“It is better to be a child of God than to be king of the whole world.”
— St. Aloysius Gonzaga
Twenty-one years ago, I baptized a five-year old girl named Evona Marie Huminski, daughter of Eric and Mary Margaret Huminski. Evona was born in Litz Bark, Poland, on Christmas Day, 1985. Her brother Eric, who was with her at an orphanage in Poland, was born on my birthday, March 11, and I baptized them both at the same time at Our Lady of Fatima in Hopewell Township. How quickly time flies, as I will be traveling down to South Carolina next month to perform Evona Marie’s wedding to Justin Vance on Saturday, October 22, at 11:30 AM at Holy Family Catholic Church in Hilton Head.
This couple has gone together for nine years and both attended Moon Area High School. Evona is the assistant manager of Chipotle Mexican Grill in Robinson Township and Justin has worked with Homeland Security (TSA) for ten years. Evona’s mother has placed over 1,200 children from Poland with adoptive families here in the United States of America. In thanksgiving for the late Polish pope, Blessed John Paul II, and the work of grace through these adoptions, I will make the 650-mile trip to witness their love for each other as they begin their married life. Following the nuptial Mass, there will be an oceanfront blessing. With the change of seasons here in the North, it will be good to enjoy the warmth of the temperate climate and the softness of sand beneath my feet.
Did you receive an invitation to the wedding of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton, in April? Neither did I. Did you receive an invitation for Ben Roethlisberger and Ashley Harlan in July? Neither did I. How many times have you attended weddings at the Grand Concourse, LeMont, Carnegie Museums, Duquesne Club, Montour Heights Country Club, Omni William Penn, Heinz Hall, Lexus Club at PNC Park, Nevillewood, or Heinz Field? For me, not too often. But what matters most is not that we dine at exquisite sites with VIPs, but that we attend the wedding feast of the Lamb, the Mass, every Sunday where God’s invitation includes everyone. Jesus is the host and we are the invited guests. All are welcome at this banquet: those in the vigor of youth and those struggling with old age, those on top of society’s ladder and those ordinary persons, Those with worldly power and those who are powerless, those of different tongues and those of different colors, those familiar faces and those strangers. As we come to the wedding feast of Jesus, we take our seats as we are served God’s living Word and nourished by His Body and Blood to grow in grace.
God’s great call of salvation, the great feast of the kingdom, is fulfilled when we cooperate with God by living in holiness. A spotless Baptismal garment, our soul, is the appropriate attire for heaven. The Mass is therefore a foreshadow, a promise and pledge of the eternal wedding feast, where all will be well-fed and all of our desires will be complete. God’s love never shuts out or shuns anyone. His invitation, His offer, His grace are available through the ups and downs, the challenges and changes, the twists and the turns of our lives.
Jesus was right at home with all people — tax collectors, Pharisees and sinners, and He invites all to dine with Him. Jesus is radically inclusive — placing everyone on an equal footing as we come to this banquet. As Pope Benedict XVI often preaches, true religion unites not divides; forgives not broods; helps not hurts; loves not hates. Sometimes in our too busy, too distracted or too uncommitted lives, we fail to show up to celebrate this most important encounter, to allow the love of God to transform and change us.
Prayer to Be Invited to the Banquet of the Kingdom
It is you, Lord Jesus, who told us
to invite the poor and the destitute,
those who can give nothing in return.
Fulfill your own word, O Lord:
see how we ourselves are poor, begging your love.
Invite us, then, to the banquet of your Kingdom.
We cannot offer you anything in return
except our misery.
How blest are those who are invited
to the banquet of the Kingdom!
It is you, Lord Jesus, who told us
to invite the crippled and the invalid.
Fulfill your own word, O Lord:
see our weary hands; watch our hesitant steps.
Invite us, then, to the banquet of your Kingdom.
We cannot offer you anything in return
except our bruises.
It is you, Lord Jesus, who told us
to invite the lame and the disabled.
Fulfill your own word, O Lord:
see how we are limping on the road to heaven.
Invite us, then, to the banquet of your Kingdom.
We cannot offer you anything in return
except our crutches and our pain.
It is you, Lord Jesus, who told us
To invite the blind.
Fulfill your own word, O Lord:
See the darkness that descends on our eyes.
Invite us, then, to the banquet of your Kingdom.
We cannot offer you anything in return
except our darkness awaiting your dawn.
Lord, we are truly the poor whom you love.
We are useless servants on earth,
for you can build your Kingdom without us;
and also useless servants in heaven,
for our praise adds nothing to your glory.
And yet, in spite of our poverty,
you count us among your beloved children.
For so much love, thank you, Father of our Lord,
and Source of the Spirit, thank you eternally. Amen.
- Lucien Deiss, CSSp, A Garden of Prayers
