Category Archives: Year A

Today we’re celebrating the solemnity of Christ the King, which marks the last Sunday in the liturgical year. As Americans, many of us don’t have a clear idea of what it means for Jesus to be our king. When we think of kings, we might imagine King Arthur, a valiant, albeit flawed, warrior-king. We might think of the portrayal of King George III during the Revolutionary War as an insane and tyrannical ruler. But this is not how Jesus is presented to us. Our readings today show Jesus as a different sort of king: that of a shepherd-king.

Viewing Our Lord as both shepherd and king seem to be almost irreconcilable images. Shepherds were the poorest of the poor and the lowest class of people in Jesus’ time, as they are in many parts of the world today. In contrast, kings have always been viewed as rich and powerful, higher than any other person in their kingdom. Yet, the Gospel reading today shows Our Lord reigning as king. He is not, however, reigning as some petty tyrant, lording his power and prestige over his people. He has not come to his power through brute strength, conquering those who stand against him. Instead, the imagery in the Gospel uses language of shepherding, separating the sheep and the goats.

This imagery comes to us from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel, which we heard in the first reading. Ezekiel shows us that Our Lord cares for us as a loving shepherd cares for his flock. For those who are in any need, Our Lord will reach out and nurture them, filling their needs. He will go after those who are lost, gently leading them back into the flock. He cares for all of us, and wants us to follow Him into the Heavenly Kingdom.

For those who are proud, however, Our Lord promises that He will humble them. Frequently, shepherds would allow sheep and goats to graze together during the day, but when the time came to round up the flocks for the evening, the two animals would be put into separate pens. Thus, the sheep and the goats would be separated, the sheep to one pen, the goats to another.

Our Lord uses this image to show us the final judgment that will occur when Our Lord returns. We will be lined up before Him to judge how well we followed His example by the actions of our lives. Those who dedicated their lives to following Our Lord will be lined up on his right, and given their promised inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Those who did not follow His example will be lined up on His left, and will not receive the promised inheritance.

How do we follow Our Lord’s example? Is it merely enough to attend Mass once a week? Even as it’s important to maintain regular Mass attendance, Our Lord tells us we have to do more. We have to reach out to those around us who are in need of our support, our prayers, our generosity. When we reach out to those in need, Our Lord tells us that we reach out to Christ himself. We need to be open to those in need, give food to the hungry, clothe those who have insufficient clothing, especially in this time of year in which protective clothing is so vital.

We need to be careful not to view this Gospel as a checklist of things to accomplish. Feed the hungry, check. Clothe the naked, check. Visit the sick, check. We have to be open to our family, our friends, our coworkers, even those we dislike, and help them meet their needs. If someone needs a sympathetic ear, we need to be willing to provide it. If someone who is unable to drive needs a ride to the store or to an appointment, we should joyfully offer to take them. We have to be willing to do more than give our faith lip service. Instead of merely saying that we’re Christians, we need to live as Christ wants us to live, allowing our actions to speak for us.

Our Lord reigns in Heaven as our king. Let us honor and praise him by living as He commands, so that we may stand on his right side at the Final Judgment and receive the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven.

It’s hard to believe that we’re almost to the end of another liturgical year. In two weeks, we’ll begin the season of Advent. Four weeks later, we’ll celebrate with joy the birth of our Lord and Savior. Shortly after that, we’ll have the start of a new calendar year. This time of year is almost overwhelming.

As we reach the end of the liturgical year, we’re asked to focus not on the here-and-now, not on next month, or even next year. Instead, we are called to look at the end of time, at that point in our future when Our Lord returns from Heaven for the final judgment. In our readings, we are challenged to consider how we approach our time here on earth, and how we are looking forward to Jesus’ Second Coming. We need to be careful not to fall into several traps which are quite common in today’s world.

The first trap which people commonly fall into is one that Jesus saw back 2000 years ago, so it’s unfortunately not anything new. We hear it on the radio, televangelists promote it day in and day out: all you have to do to be saved is “accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.” This trap, which the Gospel passage illustrates through a parable, states that salvation is a one-time good deal. Say a quick prayer, sincerely believe that Jesus has entered into our hearts, and we’re saved, right?

