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Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

October 11, 2026

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Introit

Collect

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading Is 25:6-10a

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. 8 Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. 9 It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.

Responsorial Psalm

R/. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Second Reading Phil 4:12-14,19-20 2

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. 11 Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress. 19 My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia Cf. Eph 1:17-18

Gospel Mt 22:1-14

Once more Jesus spoke to the chief priests and Pharisees in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: “Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.”’ 5 But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

Catena Nova

Whatever can this wedding garment be, then? For an answer we must go to the Apostle, who says: “The aim of this instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” There is your wedding garment. It is not love of just any kind. Many people of bad conscience appear to love one another, but you will not find in them “the love that springs from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.” Only that kind of love is the wedding garment. (St. Augustine).

What then are we to understand by the wedding garment, if not charity? For whoever in the Church possesses faith, but has not charity, comes in to the wedding, but does not come in with a wedding garment. Rightly is charity called a wedding garment; for our Creator wore this upon Him when He came to the marriage of Himself with the Church. It was solely through the charity of God that His Only-Begotten joined to Himself the souls of the chosen among men. It was because of this that John says: For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten son for us (Jn. 3:16). He therefore Who came to us because of charity, has made known to us that charity is the wedding garment. And each one of you who through believing is now within the Church, has already come to the wedding. But they come without a wedding garment who do not safeguard within them the grace of charity. (Pope St. Gregory the Great).

Open the eye of thy intellect, and gaze into Me, and thou shalt see the beauty of My rational creature. And look at those creatures who, among the beauties which I have given to the soul, creating her in My image and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment (that is the garment of love), adorned with many virtues, by which they are united with Me through love. And yet I tell thee, if thou shouldest ask Me, who these are, I should reply" (said the sweet and amorous Word of God) " they are another Myself, inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will, and are clothed with Mine, are united to Mine, are conformed to Mine." It is therefore true, indeed, that the soul unites herself with God by the affection of love (St. Catherine of Siena).

O Jesus, Sun of Justice, come, let me clothe myself in Thee, (cf. Rom. 13:14) that I may live as Thou wouldst have me live. Let me so follow Thee that I may keep the garment of my baptismal innocence white, holy, and unspotted, and bring it unimpaired before Thy judgment seat, to keep it unto eternal life. Amen. Come, O Love, let Thy perfect love for me be my end and my perfection. When evening falleth, show me the covenant of spiritual marriage which my heart now entereth upon with Thee. In the countenance of my God, whom I love surpassingly, Thou art the Light of the evening star. O my beloved and glorious Evening, graciously appear unto me at the hour of my death, that I may have in Thee the long-desired evening of my sojourn upon earth, and gently fall asleep and take my repose in the blessed haven of Thy breast. O Love, O God, Thou who art my deliverance, graciously infold my soul within Thee; then, arrayed in Thee and in Thy regal beauty, I shall appear worthily in the presence of my eternal Bridegroom, clad in my wedding garment and bearing my bridal dowry (St. Gertrude of Helfta).

It is the peace-loving and meek King, Christ Jesus, who brings us into that banquet hall to accomplish in us wonderful and surprising things. He assumes the title of king to signify the magnificence of his gifts, the extent of his infinite power and, at the same time, wishes to show us his most tender love by which he leads us into this asylum of peace. He will make us rich in merit and virtue, it we only respond to his graces. He uses the image of a banquet hall to remind us of the conduct that we should observe so that we might receive and cherish his heavenly favors by means of a most intimate recollection in prayer. So, ultimately, let us be guided in our approach in order that in his banquet hall the most loving Lord may serve us with substantial food and drink. His nourishment will renew our hearts and fortify our souls unto salutary works for life eternal....Since the King of Glory has brought us into this banquet hall, let us establish here our own peaceful abode in time. Also, let us reenforce the foundations of the holy city of God with the bonds of charity. Let us remember that the nuptial bed of the peace-loving King is the Cross, and, that our souls upon this nuptial bed yearn for the most tender embraces of affection toward Jesus. He has redeemed us through love, has shed all his Blood in love, and through him we have a mystical dwelling in his heart (St. Gaspar del Bufalo).

Let us remember that this business of not ‘wearing a wedding garment’ cannot be read as a reference to someone’s moral behavior, for Matthew has emphasized that all were called in, good and bad alike. Besides, it is known that the custom of that age and place was to provide tunics to place over one’s street clothes so as to participate in a wedding party, and which would have been at the disposal of all the guests on their way in, without the slightest consideration for how good or bad they were. Here there is something of what we had in the previous parable [of the wicked tenants]. The problem with the silent guest is that he does not imagine himself to be at a wedding banquet, but in a place of judgement, and for this reason does not dare to speak when he is addressed, and so receives treatment according to his imagination (James Alison).

