The Banquet Of The Blessed

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14

Some ignored the invitation and went away.
Matthew 22:5

I had not been Catholic long when I heard the following term: “Holy Day of Obligation”.  It struck me as odd.  I didn’t go to Mass because I felt obligated.  I went because it was a tremendous blessing and I didn’t want to miss it.  However, I found that not everyone shares that motivation.  The issue has come to the fore in recent times.  Catholics are typically “obligated” to attend Mass on all Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation.  But in recent times because of the virus the obligation has been suspended.  Fair enough!  That’s probably a good pastoral practice, given the times.  But how should we respond?

Let’s delve a little bit into the whole idea of “obligation” where Mass is concerned.  Why does the Church even speak in such language?  Understand it like this: the Church obligates her children to Mass on certain occasions the same way that parents obligate their children to three square meals a day.  It is because our mothers know what is good for us that they establish these minimal standards.  There are an abundance of graces available at a single Mass and we are desperately in need of receiving them.  Were we to never come to Mass and feed on the Body and Blood of our Lord, we would be weak and anemic Christians who would eventually die in the realm of the spiritual life of grace.

Unfortunately, we are fallen creatures and we cannot always be motivated by such good and loving overtures.  We sometimes need the fear factor.  This is often criticized as being beneath the dignity of true religion.  But it isn’t.  It’s a natural consequence.  If a mother told her small child not to touch a hot stove because he may be burned or don’t play in the street because he could be struck by a car, she is not unduly frightening the child.  She is merely warning against the real consequences of those actions.  In fact, her warnings will be seen as the loving thing to do once they are properly understood.  This is exactly the case with the Church when she lovingly warns the faithful about the consequences of intentionally missing Mass.  We lose out on the opportunity to receive the graces present and we place ourselves in spiritual danger.

Please bear this in mind as we consider today’s Gospel.

Jesus tells a parable about a king who gives a wedding feast for his son.  Naturally, he expects that people will be honored to attend a feast given by a king.  However, he finds it is quite the opposite.  They begin to make excuses for why they cannot attend.  The king is furious.  He is giving a feast and he will have guests.  So they go out into the highways and bring in whoever they find.

Such is the case with the heavenly banquet.  God has called us to come to the feast.  However, many are content to ignore the invitation.  Then God will look for others.  There will be a feast and He will have guests.  This is why there are so many that we might not think to be suitable guests who actually go in to the feast while we are left out.

I can’t help but feel this is what often happens every Sunday.  We are all called to dine with the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  The feast is made ready.  But we often ignore the invitation and go away.  We choose golf, or fishing, or vacations, or even just sleeping in to being with the King at the great feast.

Imagine- the Son of God offers Himself freely for us and our response too often is, “I have better things to do.”  This is why it is a mortal sin to intentionally miss Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation. 

But the obligation has been suspended.  These things don’t apply now, right?

For those unable to attend Mass it is never a sin when they are absent.  In the current times, this would include those who have strong reason to believe they would be in danger were they to contract the virus.  But if we are turning away merely because the bishops have lifted the obligation then we are missing the point. 

What if a mother was to tell her sick child it is not necessary for her to come down and join the family for dinner?  Would that apply to the healthy children as well?  Certainly not!  They still need their proper nourishment.  So it is in the spiritual realm.  If we stay away merely for convenience then we are left in the place where we are starving because we are never actually fed the Holy Eucharist.

Dear friends, it is certainly not my intention to add undue burden to those who cannot safely assemble with us.  But it is certainly the point that there are a great many who have adopted absence from the wrong motivation.  Let us return to the Mass, and quickly!  Our Lord awaits.  May He wait no longer!

The feast has been prepared, the guests have been invited, and our Host waits.  To those who gladly accept the invitation, untold graces await.  To those who make excuses, they do so to their own loss.  In the Gospel, eternal punishment awaited those who stubbornly refused the king’s invitation.  The same fate awaits those who stubbornly refuse the grace of God compelling them to join in the feast.  Don’t wait for someone to tell you the obligation has been reinstated.  Instead, choose to join now and be blessed!