Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying: Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet. But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet. Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe? And he was speechless. Then the king said to his attendants, Bind him hand and foot, and throw him out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe that one thing is necessary. I believe that you made me for heaven, and that you have given me this life to prepare for it. I hope in your grace to one day reach heaven. I trust in you, that you will give me today the grace to take one step closer. I love you, Lord, suffered, died, rose so that heaven would be open to me.

Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to desire heaven, especially when other, more immediate goals and pleasures tend to distract me. 

1.You are invited to the banquet. There are two banquets we can think of, the banquet of eternal life, and the banquet of the Eucharist. Both are connected because if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man you will not have life in you. In order to partake of the banquet of eternal life, we must share in the redemption worked by the Sacrifice of Christ, and we must eat his Body and drink his Blood in the Eucharist. That is why the King sent out his messengers to invite people to his Sons banquet.

The King takes the initiative. He invites. We do not have any natural right to partake in either banquet. It is his gift and his invitation. It is out of his sheer goodness that he prepares the banquet and invites us. Who am I that you invite me? I am a sinner. I have offended you by my pride, my sensuality, and my vanity. But you came to save what was lost.

2. They made light of it, and each one went about his business, ignoring the invitation. How could a friend or servant make light of his Kings invitation? Either he does not respect the King for who he is, or he has no idea of what he is missing out on, eye has not seen nor ear heard nor has it entered into the heart of man the good things that God has prepared for those who love him (1Cor2,9). For eternal life to mean something to us, we have to think about it, we have to reflect on it, we have to use our faith. If we are going to give up other things in order to achieve it, it has to be worth more to us than those things.

This applies also to the banquet of the Eucharist. It is easy to make light of it, not to realize all we receive in it. It is easy to live a life so cluttered with immediate worries, concerns and ambitions that the invitation means nothing to us.  It is so easy to get caught up in ourselves, to be distracted from the real purpose of our lives. Jesus invitation is to rise above these limitations.

The invitation is attractive but difficult to commit to. To follow Christ and be nourished by him and reach eternal life we have to rise above so much in our human nature. We can only do so when our faith allows us to see what is at stake.

3. Many are called, but few are chosen. The invitation is not without its conditions, it requires more than a passive response. We have to rise to the occasion, we have to in a sense become worthy of it. We cannot risk eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God unworthily, for that brings condemnation, and we lose the life we thought we had.

St Paul speaks of clothing ourselves in Christ, to have the same thoughts and standards as Christ, to do as he did. It is well to think if that is the fruit of my Communions, or if I am living as one invited to the banquet but indistinguishable in my behavior, desires, thought patterns, ambitions, choices and the use of my time from those who do not know Christ or who havent accepted his invitation.

Christ speaks of honesty and accountability. If we are not striving to be what we ought to be, we will be asked for an account, he will ask us, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?  We should constantly check to see if we are striving to be what he wants us to be.

Conversation: Lord Jesus, I often seek my happiness in ways contrary to your invitation. It is easy to forget that you have extended an invitation to me to be with you forever. Dont let me get distracted from the reason for which I am here.

Questionnaire:

1. What gives away my true appreciation for the gift of the Eucharist and the reality of heaven?

2. In what things to I make light of Gods gift?

3. How far have I progressed in clothing myself with Christ?