Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 10-02-11, Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 10-02-11 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Philippians 4:6-9

“Have no anxiety at all.” (Philippians 4:6)

Is Paul serious? How can any of us live an anxiety-free life? Doesn’t he know how hard life can get? Yes, he does! He even talks about his own anxieties and how his concern for the different churches weighed on him (2 Corinthians 11:28). So why does he tell the Philippians not to be anxious? Because he knows how powerful a force worry can be, and he wants to give them some advice in dealing with it—advice that we can all take to heart.

First, Paul tells us to pray, and then he promises that “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Go ahead and bring your needs to the Lord. Feel free to lay them at his feet, and do your best to leave them there. If you do, you’ll find a new peace that you didn’t know before. You have brought your needs to the best place possible, and you can be assured that your heavenly Father will help you. He may not solve every problem right away, but he will give you his strength and clarity to help you keep working through them.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. He also tells us to fix our minds on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious” (Philippians 4:8). If we do, then “the God of peace” will be with us (4:9). Our anxieties will gradually diminish as we gain a bigger, broader perspective on our lives. We will see our lives in the light of a loving Father and an ever present Holy Spirit. And that will give us great confidence whenever anxiety rears its head.

Don’t let anxiety get the better of you today! Remember that God is on your side. Your heavenly Father cares for you. His hand is stretched out to you even now, welcoming you and inviting you to lay your cares at his feet. So come to him, and let his Spirit help you guard your heart and mind today.

“Father, I surrender my anxieties to you today. Your love is unfailing, so I put my hope in you. Holy Spirit, fill my heart and mind with peace.”

---

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

(Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9,12-16,19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43)

1. In today’s first reading, the Lord reminds us of how much he has cared for us, and how he longs for us to bear fruit in our lives. The Lord also invites us to “judge” the fruits of our life and determine what areas need to bear more fruit. What areas (is there one) in your life do you believe the Lord wants you to focus on to bear more fruit? How will you do this?

2. The responsorial psalm continues the metaphor of the vineyard and the vine and prays that the Lord would restore his vineyard and give it new life. As “temples of the Holy Spirit” and “living sacrifices,” perhaps, the Lord is inviting us to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to continue this restoration process? How important is this wonderful sacrament of God’s forgiveness and mercy in your life?

3. After having been asked to consider our lives and its fruit, the second reading reminds us that the grace and power to bear more fruit comes from God. The reading begins by telling us not to be anxious and that, if we pray and petition the Lord, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. What are the areas in life where you long for more of God’s peace? How can you integrate these prayers and petitions to God for this peace more fully into your personal times of prayer?

4. In the Gospel, Jesus repeats the story of the vineyard. All these readings are asking us to take very seriously the question of being fruitful. Being fruitful will require us to make sacrifices in our lives. What are the sacrifices you are willing to make to be more fruitful in your life?

5. Jesus also expands on the story by telling us just how far the landowner (God) will go to help the vines produce: he even sends his own son to die! How often during an average day do you turn to the Lord to reflect on his great love and mercy, and what he has done so that you could have eternal life with him? How often should you? What are the obstacles that keep you from doing this? What steps can you take to allow the Lord to have a greater part in your day?

6. In the meditation, we hear these words: “Paul tells us to pray, and then he promises that “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).” Why is prayer a way to replace anxieties in our lives with the “peace of God”? Can you give an example from your own life?

7. Take some time now to pray that God the Father would give you the grace to surrender your anxieties to his will and his great love for you, so that you can experience the “peace of God”. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as the starting point.

[Salvation]

A Christian Pilgrim

WE ARE EMPOWERED BY HIM TO BEAR MUCH FRUIT  

(A biblical reflection on the 27^th ORDINARY SUNDAY, 2 October 2011) 

Gospel Reading: Mt 21:33-43 

First Reading: Is 5:1-7; Psalms: Ps 80:9,12-16,19-20; Second Reading: Phil 4:6-9 

The Scripture Text

“Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” (Mt 21:33-43 RSV) 

The chief priests and elders ofJerusalemconfronted Jesus and questioned His authority. They were upset because on the previous day Jesus had driven out of the temple those who were selling and buying and began a teaching and healing ministry where the money changers used to be (see Mt 21:10-16).

