VIGÉSIMO OCTAVO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO — 2026

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, ¿alguna vez se han preguntado qué sucederá con nuestra vida después de la muerte? ¿Adónde irá nuestra alma cuando nuestro camino en esta tierra llegue a su fin? ¿Hemos elegido verdaderamente a Jesús como Aquel que nos conduce a la vida eterna?

Las lecturas de hoy nos ofrecen una hermosa respuesta a estas preguntas a través de la imagen de un banquete.

En la Primera Lectura, el profeta Isaías habla de un gran banquete que Dios ha preparado para todos los pueblos. Este banquete representa la felicidad eterna que Dios desea compartir con nosotros. Un día, nos encontraremos con Dios cara a cara. La muerte será destruida, toda lágrima será enjugada, y el sufrimiento, la tristeza y el dolor llegarán a su fin. Dios dará a su pueblo alegría, paz y vida eternas.

En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús utiliza la misma imagen de un banquete. Compara el Reino de los Cielos con un rey que prepara un banquete de bodas para su hijo. Sin embargo, los invitados se niegan a venir. Están demasiado ocupados con sus campos, sus negocios, sus posesiones y sus preocupaciones personales. Otros incluso rechazan y maltratan a los servidores que llevan la invitación.

Entonces el rey envía a sus servidores a las calles y a los cruces de los caminos e invita a todos los que encuentran, buenos y malos. La sala del banquete se llena de invitados.

Pero entonces el rey se da cuenta de que hay un hombre que no lleva el traje de bodas y lo hace  expulsar  del banquete.

¿Qué significa para nosotros este traje de bodas?

Representa una vida transformada por la gracia de Dios. Nos recuerda que no basta simplemente con aceptar la invitación de Dios con nuestros labios. Nuestro “sí” a Dios debe ser visible en la manera en que vivimos. La fe debe dar forma a nuestras palabras, nuestras decisiones, nuestras actitudes y nuestras acciones.

No basta simplemente con estar bautizados, asistir ocasionalmente a Misa o rezar oraciones y novenas. Estas son expresiones importantes de nuestra fe, pero deben llevarnos a algo más profundo: entregar nuestro corazón, nuestra alma y toda nuestra vida a Dios.

Si decimos que creemos en Jesús, nuestra vida debe reflejar a Jesús. Si decimos que amamos a Dios, ese amor debe ser visible en la manera en que tratamos a nuestras familias, a nuestros vecinos, a los pobres, a los que sufren e incluso a aquellos que nos han hecho daño. Si nos llamamos seguidores de Cristo, debemos permitir que Cristo transforme nuestro corazón.

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, quizás hoy deberíamos hacernos dos preguntas importantes:

¿Estoy aceptando la invitación de Dios a su banquete? Y: ¿Estoy llevando puesto el traje de bodas?

En otras palabras, ¿he permitido verdaderamente que mi fe transforme la manera en que vivo?

Dios ha preparado para nosotros un banquete eterno. Nos ha invitado a compartir su vida, su amor, su alegría y su presencia para siempre. La invitación ya ha sido dada. La pregunta es: ¿Qué vamos a hacer con ella?

No permitamos que las cosas de este mundo nos distraigan tanto que olvidemos el banquete eterno que Dios ha preparado para nosotros. Aceptemos su invitación con corazones agradecidos y vistamos el traje de bodas viviendo una vida de fe, amor, misericordia, perdón y buenas obras.

Que el Señor nos mantenga fieles hasta el final de nuestro camino terrenal, para que un día podamos entrar en su banquete eterno y escuchar aquellas hermosas palabras: “Venid, benditos de mi Padre; recibid en herencia el Reino preparado para vosotros.” Amén.

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 TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME — 2026

My dear brothers and sisters, have you ever wondered what will happen to your life after death? Where will your soul go when your journey on this earth comes to an end? Have you truly chosen Jesus as the One who leads you to eternal life?

Today’s readings give us a beautiful answer through the image of a banquet.

In the First Reading, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of a great banquet that God has prepared for all peoples. It represents the eternal happiness God desires to share with us. One day, we will encounter God face to face. Death will be destroyed, every tear will be wiped away, and suffering, sorrow, and pain will come to an end. God will give His people lasting joy, peace, and life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the same image of a banquet. He compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a king who prepares a wedding feast for his son. The invited guests, however, refuse to come. They are too occupied with their farms, businesses, possessions, and personal concerns. Others even reject and mistreat the servants who bring the invitation.

So the king sends his servants into the streets and crossroads and invites everyone they find, both good and bad. The wedding hall becomes filled with guests.

But then the king notices a man who is not wearing a wedding garment. He is removed from the feast.

What does this wedding garment mean for us?

