29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 18, 2026

What do I owe to civil authorities? What do I owe to God?

GOSPEL

Matthew 22:15-22

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

It is said that there are two things we can be sure of: death and taxes. While death stirs up emotions of grief and loss, discussions about taxes frequently cause heat and rising tempers. Who should be taxed? How much should they pay? These questions are usually followed by the complaint: “It’s not fair!” As controversial as discussions about taxes are today, they pale in comparison with what they were in Jesus’ time. The Jewish people were heavily taxed by their Roman occupiers. Imagine paying taxes that were used to support a military juggernaut that oppressed and enslaved you. To add insult to injury, the official coins used to pay the tax bore an imprint of Caesar. They also carried an inscription declaring his divinity, which offended the Jewish belief in one God. So there they were, paying taxes that helped maintain their oppression with coins that offended their religious beliefs. It is easy to imagine how heated discussions about taxes could become. And that is what we hear in today’s Gospel. The question put to Jesus wasn’t simply a casual inquiry for abstract discussion. It was a topic of heated debate. And now they were drawing Jesus into it. And more than that, the Gospel says they intended to entrap Jesus. If he said, “Pay the tax,” he would have been siding with the Romans and offending devout Jews. If he said, “Don’t pay,” he could have been branded a revolutionary and a troublemaker. The Romans could have arrested him for treason. Jesus senses the trap. He gets out of it by asking for a coin. They hand one to him. It has Caesar’s image and inscription on it. So, they are carrying the very coin that represents Caesar’s authority and claim to divinity. They are using the Roman coin and paying the tax to Rome. No wonder Jesus calls them hypocrites. Their question wasn’t sincere. They weren’t seeking his wisdom or guidance. They were trying to trap him. But we are here for a different reason. We are seeking his wisdom and guidance. So, we pay attention to what Jesus says. We probably already know his answer by heart: “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Now, what does that mean? It is something we can ponder throughout our lives as we consider our loyalties to secular power and to God. Jesus seems to be saying that we can have responsibilities and loyalties to government and to God without losing our priorities. But when the claims of government conflict with the claims of God, we have to choose in favor of God and challenge what civil authorities propose. Our presence here today states our priorities. We look to God for our basic strength and direction. Our very identity comes from God. After all, who are we? We say that we are children of God – and more than that, we are made in the “image and likeness of God.” In terms of today’s Gospel, we are coins of God. God has inscribed God’s image and likeness upon us, male and female. If people want to know what God is like and who God is, they should be able to see God’s image in us – in who we are and in how we behave – as easily as Jesus’ opponents could see Caesar’s image on their coins. There is a reason to come here each week: to be reminded of who we are and to have God freshen that divine image in us – the way a coin dealer carefully cleans and restores an old or tarnished coin. The image of God in us can become blurred or forgotten when we feel we haven’t achieved some of our life’s goals; when our financial struggles lessen our sense of self-worth; when our personal relationships are strained; or when people around us measure us by how we dress, the size of our home, our gender, sexual orientation, age, or appearance. But in this place where we have gathered, there should be no such standards of measurement. Here we are reminded of our dignity as beloved children of God, individually formed by God’s hands. Each of us is a coin made in the divine image. The Eucharist will feed us today. It will rebuild and restore the divine life within us, whether or not we think we measure up to some ideal. But Jesus’ words are also a challenge to us: How do we repay to God what belongs to God? We who bear the divine image are called to honor that image in others – even when that image isn’t clear to us, or when another person does not measure up to our expectations. Perhaps someone has offended us, cheated us, or been unwilling to forgive us. The Gospel reminds us that it is time to look again – to look more deeply – and see the image and likeness of God in our neighbor. There is a lot in our world that wants to engrave another image upon us, an image influenced by greed, rivalry, aggression, envy, and prejudice. We need God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves: renew God’s image in us. Psalm 96 is our Responsorial Psalm. It is, in one sense, a response to the first reading from Isaiah. It invites us to give God glory.  In other words, to recognize God’s sovereignty, let God’s justice shape the way live in the world. But it also draws us toward today’s Gospel. In the Gospel, Jesus says that we must give God what belongs to God. So, the question Jesus puts before us today is: What does it mean to live as a person who belongs to God?

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Quotable

“Let us never grow weary of seeking justice!” — Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas (2026).

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Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

We give thanks to God always for all of you…increasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance. —1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

There are days when I am so dismayed by the number of needs that cross my desk or come through e-mails that I find myself almost overwhelmed. It is days like this that I must sit back and count the many blessings I have witnessed in how our parish respects life. The dignity of life is a major social teaching. On any given day, there are parishioners who are smiling as they help at Catholic Parish Outreach. There are the loyal teams who bring meals to the Helen Wright Shelter, Oak City Cares Center, and Women’s Center. I hear of the fruitfulness of parishioners doing prayer services with prisoners on a weekly basis. I think about our answered requests for hoodies, undies, food containers, the Crafters’ offerings, and Christmas gifts for people in need. I remember the fun I have had and continue to have through outreach experiences. Our Habitat for Humanity group is working on our 17th project as part of the Catholic Coalition to provide affordable housing. I think about the twelve expectant mothers being helped by the devoted team of Walking with Moms in Need and those that pray during 40 Days for Life.  There is our work on behalf of immigrants, refugees, and our new efforts to help the handicapped and address racial injustice. I find myself reflecting on the blessing of the Door Fund/Ministry. We meet weekly with about 15-18 people who are in jeopardy of being evicted. Monies from the Door Fund help our neighbors keep a roof over their head, help people in Recovery Houses get a fresh start, and provide for a myriad of little needs. Then, there is the natural world. We are a universal church that sees all life as connected. To that end, respecting the natural world is being lived out in Cathedral’s Earth Care Community, the Laudato Si’ Circle and by members of NC Catholics Caring for our Common Home. Hearing the cry of the earth, parishioners are seeking to improve our understanding of complex issues and find paths to provide hope to overcome human negligence of our common home. With more parishioners realizing how integral the social teachings of the Church are to the fullness of living their faith by acting upon them, I give thanks to God for all of you.

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Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s I Thessalonians reading: For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also, in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.

Reflection: Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they not only heard the word of the gospel, but saw its effects on their lives. If we are going through a testing time it’s good to remind ourselves how God helped us in the past. Such a reminder can build hope and enable endurance in the present.

So, we ask ourselves:  

• Is there someone who needs to hear an encouraging word from us? 

• When I try to give that support will I do as Paul does, remind them of the faith they have received and how God is their source of power and endurance?

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Brendan McGuire Homily

Many of you have seen that advertisement on television for credit cards that always ends with "...What's in your wallet?" 
The premise behind that advertisement is to suggest that our credit card in some way defines who we are. In some way, how we spend our money does say something about us. To a certain extent what and where we spend our money tells us
what is important in our lives. Probably a better indicator of what defines us as people is how we spend our time. If we want to know what defines a huge portion of our lives it is where we spend our time. More importantly with whom do we spend our time? Or on what do you spend your time? If we spend time with this group of people then we are saying they are more important versus this group of people. Students at school know this reality all too well. There are other ways in which we could understand what defines us. Yes, it is what we spend our money on; and yes, it is what and where we spend our time. 
But it is also with whom we spend our time. The "who" is important. Even more than that, what defines us is who we are willing to stand up for. Who are we willing to defend? Who are we willing to be vulnerable for? That tells us a lot about ourselves. All of these, in some way, all of these together in their complexity will tell us about who we are and what we are. In today's gospel, we hear this story about paying taxes to Cesar or not. People have often misused this scripture to talk about the justification to pay taxes or not pay taxes; or separation of church and state. That is a complete misreading of the scripture. Even the most unscholarly approach can figure out that. Right from the beginning Jesus calls them hypocrites. 
We know by the way they ask their question that is a trick question. There is a part of us that has to at least enjoy it a tad bit. How Jesus takes on these most unlikely adversaries; he just cuts them down with two phrases: Show me the coin. Whose head is this on the back? And he just cuts to the quick really fast. We might not be distracted by the brilliance of Jesus' answer but by what is actually happening in the context here. The religious leaders and Herodians were enemies. 
Yet these two enemies came together to trick Jesus into saying something that they could hold against him. But what does Jesus do? Jesus reframes it completely. Then asks, "What is their priority in life?" This is not just about the money. It is an indicator. Sure. It is time. It is an indicator. But what in fact is our highest priority? Time, money, who you spend your time with and who we stand up for. All these are indicators. But in the end, we have to ask the question of ourselves; "What is the top priority in our lives?" Everything else flows from that. My fear is that as Catholic Christians, we do not think about that, half nearly enough. We get caught up in the busyness of life. We just churn from day to day. We go almost like on automatic pilot. We do not ask the questions of what is the most important thing in my life. What is the most important reality of my life? And until something actually happens, when we get sick or somebody dies, then all of a sudden our whole reality gets woken up and then we start asking that question. Must we wait for that moment? Is that what has to happen? Is that the only way we are going to wake up from our secular slumber? I plead with you to not. In some way, shape or form, your faith has made a difference because you are here on a Sunday morning when most of the world is in bed or at home relaxing. Somehow you know that it is a priority of something in your life. And this one hour has made itself a priority; whether it is the community; whether it is the environment; whether it is the Mass; There is something. It got you here. But one hour is not enough guys. One hour out of 168 hours will not make a difference. Oh, I would love if it would make that much of a difference. I would cherish that I could stay up here for 10 minutes of preaching and somehow that would radically change your life for the rest of the week. But I am not that foolish. I know that fundamentally it takes more than one hour out of 168 hours to make changes in your and my life. And we have to commit to that extra time. That is what I am asking you to commit to. The one hour is just simply never going to be enough. That is why I keep pushing you to pray every day. We want to be at 10 hours every week. That does not mean that you have to be at your desk praying for one hour a day. But you ought to be working towards something like that; and in the other hours, you ought to be working at being charitable, giving your heart and soul away to someone else. Why? Because that is what defines us. That tells us who we are because we are standing up for somebody. We are spending our time with them. And yes, we are spending our energy and who we are with them. That will make all the difference. Today, the question is not what is in our wallet. But what's in our heart. What is our top priority? When we come to Eucharist, we come to renew ourselves in our number one priority, which is to follow Christ. It is easy for us to say it here but when we walk outside those doors, we have to live it. 
And that is the work we spend 167 hour doing. And we need the help every day. And that is why I am asking us to find some time to say; "This remains a priority for me." What's in your heart?

