Invited to the Wedding Feast. Reflections for Married Couples. Matthew 22,1-14

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Gospel of the Day

From the Gospel according to Matthew 22, 1-14
At that time: Jesus again spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people, in parables, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ” But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
  ‘But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
The Gospel of the Lord

Invited to the Wedding Feast

Marriage is a daily invitation to take part in the banquet of Love. Like the first guests, we too can allow our commitments, the rush of daily life or our worries to take the place of our relationship and of God. Without realising it, we can keep putting off those moments that nourish our communion.

The Lord never stops inviting us. His call is constant and freely given, but He awaits our response. The «wedding garment» is nothing other than a heart ready to love, to forgive, to serve and to allow itself to be transformed by Him. It is not enough simply to be married. We need to clothe ourselves each day in the love of Christ in order to live our vocation to marriage with joy. Marriage is not a destination, but a journey towards Heaven.

Today we can ask ourselves: what is taking the place of the banquet in our lives? Am I caring for the «garment» of my marriage through acts of self-giving, prayer and tenderness? The Lord continues to say: «Everything is ready. Come to the wedding». Let us not let His invitation pass us by.

 

Brought Down to Married Life

Mary: Charles, I feel that lately we live together, but we are becoming less and less united.

Charles: Because of work and the children?

Mary: Yes. We are always busy. And when we do have a moment, we are on our phones or thinking about other things.

Charles: It’s true. We always say, «When we have time, we’ll spend some time together».

Mary: Today, when I heard the Gospel about the wedding feast, I thought about us. The guests had other things to do and let the invitation pass them by. We can do the same: we do not reject God or our marriage, but we keep putting everything off until later.

Charles: So, what is our «banquet»?

Mary: The moments that help us reconnect: talking, praying together, listening to each other, forgiving each other, showing one another little acts of affection.

Charles: And the «wedding garment» would be clothing ourselves each day in patience, love and service.

Mary: Exactly. It is not enough simply to be married. We have to choose each other and care for each other every day.

Charles: Then let’s do something concrete. Let’s put our phones away tonight and pray together.

Mary: I think that’s a good idea. And let’s also set aside some time together each day just for the Lord.

Charles: Because God continues to invite us to the banquet.

Mary: Yes. And this time we do not want to answer, «Not now».

Charles: We want to say to Him, «Yes, Lord. Here we are».

 

Mother,

With You, we want to say to the Lord: «Here we are. May Your will be done». Blessed are you among women.

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