Confronted by the religious leaders of Jerusalem, Jesus took the opportunity to try to teach them, using two parables about a vineyard (Mt 21:28-32 and Mt 33-43). The priests and the elders would have recognized Jesus’ reference to the “Song of the Vineyard” (see the first reading: Is 5:1-7). Jesus wanted them to understand the connection between God and the master of the vineyard, and between the tenants of the vineyard and the chief priests – those who were responsible for the spiritual direction of the people of Israel: “The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting; and He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!” (Is 5:7).

Throughout the Old Testament, images of the vineyard and the vine are used to describe God’s relationship with His people (see Ps 80:8; Jer 12:10; Ezek 19:10-11; Hos 10:1). In the New Testament, the theme continues in Mt 21:33-41, and in Jesus’ words at the Last Supper (Jn 15:1-11). These passages depict a God who lovingly provides for His people. He wants us – His vine – to have all the care we need to live as children of God; he gives us opportunities to produce “fruit” as members of His Church. He even “prunes” us back at times – purifying His Church – so that we can bear even more fruit.

God provides for us in many ways. We may have friends or family who love and care for us. We may be moved during a homily at Mass, as the Holy Spirit quickens the word of God within our hearts. It is especially true as we gather around His altar to receive His Body and Blood. Through all of these precious gifts, we are empowered to bear much fruit and show the world that our God is a gracious and loving Father.

Short Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I yield to You and ask You to drive out all that is opposed to Your kingdom. I want to bear the fruit for which You have made me. Amen. 

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for October 2, 2011:

“Have no anxiety at all…if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:6-8) What do you feel anxious about today? Sharing it can lessen its power. Look for a positive thought to balance your anxiety.

[Salvation]

The Sacred Page

Are We a Fruitful Vineyard? Readings for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

The past several Sundays we have been reading from the vineyard parables of Jesus in Matthew, and this Sunday we reach a climactic point in the hostility between the leaders of the people (chief priests and elders) and Jesus.

The Readings for this Lord’s Day are skillfully chosen to complement the Gospel reading.  Most commentators agree that the vine parables of the Old Testament found in Isaiah 5 and Psalm 80 are the textual background for Jesus’ own vineyard parable in Matt 21:33-43.

The First Reading gives us Isaiah 5:1-7, the key prophetic parable that identifies the “vineyard” as God’s people Israel.  Although we have not read it in the liturgy until this Sunday, this passage of Isaiah has been in the background through Jesus’ other vineyard parables in the last several weeks:

Reading 1 Is 5:1-7

Let me now sing of my friend,
my friend's song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes,
but what it yielded was wild grapes.

Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,
did it bring forth wild grapes?
Now, I will let you know
what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!
Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to send rain upon it.
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry!

The themes of this song from Isaiah have important connections with the Song of Songs.  The word translated “friend” in our Mass version is literally “my beloved,” in Hebrew dowdi or didi, which is the preferred term the bride uses for the royal bridegroom in the Song of Songs.  The Song of Songs is also full of vineyard imagery; in fact, the vineyard/garden is often identified with the bride herself: she is a vineyard/garden.  “A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed!” (Song 4:12).  “Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruit!” (Song 4:16).

Thus, the poem in Isaiah 5:1-7, understood in light of broader Scriptural themes, is a love story.  The vineyard is a metaphor for the spouse of the Lord, his beloved people.  Ultimately it points forward to the Bride of Christ.

The use of the term “beloved” (dowdi) both in Isaiah and Songs lends itself to a Messianic reading of these passages, since “my beloved” (dowdi) sounds virtually the same as “my David.” “David” (dawid) literally means “beloved one.”  Thus one can see how easy it is to understand the “beloved” in these passages as the “David” that Israel is awaiting (Ezek 34:23), that is, the Anointed Son of David who can save them.

The Responsorial Psalm also combines the themes of the vineyard-people of God and the royal Son of David:

Responsorial Psalm Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20

R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.

Here, Israel is again likened to a vine that God transplanted from Egypt to Canaan.  God has then punished vineyard-Israel, but the Psalm implores him to relent and come to their aid. 

Verses 15-16 are key: “Look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine ... and the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.”

This “Son of Man” is none other that the royal Son of David who sat on the throne of Israel at the time the psalm was composed.  Later in the psalm (verse 18) he is referred to as “the man on your right”: “May your hand be with the man on your right” (v. 18).  This is an apt expression, since the Temple, the throne of God, lay to the north of the royal palace, the throne of David, so that the Son of David literally sat “at the right” (i.e. to the south) of God.  (Directions were expressed facing east: “left” was north, “right” was south.)

