God's mercy can make even the driest land become a garden;
can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). ... Let us be renewed by God's
mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to
transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels
through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice
and peace flourish. – Pope Francis: (Easter Urbi et Orbi message on
March 31, 2013)
Gospel Text: (Lk
14:15-24)
One of those
at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"
Today’s Gospel gives us
moving insight into the mercy that God has for his people. When he is spurned
by unbelief, he doesn’t fight back with vengeance, but with love. He rolls up
his sleeves and casts his nets deeper and wider to find people who will recognize
his generosity for what it is and receive it with eager grateful hearts.
It’s hard to keep
resisting God’s mercy! Especially when we least deserve it, it flows all the
more intensely. So why resist? God wants to forgive you for all your sins, the
big ones just as much as the small ones. He is always reaching out, always
offering his mercy. So answer his invitation. That’s exactly what the Sacrament
of Reconciliation is for!
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