St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church

There is a confusion regarding this parable by the modern audience who hears it. The King seems crazy.  How are those on the highways and byways to have a wedding garment? Now for the rest of the story. Jesus eloquently illustrates this truth by including a curious detail in the parable.

In ancient Palestine, one of the social customs at wedding banquets was for the host to provide a festive garment for all the guests - it was almost like what a welcome gift is for modern parties. It could be something as simple as a colored scarf or shawl. With all the guests wearing this garment, an atmosphere of unity and joy was created, and the special honor of the bride and bridegroom (who were wearing different garments), was emphasized.

In the parable, after the banquet has begun, the king comes in to greet the guests. And lo and behold, he finds a guest without a wedding garment. There are only two possible reasons why a guest wouldn't have a wedding garment:  either he sneaked in without being invited, or he didn't care about celebrating the wedding and just wanted to enjoy the food and drink while doing his own thing. In either case, such a guest is not a guest at all - he has no relationship to the bride and bridegroom, and so he has no reason to be there. So the king threw him out.

When we try to follow Christ without accepting His will and the teaching of His Church, we are trying to get in to the wedding banquet while refusing to put on the wedding garment. This is what so many public figures in our generation are doing when they say that they are Catholic, but then support things like abortion and homosexual marriage, which directly contradict God's plan for the human family. Christianity is not a self-help buffet where we can pick and choose according to personal preference; it's the revelation of God, and it requires humility, obedience, and trust. We need a Savior.

This is the first law of Christian spirituality:  St. Paul said in today's Second Reading, "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me," through Christ! - Not through self-help techniques. Finding what our hearts desire requires believing in Jesus, leaning on Jesus, following Jesus, obeying Jesus, staying close to Jesus. Christianity is an ongoing adventure in which Jesus, the Good shepherd, takes the lead, using especially three things to guide us.

First, the sacraments. These are our supernatural air, water, and food. But unlike sheep, which eat good grass simply out of instinct, Christians have to consciously choose to feed on the sacraments. That means frequent Communions and visits to the Eucharist, frequent and regular confession, and not being afraid of the sacrament of anointing.

Second, Jesus guides us through the teaching of the Church. When we go for walks in the woods, many times we wander down what looks like a trail but is really a dead-end, and we have to retrace our steps, or we get lost. Official Church teaching on faith and morality is guaranteed by Christ to help us avoid spiritual dead-ends. We just have to take time to study and understand it.

Third, Jesus guides and nourishes us through prayer.  When we pray, our friendship with Christ grows.   A Christian who doesn't pray is a contradiction in terms. If we really care about our friendship with Christ, we will care about learning to pray better, and making prayer a priority. As Pope Benedict told the young people gathered in New York in the spring of 2008: "What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God. That relationship is expressed in prayer." When He does, let's renew our faith in Him - He alone is the way, the truth, and the abundant life that all of us were created for.