Sunday, October 4, 2026 - We are tenants and not owners of this wordl. We mus act like tenants.

 

Sunday, October 4, 2026 - We are tenants, not owners

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 5:1-7; Phil 4:6-9; Mt. 21:33-43

A parishioner once narrated to me his experience. Because he was unmarried and was working abroad and his brother was married and had five children, he had rented his two-bedroom apartment to his brother on the condition that his brother would leave the apartment when he was asked to do so. As his brother agreed to this condition, he allowed him to stay in the apartment free of cost, because he did not want to burden his brother by charging him rent. A time came when he found the girl he wanted to marry and since he would need his apartment, gently reminded his brother of their agreement and gave him a year’s time to find alternate accommodation. He even offered to help his brother financially. However, his brother refused to move, claiming that since he had stayed in that apartment for more than five years it belonged to him. The case is now in court.

The history of the human race is a history that alternates between failure and ingratitude on the part of human beings and fidelity and reaching out to them on the part of God. The first reading of today from Isaiah reminds us once again of the manner in which God continues to reach out in love. ‘The vineyard’ has often been used in the scriptures as symbol for the nation of Israel but could also be a symbol for the world. This vineyard God planted and nurtured hoping that it would produce the fruits that it should, instead produced wild grapes. When God ought to have found righteousness, he encountered bloodshed, and when he ought to have found justice, he heard the cries of the poor to whom injustice had been done. This is the work of a selfish few and hence the consequences of their selfish actions would be their own destruction.

These few who are selfish and self-centered are also mentioned in the Gospel reading in what is referred to as the parable of the rented vineyard, the murderous tenants and also the wicked husbandmen or vinedressers.

The parable is directed to the chief priests and elders of the people. The introduction echoes Isaiah 5:2 and uses the same words as there. However, here the vineyard is let out to tenant farmers by the landlord who goes away on a journey. This renting out of the vineyard serves to bring out on the one hand the idea that it is given in trust and not ownership, it is given on rent and not for personal possession and on the other hand to indict those to whom it had been rented out at the end of the parable. The repeated sending of the servants by the owner to collect the produce of the vineyard brings out the patience and perseverance of the owner of the vineyard. Despite his servants being treated shamefully and even killed, the owner does not give up, trying to get the tenants to come to their senses and realize their position with regard to the vineyard and him. The fact that he is serious about reaching out to the tenants is made abundantly clear in the sending of his son. However, greed on the part of the tenants led to their killing even the son.

In Isaiah, the consequences of unfaithfulness are the total destruction of the vineyard. In Matthew the tenants are destroyed and the vineyard is taken away to be given to others who will understand their role and do what they are called to do.

It is possible to understand the parable as addressed to the Jewish leaders of the time of Matthew and be content with that interpretation, but it is also possible to widen the vineyard to include the whole world and the tenants to mean each of us. When seen in this manner the world becomes the responsibility of each one of us and we realize that all that we have is given to us in trust. We are not owners of all that we think we possess, but have it in order to use it for the benefit of others and ourselves. Thus, selfishness and self-centeredness and the desire to accumulate more and more are the totally opposite attitudes of what which is expected of us as tenants.

This also means that since the world is given to us in trust, each one of us is responsible for looking after it. Hence environmental pollution of any kind, waste, destruction of nature, the so-called ‘development at any cost’ are all sins that we as tenants can be guilty of. The growing disparity between the rich and the poor, the destruction of forests, rivers and seas, global warming and the like, show that we, as tenants, have not given to the owner of the vineyard the fruits that we were expected to give. Our desire to own the vineyard as our inheritance has led to this state.

The Lord continues to send messages and messengers to us in the hope that we will come to our senses and behave as we ought to. One such message is found in the second reading of today in which Paul reminds the Philippians and is that we can only find peace and harmony when we acknowledge our dependence on God, and consequently our role as tenants and caretakers of his vineyard, our world. If we build up – and not destroy, if we reach out in love and concern for others – not live for our selves, if we are generous – not miserly, then we will have heeded the voice of the owner of the vineyard and will be able to give him his due when it is demanded of us.

Saturday, October 3, 2026 - The results of our actions ought not to concern us as much as doing the action to the best of our ability.

 

Saturday, October 3, 2026 - Have you seen and experienced the Lord? How does this show in your life?

To read the texts click on the texts: Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17; Lk 10:17-24

Since neither Matthew nor Mark narrates the sending of the seventy-two (10:1-12), they do not have these verses (10:17-24), which narrate the return of the seventy-two from Mission. When the disciples who were filled with joy on their return report to Jesus that even the demons submit to his name, the response of Jesus is to see the fall of Satan and of his power, and to thank the Father for his graciousness.

Since the disciples here confirm that the demons are cast out in the name of Jesus, it follows that Satan’s rule is indeed coming to an end with the coming of Jesus and the giving of his authority to his disciples. However, as far as the disciples are concerned what is more important that Satan submitting to them is the fact that their names are now recorded in the book of life.

The thanksgiving to the Father is found also in Matthew 11:25-27 and is because God has favoured not the wise and intelligent but the unlearned and revealed to them the mysteries of the kingdom.

