Sunday Homily

Today’s Gospel reminds us of God’s mercy. One major point our Lord makes is that we are to be thankful for His generous gift of mercy. But in the parable we notice some grumbling. This may remind us of a character in another parable, the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Of course it is wrong to resent God’s lavish mercy given to others. We are called to be thankful that someone has been saved. We should rejoice that God has compassion on everyone he has created. Furthermore, this Gospel is consoling for us if we have loved ones who remain far from the Lord’s vineyard.

We have received an invitation. We are called to be faithful laborers in God’s vineyard. We are called to help to bring about the kingdom, to do some good in the world. It’s a matter of stewardship. Our lives are not our own. Every day is God’s gift. Every day is an opportunity to love. We have a job to do so that more people can know Him.

We are honored to work in the vineyard. The landowner in the parable represents God. The vineyard represents God’s Kingdom. Therefore, marketplace represents the world. We are called out of the marketplace of the world into the vineyard of God’s Kingdom. We become members of the Church by being called. The English and German words for “Church” come from the Greek word “Kyriakon” which means “of the Lord.” So, if we are the Lord’s, we were called out from where we were. The Spanish and Italian words for “Church” come from the Greek word, “ecclesia” which means those who are called out.

St. Gregory the Great asks how energetically are we working in the vineyard? Will our friends or relatives be able to say at the end of their lives that we were concerned about their ultimate good? When we look at our lives, we should notice this is the location of the vineyard. This is where God inserted us. This is where he invites us to work. It is in our very own family setting where God has invited us to become saints. The temptation is to wait for “better opportunities” or for things to become more perfect. Waiting is idleness. The spiritually idle are those who don’t know Christ. Of course, this is not good. Many people will or will not know Christ because of our example. St. John Paul II says there is no place for idleness.

Through the Prophet Isaiah in our first reading, God says “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” Jesus further illustrates it in the parable. The landowner is relentless in inviting laborers into his vineyard. He goes out five times. God is taking the initiative in reaching out to us all the time. We are unworthy. We have rejected him every time we fall into sin. Why don’t we hear him? Maybe we’re not praying. Maybe we’re distracted by trivial things of the world. Plus, he’s hiring rejects. That’s why they haven’t been hired yet. The worldly mindset says the rejects get rewarded but not at the level as the elite. Jesus challenges that mindset.

In the parable, why did some laborers grumble? Perhaps it shows a lack of conversion of heart. St. Thomas Aquinas: “he is properly evil who sorrows over goodness.” Even if we have been in the Lord’s vineyard our whole life, He is still calling us to continual conversion. In our continual conversion, we grow in the virtue of charity, the greatest of all virtues. The more enlarged my heart is from practicing charity, the more reward I will be able to accept which is the Lord’s free gift. If we develop habits of practicing charity we will recognize the Lord who is Charity. If charity is foreign to us, the One who is Charity will be foreign to us. That’s why we reject Him when He calls us.

We also notice the landowner didn’t force workers to come to his vineyard. He invited them. This reminds me of the saying: God created us without our consent, but he will not save us without our cooperation. God respects our consent. That’s why the reward can be so awesome. That’s why the laborer can receive the wages that are coming to him. These wages are God’s blessings. His ultimate blessing upon us is Himself, communion with Him now and Heaven for eternity. Heaven = God. The workers hired late were headed toward eternal rejection, but thanks be to God, they accepted his invitation. What about us? Perhaps we can recognize God’s mercy and generosity and accept His invitation to continual conversion.

Some scholars say that those hired early in the parable represent the Israelites, and those hired later represent the Gentiles, the people of the other nations. It is also equally valid to say those hired early represent cradle Catholics who stay faithful, and those hired later represent converts and reverts to the faith. Our attitude should always say “Welcome home!”

Call to conversion is for all. Our first reading says it well: “Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked his thoughts.” That’s you and me because we have fallen into sin. Then Isaiah continues: “Let him turn to the Lord for mercy.” We enter into these sacred mysteries where God offers us an abundance of grace so that we can be effective in sharing Christ with the world. We can follow the command of St. Paul: Conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Urge the President to veto any bill that funds Planned Parenthood

Urge the president to veto any bill that funds Planned Parenthood.

Click here to take action.

Why this is important:
1. Planned Parenthood is the country's largest provider of abortions. Every direct abortion is the killing of an innocent child in the womb.

