GOSPEL REFLECTION OF POPE FRANCIS - 08/23/23 (Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time)

From the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 20:1-16

Jesus told his disciples this parable:

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner

who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,

he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o'clock,

he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard,

and I will give you what is just.'

So they went off.

And he went out again around noon,

and around three o'clock, and did likewise.

Going out about five o'clock,

he found others standing around, and said to them,

'Why do you stand here idle all day?'

They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'

He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,

'Summon the laborers and give them their pay,

beginning with the last and ending with the first.'

When those who had started about five o'clock came,

each received the usual daily wage.

So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,

but each of them also got the usual wage.

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,

'These last ones worked only one hour,

and you have made them equal to us,

who bore the day's burden and the heat.'

He said to one of them in reply,

'My friend, I am not cheating you.

Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?

Take what is yours and go.

What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?

Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?

Are you envious because I am generous?'

Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER:

There are no unemployed people in the Kingdom of God. Everyone is called to do their part; and there will be a reward from divine justice for everyone in the end — not from human [justice], luckily! God wants to call everyone to work for his Kingdom. He wants to give everyone the same reward, namely eternal life. It is about allowing oneself to be astonished and fascinated by the “thoughts” and the “ways” of God which, as the Prophet Isaiah recalls, are not our thoughts and not our ways. God excludes no one and wants each of us to achieve his or her fullness. He opens for everyone the boundless territory of his love and his grace, which alone can give the human heart the fullness of joy. This is the love of our God, of our God who is Father. It is a gaze which calls, invites one to get up and begin a journey because he wants life for each of us; he wants a full, committed life, safe from emptiness and inertia. (Angelus, 24 September 2017)

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth