2008 년 10 월 5 일 연중 제 27 주일 제 1 독서 이사야서 의 말씀 입니다 . 5 , 1 - 71 내 친구 를 위하 여 나 는 노래 하 리라 , 내 애인 이 자기 포도밭 을 두 고 부른 노래 를 . 내 친구 에게 는 기름진 산등성이 에 포도밭 이 하 나 있 었 네 . 2 땅 을 일구 고 돌 을 골라 내 어 좋 은 포도나무 를 심 었 네 . 그 가운데 에 탑 을 세우 고 포도 확 도 만들 었 네 . 그러 고 는 좋 은 포도 가 맺 기 를 바랐 는데 들 포도 를 맺 었 다네 . 3 자 이제 , 예루살렘 주민 들 아 , 유다 사람 들 아 , 나 와 내 포도밭 사이 에 시비 를 가려 다 오 ! 4 내 포도밭 을 위하 여 내 가 무엇 을 더 해야 했 더란 말 이 냐 ? 내 가 해 주 지 않 은 것 이 무엇 이 란 말 이 냐 ? 나 는 좋 은 포도 가 맺 기 를 바랐 는데 어찌하 여 들 포도 를 맺 었 느냐 ? 5 이제 내 가 내 포도밭 에 무슨 일 을 하 려는지 너희 에게 알려 주 리라 . 울타리 를 걷어치워 뜯 어 먹히 게 하 고 , 담 을 허물 어 짓밟히 게 하리 라 . 6 그것 을 황폐 하 게 내버려 두어 가지 치 기 도 못 하 고 김매 기 도 못 하 게 하 여 , 가시덤불 과 엉겅퀴 가 올라오 게 하 리라 . 또 구름 에게 명령 하 여 , 그 위 에 비 를 내리 지 못하 게 하리 라 . 7 만군 의 주 님 의 포도밭 은 이스라엘 집안 이 요 , 유다 사람 들 은 그분 께서 좋 아 하 시 는 나무라 네 . 그분 께서 는 공정 을 바라 셨 는데 피 흘림 이 웬 말 이 냐 ? 정의 를 바라 셨 는데 울 부 ? 습 ? 웬 말 이 냐 ? 제 2 독서 필리피 서 말씀 입니다 . 4 , 6 - 9 형제 여러분 , 6 아무것 도 걱정 하 지 마십시오 . 어떠 한 경우 에 든 감사 하 는 마음 으로 기도 하 고 간구 하 며 , 여러분 의 소원 을 하느님 께 아뢰 십시오 . 7 그러면 사람 의 모든 이해 를 뛰어넘 는 하느님 의 평화 가 여러분 의 마음 과 생 ? ? 그리스도 예수 님 안 에서 지켜 줄 것 입니다 . 8 끝 으로 , 형제 여러분 , 참된 것 과 고귀 한 것 과 의로운 것 과 정결 한 것 과 사랑 스러운 것 과 영예 로운 것 은 무엇 이 든지 , 또 덕 이 되 는 것 과 칭송 받 는 것 은 무엇 이 든지 다 마음 에 간직 하 십시오 . 9 그리고 나 에게서 배우 고 받 고 듣 고 본 것 을 그대로 실천 하 십시오 . 그러면 평화 의 하느님 께서 여러분 과 함께 계실 것 입니다 . 복음 마태오 가 전한 거룩 한 복음 입니다 . 21 , 33 - 43 그때 에 예수 님 께서 수석 사제 들 과 백성 의 원로 들 에게 말씀 하 셨 다 . 33 “ 다른 비유 를 들 어 보 아라 . 어떤 밭 임자 가 ‘ 포도밭 을 일구 어 , 울타리 를 둘러치 고 포도 확 을 파 고 탑 을 세웠 다 . ’ 그리고 소작인 들 에게 내주 고 멀리 떠났 다 . 34 포도 철 이 가까워 지 자 그 는 자기 몫 의 소출 을 받 아 오 라고 소작인 들 에게 종 들 을 보냈 다 . 35 그런데 소작인 들 은 그 들 을 붙잡 아 하나 는 매질 하 고 , 하나 는 죽이 고 , 하나 는 돌 을 던져 죽이 기 까지 하 였 다 . 36 주인 이 다시 처음 보다 더 많 은 종 을 보냈 지만 , 소작인 들 은 그 들 에게 도 같 은 짓 을 하 였 다 . 37 주인 은 마침내 ‘ 내 아들 이 야 존중 해 주 겠 지 . ’ 하 며 그 들 에게 아들 을 보냈 다 . 38 그러나 소작인 들 은 아들 을 보 자 , ‘ 저자 가 상속자 다 . 자 , 저자 를 죽여 버리 고 우리 가 그 의 상속 재산 을 차지 하 자 . ’ 하 고 저희 끼리 말 하 면서 , 39 그 를 붙잡 아 포도밭 밖 으로 던져 죽여 버렸 다 . 40 그러 니 포도밭 주인 이 와서 그 소작인 들 을 어떻게 하 겠 느냐 ? ” 41 “ 그렇게 악한 자 들 은 가차 없이 없애 버리 고 , 제때 에 소출 을 바치 는 다른 소작인 들 에게 포도밭 을 내줄 것 입니다 . ” 하 고 그 들 이 대답 하 자 , 42 예수 님 께서 그 들 에게 말씀 하 셨 다 . “ 너희 는 성경 에서 이 말씀 을 읽 어 본 적 이 없 느냐 ? ‘ 집 짓 는 이 들 이 내버린 돌 , 그 돌 이 모퉁이 의 머릿돌 이 되 었 네 . 이 는 주 님 께서 이루 신 일 , 우리 눈 에 놀랍 기 만 하 네 . ’ 43 그러므로 내 가 너희 에게 말 한다 . 하느님 께서 는 너희 에게서 하느님 의 나라 를 빼앗 아 , 그 소출 을 내 는 민족 에게 주 실 것 이 다 . ” http : / / www . bible . claret . org / liturgy / Calendar / 2008 / september . htmOctober 5 , 2008 Twenty - seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading IIs 5 : 1 - 7 Let me now sing of my friend , my friend ' s song concerning his vineyard . My friend had a vineyardon a fertile hillside ; he spaded it , cleared it of stones , and planted the choicest vines ; within it he built a watchtower , and hewed out a wine press . Then he looked for the crop of grapes , but what it yielded was wild grapes . Now , inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah , judge between me and my vineyard : What more was there to do for my vineyardthat I had not done ? Why , when I looked for the crop of grapes , did it bring forth wild grapes ? Now , I will let you knowwhat I mean to do with my vineyard : take away its hedge , give it to grazing , break through its wall , let it be trampled ! Yes , I will make it a ruin : it shall not be pruned or hoed , but overgrown with thorns and briers ; I will command the cloudsnot to send rain upon it . The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel , and the people of Judah are his cherished plant ; he looked for judgment , but see , bloodshed ! for justice , but hark , the outcry ! Responsorial PsalmPs 80 : 9 , 12 , 13 - 14 , 15 - 16 , 19 - 20 R . ( Is 5 : 7 a ) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . A vine from Egypt you transplanted ; you drove away the nations and planted it . It put forth its foliage to the Sea , its shoots as far as the River . R . The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . Why have you broken down its walls , so that every passer - by plucks its fruit , The boar from the forest lays it waste , and the beasts of the field feed upon it ? R . The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . Once again , O LORD of hosts , look down from heaven , and see ; take care of this vine , and protect what your right hand has plantedthe son of man whom you yourself made strong . R . The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . Then we will no more withdraw from you ; give us new life , and we will call upon your name . O LORD , God of hosts , restore us ; if your face shine upon us , then we shall be saved . R . The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . Reading IIPhil 4 : 6 - 9 Brothers and sisters : Have no anxiety at all , but in everything , by prayer and petition , with thanksgiving , make your requests known to God . Then the peace of God that surpasses all understandingwill guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus . Finally , brothers and sisters , whatever is true , whatever is honorable , whatever is just , whatever is pure , whatever is lovely , whatever is gracious , if there is any excellenceand if there is anything worthy of praise , think about these things . Keep on doing what you have learned and receivedand heard and seen in me . Then the God of peace will be with you . GospelMt 21 : 33 - 43 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people : " Hear another parable . There was a landowner who planted a vineyard , put a hedge around it , dug a wine press in it , and built a tower . Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey . When vintage time drew near , he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce . But the tenants seized the servants and one 　　　　　　　　　　　　 they beat , another they killed , and a third they stoned . Again he sent other servants , more numerous than the first one 　　　　　　　　　　　　 s , but they treated them in the same way . Finally , he sent his son to them , thinking , ' They will respect my son . ' But when the tenants saw the son , they said to one 　　　　　　　　　　　　 another , ' This is the heir . Come , let us kill him and acquire his inheritance . ’ They seized him , threw him out of the vineyard , and killed him . What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes ? " They answered him , " He will put those wretched men to a wretched deathand lease his vineyard to other tenantswho will give him the produce at the proper times . " Jesus said to them , " Did you never read in the Scriptures : The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone ; by the Lord has this been done , and it is wonderful in our eyes ? Therefore , I say to you , the kingdom of God will be taken away from youand given to a people that will produce its fruit . " http : / / www . staygreat . com / his promise to himself " The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all . Matthew 21 : 42 One day an old man studied the palms of a boy named Panini . He shook his head and sad sadly : " You are a fine lad . Your heart is sound . Your mind and your life are good . But your career line is xero ! You might end up as a a dunce . " Panini thanked the old man for his wisdom . Then , taking a small knife , he drew it gently across the place where his career line was supposed to be . He promised himself , there and then , that he would apply himself and make his new career line a reality . He did . He became one of India ' s greatest grammar - ians of Sanskrit language . Retoldfrom Hinduism , by Paul and Susan YoungerWhat does the Gospel passage and the story of Panini say to me ? If God is for us , who can be against us ? Romans 8 : 31 http : / / www . franciscanretreats . net / Oct . 5 , Mt . 21 : 33 - 43 “ Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people : “ Hear another parable . ” " Jesus , the Master Story - Teller , is at it again . Now , after telling them the Parable of the Two Sons ( last Sunday ’ s Gospel ) , he tells them the Parable of the Tenants . These two parables are closely related ; they are like twin brothers or sisters . In the Parable of the Tenants God is the owner of the vineyard and he leased the property to the religious leaders of Israel . God sent many servants ( the prophets ) to the new tenants to obtain his share of the produce . The new tenants then proceeded to beat up the owner ’ s servants instead of giving them the just share of the grapes the owner had coming . They stoned some of the servants and others they killed outright . Finally , the owner sent his son ( Jesus ) thinking they would respect him and cooperate with him . But they killed the son too . The owner then responded ( after great patience ) by coming and destroying these tenants and leased the vineyard to other tenants ( the Gentiles and the Church ) who will bring forth an abundant harvest . The point of this Parable of the Tenants is much like that of last Sunday ’ s Gospel , which it follows in the Gospel of Matthew . The point onc 　　　　　　　　　　 e again is that we have a choice . God gives his free , unmerited , unearned gift of grace , new life , to all of us equally . He has leased his Kingdom to all of us . We , with our free wills , are free to accept or reject God ’ s offer . God is the Giver . We are the recipients . Our part in all of this as tenants is to respond to God ’ s grace with our faith desire . We must want God ’ s grace , we must will an abundant harvest for ourselves and then the benefits of the grace , the harvest , happiness and peace , will be ours for the taking . The tenants in today ’ s Gospel blew their opportunity . God provided the vineyard , his grace , for them . All they had to do was desire it and work it for their own advantage and all would be fine . But they rejected the offer ; they negated their faith desire . Hell has been described by some as missed opportunities : what might have been . Sometimes God offers his grace to us in ways seemingly strange to us . He offered his grace to me in the form of the disease of alcoholism . I had the choice to turn with my faith desire toward his gift of recovery and new life or to reject it by keeping up the drinking behavior and dying to any life I had . Thank God , I chose the offer of new life . God ’ s grace was presented to St . Francis of Assisi in the form of a leper . Francis hated lepers and one 　　　　　　　　　　 day while riding his horse along a road a leper appeared standing in the middle of the road and would not move . Francis could have spurred his horse and ridden past the leper leaving him in a cloud of dust . Instead , he dismounted , put a gold coin in the emaciated hand of the leper and then brought the hand to his lips and kissed it . When he looked up again to see the face of the leper , the leper had disappeared . Francis had kissed the hand of Jesus and in doing so was converted to the right way of living . Lord , help all of us to keep saying “ yes ” to your offers of grace no matter which forms they take . Fr . Howard http : / / www . evangeli . net / gospel / gospel . htmlToday ' s Gospel ( Mt 21 : 33 - 43 ) : Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people , ≪ Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard . He put a fence around it , dug a hole for the winepress , built a watchtower , leased the vineyard to tenants and then went to a distant country . When harvest time came , the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest . But the tenants seized his servants , beat one 　　　　　　　　　, killed another and stoned another . Again the owner sent more servants , but they were treated in the same way . Finally , he sent his son , thinking : ‘ They will respect my son ’. ≫ But when the tenants saw the son , they thought : ‘ This is the one 　　　　　　　　　 who is to inherit the vineyard . Let us kill him and his inheritance will be ours ’. So they seized him , threw him out of the vineyard and killed him . Now , what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes ? ≫. They said to him , ≪ He will bring those evil to an evil end , and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him in due time ≫. And Jesus replied , ≪ Have you never read what the Scriptures say ? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone . This was the Lord ' s doing ; and we marvel at it . Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you and given to a people who will yield a harvest ≫. Commentary : Fr . Jorge Loring SJ ( Cadiz , Spain ) ≪ Finally , he sent his son , thinking : ‘ They will respect my son ’≫ Today , we contemplate the mystery of the shunning of God , in general , and of Christ , in particular . Men ' s repeated resistance and rejection of God ' s love , is quite extraordinary . But today ' s parable specifically refers to the Jewish rejection of Christ : ≪ Finally , he sent his son , thinking : ‘ They will respect my son ’. But when the tenants saw the son , they thought : ‘ This is the one 　　　　　　　　　 who is to inherit the vineyard . Let us kill him and his inheritance will be ours ’. So they seized him , threw him out of the vineyard and killed him ≫ ( Mt 21 : 37 - 39 ) . This is not easy to understand : is it because Christ came to redeem the whole world , while the Jews ware awaiting their own “ messiah ” who would grant them the dominance of the whole world . .. When I was in the Holy Land I was given a tourist pamphlet about Israel where they describe the most famous Jews in history : from Moses , Gideon and Joshua to Ben Gurion , who was responsible for the creation of the State of Israel . However , in that pamphlet it does not appear Jesus Christ ' s name . And Jesus is the best - known Jew in history : today He is known in the whole world , though He died two thousand years ago . .. Great persons are admired , throughout time , but