by Br. Nicholas Hejka, O.S.B.

      The First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of the wedding feast of the Lamb which God has prepared for all people.  Death, sin, and sorrow will finally be totally destroyed and wiped away.  Through Jesus’ Paschal victory, God will replace them with His love, life, and joy for all eternity.  This is what God created us for: to spend eternity together with Him!

     God invites each of us to this wedding feast, but as the Gospel reading so vividly points out, we must choose to accept His invitation.  This means we must prepare ourselves for it as much as possible: turning from ungodly ways to live in relationship with God, relying on Him, trusting in Him, listening to Him, and obeying Him.  Even more so, it means striving to become another Christ through union with Him, loving as He loves us.

     It is not by our own strength or efforts alone that we will achieve this; as St. Paul says to the Philippians in the Second Reading, “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me…. My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”  It is important to remember that God wants us at the wedding feast even more than we do!  As the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6) beautifully expresses, even now, our Good Shepherd is leading us and providing for us, giving us the hope to confidently say, “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.”

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