Not exactly. In the parable, Jesus shows us that our lives must bear fruit in this world into order to enter into the next life. Look at which of the servants were given the responsibilities in the kingdom and which were thrown into the darkness. Those servants who bore fruit from the master’s investment were given great responsibility within the kingdom, while that servant who merely buried the money, bearing no fruit, was cast out of the king’s presence. To enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, we must be concerned about more than ourselves and our salvation, but must also have a deep concern for our neighbors’ needs and salvation. We must work in this life to bear fruit in the next. We can’t just sit back, assume that we’re saved, and not worry about those around us.

Along the same lines, there is a presumption that all we need to be saved is to be a “good person”. You frequently hear this at funerals. As long as we’re not hurting anyone, not talking against anyone too often, and generally being a decent person, we’ve got a one way ticket to Heaven. Once again, this isn’t the case. Merely being a good person is not enough to enter into Heaven. The only thing that will keep us out of Heaven is the refusal to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins. One can be a good person and still commit sins, as all of us are sinful people who need to have our sins forgiven. God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but respects our free will to choose for or against Him. We need to make sure that we’re in proper relationship to God, unmarred by sin, in order to enter into our heavenly reward when the time comes. Unfortunately, even good people can refuse to ask for God’s forgiveness.

The final trap that we can fall into is an excessive planning regarding our relationship to God. Throughout Christianity, many people have put off their reconciliation with God until they’re on their deathbeds. Even in the four and a half months since my ordination, I’ve had several people refuse the Sacraments of Anointing and Reconciliation until literally their last moments on Earth. This is spiritually a very dangerous practice that needs to be eliminated. We have no promises regarding the end of our lives. We could be in perfect health one minute and facing Our Lord at the Judgment the next. Modern medical technology can do a pretty good job of estimating life spans, but it’s nowhere near perfect. Even routine tasks, like driving down the highway, could become fatal quickly and unexpectedly. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading, we do not know when Our Lord will come for us, but that he will come “like a thief at night”, completely unexpected. We need to make sure that we’re always prepared for the return of Our Lord, as well as for our own death, by maintaining a right relationship with God, approaching Him for forgiveness when we cut ourselves off from Him through our sins.

As we approach the end of this liturgical year, may we keep the return of Our Lord in our sights, and may we prepare ourselves by working to develop good fruit and maintaining our relationship with Him.

Throughout the Gospels, Our Lord continually promises us the great reward of joy and peace in Heaven for all those who follow him. All the pain and sorrow of our lives on Earth will be over. We also know that we have to undergo a period of cleansing before we can enter into that Heavenly reward, as Jesus also tells us that nothing unclean will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Before we can enter into Heaven, we have to die to our sins.

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us that all who see Him and believe in Him will be raised on the last day. This raising is more than merely being resuscitated, as Lazarus was, but is a complete renewal and cleaning, being made ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. As the prophet Isaiah tells us, we will no longer need to worry about death, pain, or any other effect of sin. Instead, we will be so filled with joy that we will praise our God with great excitement and energy. The joy in Heaven will be so great that humanity has never experienced a joy like it on Earth.

Before we can enter into this Heavenly reward, we need to be cleansed from all attachment to sin. As part of our sinful nature, we not only suffer the effects of Original Sin, which we all have to deal with, but we have also developed attachments to various sins. We all have what I call our “favorite” sins; those sins which we commit over and over again. Every time we commit a sin, the sin binds us more tightly, making it easier for us to commit that sin again.

While on Earth, we can ease the effects of our sinful nature by frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but we must die to all attachment to sin before we can enter into Heaven. We have died to Original Sin and rose again through our baptism, but we still must physically die to escape the clutches of the sins we commit in our lives. It is only through this physical death can the snares of sin be broken.

After our death, our souls are still impure from the attachment to sin. It’s much like spilling red wine on a white shirt. You might be able to clean up all the wine, but the stain remains behind. To remove the stain of sin from our souls, we must undertake a period of cleansing in Purgatory. We don’t know exactly what form this cleansing will take, but we do know that those souls who enter into Purgatory will emerge at the end of their period of cleansing into Heaven purified and spotless. It’s important to point out that only those souls who have died in a state of grace, that is in proper relationship with God, will enter into Purgatory and later Heaven. Those souls who refused to ask God’s forgiveness for their Mortal Sins will not enter into Purgatory or Heaven.

