“I myself will look after and tend my sheep”……….”You too go into my vineyard”

 

Today at Holy Mass we hear from St Matthew...He tells us a story about a landowner who asks workers to go into his vineyard to work...Some go in the morning, some in the afternoon and some go to work at the end of the day....The landowner pays them all the same...And as you can guess, the workers who started working in the morning complain…..”Why does that one get paid as much as me? - I worked longer!”……..The landowner responds......"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?".....God is a lover of souls...All souls....Are we?........All people who serve the Lord should ask themselves that question each and everyday......Why do we do - What we do for God?…Is it for and about ME?…Or…Is it for the love of souls and about God?……….God the Father wants all his children to find there way home…Our “job” is simply to assist him in that process for no other reason then we love our neighbor as we love ourself

“And he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.”

Its very easy to “lose sight of the trees when walking in the forest”…….God is not interested necessarily in what we “do”…He is interested in how we do it….Do we love people?…I mean really love them?……Do we care for their well being?…..Even those who disagree with us?…Or.....Do we want to simply be right?……..These are the questions we must constantly ask ourself.

One of the many things I love about Mother Teresa’s sisters is…They NEVER draw attention to themselves…Never!!!….Its all about God and the love of neighbor…This mind set can only be achieved through grace, which comes from the Sacraments, daily prayer and fasting…….Over the years of working with the MC sisters, they always had a way to bring me down to earth…Just when you think you did something “so good”…..When my head began to swell…Thinking I am something I am not…The sisters had a way of bringing me back down to earth…And that is a good thing!!!!……In the end…We are only humble servants working in the Lord’s vineyard…..Everything we do is because of God’s grace…EVERYTHING…And all glory should be given to God…..The devil always is on the prowl and is always looking to spoil what is good…..When we take our gaze off the Lord and focus that gaze upon our self…Even when we do “something good”….The devil wins the day!…..We should always do good for the sake of the action itself…The moment it’s about us…We spoil it.

This is one of the many reasons why I have a deep devotion to Our Lady…She is my Mother and your Mother too!…Everything I do…I do through her holy hands….Allow me to illustrate this mindset…..When a five year-old child paints a picture for his Dad for Father’s Day…The painting is messy…So what does that child do?…He gives that painting to his mother….And what does the mother do?….She puts a beautiful frame around the painting and “cleans it up”….That is how I view everything I do…Everything I do to a degree is flawed and “messy”…Because I am flawed…But when I give it to Our Lady (my Mom)…She “cleans it up” and presents it to her son

Getting back to our gospel passage today from Mass…..The workers who went to work early question the landowner….Why did you pay some of the workers who did less work then them the same amount of money?……”The boss” responds….I will translate New Jersey style…….........”Mind your business! - Worry about your self”….So that is the message today…..Don’t worry about what your neighbor did or did not do…Do everything for the love of God…..Keep your gaze off yourself and keep it on Jesus…….And do everything with love and for the love of souls….And when and where we fail - Don’t be too hard on yourself…Give “the work” to Our Lady…She will “clean it up” for us…As all good Mothers always do!

“I myself will look after and tend my sheep”……….”You too go into my vineyard”