20260820 DISPLAY THE HOLINESS OF HIS NAME
20 August 2026, Thursday, 20th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Ezekiel 36:23-28 |
I will remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):12-15,18-19 |
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
I shall pour clean water over you and all your sins will be washed away.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:27 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 22:1-14 |
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
DISPLAY THE HOLINESS OF HIS NAME
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ezekiel 36:23-28; Matthew 22:1-14]
Happiness and joy in life are often portrayed as a wedding feast–a “wedding” because it is a celebration of love, and a “feast” because it is the way we participate in the love of the couple. This explains why we do not celebrate a marriage privately in a registry office, but rather with witnesses through a religious and social celebration. Through the wedding, the couple professes their love for each other for the rest of their lives. Such a love must be permanent and indissoluble so that it can withstand the trials and storms of life that will surely come in time. This is why the Bible underscores the indissolubility of marriage, without which couples might easily give up trying to perfect their love during difficult times, whether due to personality differences or issues pertaining to their relationship, family, children, work, and friends. Indeed, as Jesus remarked, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” (Mt 19:8)
This reflects the faithful love that God has for His people. God invites us to the wedding feast of His Son. He wants us to celebrate the love He shares with His Son so that we can partake in His divine love. Throughout all generations, God has been preparing us to share in His Trinitarian love through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. When He made the covenant with His people, He meant for it to be permanent. In spite of humanity’s sins and infidelity, God remained faithful to His covenant. He did not change His mind or give up on humanity, regardless of how obstinate, evil, or incorrigible we were. He continues to send us messengers, one after another, to invite us to the banquet of love and life. This is what the first part of the parable of the Wedding Banquet seeks to illustrate.
Yet, we read that this invitation to love and life continues to be rejected even today. The rejection of God’s invitation by the leaders and people of Israel continues in our time. Many of us are like them, rejecting the call of God’s prophets to repent of our sins and turn back to Him. Instead, we become absorbed in worldly endeavours, work, business, and pleasures. Indeed, “they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them.” So many of us put money, power, and worldly success before God and authentic love. Even our relationships with others become based on an “I-It” dynamic–one of utility and manipulation rather than self-giving. Some do not simply reject God’s call; like the Israelite leaders, they react with hostility, attacking God and His Church simply because they feel annoyed by the call to holiness, integrity, and justice.
Nevertheless, God’s plan is undefeatable. Man might close a door, but God will open a window. When His chosen people rejected Him, God extended His call to the Gentiles and to sinners. He said to His servants, “‘The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.’ So these servants went out onto the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” Such is the graciousness and insuperable plan of God for humanity. Israel was intended to be a light to the nations: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa 49:6) But they failed in that responsibility. Therefore, God turned to the Gentiles through St. Paul, who said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.” (cf. Acts 13:46f)
Today, we belong to God’s chosen people because of His gracious love. We are the people of the Promised Land; we are the new chosen people of God. By His grace alone, we are here. We have received God’s forgiveness, and like those brought in from the highways, we are invited to the Wedding Banquet. God’s grace is free. Most importantly, we have been forgiven of our sins and given a future. We have received a new heart through the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism.
This is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezekiel in the First Reading: “I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land. I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land, which I gave your ancestors. You shall be my people and I will be your God.”
Unfortunately, there is another group of people who have lost touch with God after conversion: fellow Catholics. They are portrayed in the Gospel as the man without the wedding garment. In those days, guests were provided with a wedding garment and expected to respect the host by participating fully in the celebration. But this man was careless and negligent. He went to the wedding without the proper attire–the baptismal garment given to us at our baptism. Instead, such people continue to wear their old clothes, refusing to give up the sinful lifestyle they lived before baptism. They have not died to the “Old Adam” within them. Negligent in their faith, they do not belong to a Catholic community and remain unsupported. Consequently, although baptised, they remain conformed to the world.
Today, we are called to assume the responsibility of being a light to the nations. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Mt 5:13-16) In this way, we manifest the holiness of His great name, which has been profaned among the nations. We are called to embody the holiness of God. By living holy lives based on the Gospel of love and compassion, we reveal the glory of God and His holiness. In doing so, we show that we are truly sons and daughters of God our Father, who loves us all. God’s face and glory are made visible through us, His children.
What is the path to holiness? Pope Francis reiterated this call to holiness in his apostolic exhortation: “At its core, holiness is experiencing, in union with Christ, the mysteries of his life. It consists in uniting ourselves to the Lord’s death and resurrection in a unique and personal way, constantly dying and rising anew with him. But it can also entail reproducing in our own lives various aspects of Jesus’ earthly life: his hidden life, his life in community, his closeness to the outcast, his poverty and other ways in which he showed his self-sacrificing love.” (Gaudete et Exsultate 20)
Most of all, we are called to reveal the holiness of God by living out the Beatitudes. By doing so, as Jesus teaches, we live a blessed and happy life–a life that displays His love and holiness. By living a life of compassion for the poor and one of forgiveness and mercy for the weak, we can help sinners, those who have left the Church, and those who have never known God’s love to find Him. Ultimately, holiness of life means reflecting the mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and love of God in both word and deed. This is aptly summed up in the parable of the Last Judgment, where the criterion for entering the kingdom is based on love, mercy, and compassion. (cf. Mt 25:31-46)
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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