When someone close to us dies, we might be quick to say something like, “They’re in Heaven now,” or “they’re in a better place.” The fact is we don’t know for sure whether they’re in Heaven or Purgatory, so we offer prayers on their behalf, especially the Mass. It’s traditional to have a funeral Mass following a death, as it gives the family and the community the opportunity to gather in prayer for the loved one who has died, as well as offer the greatest prayer we have, the Sacrifice of the Mass, for the repose of their soul. Another popular tradition is to have Masses offered on behalf of someone who has died, especially on the anniversary of their death. Through both these practices, we ask God to give the graces from the Mass to benefit the soul of those we pray for. In fact, the intention for the Mass of All Souls is for all the faithful departed, that they may all receive the graces from this Mass.

While those who have died are separated from us by the veil of death, they are also separated from the effects of sin on their lives. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Through out the liturgical year, we celebrate the feasts of many saints by name. Some of the feasts are major celebrations, such as the feasts of Our Lord. Others are not as important, but are greatly celebrated in various regions of the world, like Our Lady of Guadalupe. Still others aren’t very important from a liturgical standpoint, but have been taken over by the secular culture, such as St. Patrick or St. Valentine.

Even with all the saints that we celebrate throughout the year, there are still many saints who don’t have their own feast days, most of whom are unknown by the Church. We’re told in the first reading, which shows us a vision of Heaven, that there is a great multitude of people standing before the Heavenly throne of God praising and worshiping him. All these saints, whether known or unknown, are able to intercede on our behalf.

While the saints are able to intercede for us, they also provide us the example we need to accomplish our goal of eternal life in Heaven. An important aspect of accomplishing any major goal is to find someone who has achieved that goal and emulate him or her. A kid who wants to play professional sports might look at how a professional player worked towards the pros. Likewise, our goal as Christians is to achieve eternal life in Heaven, so we look to the saints for the encouragement to follow them into Heaven. Through their examples of life and their love of God, the saints show us the path to eternal life.

Today, as we celebrate this feast of All Saints, may the great multitude of saints intercede for us so that we may join them in front of the Heavenly throne worshiping God our Father and Jesus Christ, his son. All holy men and women, pray for us!

In our Gospel today, Jesus is once again being tested by the Pharisees. They’re looking for something that they can use against Him to condemn Him, so they ask Him to state the greatest commandment. They want him to say something that is blasphemous and against the Jewish beliefs. Instead of falling into their trap, Jesus uses the opportunity to teach the Pharisees, and us as well, about how we should relate with others and how our relationship with God should be structured.

He tells us that the first commandment is that we must “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and that this is the greatest commandment. What does that look like to say we love God? We show our love of God by first of all making sure that our faith is not a one-hour-a-week thing. It’s all too easy as Christians in the world today to fall into the trap of not letting our belief in God influence most of our lives. We will spend one hour a week at Mass, possibly some time driving to and from the church, but as soon as Mass is over, Christianity has no influence on our behavior. We act no different than anyone else in the world. We don’t allow our faith to influence our daily lives. We’ve done our hour a week with God, so we’re good, right? Not quite.

We must take time throughout our days for regular periods of prayer. Prayer should be a priority within our days. Now, this doesn’t mean entering into a monastery or becoming a priest, but it does mean spending some time throughout each day in prayer. If we truly love God, we’ll want to spend some time with Him.

A popular way of doing this is to say the Angelus Prayer three times throughout the day. At 7:00 AM, 12:00 Noon, and 6:00 PM, the bells here at the church ring for a minute or so to remind those in town to spend a little time in prayer. Another common way is to spend time driving, say between here and Miles City, praying a Rosary instead of listening to the radio. However we do it, we truly show our love of God by spending time with Him in prayer on a daily basis.

After talking about loving God, Jesus then brings up love of neighbor. He didn’t need to talk about the second commandment, as the Pharisee only asked about the first commandment. By mentioning the love of neighbor, Jesus shows that the two commandments are closely linked. Our love of neighbor comes out of our love of God. If we don’t have our relationship with God in right order, we won’t be able to truly have a relationship with those around us.