When the hall is full, the king arrives and greets the latest guests, but he sees one of them without a wedding garment, that kind of little cape that each guest would receive as a gift at the entrance. The people went as they were dressed, as they were able to be dressed; they were not wearing gala attire. But at the entrance they were give a type of capelet, a gift. That man, having rejected the free gift, excluded himself: the king could do nothing but throw him out. This man accepted the invitation but then decided that it meant nothing to him: he was a self-sufficient person; he had no desire to change or to allow the Lord to change him. The wedding garment – this capelet - symbolizes the mercy that God freely gives us, namely, grace. Without grace we cannot take a step forward in Christian life. Everything is grace. It is not enough to accept the invitation to follow the Lord; one must be open to a journey of conversion, which changes the heart. The garment of mercy, which God offers us unceasingly, is the free gift of his love; it is precisely grace. And it demands to be welcomed with astonishment and joy: “Thank you, Lord, for having given me this gift”. (Pope Francis)

Homily

Ever been to an Italian wedding? I attended one in May — my dentist, a former student, was married. It was a "mixed" marriage — the bride was of Lebanese heritage and they were married in an Eastern Catholic Church by a Maronite priest — crowns and all. But I think the Italians had the better share of the 400 guests at the reception, many from Toronto. Now at any Italian wedding there'll be tons of friends and relatives: the whole clan will be there, just like in the parable, the bad and the good, and then some. And there’s even more food than relatives, if you can imagine that. The unaware, otherwise known as ‘Mericans, always fill up on the first plate, thinking that’s the main course. By the time the rest of the meal comes, you know you 're gonna need that Pepto Bismol you keep in the medicine cabinet for just such occasions.

Of course, there are certain expectations of guests. The all-important one is known as la busta — the envelope, please. If you don’t bring that, with the correct amount, there’ll be wailing and grinding of teeth, just like in the parable. Seriously though, a wedding banquet, Italian style, is a wonderful image of what God has in store for us on the day of salvation: A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines (I).

And that’s what we’re doing here as well. Getting ready for the great wedding feast of the Lamb. Jesus the Bridegroom has sent out the invitations. We, his friends, have sent back the reply: We’re coming. The table is set. And the food laid out. Soon we’ll hear the marriage vows: This is my body given up for you. This is my blood poured out for you. We’ll give our consent, by singing or saying Amen! Then we’ll no longer be just friends of the Groom, but his Bride as well. He will take us to himself, and we him. For this nuptial banquet takes us into the king’s chamber to celebrate our marriage, returning love for love, one Spouse to another, in a holy Communion.

And yet, we know this is but a foretaste of consummation. Our worship is a mixture of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. Because for all its glorious riches in Christ Jesus (II), the Eucharist does not satisfy our longing fully. It leaves us wanting for more: more of its truth, more of its joy, and more of its love. It is, in other words, the pledge of a heavenly banquet, an eternal wedding feast, when Christ the Groom will be all in all, and his Bride, finally and forever faithful in the reign of God.

This food, then, is for those who hunger for more; this drink, for those who still thirst. This hall is not for people sated and slaked, people who’ve arrived, whose lives are settled, one to his farm, another to her business. Our hall is for people who come in from the streets of life, the bad and good alike (cf. G). A place for people who know how famished they really are, and how parched their throat truly is. Why else would we come here, if not to acknowledge how the veil that veils all people veils us too -- how the web woven over all nations, has snared us too, how the reproach of [God’s] people, falls on our heads as well. (I)

Just like the Last Supper. That was hardly a gathering of clearsighted, disentangled, or beyond reproach types. Remember who came to this table first: Peter the denier. Judas the betrayer. Thomas who didn’t know the way. Philip who didn’t know he could see God in Jesus. James and John, vying to be first in the kingdom, though they would sleep through their Lord’s agony in the garden. Unsavory types like Matthew the tax collector and Simon the revolutionary were also there, at the table. No Da Vinci portrait this. Only by way of exception, do we find the Beloved Disciple, who rested his head on Jesus’ breast, image of the Bridegroom’s friend.

So you see, the bad and the good alike have been guests at this banquet from the start, and it seems more of the former than the latter have filled the hall. People whose journeys are not completed, whose paths are not always straight, whose destinations are not always clear. That’s who belongs here, among the few who are chosen, while the many invited go their own way (cf. G).

But what about that wedding garment? Without which we’ll get thrown out? That poor guy who got bound hand and foot, cast into the darkness outside (G) — what was he missing? Some say, it was good works. I doubt it. Otherwise, how’d those apostles get into the Last Supper? No, I think it was something far more necessary than our works. I think it was the merits of Christ, which clothe us like a wedding garment. Which cover our nakedness, our poverty, and our reproach.

We don’t get into the wedding hall for anything we’ve done, but for what Jesus has done on our behalf. As Paul says, I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me (II). Apart from him, I can do nothing, and all my works amount to nothing. For it’s Jesus who prepares his Bride for the wedding banquet; it’s Jesus who washes our robes white in the blood of the Lamb: the only source of merit before our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (cf. II).

Intercessions

For the Church, that she may adopt listening and dialogue as a style of life at every level, allowing herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit towards the world’s peripheries.

For gratitude: that God will expand our awareness of all the blessings and resources that we have and empower us to use them for God’s glory and the good of others.

For fruitfulness of our faith: that our lives may manifest a wedding garment made of deeds of justice and acts of charity that proclaim the goodness of God to all.

For all who are recovering from natural disasters: that God will give them hope and stir the hearts of many to assist them in their time of need.

For all who have been touched by violence or abuse, praying especially for the victims of war in Israel and Palestine: that God will heal their pain, ease their fear, and fill their hearts with peace.

For peace in our own cities and communities: that God will help us to understand the pain of those who have suffered injustice and give us the courage to work for reconciliation.

For all who are ill: that God will ease their suffering, return them to health, and that they may experience God’s abiding presence with them.

For Wisdom: that God will help us hear and discern the truth during this year's political campaigns, and help us to respect each person as we recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

God of goodness and kindness, you invite all peoples to the banquet and offer them a feast beyond compare. Give us your saving grace to keep unstained the robe of our baptism until that day when you welcome us to heaven’s joyful table. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

First Reading Is 25:6-10a

Gospel Mt 22:1-14

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