatest of which is Christ himself. He gives the proof of this from St. Paul’s characterization of marriage as “a great mystery, I mean the union of Christ and the Church.” This was always true of marriage in God’s plan: to unite us to himself in love.
Sister Lucia of Fatima once said that the last great battle of Satan against the human race would concern marriage. Thus is was that the Blessed Virgin Mary, the New Eve, came to help us and warn us and console us in this struggle. She insisted that we pray the holy rosary to bring about peace and conversion.
The threat of hell, the horrors of error about human nature, the trials we undergo and will undergo, are grim things in themselves. But this Gospel lesson and the message of prayer and penance of Our Lady of the Rosary give us great hope in spite of all the failures of weak human nature.
Note that even though Our Lord meets out punishments here, it is more important that he generously and persistently invites all, both the good and the bad, supplying them even with the wedding garment of grace they need for the celebration (though some even reject this gift, and are punished). One can say that the real message of this Gospel is the joy and grace of the celebration; the stern punishments must be seen in the light of how much the Savior desires us to join him. Sinners may be free to reject his invitation, but they are not able to change the fact that their only and final happiness must be found with Christ. This is why he must be so severe in warning and correcting them.
How do we make sure that we answer his invitation, whether we have been good or bad? How do we make sure we have our garment of grace to honor our host? Pray the rosary daily and perseveringly. This is a simple and most powerful means of perseverance. When heaven itself gives advice on the spiritual life, this is something we can count on. And not only heaven but the Church on earth earnestly encourages us to use this unfailing means of grace, the holy rosary. All the modern popes have publicly and repeatedly asked us to pray the rosary—all the way to Pope Francis.
When the rosary is prayed in families it is especially effective in accomplishing this union of God and the human family. When by this means parents insert their families into the mysteries of the Word Made Flesh, they are truly fulfilling the purpose of their union and engaging in a battle to promote and protect God’s invitation to join him in the great marriage celebration of heaven. The devil works to prevent this, but all we have to do is take up the beads and pray.
Sure, some will be bored, some distracted, some reluctant, but remember, all have been invited, good or bad, perfect or imperfect. We must never be discouraged in our efforts to pray together. They will bear fruit. The Evil One is a bogey-man but Our Lord and Our Lady have real power and wisdom, and we must put our trust in them as we finger the beads of this chain that brings us to ultimate happiness, praying:
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy!”