Christianity is not a “me and Jesus” thing, an idea that is very common in our culture today. We hear televangelists talking about a “personal relationship” with Jesus, promoting an individualistic faith where it’s between me and God, and other people don’t matter. In contrast, Jesus tells us that our love of God leads us to love our neighbor. Our relationship with God is not individualistic, but should lead us to be open to the larger community around us. If we truly want to follow Our Lord, we’re going to reach out to our neighbor.

How do we show this love of neighbor? Jesus tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” so we must be willing to reach out to those around us who are in need. I’ve personally experienced this following the death of my grandfather, where friends and neighbors prepared meals for us while we were making preparations for the funeral. We also can show our love of neighbor by listening to someone who is going through a difficult time. Love of neighbor is also shown through providing some necessity of life when someone is lacking these necessities, such as food or shelter.

We also show our love of neighbor by not talking negatively about them. Gossip is all too prevalent, and is very easy to fall into. It’s also very destructive of our relationships with those around us, as it frequently paints others in an overly negative light. All of us are influenced, in one way or another, by what we hear about others, and this affects how we interact with them. We all have our failings, and we must be willing to overlook the failings of those around us, just as we would want them to overlook ours.

As Christians, we are called to love God completely. May our love of God lead us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

It seems like the Pharisees are constantly trying to trick Jesus into saying something that would get Himself into trouble, and today’s Gospel is no exception. It seems an innocuous question regarding taxes, but is a cleverly devised trap that they think will cause Him to either go against the Jewish faith or the Roman authorities. Instead of falling into their trap, Our Lord once again shows us how far God is above anything we can comprehend.

At the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were under the control of the Roman Empire. The Roman coins had the image of Caesar stamped on them, and were forbidden to Jews by the strictures in the Mosaic Law against graven images. The Roman money wasn’t even allowed into the temple, thus the moneychangers within the temple precinct. If Jesus would have outright allowed the tax, the Pharisees would have claimed that He was acting against this command, discrediting Him with the people.

Likewise, the Roman authorities were not popular within Palestine, as they were viewed as conquerors and occupiers. Many movements had come and gone trying to roust out the Roman military and government officials from their land, and was still a popular sentiment. If Our Lord had outright encouraged the Roman tax, the Pharisees would probably have denounced Him as a Roman sympathizer, causing those around Him to turn on Him.

The Pharisees also knew how to play both sides of the fence. If Our Lord would have spoken against the Roman tax, the Pharisees would have immediately reported Him to the Romans calling him a revolutionary who wanted to overthrow the Roman governance, starting with the Roman taxes. Rome was not known for being well-disposed to revolutionaries within their realms, so their response would have been very swift and brutal against Our Lord.

Jesus refuses to fall into their trap, and uses this as a teaching opportunity to make the distinction between the things of the world and that which is dedicated to God. By “[giving] to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, Our Lord is talking about the things of the world, our possessions, our money, even the essentials that we need for basic survival. He’s not saying that these things are bad, or wrong to have and keep, but that they are the things of the world and could be taken away by the worldly authorities at any time. Even our very lives on earth could be taken away by civil authorities or military force.

While our life on earth is subject to the authority and power of the Caesars of the world, everything we have and are is God’s. The earthly governments could take away everything we own, even our lives, but they cannot destroy our essence, who we are. God has promised us that we will have eternal life with Him, if we choose to join Him at the end of our earthly lives. The governments and powers of the world cannot take that away from us unless we allow it. Our very existence is a gift from God, and no earthly power can do more than end our life on earth.

Because our lives and even our very existence are gifts from God, we are called by Our Lord to dedicate ourselves serving God. We serve him by living out our vocations to the fullest, while also spreading the Gospel message that Jesus died for our sins and wants us in relationship with the Father. This doesn’t mean that we have to stand on the street corner preaching, but that we have to live the Christian virtues in our daily lives, treating all those we meet on a daily basis with true charity and respect.

Sometimes living out the Christian life means a willingness to give up our lives in service of the Gospel. We are very fortunate in this country that we are not called to martyrdom for merely being Christians. In other countries, however, being a Christian is at best a jailable offense, and could even lead to death. These martyrs show us the example of how to truly dedicate oneself to God, even being willing to give up one’s life for Christ.

