Saint Bernard, Abbot, Doctor
Thursday of week 20 in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14
In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a king preparing a wedding feast for his son. To understand the parable, we must first understand the mind of the King. His deepest desire is not to exclude but to gather: the banquet is prepared, everything is ready, and the invitation is repeatedly extended. Even when the first guests refuse to come, the King does not cancel the feast; he sends his servants into the streets to invite everyone they can find. This is the extraordinary generosity of God, who wants His house filled and His children gathered around His table. Yet the wedding garment reminds us that His invitation also asks for a response. Grace is freely offered, but it must be received in a way that transforms us. We cannot enter the Kingdom while remaining indifferent to the King and His Son. Understanding the mind of God means recognizing both His boundless desire to welcome us and His desire that we become worthy of the love we have received by allowing it to change our lives. Bernard of Clairvaux understood this deeply: for him, the Christian life was above all a response of love to the God who loved us first. When we understand the mind of the King, obedience ceases to feel like an obligation and becomes a grateful response to an extraordinary invitation: God wants us at His banquet, close to His Son, sharing His joy forever. Let’s reflect: Do I truly understand the mind of God, the King who longs to welcome me into His joy, and am I allowing His generous invitation to transform the way I live?
Don Giorgio