Reflection for Tuesday November 4 Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop: Luke 14:15-24

Gospel: Luke 14:15-24

One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied to him, "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. 

Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'"

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Reflection:

There was once a young mother whose father often reminded her to bring her children to church for the Holy Mass. But she would always reason out that they had too many preoccupations. Time passed, and when her children grew up, they became disrespectful to her. None of them finished their studies, and their lives turned out to be full of disappointment and struggle.

The Holy Mass is God’s loving invitation for all of us to come and be with Him. Nobody is ever barred from attending its celebration, yet sadly, not everyone responds to this call. We often find ourselves saying that we have many concerns or that we are too busy. And so, the Holy Mass — this precious encounter with Jesus — becomes the least of our priorities.

Let us not wait until we are retired, old, or sickly before making time for God. Let us seize every opportunity to be present at the Holy Mass while we are still in the pink of health. Every Mass we attend is an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus, to listen to His life-giving Word, and to be nourished by His very Body and Blood — the food that heals and sustains our souls.

At the end of our lives, all our worldly achievements will no longer matter, no matter how great they may seem. What will truly count is the personal relationship we have built with Jesus — a relationship strengthened and nourished each time we meet Him in the Holy Eucharist.

We therefore have to make time for the Holy Mass. It will not take much from us — just one sacred hour with the Lord who has given us everything. In that one hour, heaven touches earth. In that one hour, we encounter the greatest healer, Jesus Himself.

Do we joyfully make time for Jesus at the Holy Mass, or do we keep Him waiting while we chase the passing things of this world? – Marino J. Dasmarinas