Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Matthew 22:1-14 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)
At that time: Jesus again spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people, in parables, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, “Tell those who are invited, ‘See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ” But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.” And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
‘But when the king came in to look at the guests,
he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, “Friend, how
did you get in here without a wedding garment?” And he was speechless. Then the
king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the
outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For
many are called, but few are chosen.’
Latin of St Thomas Aquinas
Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis cœlicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
pauper, servus et humilis.
English translation by John David Chambers
Thus Angels' Bread is made
the Bread of man today:
the Living Bread from heaven
with figures dost away:
O wondrous gift indeed!
the poor and lowly may
upon their Lord and Master feed.
The First Reading, the Responsorial Psalm and the Gospel can be
understood in a Eucharistic sense. The Prophet Isaiah's words can be seen
as a description of the heavenly banquet to which we are all invited.
The words of St Thomas Aquinas set to music by César Franck remind us that in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ to nourish us on our journey through life, whether that journey be long or short. In Psalm 22 [23] we pray, you have prepared a banquet for me. In the Mass we are invited to participate in that banquet where Manducat Dominum pauper et humilis - The poor and lowly may upon their Lord and Master feed.
The words of the hymn, figuris terminum, translated above as with figures dost away, mean that what we receive in Holy Communion is not a symbol but the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And to receive such a precious Gift we need to prepare, with God's grace, to be as worthy as possible.
In the last part of the Gospel, the section that may be omitted, Jesus speaks very harshly about those who choose to turn up at the banquet unprepared by choice. St Paul deals with this in the context of celebrating the Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 11:27-30: Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
Jesus gave a precious gift to the Church, the sacrament of confession, to help us to be prepared to receive him in the Eucharist when we have turned our backs on him through mortal sin, which breaks our relationship with God and can have eternal consequences. Nobody is turned away from confession, unless priests don't make themselves available.
God extends his invitation to all of us. Like some in the gospel we may ignore it because we are 'busy' with other things; we may reject it violently as some did; we may accept it while showing contempt towards the One who extended the invitation. Or we may accept it by preparing with God's grace to be worthy of the occasion.
Salve Regina, (Hail, Holy Queen) Notre-Dame Cathedral, ParisTraditional Latin Mass
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-11-2026 if necessary).
Epistle: Ephesians 5:15-21. Gospel: John 4:46-53.
Christ Healing the Sick
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