Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 422
Reading 1
Ezekiel 36:23-28
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Alleluia
Psalm 95:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen."
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
An Invitation From the Father
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.” Matthew 22:2–3
The king in this parable is God the Father, and the wedding is the marriage between Christ and the Church. The Father invites each one of us to be a member of the Church and to enter into divine union with His Son Jesus, thus entering into the life of the Holy Trinity. But we see right away in the parable that the invited guests “refused to come.” As the parable goes on, the king tried even harder to invite the guests, but they all responded in one of two ways. “Some ignored the invitation and went away…” and “The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.” Clearly, this was not the response hoped for by the generous king.
We see in these two responses two levels of rejection of the Gospel that are present in our world today, just as it was at the time of Jesus. The first level of rejection is indifference. Many people are very busy today. We easily become occupied with many things that matter little in the end. Many are consumed by their smartphones, computers and tablets. Many spend countless hours watching television. Others become workaholics, spending most of their time at their occupation and leaving little time for that which is most important, such as family, prayer and service. As a result, it is very easy to become indifferent to the matters of faith and easy to fail to pray every day so as to seek out and fulfill God’s will. This indifference is quite serious.
There is also a rejection of the faith in our world through a growing hostility toward the Church and morality. There are many ways in which the secular world continues to promote a culture that is contrary to the Gospel. And when Christians speak out and oppose these new cultural tendencies, they are condemned and often characterized as being prejudiced or judgmental. Such malice was displayed by the guests in this parable who “laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.” Hostility toward the Church, the faith and clear moral principles laid down by God appears to be growing every year. This form of rejection of the Gospel is even more damaging than the simple indifference mentioned above. In this parable for today, Jesus says that in response to those who were indifferent and hostile, the king “sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.”
This parable should not be read in such a way that we look at others and condemn them as if we were the king and had the right to do so. We do not have that right. Only God does. Instead, this parable should be read from the perspective of your own life. Hopefully you are not one of those who are hostile to the Gospel. But perhaps you and many other Christians struggle with the first form of rejection: indifference. We can easily become indifferent in many various ways and on many different levels. The opposite of being indifferent is to care and to care deeply about going to the wedding feast when invited.
Reflect, today, upon the Wedding Feast to which you are invited. You are invited to enter into the glorious celebration of becoming one with the Savior of the World. You are invited to surrender your life to Him without reserve. You are invited to holiness, moral integrity, unwavering fidelity to God, service of others, charity that knows no bounds and so much more. To enter the Wedding Feast of the Lamb is something that must take place every day and every moment of your day for the rest of your life. God is inviting you. Will you say “Yes” with every fiber of your being?
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
the prophecy which is the purpose of life
“I will sprinkle clean water upon you.” —Ezekiel 36:25
The Lord promised through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you” (Ez 36:25). The Lord promised us a total purification far beyond any purification ever attempted. This purification will be part of a change of our nature. We can be born again, begotten from above (see Jn 3:3, 5). The Lord promised: “I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts” (Ez 36:26). Our new nature will not only be new, but we will even be made sharers in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). The Lord has even said that He would live within us. He promised: “I will put My Spirit within you and make you live by My statutes” (Ez 36:27). Through our Baptism, we will live in the Holy Trinity and the Trinity will live in us (see Jn 17:23; cf 1 Cor 6:19).
The purpose of life is to receive the fulfillment of Ezekiel’s prophecy in today’s first Eucharistic reading. The purpose of life is to receive a new nature, to be born again by Baptism into Jesus, and to live that Baptism in total commitment to Jesus.
Let us thank the Lord always for the new birth in Baptism and the life of faith and faithfulness to the Lord. Let us love people enough to tell as many as possible about the purpose of life. “Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who in His great mercy gave us new birth” (1 Pt 1:3).
Prayer: Father, send the Holy Spirit to teach me the radical newness of my baptized life in Jesus (see Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People, Pope St. John Paul II, 10).
Promise: “The invited are many, the elect are few.” —Mt 22:14
Praise: Mary, our Queen Mother, places her protective mantle of love over “her offspring...those who keep God’s commandments and give witness to Jesus” (Rv 12:17).
Reflection 3
By Fr. David AMADO i Fernández
(Barcelona, Spain)
“Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast”
Today, Jesus’ parable speaks of the banquet of the Kingdom, a recurrent example in his preaching. Specifically, this story has to do with that wedding feast that will be celebrated at the end of time, when the union of Jesus with his Church will be eternal. She is Christ's spouse, who walks in our world, and will finally espouse her Beloved forever and ever. God the Father has prepared that feast and He wants all people to be present. This is why He invites all of us to “come to the feast!” (Mt 22:4).
However, the parable has a tragic development, as many “ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business” (Mt 22:5). This is why, every day, God's mercy is, more often than not, addressed to the most distant people. It is like a groom who is about to get married and invites his family and friends, but they do not go. In view of that, he decides to call his acquaintances and co-workers, but they come up with excuses; finally, he invites the first people he meets, because he has prepared a banquet and he wants to have guests at his table. Something very similar happens with God.
But the different characters appearing in the parable may also be images of the different states of our soul. Thanks to the grace of baptism we are God's friends and inheritors along with Christ: we have a place reserved for us in this banquet. If, however, we forget our calling as sons and daughters, God proceeds to treat us as mere acquaintances while still maintaining his invitation. If we let the grace within us die, we simply become people at the crossroads, just passers-by, without a penny in matters of the Kingdom. Yet, God keeps on calling us.
His call may reach us any time. It is by personal invitation. Nobody has any right to be there. It is God who finds us and says: “Come to the wedding feast!” And we have to respond to this invitation with words and actions. This is why that guest who was not properly dressed was thrown out: “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?” (Mt 22:12).
Prayers
My inviting Lord, You desire that all people fully accept the invitation You have given to become one with You through spiritual marriage. You call us to the glorious Wedding Feast and eternal rejoicing. May I never be indifferent to Your invitation and always make my response with all my heart. I love You, dear Lord. Help me to love You all the more. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 234: The Obscurity of Deep Faith
Normally, when one begins a journey of faith, there are countless insights and revelations that are enjoyed. Various aspects of the life of faith come alive and understanding of the many mysteries in life is received. This gift of spiritual insight and understanding is a great gift and guide as one begins to walk down the path God has chosen. But as time goes on and a soul enters deeply into the mysteries of faith, a certain obscurity can begin to set in. If this is caused by sin or by a spiritual sloth, it should be remedied through Confession and a new resolve to seek the Lord. But this experience can also be the result of a deepening of one’s faith. There comes a time when God’s communication is one of darkness and obscurity. The soul begins to understand that it cannot understand. This is a gift in that the deeper mysteries of faith cannot be communicated through a concept or insight. The deepest communications from our Lord must be communicated through a darkening of the mind. Knowledge becomes dark, yet the certainty of God’s voice remains (See Diary #1205).
Reflect upon your interior life of prayer. If you do not clearly have an “interior life,” then it’s time to start. Seek our Lord through meditation and conversation and allow Him to speak to you. If you do have an interior life of prayer and God is regularly present to you, seek to go deeper. And as you seek more, do not be afraid if you begin to sense that meditation and conversation give way to greater silence and obscurity in your soul. This may be a sign that God is speaking to you on a new level. Speak to a priest about this experience and remain faithful to our Lord in every way as He draws you more deeply into a new level of prayer.
Lord, I desire to be drawn in deeply to the silence and obscurity of a life of faith. Help me to commune with You on this deepest level and to be transformed in the depths of my soul. Jesus, I trust in You.
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