Psalm 80 is a prayer for God to protect vineyard-Israel, but also the royal Son of David.  In fact, the fate of Israel and of the royal son are united and inextricable.

In the Second Reading we continue our lectio continua through Philippians:

Reading 2 Phil 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

St. Paul exhorts us here to ponder “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, etc.”  It is a list similar to the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.  Using the vineyard analogy given to us in the other readings, we can say that St. Paul wishes us to envision the Fruit of the Spirit, so that we may also bear these Fruit.  What we contemplate, we will emulate.  

The Gospel passage is the last of the vineyard-themed parables recorded by Matthew:

Gospel Mt 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

The basic meaning of the parable is clear: the tenants are the chief priests and leaders of the people.  The servants sent to the vineyard are the prophets; the son is Jesus himself; the vineyard owner is God the Father.  The judgment on the tenants is a prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem which was to happen within a generation (AD 70).

Jesus cites Psalm 118 concerning “the stone that the builders rejected.”  Clearly this stone is a reference to himself.  He is the foundation stone of the Temple, rejected by the chief priests—who were, in fact, involved in a massive project of rebuilding the Temple initiated by Herod the Great and completed about AD 66.

The chief priests were rebuilding the Temple, but neither they nor Herod who initiated the project were properly authorized to undertake such a sacred task.  Herod was not even a Jew; he was an Edomite who gained the throne of Israel by collaboration with the Romans.  Likewise, the chief priests at this time did not have the proper lineage, and maintained their position and power by manipulation and cooperation with the Roman authorities. 

It was the Son of David who was authorized to build the Temple of God (2 Sam 7:12-13).  So Jesus stands as the true temple-builder over against the false temple-builders. 

The Temple was decorated in its interior with garden imagery, which was intended to evoke the concept of Eden, the original garden-vineyard of God.  In fact, a great vine was carved on the gates of the Temple.  Some scholars surmise that Jesus was passing the Temple gates, with the great vine image, on the way to Gethsemane in John 15, where he begins his “True Vine” discourse: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower ...”

By identifying Himself as the True Vine, Jesus is claiming to be the personal embodiment of Israel, the people of God.

At the end of today’s reading, Jesus warns the chief priests, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

This has sometimes been interpreted as the “Kingdom of God” being taken away from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, but there are serious reasons to doubt that such a meaning is intended here.  Jesus, his Blessed Mother, all the Apostles, and the writer of this Gospel were Jews.  Ethnic Jews have always been part of the New Covenant.  In fact, the New Covenant itself is nothing other than the Body and Blood of Jesus the Jew.

It would be better to understand the “people who will produce its fruit” not as the Gentiles per se, but as all those, whether “Jew or Greek” (cf. Rom 1:16), who partake in the Body and Blood of the True Vine, that is, the True Israel, Jesus the Christ, and by partaking become incorporated into the New Vineyard, the New Israel.  By partaking of the Eucharist, we “abide in him, and he in us”: “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

 

Posted by John Bergsma at 6:25 AM

[Salvation]

Sunday Scripture Study

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A

October 2, 2011

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer  

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7

Psalm: 80:9,12-16,19-20

Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9

Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:33-43

• We take up this Sunday’s Gospel where we left off last Sunday: Jesus has just finished relating the parable of the two sons in the vineyard. The Jewish leaders he is addressing, knowing Jesus was speaking of them, resolve to destroy him (Matthew 21:45-46). Jesus knows this and thus addresses another parable to them, also about a vineyard.

• This parable is also an allegory, that is, each person, group and place stands for something else. It is similar to the Nathan’s allegory to King David (2 Samuel 12:1-10).

• By this allegory, Jesus confronts his listeners with the fact that God has given his people every blessing imaginable and entrusted their leaders to take care of what, ultimately, belongs to him. When he sent his messengers to set them straight when they strayed, they refused to listen. When one greater than all the messengers came to set things right, they recognized his threat to their authority (verse 38; Matthew 12:14; 26:3ff; John 11:47-53).

• Jesus prophesies that the kingdom will be taken away from them and given to those who give the Lord “produce at the proper time” (verses 41, 43)— i.e., the believing Jews and the Gentiles who will make up the Church and perform the good works expected by God (Matthew 3:8-10; 16:17-19; Galatians 6:16).

