In Isaiah 25, we hear of a great heavenly banquet where God will destroy death forever and wipe away every tear. In the Gospel of Matthew 22, Jesus tells the parable of a king who prepares a wedding feast, only to have his invited guests ignore his invitation.
These readings remind us of something central to our Catholic faith: God extends His invitation to us first, but we must choose to accept it.
This begins with Baptism. As Catholics, we baptize infants because Baptism is not something we earn or achieve. It is a gift from God. Just as we do not invite ourselves to a wedding or celebration, we do not initiate God’s invitation to eternal life. God loves us first and offers us His grace.
Through Baptism, a child is freed from original sin, becomes a child of God, and is incorporated into Christ and His Church. The child is clothed in a white garment, symbolizing a new life in Christ. The priest instructs the family to keep that garment unstained until eternal life.
But receiving an invitation is not the same as accepting it.
As we grow older, we must personally respond to God’s invitation. At First Holy Communion, we receive Christ’s Body and Blood. At Confirmation, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit and affirm the promises made at our Baptism. These sacraments deepen our relationship with God, but our response cannot end there.
Every day presents another opportunity to say yes or no to God. Through sin, we turn away from His invitation. Through repentance and grace, we return to Him. As St. Paul reminds us in Philippians 4, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
This brings us back to the wedding garment in Matthew’s Gospel. The king expects his guests to arrive properly dressed. Likewise, Baptism clothes us in Christ, but we must continue allowing His grace to transform us throughout our lives.
This image also helps us understand the three states of the Church: the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant.
The Church Militant includes all of us here on earth. We are still journeying toward heaven, fighting against sin, resisting temptation, and striving to remain faithful to Christ.
The Church Suffering consists of souls in purgatory who have died in God’s grace and friendship and are assured of heaven, but still require purification. (Think of them as guests who have accepted the invitation and possess their wedding garments, but whose garments still need mending.) Through purgatory, God completes their purification, removing the remaining stains of sin and preparing them to enter the heavenly banquet.
The Church Triumphant consists of the saints in heaven. Their earthly journey is complete, their purification finished, and they now see God face to face. They are celebrating the glorious banquet Isaiah describes, where death is destroyed forever.
These are not three separate churches, but three states of one Church, united through Jesus Christ. We ask the saints in heaven to intercede for us, and we pray for the souls undergoing purification in purgatory. We remain connected through Christ.
The heavenly wedding feast is not simply something awaiting us after death. Every time we gather for Mass, we experience a foretaste of that eternal banquet. We worship alongside the saints in heaven while praying for the faithful departed.
So we must ask ourselves: What are we doing with the invitation we received at Baptism? Do we treat it as something that happened long ago, or do we recognize God’s invitation to live in His grace every day?
God has prepared the feast. He has extended the invitation. He has clothed us in Christ. Now, throughout our lives, we must continue choosing to accept that invitation.
Father James Schibi, Pastor