they are not loved . Today , nobody loves Cervantes or Michael Angel . However , Jesus is the most beloved personage in history . Men and women give their live for Him . Some through martyrdom ; others , drop - by - drop , living onl 　　　　　　　　　 y for Him . There are thousands of them in the whole world . And Jesus is the most influential figure in history . Some world wide accepted values today have a Christian origin . Not onl 　　　　　　　　　 y , but today it is to be noticed a rapprochement to Jesus Christ , and also amongst the Jews ( “ our elderly brothers in the Faith ” , as said by John Paul II ) . Let us specially beg to God for the conversion of the Jewish people , because this people , of great values , if converted to Catholicism , could bring great benefits to the whole of mankind . http : / / www . creighton . edu / CollaborativeMinistry / daily . htmlPRE - PRAYERINGOne of the personality characteristics revealed through the Rorschak test is known as “ Vista ” . When presented with the ink blot , the person takes a visual stance toward the object . The image seems to be either larger or smaller than the person taking the test . This aspect of Vista can indicate either inferiority and fear , or a pattern of domination in relation with the world around her / him . We relate with a God Who is almighty , powerful , everywhere and all - knowing . We are literally faced with how we feel and deal with our image of the un - imageable . We can experience ourselves as a nothingness , tiny beyond words . We ask the question about why would God create us to feel terrible about ourselves and others . As we face our lives these days of living the Eucharist , we can pray with our image of God and how that image forms the personal image we have of ourselves and others . We pray with our dustness and our immortal preciousness . We pray for a sense of vista which forms our relationship with this also infinitely loving and up - raising God . We can pray with how other persons and other realities can make us feel about ourselves . Those which diminish us cannot be from our relationship with God , but they are certainly tempting . REFLECTIONOur First Reading for this liturgy is a poem set within a harvest celebration . Isaiah is beginning his prophetic vocation and he leads with quite a provocative oration . Israel has been pictured in agricultural terms before and after Isaiah . A choice vine , a precious vineyard are convenient images for this transplanted people . At this time of harvest and especially of the grapes for making wine , Isaiah attempts to get the attention of his people and their growing unjust practices toward God and each other . The prophet sings of his friend , ( the God of Israel ’ s history ) , and the “ hillside ” of Mount Sion . His friend expected great fruitfulness from this vineyard , considering all that the friend had done to plant and protect the vineyard . What the friend received was nothing but sour grapes . Then the prophet announces to Jerusalem and the leaders of the nation that the whole loving deal is off . The walls are crumbling ; the vineyard will be given over to drought and destruction . Their image of themselves had grown larger than a vineyard and the image of the owner had become irrelevant . The Owner had asked for fruitful lives and acting justly toward the owner and the other inhabitants . Harvest time was about to turn into misery . In our gospel for today we hear a continuation of parables , which in this case is really an allegory in which every element of the story is rather easily accounted for , there are no dangling threads left to ambiguous interpretations . While it is easy to see what Jesus is telling His listeners , imagine how revolutionary this image is . The people of Israel knew the image of themselves as a vineyard . They were familiar with the prophets . Here stands Jesus again predicting that the Owner had sent His Son and the tenants were to kill the Son and dominate the vineyard as their own . Jesus asks the religious leaders , ( the “ tenants ” ) what will the Owner do ? His hearers answer prophetically that the vineyard will be handed over to others who will bring forth fruit in proper time . The Owner had sent “ servants ” ( prophets ) and they were beaten and killed . The Owner sent His Son and they took Him outside the vineyard , ( Jerusalem ) and killed Him . Now the Owner was not giving up on the preciousness of the vineyard , but rather protecting it . What was rejected will endure . The foundation - stone is the long - lasting love of