Through the example of a simple coin, Our Lord shows us that all that we are is God’s, and that we must be willing to serve Him. May we have the strength to dedicate ourselves to Him.

We’ve just received a great invitation. We’ve all been invited to an incredible banquet where there will be lots of food, drink, and joy. Where is this banquet? It’s going to be on the mountain of the Lord, which is biblical language for Heaven. Yes, this invitation is for all of us to join Our Lord in Heaven for eternity. How do we respond?

Do we respond like the invited guests in the Gospel parable? They had been notified in advance that this wedding feast was in preparation, and should have been ready for it. Instead, when the servants came to summon them, they either ignored them or killed the servants. Is this how we respond to God’s invitation to the Heavenly banquet? Do we spend our lives behaving as if God isn’t important, putting the things of the earth before Him? When we put our faith in a box, only bringing it out once a week (or less) for Sunday Mass, it says that God’s role in our lives is negligible, if not altogether nonexistent. It says that the things of the earth are far more important and what the world offers is more enticing than the eternal banquet that God offers to us.

Do we respond like the guest who was not prepared for the wedding banquet? This guest, when informed about the banquet, did not prepare himself by changing into more formal clothing. Instead, he showed up in whatever ordinary clothing he happened to be wearing that day. Are we like that when we come to Mass? To we take time before Mass to prepare ourselves spiritually to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament? How about making sure to go to Confession on a regular basis to confess our sins and receive absolution? We might make weekly Mass a priority, but still not be prepared to receive Our Lord. We are all a sinful people, and regularly need to approach God with humility, asking Him for forgiveness of our sins. When we receive the Blessed Sacrament with Mortal sins on our soul, we are like the guest who showed up at the wedding feast without the wedding garment. Mortal sins cut us off from God, keeping us from being in a state of grace. We must be in a state of grace when receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist, and only contritely confessing our sins to God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation can restore that grace.

So, how should we respond to God’s invitation to the Heavenly Banquet? We must respond with an open and joyful heart. God is willing to give us the greatest gift of all: eternal life in Heaven. No more pain, no more sorrow, and no more sins. Life in Heaven will be a life of eternal joy and praise of God. We will be so joyful that our entire being will want to praise and honor God. This is the image of the Lord’s mountain that the prophet Isaiah gives to us.

It’s important to realize that all of us have received this invitation, but not all will accept it. God wants all of us to enter into His kingdom, but he also gives us the free will to choose. We can accept or reject the invitation of eternal life through our actions. When we respond like the invited guests and the guest who was unprepared, we choose to refuse God’s invitation. Likewise, when we approach Him with humility, admit our sins and failings, and ask his forgiveness, we accept His invitation for eternal life. We may have to do this many times throughout our lives, but God’s invitation is always open. We just need to accept it.

(I’m posting the first draft of my homily for Respect Life Sunday. While it became a bit too long for me to preach, as I try to stay within 5-7 minutes on my homilies, I felt that the whole thing needed to be posted here.)

Vineyards were very prevalent in the Holy Land, so it’s not unexpected that both the prophet Isaiah and Jesus would use a vineyard in the readings that we just heard. Much as farmers and ranchers protect their land today with fences, the vineyards were protected from wild animals and those who would try to steal from the vineyard with fences and hedges. For God to remove his protection on the Israelite people would be like the farmer removing the fences and hedges that protect the vineyard.

Why would God remove his protection from Israel? He gave the Israelite people the Promised Land and led them in battle against far larger numbers. He even called them the Chosen People, so why allow them to be conquered? He did this so that the Israelite people would return to Him and give up worship of false gods from other nations, much like an overgrown vineyard being cleared and replanted.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus goes after the religious leaders who have rejected Him and the prophets that came before Him. He states that the vineyard, God’s chosen people, will be removed from the Jewish religious authorities and given to the care of His Church. Now, instead of the Jewish temple with the Levitical priesthood and the Sadducees and Pharisees leading the people, we have the Church to care for God’s people.

