Isaiah, Psalm 23 and Matthew’s Gospel all speak about a feast, reminding us that God invites us to the banquet prepared for us in Heaven. Are we ready to respond to the invitation?
Mass Readings – 28th Sunday of the Year
Tag Archives: Feast
28th Sunday of the Year: The Kingdom of Heaven is a feast! Catholic Inspiration
28th Sunday of the Year: God’s banquet.
Study: How do I respond to the Lord’s call to the Eucharist?
Pray: Take time each day to listen to the Scripture readings for daily or weekly Mass – it is a powerful way to prepare for the Eucharist.
Serve: Is there someone who you can bring to Mass? Perhaps the fellowship or hospitality may help another to grow in faith.
Mass Readings – 28th Sunday of the Year
Two themes surface in the readings today that require further reflection:
1. God prepares a banquet for us
2. God invites us to come to the feast
The imagery of the banquet feast is found in the readings from Isaiah, the Psalms, the Matthew’s gospel. There are several points of interest here:
* God does the cooking! (Not us!)
* The food is the finest quality (rich & choice)
* The banquet is an important event (you better show up)
The fact is, when God throws a feast it is lavish in every detail. The event is on a grand scale with the best food and drink. What’s more, the Lord is the host of the meal! God prepares a banquet in every respect – as Chef, Host, Servant, Substance, and Lord.
The “feast” has more than just one meaning. This banquet is first of all the great gathering at the end of time when we join the Lord in heaven. This “heavenly banquet” is the final celebration when all the saints unite in the glory of the risen Jesus; what a meal that will be!
Furthermore, since the resurrection of Jesus, Christians have gathered together for the Lord’s supper, where Christ himself feeds us with his Body and Blood. Here on Earth we are “saints in the making” who strive to follow the Lord through the struggles of life. This Eucharist is the feast that gives us the strength we need to face each day with faith, hope, and love.
Both of these banquets – one on heaven, the other on Earth – are presented by the Lord. We receive Christ’s body and blood so that we might follow the Lord through this world to the world that has no end.
Now the second point is this: Do we come and attend? If Christ has prepared a banquet for us in heaven and on earth, then do we respond to the Lord’s call by receiving his heavenly food on earth, and living on this earth as citizens of heaven?
Today the Lord calls us to the great banquet that will happen at the end of time. This feast is the final goal of our journey of faith. For this journey we need strength, and the Lord provides each week for the spiritual food we need to continue on our way.
May we come and receive with open hearts!
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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Note: This blog was originally published on October 6, 2014.
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18th Sunday of the Year: Come to the Feast! Catholic Inspiration
The prophet Isaiah, the Psalmist and the Gospel of Matthew all proclaim how the Lord feeds us with wholesome abundance. May our feasting – at our tables at home and the Table of the Lord – nourish us in this life in preparation for the Great Feast in Heaven.
Mass Readings – 18th Sunday of the Year
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Daily Mass: The miracle of God’s feast. Catholic Inspiration
The readings describe the abundance and richness of God’s feast which nourishes the body, mind, heart and soul. Our daily need for food underscores our fundamental need for the Lord; may we today reflect on what we need and call upon Jesus with confidence.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of 1st Advent (St. Nicholas)
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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28th Sunday of the Year: The Lord’s Supper. Catholic Inspiration
Mass Readings – 28th Sunday of the Year
The Eucharist is a banquet that nourishes, celebrates and unites our lives. Christ himself feeds us with his Body and Blood so that we might grow in grace. Two simple questions follow from this great gift:
- Are we coming?
- Are we coming prepared?
For always remember that one day we will stand before the One who is the source of all grace…and what then will we say?
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Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
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28th Sunday of the Year: Welcome to the Feast.
Study: How do I respond to the Lord’s call to the Eucharist?
Pray: Take time each day to listen to the Scripture readings for daily or weekly Mass – it is a powerful way to prepare for the Eucharist.
Serve: Is there someone who you can bring to Mass? Perhaps the fellowship or hospitality may help another to grow in faith.
Mass Readings – 28th Sunday of the Year
Two themes surface in the readings today that require further reflection:
1. God prepares a banquet for us
2. God invites us to come to the feast
The imagery of the banquet feast is found in the readings from Isaiah, the Psalms, the Matthew’s gospel. There are several points of interest here:
* God does the cooking! (Not us!)
* The food is the finest quality (rich & choice)
* The banquet is an important event (you better show up)
The fact is, when God throws a feast it is lavish in every detail. The event is on a grand scale with the best food and drink. What’s more, the Lord is the host of the meal! God prepares a banquet in every respect – as Chef, Host, Servant, Substance, and Lord.
The “feast” has more than just one meaning. This banquet is first of all the great gathering at the end of time when we join the Lord in heaven. This “heavenly banquet” is the final celebration when all the saints unite in the glory of the risen Jesus; what a meal that will be!
Furthermore, since the resurrection of Jesus, Christians have gathered together for the Lord’s supper, where Christ himself feeds us with his Body and Blood. Here on Earth we are “saints in the making” who strive to follow the Lord through the struggles of life. This Eucharist is the feast that gives us the strength we need to face each day with faith, hope, and love.