God and that love will bring about the wine of life from the fruit of faith in that same ever - lasting love . There may be a temptation , and in fact there has been in our Christian history , to interpret this passage as indicating that Christianity is superior to and supercedes Judaism . This is a dangerous and incorrect reading and understanding of who Jesus was and is . A very important truth here is that God ’ s love for and covenant with the Jewish people has not been taken away or replaced by God ’ s love for those following Jesus . This is the teaching of our Church . Matthew presents Jesus as sent to the people of Israel , the Jews , to call them back to their original experiences of God ’ s saving love and formation of them as God ’ s chosen people . The people of Israel and the people of Christianity are reminded of just who they are in God ’ s eyes and how they are to respond . The response then and the responses now indicate a similar human resistance to our proper human image . We are the vine , the vineyard planted or created for a just relationship with that Planter . “ The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel . ” Ps . 8 , 9 PARIS - Sept . 12 , 2008 Pontiff ' s Greeting to Jewish Delegation : " To Be Anti - Semitic Also Meant to Be Anti - Christian ":“ Dear friends , for reasons that unite us and for reasons that separates us , we must live and strengthen our fraternity . And we know that the bonds of fraternity are a continual invitation to know one 　　　　　　　　 another better and to respect one 　　　　　　　　 another . By her very nature , the Catholic Church feels called to respect the Covenant established by God with Abraham , Isaac and Jacob . She also places herself , in fact , in the eternal Covenant of the Almighty , who does not repent of his plan and respects the children of the Promise , children of the Covenant , as her beloved brothers in the faith . She repeats forcefully , through my voice , the words of the great Pope Pius XI , my venerated predecessor : " Spiritually , we are Semites " ( Address to Belgian pilgrims , Sept . 6 , 1938 ) . Hence , the Church is opposed to all forms of anti - Semitism , of which there is no acceptable theological justification . Theologian Henri de Lubac , at a time " of darkness , " as Pius XII said ( " Summi Pontificatus , " 20 . 10 . 1939 ) , understood that to be anti - Semitic also meant to be anti - Christian . ” http : / / www . rc . net / wcc / readings / Scripture : Matthew 21 : 33 - 43 33 " Hear another parable . There was a householder who planted a vineyard , and set a hedge around it , and dug a wine press in it , and built a tower , and let it out to tenants , and went into another country . 34 When the season of fruit drew near , he sent his servants to the tenants , to get his fruit ; 35 and the tenants took his servants and beat one 　　　　　　　, killed another , and stoned another . 36 Again he sent other servants , more than the first ; and they did the same to them . 37 Afterward he sent his son to them , saying , ` They will respect my son . ' 38 But when the tenants saw the son , they said to themselves , ` This is the heir ; come , let us kill him and have his inheritance . ' 39 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard , and killed him . 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes , what will he do to those tenants ? " 41 They said to him , " He will put those wretches to a miserable death , and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons . " 42 Jesus said to them , " Have you never read in the scriptures : ` The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner ; this was the Lord ' s doing , and it is marvelous in our eyes '? 43 Therefore I tell you , the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it . " Meditation : What can a parable about the mis - managment of a vineyard tell us about the kingdom of God ? Jesus ’ audience could easily identify with the story about an absentee landlord and his not - so - good tenants . The hills of Galilee were lined with numerous vineyards , and it was quite common for the owners to let out their estates to tenants . Many did it because they could make a lot of money easily by collecting high rent from their tenants . Their wealthy status allowed them to travel and own houses in other places . Jesus ' story , however , was unsettling to some of his audience . Why did the scribes and Pharisees in particular feel offended ? Jesus ' parable contained both a prophetic message and a warning to the religious community and