Entrance Antiphon
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But with you is found forgiveness,
O God of Israel.
First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10. A reading from the prophet Isaiah
The Lord will prepare a feast and will wipe away the tears from every cheek.
On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all people
a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines,
of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us;
for the hand of the Lord
rests on this mountain.
Responsorial Psalm: I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
- The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit. (R.)
- He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort. (R.)
- You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing. (R.)
- Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever. (R.)
Second Reading: Philippians 4:12-14. 19-20. A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians
I am able to do all things in him who strengthens me.
I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our heart that we might see how great is the hope to which we are called. Alleluia!
Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14. A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Whomsoever you find invite to the wedding.
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He dispatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
REFLECTION
by Nick Brodie (Leo’s Lens)
‘In order to build a peaceful society,’ Pope Leo says, ‘we must not only reform structures but also renew our hearts.’ Each one of us is called to reflect on the ‘ethical and cultural crisis’ that besets our world, and the part each of us plays in it.
The Pope wants us to see that the path of the Kingdom of Heaven is one which rejects much that the worldly hold dear. In our time, he laments, there has been ‘the loss of a sense of limits, the desire for domination, the pursuit of immediate profit, and the inability to recognise the God-given dignity of each human person.’
As the Pope reflects, Jesus ‘invites us to transform harm into life’, seeking to ‘reorder our desires, heal our wounds and help us grow in virtue.’ Good and bad are invited to the feast, but truly attending means being transformed.
We are thus invited to enter the feast ‘where hearts are renewed, new possibilities begin to open.’ Each one of us is called to become an agent of joyful peace, which ‘begins in the heart and flows outward to our relationships, communities and the broader world.’
‘Let us imagine’, the Pope encourages us, ‘a world in which the energies currently invested in war are directed toward integral human development, to overcoming poverty, protecting human dignity and reconciling divided peoples. Such a vision reflects faith in the coming of God’s Kingdom.’