Blessed are those who are open to God

 

Thursday 20 August 2020

Blessed are those who open themselves to God

Ezekiel 36:23-28 ·

I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh

The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.’ THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

God always looks on his Church with love. God in Christ is always present in his Church and through his Holy Spirit always guides his Church. This truth should not make us complacent, but it should give us courage and enthusiasm. Many have vowed to destroy the Catholic Church and wipe out Christianity. Hitler made this vow. The Communists tried and try to annihilate it. They fail. Like the flowers in the field, they pass away, but the Church remains.  God is with each member if they will receive him. He is ready to renew each one if only they will open themselves to him and allow him to “give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you”

  Psalm

Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19

I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.

Give me again the joy of your help;

with a spirit of fervour sustain me,

that I may teach transgressors your ways

and sinners may return to you.

I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

burnt offering from me you would refuse,

my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.

A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.

 

____________________

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

Harden not your hearts today,

but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Alleluia!

 

____________________

 

Gospel

Matthew 22:1-14

Invite everyone you can to the wedding

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weepi ng and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’ THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

What an honour and privilege to be invited to the wedding of the king’s son. What a missed opportunity to miss it for whatever reason. What an insult to refuse it and even ill-treat the messengers who brought the invitation. Worse still, is to kill those who announce everything is ready, ‘please come’.  But this is what the first invitees did. They are the chief priests and elders to whom Jesus tells this parable. Their city is destroyed and they are killed. Maybe Matthew added this since he wrote after the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem and the slaughter of the people by the Romans in the year 70 A.D.

Then the king invites everyone he can find, rich and poor, noble and riff-raff. They come and the banquet hall is filled but one has no wedding garment on. All the other beggars and invitees had changed their garments but not he. We can’t get into the wedding feast unless we repent and leave behind out sins. There is no place for sinners in the kingdom of heaven.

What is your response to the invitation sent out from the Church?

If we carefully read the Word of God, we will see that we are not just invitees. The king invites us to be ‘the bride’ of his Son. How foolish can we be to refuse? Yet many do.