Sermon – Invite Everyone You Find to the Wedding (Matthew 22:1–14) – August 20, 2026

My dear brothers, it is clear that the servants who did not want to go to the king's son's wedding were Jews.

The wedding , as Saint Gregory said, is the union of human nature and divine nature (in the person of the Word) in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

A wedding feast is like paradise.

Only those wearing wedding attire are allowed in.

What is this wedding attire? It is "God's Grace," a necessary condition for entering Paradise .

What is grace? It is participation in divine life. Through grace, God begins to reside in our souls as if in His own home. Grace is so important that without it, the soul dies .

How is grace obtained? Through baptism; in baptism we clothe ourselves in Christ, and God begins to live in our souls.

How is grace lost? Through mortal sin. That is why when we commit a mortal sin, we must resort to the Sacrament of Confession…

We can explain this with an analogy: Grace is like an “umbilical cord” that connects our soul to God. Just as a baby receives life through its umbilical cord, so the soul receives divine life through grace. If the umbilical cord is cut, the baby dies; similarly, if grace is cut by mortal sin, the soul dies, loses its divine life, and can no longer wear the garment of Christ.

In conclusion, my brothers and sisters: To enter Paradise, one must have God’s grace. This is obtained through baptism. To avoid losing it, we must pray and ask God for help to avoid falling into mortal sin. If it is lost through mortal sin, then confession is necessary.

But the Bible says:

Invite everyone you can find to the wedding.

This is an invitation we must extend to all people to come to Christ's wedding feast, that is, to heaven. We must work for the salvation of humanity.