Beloved in Christ,
"What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?" (Is. 5:4). God has done much and enough for his people to expect good fruits from them. Using the vineyard as a symbol for Israel, his chosen people, God makes a list of all the goods he has invested in his vineyard: he built it on very fertile land, cleared it of stones, dug in a well, planted choice vines in it, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and hewed out a vine press in it. Jesus uses this vineyard imagery as the background
for his parable in the Gospel for this Sunday's Mass, from Mt. 21:33-46. The tenants he leased his well-made vineyard to failed to be productive. He was patient and benevolent, yet they rejected his help and support. They did not produce vine at the expected time.
We, the church, are God's vineyard. Each member of the Church is a part of the vineyard God has planted. God has nourished us with all the graces we need to be fruitful in holiness and charity, but we often fail to bear the good fruit of the kingdom of God. Why are we not productive enough? How can we become more productive? We touched briefly on what we needed to do last week. We must adopt a humble attitude of self-emptying and continuous repentance of our sins, the sour or wild grapes we produce despite God's generous nourishment. We do not always bear good fruit because we do not welcome Jesus enough. Our sin is in the way. We must repent and hate sin, mortal and venial. When we reject sin and embrace life in Christ, we will begin producing the fruits God expects.
What fruits does God demand and expect of us? The virtues. As I mentioned, we should manifest holiness and charity. With the graces God continuously provides and his abundant mercy and patience with us, we ought to be living the virtues that St. Paul listed in his letter to the Philippians: "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" (Phil. 4: 6). We must strive to live these virtues, and more. God provides for us, within the Church, the sacraments and other means of grace. The Eucharist is supreme among the sources of grace Jesus offers to help us live a holy and virtuous life. If we are properly disposed to and partake of the sacred meal, we indeed will be empowered to live a religious life. This is the proper time to produce wine from God's vineyard. We must become more active participants in the sacred mystery of the Mass. The Eucharist is the most effective way to be intimate with the Lord; he is the vine, and we are the branches. Of course, there are other ways to grow in grace. We can commit our time to many church devotions to grow in holiness. God has done so much for us in the life of grace; let's take action.
In October, we pay more attention to praying the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition to devout worship of Jesus in Mass and adoration, pray the Rosary daily. Meditation on the mysteries of our redemption is an excellent help to living a holy and virtuous life. We have many opportunities for these pious practices in our parish. Our monthly adoration is at 6 p.m. on Monday, and we pray the Rosary before every Sunday Mass and before daily Mass.
Our parish picnic last Sunday was simply fantastic! Despite fears of inclement weather, the parish hall celebration drew a large crowd. We had good fellowship. I am grateful to the John Gulya-led organizing committee. It was a dream come true to see our people come together as one family. Thank you for your good response. Let us keep that spirit alive.
Today is the memorial of St. Francis, but we do not celebrate it because it falls on a Sunday. However, we will observe the tradition of blessing animals. Bring your pets over to the historic church frontage at 2 pm for blessing.
As we already know, October is also dedicated to the praying of the Rosary-the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is on the seventh of October. Let’s make it our desire and love to pray the Rosary of our Lady daily, reflecting on Jesus' saving work. We gain so much grace by meditating on the Rosary's mysteries.
In His Joy,
Fr. Alayode, OP
"What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?" (Is. 5:4). God has done much and enough for his people to expect good fruits from them. Using the vineyard as a symbol for Israel, his chosen people, God makes a list of all the goods he has invested in his vineyard: he built it on very fertile land, cleared it of stones, dug in a well, planted choice vines in it, built a watchtower in the middle of it, and hewed out a vine press in it. Jesus uses this vineyard imagery as the background
for his parable in the Gospel for this Sunday's Mass, from Mt. 21:33-46. The tenants he leased his well-made vineyard to failed to be productive. He was patient and benevolent, yet they rejected his help and support. They did not produce vine at the expected time.
We, the church, are God's vineyard. Each member of the Church is a part of the vineyard God has planted. God has nourished us with all the graces we need to be fruitful in holiness and charity, but we often fail to bear the good fruit of the kingdom of God. Why are we not productive enough? How can we become more productive? We touched briefly on what we needed to do last week. We must adopt a humble attitude of self-emptying and continuous repentance of our sins, the sour or wild grapes we produce despite God's generous nourishment. We do not always bear good fruit because we do not welcome Jesus enough. Our sin is in the way. We must repent and hate sin, mortal and venial. When we reject sin and embrace life in Christ, we will begin producing the fruits God expects.
What fruits does God demand and expect of us? The virtues. As I mentioned, we should manifest holiness and charity. With the graces God continuously provides and his abundant mercy and patience with us, we ought to be living the virtues that St. Paul listed in his letter to the Philippians: "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" (Phil. 4: 6). We must strive to live these virtues, and more. God provides for us, within the Church, the sacraments and other means of grace. The Eucharist is supreme among the sources of grace Jesus offers to help us live a holy and virtuous life. If we are properly disposed to and partake of the sacred meal, we indeed will be empowered to live a religious life. This is the proper time to produce wine from God's vineyard. We must become more active participants in the sacred mystery of the Mass. The Eucharist is the most effective way to be intimate with the Lord; he is the vine, and we are the branches. Of course, there are other ways to grow in grace. We can commit our time to many church devotions to grow in holiness. God has done so much for us in the life of grace; let's take action.
In October, we pay more attention to praying the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition to devout worship of Jesus in Mass and adoration, pray the Rosary daily. Meditation on the mysteries of our redemption is an excellent help to living a holy and virtuous life. We have many opportunities for these pious practices in our parish. Our monthly adoration is at 6 p.m. on Monday, and we pray the Rosary before every Sunday Mass and before daily Mass.
Our parish picnic last Sunday was simply fantastic! Despite fears of inclement weather, the parish hall celebration drew a large crowd. We had good fellowship. I am grateful to the John Gulya-led organizing committee. It was a dream come true to see our people come together as one family. Thank you for your good response. Let us keep that spirit alive.
Today is the memorial of St. Francis, but we do not celebrate it because it falls on a Sunday. However, we will observe the tradition of blessing animals. Bring your pets over to the historic church frontage at 2 pm for blessing.
As we already know, October is also dedicated to the praying of the Rosary-the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is on the seventh of October. Let’s make it our desire and love to pray the Rosary of our Lady daily, reflecting on Jesus' saving work. We gain so much grace by meditating on the Rosary's mysteries.
In His Joy,
Fr. Alayode, OP
RSS Feed