It represents a life transformed by God’s grace. It reminds us that it is not enough simply to accept God’s invitation with our lips. Our “yes” to God must be visible in the way we live. Faith must shape our words, our choices, our attitudes, and our actions.

It is not enough simply to be baptized, to attend Mass occasionally, or to say prayers and novenas. These are important expressions of our faith, but they must lead us to something deeper: giving our heart, our soul, and our whole life to God.

If we say we believe in Jesus, our lives should reflect Jesus. If we say we love God, that love should be visible in how we treat our families, our neighbors, the poor, the suffering, and even those who have hurt us. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, then we must allow Christ to transform our hearts.

My dear brothers and sisters, perhaps today we should ask ourselves two important questions:

Am I accepting God’s invitation to His banquet?

And:

Am I wearing the wedding garment?

In other words, have I truly allowed my faith to transform the way I live?

God has prepared an eternal banquet for us. He has invited us to share His life, His love, His joy, and His presence forever. The invitation has already been given. The question is: What are we going to do with it?

Let us not become so distracted by the things of this world that we forget the eternal banquet God has prepared for us. Let us accept His invitation with grateful hearts and put on the wedding garment by living lives of faith, love, mercy, forgiveness, and good works.

May the Lord keep us faithful until the end of our earthly journey, so that one day we may enter His eternal banquet and hear those beautiful words: “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.”  Amen.

28th Sunday – Cycle A

My friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to dialog with, challenge, and teach the chief priests and elders of the people.  Today, Jesus tells us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. 

There’s a story about a little girl in the First Grade.  Her class was doing art work.  The teacher was walking around, looking at the drawings.  When she got to the little girl, she asked what she was drawing.  The girl said, "God."   The teacher said, "How can you draw God ?  No one knows what God looks like."  The little girl said,    "They will in a minute…"

Who knows what God looks like ?? Who can describe Heaven ? 

St. Paul tells us, "Eye has not seen and ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love him…"

So – who can describe Heaven ?  One person – Jesus.  And, in describing the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus used parables and images because that's the only way our human minds can hope to understand. 

Because of our human limitations, Jesus used the word "LIKE."  “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…"

• The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds that grows into the largest of plants."

• "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the sea which catches every kind of fish."

And, today, "The Kingdom of Heaven is LIKE a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”

Heaven "is like a wedding feast…"  What a nice vision and memory for me.  Every wedding feast I ever attended has been a celebration of laughter and happiness.  A wonderful time to be together with  family and friends. 

The Kingdom of Heaven is not about being somber and gloomy.  Rather, it's about happiness, like a wedding feast.  A happy celebration that never ends.

My friends, Jesus uses this parable to tell us about two incredible things:

• One, He's describing  the Kingdom of Heaven, as best we can understand.

• And Two, even more important than the first, Jesus is assuring us of our invitation to the Kingdom of Heaven.  We're all invited.  How nice is that?

In the parable, some of the invited guests ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business.  They didn't do a bad thing.  They did a good thing, caring for their business, their livelihood.  But, this is a great reminder for us.  The things which make us deaf to the invitation of Jesus are not necessarily bad in themselves.  It’s a reminder that it’s easy to be so busy with the things of time that we forget the things of eternity. 

It’s a reminder to get our priorities straight:  Love God and Love One Another. 

The tragedy in life is that so often the second best things shut out the best thing.  A person can be so busy making a living, that they fail to make a life. 

And, the real tragedy in life:  If someone refuses their invitation to the Kingdom, some day their greatest pain will be not in the things they suffer, but in the realization of the precious things they missed.

A word about the wedding garment.  Why would the king throw someone out ?  He sent his servants to invite everyone, rich and poor.  Maybe the person couldn't afford a wedding garment.

Well, this wasn’t' about buying an expensive gown or tuxedo.  It was about showing respect by dressing appropriately.  In the days of Jesus, people didn't own very many clothes. So, when they were invited to a wedding or other special occasion, they wore their own clothes.  But their clothes were appropriate. 

They were washed clean.  They were neat and presentable.  That’s what made them wedding garments.  When the King saw this man dressed as he was, he threw him out because of his lack of respect.

So, my friends, everyone is invited to the Kingdom:  Jew and Gentile; believer and non-believer;  young and old; women and men; poor and rich; good and not-so-good.  Like that net which is  thrown into the sea and catches every kind of fish, everyone is invited to the Kingdom. 

And, by the virtue of us being here today, I feel confident in saying that we have heard and accepted our invitation.  However, in accepting our invitation, we need to remember to always “be prepared and  dressed properly for the King’s Banquet.”

Also, as disciples of Christ Jesus, our mission is to make sure people in our lives know that they also are invited.  We do this by proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord by what we say and by what we do.