 

 

QUESTIONS:

·         In the 1^st Reading, who is the prophet's “friend”? How can we tell he owns and cares about the vineyard? Is he within his rights to allow the wild and unproductive field to go it's own way and to start over again?

·         In Jesus' parable, who (or what) is represented as the landowner? The vineyard? The tenants? The servants? The son?

·         In the 2^nd Reading, what are the things that St. Paul tells will help us stay focused on God?

·         What corresponds to the son’s death? To the removal of the wretched tenants?

·         At whom does Jesus direct this parable (and those we heard on the previous two Sundays)? Why don’t’ they arrest him (vv 45-46)? Why don’t they repent and follow him?

·         At different times in your life, with what attitude have you received Jesus? Have you ever felt you deserved God’s kingdom?

·         In your life, is Jesus like a cornerstone (the foundation of your building)? Or is he like a millstone (a weight that drags you down)? In what ways?

·         With whom do you identify in this story? Why?

 

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 443, 755 - 756

 

If we are trying to have Christ as our king we must be consistent. We must start by giving him our heart. Not to do that and still talk about the kingdom of Christ would be completely hollow.               

                                                                                                               --St Josemaria Escriva

[Salvation]

 

The Tenants Who Killed the Landlord

Pastor’s Column

27^th Sunday Ordinary Time

October 2, 2011

 

          In this Sunday’s gospel (Matthew 21:33-43), Jesus offers the parable of a man who takes great care to set up his own business—a vineyard. He made a sizeable investment in time and money, planting a hedge, installing an expensive winepress, and cultivating grapes (this takes time!). After all these extensive preparations, he went out and found tenants to buy a lease and run the business for him.

 

          Well, we all know how this came out! The tenants refuse to pay their rent or a fair share of the profits they are earning on this leased land. Incredibly, they begin to think that the property and all that was set up belongs to them and that they should keep all the profits, so they resort to killing every legitimate debt-collector who shows up. The last straw in the sad tale occurs when these “tenants” even kill the owner’s son, thinking that then the whole operation will then fall to them. Instead, they are turned out and executed for murder!

 

          We live in a world that has (conveniently) forgotten who the landlord is – God – and that we are actually tenants, renters, of property that we do not really own at all. Everything we have is a gift from God.   The earth was here long before we ever showed up. In fact, it was set up by God, very carefully and over a long period of time, ultimately for our benefit. In every generation, the Lord “hires” tenants for his property: we are born into bodies we did not ask for and into a world we did not create. All God asks from us is that we give him a return on his investment – primarily by acknowledging him – thanking him, loving him, and by being generous with what we have received (our time and money).

 

          Some in this world would prefer to kill off “God” and place themselves in that position—as if the very idea of a “Creator” of the world is a threat to them. The fact is that this is God’s world – he is the one who set it up so he sets the rules. We can find them in the Bible – and in our own hearts. We ignore these rules to our own peril. We are creatures who are dependent on him for our very existence!

 

          God is a threat to some because they want no restraints on their “freedom” – freedom to destroy the environment, freedom to ruin lives through corporate greed, freedom to experiment on or kill the unborn with impunity, and they certainly don’t want God or any church telling them what to do! But though we may kill the messengers God sends to us (the Bible, the Church, our conscience, warnings in world events), this does not change the reality that after death there awaits heaven, hell and purgatory; and, whether we agree or not, this really is the Lord’s property we live on and he, the landlord, ultimately sets the rules.

                                                                                      Father Gary    

[Salvation]

27th Sunday -- Respect Life in the Vineyard

 

Michelangelo: Creation of Man, Sistine Chapel

Sunday Word: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/100211.cfm

A well-known legend has been told about St. Lawrence,  a third century Deacon of the Roman Church. Lawrence was given responsibility to care for the material goods of the Church, and the distribution of alms to the poor.  When Lawrence knew that he would be arrested, he sought out the poor and gave them all the money he had on hand, selling even the sacred vessels to increase the sum.  When the pagan prefect of Rome heard of this, he imagined that Christians must be very wealthy. 

He sent for Lawrence and said to him:  “Your doctrine says that you must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.  Bring all these treasures; the emperor needs them to maintain his forces in the empire.” 

So Lawrence replied the Church was indeed very rich but that he would need some time to set everything in order.  “After three days,” he told the prefect, “I will bring you those treasures.”  The prefect agreed and Lawrence left.

