Thirty-First Tuesday of Ordinary Time

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master.

God is constantly inviting us to come to His heavenly banquet. However, it is a constant temptation to decline His invitation because we are too busy or have other priorities in life. But we should never be too busy to come to God when He calls us. No material possessions or person is more important than our Heavenly Lord. We should never choose a lesser good over the greater good of God. We are all called to do God’s Will and accomplish some part of His Divine Plan. We cannot do this if we are consumed by the problems, pleasures, and distractions of the world. We need to make time for God, to go where He needs us to go, and do what He needs us to do. This is why we are here and if we come when He calls us, we will be rewarded with eternal life and a never-ending heavenly banquet.

What is God calling us to accomplish? What temptations in our lives keep us from doing God’s Will? Do we make time for Him or do we make time for the world?

O Lord, give us the grace we need to accept your invitation and make time for you.

Amen.