The last two verses in which Jesus speaks of the blessedness of the disciples (10:23-24) are found also in Matthew 16:16-17. The disciples are indeed in a privileged position because they have been able to see and experience what prophets and kings have not been privileged to see, namely the mighty works of Jesus, which resulted in the fall of Satan and his kingdom.

The results of our actions ought not to concern us as much as doing the action to the best of our ability. If we are clear that it is God’s kingdom that we are called to work towards and that he is the one who is finally in control, we will be able to focus on what we have to do and not bother about what will happen later.

Friday, October 2, 2026 - The Feast of the Guardian Angels is a reminder that God (through the Angels) is willing to be constantly available, whenever we make a decision to turn to God.

 

Friday, October 2, 2026 - The Feast of the Guardian Angels - Will you be a messenger of God today? How?

To read the texts click on the texts: Ex 23:20-23; Mt 18:1-5,10

The English word Angel comes from the Hebrew ‘malakh’ or the Greek ‘ángelos’ which means messenger or envoy. The Angel is regarded as a being which bears messages from God and communicates what God wants to communicate. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is a reminder that our God is not a God who created the world and left it to its own designs, but a God who is constantly involved with and in the world. It is a reminder that when we need succour or help, we can always call on God’s angels.

The Gospel of Luke narrates how Angel Gabriel carries God’s message of birth to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew, when speaking of the ‘little ones’ in Community, Jesus says, “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Mt 10:18)

The Feast was placed in the General Roman Calendar in 1607 by Pope Paul V. The papal decree establishing the feast was co-signed by Robert Bellarmine, which has led some scholars to speculate that the feast was created under the influence of the Society of Jesus.

The Gospel text for the memorial is similar to the one for the Feast of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. However verse 10 is added and speaks of the angels of the ‘little ones’ who are constantly before the Father.

In a world where challenges constantly come our way, we need the assurance that the decisions we make are the right ones. The Feast of the Guardian Angels is a reminder that God (through the Angels) is willing to be constantly available, whenever we make a decision to turn to God.

Thursday, October 1, 2026 - Therese had the ability to do ordinary tasks extraordinarily well. Will you try to imitate her?

 

Thursday, October 1, 2026 - St. Therese of the Child Jesus - The Little Flower

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 66:10-14; 1 Cor 13:4-13; Mt 18:1-4

St. Therese of the Child Jesus is one of my most favourite saints. I admire and am inspired by her for a number of reasons, but one of the most important reasons for this is her response to life. She had more challenges than most of us will ever have, yet her response was always positive no matter what the challenge she faced. In this regard she teaches us how we too must be able to see the hand of God in everything that happens to us.

She was born in 1873 and died very young at the age of 24 (1897). At the age of 14, she had an experience that transformed her life. She decided to give her whole life to God and entered the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. Though she was often sick and often plagued with doubts, she remained faithful and received the ability to find God in all things and all things in God. Her focus was not on doing great things but on doing all that she did with unconditional love. She would do even the most ordinary tasks with extraordinary love.

The Gospel text for the feast is taken from what is termed by as Matthew’s “Community Discourse” (18:1-35). It is the fourth of the long discourses in Matthew. Some see the discourse as divided clearly into two parts (18:1-14 and 18:15-35), with various indications, which point to such a division. Some of these indications are as follows: Both sections end with a parable (18:12-13 and 18:23-34), after the parable is a concluding statement of Jesus, which begins with the word “So” (18:14.35), there is also in the sayings, a reference to the heavenly Father and the saying is about the subject of the preceding section (“little ones” and “brother/sister”).

The discourse begins with a question about the disciples regarding greatness. In his response, Jesus makes clear that being in the kingdom or coming into it, is not a matter of one’s talents or qualities, but “becoming like a child”. In first-century Judaism, children were often regarded as inferior and were treated as property rather than as persons. The point Jesus makes here is that one must acknowledge dependence on the Father. The reception of a child is an indication that one has accepted the values of the kingdom and one is no longer concerned about being greatest.

This was the attitude of St. Therese to life and she lived as a child of God all through her life. She inspires and invites us to the same.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 - When we follow truth and love, we follow God

 

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 - What is preventing you from following Jesus unconditionally? What will you do about it today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Job 9:1-12,14-16; Lk 9:57-62

While part of this text is found also in Matthew, the latter part (9,60b-62) is exclusive to Luke. It concerns the would-be followers of Jesus, and Jesus’ warnings about what discipleship will entail.

To the first would-be follower who promises to follow Jesus wherever he goes, Jesus responds by stating clearly that unlike even the foxes that at least have holes, he does not have anywhere he can call his own. If the would-be follower is ready for this insecurity, he may follow.

The second person is called to follow by Jesus, but responds by asking for permission to bury his father. This was a duty that was binding on all devout Jews. Jesus’ response is harsh and demands that the disciple be primarily concerned about the kingdom.

The third would-be follower puts conditions to his following namely that he wants to say farewell to his family. However, here too the response of Jesus is clear. Looking back while ploughing leads to a crooked furrow.

While it is not necessary to give up the state of life one has chosen in order to follow Jesus, what is to be understood is that following will necessarily mean changing one’s style of life. It will mean a move from selfishness to selflessness, from acquiring material possessions to sharing them with others and from anything negative to everything that is positive.