Come Dressed for the Feast: Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,
of living in abundance and of being in need. 
I can do all things in him who strengthens me. 

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the theme for the lectionary this Sunday is of food. But not just any food! As always, through the lens of mundane and material things, we are directed towards a deeper appreciation of the spiritual and the immaterial. This is to say, through the figures of food, and hunger, we are directed towards an appreciation of the Eucharist, the food of our souls, the nature of the hunger that we should have for it, and the satisfaction once we have consumed it.

As the Apostle Paul teaches us in these words from his letter to the Philippians, there is a secret to being well fed and going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need; the recognition that:

                I can do all things in him who strengthens me

In other words, when we are strengthened by Our Lord, we are well fed and live in abundance. Indeed, so well fed and abounding in life are we; that we can bear all things hunger, all forms of privation because we know that Our Lord sustains us.

This does not mean that the pains of our unmet necessities, and the pangs of hunger go away. On the contrary, we continue to suffer them, much as Our Lord, who did not have to suffer, agonized over His wounds in the course of His Passion and while on the Cross. But like Him, when we live in faith and trust, when we are strengthened by communion with Him, we know that we can bear all things.

This lesson first comes to us today, through the words of the prophet Isaiah:

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
a feast of rich food and choice wines

We priests are taught that when we leave the sacristy and approach the altar, we must be conscious that we are ascending Calvary, where we will, in persona Christi offer up the sacrifice that was offered on that mountain. A sacrifice that will become for us all a feast of rich food and choice wine.

Too often, there is a misunderstanding about the meaning and the nature of the Mass. The Mass is the moment when we offer the perfect sacrifice to God. As in the days of the Old Covenant, when “calves and fattened cattle” were offered to God, so too today, we offer the Most Precious Body and Blood of His Son, so that:

                I can do all things in him who strengthens me

But this privilege, of being able to consume the Most Precious Body and Blood of God, does not come without its own rules, which the parable in the Gospel today educates us about.

'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?'

No person may attend the wedding feast of the Lamb – the sacrifice of Calvary that we offer at every Mass – without being dressed in a wedding garment.

What is this wedding garment? The first, and most obvious answer, is baptism. In baptism, our souls, stained by original sin, are cleansed by being dipped into the blood of the Lamb, and returned to us shining white, so that we may participate in the life of grace.

When discussing the parable we hear this Sunday, the Church Fathers are also clear that while baptism is an obvious answer to the question of the meaning of the wedding garment, this response is not sufficient. The wedding garment is love, caritas. Our hearts must be vested in this unstained garment of love if we are to participate in the wedding feast.  And this vestment refers as much to our actions, loving God and loving our neighbour, as to the cleansing of this heart if it has been despoiled. In other words, if our actions have been sinful, the garment over our hearts is not the wedding garment, but indeed the web of the world. Listen, once again, to the words of the Prophet:

On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
the web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.

Through His sorrowful and glorious Passion on mount Calvary, He destroyed the web of deceit spun by the Prince of Evil. Through the Most Precious Blood and Water that flowed from His side, He birthed the Church and offered to us the sacraments that can keep us free from being enveloped in sin once again.

The opportunity to come in the wedding garment is a simple one. Come with a heart that has charity restored in it through the sacrament of reconciliation. As simple as that. For those who would not, your reward has already been notified to you:

the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

In conclusion I offer you the same benediction as our father St. Paul:

My God will fully supply whatever you need,
in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful gathered in the Pastoral Institute, Old Goa for the course in the Catechism of the Catholic Church on 11 October 2026.)

(Image reference: ‘Not Having a Wedding Garment,’ Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, Washington D.C., photographed by Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP.)

Cleanse the Temple! Homily for the Twenty seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the vineyard of the Lord is the Kingdom of Heaven which we are commanded to tend. We are charged with preaching the kingdom, through our words and deeds, so that this vineyard will flourish. And each Sunday, and at other times, we are called to offer sacrifice to God, to praise and worship Him.

The Kingdom of God is made available to us primarily through the office of the priest, who offers us the sacraments that allow us to access this Kingdom. Without the sacraments, we would be unable to resist sin, and realise the great promise of salvation that has been made to us. Priests, therefore, are central to the tasks of the vineyard, not only because they lead the house of Israel in proper worship, but also because they make available to us the sacraments.

It is for this reason that the fall in vocations to the priesthood, and to religious life in general, is a matter of concern. It is for this reason that we are asked to pray for vocations to the priesthood. And yet, it is my firm conviction, that these prayers are misplaced, because the drought in vocations has been willed by our Lord Himself, displeased as he is with us, the wretched tenants of His vineyard, who fail to give him the produce of our work at the proper times.

I refer to the way in which we worship Him. The Holy Father, Pope Leo has himself, on multiple occasions raised this concern, of priests who do not follow the rubrics when they celebrate the Mass. Of worship that has lost sense of solemnity and dignity. How often, are our Masses a celebration of ourselves, the community, and not of God, tailored to His dignity? Listen to the words of the psalm in today's lectionary:

Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit

There is one location that I am personally aware of, where the faithful – if they can truly be called such – use the sanctuary and the sacristy as thoroughfares to get to the parish office. Indeed, the ample sanctuary of this church was used by the lay volunteers to count the money offered during Mass! The words of Our Lord: “It is written, ‘My house shall be called the house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves” (Mt 21: 13) come to mind. Both the sanctuary and sacristy are holy places, where one should fear to tread; that we do not think twice to do so is a statement of the disrespect we afford to these places and ultimately to Him to whom they belong.

he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. 
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned. 

