Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Friends of mine who are preparing for their wedding discovered that almost half of their invited guests did not reply or send back their RSVP card. Unfortunately, this percentage corresponds with many national averages, which can make planning for guests difficult and add to the already heightened levels of anxiety as the big day approaches.
Jesus’ parable communicates a master (who is God the Father) throwing a banquet with the eager invitation to his guests: ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ Through varied means, our loving God has extended to all people the invitation to a relationship of love and the prospect of eternal life in heaven. Just as in Jesus’ parable, we see the same response today when people, “One by one, they all began to excuse themselves.” It is always troubling to see our friends or relatives refuse a relationship with God or stop going to church. Think of the sadness that God must experience—creating us, loving us into existence, and finding us careless or outright rejecting Him. God has given us every good gift, including the great gift of life itself, and you would think that the least we could do is respond in some way with gratitude.
Among our many failures, we often fall into forgetfulness. We are forgetful of the beautiful and powerful ways that God has worked in our lives. We are forgetful when we do not respond to the relationship of the God who desires to know us intimately.
May we acknowledge and act upon God’s invitation this week, not by ignoring the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, but by expressing our “yes” by making time for prayer. Even if we aren’t sure where to start, simply take a few moments to pause throughout the day and offer God a short prayer comprised of two simple words: Thank you!
Reflection Question: How can I foster gratitude to God in my heart?
Reflection by Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB
Posted in Articles for Lent, Daily Reflections, Lenten Resources