Message of the Day
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"Two elders who were living together in a cell had never had any disagreement. So one day one of them said to the other, 'Come on, let us have at least one quarrel, like other people.' The other answered, "I don't know how to begin.' The first replied, 'I am going to put this brick between us, then I shall say, 'It is mine.' Then you have to say, 'No, it belongs to me.' That is what leads to strife and arguments.' So they placed the brick between them. One said, 'It is mine.' And the other, 'No, I am sure it belongs to me.' The first replied, 'It is not yours. It is mine.' Then the other cried, 'All right. If it belongs to you, take it!' And they did not succeed in quarreling."
- Sayings of the Desert Fathers - (What "brick" are you called to relinquish at this time? Invite the Spirit to help you see what that might be, and how you might release it.)
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Readings of the Day
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TB 1:3; 2:1-8; PS 112:1-6; MK 12:1-12 R. Blessed the one who fears the Lord.
Blessed the one who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
His generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just man shall be in everlasting remembrance.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Gospel
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At the proper time, [the owner of the vineyard] sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.
I live in wine country. Hillsides are dotted with vineyards, and wineries are popular destinations. Even so, I don't know much about the work involved in growing grapes and making wine. But the image of a vineyard would have been very familiar to the people who first heard Jesus' parable; Israel itself was called a vineyard -- God's vineyard -- by the prophet Isaiah. And God wants his vineyard to bear the fruits of faithfulness.
Faithful God, guide us that we may produce fruits worthy of your kingdom.
- by Jeanne Lischer
My Daily Bread
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Spiritual Reading
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The Sparkling Stone, by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381) The third kind of sinners consists in all unbelievers, and those who err in faith. What good works soever they do, or what lives soever they lead, without the true faith they cannot please God; for true faith is the foundation of all holiness and all virtues.
To the fourth kind belong those who abide in mortal sin without fear and without shame, who care not for God and His gifts, and neglect all virtues. They hold all ghostly life to be hypocrisy and deceit; and they hardly listen to all that one may say to them of God or of the virtues, for they have established themselves as though there were no God, nor heaven, nor hell, and therefore they desire to know of nothing but that which they now perceive and have before them. Behold, all such are rejected and despised by God, for they sin against the Holy Ghost. Yet they may be converted; but this happens with difficulty and seldom. - Chapter Five: "Of the works which God works in all in common and of five kinds of sinners"
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