The Idle Apostle?
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sept. 18, 2011)
Father Barry O’Toole, LC
Matthew 20:1-16a
Jesus told his disciples this parable: "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o´clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ´You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.´ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o´clock, he did the same. And about five o´clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ´Why are you standing here idle all day?´ They said to him, ´Because no one has hired us.´ He said to them, ´You also go into the vineyard.´ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ´Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.´ When those hired about five o´clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ´These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.´ But he replied to one of them, ´Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?´ So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, You are the author of life and the giver of all that is good. You are the Prince of Peace and my mainstay. You are my healer and the cure itself. I need You, and I need to give You. I love You and commit myself to You entirely, knowing You could never let me down or deceive me. Thank You for giving me Your very self.
Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to work in Your vineyard alongside You.
1. The Call to Work in the Vineyard: The landowner needs workers for his vineyard. Going out to the marketplace, where there are all kinds of people, he invites all the workers he can find. We are all invited to be apostles in the Lord’s vineyard. Some might think they don’t have enough talent, others that they are just too young to be able to do anything for Christ, and still others that the task is just too much for them. But Christ doesn’t ask for excuses; he asks for workers, generosity and good will. He will take care of the rest. He is the one who produces the fruits, not us. What a joy and privilege to be called by the Lord to be a worker in his vineyard, especially when we fulfill our task out of love.
2. Turning the Tables: We complain so easily about the problems we see around us: the lack of values, the violence, the evil people do…. Then in our prayer we say to God, “Look at the world. Why don’t you do something about it?” If we were to listen a little more closely to God in prayer, we would probably hear him reply, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” Perhaps we never knew there was something we could do. Perhaps we never had the courage to face the situation and address the matter seriously. Idleness is the one thing the Lord cannot understand. “You also go into the vineyard.” Some are called early; some are called later. It doesn’t matter when, what does matter is to respond the moment we are called.
3. The Surprising Salary: Go ahead and ask the question…. Peter did, in the passage just prior to this parable (Matthew 19:27-30): What can I expect from this? Christ is the best bargain in the marketplace. He promises us the full wage, even if we were called at the last hour. Whatever we “sacrifice” for him, he promises us 100% in this life plus eternal life. So really, the sky is the limit. We have to ask ourselves: What am I willing to give Christ? A few meager dollars, a few fleeting moments of my day, only my “leftover” time? Christ never obliges; he only invites. It is important never to forget that by helping God to save souls we save our own. This is the way to build up a treasure in heaven.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, today I hear Your call more clearly than ever. Thank You for giving me the opportunity to work in Your vineyard. For you I am willing to do anything. I know there will be moments of difficulty and weakness. Give me your grace and strength, and then ask of me what you please. Make me your apostle.
Resolution: I will give as much of today as possible to God by living each moment and activity with intensity and purity of intention. I will offer it all to God out of love.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
153 One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their number was so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings.
158 +When I was at Kiekrz [1930] to replace one of the sisters[52] for a short time, I went across the garden one afternoon and stopped on the shore of the lake; I stood there for a long time, contemplating my surroundings. Suddenly, I saw the Lord Jesus near me, and He graciously said to me, All this I created for you, My spouse; and know that all this beauty is nothing compared to what I have prepared for you in eternity. My soul was inundated with such consolation that I stayed there until evening, and it seemed to me like a brief moment. That was my free day, set apart for a one-day retreat,[53] so I was quite free to devote myself to prayer. Oh, how the infinitely good God pursues us with His goodness! It often happens that the Lord grants me the greatest graces when I do not at all expect them.
1402 God, in his unfathomable decrees, often allows it to be that those who have expended most effort in accomplishing some work do not enjoy its fruits here on earth; God reserves all their joy for eternity. But for all that, God sometimes lets them know how much their efforts please Him. And such moments strengthen them for further struggles and ordeals. These are the souls that bear closest resemblance to the Savior who, in the work which He founded here on earth, tasted nothing but bitterness.
1403 O my Jesus, may You be blessed for everything! I rejoice that Your most holy will is being accomplished. That is quite enough to make me happy.
