#basilica of the assumption

[eopederson]

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption, Baltimore, 2019.

The first Roman Catholic cathedral in the US, the now basilica was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the first professionally trained architect in what is now the US and justly famed for the US Capitol among his major works in Washington, DC. In the 1950s the cathedral function was transferred to a modern building north of the business district.

[escapismsworld]

Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady (aka Rotunda of Mosta)

📍Mosta, Malta

[postcard-from-the-past]

Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady in Mosta, Malta

British vintage postcard, mailed in 1912

[suetravelblog]

Tbilisi Walking Tour & Georgia Independence Day

Narikala Fortress – Tour to Georgia Having time to move at your own pace is a big plus when traveling abroad. Long-term travel provides time for adjusting to new environments, without feeling pressed to see everything at once. I’ve been low-key for a few days getting my bearings, but am getting up to speed and expanding my Georgian horizons. Transportation Purchasing a Metromoney card seemed a…

[famousinuniverse]

Basilica of Notre-Dame of la Garde, Marseille, France: Notre-Dame de la Garde, known to local citizens as la Bonne Mère, is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, and the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it is the most visited site in Marseille. Wikipedia

[vivelafranceblog]

Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseille, France: Notre-Dame de la Garde, known to local citizens as la Bonne Mère, is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, and the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it is the most visited site in Marseille. Wikipedia

[matthewgstickler]

Venice: We consider Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari a must see when visiting Venice. It is the largest church in the city and it has the status of a minor basilica. It is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The interior is notable for many tombs and works of art that have accumulated in the centuries after it was built. It contains many grand wall monuments to distinguished Venetians buried in the church, including a number of Doges. Many of these are important works in the history of Venetian sculpture, including Donatello’s Saint John the Baptist. Paintings in situ include two large and important altarpieces by Titian, the Assumption of the Virgin on the high altar and the Pesaro Madonna in a chapel.

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Hyacinth

Apostle of Poland

1185-1257

Feast Day: August 17

Patronage: Lithuania, UST-College of Tourism and Hospitality, Basilica of St. Hyacinth, those in danger of drowning

Saint Hyacinth was born to nobility and well educated, earning a Doctorate of Canon Law and Divinity. He received the Dominican habit from St. Dominic himself, who sent him to preach in Poland, Denmark, Prussia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, China, and Tibet. He established Churches, Convents, and Catholic communities. While saying Mass in Kiev, the Tartars were attacking the city. After he finished the Mass, he took the ciborium containing the Eucharist and a beloved statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and fled, leading the people to the deep river Dnieper. They crossed with dry feet, infuriating the pursuing Tartars who could not follow them. It’s said that Hyacinth’s footprints remained on the water and could be seen for centuries afterward. He died on the feast of the Assumption worn out from his tireless preaching.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[hopefulkidshark]

Notre-Dame de la Garde known to local citizens as la Bonne Mère, is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, & the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it is the most visited site in Marseille. It was built on the foundations of an ancient fort at the highest natural point in Marseille, a 149 m limestone outcropping on the south side of the Old Port of Marseille.

[blueiscoool]

16th-Century Compass Possibly Belonging to Nicolaus Copernicus Unearthed in Poland

Researchers have discovered a 16th-century compass that is thought to have been used by astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus in the canonical gardens of Frombork, northern Poland, during a recent archaeological dig.

Copernicus is famously known for his heliocentric theory, which posited that the Sun is the center of the solar system and the planets orbit around it, as presented in his work De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. Copernicus, who served as a canon at the Frombork cathedral, lived in the town for nearly 30 years, conducting his clerical duties and astronomical observations.

Nicolaus Copernicus famously wrote himself into history by looking up at the sky and speculating that the Sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe. Now, researchers from Warminska Grupa Eksploracyjna, an amateur archaeological exploration group in Poland, have made a discovery about Copernicus himself by looking at the ground.

The compass, which was made of a copper alloy, was discovered buried under the gardens of the northern Polish cathedral known as the Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Andrew, or Frombork Cathedral.

The compass is the third of its kind to be found in Poland, and the second to be found in Frombork’s gardens. According to an employee from the Nicolaus Copernicus Museum in Frombork, Zorjana Polenik, the compass “could have belonged to Nicolaus Copernicus himself.”

Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. In all likelihood, Copernicus developed his model independently of Aristarchus of Samos, an ancient Greek astronomer who had formulated such a model some eighteen centuries earlier.

