Reading 1
Ez 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.
Gospel
Mt 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.”
Meditation: Psalm 51:12-15,18-19
“Restore my joy in your salvation.” (Psalm 51:14)
O Lord, I come before you just as David did so many years ago. I come freely admitting my sins. I come humbly, acknowledging that my offenses have been an affront to your holiness, your justice, and your love. Have mercy on me, Lord!
O God, you have shown me how my thoughts, words, and actions have turned me away from your grace and your protection. I can see how the consequences of my sins have affected not only my relationship with you but my relationship with my brothers and sisters as well. O Lord, in your loving compassion, blot out my transgressions! Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins!
Father, through faith in you and by trusting in your Son’s death and resurrection, I believe that I have been redeemed. I believe that you can throw my sins from me as far as the east is from the west. Filled with confidence not in myself but in your power and mercy, I confess my sin and ask you to forgive me. Lord, I know that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation I can experience not only forgiveness but healing and restoration as well. And so I come to you, Father, hoping to receive your grace to begin again.
Thank you, Lord!
Father, words alone cannot describe what it is like to come back to you and feel your embrace once more. You promised through your prophet that even though my sins are as red as scarlet, they can be made as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). How can anyone fully express what it feels like to be made so clean?
Sometimes I think that being forgiven is like having a large, crushing load lifted from my back, allowing me to stand up straight again. Other times it feels like a heaviness is lifted from my chest so that I can breathe freely once more. And every time, I feel a wonderful strengthening through your grace, Lord, enabling me to say “no” to temptation. Thank you, Father, for the joy that this brings!
“Father, your love and mercy are unending! Inspired by your grace, I come to you now to be set free. Father, may I never forget you!”
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