1403 O my Jesus, may You be blessed for everything! I rejoice that Your most holy will is being accomplished. That is quite enough to make me happy.
1439 + After I had gone into the refectory, during the reading, my whole being found itself plunged in God. Interiorly, I saw God looking at us with great pleasure. I remained alone with the Heavenly Father. At that moment, I had a deeper knowledge of the Three Divine Persons, whom we shall contemplate for all eternity and, after millions of years, shall discover that we have just barely begun our contemplation. Oh, how great is the mercy of God, who allows man to participate in such a high degree in His divine happiness! At the same time, what great pain pierces my heart [at the thought] that so many souls have spurned this happiness.
1592 February 10, 1938. During meditation, the Lord gave me knowledge of the joy of heaven and of the saints on our arrival there; they love God as the sole object of their love, but they also have a tender and heartfelt love for us. It is from the face of God that this joy flows out upon all, because we see Him face to face. His face is so sweet that the soul falls anew into ecstasy.
1604 When, during adoration, I repeated the prayer, "Holy God" several times, a vivid presence of God suddenly swept over me, and I was caught up in spirit before the majesty of God. I saw how the Angels and the Saints of the Lord give glory to God. The glory of God is so great that I dare not try to describe it, because I would not be able to do so, and souls might think that what I have written is all there is. Saint Paul, I understand now why you did not want to describe heaven, but only said that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him [cf. 1 Cor. 2:9; 2 Cor. 12:1-7]. Yes, that is indeed so. And all that has come forth from God returns to Him in the same way and gives Him perfect glory. Now I have seen the way in which I adore God; oh, how miserable it is! And what a tiny drop it is in comparison to that perfect heavenly glory. O my God, how good You are to accept my praise as well, and to turn Your Face to me with kindness and let us know that our prayer is pleasing to You.
1605 Write down everything that occurs to you regarding My goodness. I answered, "What do You mean, Lord, what if I write too much?" And the Lord replied, My daughter, even if you were to speak at one and the same time in all human and angelic tongues, even then you would not have said very much, but on the contrary, you would have sung in only a small measure the praises of My goodness-of My unfathomable mercy.
O my Jesus, You Yourself must put words into my mouth, that I may praise You worthily.
My daughter, be at peace; do as I tell you. Your thoughts are united to My thoughts, so write whatever comes to your mind. You are the secretary of My mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this life and the next life. That is how I want it to be in spite all the opposition they will give you. Know that My choice will not change.
At that moment I steeped myself in profound humility before God's majesty. But the more I humbled myself, the more God's presence penetrated me...
1606 O Jesus, my only solace! How frightful is this exile! How terrible this wilderness I have to cross! My soul is struggling through a terrible thicket of all kinds of difficulties. If You Yourself did not support me, Lord, there would be no thought of my moving forward.
1605 Write down everything that occurs to you regarding My goodness. I answered, "What do You mean, Lord, what if I write too much?" And the Lord replied, My daughter, even if you were to speak at one and the same time in all human and angelic tongues, even then you would not have said very much, but on the contrary, you would have sung in only a small measure the praises of My goodness-of My unfathomable mercy.
O my Jesus, You Yourself must put words into my mouth, that I may praise You worthily.
My daughter, be at peace; do as I tell you. Your thoughts are united to My thoughts, so write whatever comes to your mind. You are the secretary of My mercy. I have chosen you for that office in this life and the next life. That is how I want it to be in spite all the opposition they will give you. Know that My choice will not change.
At that moment I steeped myself in profound humility before God's majesty. But the more I humbled myself, the more God's presence penetrated me...
1606 O Jesus, my only solace! How frightful is this exile! How terrible this wilderness I have to cross! My soul is struggling through a terrible thicket of all kinds of difficulties. If You Yourself did not support me, Lord, there would be no thought of my moving forward.
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-I-153, 158)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1293)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-IV-1293)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-V-1402-1403, 1493)
(Diary of Sister Faustina Kowalska Notebook-VI-1592, 1604-1606)
http://www.saint-faustina.com/Diary/DMIMS10.shtml
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