by His justice, was by no means exhausted. Once again He sent forth His servants into the highways to gather together as many as they found, both bad and good, till the wedding was filled with guests. It was the call of the Gentiles to the Christian faith, that call that has rung down the ages, that has rung out to-day from so many Catholic pulpits; from the steeples of so many Christian temples. The royal banquet-hall is to-day the Christian Church, and the vast numbers of baptized Christians therein collected speak volumes for the assiduity of the King's servants and the docility of those they invited. The proud, self-sufficient Jew thanked God he was not like other men, and spurned the invitation; but the lowly Gentile, though the call came to him secondhand, bowed an humble acknowledgment, " Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner," and accepted it without question. The wedding was filled with guests and the King's heart, though still yearning for His own, His chosen ones, was consoled, nevertheless, as was the heart of the prodigal's father by the continuous presence of his dutiful son. But among His guests He sees one who has not on the wedding-garment of charity. Many had come, both good and bad — many clothed in the filth and rags of iniquity, but by the bounty of the host and the efforts of His servants all but one had been clothed in that garment that covereth a multitude of sins. One persisted in outraging the etiquette of the occasion, and, once again, mercy gave place to justice and he is cast out into the exterior darkness.
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