Sunday, October 12, 2008

"How did you come in here not properly dressed?"


The garment of baptismal grace is our vesture for the heavenly wedding banquet. Are you properly dresseed?

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Posted by at

1 comment:

Rob Stout said...

Fr. Cusick,

There is so much depth in the parables, that one can never plumb them fully. For instance, in your reflection on the Wedding Feast (28th Sunday of Ordinary Time), St. Gregory likens the garment we wear to the virtue of Charity. The man who showed up attired in casual clothes reflected the respect that he had for his host – a false charity; there only to get what he could eat. As I reflected on the St. Gregory’s insight, his analogy deepened significantly.

Suppose I did dress in my Sunday best. Suppose I then, through my own carelessness, allowed my Sunday best to become soiled. Yes, I still respect my host and I am still wearing my Sunday best, but I am quite embarrassed by the condition of my garment. In other words I have the virtue of Charity, but also a significant amount of self-love.

My host, seeing my embarrassment, would provide me a place and a means to wash my clothes clean and then, when my clothes are clean, join the wedding feast. So we have the reality of purgatory. But wait! There’s even more…suppose my host allows other guests to help me clean my garments. I can get to the wedding feast sooner. And now we have indulgences.

November is coming up. My father always prayed for the soul next in line for heaven (that way his prayers would get him in) and the soul farthest from heaven (that way his prayers would lift him off the bottom). I believe he was expecting them to return the favor when the time came.

Rob

October 12, 2008 at 6:34 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)