As part of her mission, the Church is called to proclaim the truths of Christ to the whole world. While much of what the Church teaches is welcomed by people both within the Church and outside of her, there are more than a few areas of Church teaching that are disagreed upon, sometimes very tenaciously. This becomes no more apparent than during election campaign season, which we are obviously well into in the United States. At times like this, the Church’s teachings often stand in direct opposition to the platforms advanced by politicians on all sides of the political spectrum.

This weekend, one month before the Presidential election, we mark Respect Life Sunday. Due to the bombardment of political slogans, promises, and misinformation that occurs in most political campaigns, issues that directly affect human life are often thrown around in order to score political points and smear the opposition. With all the noise the comes with political campaigning, it is all the more crucial that we as Catholics become informed voters, electing politicians who will ensure the respect for all human life, regardless of what stage of life it is in.

This issue became all the more apparent in the last several months, when not one, but two Catholic politicians went on national TV and misrepresented Catholic teaching on when life begins. When acting as politicians, the bishops keep out of the way, but when politicians try to present themselves as learned theologians, as these two politicians did, the bishops have to respond, and respond they did. Well over 20 bishops wrote in response, including our own Bishop Warfel in the latest issue of the Harvest. These politicians presented an erroneous position on the respect for life.

So, this brings up the obvious question: what is the Church’s position on respecting life? In short, human life must be respected from conception to natural death. We believe, thanks to the incredible advances of science, that human life begins at very moment of conception. We also believe that all humans have been made in the image and likeness of God, and each human being must be respected as beloved children of God, from the smallest embryo to the poorest of the poor.

Throughout history, human dignity and respect has always been under attack. From racism and slavery to poverty and war, sins of humanity carry a terrible toll on recognizing the beauty and dignity of all humans. Some issues, however, are a direct attack on human life and must be seriously considered when voting for candidates for public office at any level, not only the Presidency and the federal Congress, but also candidates for state and local levels. Three issues in particular have become particularly urgent within the current election cycle: abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research. All three of these issues view particular classes of humans as either problems to be removed or matter to be experimented with. By viewing any human as an object to be manipulated, we denigrate the dignity of all humanity.

To justify a particular candidate who might be troublesome in one of the three issues, a Catholic might say, “He’s in line with the Church on illegal immigration and poverty, even if he does support embryonic stem cell research.” While it is good that this politician supports respecting the dignity of illegal immigrants and those who are suffering from poverty, they have to have life in order for poverty or immigration to be problems that they’re facing. Without the right to life, all other rights become irrelevant.

As Catholics, we are called to uphold the respect of all life in our lives, and during this election cycle, we are called to vote for candidates who have a true respect for life. This may mean having to vote for a candidate that we may not particularly like or may be running for a party that we have not traditionally voted for. For those who are politically conservative, this may involve voting for a candidate who is on the liberal side of the political spectrum, or vice versa. We must not vote for a candidate who will not stand for the respect of life, regardless of how good their other issues may appear.

In our culture, human life is under direct attack. This November, we must elect politicians who will use the power of government to respect human life, starting with those who are most defenseless, the unborn and the elderly.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that all of us have a selfish streak deep within us. In some way or another, we all want to be recognized for something we have or do. Whether it’s for our talents, for the work that we do, or even for things that we own, we want to be noticed and affirmed.

In contrast to our selfish desires, we are called to “do nothing out of selfishness and vainglory,” as St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading. As Christians, we are called to self-giving instead of self-centered. We are called to reach out to those around us instead of trying to draw others to us.

Ironically, by being self-giving, we can often become unappreciated. Many of us probably know someone who is self-centered, and has moved up the ranks of an organization, whether a corporation, a political structure, or a volunteer organization, based off of promoting himself to the exclusion and even detriment of those around him. Meanwhile, we may also know another member of the organization that has worked just as hard as the selfish member, but works to support and help the other members of the organization. This self-giving member may not receive the promotions and accolades of those who are willing to “toot their own horn”, but still continues to serve, day after day.

We are called to be like the self-giving member of an organization, even if it means giving to others to the detriment of ourselves. St. Paul tells us to “humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.” We must be willing to overlook our interests, our desires, even our needs to fulfill the needs and interests of others.