[lutnistas]

Bazylika Mariacka / Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( Gdańsk / Poland )

yacht cruise on the Baltic Sea

[milky-membrane]

basilica of the assumption

aglona, latvia

[postcard-from-the-past]

Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady in Musta, Malta

French vintage postcard

[bluehome91]

📍 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗮, 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗮 - 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝘀

The beautiful church of Panagia is the most famous church of Folegandros island, Cyclades. It is located on a fabulous spot above Chora offering an excellent view to the island and the sea. A stone zigzag path starts from Pounda Square Chora and goes up to the church in about 15 min walk.

This church is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and was possibly constructed on the ruins of an ancient temple. In fact, marble parts of this temple were used as building material for the church and visitors can see ancient inscriptions and bases of statues in the interior and the courtyard of the church. The exact year of the construction of the church is not known. However, a marble sign says that it was renovated in 1687 and it took its present form in 1821.

The architecture of the church is traditional Cycladic and the exterior is whitewashed. This is a one-aisle basilica with many domes and a tall bell-tower. The interior has fine frescoes, a marble throne for the archbishop and a marble icon screen. In the past, the church was the katholikon of a female monastery.

The silver icon of Virgin Mary inside the church is believed the be miracle-working. The legend says that in 1790, 18 boats of Algerian pirates were about to get ashore. The desperate residents of Folegandros went to the church to pray for their lives to Virgin Mary when a strong northern wind blew and sank all the boats of the pirates, of whom all got drown. Since then, the locals consider Virgin Mary the protector of their island.

@gr.vacations

🧿 𝙍𝙀𝙁 𝙏𝘼𝙂 #grvacations 

🎥 @msarchia

➖🔹➖🔹➖🔹➖🔹➖🔹➖

[famousinuniverse]

Basilica of Notre-Dame of la Garde, Marseille, France: Belfry, bell tower and statue of the Virgin with child....Notre-Dame de la Garde, known to local citizens as la Bonne Mère, is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, and the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assumption Day pilgrimage, it is the most visited site in Marseille. Wikipedia

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

22nd August >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for:

The Feast of the Queenship of Mary (Inc. Luke 1:39-56)

and

Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Matthew 22:1-14).

Feast of the Queenship of Mary

Gospel (Except USA) Luke 1:26-38 'I am the handmaid of the Lord'.

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

Gospel (USA) Luke 1:26-38 You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Reflections (6)

(i) Feast of the Queenship of Mary

This feast is a relatively recent one in the church. For centuries Mary had been venerated as Queen of the angels and the saints. It is depicted, for example, in some very early mosaic works in the apse of the great Basilicas. Jesus is portrayed as King of heaven and earth, and, alongside him, Mary is portrayed as Queen. In 1955, at the end of the Marian Year, Pope Pius XII gave formal expression to this popular belief of the faithful, by promulgating this feast of the Queenship of Mary. He placed it on this date, 22nd August, to stress the connection with the feast of the Assumption. Like that feast, this feast of the Queenship of Mary proclaims the very special union between herself and her Son in heaven. The church understands this special relationship between Jesus and Mary in heaven as the continuation and deepening of their special relationship on earth. In the gospel reading, Mary consents to be the mother of Jesus, God’s Son. She carried Jesus in her womb for nine months, and, having given birth to him, she nursed him as only a mother could. No other human being had such a deeply personal relationship with Jesus from the first moment of his existence. Before she conceived Jesus in her womb, she conceived him in her heart, through her faith, by surrendering herself to God’s purpose and desire for her life, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let what you have said be done to me’. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, according to Luke’s gospel, Elizabeth declared Mary blessed because of the child she was carrying in her womb, but then went on to declare Mary blessed because of her faith, ‘Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was said to her by the Lord’. Mary inspires us to keep growing in our faith, to keep giving ourselves over to God’s purpose, God’s desire, for our lives, so that Christ can live in us, as he lived in Mary, and so that we become people who bring the Lord to others as she brought the Lord to us. Christ who lives in us in this earthly life will then draw us into a deeper relationship with himself in the life beyond this earthly life.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of the Queenship of Mary