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From Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits: Commentary on Isaiah 45:1,4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21

In past Sundays we have seen Jesus attacking the religious leaders of his people for their failure to recognise in him the Word of God, the power of God, the compassionate love of God. All they could see was a man who broke their laws. Today, in the first of four challenges by different leaders, they hit back. Their plan was to get Jesus to discredit himself. The first challenge, in today’s Gospel, comes from the Pharisees. Their deviousness is seen in the delegation they sent – a mixture of their disciples (not themselves) and some Herodians. It was a strange mixture because Pharisees and Herodians were bitterly opposed to each other. The Pharisees were rabid nationalists and totally anti-Roman; the Herodians were willing to collaborate with the Romans hoping to benefit from it. In the language of today, they would be called “appeasers” or “fellow travellers”. It was a perfect example of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Both sides hated each other but they hated Jesus even more and both had scores to settle. Or did they hope by sending such a mixed delegation that Jesus would be thrown off the scent of their real purpose? Their opening statement is clever and very flattering. They praise the utter honesty and integrity of Jesus. All of which was perfectly true. Jesus, in fact, is being praised as endowed with God’s own sense of truth and justice, totally impartial, with perhaps a bias for the poor, the weak and powerless. And it is precisely in this strength of Jesus – telling it like it is without fear or favour – that they hope to entrap him.

Deceptively simple 

After this flattering softening up and linguistic foreplay comes the apparently straightforward question: “Is it against our Law to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” In fact, this seemingly simple question turned on a red-hot issue. Palestine was a colony of Rome, a very unwilling and troublesome colony. The Jews hated the Romans, hated their brutality, their moral corruption, above all their godlessness. So, the nationalistic Pharisees felt that the taxes should not be paid to the oppressor. It was, one might say, an early version of “No taxation without representation”. On the contrary, for the Herodians, collaboration with the Romans was seen as beneficial. It was a loaded question, something like the old chestnut “Have you stopped beating your wife?” If Jesus said taxes should not be paid, he would have pleased the Pharisees but they could report him for sedition and have him arrested. If he said taxes should be paid he might please the Herodians but almost certainly he would lose all credibility with his own people. The Jews believed that they had only one Lord and Ruler and that was their God. Taxes, or any form of submission, should only be made to him, by offerings made in God’s Temple. So today’s First Reading from Isaiah makes it clear that Cyrus, one of the great kings of antiquity with enormous power and who had made vassals of the Jews, was seen as never more than an agent doing God’s work.

Hypocrisy

Jesus, of course, is perfectly aware of the dangers in giving a straight answer. He accuses them of gross hypocrisy in setting this trap. They have no desire to know the answer. They have their own answers already. Their only intention is to lay a trap for Jesus to hang himself with. Jesus asks them to show him a coin. He asks to know whose image and what is the inscription on it. The head was that of Tiberius Caesar, the Roman emperor of the day. The inscription would have read, “Tiberius Caesar son of the divine Augustus, great high priest”. Caesar claimed not only political sovereignty but also divine attributes. Worship of the emperor was seen as a test of loyalty to the not very religious central government and would soon become a major issue for the early Christians as it was already for the Jews. For both groups, worship given to the Roman emperor could be nothing but idolatry. Even though, for some, it was seen only a matter of formality, Christians and Jews took it very seriously and many were martyred for their refusal to bow to the emperor. (Different kinds of emperors still produce martyrs in our own day.) And it reminds us of how many Christians – including China today – who refused to acknowledge the absolute power that Communism claimed over their lives. It is basically the stand of the “underground” Church in China and for that many have paid a high price over the past 50 years.

A famous reply

Jesus then gives his famous answer, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.” The answer should not be understood cynically and in line with those who thought that no allegiance at all belongs to the ruling power (e.g. the terrorist or anarchist line), nor, on the other hand, that a civil power has the right to demand total submission of its subjects. No state can claim to itself divine powers of absolute authority (e.g. atheistic dictatorships). All are subject to the higher demands of truth and justice and the inviolable dignity of the person centred in God. We all are, in some way, the citizens of two kingdoms: citizens of the political territory where we belong and citizens in God’s Kingdom. As Jesus says, they both require certain loyalties from us. We all depend to a large extent on our civil government. In modern times very few people can supply their own water, electricity, telephone system. There are many other services which only a civil authority can provide, such as education, hospitals, roads, welfare services for the unemployed, the handicapped, the elderly…It is obvious that if these are services are to continue and even be improved they require the cooperation and support of the community at large. We do this for the most part through paying taxes. Taxes are not just a necessary evil. In a just administration they are our contribution to making the services we take for granted available. In a just tax system, too, we help to spread more evenly the wealth of the community so that each one has access to what they need for a life of human dignity.

Supporting our community

There are many other ways, too, in which we can give our support to raising the quality of life in the community. All of this can be seen as “giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar”. One, unfortunately, does meet people whose only interest is in seeing what they can get out of the community for themselves and their immediate family with no intention of ever giving anything back. But we are also citizens of God’s Kingdom. For much of the time, there is no conflict between “Caesar” and God but not always. We do sometimes, from the standpoint of the Gospel, have to criticise our government’s actions or non-actions. Sometimes we have to refuse to obey our government. In South Africa’s apartheid system, many Christians were forced to violate the immoral laws of their government. In the United States, both black and white people violated the segregation laws operated in many states. In the name of truth, justice and human dignity they had no option. And we need to realise that when we really love our country and its people, then we may have to stand in strong opposition to the authorities on certain issues. Of course, the authorities will try to present such people as traitors and a threat to the stability of the country. But such people, who show they care, often have a far greater love for their country than the so-called “silent majority”.

Two responsibilities

Today’s Gospel makes it very clear that we have two responsibilities: to the government of our country or territory and to God. Where both are in harmony there will be no conflict. Wherever there is immoral or unjust behaviour against people’s dignity and rights, then there has to be conflict. Such conflict is not always bad. On the contrary, it is because of creative conflict that our society makes progress. Provided we always act in a positive and creative way, “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), then the flawed kingdoms that men build can, in time, become the Kingdom of God. As a famous dissident – and martyr, St Thomas More, said: “The King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

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ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others.  Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

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Opening Prayer

From the Carmelites

Lord, help me to see that serving you and being a good citizen of my country need not be contradictory.  Help me the choose wisely in those situations when I must make a choice, always keeping your will and your precepts in my heart.  Help me to see in others a witness to your incredible care and love for everyone and everything you have created, because it is all yours.

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Companions for the Journey

From “Working Preacher”

We think of the last days of Jesus' final week as being full of vexation.

Indeed, they were: betrayal, arrest, torture, and crucifixion. But the first two days of the week were also filled with difficulty. In Matthew's version of the week, Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly on Monday and proceeds to the temple to cleanse it of abuse. Tuesday is particularly full.

Jesus returns to Jerusalem for a series of pronouncements and confrontations by religious leaders. On this day, Jesus curses the fig tree, is questioned about his authority, offers three parables that each conclude with dire warnings for those who assume they are comfortably within God's favor.

Then he is challenged on whether to pay taxes to Caesar, is questioned about the resurrection of the dead, challenged about the greatest commandment, and engaged in discussion about the nature of the messiah.

Finally, Jesus engages in a long discourse (23:1-25:46) in which he denounces religious leaders, laments over Jerusalem, foretells destruction of the temple, gives his disciples a list of signs concerning the end times, offers additional parables, and tells of the final judgment. Tuesday was a big day. 

It seems one of the chief accomplishments of the day was to put the religious leaders in their place. Jesus overwhelms his verbal adversaries and denounces temple leadership so thoroughly that by the next day, Wednesday of Holy Week, the leaders began plotting to arrest and kill this bothersome prophet.

The pericope for this day lies within Tuesday's busy agenda. Here we have the failed attempt by the Pharisees and Herodians to trap Jesus on what appears to be a political issue: whether or not it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. We might imagine the smugness with which they employ this trap. The Pharisees are against the Roman occupation government, so they bring along the Herodians, people obliged to Rome for keeping Herod in puppet power.

Governments are necessary, taxes may be necessary, and every country has a Caesar of sorts to contend with. So, render unto that Caesar whatever is due. But, don't mess around with the things that belong to God.

Whom do we belong to? Sometimes it seems like we belong to Caesar. Taxes, legal restrictions on our freedoms, imprisonment if you engage in civil disobedience.  Or, perhaps, we feel that our job owns us. Or our families. Sometimes, we even feel owned by our material possessions. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it: "Things are in the saddle, and ride mankind."

But to whom do we really belong? Take a look at any person. Whose inscription is on him or her? Each is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). There can be no doubt, then, what Jesus means here. Give yourselves to God because it is to him that you belong. 

It is God who claims us, who made us in his own image. We do not belong to anything or to anyone else. We don't even belong to ourselves. We belong to God in all our being, with all our talents, interests, time, and wealth. "We give thee but thine own, whatever the gift may be. All that we have is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee."1

The consequences of belonging to God are remarkable. First, it means that God will not forsake us. The Pharisees and the other religious leaders that Jesus denounces were notoriously bad at caring for the people. They forsook their responsibilities and the people God gave into their care. They deserved condemnation. But, God does not forsake his own. By Friday of Holy Week, Jesus made that clear in the boldest way possible.

Second, it means that because we belong to God, we belong to the people of God, the body of Christ. We are baptized into this fellowship and can only lose our membership by turning our backs on God. If there is any alienation, it is our own doing. And, if we return, God is there, as always. 

