Our weekly prayer and worship gathering is called The Feast. We teach what is biblical and spiritual, as well as relational and practical.

In fact, there is such a thing as the “Theology of Food.” When Jesus, our Lord, sat down to eat with people, something amazing happens—from His first miracle in Cana, His dining with sinners, the Last Supper, and even when He rose again and had breakfast by the beach with Peter and His Apostles.

For us Filipinos, eating is not just for the stomach. It’s time for family, friends, and loved ones. It’s when we talk, listen, laugh, and celebrate life together. It’s also the time to break bread, partake of God’s blessings of His life, and share our lives with others.

The Lord invites us always to His Feast—in the Holy Eucharist where He is the food, and every time we gather in His name. Let us not miss this invitation, this privilege, this celebration—until we all are gathered in the Grand Feast with Him in heaven.

Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

Reflect

Have you attended The Feast? Give it a try. If you’re a regular attendee, bring others with you. Come to The Feast where “you are loved.”

Dear God, grant me the grace to always respond to Your invitation to Your Feast. May I receive Your food—Your life, Your love—that I, too, may be food for others, sharing Your love and life to them.

St. Charles Borromeo, bishop, pray for us.

Paul tells the Roman community to never pretend to love. We must ensure that all we do is done with sincere love. Let us be authentic in the witness that we give to the Gospel. There is nothing worse than being on the wrong end of a hypocritical action. It does not feel good and it is easy to recognize. Jesus had no time at all for hypocrisy during His ministry.

⁵ Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. ⁶ Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; ⁷ if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; ⁸ if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. ⁹ Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; ¹⁰ love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶ Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 131:1, 2, 3

R: In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

¹ O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. (R) ² Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. (R) ³ O Israel, hope in the Lord, both now and forever. (R)

Gospel | Luke 14:15-24

Jesus tells us to put God’s Kingdom first in our lives. If the president, king, or prime minister of your country invites you to a party, I think you would move heaven and earth to attend it. When the King of the universe invites us to a dinner, there is nothing more important for us to do than go to that dinner. Let us prioritize the various things we need to do each day.

Gospel Acclamation 

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

¹⁵ One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. ¹⁷ When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸ 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.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ 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.’ ²² The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ ²³ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. ²⁴ For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’ ”

Reflect:

What is first on the list of things you need to do for the day? 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 1 - 5 today

A wise old spiritual director once told me that there are two things to keep in check for those on the path toward spiritual growth. One is our capacity to forgive, and the other is our ability to be happy at the good fortune of others.

In Cambodia where I work and where the Buddhist tradition prevails, there is great emphasis on this; whereby alongside karuna (compassion) or our ability to enter the suffering of others, what is just as important is mudita (empathetic happiness) or our joy at the joy of others. This has always sounded to me like the opposite of envy.

Today’s Gospel is a good illustration of what an inability to cultivate this joy might look like. Someone in the neighborhood has prepared a great celebration, a feast, but the neighbors make up excuses so they will not have to take part in the celebration. Maybe they are envious. Or perhaps, they simply do not want to take part in the rejoicing.

Jesus tells us today through this parable that when we are like these people with so many excuses, or even when we do join in the celebration outwardly but cultivate envy inside of us, we close the door to the Holy Spirit wanting to enter our heart. Instead, we give power to the false spirit that impedes grace.

Ultimately, when we fail at empathetic joy, the deepest grace that we miss out on is being able to experience God’s own joy in His love for the world. How might you be called to cultivate mudita in your life? Ask the Spirit’s help today so that the joy of others may more and more be yours, too, and so that God’s happiness may become your own strength. 

Fr. Mark Lopez, SJ

Reflection question

How can you practice mudita in your daily life?

Give me a heart, Lord, that’s always ready to rejoice at the good fortune of others. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________