The Wedding Garment of Love

Thursday, August 18, 2011
Matthew 22:114 (The Wedding Garment of Love)

When a Poor Clare Sister wakes up in the morning, she prays a morning offering and then dresses while reciting what are called “dressing prayers”.  Each garment has its own prayer.  When she takes off her night habit she prays, “Strip me now of the old man” and as she puts on her daily habit she prays, “Clothe me with Your virtues, enrich me with Your graces and give me the wedding garment of Your love”.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable of a king giving a wedding feast for his son.  A man is found in the banquet hall not wearing a wedding garment.  When asked by the king why he is not properly dressed, he makes no reply and so is thrown out.  The man made no reply because he had no excuse; the wedding garment was provided by the host at the door.  Jesus calls us each day to the wedding feast, but we must be willing to put on “the wedding garment of His love”.  All love requires a certain surrender of autonomy, a loss of our personal independence.  Divine love is especially all-engaging.  But we resist, fearful lest we sacrifice too much of ourselves.  How foolish can we be!  Sometimes we are like the first guests of the parable who could not be bothered with the feast because they were too interested in their own affairs.  They did not care because they did not love.  In the end, each will get what he or she chooses: self-centered loneliness or self-giving unity with Love Himself.  Let us choose wisely.