Third, it means that we give to God that which belongs to God's: that is, we give ourselves. We take the sacred trust and invest it in lives of worship. Sometimes, that worship occurs privately, in devotion. Sometimes, in church with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And the rest of the time, it occurs in the sphere of daily work and service. All of this is worship. Ultimately, giving ourselves to God means that we give ourselves to the world. 

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Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

How much time have I spent refelcting on how clever Jesus was t o evade the entrampment by the Phairsees and Sadducees?

How much time have I spent reflecting on the real message, which is: How much time do I spend on worldy things (which are necessary), and how much time on god?

What’s in  my wallet and what’s in  my heart?

What in your life belongs "to Caesar"?  
What belongs only "to God"? 
When do these duties overlap?

Have I ever felt that my worldly obligations have taken time away from God? 

Has there been a time when I was pressured by the prevailing culture of the workplace or the world I inhabit  into making a decision that went against my principles?  
How did it turn out?
How did I feel?

When has my duty to God impelled me to speak out against the inequitable or cruel treatment of others by our own government, for example?

Is there a contradiction between being a good citizen and serving God?  
Do I see Church and state on a collision course?

If we were to live in a theocracy (no daylight between the laws of God as expressed by religious and civil laws) which religion should be the defining standard?

Do I have a double standard regarding religious intrusions into political discourse (My Catholic views are ok, but others’ religious views are not)?

Should my church tell me whom or what to vote for? 
Should it tell me what or whom to vote against?

Does legitimate civil power have a right to ask anything from us (voting in elections, obedience to laws, the payment of taxes, conscription in the military, for example)? 
What does it not have a right to ask of me?

Where does the notion of civil disobedience fit into the meaning of this gospel?

What do I think I should render to God on earth, specifically to the people of God, to all God’s creation, including the natural world? 
Can the term “rendering unto God” be interpreted as working for just laws, support for the poor and marginalized, respect for all life?
Can it be interpreted and working to wipe out racism, sexism, elitism of any kind?

What am I personally unwilling to render to God?
For this week, keep track of where you spend your money and what you spend it on.   What does your checkbook and your datebook tell you  about your priorities?

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Closing Prayer

Jesus, I ask for courage to stand up for what is true and just.  Help me to speak out against the atrocities of war, genocide, systemic poverty and the cruelties that people seem to visit on one another, all in the name of being right.   Help me not to be too quick to judge those whose decisions are other than I would approve of, and help me to have patience with the mistakes I and others make in living out our lives. Then help me to rest in the hope that in Your will is our peace.

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For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today's session: Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

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Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
(Adapted from “First Impressions” 2002) It is clear from church teaching that we Christians are called to engage the world and bring our beliefs with us into Caesar’s domain. Vatican II reminded us to take our faith into the market place and interpret our times in the light of the gospel. If we have any doubts all we have to do is to read papal and episcopal documents that address: poverty, globalization, war, abortion, the death penalty, health care, environment, the economy. These teachings remind us that the church of Jesus’ followers doesn’t exist apart from the world and that we are called to be agents of change for peace and justice. It is God’s will that all people be treated justly, the poor cared for and everyone must be given respect and treated with dignity as a child of God. What is my job as a citizen to call out the failures and omissions, the cruelties and injustices that our system perpetuates? What is my job as a citizen to address poverty, to care for the sick and lonely, to bring justice to the captives, to welcome the stranger? Is this only the job of government, or do I have a part to play? What am I doing in this regard right now? If not right now, when will be the right time to get started?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style:
(Adapted from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford, by Anne Marchand Greenfield)

Psalm 72
God, give your judgment to the king, to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice, and your poor in right judgment.
May the mountains bring forth peace for the people, and the hills justice.
May he defend the poor of the people, and save the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.
He shall endure like the sun and the moon through all generations.
He shall descend like rain on the meadow, like showers that water the earth.
In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace till the moon is no more.
For he shall save the needy when they cry, the poor, and those who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak and the needy, and save the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their souls; to him their blood is dear.
Long may he live!

I Read sections from Psalm 72, then I reflect on the way power is revered in our society, and, in the main, how that power is used.  What are the dangers of power? This psalm is frequently used as a description of the way an ideal ruler must use power. I think of our history and all of the ways in which power has been abused.  Has this been the story in our own church? In our country? Reflect on these verses as you make your voting decisions for November. 

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Poetic Reflection

When we say we want to give to God what is God's, what, exactly, do we mean?  Wendell Berry reflects on the ways we pay lip service to God, but are really in the service of another reality altogether.

We Who Prayed and Wept
We who prayed and wept
for liberty from Kings
and the yoke of liberty
accept the tyranny of things
we do not need.
In plenitude too free,
we have become adept
beneath the yoke of greed.

Those who will not learn
in plenty to keep their place
must learn it by their need
when they have had their way
and the fields spurn their seed.
We have failed Thy grace.
Lord, I flinch and pray,
send Thy necessity.

—from Collected Poems

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 11, 2026

How have I responded to God’s invitation to the kingdom?

GOSPEL

Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are chosen."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Did your mouth water when you heard that first reading from Isaiah? “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food…” In case you missed it, there is more. Isaiah wants to be sure we get the point: “Juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” I hope you had breakfast before coming to church today. It is tempting – and mouthwatering – to hear those words. They stir up memories of meals celebrated on special occasions and holidays with family and friends. Isaiah was speaking to a people who knew hunger, suffering, and uncertainty. They were wondering whether God had forgotten them. Had their faith in God been in vain? Isaiah was making a promise to a suffering and hungry people: despite their condition, God had not forgotten them. God would personally prepare a feast for them. Where does the prophet picture that feast taking place? “On this mountain.” It is a place of safety and security, where God will rescue the people from sadness and misery, from their trials and humiliations. They will no longer be people living under oppression; they will be honored guests. On that mountain there will be no end to food and drink – and there will be more. Isaiah promises:  On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples.” In case they did not get the point, the prophet is very clear: “He will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face.” Isaiah was making a promise to a people who had not yet seen its fulfillment. Their circumstances had not suddenly changed. Their suffering continued, and, like us, they knew the grief of losing people they loved. Yet, in the midst of their dark and dreary world, Isaiah placed before them a vision of the future. Could they trust the promise God was making to them? Could they have hope in God despite their present circumstances? Was God a “Promise Keeper”? That question leads us to ask: Are there signs that even now God is keeping the promise voiced by Isaiah and affirmed by Jesus? Is there evidence of the God of generosity? The God of joy? The God of abundance? The God of faithfulness? Are there hints that this is who God is – a God who keeps promises? For me, the answer comes from a personal experience. A concrete sign of God's presence among us was a woman named Teresa. She came to our Dominican chapel each morning for Eucharist and joined us and her friends there. She was in her eighties and would leave her walker outside the chapel. I used to tease her about her vanity. But she did not leave her smile at the door. Her smile was the first thing you noticed. She was always “put together” – her hair styled, wearing a brightly colored pantsuit and pink shoes. Teresa knew she was welcome. She had become part of our Dominican family. She made herself at home, and after the Eucharist she would straighten the vestments and put away the liturgical stoles. Like the mountaintop Isaiah painted for us, Teresa fed us bountifully. With her friend Anna, she would bring us berries, bananas, apples, pears, mixed fruits, jams, and jugs of orange juice for breakfast after Mass. On special occasions she would provide the whole feast. On a friar's birthday, Teresa would bring in a cake and candles and gather with us afterward in the dining room to sing “Happy Birthday.” Then we would have a feast. It was too early in the day for the “choice wines” Isaiah described, but it was a mountaintop experience, nevertheless. Teresa reminded us of our God – a God of abundance who notices our hungers, who draws us out of whatever place of exile we may find ourselves in, and who blesses us with loving and caring friends like Teresa. It was not just the food she brought us. Teresa's faith fed us as well. She did not give up on God despite her daily physical struggles. Nor did she lose faith after the deaths of her beloved husband, Frank, and her son, Michael. When Michael died, she said, “Parents are supposed to die before their children.” Her faith was itself a testimony to the God who keeps promises. In our celebration today, we have this table on this holy mountain. Here we celebrate our God who feeds us with the best food and drink God can provide: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is a feast that keeps our hope alive, just as God's promise kept Teresa's hope alive. Today, on a mountain of God's choosing, at a table of plenty spread before us, God renews Isaiah's promise. God has destroyed the veil that veils all peoples. God has destroyed death forever. And so, we come to this table with hope – and with gratitude for every Teresa who has helped us recognize that God's abundant love is already being given to us.

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Quotable

“Artificial intelligence can be a construction site of history... if technical progress learns to serve human life.” —Pope Leo XIV      (Magnifica Humanitas)

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Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

Still, it was kind of you to share in my distress. —Philippians 4:14

While Paul, in this passage, is talking about the sharing of material goods as a kindness, there is another type of kindness that seems to be in short supply in this election year--civility. Respecting life this month means that we must also respect one another in conversation. To that end, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops began a campaign in 2019 now called, “Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics.” Bishop Frank J. Dewane, of Venice, FL, emphasizes the importance of “Civilize It”: “Conversation in the public square is all too often filled with personal attacks and words that assume the worst about those with whom we disagree. We are in need of healing in our families, communities, and country. “Civilize It” is a call for Catholics to honor the human dignity of each person they encounter, whether it is online, at the dinner table, or in the pews next to them.” The USCCB invites you to join the “Civilize It” campaign by taking the pledge below in order to bear witness to a better way to promote civility, love our neighbors, and build a respect-filled community.

 I PLEDGE:

Charity—To affirm through my words and actions the dignity of every person, each made in God’s image. Even those with whom I disagree are made in his image. To respectfully listen in order to understand experiences different from my own.

Clarity—To engage in critical examination to ensure that my perspectives are rooted in truth, that my sources of information are unbiased, and that I do not open myself to manipulation by partisan interests. To form my conscience through prayerful reflection, study of scripture and Church teaching, and guidance from reputable experts. To reflect on my own values and seek, with others, to identify shared values. To be open to the process of dialogue that can require change of perspective—my own and others’—in service to the inviolable dignity of all and the common good.