its leaders . Isaiah had spoken of the house of Israel as " the vineyard of the Lord " ( Isaiah 5 : 7 ) . Isaiah warned his people that their unfaithfulness would yield bad fruit if they did not repent and change . Jesus ' listeners would likely understand this parable as a healthy reminder that God will in due time root out bad fruit and put an end to rebellion . What does Jesus ' parable tell us about God and the way he deals with his people ? First , it tells us of God ' s generosity and trust . The vineyard is well equipped with everything the tenants need . The owner went away and left the vineyard in the hands of the tenants . God , likewise trusts us enough to give us freedom to run life as we choose . This parable also tells us of God ' s patience and justice . Not onc 　　　　　　　 e , but many times he forgives the tenants their debts . But while the tenants take advantage of the owner ' s patience , his judgment and justice prevail in the end . Jesus foretold both his death and his ultimate triumph . He knew he would be rejected by his own people and be killed , but he also knew that would not be the end . After rejection would come glory ? the glory of resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father . The Lord continues to bless his people today with the gift of his kingdom . And he promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and remain faithful to him ( see John 15 : 1 - 11 ) . He entrusts each of us with his gifts and grace and he gives each of us a particular work to do in his vineyard ? the body of Christ . He promises that our labor , especially what we do for him , will not be in vain if we persevere with faith to the end ( see 1 Corinthians 15 : 58 ) . We can expect trials and difficulties as we labor for the Lord , and even persecution from those who oppose God ' s kingdom . But in the end we will see triumph . Do you labor for the Lord with joyful hope and with confidence in his victory ? " Thank you , Lord Jesus Christ , for all the benefits which you have given us ; for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us . O most merciful redeemer , friend , and brother , may we know you more clearly , love you more dearly , and follow you more nearly , for you own sake . " ( prayer of St . Richard of Chichester , 13 th century ) Psalm 80 : 8 - 19 8 Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt ; thou didst drive out the nations and plant it . 9 Thou didst clear the ground for it ; it took deep root and filled the land . 10 The mountains were covered with its shade , the mighty cedars with its branches ; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea , and its shoots to the River . 12 Why then hast thou broken down its walls , so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit ? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it , and all that move in the field feed on it . 14 Turn again , O God of hosts ! Look down from heaven , and see ; have regard for this vine , 15 the stock which thy right hand planted . 16 They have burned it with fire , they have cut it down ; may they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance ! 17 But let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand , the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself ! 18 Then we will never turn back from thee ; give us life , and we will call on thy name ! 19 Restore us , O LORD God of hosts ! let thy face shine , that we may be saved ! http : / / www . daily - meditations . org / index 2 . html Thirty years ago , I had the privilege of visiting Assisi . I ' ll never forget the rich panorama of fertile vineyards that surrounded the town from the valleys below . No wonder God used the image of a vineyard in describing the chosen people of Israel . In today ' s first reading , Isaiah describes how his friend , God , went to elaborate pains in constructing his vineyard , with ditches and a tower for protection , and a winepress for squeezing out the precious grape juice that would become delicious wine . How disappointed God was , when all that the vineyard produced were wild grapes , unfit for a good yield . All that work and loving care came to nothing ! While Isaiah wrote , the Assyrians were pounding at the gates of Jerusalem , about to destroy it , as God promised to tear down that vineyard and let it revert to pasture land . Jesus in the Gospel uses that same image of a vineyard to describe Israel , but now he focuses in on the unfaithful people who , by their sin and failure to listen to the prophets , have brought God ' s