First Reading
Isaiah 25:6-10
1. Does banquet imagery describe well the fullness we will have in the presence of God? How can a feast—juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines—be a sacramental vision of the universe?
2. In this reading, “veil” means anything that separates people from the divine presence of God. It says that God will destroy that veil and will also destroy death, and will wipe away all tears from every face. Do these images speak to you? Explain.
Second Reading
Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
1. Will the Lord ever test you beyond your capacity? Will that Lord always be with you? When you face daily life, when difficulties arise, do you remember Paul’s words, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me”?
2. The readings show God bestowing gifts without measure. Maybe we “measure” when we give. How could we be a little freer?
Gospel
Matthew 22:1-14
1. Besides answering God’s invitation to the feast, what is our job? Are we the guests or are we also the ones doing the inviting? How does this banquet not only sustain life but also transfigure it?
2. When the Pope, then known as Cardinal Bergoglio, gave the three minute speech below, the Cardinals at the Conclave started thinking seriously about electing him. How does his speech relate to today’s Gospel, “Go out therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.”The Church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries, not only in the geographical sense but also to go to the existential peripheries: those of the mysteries of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance and of religious indifference, of thought, of all misery.”