Both of these banquets – one on heaven, the other on Earth – are presented by the Lord. We receive Christ’s body and blood so that we might follow the Lord through this world to the world that has no end.
Now the second point is this: Do we come and attend? If Christ has prepared a banquet for us in heaven and on earth, then do we respond to the Lord’s call by receiving his heavenly food on earth, and living on this earth as citizens of heaven?
Today the Lord calls us to the great banquet that will happen at the end of time. This feast is the final goal of our journey of faith. For this journey we need strength, and the Lord provides each week for the spiritual food we need to continue on our way.
May we come and receive with open hearts!
***************
Archive of Fr. Andrew’s Podcasts
***************
Note: This blog was originally published on October 6, 2014.
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20th Sunday of the Year – Come to the Feast – Catholic Inspiration
Fr. Andrew’s 20th Sunday of the Year Homily Podcast
Family dinners – be they big or small – touch our hearts in a number of ways:
- Nourish our bodies with wholesome, plentiful food
- Unite us together, setting aside our differences for a moment of peace
- Empower our lives, for service in the world
The same is true when we come to the Lord’s table at every Mass. We are nourished with Christ’s Body & Blood. We are united as the People of God – as brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends. We are empowered to go forth, touching the hearts of those we meet with the grace and peace of Jesus Christ.
May our reception of Holy Communion feed our souls, foster unity, and empower us to live our lives for the Lord!
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20th Sunday of the Year – Come to the Feast
Study: What are some of the things that make a dinner special for you? What makes it a feast?
Pray: Offer a prayer for those who go hungry this day – either because they lack food or the companionship to share it.
Serve: Is there someone you know with whom you could share a meal? How might you make your meal a feast with others?
20th Sunday of the Year Readings
Growing up in a large Italian-American family, big dinners were a common occurrence. The usual suspects like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving were typical; but family gatherings (with all the adults talking and the kids talking louder) provided numerous opportunities for people to gather and make the simple task of taking nourishment a beautiful experience for body, mind, heart, and soul.
Tables were set, special foods chosen, delicacies prepared in advance…all these steps to make the dinner something special, something extraordinary.
They were feasts.
Indeed, whenever we take the time and effort to make dining an experience, we create opportunities that touch us on multiple levels. Good food is augmented by delightful conversation, enlivened with beauty, and woven together with human hopes and dreams. A feast is not just an abundance of food; it is a rich expression of God’s goodness working through others to nourish our lives in profound ways.
All of the readings point to different ways the Lord sustains our lives:
- Wisdom sets a rich table, calling us to abandon foolishness to follow her
- We “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” in the psalm response
- Ephesians invites us to be filled with the Spirit, living upright lives
- Jesus commands us to eat his flesh and drink his blood, that we might have eternal life
Every Mass provides us with the opportunity to draw near the altar and be renewed through our reception of Holy Communion. Christ sets the table for us, inviting us to turn away from destructive and harmful forces, so that we might receive the grace we need to continue on the journey of life.
Come to the Feast!
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28th Sunday of the Year – Banquet Invitation
Study: How do I respond to the Lord’s call to the Eucharist?
Pray: Take time each day to listen to the Scripture readings for daily or weekly Mass – it is a powerful way to prepare for the Eucharist.
Serve: Is there someone who you can bring to Mass? Perhaps the fellowship or hospitality may help another to grow in faith.
28th Sunday of the Year Readings
Two themes surface in the readings today that require further reflection:
1. God prepares a banquet for us
2. God invites us to come to the feast
The imagery of the banquet feast is found in the readings from Isaiah, the Psalms, the Matthew’s gospel. There are several points of interest here:
* God does the cooking! (Not us!)
* The food is the finest quality (rich & choice)
* The banquet is an important event (you better show up)
The fact is, when God throws a feast it is lavish in every detail. The event is on a grand scale with the best food and drink. What’s more, the Lord is the host of the meal! God prepares a banquet in every respect – as Chef, Host, Servant, Substance, and Lord.
The “feast” has more than just one meaning. This banquet is first of all the great gathering at the end of time when we join the Lord in heaven. This “heavenly banquet” is the final celebration when all the saints unite in the glory of the risen Jesus; what a meal that will be!
Furthermore, since the resurrection of Jesus, Christians have gathered together for the Lord’s supper, where Christ himself feeds us with his Body and Blood. Here on Earth we are “saints in the making” who strive to follow the Lord through the struggles of life. This Eucharist is the feast that gives us the strength we need to face each day with faith, hope, and love.
Both of these banquets – one on heaven, the other on Earth – are presented by the Lord. We receive Christ’s body and blood so that we might follow the Lord through this world to the world that has no end.
Now the second point is this: Do we come and attend? If Christ has prepared a banquet for us in heaven and on earth, then do we respond to the Lord’s call by receiving his heavenly food on earth, and living on this earth as citizens of heaven?
Today the Lord calls us to the great banquet that will happen at the end of time. This feast is the final goal of our journey of faith. For this journey we need strength, and the Lord provides each week for the spiritual food we need to continue on our way.
May we come and receive with open hearts!
Three Great Things 