Three days later he returned with a great number of the blind, lame, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows for the prefect.  The prefect was incensed at Lawrence’s insult and angrily reminded him that he had asked for the Church’s treasures.

Lawrence looked at him, pointed to the gathering of the poor and sick and simply said, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

It is a wonderful story about the value the Church has always placed on the human person.  Above all the treasures God has created, the human person has the greatest worth. That fundamental belief rooted in both Scripture and the long tradition of the Church, drives the moral framework of the Christian faith. The famed Ten Commandments are a moral framework based upon social relationships in light of God’s law in our life.  

This weekend and for the entire month of October, we mark our respect for human life. Like St. Lawrence, the true worth of the Church is measured by how well the people of God are served and valued above all other needs of the Gospel.  The variety of ministries in parish life exist for the people; to make the Gospel of Christ understandable in the lives of people and to help them come to know what God desires of us and the joy of serving the Lord.

The image of the vineyard is clear again in our readings this weekend in both Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew.  We hear of fresh grapes and sour grapes and of a vineyard that is the sight of murder and insurrection.  Not the most pleasant biblical imagery for sure.

But, as always, it is a significant image of a God who chose a people but found them rebellious and unfaithful.  Then that same God sends his messengers to the vineyard where those prophets who bear his message find again that the people are not interested.  So much that the prophets are eliminated. Finally, the son of the vineyard owner (Jesus) is sent but he too suffers the same fate as that of the prophets.  One would think after all this uprising that God would just say, “To heck with it all.  I’m finished.” In fact, the end of the Gospel parable implies that is what the owner (God) says: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

A narrow understanding would implicate the Jewish people as the ones who rejected the divine offer. But the Word of God is not a word from the ancient past.  It speaks loud and clear to us today. We are the vineyard of the Lord and we too have a responsibility to care for what has been given to us.

The greatest responsibility we have is to care for each other.  Respect Life Sunday and this entire month is a time to take stock of where we are both in our personal lives and in the greater life of the Christian community.  

All human life issues need our attention beginning with the unborn child, the elderly, those in prison, the immigrant, the poor, the terrible scourge of human trafficking, the quality of health care, those living under threat of war. It’s an enormous plateful to say the least.

In the end, though, it seems to come down to that fundamental question about our responsibility to respond to what God has offered each of us – a place in his vineyard.  If we truly believe and lived according to the truth that the human person is central, the deepest reflection of God among us, it would motivate us to seek generosity rather than selfishness. To offer forgiveness rather than retribution.

As we examine the life issues, who is more vulnerable than an unborn child or a terminally ill older person? Do our national laws reflect this?

As parents bring a child(ren) into the world, are they willing to put aside their old way of life and now reorient themselves for the sake of the human treasure before them? Or, do we live with an attitude of entitlement?

Do we believe the criminal on death row deserves any sort of dignified treatment or do we feel that “He/she deserves what they get?” The death penalty, of which the U.S. remains one of the few countries in the world, is not justice – it is unequally applied, based in revenge, and no longer necessary. A life for a life is just two dead people.

What of people living in poverty?  The unemployed, the immigrant who arrives here? Which law governs our actions – that of strict “justice” or that of mercy born of the Gospel?

None of these are easy answers and every life issue has its hot spot buttons.  But this weekend and the month of this seasonal change might be a time to reassess where we stand in the Lord’s vineyard and how much we care about one another.   

As Blessed John Paul II wrote:  “Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent.”  (Gospel of Life, no. 87)

What a treasure we have to offer the world – an alternative to the Gospel of the secular culture which emphasizes the practical and the useful as a measure of worth. 

Fr. Tim

[Salvation]

Insight Scoop

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, October 2, 2011 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Isa 5:1-7
• Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
• Phil 4:6-9
• Mt 21:33-43

What do parables and vineyards have in common? When attended to with care and attention, they both yield fruit and nourishment. Today’s readings contain two of the best-known parables about vineyards in the Bible.

The first, from Isaiah 5, is often called simply “the parable of the vineyard.” The prophet uses the vibrant imagery of the vineyard to describe Israel and her relationship with God. The Lord, Isaiah explains, had demonstrated His love for Israel through His patient work in establishing, caring for, and protecting the vineyard. Today’s responsorial Psalm (80) uses very similar language.

