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Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1: Ezekiel 36:23-28

Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm : Psalm 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19

R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.

Alleluia : Psalm 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel :Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables saying,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Message from the Readings

Today’s readings proclaim a powerful truth:
God not only invites us into His Kingdom—He transforms us so we can truly belong.
• Ezekiel reveals God’s desire to renew His people from the inside out.
• The psalm expresses the longing for a clean heart and restored joy.
• Jesus teaches that God’s invitation is universal, but our response must be wholehearted.
The message is clear: Grace invites us. Conversion prepares us. God’s Spirit empowers us.

 Reflection for the Day

Ezekiel’s prophecy is one of the most hopeful promises in Scripture.
God looks at His people—broken, scattered, hardened—and says:
“I will give you a new heart.”
Not a repaired heart. Not a patched‑up heart. A new heart.
A heart capable of loving again. A heart capable of obedience. A heart capable of receiving His Spirit.
He promises to remove the heart of stone—the places where we’ve become numb, resistant, or closed—and replace it with a heart of flesh, alive and responsive to His voice.
Psalm 51 echoes this longing:
“Create in me a clean heart… renew in me a steadfast spirit.”
It is the cry of every soul that knows it needs God’s mercy.
Then Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast.
The invitation goes out widely— to the prepared, the unprepared, the expected, the unexpected. Everyone is welcome.
But one guest enters without a wedding garment—symbolizing a heart unchanged, a life unconverted, a soul that wants the feast without the transformation.
The parable teaches us something essential:
God’s invitation is free, but entering His Kingdom requires a heart willing to be changed.
Today’s readings invite us to three movements:

1. Ask God for a new heart.
   Let Him remove what is hardened, wounded, or resistant.
2. Welcome His Spirit.
   Only the Spirit can empower true obedience and lasting transformation.
3. Respond to God’s invitation with your whole life.
   Not just attendance—conversion. Not just hearing—living. Not just invitation—transformation.
   Let today be a day of renewal, openness, and deep surrender.

 Prayer for Today

Lord Jesus, create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Remove any hardness in my heart and replace it with Your life‑giving grace.
Clothe me in Your mercy, fill me with Your Spirit, and help me respond to Your invitation with a transformed and willing heart.
Make my life reflect Your love and my heart remain open to Your voice today.
Amen.