anger down on them . Jesus ' reference to the killing of the King ' s onl 　　　　　　 y Son was not lost on the Pharisees . They had already decided to kill this Jesus who claimed to be the son of God . Jesus ' words enraged them , and their hearts were further hardened against Him . There is an axiom in law which states that the greater the person offended , the greater the offense itself . Since God himself was the victim , the offense against Him was beyond measure . In addition , while the Pharisees reject Him from hardness of heart , Jesus Himself is wounded beyond measure with a broken heart . We will never understand the immensity of God ' s love for us . To offend the Lord is worse than any possible offense given to human beings , whether a President or a homeless person . Our response today should be a resolve to produce better and more abundant fruit in our surroundings . Recently , our diocese celebrated the Year of St . Paul . A former beloved bishop gave the homily . We became so aware that , like God , bishops have human hearts that can be encouraged by the response of their flocks . They can also have their hearts broken by a lack of response , as Jesus ' heart was . As we have been so beloved and appreciated by our bishops , their love should encourage us to work ever more fruitfully in our particular part of God ' s vineyard . - Msgr . Paul Whitmore http : / / goodnews . ie / calendar . php " Listen to another parable . There was a landowner who planted a vineyard , put a fence around it , dug a wine press in it , and built a watchtower . Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country . When the harvest time had come , he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce . But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one 　　　, killed another , and stoned another . Again he sent other slaves , more than the first ; and they treated them in the same way . Finally he sent his son to them , saying , ' They will respect my son . ' But when the tenants saw the son , they said to themselves , ' This is the heir ; come , let us kill him and get his inheritance . " So they seized him , threw him out of the vineyard , and killed him . Now when the owner of the vineyard comes , what will he do to those tenants ? " They said to him , " He will put those wretches to a miserable death , and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time . " Jesus said to them , " Have you never read in the scriptures : ' The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone ; this was the Lord ' s doing , and it is amazing in our eyes '? Therefore I tell you , the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom . To the Jews of old the vine was a symbol of their own race , their very identity . God took them from the land of slavery and transplanted them in new soil : “ You brought a vine out of Egypt ; to plant it you drove out the nations ” ( Psalm 79 , responsorial psalm of today ’ s Mass ) . In countries where the vine does not grow , some of the detail is lost on us . The vine is a most vigorous plant and needs severe pruning . It displays a great abundance of leaves , but onl 　　　 y some of the branches are fruit - bearing . The one 　　　 s that produce onl 　　　 y leaves have to be cut back drastically ; otherwise they rob life - giving sap from the others . The wood of the vine is perfectly useless , not even making good firewood . So it was usually just put in a heap and burnt . We get the point of what Jesus onc 　　　 e said : “ Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away ? he withers ; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire ” ( John 15 : 6 ) . The aspects of our life that are not fruit - bearing are for pruning , so that we might bear fruit . Leaves are the plant thinking of itself , fruit is the plant thinking beyond itself : thinking of the next generation . We are to think beyond our own interests . The sap in us is the life of Christ . It is for fruit - bearing ; we are not to turn it into stuff that is not even fit to make a fire . The hedge ( in today ’ s Gospel ) was for keeping out animals and thieves ; the tower was a place from which to watch for them . There was no doubt about where the boundaries lay . In Tuscany , Italy , where St Catherine of Siena was born , I saw miles and miles of vineyards , but they were not divided : all were one 　　　 vast plantation of vines . The neighbours know , apparently , where one 　　　 ends and another begins . St Catherine in the 14 th century used this as an image of how we should be with