2. Planned Parenthood has recently been implicated in selling the body parts of the children that are killed in their facilities.

3. Since numbers one and two above are both evil, I do not want to pay for it with my tax dollars.

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Homily

Here we are back in Ordinary Time. Many people active in the Church will often be heard saying: “There is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time.” It gets its name from the ordinal numbers, the numbers that show an order, such as first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on. One problem is that in English, the word “ordinary” means plain, normal, mundane.

We just came out of the Christmas season where we focused on Jesus’ birth and the Mystery of the Incarnation. During Ordinary Time, we do not focus on just one aspect of the Paschal Mystery but on the fullness of the Mystery of Christ.

Today in the Gospel, we hear St. John the Baptist say: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Behold love. Behold the one who offers himself as a gift so that we may have life and have it abundantly. That is the definition of love. St. John the Baptist and all the saints have been imitating the love of Christ for 2,000 years. They realized that love is sacrificing one’s own comfort for the good of another, and they imitated that love. That sacrificial love of the Lamb of God is the Good News for us.

You and I are also called to imitate that sacrificial love. Parents make sacrifices every day, so their children may have life and have it abundantly. There is nothing more beautiful. There’s also some bad news today. Love’s opposite runs rampant in our land. Some who get the news they are parents ask the child to sacrifice her life for the comfort or convenience of the parent. This is the opposite of love.

Many pro-life groups observe today as Sanctity of Life Sunday in our country. It gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the precious gift of human life. President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. That date was the 11th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion in all 50 states through all nine months of pregnancy. Now we are up to 44 years since this national disgrace has been legal. And it happens over 3,000 times a day in our land. Meanwhile, many married couples waiting to give sacrificial love through adoption continue waiting.

Today the words of Isaiah from our first reading have special meaning. “Now the Lord has spoken, who formed me as his servant from the womb…” He also adds the line: “I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord…” Isn’t it amazing that we are glorious in the sight of the Lord before we even get a chance to do anything, just because we exist, and are made in His image.

Isaiah also mentions we are dedicated to specific tasks in the Kingdom. But, if I am not allowed to live, my specific tasks in the Kingdom will not be accomplished. The Lord formed all of us to be His servants from the womb. All of us have a unique task to serve the Lord and each other, no matter if we are wanted or unwanted in the womb.

No reason will ever justify taking the life of the child in the womb. Some may say:  The mother is poor.  She can’t afford a child. We don’t fight poverty by killing the poor. Sacrificial love demands that we generously support mother and child. It is up to us to actively change the culture of death into a culture of life. We can’t be shy about speaking up. We have to get engaged in the battle for God’s most precious gift of life. If we don’t know what to say, we can find out what to say. We can ask someone engaged in pro-life work how to get trained. We have to let our politicians know we are pro-life, and killing the unborn is not acceptable. It is our duty to let them know with our voice and with our vote. Now is the time to pray and act.

Please pray for our parishioners who are traveling to Washington for the March for Life on the 27th. We have a group of 11 brave souls. We will brave the winter weather to give a voice to those whose voice cannot yet be heard. We will make a small sacrifice so that others may have life. Every year, I see the hundreds of thousands of youth, in great joy, showing this great love, and it gives me great encouragement.

If the anniversary of Roe and Doe is on January 22^nd, why is the March for Life going to be on the 27^th? The 22^nd falls on a Sunday, and the organizers of the March always make sure it happens on a weekday when the Congress in is session. A new congress took office earlier this month. Some have started working on pro-life legislation. And some have started to fight it. It is up to us to let them know we are pro-life and hold them accountable as the ones charged with protecting the public whenever someone tries to kill the public.

Most importantly, we must always remember to pray for the healing of those who suffer the wounds of past abortions. Many of them were told lies. They were tempted into despair. Many of them were convinced they had no choice, that there was no hope. The burden of regret is becoming more well-known for both men and women. Nobody needs to carry that burden. The Church has many excellent healing ministries. You and I can show the open arms of the loving mercy of Jesus Christ. He will bring them to healing through us. We can be God’s instruments of hope for the world.

Speaking of hope, it is a major theme of Ordinary Time. We wear green vestments because green is a symbol of hope. The color reminds us of renewal, rebirth, immortality, generosity of spirit, and eternal life. It reminds us to focus on the One who is truly life giving. In hope we remember that God has not abandoned us. He is active in our lives. He loves us more than we love ourselves. He invites us into eternal life with Him.