GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke

LK 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him,

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

He replied to him,

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.

When the time for the dinner came,

he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,

‘Come, everything is now ready.’

But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

The first said to him,

‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;

I ask you, consider me excused.’

And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen

and am on my way to evaluate them;

I ask you, consider me excused.’

And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,

and therefore I cannot come.’

The servant went and reported this to his master.

Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,

‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town

and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out

and still there is room.’

The master then ordered the servant,

‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows

and make people come in that my home may be filled.

For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

 

This is the Gospel of “yes, but…”

The answer is “yes,” but what’s missing is the immediacy in the “yes.” However, the response of the man who has invited everyone is that none of guests will taste the banquet.

Is my response to God’s will immediate? And is my response to my husband’s needs—even to simply please him—immediate?

 

Applied to Married Life

Jaime: Did you notice the three excuses the Lord mentions in this Gospel? One is for earthly possessions, another for work, and another for family relationships. These are exactly the three excuses given by the couples we mentor when they say they don’t have time for marital prayer or daily Eucharist.

Lucia: It’s sad, isn’t it? They think they’re saving time by not praying, but they don’t realise how much time they’re actually losing by not praying.

Jaime: Absolutely. Just in arguments alone—how much time is wasted, right?

 

Mother,

May we never make excuses to avoid the Lord’s call, however, whenever, and wherever He wills. Amen.