others : we are ourselves , yes , we have our own space , but we are not divided from others . This seems a perfect arrangement , a perfect image of harmony . But today ’ s Gospel story is from a world that divided property jealously : that is why the story is about violence and murder . Whenever I bar people from my life I am subscribing to the formula for violence ; it is a kind of ethnic cleansing on a small scale . In the parable the tenants ended by killed the son . Yes , there is a sense in which I am my neighbour . If I exclude someone from my life I am excluding myself from full humanity . But the image of vine has an even more startling thing to show us : “ I am the vine , you are the branches , ” Jesus said ( John 15 : 5 ) . But the vine is the branches ! Unlike other trees where you can distinguish clearly between trunk and branches , the vine is just all branches ! “ I am the vine and you are the branches ” : the vine is the branches ! Jesus is more than just a neighbour who makes no distinction between what is his and what is yours . In a real sense he is you , and he is also your neighbour . To banish your neighbour from your life is to banish him . To lop off a branch is to lop off Christ . http : / / www . presentationministries . com / ANXIETY ATTACK " Dismiss all anxiety from your minds . " Philippians 4 : 6 Our society mass - produces anxiety , tension , stress , and depression . God has given us the authority to dismiss all these things from our minds by an act of our will . However , there ' s more to it . We must present our " needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude " ( Phil 4 : 6 ) . In this way , we don ' t just " think positively , " but actually change the circumstances which contribute to our anxieties . Furthermore , to be permanently free from anxiety , we must accept God ' s order , His shalom - peace , into our lives ( Phil 4 : 7 ) . This will guard our hearts and minds by giving us a point of reference by which to decide if something belongs in our lives . Finally , permanent freedom from anxiety not onl 　　 y depends on guarding against bad influences . We must also wholly direct our thoughts " to all that is true , all that deserves respect , all that is honest , pure , admirable , decent , virtuous , or worthy of praise " ( Phil 4 : 8 ) . In Jesus , we have authority over anxiety . We exercise this authority through prayer , peace , and focusing on what is true , pure , and godly . In Jesus , we can be the most carefree , peaceful , and happy people in the world . Prayer : God of peace ( Rm 16 : 20 ) , make my life holy in every aspect ( 1 Pt 1 : 15 ) . Promise : " The Stone Which the builders rejected has become the Keystone of the structure . It was the Lord Who did this and we find it marvelous to behold . " Mt 21 : 42 Praise : Praise Jesus , Who conquered all anxiety by His victory on the cross . Alleluia ! http : / / virtualretreat . blogspot . com / From today ’ s readings : “ What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done ? ... The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel . ... Whatever is true , whatever is honorable , whatever is just , whatever is pure , whatever is lovely , whatever is gracious . ... There was a landowner who planted a vineyard . ... ” The Lord ’ s VineyardThe Old Testament Prophets , the Psalms , and the New Testament Gospels all offer more than onc 　　　　　　　　　　　 e the image of a vineyard as a metaphor illustrating the relationship between God and His people . Perhaps more than most other agricultural endeavors , a vineyard particularly demands constant patience and painstaking effort in order to produce a good yield , and even after the harvest , much time and work is needed for the grapes to become wine . In God ’ s vineyard , the patience , effort , time , and work is never lacking on God ’ s part - He always does everything necessary for a most bountiful harvest ! So when there is no yield of good fruit , that can never be blamed on God . When you and I fail to bring forth good in our lives for God , we cannot blame Him . Rather , we must acknowledge our own responsibility , that our choices have too often frustrated , rather than aided , the efforts of the Lord of the Harvest . If we have few or no good fruits to show in our lives , there is absolutely no room for complacency or resignation to failure - God expects us , and will help us , to examine our mistakes and repent of our sins , and re - dedicate ourselves to cooperate with God ’ s planting and pruning efforts in our lives .