Creativity—To be a bridge builder who participates in constructive dialogue based in shared values, a mutual exchange of gifts, and the humility to together seek the good. To see differences in perspective as opportunities for creative tension which can yield solutions for the common good. To work with others in order to identify creative solutions rooted in our shared values.

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Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Isaiah reading: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines.

Reflection: God gives us the richest food and choicest wine at our Eucharist today. What God has promised, God has fulfilled on this “holy mountain.” We are fed well and so we give thanks here. We also have hope that one day all will gather at God’s banquet table. A feast has been promised us that we can only imagine and wait in hope to receive. 

So, we ask ourselves:  

• What is our deepest hunger?

• What are we doing to tend to that yearning in our daily lives?

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Parables

• The meaning of most parables is not so obvious, or at least it shouldn't be. If we assume we know what Jesus is talking about, we are probably missing the main point; if we are too familiar with the story (having heard it so often before), we might not think carefully enough about its real meaning.

• Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual. They should cause you to say, "Wait a minute! That's not how farmers do their work! That's not what kings usually do! That's not what normally happens in nature!" And this strange element should cause you to think!

• Parables do not define things precisely, but rather use comparisons to describe some aspect of how God acts or interacts with human beings. Yet to say "A is like B" does not mean that "A is identical to B in all respects"; so one should be careful not to misinterpret or misapply the parables.

• We might think that Jesus spoke in parables to make it easier for people to understand his message.  According to the Gospels, however, he surprisingly does NOT expect everyone to understand them! In Matthew, at least the disciples of Jesus understand the parables; but in Mark, even they have a hard time understanding, despite receiving extra instructions in private! (a short analysis by James C. Christensen)

So, in looking at the parable of the Wedding Feast in Mt. 22, we are first alerted that we are in the parabolic realm at the very beginning when everyone in the kingdom refuses the invitation of the king to a wedding feast for his son. This would ever happen to a king in real life. This reminds me of a genre of literature which employs magical realism; the opening line or paragraph so fantastic that the reader is alerted that we are not dealing with a realistic news story here. I am reminded of John L'Heureux's wonderful short story "The Anatomy of Desire" which opens with this paragraph: Because Hanley’s skin had been stripped off by the enemy, he could find no one who was willing to be with him for long. The nurses were obligated, of course, to see him now and then, and sometimes the doctor, but certainly not the other patients and certainly not his wife and children. He was raw, he was meat, and he would never be any better. He had a great and natural desire, therefore, to be possessed by someone. The readers realize at the outset that the author is giving them a wink and a nod and is inviting them to go along on a fantastic ride. It is the same with parables, the strange or unbelievable elements in the parable let the listeners know that they are in what I might call "tall-tale" territory. They have to suspend their disbelief and go along with the game.

Other oddities:

The feast is already prepared and waiting before the king even knows how many would be attending. Why would the king summon only those of one city to the feast? Was it everyone in the city, rich and poor? And finally, when that invitation ends in disaster, the king issues a command to go to some vague set of main roads and haul in whoever they find—not much of a celebration with people no one even knows. Then the addendum (or some might say, a second parable, has lots of red herrings as well: why would the king have the servants summon the bad and the good alike? Why did only one man not manage to dress properly? Is doesn't make sense. At this point we have to realize that this is neither a realistic story nor a simple metaphor. The Jews who heard this parable did not expect realism or logic. For example: we cannot equate the king and God. The section about the king killing everyone in one city is nothing more than Matthew's no-so-veiled reference to Jerusalem being destroyed by the Romans—something some Jewish-Christians felt they deserved. But horrific, nonetheless. 

Parables were meant to catch Jesus' listeners off guard, to make them re-evaluate their normal ways of behaving, and to align their hearts with God's heart. Many parables, like the one about the Pharisee and the Publican, or the one about the Good Samaritan, employed elements which were very countercultural, and shocking to the people of Jesus' time.  However, because we have grown up with them, they seem familiar or even ordinary to us. Often, we need to translate those stories using examples from our own social and cultural situations in order to see how truly counter-cultural they are. These parables, which appear to be simple and straightforward stories, are actually multi-dimensional and complex. Frequently, we are left with things unresolved and have to make some conclusions of our own.  Does the elder brother ever go in to join the party welcoming the prodigal son home?  How do those in the vineyard who worked much longer hours respond to the words of the vineyard owner? Does the Good Samaritan return, and what happens to the victim?  Does the Pharisee ever understand his spiritual arrogance? Once they get inside, do the five "wise" virgins enjoy the banquet, knowing that their sisters are still outside? Why DID a guest at the wedding feast show up poorly attire and refuse to explain why?  How we resolve those issues in our own minds tells us a lot about our own attitudes. Are they in line with God's or not? If there is some overall wisdom to be gleaned from parables, it is this: God's ways are not our ways. Parables tell us that the fight for the kingdom is not played out in palaces and war rooms, but in the everyday events of our everyday lives. The struggle for the kingdom is carried out in our divided hearts, where we sometimes mutter "Thy kingdom come" without fully realizing that we might have to pray "My kingdom go". (Alan Redpath, British Baptist Preacher).  The parable demands that each of us answer the question "What do YOU say? How we answer defines our moral landscape. 

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Commentary on Matthew 22:1-14

From “Living Space” , a service of the Irish Jesuits

In our readings we have jumped from chapter 20 to chapter 22 and read another Kingdom parable not unrelated to yesterday’s about the workers in the vineyard. Yesterday it was a question of resentment at God’s generosity to latecomers in his kingdom. Today it is rather sadness over the Jewish leaders’ refusal to accept Jesus as Messiah and Lord. The parable is a kind of potted history and is more like an allegory than a parable. The king (God) gives a wedding banquet (the happiness of the Messianic age) for his son (Jesus the Messiah). But when he invites people (the Jews) to attend, they refuse to come and make all kinds of excuses. Others actually attack the king’s servants and messengers (the prophets and the early Christian evangelizers). The king becomes angry and “sent his army to destroy those murderers and burn their city”. Surely a reference to the Roman army under the emperor Titus which sacked and destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The Temple, the heart of Judaism, was also destroyed and plundered and has never since been rebuilt. Today an Islamic mosque stands on the site. Because the invited guests will not come, the servants (the Jewish disciples of Jesus) are instructed to go out and bring in anyone they can find. “They rounded up everyone they met, bad as well as good.” All are called – both the good and sinful. The climax of the story at first seems somewhat unfair. People have been pulled in from highways and byways and now one is condemned for not wearing a wedding garment! But the parable has in fact moved to the final judgement. In fact, Matthew may be combining what were two original parables into one. The wedding garment clearly stands for faith and baptism combined with a lived out commitment to the Gospel, something necessary to be accepted into the eternal happiness of the Kingdom. As Jesus says at the end, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Many were called and invited to attend the banquet. But more than that was expected of them. They had to answer the call by saying an unqualified Yes to Jesus. Being baptized and having the label ‘Christian’ or ‘Catholic’ is not enough. We have also to live out in our lives and relationships what we claim to believe in.

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Re: Kings banquet, 28th Sunday (the most recent NCR), another take: The garment of joy and the concept of  "spoiler"

Last part of Sr. Mary M. McGlone's essay on beginning of Matthew 22

"....Although the revised celebration hardly resembled the original plan, the activity, the sounds and the smells permeating the atmosphere proved that the king and his people were enjoying the festivities. All except for the spoiler. One person showed up with no intention of celebrating. The man who refused to wear a wedding garment was not a disdainer or rebel like the elites who refused the king's invitation. He was a subversive, intent on ruining the celebration from the inside. Like a skunk, he specialized in spraying emotional poison among those who came in contact with him. Jesus depicted the spoiler as the most insidious person at the banquet, and perhaps in the whole realm. A pretender to fidelity, by refusing to dress appropriately he flaunted the fact that he considered himself distinct from all the others. While the majority of the guests were far from saintly, this one person, assuming some sort of personal infallibility, attended the banquet but absolved himself from participating in its camaraderie. Refusing to put on a garment of joy, the spoiler contaminated the celebration with discord and temptation, excommunicating himself even before he was evicted. Today, we'll find spoilers among people of high rank as well as in the seemingly most ordinary individuals in church and civil society. They include authority figures who prey on others and the mean-spirited folks who delight in highlighting the flaws in every good work. They are treacherous because, unlike honest enemies, they wriggle their way into a community and pollute it from the inside. Their superior, judgmental and denigrating attitudes can be dangerously contagious and their activity can inhibit others from joining or enjoying the party...." Had you seen this interpretation before? 

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ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

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Opening Prayer

From The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius: A Literal Translation and a Contemporary Reading, by David Fleming, S.J.

