The Invitation

As hosts of Sow&Harvest, a TawagAwit backyard gardening project, my entire family was kept busy during the week leading to the activity. We had a general clean up in the house, a bit of repainting outside, ground preparation for the garden plots, and planting of a few ornamental plants. Actually I went on official leave from work as I attended to the tasks including ironing so that no laundry would be left hanging as well as buying items to be cooked for the guests. My wife, Debbie, slept late the day before the activity and woke up at dawn to prepare her best recipes.

We started to get worried though as the table was all set and the food were steaming hot, yet our invited brethren had not arrived. Thirty minutes past 12 noon, we felt relieved as they started arriving. When all of the praying, eating, singing, planting, and socialising were done – and the guests had left, Debbie and I were thankful for the wonderful company and joyful experience we had with our guests. All our preparation had not gone in vain.

The mass is God’s banquet. He extends his invitation for us to take part in the Eucharistic celebration. So much effort is exerted in the preparation for the event. Other than the tidying of the church, the parish priest or his assistants give assignments to altar servers, readers and other workers. The printing of the parish newsletter; the encoding of prayers, responses and songs to be projected on the screen; the rehearsals of the choir; and the technical support are among the many things done prior to the singing of the gathering song. The priest needs to write the sermon; observes important pre-missal rituals; and celebrates the mass.

God, therefore, looks forward to His children attending the banquet.. "When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’" (Luke 14:17) When we partake of the body and blood of Christ during the Communion, the Lord fills us with His peace, love and joy. "When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16)

One of the important commandments of the Church is "to keep the Sundays and Holy Days of obligation holy, by hearing Mass and resting from servile work." It is consistent to the passage: "So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." (Genesis 2:3) Let us therefore mark our calendars and diaries for that important date with God each week. His Son Jesus is the sacrificial lamb – and if we fail to come, we will have shunned the grace that cleanses the soul.

by Mel Libre