But when God went to see what fruit had been produced by Israel, He found that it had yielded wild grapes, unsuitable for the winepress. The work and God had been ruined by the unfruitful actions of the people.

Although vineyards and wine are common in our modern day culture, we tend to view them as luxuries. We might enjoy drinking wine on occasion, but it is not a necessity. But in the ancient Near East wine often was a necessity, especially when good drinking water was not easily available, as was often the case. Vineyards and wine were therefore obvious images of sustenance and life. This can be seen, for example, in the covenantal curses found in Deuteronomy, which describes what will happen to those who forsake the Law: “You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them” (Deut 28:39).

Loss of the vineyard, put simply, was analogous to loss of life, or at the very least the loss of joy and happiness. Abundance of wine, on the other hand, signified the fullness of life. Prophets such as Isaiah, Joel, Amos, Jeremiah, and others used vineyards and wine when speaking about both the curses of God and the future blessings He would eventually impart to His people, when “the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13).

Isaiah 5 is a lament for the vineyard of Israel, which had become overgrown by sin and ruined by injustice. The parable of the wicked tenants, today’s second parable, is similar; it seems evident that Jesus was pointedly drawing upon Isaiah 5 when He spoke to the chief priests and the elders.

This parable is rather unique among Jesus’ many parables, for it is the most overtly allegorical of any of them—that is, the landowner, tenants, servants, and son all represent specific people. The landowner is God, the tenants are the chief priests and other religious leaders, the servants are the prophets, and the son is Jesus himself.

St. John Chrysostom, in his homily about this parable, reflected on God’s providence, love, and patience. God had done most of the work in establishing the people of Israel. The leaders of Israel had little to do; they were asked to be holy and uphold the Law. But they “made little effort to be productive, even after they had enjoyed such great blessings from him.”

God sent the servants, His prophets, as further evidence of His love and patience. Having been given the covenants and the commandments, the leaders violated both, murdering the Son of God. “While they had time to ask for pardon for their offenses and whereas they ought to have run to him to do so, they persist even more strongly in their former sins.”

The vineyard, Jesus said, would be leased to other tenants. They make up the New Israel, formed by the Son, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles, and bound together by communion in the Holy Spirit. “The Church,” states Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “is a piece of land to be cultivated, the tillage of God. …. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly Husbandman.”

Nourished by the True Vine (cf. Jn 15), we should produce good fruit, mindful of the gifts of love and life given to us by the landowner and his son.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in a slightly different form in the October 5, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

God Always Forgives, But Time Can Run Out

October 1st, 2011 by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Is 5:1-7 / Phil 4:6-9 / Mt 21:33-43

Many centuries ago in the days of the desert hermits, a soldier approached a wise old monk with a question: “Father, do you think God really forgives sinners?”

The monk thought for quite a while and then responded with a question: “Tell me,” he said, “if your cloak were torn, would you throw it away?”

“Of course not,” said the soldier. “I’d mend it and wear it again.”

“Yes,” smiled the old monk. “And if YOU care for your CLOAK that well, will not GOD be even more careful with his own CHILDREN?”

Of course he will! Over and over God tries to mend us and put us back together and help us get our lives right. That’s what all those messengers are about in Sunday’s Gospel: God, calling out to us in so many different ways, urging us to stop wandering about, urging us instead to look at the gifts he’s lent us and to start using them— all of them — while there’s still time.

Now there’s a strange thing about our gifts: because they’ve always been there, we tend to take them for granted and in fact may not even notice them. And because they’ve always been there, we tend to think of them as our own and not just a loan — which leads in turn to the ultimate illusion: thinking we’ve got unlimited time and can afford to fool around and squander our gifts. How often our little inner voice whispers, “I’ve got lots more where that came from. Lots more life and all the rest too.”

When we say that out loud, we can hear how foolish and arrogant it is, this illusion of unlimited time. But that IS what’s being said in the fog inside our heads a lot of the time. And that’s what Jesus is trying to help us face up to before it’s too late.

This is what the parable is about: God never gives up on us. Never. He keeps sending us messengers because his love never runs out. But eventually our time runs out. Then we ARE whatever our use of our gifts has made us. We are whatever a lifetime’s worth of daily choices has added up to. And that is what we carry home to our Father. That and nothing else — just our selves.