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will—all that I have and all that I call my own. You have given it all to me. To you Lord, I return it.  Everything is yours; do with it what you will.  Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me (p.141)

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Companions for the Journey

By Daniel Harrington, S.J, from “America”, the national Jesuit magazine

In biblical times when ancient Israelites tried to imagine what the fullness of God’s kingdom would be like, one of their favorite images was a banquet. Today’s passage from Isaiah 25 provides a good example. The prophet pictures God’s kingdom as a grand banquet with “a feast of rich food and choice wines.” In a society in which such food and drink were in short supply, the image was powerful. The one who supplies this extraordinary meal is “the Lord of hosts,” and it is open to “all peoples.” It takes place on “this mountain,” most likely the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which itself was an image of God’s dwelling place. At this banquet God will destroy death, end all suffering and bring about salvation. At this banquet the hopes of God’s people will be fulfilled. Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd”) is most famous for its pastoral imagery of God’s care for us, leading us through the dark and dangerous places in our lives. The second half of the psalm, however, shifts the imagery and portrays God as the host at a lavish banquet. In the ancient Near East the two images—shepherd and host—were often applied to kings. Psalm 23 uses them to describe God as the king of kings and lord of lords. The third banquet image in this Sunday’s readings, the parable of the royal banquet in Matthew 22, develops the imagery further to make two important points about God’s kingdom. We have to accept the invitation to the banquet, and we have to behave in an appropriate manner when we are allowed in. In Matthew’s version of the parable, the invitation is to a royal wedding feast for a king’s son. Most people invited to such a banquet would feel honored and make every effort to attend. What is peculiar in this case is that those initially invited (the “A list” guests) refuse to come. They do not even bother to give good excuses, and they proceed to abuse and mistreat those who were sent to deliver the invitation. We know from the start that this parable concerns the kingdom of heaven. In what is a kind of allegory, the king is God, the servants are the prophets, and the ones refusing their invitation are those who reject Jesus’ invitation to enter God’s kingdom. The point of the first part of the banquet parable is that if you hope to participate in God’s kingdom, you must first accept the invitation. In Matthew’s context, the king’s harsh treatment of the city (“the king was enraged and sent his troops”) alludes to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Romans in A.D. 70. And the rejection of the invitation by the “A list” people (like the scribes and Pharisees) opens up the banquet guests to include marginal persons (like tax collectors and sinners) and eventually even Gentiles. The second part of the parable (which may well have once been a separate parable) insists that it is not enough merely to gain entrance to the banquet hall. Once there, you must behave in an appropriate manner. What if you had been invited to the White House for dinner and arrived in clothes that you normally use for yard work or painting? You would probably be asked to leave. The point is that having been admitted to God’s kingdom by faith and baptism, we will be expected to act in ways that befit who we have become “in Christ.” The Eucharist we celebrate as the sacrament of ongoing Christian life stands in the biblical banquet tradition. It is the banquet of God’s Son and points toward fullness of life in God’s kingdom. But it is not enough simply to show up. Rather, we need to participate actively, let the mystery of the Eucharist shape our identity, and we must act appropriately in our everyday lives.

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Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

Did you ever attend something and feel horribly out of place?   
How did you react?

Like those from the main roads invited to the feast, our church is also a mixture of the "bad and good alike".  Do you see any examples of this?

Are there people with whom you would rather not associate, or in Matthew's words rather not have certain people “be at the table"?  Who are they?

Have I ever been too busy to stop what I was doing to answer the invitation from Jesus?
Have I ever not wanted to have my life or my plans disrupted by an invitation from Jesus?
Has my response to Jesus been on my time or on God’s time?

Have there been instances since the time of Jesus which messengers of the Lord were mistreated when they went in person to extend an invitation to the kingdom of God?

When you hear in this story that the king sends his messengers to the crossroads to accept people of all types, what does that tell you about God?

Have I ever made judgements about the worthiness of certain people to be part of my religious experience (They don’t dress properly, they do not act piously enough, they seem to be having too much fun, they aren’t serious enough about the whole business of being a religious person)?

How do I prepare for God’s banquet?

From Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
How can I welcome others here to celebrate as an invited "guest" to the wedding feast?

What does it mean to you that someone was thrown out of the celebration for not being properly clothed?   

What do you think the “wedding garment” stands for in this story?

In spiritual or moral terms, what does it mean to be “properly clothed”?  
Does it refer to holding back on our commitment?   
Does it mean paying lip service but not committing (“their hearts are far from me”)? 
What do I need to do to be “properly attired” for God’s banquet?

Saying yes to the invitation of God involves a commitment on our part to respond in an appropriate way.  How often have people bragged about their inclusion in God’s invitation without reflecting on what might be required of them?

“Many are called, but few are chosen”. What does that mean for you?  
Do you believe this?  
Do you think you are “chosen” and others are not?

Were there any details in this parable that disturbed you?

From the website “Lectio Divina”:
Who are the persons who are normally invited to our feasts? 
Why? 
Who are the people who are not invited to our feasts? 
Why?
What are the reasons which today prevent many people from participation in society and in the Church? 
What are some of the excuses that people offer to exclude themselves from the duty to participate in the community?
Are those excuses valid?

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Closing Prayer

Lord, you have invited me to your table of love. I have often ignored that invitation or forgot about it because of life’s distractions. Sometimes when I have shown up, my heart was not in the enterprise, and my presence was sloppy, at best.  Do not stop inviting me because of my inadequate responses, Lord. Keep me open to your words of invitation and open to the changes in myself I must make to attend  your feast.

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For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session: Come to the feast.

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Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
Read the gospel story again, then imagine that the wedding is taking place in modern times, with all the extravagance, pomp, money and planning that goes into today's weddings. Who would be inviting the guests to the wedding? Imagine that you are a guest who does not wish to attend the wedding. What would possibly be your reason for feeling this way (too busy, don't really know or like the bride and groom, fancy parties are not your thing, etc)? What excuse would you give for not attending? Think of a time when you were invited to something and made up excuses so that you wouldn't have to go.  Do you think the person issuing the invitation saw through your excuses? How did you feel? Now imagine that it is a wedding of a very famous person, and for some reason, you are invited at the last minute to attend. What would be your reaction? What if you don't have the proper attire for a Black Tie Wedding in Beverley Hills?  Would you go anyway or would you stay at home? Who are the others at this fancy wedding? Are they "worthy" to be included in this group of the rich and famous? Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt that certain people should have been left off the guest list? Or have you ever felt out of place because of your lack of money, social skills or importance? How did you handle it? Now imagine that the wedding feast has been put together by Jesus. Would any of your actions or reactions change? Why?  Who is welcome at the Lord's table, and what do we have to do in order to be welcomed?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Think of the cost of many of today's weddings. Is it justified to spend multiple thousands of dollars on one party, many thousands on a wedding dress, flowers, and videographer, make-up artists, bands, and other extravagances when people are doing without? The average cost of a wedding in this country is almost $40,000! This following is excerpted from Justice Notes in a past issue of "First Impressions”: Many young couples struggle to make their wedding plans more like the Gospel "kingdom". They want their wedding to reflect their own generosity and broad experience of the needs of the world. They know that wedding planning is big business and want to plan an event which truly reflects who they are and does not leave them in debt for years. Here is another idea: The parish resource, At Home with the Word, references the I Do Foundation, a non-profit agency which offers couples a variety of ways to share part of their wedding spending with charities. I Do Foundation links engaged couples with a host of charitable giving options at their wedding, from its gift registry to invitations and wedding favors. The I Do Foundation was created in 2002 by a group of nonprofit leaders dedicated to developing new avenues of support for charitable organizations. The I Do Foundation's mission is to help engaged couples bring a charitable focus to their marriage. It provides a variety of donation options and wedding services to help engaged couples make charitable giving a part of their wedding. The I Do Foundation supports many nonprofit organizations that are actively striving to make our communities and society more equitable and just. The I Do Foundation has made a special commitment to support organizations working for low-income and underserved populations. In addition to its recommended partners, the I Do Foundation also donates to organizations suggested by couples. What you can do: If you or someone you know is planning a wedding, let them know about www.IdoFoundation.org. It will help make the wedding a "kingdom" celebration. (Submitted by Anne and Bill Werdel, from the parish bulletin of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh, NC)

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Poetic Reflection

Father Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. sees the Eucharistic banquet as our “feast of the kingdom” here on earth. Do you agree? What of yourself do you bring to the Eucharistic table?

Gather the People

What return can we make
for all the Lord has done in our lives?
We bring bread, wine, our clay dishes
and our clay feet
to this altar
and we pray that we may here
make a beginning—
that somehow in our days
we can begin to see the promises
the Lord has made us.

The promises do not always
glow with obvious light, or
overwhelm us by their obvious truth.
No matter what anyone says,
it is difficult to understand an invisible God
and belief is not always 
the easy way out.

So we gather the people
and we tell the story again
and we break the bread
and in the memory of the one 
who saves us,
we eat and drink
and we pray and we believe.

We gather, we pray, we eat.
These things are for human beings.
God has no need of them.
Yet he himself gathered the people,
prayed, broke bread
and gave it to his friends.

And so the invisible God became
visible
and lives with us.

from Psalms of the Still Country

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 4, 2026

What is my contribution to the work of God’s vineyard?

GOSPEL

Matthew 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 ones, 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 death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who 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 rejected has 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 you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

