Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Myroslav Vons on the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 29, 2026
God is the one who invites us first. He opens the door to us and offers us His love, His mercy and the gift of salvation. But we need to respond to that invitation. Not because we can earn salvation through our good works, but because when we accept God’s grace, we allow Him to change our lives.
What Have We Done With Our Invitation?
The Gospel tells us a story about a man who prepared a wedding feast and invited many people to come. But many of them refused. So the man sent his servants out and told them to invite everyone they could find. Soon the banquet hall was full of guests.
But then the host noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment. He asked him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” The man had nothing to say.
At first, we might wonder: where was this man supposed to get a wedding garment? He had been invited straight from the street. Perhaps he was poor. Is it fair to expect something from a person that they simply do not have?
But Jesus is not really talking about clothes. The wedding garment reminds us that being with God is not about appearances or outward form. It is about what is happening within us — faith, repentance and a life lived with Christ.
God is the one who invites us first. He opens the door to us and offers us His love, His mercy and the gift of salvation. But we need to respond to that invitation. Not because we can earn salvation through our good works, but because when we accept God’s grace, we allow Him to change our lives.
So today, each of us is asked a simple question: What have we done with our invitation?
The Lord invites us to come to church, to step away from the busyness of everyday life and meet Him in the Divine Liturgy — to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. He invites us to Holy Confession — to honestly acknowledge our sins, ask for forgiveness and receive His mercy.
The Lord calls parents to bring their children to Baptism, so that from the very beginning of their lives they can come to know God. He calls a man and a woman to build their married life on God’s truth and to receive His blessing through the Holy Mystery of Marriage.
For some, He gives the calling to the priesthood — to serve God and His people through the Holy Mystery of Holy Orders.
And even when a person’s earthly life is coming to an end, the Lord continues to call that person to Himself. That is why we have a responsibility to care for our loved ones and not leave a visit from the priest until the very last moment. When a person is still conscious and able to respond, they can receive the Holy Mysteries, be reconciled with God and receive His grace.
God’s invitation is there throughout our whole life. But the problem is that, so often, we stop responding.
Take, for example, our attitude towards Holy Communion. The Lord invites us to His table to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. But do I really come to Holy Communion with a prepared heart and after sincere Holy Confession? Am I standing in prayer and paying attention, waiting to meet Christ — or am I talking and distracted? And after receiving the Holy Mysteries, do I give thanks to the Lord? Or do I immediately go back to my phone, check my messages or continue chatting as though nothing important has just happened?
It is only a simple example. But it reminds us of something important: Being invited does not mean that we have accepted the invitation.
God has given each of us free will. I have to choose for myself — whether I will live with God or forget about Him; whether I will accept His invitation or simply leave it unanswered. Before God, each of us will be responsible for our own life and for the way we have responded to His invitation.
And yet, there is also a great mystery in God’s love: We may stop choosing God, but God never stops choosing us.
Even when we walk away from Him, forget about Him or turn away from His invitation, the doors of His house remain open.
May the Lord help each of us not simply to hear His invitation, but to answer it with our lives — with faith, love and a heart turned towards Him.
