In today’s Gospel, we hear Our Lord talking about a King who gives a great banquet. But many refuse to come. Those who were first invited He declares, were not worthy to come. They didn’t realize how much the King wished to celebrate together with them. The King’s invitation wasn’t that important. They had better things to do. How can we not take this to be a reminder of our own attitudes about our Catholic faith? Life is all about priorities. Jesus wants us all to make not only Holy Mass a high priority but our participation in all the many good works of our church.
In G.K. Chesterton’s book, Everlasting Man, he compares the ancient world’s pagan religions to the revolutionary faith we call Catholicism. Paganism was characterized by “polytheism” or the belief that there were many gods. G.K. says, “Polytheism was never to the pagan what Catholicism is to the Catholic. Paganism was never a view of the universe that could satisfy all sides of life. Catholicism is (or should be for us) a complete and complex truth that has something to say about everything. Paganism was a spirituality that satisfied only one side of the soul of man. The wonderful mythical stories of the gods and goddesses satisfied one mood or spiritual need of the common man (or woman). The ordinary man wonders whether there are powers higher than human powers that control our lives. He wonders how the things we take for granted, like our nations, our families, and the stars above us came to be. The pagan world with its myths gave at least some satisfactory answers to these questions of the soul. But Catholicism G.K. insists takes us much farther than this. Accepting Catholicism is like accepting the invitation of the King in the gospel. We should not turn to religion only when we are in the mood for religion. Are there any “Chreesters” (people who only come to Mass on Christmas and Easter) listening?
Now, when it comes to excuses for missing Mass, especially among our young people, sports ranks high on the list. Please don’t get me wrong here. I do love sports and sports can be a great arena for building character and living the virtues of life. But when commitments to the team take the higher priority over our commitment to our Catholic faith we fall into the same trap of the polytheists of old. And it’s not only time that matters. It’s financial commitment too. “A study conducted last summer by TD Ameritrade found that parents whose children participated in highly competitive or elite teams run by a non-school organization were spending on average $500 to $1,000 per month, per child. More specifically, travel baseball averages out to $3,700 per year but can be upward of $8,000 if they opt for extra training services and play in out-of-state tournaments. High-end volleyball teams with travel will easily average $8,000 to $10,000 per year while less competitive, more regional club programs are usually $1,500.” (from US Today)
Most of us in modern America need to heed Chesterton’s call to embrace fully our Catholic faith. Of all the things that give us our identity, being a faithful Catholic, and not a “cafeteria Catholic” scores a touchdown.