Commentary from Pluscarden Abbey, a Catholic Benedictine Monastery in Scotland

For the third week running we have a parable about a vineyard. Each one of these parables has been aimed against the Jewish Priests, Elders, Scribes and Pharisees who reject Jesus. Like the hired workers in the vineyard, they were envious of the divine generosity. Like the disobedient son of his Father, they professed themselves ready to do God’s will, but in fact they didn’t. And like the vineyard tenants, having rejected and murdered God’s servants the prophets, they were now planning to kill his only Son. Today’s parable, even more clearly than the others, evokes the song of Isaiah we heard in our first reading. There the vineyard is a figure of Israel. We can understand it also as a figure of God’s blessing on his chosen people, or even as this whole created world, or as the portion of life we have been allotted, given to us as the arena of blessing and salvation. God demands fruits of holiness from his vineyard; not indeed for his own benefit, but only for the benefit of his people. Yet, throughout their history, the Jews responded to the divine gift with disloyalty, and hard-hearted murmuring, and infidelity, and rebellion. According to Isaiah, a terrible punishment is to come upon the vineyard. That punishment is implicit also in the parable of Jesus. As a matter of historical fact, after the death of Jesus, a calamity befell the Jewish nation at the hands of the Romans, far greater than any that had occurred in Old Testament times. Yet this is not the only or even the chief moral of this parable. For the ways of God are not to be thwarted, and human wickedness cannot turn aside his plans of salvation. On the contrary. So the principal result of the infidelity of the Jewish leaders will be an explosion of grace and blessing. Because of their sin, gentiles and sinners who previously were outside the law will now be brought into God’s Kingdom. So our parable today is laden with irony. “Let us kill him”, say the tenants, “and take over the inheritance”. Yet killing Jesus is precisely rejecting what he came to give them. For the inheritance offered by God’s Son is not some paltry area of real estate: it’s the gift of divine life; a share in his own Sonship. “If we are Sons,” says St. Paul, “then we are also heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Rm 8:17). Similarly: the great aim of the Jewish leaders was to keep the gentiles out of their Kingdom. Yet the gentiles would now be included, precisely as a result of Jesus’ saving death. The stone they had rejected became the head of the corner: Jesus is that stone which, according to the letter to the Ephesians, binds Jews and Gentiles together into one Temple for God (Eph 2:21). I tell you then, says Jesus, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Wrestling with the apparent harshness of this sentence, St. Paul sternly warns us gentiles not therefore to be proud; not to sit back in self-satisfied judgement on our elder brothers the Jews. We have great cause for humility, for we have inherited such a blessing as we had no right to expect, and could never have deserved. As for the Jews: if their loss has proved so great a gain to the gentiles, cries Paul, how much greater a gain will come when all is restored to them (Rm 11:12)! Meanwhile, we have the received the mission of producing the fruits of the Kingdom. But in comparison with the Jews of the Old Testament, the stakes for us have been considerably raised. The Jews had only Moses and the prophets to guide them. The owner of the vineyard left his instructions, then went away; for it often seemed to them as if God were absent. But we have Jesus; we have the Holy Spirit; we have the Sacraments of the Church; we have the promise of eternal life. Yet we too can take Jesus, if we want, and cast him out, and attempt to kill him. We can reduce him to a practical irrelevance in our lives; we can banish him from our hearts; we can flagrantly disobey his law. As for leaders in the Christian Church: throughout history there have been found some who have proved themselves unworthy of their high calling. How terrible it is when, by giving scandal, they lead the little ones astray! Sometimes they have acted in their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ (cf. Phil 2:21). Sometimes they have been guilty of financial or sexual misconduct. And sometimes they have watered down the wine of the Gospel, or even mingled a few drops of poison in with it, when succumbing to a perennial temptation, they have accommodated themselves to the spirit of their own age. In this centenary year of Fatima we are reminded that grave warnings of calamity as a result of sin are by no means out of date. Our Lady warned of terrible afflictions for the world, and she did not fail to point even to the ultimate calamity, which is the eternal punishment of hell. Yet our Lady of Fatima, ever faithful to her divine Son, did not come in the first place to threaten. Her mission, like his, was above all to announce a great blessing, to invite us once again to great intimacy with God, to call us all once again to great holiness. And as with the parable, so in our own day: we may be confident that the purposes of God will not ultimately be frustrated. In spite of all human wickedness, or all human frailty, the vineyard of the Lord will not fail to yield its fruit. The building of the Church will continue to be raised up; God will continue to be served, and loved, and both Gentiles and Jews will continue to be called, and gathered into the Kingdom together. Our grounds for this hope are based on the pattern of history established by Jesus. First there is sin and death. Then there is resurrection from the dead. Jesus seems to be defeated. But he rises again victorious. He seems to have been killed. Yet this very act of killing brings about the outpouring of his life. So for all its apparent harshness, today’s story does have, will have a happy ending. God’s purposes will be accomplished. And every detail of the story will ultimately be a means for the pouring out of God’s benefits: for our own good, and for his glory.

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Commentary on Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

We have here a parable spoken to the unbelieving chief priests and elders of the people. It is the history of the Israelite people told in parable form. In fact, it is more of an allegory than a parable as each of the persons and incidents described point to real people and real events. Some scholars feel that what we have here is really an early Church document rather than something directly from Jesus. What seems more likely is that a parable spoken by Jesus has been modified in the light of later events. The owner of the vineyard is clearly God. The vineyard is the house of Israel, where God’s people are to be found. The tenants of the vineyard are the people of God. The servants sent to collect the harvest are abused in various ways – beaten, killed, stoned. The servants represent the prophets and other spokespersons sent by God to his people, many of whom were rejected, not listened to and even abused. Finally, the owner decides to send his son. “They will respect my son.” On the contrary, they saw that, if they got rid of the son, they could take over the whole vineyard for themselves. They could carry on without the owner. So they seized the son, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. A clear reference to Jesus being crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. And what will the king do then? Jesus asks. The leaders condemn themselves by answering the question: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end” as happened when the city of Jerusalem was totally destroyed in 70 AD. Instead, the vineyard is let out to new tenants – those Jews and Gentiles, the new people of God, who believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.” (This is one of only two instances where Matthew uses the term ‘Kingdom of God’ rather than ‘Kingdom of Heaven’.) The Gentiles had for long been rejected as unbelievers and outsiders. Now, it is on them, together with those Jews who accepted Jesus, that the Kingdom will be built. The Gospel ends by commenting that Jesus’ hearers understood his message perfectly but, because of Jesus’ popularity with the people, they could do nothing in retaliation for the moment. Again and again it has happened in world history that fighters for truth and justice have been rejected, jailed, tortured and eventually found themselves the saviours of their people. Pavel in Czechoslovakia, Mandela in South Africa, Martin Luther King in the US, Gandhi in India. Let us make sure that we are listening to the right people, the people who have the message of truth, love and justice and that we follow them. Jesus our Saviour still speaks through his followers.

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First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Have you ever seen a community garden? They pop up in poor neighborhoods. People with homes have backyards or can afford to buy what they need; but poor people don’t have backyards, nor can they always afford the nutritious food they need. I have preached in a Harlem parish five times. Harlem is a very dense neighborhood and, for the most part, still poor. There is a garden plot in Harlem that was a vegetable co-op – a community garden. For community gardens neighbors get together and clear the land of rubble and debris. They plant vegetables and flowers and take responsibility for attending the garden. Everyone gets to share whatever they agreed to plant. If every member is consistent and committed in their efforts, they all benefit and enjoy a shared harvest. If each does not perform their duties regularly and conscientiously the crops fail and it becomes just another weed-choked lot in the city. Community gardens: Scriptures use a similar image to communicate God’s truth to biblical people and to us. The “community garden” most mentioned in the Bible is a Vineyard – in both old/Hebrew and New Testaments. The prophet Isaiah speaks of God planting, caring for and protecting a vineyard. It is clear that the Vineyard is a symbol for the people of Israel. The Vineyard symbolizes God’s loving care for them. The people – the Vineyard – come to know God as: the Creator of all; the one who delivers them from slavery; their guide and protector in the desert –  whether a real desert, or a time of spiritual testing. People also came to know God as Israel’s partner in a community garden the people came to call – “the promise land.” Israel is to cooperate with God’s graces and produce the fruits of faithfulness, justice, integrity and holiness. When the people don’t keep up their end of the bargain God sends them prophets, like Isaiah, guardians of the Vineyard,  to remind them of what God has done; and what they should do in response to God’s gracious actions on their behalf. Today’s gospel picks up the familiar Old Testament theme of the Vineyard. The parable we hear today is an invitation to us to think about the quality of our efforts in the Vineyard. Initially, Jesus is challenging the religious leaders of his day for their failures as caretakers of the Vineyard – God’s people. The servants in the story were given much, a carefully planted and protected Vineyard. But the servants over reached in their desire to have it all. The owner provided all that was needed for a successful harvest: a protective hedge, a wine press, a tower for surveillance/security... And, as partner, asked for a share in the Vineyard. In their greed and laziness, the servants sought to make a claim on what was not theirs. Couldn’t the gospel story be applied now to our care of the planet? All creation is a gift from God, a gift God loves, has made beautiful for us. We are the privileged tenants. It’s not ours, we don’t own the planet. It has been entrusted to us, and we are privileged to use it and are to be responsible to take care of it. But our care of the planet has faltered. Resources are polluted and overused. For example, in Texas, over 700 chemicals are used in the fracking process to pump oil out of the ground, polluting underground streams in the process.  Locals have had to buy bottled water. The Sunday Dallas Morning News attributed earthquake increases to fracking. Imagine earthquakes in Texas! God continues to send us modern day Isaiahs, who speak for the care of our community garden. Our Sister’s Congregations and Religious Orders are all too familiar with the stories of our misuse of the precious gifts God has given us in our environment. They and we have heard the bad news. Let’s celebrate how God has not given up on us and sent modern-day voices calling us to be better/responsible caretakers. Our religious sisters’ congregational webpages show their response the Church’s modern call to works of justice and their care for creation. (E.g). 

https://oppeace.org/2016/06/08/dominican-sisters-of-peace-pass-corporate-stance-on-global-climate-change/?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

One symbol that needs no words has moved me. In the Vatican Conference on Climate Change there is the picture of “the Blue Marble (I am sure you have seen it) – the photo taken of the earth during Apollo 17's Luna Mission in 1972. The picture speaks an eloquent message: how would we not want to take care of such a precious gift from our Creator? Karl Rahner’s appreciation of the divine goodness in creation moved him to his optimistic teaching that: salvation was for the unbaptized as well as the baptized of all ages. Sister Elizabeth Johnson commenting on that same image of the earth – the Blue Marble  – called the network of living things on the planet “the community of creation”, that God created everything out of love. A word from our Dominican tradition:  the mystic Meister Eckhart, who lived in the 13th century, taught that, “Every creature is a word of God.” In another place he says, “If we could have known God without creation, then God would never have created the universe. – So, the created universe is central to our understanding of God, a prime source of revelation. A sign of God’s patience and forgiveness is that God never ceases sending us prophets, calling us back to be responsible tenants in the Vineyard God has planted for us. Polluted resources; global warming; shrinking rainforests; ice caps melting, over consumption.... All from lack of stewardship. We have not been good partners with the owner of the Vineyard. So, few enjoy so much from over consumption; while so many hunger for even basic nutritional needs. The Earth is our “community garden.” We, the tenants in the Vineyard are partners with God, the gift has been given, and it is our responsibility to care for it. In the ordinary daily use of resources today what role will we play in preserving, or depleting the gifts God has given us?  We pray at this Mass to be better caretakers of all God’s gifts. We celebrate the prophetic voices God continually sends to us, for God has not given up on us. Here our faith is fed through Word and Sacrament. Here our stewardship is challenged, and we are fed to fulfill our responsibilities as tenants in God’s Vineyard.

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Quotable

“Care for creation therefore represents a true vocation for every human being.” — Pope Leo XIV, Homily for the Care of Creation, September 5, 2025.