Why should we be willing to do this? After all, someone who is more selfish than us will more than happily take advantage of us. St. Paul answers this question by showing us the example of Jesus himself. As St. Paul states, Our Lord humbled himself by becoming human and was willing to give of himself so totally that he died on the Cross. Because of his self-sacrifice, He was highly exalted by the Father, and now we proclaim the name of Jesus with great honor and reverence.

We probably won’t be as greatly revered as Jesus is, but those who are willing to give of themselves are often highly regarded by those they serve. As a new priest here, I’ve been hearing about those who were members of the parish before I arrived. Usually, and almost without exception, the people whose names are mentioned time and time again are those who went out of their way to serve others, regardless of their own issues or problems. They were there at every social event, usually helping put it together, at every volunteer opportunity, and every time someone was in need of help. I’m sure all of us could name someone who fits that description, and who is dearly missed. This is who we are called to be, and we are encouraged by the examples of those who have gone before us, especially Our Lord and the saints.

Those who are self-giving aren’t often noticed here on Earth. There are those who graciously serve us every day, and we often don’t pay attention to how someone has gone out of their way to help us. All too often, we’re wrapped up in ourselves and our needs to recognize the needs of those around us. We must be more aware of how others serve us, and be more willing to express gratitude for their service.

As I am very much guilty of this, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who help out here in the Church, and all those who have helped Fr. Rob and myself in some way. I truly am grateful for everything you do, and appreciate the willingness of each of you to give your time and talent to helping us. It is greatly appreciated, even if I don’t always take the time to say so.

St. Paul reminds us that we are all called to place others over ourselves. By doing so, we may not be recognized on Earth, but our reward will be great in Heaven.

Most of us seem to have an inherent sense of justice, even if it seems to get a bit skewed at times. How many have ever heard a child say, “That’s not fair”? In fact, most children will say this on a regular basis, usually about the time they find out their bedtime is before their friends’, or when they’re not allowed to do something that their friends are allowed to do. Our sense of justice might even kick in when reading the parable in today’s Gospel. We might feel that the workers who spent all day toiling in the hot sun were being unjustly treated by requiring them to accept the same wage as those who only worked an hour. To take this view, however, would miss that the point of the parable is to demonstrate the generosity of God towards all of us.

If this scenario occurred today, we would be rightly up in arms regarding the treatment of these workers. Justice would demand that those workers who were in the vineyard all day get far better pay than those who only worked for the last hour of the day. Special interest groups would probably be picketing the landowner. Lawyers would be lining up to sue on behalf of one worker or another. Advocates for vineyard workers would be petitioning Congress to pass a vineyard minimum hourly wage. From a human vantage, all these groups would be working to ensure equal treatment of each worker, making sure they get paid what they’re due.

I don’t want to belittle the fact that there are workers today who are not receiving a fair wage, even in our own country. Likewise, I don’t want to belittle the efforts of those who struggle to ensure that all workers receive a just and livable wage. Their efforts are laudable and do good to improve the life of these underpaid and overworked workers, but to take this approach to Our Lord’s parable misses the point.

In this parable, Jesus is demonstrating the incredible generosity that God has for us. God, our Heavenly Father, wants all of us to accept His gift of grace. Some of us have been followers of Our Lord from almost the moment of our births. Others came to Him after some time, say after high school. Still others came much later in life. Finally, there are some who came to believe in Our Lord on their death bed, receiving Baptism or Confession literally moments before their lives on earth ended.

On a human level, this might seem unfair, but the first reading reminds us that God’s ways are not our ways. God wants all of us to be saved, not only those who have been “good” Christians. While we might be tempted to call out “Not fair!” when a notorious sinner gets to confess his sins and receive absolution on his death bed, while we struggle along trying to follow Our Lord’s commands, we should instead rejoice that another sinner received God’s gift of salvation.

We have all been given the same promise, and will receive the same reward of God’s grace regardless of when we respond to Our Lord. Those of us who have been Christians longer will not receive a “special” grace merely for our longevity. Likewise, those who are new Christians will not receive a “probationary” grace, much like a new driver receives a probationary license. The graces we receive as Christians are the same, graces that will help us to receive the final gift of eternal life.

As Christians, we have received the benefit of God’s generosity. May we rejoice every time we see someone else experience this generosity.