Dear Fathers, Friends in Christ,
St. Bernard, abbot, doctor of the Church
Judges 11:29-39a
Psalm 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
Matthew 22:1-14
In a profoundly thought-provoking, enlightening and challenging commentary on the Parable of the Wedding Feast (today's Gospel reading), Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis ( Father Simeon from St.Josephs Monastry in Mass, USA ) provides enough stimulus for meditation and reflection to last many hours and beyond in "Fire of Mercy, Vol. 3."
Particularly appropriate today on the memorial of St. Bernard is the following insight in reference to the end of the parable, wherein a wedding guest is cast into the darkness outside:
"According to St. Bernard, an intense desire to be corrected and chastised by God, so that we will not abandon the path of true life, is one of the chief hallmarks of the person thirsting for holiness."
To prevent ourselves from becoming a false "friend" of the king (Christ), like the guest not dressed in a wedding garment, may we truly seek self-knowledge: an awareness of anything within us that might remain an obstacle to sharing divine intimacy with the Bridegroom of our souls.
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo Australia
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