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Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s first  reading: (Exodus 34: 4b-6, 8-9)
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? The stone rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone. Jesus himself is the clearest example: rejected, suffering, and crucified, yet raised by God and made the foundation of our faith. God can take what others dismiss, overlook, or consider useless and give it new purpose. This can give us hope when we feel rejected or when our efforts seem insignificant. God may be doing something wonderful in places and people we are tempted to overlook.

So, I ask:

• Have I ever rejected someone whom God may be calling me to recognize and value?

• Where might God be building something new in my life from what I have overlooked or rejected?

• Can I trust God to bring something wonderful out of what seems small, broken, or unwanted?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, you were the stone rejected, yet you became our cornerstone. Help me trust your work in my life, especially when I feel overlooked or rejected.

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ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me.  May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God?  With others in my life? What am I grateful for?  Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret?  I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt.  God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

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Opening Prayer

(Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits)

I consider what it is that I think I own, Lord, and consider how it is that all good comes from you hands. So I give thanks, Lord, Every one of us has been given a vineyard by you. Our families, our communities, our work, our church, our environment are all parts of our vineyard. You do not exclude anyone from their vineyard. We exclude ourselves but not tending the vineyard we have been given. I know I am called to produce good fruits in this vineyard. Help me to use the gifts you gave me to help others.

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Companions for the Journey

(Adapted from “First Impressions”  2020, a service of the Southern Dominican Province)

We read scripture through our own cultural and religious biases, and we particularly interpret parables according to those biases. For centuries in the Christian church, the prevailing interpretation of this passage was a stinging indictment of the Jews who failed to recognize Jesus and the Jesus movement. It goes like this: the vineyard is the world and in this world, God made the Jews His special people, but they strayed from God’s will, and neglected to cultivate “the vineyard” the way God wanted. So God sent prophets down to shape them up. This did not go well. Finally, in desperation, God sent Jesus to set them straight, and those Jews killed Jesus as well. God has no use for them as a people. This somewhat anti-Semitic interpretation of Matthew’s passage had its beginnings as far back as the early days of the Church, when Rome attempted to quash all of the unrest about religion in this part of the world by destroying the Jerusalem temple in 70AD. The non-Christian Jews blamed the Christian Jews for this disaster, and later that year, in Jamnia, the Jewish leaders evicted the Christians from Judaism. As you can imagine, this caused a lot of bad feelings on both sides. Throughout the intervening 2000 years, this interpretation of the parable by Christians sometimes caused or explained away the feelings of resentment against the Jews in their midst, culminating in the elimination of over six million Jews in WWII. There are several problems with this interpretation, not the least of which is the lingering anti-Semitism still present in many places and in many hearts.  The other problem is our own understanding of this parable as not having anything to do with us and our behavior. If this is only about the Jews and Jewish leaders, then we and our religious leaders are off the hook. However, if we look at the parable as just punishment for a loss of justice and righteousness in a community of God, then we need to look at where we are as a people and as individuals in this regard. This parable is illuminated by the passage from Isaiah this week.  In Isaiah, justice means fair and equitable relationships in a community that has, as its base, the justice of God. This justice is expressed through honest dealings with one another; it fails when a more powerful class of people takes advantage of the weaker. If we are in good relationship with God, then from that relationship will come fidelity in doing the works God expects of us:  works of justice in the community. The prophet suggests that failure of justice/righteousness will lead to disaster for God's people. This section from Isaiah ends with a powerful indictment its  audience must apply to itself. It stops short of actually pronouncing the judgment, implying there still is time to change and conform to God's ways. As always, you can hear the God of love, who raised up a people out of slavery, reminding the people what is expected of them if they are truly to be God's people. They must be a just people, unlike the people of other gods. In their midst the poor are to be cared for and justice is to prevail—a sure sign that this nation has a different kind of God who sees to the needs of the poor, the orphaned and the widowed. We have our modern Isaiahs, powerful prophetic voices to lead us in God's ways. Notice, for example, how frequently our Pope and bishops have spoken out against violence in the world, the arms trade, on behalf of the poor, for the care of creation, etc. For example, as we draw closer to the national elections here is a statement made by the American Catholic bishops at their national meeting in 1998: “As citizens in the world’s leading democracy, Catholics in the United States have special responsibilities to protect human life and dignity and to stand with those who are poor and vulnerable. We are called to welcome the stranger, to combat discrimination, to pursue peace and to promote the common good. Catholic social teaching calls us to practice civic virtues and offers us principles to shape participation in public life. We cannot be indifferent to or cynical about the obligations of citizenship. Our political choices should not reflect simply our own interests, partisan preferences or ideological agendas, but should be shaped by the principles of our faith and our commitment to justice, especially to the weak and vulnerable.” We church members call ourselves “God’s people,” the “vineyard of the Lord of hosts.”  The Isaian parable and the Matthean parable should certainly speak and challenge us. We trace our faith life to its origins in God, who planted the seed of the Christ-life in us; nourished it by the scriptures and sacraments; and gave us prophetic witnesses, parents and teachers. God has also protected that life within us when it was stressed and tested; renewed it when we wandered and caused it to grow at the most unexpected times. So, the first thing we do today is remember with gratitude all God has done for us as individuals and as a community. But we have to ask the Isaian question too. After all God has done for us, what fruits will God find at vintage time? “God looks for judgment, but sees bloodshed!  For justice, but hark the outcry.” We call ourselves the people of God, but in our society do our poor receive preferential option; is there discrimination in our assemblies against the aged, disabled, gays, women, the undocumented, etc? Are our laity involved in decision making? Is there open disclosure of financial matters? Are the home-bound made to feel part of our community? Do we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned? The life of Jesus is given to us today to form us into a community that puts the usual ways of judging aside. We have to be sure to practice in our lives what we profess. We have to ask ourselves what we are doing to nurture the vineyard of God which is this world, and what we are requiring of our religious and political leaders. What needs to change and how can I make that happen? What more needs to be done, and what can I do?

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Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

Do I realize that this parable is not just about those from long ago who rejected Jesus, but also about me?
How am I behaving as a tenant of God’s vineyard?

I am made to give glory to God, andI give thanks as I realize that the goodness of God can be seen in my life. But have I, like the tenants in the parable, sometimes prefeed to run things in my own way?

From “First Impressions”. A service of the Southern Dominican Province
Where is our place in the vineyard?  
How is the labor going?  
Does God enter into our decision making? 
Do we see the places we serve as “owned” by God?  

Which parts of this parable do I find unrealistic?  Assuming the details were put there for a reason, what does this story tell me about God? (for example, what kind of Father sends his son into certain danger?)

Do I see in this parable a message that God has entrusted me with His vineyard ( the kingdom) and it is my job to make it increase, but using my own talents and experience to do so?

Do I see in this parable a story of God’s deep down love for me and for all his creation, or do I only see God’s vengeance against those who have done wrong?

How did Jesus deal with rejection by those who he came to save and by those he counted as his friends?

Who are the modern day prophets for truth and justice have been have been rejected, jailed, tortured, maybe even been killed, but eventually recognized as saviors of the people?

We often want to live our own lives as we like, make our personal decisions in our own interest. Where does our pride and our selfishness blind us to the job we were commissioned to do?

Have I ever had an experience having a project I lovingly developed fall apart because those entrusted to make it happen lost interest or even sabotaged it?  
What did I do?

What have I done to further the kingdom of God in this world?
How have I treated anyone who called me to account?

From ”First Impressions”:
Has there ever been someone in my life who has been a persistent voice urging me to change?
Is it possible in that person’s persistence, God is telling me to make the necessary changes in my life?

How do we make sure we are listening to the right people, the people who have the message of truth, love and justice?

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Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

(Adapted from Thomas Merton, in New Seeds of Contemplation,pp.44-46)

Jesus, keep me from loving money, in which there is hatred, from avarice and ambition which suffocate my life. Stamp out the serpent covetousness that kills all joy; untie my hand and deliver my heart from envy. Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised as activity, when activity is not required of me, and from cowardice which follows the lead of others in order to escape discomfort. Give me the courage to stand firm in the face of popular opinion and help me to understand that in your will is my joy and peace.

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For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today's session: Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.

Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Many people experience God as a Deus Absconditus—A God who has deliberately hidden himself from humanity, a God who is not present in our everyday lives, in our everyday troubles, our everyday pain and sorrow.  We have become a “post-religious” world, that is, we seem to function as a society without reference to our creator, our redeemer, our sustainer.  How hard is it for you to maintain a relationship with a largely silent God?   How do you do so?    Where do you find God—in the natural world?  In art or music? In the people people you love?  In innocent children? Have you ever had a time in your life when your distinctly felt God’s presence?  God’s absence?  How did you deal with the experience?   What do you think is your role in bringing an awareness of God’s grace and presence into the lives of others?   Why is it that when people try to bring God into the conversation, it is usually as a corrective for another’s behavior?   What does that tell me about our image of God in our own minds and hearts? How can we enlarge those minds hearts to imagine the kind of God who cares so much for the Kingdom that he would send his own Son to us?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
(Taken from Sacred Space) Every one of us has been given a vineyard by God. Our families, our communities, our work, our church, our environment are all parts of our vineyard. God does not exclude anyone from their vineyard. People exclude themselves by failing to tend the vineyard they have been given. I am called by God to produce good fruits in this vineyard. In this time of pandemic, how am I using the gifts he gave me to help others? What more can I do?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
(From “First Impressions” 2020) [The Lord of Hosts] looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!—Isaiah 5:7
In Isaiah 5, the vine is a metaphor for the people of Judah and because of their social injustice, they clearly failed God’s intention and threaten its destruction. Fast forward eight centuries to Jesus’ time and Matthew writes of another vineyard where God expects a harvest of righteous fruits and will not tolerate injustice. Jesus is speaking to the chief priests and elders and, through the story, tells them because of their injustice the kingdom of God will be taken away from them and “given to a people that will produce its fruit (Matthew 21:43). Fast forward again to the present time. The 2019 U.N. Human Development Report argues that the unrest and protests in the world are about more than disparities in income and wealth, but are driven, also, by inequalities in opportunity and power that leads to lack of access to jobs, healthcare, education and social mobility. Pope Francis has identified inequality as a moral problem, saying in Evangelii Gaudium, “Inequality is the root of social ills.” The vineyard again is in danger of being destroyed because of social injustice. Now, is the time of reckoning. The Compendium of Social Doctrine of the Church #83 says that the human conscience is called to recognize and fulfill the obligations of justice and charity in society. But, more is needed than just fulfilling obligations. Pope Francis provides this wisdom, “In every age, humanity experiences injustices, moments of conflict and inequality among peoples. In our own day these difficulties seem to be especially pronounced. Even though society has made great progress technologically, and people throughout the world are increasingly aware of their common humanity and destiny, the wounds of conflict, poverty and oppression persist, and create new divisions. In the face of these challenges, we must never grow resigned. . .we know that there is a way forward, a way that leads to healing, mutual understanding and respect. A way based on compassion and loving kindness” (11/29/17). When you come to the vineyard to clear the social injustice that has grown there, bring all of your gifts and your love. To learn more about inequality around the world and what can be done to narrow the staggering economic inequality that so afflicts us in almost every aspect of our lives, explore inequality.org a project of the Institute for Policy Studies. —Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director, Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Raleigh, NC

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Poetic Reflection

How does this poem from Thomas Merton capture our need to listen for the voice of God in our vineyard?