Jesus is begging us as a brother not to waste another minute worrying about God and whether God will forgive us and give us another chance. He will — he always does, as long as there’s time. He’s begging us instead to look at our gifts, all of them, to pick them up with confidence, to make something with them, and to carry them where they’re needed — while there’s still time. That is Jesus’ urgent plea to us this day. By God’s grace may we say “Yes.”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Sunday, October 2, 2011 >>

27th Sunday Ordinary Time Saint of the Day

Isaiah 5:1-7
Philippians 4:6-9
View Readings

Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20
Matthew 21:33-43

REJECTED!

"The Stone Which the builders rejected has become the Keystone of the structure." —Matthew 21:42; Psalm 118:22

 

It is so easy to reject Jesus. Our lives are like houses (see Mt 7:24). If we have the opportunity to make Jesus the Cornerstone of our lives, but do not do so, then we have rejected Him. If we refuse to provide for and protect the poor, the marginalized, babies in the womb, or our enemies, we reject Jesus. He said: "As often as you neglected to do it to one of these least ones, you neglected to do it to Me" (Mt 25:45). If we fall away from a one-hundred percent commitment to the Lord or never give our lives to Him, we reject Jesus, continue to crucify Him, and hold Him up to contempt (Heb 6:6). If we don't accept the Lord's government of His people through the Church, we reject the Lord (1 Sm 8:7). If we don't accept the Pope, bishops, parents, husbands, or leaders, we reject Jesus and the Father. Jesus said: "He who hears you, hears Me. He who rejects you, rejects Me. And he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent Me" (Lk 10:16). We can also reject the Lord by ignoring His presence in Holy Communion or in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If we don't even bother to read the Bible, isn't that rejecting the Lord?

Jesus has never rejected anyone (Jn 6:37), but He has been rejected more than any other person. Love Jesus; don't reject Him. Make reparation to Jesus for the abuse He suffers daily.

 

Prayer: Jesus, to not accept You is to reject You. I don't want to reject You. May I not sin. I accept Your grace.

Promise: "Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude." —Phil 4:6

Praise: Praise You, Jesus, Lord of hosts. We rejected You, yet You restored us (Ps 80:20). You are infinite Love and Mercy. We will love and praise You forever.

[Salvation]

 

And the child grew

and became strong in spirit.  Luke 1:80

 

Pray to end abortion.

 

(From Cathedral of Saint Stephen, in Brisbane, Australia)

[markomalley]

So your conference went well?

[Salvation]

It was great. Heard the Archbishop of the Military as well as four chaplains who accompany their platoon, brigade, unit to the field. Some great stories.

They also talked about a co-sponsorship where a priest is ordained for a diocese, serves for three years within the diocese, with the understanding of the Bishop that said priest will then be released to the military services.

In a normal parish the people come to the priest. In the military — there are NO parishes. The priests go to the soldiers, sailors, air force men and women, etc.

And there is no church money to support them. Just government money — one place where the church and state are not separated.

Very interesting.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: October 02, 2011
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Father, your love for us surpasses all our hopes and desires. Forgive our failings, keep us in your peace and lead us in the way of salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

RECIPES

• Granny Smith Apple Cobbler
• Summer Squash with Onions
• Sunday Chicken Casserole
• Tender Dinner Knots

ACTIVITIES

• Parents are the First Teachers 

2nd

  Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time Old Calendar: Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit" (Mt 21:42-43).

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 5:1-7. Under the image of a wine-grower who had done everything he could to make his vineyard fertile and productive, the prophet describes God's care for and interest in his Chosen People.

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 4:6-9. St. Paul is encouraging his converts to put their full trust in God.

The Gospel is from Matthew 21:33-43. There are two leading thoughts that come to the mind of any true believer on hearing this parable: the infinite goodness, patience and mercy of God in His dealings with mankind, and the unsounded depths of wickedness and ingratitude to which men can sink. To His Chosen People of the Old Testament, God had given a fertile and fully-equipped vineyard — His revelation, His protection, a homeland of their own in Canaan, and all this in order to prepare them for the future Messiah, who would bring them an eternal home in God's own Kingdom. All He asked in return was their cooperation.

But they had other plans; they wanted their kingdom on earth. Yet God was patient with them; again and again He pardoned their infidelities. He sent them prophet after prophet to recall them to their senses, but they maltreated these messengers of God and refused to heed their warnings.

