Tuesday, October 1 : Blessed Columba Marmion

Christ tells us: “The kingdom of God is similar to a king who celebrates the wedding of his son” (Mt 22, 2). This king, this son, who do they represent? Who are the guests of this nuptial feast? Is there a mystery beneath this allegory? According to the doctors of the Church, the king is the Heavenly Father. When, to redeem the world, the father decrees the incarnation of the Word, he prepares a wonderful nuptial feast to accomplish the union of human nature to the divine person. The incarnation of the Word is nuptial, because by receiving holy humanity as his, the Son of God made it his wife, espousing for all eternity our humanity. In the highest sense, these were already “the wedding of the lamb” (AP 19, 7). (…) For Christ, to unite with his church, it is above all to unite with each soul by sanctifying grace and charity. Did Saint Paul not write to the Corinthians: “I presented you to Christ as a chaste spouse” (2 Co 11, 2)? (…) The king had invited many guests to take part in the feast, and all apologized. So he sent his servants to the crossroads to call to the poorest people to the abundant banquet he had prepared. The banquet room thus opens to the humble, the infirm, even the crippled. Who is this crowd from the figure? (…) We see in her the Christian people called by divine munificence in the Eucharistic banquet. Those who communicate with sacred mysteries benefit from the union of love reserved for the guests of the feast. Christ takes possession of their souls and they, in turn, receive him in faith and charity. This union in some way imitates that of sanctified humanity with the Word; She is herself the model of the intimate relationship of love between the creature and her God. It is to this height of supernatural life that we are all invited.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team