2026-10-11 Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
2026-10-11 Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Opening prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Gracious Father,
you invite every one of us to the banquet of your Kingdom,
and you call us not because we are worthy, but because you are generous.
As we gather around your Word today,
open our ears to hear your invitation,
and open our hearts to answer it with joy.
Lord Jesus,
in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet
you show us a God who longs to fill his house with guests.
Keep us from the excuses that draw us away from your table.
Give us the humility to accept your call,
and help us to put on the wedding garment of faith, repentance, and love.
Holy Spirit,
enlighten our minds and warm our hearts.
Guide our conversation, that we may listen to one another with patience and charity,
and discover what this parable asks of us in our own lives.
Make us worthy guests at your table here on earth,
until we share in the wedding feast of the Lamb in heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Gracious Father,
you invite every one of us to the banquet of your Kingdom,
and you call us not because we are worthy, but because you are generous.
As we gather around your Word today,
open our ears to hear your invitation,
and open our hearts to answer it with joy.
Lord Jesus,
in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet
you show us a God who longs to fill his house with guests.
Keep us from the excuses that draw us away from your table.
Give us the humility to accept your call,
and help us to put on the wedding garment of faith, repentance, and love.
Holy Spirit,
enlighten our minds and warm our hearts.
Guide our conversation, that we may listen to one another with patience and charity,
and discover what this parable asks of us in our own lives.
Make us worthy guests at your table here on earth,
until we share in the wedding feast of the Lamb in heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer for healing:
Heavenly Father, we surrender our loved one and friends who are in need
of healing to your loving care and miraculous healing. May the
life-giving powers of your touch flow into every cell of their bodies
and into the very depth of their souls, cleansing, purifying, and restoring
them to wholeness and full life. Grant them the strength, courage, and
patience to endure their suffering. Help them to accept God's will and
to find peace in His love. At this time we lift up the following people: Chrissy, Eunice Kim, Iris Simon, Eloise Dutil, George Horton, Don Mamayek, Janet Schaffer, Bernice Comfort, John and Buddy Fox, Abbi,
Debbie, EJ, Gretchen, Bob and Aida Heller, Lynn, Patti Sharrow, Jill, Brian Schott, Mary Atwater, David ... whom else should we pray
for ...Practice of faith from last week
- recognise someone who has been a living witness of the "peace of God" in each of our lives and to let them know the impact they had on our faith journey
Isaiah 25:6-10
Isaiah was an 8th-century BC prophet. After Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the Temple, he cried out that he was "a man of unclean lips" living among a people of unclean lips, one of the seraphim attending the throne of God flies to him carrying a live coal taken from the altar with tongs. The seraph touches the coal to his lips and declares that his guilt is removed and his sin atoned for. Immediately afterward, Isaiah hears the Lord ask, "Whom shall I send?" and answers, "Here am I; send me." He was sent to minister to the Kings of Judah, including Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Practice of faith from last week
- recognise someone who has been a living witness of the "peace of God" in each of our lives and to let them know the impact they had on our faith journeyIsaiah 25:6-10
Isaiah was an 8th-century BC prophet. After Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the Temple, he cried out that he was "a man of unclean lips" living among a people of unclean lips, one of the seraphim attending the throne of God flies to him carrying a live coal taken from the altar with tongs. The seraph touches the coal to his lips and declares that his guilt is removed and his sin atoned for. Immediately afterward, Isaiah hears the Lord ask, "Whom shall I send?" and answers, "Here am I; send me." He was sent to minister to the Kings of Judah, including Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Bishop Robert Barron connects this prophetic text to the fulfilment of God's covenant in Christ, the Eucharist, and the final victory over death. Isaiah's envisions the Lord preparing a lavish banquet on Mount Zion for all peoples - a communion of abundant joy and rich nourishment. This is echoed in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Matthew 22 and ultimately in the celebration of the May where Christ feeds humanity with his own body and blood.
Bishop Barron says that sin and mortality act as a dark shroud over human consciousness, but God’s divine intervention in the Resurrection of Christ shatters this shroud, offering humanity liberation from the ultimate fear—death itself.
Barron often draws attention to the phrase "for all peoples" and points out that Israel was chosen not for exclusive privilege, but to serve as the mountain where all nations of the world would eventually gather in unity to worship the true God and receive His healing grace.
Psalm 23
King David was once a shepherd who understood that sheep relies entirely on the shepherd for protection, direction, and sustenance. It is fitting that King David the shepherd uses Psalm 23 to prophesy about the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ
Barron often draws attention to the phrase "for all peoples" and points out that Israel was chosen not for exclusive privilege, but to serve as the mountain where all nations of the world would eventually gather in unity to worship the true God and receive His healing grace.
Psalm 23
King David was once a shepherd who understood that sheep relies entirely on the shepherd for protection, direction, and sustenance. It is fitting that King David the shepherd uses Psalm 23 to prophesy about the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ- "I shall not want" when God, and not ego, is the ultimate center of your life then interior turmoil and spiritual anxiety vanish
- "Green pastures and still waters" paints a picture of spiritual restoration and inner peace where the soul can be revived
- "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side": Rather than promising the avoidance of suffering, hardship and dark valleys, the Psalmist promises God’s presence at all such times
- the "rod and staff" represent divine discipline and protection; these are tools used by a shepherd not to harm the sheep, but to guide them away from cliffs and defend them against predators.
- "You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes" - even amongst non-believers God invites us partake in the Holy Eucharist a sacred banquet where He nourishes us with His own life.
