Year I

20th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday

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In today’s Gospel the wedding feast reminds us of Heaven, but also that although everyone is invited to the party, some in the end will not be found worthy to participate in it. After receiving a lot of rejection and hostility from those who were first on the list of invitees, the king broadened his invitation and, as the parable says, the good and the bad arrived. If this parable speaks to us of Heaven it’s also a reminder that God is merciful and good, but in the we have to do our part, even a little, if we want to be saved. Salvation is not automatic.

The man with no wedding garment had no answer for the king’s question: there was no excuse he could offer, and if the king was displeased, it means something was expected of that man that he didn’t do. That wedding garment symbolizes having done something to partake and appreciate the marriage feast. This poor man shows no signs of celebration whatsoever. Maybe he represents that Christian who goes through the motions all their life, but never really seeks to help himself or others to get to Heaven. We have to give Our Lord something to work with. The man with no wedding garment managed to get to the banquet hall, but he didn’t go far enough to stay.

Let’s thank Our Lord today for inviting us to his Heavenly Banquet by welcoming his invitation and getting ready for the party through a holy life.

Readings: Judges 11:29–39a; Psalm 40:5, 7–10; Matthew 22:1–14.

20th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord reminds us that it doesn’t matter when we start to help to extend the Kingdom of heaven, but that we extend it. We’ll be rewarded fairly, even generously, for our labors, and we shouldn’t fall into envy if it seems someone has had an easier time of it or came late to the party. In Jesus’ time a day’s wage was exactly that: it enabled the worker to live for a day. There was not much surplus wealth, and charging someone interest for borrowing something was a sin known as usury.

The workers who came late to the vineyard needed a full day’s wage in order to provide for themselves and for their families. Anyone who is trying to support their family through a part time job knows it is not the same as a full time job. The landowner is helping people who really need it. An attitude of envy sees someone else’s gain as our loss. We should be thankful for the ability to earn a living for ourselves and our families, and also be grateful when someone else in difficulty receives a little help too.

Let’s count our blessings today and be thankful to Our Lord not only for the blessings we receive, but for those he has given to others as well. That’s the best remedy to envy.

Readings: Judges 9:6–15; Psalm 21:2–7; Matthew 20:1–16.

20th Week in Ordinary Time,Tuesday

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Today’s Gospel must be understood in the aftermath of yesterday’s regarding the young man who did not want to give up his possessions. The disciples were taken aback by what happened: in the mentality of the time, material wealth was a sign of having the blessing of God, and Our Lord told the young man that it was an obstacle to attaining eternal life. We can succumb to the same mentality today: we think that if we are successful, healthy, and worry-free, God is blessing us. Those are gifts to be thankful for, but problems and difficulties are gifts as well, because they help us to imitate Christ through taking up our cross to follow him. That’s the lesson Our Lord is trying to teach us today.

If Our Lord asks us to separate ourselves from our loved ones, our possessions, or our country for his sake, he promises that we will be blessed a hundred fold and inherit eternal life. This is not just an investment with a promise of a good return; it is a promise that those people and places that we love will also be blessed through our sacrifice. We becomes part of a larger family that does not exclude the biological family from which we must spend time apart, and we are promised a greater home than we could have ever imagined, our true home: Heaven.

Let’s not be shy about separating from the people we love if Our Lord asks it of us, knowing that it will not only be an act of love for him, but a blessing for our loved ones as well.

Readings: Judges 6:11–24a; Psalm 85:9, 11–14; Matthew 19:23–30.

20th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

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Today’s Gospel reminds us that if we try to please God and seek eternal life a moment will come when we ask a potentially scary question, like the young man did today, “What do I still lack?” It’s no coincidence that today’s First Reading speaks of idolatry and the misfortunes of Israel when they chose other gods and, when God delivered them through the judges, lapsed back into their old ways. If the spiritual life is easy, it’s a moment to ask, like the young man, what we are lacking. We know Our Lord teaches us that we must lose our life in order to save it, and take up our cross every day and follow him. The cross implies that tough choices for the sake of Our Lord have to be made.

The young man today made the wrong choice. He had tried to live the commandments, but he was attached to his possessions. Our Lord made him choose, and that revealed an idolatry we can suffer from today: putting people, situations, and things before God. If something separates us from God, it separates us from eternal life and any true happiness we could have achieved. Under the weight of this idolatry it’s no wonder that the young man went off sad when he didn’t opt for Christ: deep down he knew eternal life was at stake, and he blew it.

Don’t be afraid to ask Our Lord the question today in your own spiritual life: “Lord, what do I lack?” No matter how costly it appears, it will lead to eternal happiness for you and for others. Take the next step and trust in Our Lord’s help.

Readings: Judges 2:11–19; Psalm 106:34–37, 39–40, 43ab, 44; Matthew 19:16–22. See also 8th Week of Ordinary Time, Monday, Year I

19th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord teaches us about marriage in response to some sticky questions posed by the Pharisees about divorce in order to trip him up.  Marriage was a complex issue back then, and in today’s society it has not grown any easier. This is one of the few Gospel passages where Our Lord sees the need to correct an interpretation that Mosaic law made; usually Our Lord exhorts a more profound observance of the Law, not a correction to it. He teaches in today’s Gospel that marriage is something established between a man and a woman, but it is also bond forged by God. As a bond forged by God the married man and woman also receive spiritual help in remaining faithful to each other. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time were debating whether divorce was allowed for either a serious reason or a less serious reasons, as two Rabbinical schools at the time were contending, trying to interpret Mosaic law’s concession of divorce in some cases.* Jesus responded that neither school was correct: divorce was not part of God’s plan “from the beginning.”

Jesus qualifies this by speaking of an exception for the marriage being “unlawful.” A lot of ink has been spilt regarding the meaning of this phrase, especially since the more literal translation of the expression is “fornication” or “sexual immorality,” so it gives the impression that divorce would be permitted in cases of adultery. Given what Our Lord had just said, it’s unlikely this is what he would have meant. “Unlawful” here could refer to a union in marriage that would be incestuous (relatives, such as cousins, marrying each other), and therefore they shouldn’t have been married due to consanguinity. Catholic teaching on this clause is that a faithful spouse can separate from an unfaithful one who has fallen into sexual immorality: it refers to separation, where the marriage bond continues but the spouses live apart, as opposed to dissolving the marriage bond through divorce.*

Let’s pray today for all marriages, for those spouses who are suffering from a separation, and that marriages experiencing difficulty may receive the grace, counseling, and insight they need in order to resolve their differences and be faithful to the bond God has forged between them until death do them part.

Readings: Joshua 24:1–13; Psalm 136:1–3, 16–18, 21–22, 24; Matthew 19:3–12.

* See Jones, A. (1953). “The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to St Matthew” in B. Orchard & E. F. Sutcliffe (Eds.), A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Toronto;New York;Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson, p. 885.