During the Middle Ages Mary was venerated as Queen of the angels and saints. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Queenship of Mary as a memorial of the universal church at the close of the Marian Year of 1955. The memorial is placed on this date, August 22, to stress its connection with the feast of the Assumption, exactly a week earlier. The gospel reading for today’s feast tells us that if Mary now reigns with her Son in heaven, it is because she gave herself over to God’s purpose for her earthly life, as did Jesus her Son. There are many call stories in the gospels and in the bible as a whole. Today’s gospel reading is the story of the call of Mary. According to the passage, Mary displayed a whole range of responses to God’s approach to her. Initially, she was ‘deeply disturbed’, and then she questioned, ‘How can this come about?’ It was only after an interior journey that she finally surrendered to what God was asking of her, ‘let what you have said be done to me’. The reading suggests that Mary’s response came at the end of a period of struggle. There will always be an element of struggle in our own dealings with the Lord, in our own efforts to respond to the Lord’s call. Mary’s response of total surrender to God’s purpose for her life did not come easy to her and does not come easy to us. However, in our struggle to live in harmony with God’s purpose for our lives, we all have the assurance of Gabriel’s words to Mary, ‘Nothing is impossible to God’. What may seem impossible to us is always possible with God’s help. We can all come to make our own the words of Saint Paul, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain’ (1 Cor 15:10).

And/Or

(iii) Feast of The Queenship of Mary

Today we celebrate the memorial of the Queenship of Mary. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Queenship of Mary as a feast of the universal church at the close of the Marian Year of 1955. The feast is placed on this date, August 22, to stress its connection with the feast of the Assumption, exactly a week earlier. We find this link expressed in the joyful mysteries of the rosary, with the fourth mystery being the Assumption and the fifth mystery being the Coronation of Mary as Queen of heaven. Today’s gospel reading, the Annunciation to Mary, is the first joyful mystery. That first joyful mystery in Mary’s life underpins the fifth joyful of her life. If she reigns with her Son in heaven it is because she first shared in his complete surrender to God’s purpose for his life. As Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane, ‘not my will but yours be done’, Mary said in Nazareth, ‘let what you have said be done to me’. That surrender to God’s purpose did not come easy to Jesus in the garden; he had first prayed ‘Take this cup from me’. It did not come easy to Mary either. According to today’s gospel reading, she was initially deeply disturbed and full of questions. Today’s feast invites us to share in Mary’s willingness to both seek out God’s purpose for our lives and to surrender to it. This surrender won’t always come easy to us, no more than it came easy to Mary. Our own small purposes can get in the way of God’s greater purpose for our lives. Yet, Mary can help us to be as open and responsive to God’s will for our lives as she was, which is why we need to pray, ‘Mary, pray for us, sinners, now, and at the hour of our death’.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of The Queenship of Mary

During the Middle Ages Mary was venerated as Queen of the angels and saints. Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Queenship of Mary as a memorial of the universal church at the close of the Marian Year of 1955. The memorial is placed on this date, August 22, to stress its connection with the feast of the Assumption, a week earlier. When people of faith gave Mary the title of Queen of heaven and earth, it was their way of saying that Mary is worthy of our veneration and that she deserves our honour. We honour and we venerate Mary. We don’t worship Mary. Only God can be worshipped, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We honour Mary as Queen because of who she was in her earthly life, because she was a woman of deep faith. Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel conveys the core of her faith, ‘Let what you have said be done to me’. The gospel reading suggests that Mary had her reservations about what God appeared to be asking of her, ‘How can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ The angel Gabriel went on to say to her, ‘Nothing is impossible to God’. Mary came to accept that what she herself could not bring about, God would bring about. She then gave herself over to God’s purpose for her life, trusting that God could bring his purpose to pass. It could be said that Mary allowed God to be God in her life. This is the essence of faith. The person of faith does not try to manage God or to shape God to his or her purposes. Like Mary, we surrender to God’s purpose for our lives and we allow God to be God of our lives. In honouring Mary as Queen, we ask her to intercede for us, to pray for us, so that we can be as open to God’s desire for our lives as she was.