Then "the fullness of time" came and He sent His divine Son on earth in human form. He took His human nature from one of their race, lived among them and preached His gospel of love and peace to them. He tried to soften their hard hearts, and made them the final offer of the Father's mercy and pardon. But instead of accepting God's offer of mercy the chief priests and elders only made it an occasion of an even greater sin. To their crimes of infidelity and injustice they added the murder of God's Messiah and Son.

In God's plan of love and mercy the tragedy of Calvary turned out to be the great "triumph of failure." That death brought life to the world and opened the gates of God's eternal kingdom for all nations and races. The Gentiles rallied around the standard of Christ. A new vineyard was set up in which all men could work for their Father in heaven and for their own eternal interests.

We Christians today are the successors of the first Gentile followers of Christ. We too have been called to work in God's vineyard. Are we working honestly and devotedly? Are we producing the grapes and the wine that our divine Master expects of us? If our answer is "yes, I am living a true Christian life, I am working for God's honor and glory and for my own eternal salvation," then we can say a heartfelt "thank you" to our merciful Father, and ask him to keep us ever on this right path. But if our answer is "no," then let us pay heed to today's lesson. What happened to the chief priests and elders can and will happen to unfaithful Christians if they persevere in their infidelity and disobedience. But we can still put ourselves right with God. Let us do it today — tomorrow may be too late.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M. 

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

 

The Darkness of Selfishness

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Father James Swanson, LC

 

Matthew 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, ´They will respect my son.´ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ´This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.´ They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the scriptures: ´The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?´ Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the master of the universe and yet you wish to listen to me and guide me. You know all things past, present and future, and yet you respect my freedom to choose you. Holy Trinity, you are completely happy and fulfilled on your own, and yet you have generously brought us into existence. You are our fulfillment. Thank you for the gift of yourself. I offer the littleness of myself in return, knowing you are pleased with what I have to give.

Petition: Lord, grant me a deeper humility that seeks you and not myself in all that I do.

1. The Stone Rejected: Just a few days before, a great crowd had acclaimed Jesus as the Messiah as he triumphantly entered Jerusalem. However, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees and Herodians see Jesus as a threat to their own position of leadership. Though they have not yet let it be known to the people, they have decided to reject Jesus and are already plotting together to kill him. In the meantime, they are pretending to be making a “thorough investigation,” to find the “truth” about what the crowds have acclaimed – that Jesus is the Messiah. What they are really doing is trying to ruin him, to catch him in some mistake, so as to denounce him as a fraud before the crowds. They seek to break the people’s support for him. They practice the kind of toxic politics we are so familiar with today: Instead of seeking the common good or the truth, they only seek themselves and their own glory.

2. The Cornerstone: Jesus sees what his detractors are trying to do. He tells them a series of parables, hinting that if they continue to oppose him, they will lose. In the parable of the vineyard he tells them that they can kill him; but even so they will still lose. Then he quotes Psalm 118, comparing himself with the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone. What Jesus is hinting at goes beyond just the quoted verses. The whole psalm – which Jesus’ enemies would have known from memory – tells of Yahweh fighting for his faithful one. The faithful one will not be abandoned to death, and the enemies of Yahweh will be defeated. It is as if Jesus throws down a challenge: “You cannot beat me. Even if you kill me as you are planning to do, my Heavenly Father will not abandon me to death. He will fight for me and I will become the cornerstone. You would do better to join me.”

3. Jesus Is True Progress: Jesus won. He continues to win today. His enemies still insist on smashing themselves to bits. When we survey history, we see what becomes of one group after another that oppose Jesus and his Church. They disappear into oblivion. Jesus is the future of the whole world. He won. He continues to win and will win in the end. Since Jesus is the future of the whole world, progress can only mean progress toward him, toward the civilization of justice and love he wishes to establish. Those who seek their own special interests are seeking a return to the past, to the Dark Age before Jesus. They seek to return to when humanity tried not just to know what was good and evil (eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), but to DECIDE it – to be gods themselves.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to be humble. Help me to accept you as Messiah and Savior – and as my future. So many times, instead of seeking you, I seek myself. I try to influence everything so that what is good and true is defined according to my will rather than yours. Please be patient with me and help me to change.

Resolution: In what area of my life is it hardest for me to accept the way God has organized things? Where do I most want to set up a system opposed to God’s plan in order to get my way? My resolution today has to be one that helps tear down this “structure of sin” in my life.