- "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" - This foretells Baptism and Confirmation (the royal anointing) and the overflowing grace of Christ’s sacrifice.
- "I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" - a commitment to seek redemption by living our lives practising the Gospel of Christ
Philippians 4:12-20
Philippians 4 was written while Paul was imprisoned, and it offers a spiritual antidote to anxiety and earthly attachments. Here he thanks the Philippians for their concern for him, reassuring them that he has learned to live with the treasures of Heaven and does not need the comforts of this world to be happy.
- "Green pastures and still waters" paints a picture of spiritual restoration and inner peace where the soul can be revived
- "Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side": Rather than promising the avoidance of suffering, hardship and dark valleys, the Psalmist promises God’s presence at all such times
- the "rod and staff" represent divine discipline and protection; these are tools used by a shepherd not to harm the sheep, but to guide them away from cliffs and defend them against predators.
- "You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes" - even amongst non-believers God invites us partake in the Holy Eucharist a sacred banquet where He nourishes us with His own life.
- "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" - This foretells Baptism and Confirmation (the royal anointing) and the overflowing grace of Christ’s sacrifice.
- "I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" - a commitment to seek redemption by living our lives practising the Gospel of Christ
Philippians 4:12-20
Philippians 4 was written while Paul was imprisoned, and it offers a spiritual antidote to anxiety and earthly attachments. Here he thanks the Philippians for their concern for him, reassuring them that he has learned to live with the treasures of Heaven and does not need the comforts of this world to be happy.Matthew 22:1-14 aka The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
According to Bishop Barron, this is not a straight forward story but more of a hyperbole to wake us up spiritually - and is should be troubling to all of us at one level or another.A King was giving a wedding banquet for his son and personally invites the guests to the palace - this would be one of the most honourable gestures.
How do the invitees respond - they say, "Oh, I'm busy with some mundane task", overlooking the value of the invitation.
Then the King sends his emissaries with another invitation. But this time the people kill the courier. This response is alarming, so the enraged King destroys the people.
God, the King of Kings has personally invited Israel into an intimate communion with him. His son is Jesus who has come as a bridegroom to be part of the eternal Church. People respond with indifference and then they even kill Jesus.
God is eternal and unchanging with a profound desire to set things right. So God now invites everybody to the feast - that's us the Gentiles are now part of the eternal covenant.
People from all over there world, come to the banquet. The King comes to the banquet and sees someone who was poorly attired showing disrespect.
The wedding garment is "Grace first" or "Gracia prima" is how to accept the invitation but the behaviour is not worthy of invitation. Instead of clothing yourself in righteousness, compassion, mercy and love but continue to behave selfishly then that unrepentant sinner will be thrown out of the banquet
Many are invited at Baptism but few are chosen to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Source: https://youtu.be/3XGOJqIMwwk
How do the invitees respond - they say, "Oh, I'm busy with some mundane task", overlooking the value of the invitation.
Then the King sends his emissaries with another invitation. But this time the people kill the courier. This response is alarming, so the enraged King destroys the people.
God, the King of Kings has personally invited Israel into an intimate communion with him. His son is Jesus who has come as a bridegroom to be part of the eternal Church. People respond with indifference and then they even kill Jesus.
God is eternal and unchanging with a profound desire to set things right. So God now invites everybody to the feast - that's us the Gentiles are now part of the eternal covenant.
People from all over there world, come to the banquet. The King comes to the banquet and sees someone who was poorly attired showing disrespect.
The wedding garment is "Grace first" or "Gracia prima" is how to accept the invitation but the behaviour is not worthy of invitation. Instead of clothing yourself in righteousness, compassion, mercy and love but continue to behave selfishly then that unrepentant sinner will be thrown out of the banquet
Many are invited at Baptism but few are chosen to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Source: https://youtu.be/3XGOJqIMwwk
Practice of faith for this week
- Has anyone in your life fallen away from attending Mass, consider gently and non-judgementally inviting them to come with you as your honoured guest to the feastClosing Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.Loving Father,
we thank you for the gift of your Word
and for the time we have shared in reflecting on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
You have invited us to your table,
not because of our merits, but because of your boundless mercy.
Lord Jesus,
as we leave this gathering,
help us to remember what we have heard.
Where we have made excuses, give us the grace to say yes.
Where we have been unprepared, clothe us in the garment of a converted heart.
Make us joyful messengers, ready to go out to the highways and byways
and invite others to the feast you have prepared.
Holy Spirit,
let the seeds sown in our conversation take root and bear fruit.
Keep us faithful in small things and attentive to your voice each day,
that when the Bridegroom calls us at last,
we may enter the wedding feast with lamps lit and hearts ready.
Blessed Virgin Mary, who said yes to God without reserve,
pray for us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
we thank you for the gift of your Word
and for the time we have shared in reflecting on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
You have invited us to your table,
not because of our merits, but because of your boundless mercy.
Lord Jesus,
as we leave this gathering,
help us to remember what we have heard.
Where we have made excuses, give us the grace to say yes.
Where we have been unprepared, clothe us in the garment of a converted heart.
Make us joyful messengers, ready to go out to the highways and byways
and invite others to the feast you have prepared.
Holy Spirit,
let the seeds sown in our conversation take root and bear fruit.
Keep us faithful in small things and attentive to your voice each day,
that when the Bridegroom calls us at last,
we may enter the wedding feast with lamps lit and hearts ready.
Blessed Virgin Mary, who said yes to God without reserve,
pray for us.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
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