And/Or

(v) Feast of the Queenship of Mary

This memorial of Mary is relatively recent in the history of the church. Pope Pius XII prescribed this feast for the universal church at the close of the Marian Year in 1954. It is placed on this date, 22nd August, exactly a week after the feast of the Assumption, to stress the connection of Mary’s Queenship with the Assumption. Even though the official declaration of the Queenship of Mary as a memorial is relatively recent, the appreciation of Mary as Queen of heaven has a very long tradition in the church. I am reminded of some of the wonderful and very ancient mosaics in the apse of some churches in Rome depicting Jesus as king and Mary as Queen seated beside each other. The beautiful mosaic in the apse of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome comes to mind. Depicting Mary as Queen alongside her son as King was a way of showing honour to Mary for the person she had been in her earthly life. The gospel reading this morning depicts her as saying ‘yes’ to God’s desire for her to be the mother of his Son. Out of all women, she was chosen to give birth to a son who would also be the Son of God, who, in the words of today’s first reading would be a ‘great light’ in the darkness, a Wonder-Counsellor, a Mighty-God, a Prince of Peace. The church came to appreciate from its earliest days just how significant Mary’s ‘yes’ to God’s purpose for her life was for all of humanity. It was because Mary surrendered to God’s purpose for her life that God’s purpose for all our lives could come to pass. It was Mary’s faithful response to God’s word spoken by Gabriel that made it possible for us all to become people of faith. Her ‘yes’ created the opening for God’s Son to be given to us all and for us to respond in faith to this wonderful gift. Mary was pivotal in God’s saving purpose and, so, the church believed from earliest times that she must have a special place in heaven, alongside her Son. Today, we honour Mary as Queen of heaven. We are also reminded that our own ‘yes’ to the Lord’s call, just like Mary’s, can have important consequences for good in the lives of others. Even if in a lesser way than was the case with Mary, the faith of each one of us is instrumental in helping others come to faith and in nurturing the faith of others.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of the Queenship of Mary

During the Middle Ages, Mary was venerated as Queen of the angels and saints. Pope Pius XII prescribed this memorial of the Queenship of Mary for the universal Church at the close of the Marian Year in 1955. It is placed on this date of 22nd August, a week after the feast of the Assumption, to show its close association with that feast. It is a feast that celebrates Mary’s exalted place in heaven. Mary’s exaltation bears out the truth of Jesus’ saying, ‘those who humble themselves will be exalted’. In today’s gospel reading, we find Mary humbling herself. In her conversation with the angel Gabriel, she shows an open, questioning, spirit. She asked herself what Gabriel’s greeting could mean. In response to Gabriel’s extraordinary news, Mary asked, ‘how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ She didn’t claim to know everything. The kind of questioning, searching, spirit that Mary displays is a sign of humility. It stands over against the attitude of those who claim to know more than they actually do. Mary’s humble spirit is finally and fully revealed in her surrender to God’s purpose for her life, even though she doesn’t understand it fully at this moment, ‘Let what you have said be done to me’. These words reveal Mary’s willingness to allow God to have his way in her life, rather than insisting on her own way. In the beatitudes, Jesus would declare those with such an attitude to be blessed, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’. Indeed, Mary could be described as a woman of the beatitudes. She shows us the path we are all to take. If we enter into her humble attitude, allowing God to have his way in our life, we too will be exalted by God. We recognize Mary’s Queenship most fully when, like her, we give ourselves over to God’s gracious purpose for our lives.

---------------------------------

Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) 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 weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 22:1-14 Invite to the wedding feast whomever you find.

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.”

Reflections (5)

(i) Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

The parable in this morning’s gospel reading is the story of a king who was determined that there would be a full house for the wedding banquet of his son. When two lots of servants got nowhere with those who had already said they would be there, the king sends out his servants a third time to the crossroads of the town to bring total strangers to the banquet of his son’s wedding. We can hear in the story an image of the persistence of God who continues to call even when people seem deaf to his call. The Lord does not give up on us, even when we give him good reasons for doing so. He continues to call out to us. The first reading from the prophet Ezekiel suggests that God not only continues to call us but that God is always at work in our lives. God’s call is not just something external but God works from within. In that reading God promises to cleanse us, to give us a new heart, to put a new spirit within us. God will certainly do his part. The conclusion of the parable in the gospel reading suggests that we also have to do our part. Some of the guests were asked to leave because they were not wearing a wedding garment. In other words, they were casual about the king’s invitation. God is not casual in our regard. He invests heavily in us and he looks to us for an appropriate response. Our lives are to bear fruit worthy of God’s investment.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

