Lifeissues is mainly concerned with publishing thoughtful articles directly related to issues raised in Evangelium Vitae. However, from the very beginning, we have also published a few related homilies, notably by Fr. Al Cariño, O.M.I., Fr. Tony Pueyo, and others.
Please use the pulldowns below to select a homily by Liturgical Calendar date.
God takes precedence over anybody and anything else. Peter and the apostles acclaimed, “We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). In the same vein, St. Thomas More affirmed that although he was the king’s servant and friend, he was God’s servant first.
The invitation has been sent out. It has an RSVP. The King is waiting for your response. You do not have to mail it, or phone it in, or send a text message. All you need to do is get down on your knees and say, "Yes, Lord, I come to do your will."
I don’t know about you, but I notice that fewer and fewer people say “thank you” when you hold the door open for them, either at the Mall or a Tim Horton’s, or at school. People say “please” less frequently as well. In former times, parents used to stress the importance of “please” and “thank you” to their kids. It was regarded as the primary way to relate to others.
I believe that one of the reasons that so many people think heaven is practically guaranteed is that they imagine it to be an eternal Club Med vacation. Conversely, many people regard Hell as the ultimate prison sentence, and so they conclude that since they have done nothing in this life to deserve the penultimate prison sentence-they haven’t broken the law in any serious matter-, it would be unthinkable that they could deserve the ultimate prison sentence.
Many were invited to the wedding, and many refused the invitation; they took it lightly, for they had other business to attend to. And this is typical, even today. Many people will come to this banquet, the Mass - which is a real wedding banquet in which we feast on the bread of life and in which we become joined to the bridegroom in a one flesh union - when they have time, if there is nothing more important to do, as if there is something in this world that is more important than preparing for eternal life.
God is gracious. God is just. We often emphasize the first and ignore the latter. This parable includes both grace and justice. The good news is that God's grace is offered to all. We do a disservice to God and to God's grace if we believe there are not consequences for rejecting that same grace.
In one parable, Jesus told of a king's invitation to his son's wedding banquet being ignored, with some of the king's messengers being killed. Those guilty of the crime and their city are destroyed, and other messengers are sent to bring anyone they can find to the banquet. In a second parable, the king finds that one of those brought in doesn't have a wedding garment. A living faith in Christ, with the good works that a living faith produces, is the festive garment that the king gives the wedding guests. We should wear it as well.