The problem does not exhaust itself among the lay faithful. Indeed, the problem begins from within the priesthood, from which - despite the presence of very many holy priests - great evils have sprung. It is not as if there are a lack of vocations to the priesthood. There are, in fact, many men (and women) who seek to enter into priestly or religious life. They do not, however, find places that match their desire for houses burning with zeal for the Lord. How often are those in religious life seized upon, not to spend time in contemplation and worthy worship, but to operate as cogs in an administrative wheel dedicated to running hospitals, schools and other social services? The love of our brethren is an important commandment, but it cannot be placed over the commandment to love God!

When we speak of the servant who was stoned, one can think of the many young pious men across the world who enter seminary, and find that their piety, instead of being viewed positively, are scorned and mocked. In too many houses of formation across the world, piety and an attention to right worship – ortha doxa – is seen as a defect that must be corrected. And so, such men are hounded, until their spirit is broken, or they leave the seminary, because their ortho-praxis is simply seen as unacceptable.

Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'

I know of one man, whose journey in the faith convinced him that the reception of communion on the tongue, and whilst kneeling, was the way in which he could best honour (and respect) the body of the Son that he was being offered. And yet, abandoning this practice – sanctified by the saints across the ages and a sure method to grow in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament – was made a requirement if he should continue on the journey towards priesthood.

 And so, my dear brothers and sisters, while we continue to pray for vocations, perhaps our prayers should be directed towards obtaining the graces so that right worship is once again restored.

Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted,

Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

(Image reference: The Cleansing of the Temple, Burlison and Grylls, 1881, St. Peter’s church, Nottingham, photo by Fr. Lawrence Lew O.P., 2015.)

Follow the Third Son! Homily for the Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the parable of the two sons the Gospel today offers us, at first glance, two models of living and offers us the opportunity to reflect; which one of them do we embody? On the one hand we have the first son who initially refuses, but later has a change in heart and goes to work in the vineyard. Initially disrespectful and disobedient, he is moved by love and respect for his father and fulfills the tasks asked of him. The second son immediately responds in the affirmative to his father – can you see the reference here to God our Father – and yet, fails to fulfill the command. Which son are we?

Too often, especially those of us who are pious, who go to Mass on Sundays, we are the second son. We fulfill the outward commands of the Church; but refuse to go deeper into the law of love that Our Lord commands us to. How many of us, for example, being regular Mass goers, still practice contraception, despite knowing that this violates the teachings of the Church?

"Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.

Contraception is one of the teachings of the Church that too many of us are most willing to take issue with. Rather than recognize that the teaching of the Church is tough, and calls us to heroism, we make materialist and worldly arguments: “only those who have money can have many children.” Or, the standard, “it is easy for priests to talk, what do they know about married life;” the dishonest, “what if the child is conceived as a result of rape,” or the indignant, “who is the Church to tell us how to run our lives?” Or, in keeping with the worship of the untrammeled self which is the true religion of our hearts, “What gives the Church the right to control our bodies!”

The words of the prophet Ezekiel answer all of these questions in the first reading:

You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?

The teachings of the Church are not about some power struggle, where the Church – seen by the materialists as an institution controlled by frustrated old men – is trying to ruin the party for the lay faithful. Rather, the Church, our Holy Mother, following the teachings of Her Master, handed down to Her from the Apostles, constantly calibrating them for the times we live in, is merely pointing to the way of virtue and justice:

When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
and does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
… he shall not die.

We are at liberty to accept, or deny the teachings of the Church; but as the prophet Ezekiel reminds us, these actions have consequences; life in heaven, or the fires of hell.

If we have problems with these teachings it is often not because they are wrong, but because we are, caught up as we tend to be in the zeitgeist of the moment: the worship of the self, unhinged from any restrictions – even if these restrictions are for our greater good.

This refusal to recognize the primacy of God, that we live our lives best under the directions of God, who has revealed to us His ways, throughout history, and finally through His Son, is the perfect example of pride. And it is for this reason that St. Paul appeals to us today, as he did to the Philippians:

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;

rather, humbly …

Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus.

The attitude of Our Lord Jesus Christ offers to us the option of a third son. One whose yes means yes (Mt 5: 37), whose way is of humility, bowing to the wishes of His Father in heaven, who desires only that we should be saved from our own arrogance, which leads us into sin and away from life in the Holy Trinity.

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, when Our Lord walked the earth, it was not the people who were convinced that they were following the Law who were saved, but rather persons who were convinced of their own sinfulness; who repented, converted their hearts and were saved. Let us, therefore make the prayer of the psalm today our own, and listen to our Holy Mother the Church who communicates the paths of Our God:

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.

Mary, Mother of the faithful, pray for us.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the parish church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Pangim on 27 September 2026.)

(Image reference: Christ carrying the Cross, unknown Austrian artist, c. 1460, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia.)