An invitation is not a command. We receive many invitations in life, either verbally or in writing and we probably ignore or decline a good number of them. We are free to accept an invitation or not. God’s way of relating to us is shaped more by invitation than by command. The parable Jesus speaks in the gospel reading this morning is about God’s invitation to all of us to the banquet of life. In the story, the king who invites chosen guests to his son’s wedding banquet does not cancel the meal when those who were invited all refuse; instead he invites a whole new group. That aspect of the story speaks to us of God’s persistence. When the human response to God’s invitation is not forthcoming, God does not cancel anything; he simply intensifies his invitation. God continues to work to ensure that as many as possible approach the banquet of life. This banquet is in a sense embodied in the person of Christ who is the bread of life. The second part of the parable reminds us that saying ‘yes’ to the God’s invitation is not something we do once and then forget about. We have to say ‘yes’ to God’s invitation everyday day of our lives. In the language of the parable, we have to keep putting on the wedding garment. Having been clothed with Christ at baptism, we have to keep clothing ourselves with Christ and all he stands for, day by day.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s parable Jesus speaks of the kingdom of God as a wedding feast to which people are invited. The great feast is a frequent image of the kingdom of God in the gospels. It is an image which suggests God’s gracious and generous hospitality. The Eucharist can be understood as an anticipation of the banquet in the kingdom of heaven. At the Eucharist we not only look back to the Last Supper but we also look forward to the banquet of eternal life. At the Last Supper Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom’. In the parable in this morning’s gospel reading, many of those who had been invited to the wedding banquet and who had already agreed to come turned down the invitation at the last minute, just when everything was ready. Even some of those who did respond to the invitation did not take the event seriously as was clear from their inappropriate dress. God invites and he persistently invites, even after many refusals. Yet, it is up to us to respond. Our presence at the Eucharist is a sign that we are responding to the Lord’s invitation. Yet, we have to keep clothing ourselves in the right way, clothing ourselves with Christ, as Paul says. We are send out from the Eucharist to put on Christ, to put on the one whom we have received and who desires to live in and through us.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

In the time of Jesus it would have been considered a great honour to be invited to a wedding banquet, especially if the person doing the inviting was a king and if the invitation was to share table with his son, as in the parable in today’s gospel reading. Most people lived simply by today’s standards. Invitations to banquets did not come along every day. When they did come along, they presented an opportunity to eat in a way that was not the norm. Most people who received such an invitation would have jumped at it. However, in the parable Jesus tells the invitation to the wedding banquet of a king’s son was turned down by several people, with violence against the king’s messengers thrown in. This was foolish behaviour by any standards. Why turn down the gift of a great feast, insulting the host in the process? There was everything to be gained and nothing to be lost by saying ‘yes’ to the invitation. Jesus may be reminding us that we can all say ‘no’ to God’s invitation, in spite of the fact that God’s invitation is always with our best interests in view. God calls us through his Son to nourish us in body, mind and spirit. God’s call is always a call to life in its fullness. There is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained by responding positively to this invitation of the Lord. Yet, we can all allow God’s invitation to pass us by. Each day is an opportunity to respond with renewed energy to God’s invitation to sit at table with his Son, to enter into communion with his Son and to allow his Son to cloth us with himself, with his values and attitudes.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time

Perhaps what people missed most during the Covid pandemic was the opportunity to gather around a table and to share a meal with family and friends. Important occasions like birthdays, weddings, significant anniversaries, retirements and so on could not be celebrated at a gathering where food was served. The gathering of family and friends around a table is something we all value. When Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven, he frequently drew on this cherished human experienced of the shared meal. He once spoke of the kingdom of heaven as a banquet to which people from north, south, east and west would come. In the parable Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. Many people were invited to this special feast. It would have been a great honour to receive an invitation to a royal banquet. However, in the parable as Jesus tells it, those who had originally said ‘yes’ to the invitation to this royal banquet turn around and say ‘no’ on the day of the banquet itself, just when, in the words of the gospel reading, ‘everything is ready’. It would have shown great disrespect to the host to have a change of mind and heart at the last minute. Understandably, the king was angry. The parable suggests that God can do the inviting, but God cannot force a response to his invitation. We need to be attentive to the God’s call and invitation and respond to it in gratitude, because it is a sign that God values us and honours us. God’s invitation is never in doubt. God keeps inviting. In the parable, when those originally invited said ‘no’ at the last minute, the king sent out an invitation to as many as could be found, so that his wedding hall would be filled. God’s banquet of life will not be cancelled. The only question is whether we will respond to God’s invitation. Each day of our lives we try to respond to God’s call and invitation, by putting on the wedding garment, in the language of the parable, by clothing ourselves with the attitudes and values of the Lord.

Fr. Martin Hogan.