In Silence
Be still
Listen to the stones of the wall.
Be silent, they try

To speak your
name.
Listen
To the living walls.
Who are you?
Who Are you? Whose
Silence are you?

Who (be quiet)
Are you (as these stones
Are quiet). So not
Think of what you are
Still less of What you may one day be
Rather
Be what you are (but who?) be
The unthinkable one
You do not know

O be still, while
you are still alive
And all things live around you
Speaking I I do not hear)
To you own being,
Speaking by the Unknown
That is in you and in themselves.

"I will try, like them
To be my own silence:
And this is difficult.  The whole
World is secretly on fire, The stones
Burn, even the stones
They burn me,  How can a man be still or 
Listen to all things burning?  How can he dare
To sit with them when
All their silence
Is on fire?

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 27, 2026

What does it mean to say “yes” to Jesus?

GOSPEL

Matthew 21:28-32

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him."

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

There is plenty of room in our readings from Ezekiel and Matthew. Room for what? Spacious room to change. In Ezekiel, God challenges the complaint that God is unfair. The prophet points out that there is plenty of room in God’s heart for the person who turns away from wrongdoing and begins to live rightly. That person, God says, “...shall preserve their life; they will surely live, they shall not die.” Similarly, in today’s passage from Matthew’s Gospel, the first son refuses his father’s command: “Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.” He says, “No,” but later changes his mind and goes. The father then approaches the second son and gives him the same command. The son says, “Yes, sir,” but does not go. Jesus shifts our attention from words to actions. One son said “No,” but eventually followed his father’s wishes and went to work. The other said “Yes,” but did not. For our Christian community, the readings from Ezekiel and Matthew call us to shift our attention from words to actions. This is an important examination for us. When we gather, we say and do the right things: we profess our faith, attend worship, and speak about the values of compassion and justice. But the Gospel asks whether our lives and our community actually embody what we profess. We are invited to examine our “Yes.” Is it possible to say the approved prayers, come to Mass, belong to parish groups, and speak about faith, yet fail to do the works of the Gospel? On the other hand, someone whose faith has been weak, or whose path has been troubled, can turn around and begin to live a Gospel life with sincerity. God leaves the door open for conversion. The parish, therefore, should not become a community that labels people according to their past. We are called to be a community where people can change, begin again, and discover that God’s mercy is always calling us forward. The question is not simply, “Have I said ‘yes’ to God?” It is, “Where is my ‘yes’ taking shape in the way I live?” The connection between Ezekiel and Matthew becomes especially clear when we see that both readings are about conversion: turning our lives around and putting our faith into action. Jesus is challenging our community. Are we merely saying “Yes” to God, or are we actually going into the vineyard? This suggests a reflection for our Eucharist today. We need to ask the Spirit to guide us: “Where is the vineyard I need to enter, and once there, what work am I being asked to do?” There is good news here. Jesus does not say that the person who once said “No” is beyond hope. What matters is the willingness to change and then act. The Christian community is not a community of people who have always said and done the right thing. It is a community continually learning to turn around, hear God’s call, and put faith into practice. The question for us is not simply, “What do we say we believe?” but “What are we doing because we believe it?” I confess that I do not always pay enough attention to the Responsorial Psalm. So, following the spirit of what I have said above, I would like to stop and reflect on today’s selection from Psalm 25. The Psalm gives us a prayer that naturally flows from the Ezekiel reading: “Teach me your paths, O Lord… Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my Savior.” The Psalmist does not claim to already know the right path. Instead, the Psalmist asks God to show the way and lead them along it. That is precisely the attitude Ezekiel calls for. Conversion is not simply feeling sorry for the past. It is turning and choosing a new direction. There is also a beautiful connection in the Psalm’s emphasis on God’s mercy: “Remember that your compassion, O Lord, and your love are from of old.” Ezekiel’s message might initially sound severe: our choices have consequences. But Psalm 25 shines light on the other side of that message: God is merciful and willing to teach, guide, and forgive. We are never trapped by our past. There is always room to turn around. There is always room to change. And, in the heart of God, there is always room to begin again.

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Quotable

“God makes us courageous people who, by confronting evil, build up the good.” —Pope Leo XIV, April 16, 2026

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Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries, Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also for those of others.—Philippians 2: 3-4

Back in 1987, I had my first intense encounter with a truly financially challenged family when I agreed to re-draw plans for a Habitat for Humanity home to accommodate their family of eight. They were living in a rundown rental house in Wake County that had no running water, a leaking roof, and a single front door. Yet, Dorothy, the mom, had the most expansive, joyful personality. As a mother myself, I don’t know if I could have been so optimistic in her circumstances. She changed the trajectory of my life when I realized that she had the same hopes and dreams for her children as I had for mine. Accompanying others beyond my immediate family brought a joy and fulfillment as a Christian that I could not have imagined. Actions to bring God’s just kingdom to the world is both an attitude and a practical response based on the principle that everyone should look at another person as another self. Solidarity with others at every level is a way of accomplishing this. Solidarity takes many forms: “solidarity of the poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves, between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and peoples” (CCC, no. 1941). In the Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, 201), the late Pope Francis echoes this teaching: No one must say that they cannot be close to the poor because their own lifestyle demands more attention to other areas. This is an excuse commonly heard in academic, business or professional, and even ecclesial circles. While it is quite true that the essential vocation and mission of the lay faithful is to strive that earthly realities and all human activity may be transformed by the Gospel, none of us can think we are exempt from concern for the poor and social justice. Evangelical author Shane Claiborne states, “The great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that rich Christians do not know the poor.” Are you a Christian that does not know a poor person? Join one of the social justice ministries at HNOJ Cathedral and be a friend to someone outside your box. It will change the trajectory of your life.

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Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading: A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, “Son go out and work in the vineyard today.” He said in reply, “I will not,” but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, “Yes, sir,” but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.”

Reflection: Did you notice in today’s parable there is no mention of how things turned out when the first son changed his mind and went into the vineyard? How hard of a worker was he when he finally got to the vineyard to work? Did he do what was expected of him? There are no standards or measurements of success laid out for us in this story.  The emphasis is just on someone who changed his mind; who in the end, responded to an invitation. Maybe that is what is pleasing to God: our desire to serve and our attempts, if at times feeble, to respond–while we leave plenty of room for God to step in and fill in the gaps. The big ones and the small ones.  

So, we ask ourselves:  

• Shall we pray today for healing from past hurts caused by those who lied to us or disappointed us? 

• And shall we ask for the ability to forgive them?  

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Benedictine Reflection

Monks in the Benedictine Tradition say that a good monk is “obedient”. What does that mean, “obedience?” To some, it means that we are to do as we are told. To others, it means that we are supposed to wait until we have asked what should be done. I can humorously picture a monk running through an Abbey to the Abbot about every little detail. “The root of obedience is the Latin word which means “to hear.” In fact, the first word in the Rule of St. Benedict is “Listen,” as in “listen to the ear of your heart.” To live a Christian life, it is important to be obedient to God. Yet, what does this “obedience” look like? Obedience is important to the understanding of this passage from the Gospel of Matthew. The parable that is painted of the two sons, one who says he will, but doesn’t and the one who says he won’t, but does. Just for popularity, Jesus points to the people who are supposed to be the leaders of the “chosen people”, and says, “you are the ones who say yes, but don’t follow through.” It is the equivalent of, “here! Let me stick my finger in your eye. ”Clearly, the second son was listening but not obedient. The first son, it seemed like he was not listening, but then an amazing thing happened. His heart became involved. The words of the Father, after a time of disobedience, began to sink into his heart. The first son was cut to the heart and realized that he was actively disobedient to his father. He was disrespectful to his father by saying no to his face. He was rude, arrogant and unappreciative of the help that his father needed. This is not to mention the disrespect of all that the father provided him. How would his dad feel about this? What kind of frustration must it have left the father in to think his son would just leave him hanging high and dry in the father’s day of need? What was the motive? Love, guilt, duty? What? The second son gives lip service to get the honor and the status, but then rejects his father and lives out the disrespect that the first son just could not upon thinking about it. The second son is the one who is selfish, self-serving, self-centered and the greater disappointment. There are several observations that need to be made here. Both of the sons are, well, sons. They are beloved of a father, a Father in Heaven, who created them and gives them life. God loves us all. I have said to you over and over again to remember that passage from the Sermon on the Mount in Chapter 5, which says, “[the Father] makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” We are not dealing with favorites. There are no favorites for God: he loves us all.  They are children who have been called upon by their Father to give help in the vineyard of life, to go and spread the word of the love of God. The job of spreading the word of God to all was given to the Chosen People and Jesus is saying that their leadership is not getting it done at that time. It is a lesson for our time. The Father in Heaven needs the word, his Word, spread more than ever. We need people to answer the calling to get out and go. The work in the vineyard is needed and you just might be asked by the Father to go and work it. The point should be made that the second son was disobedient, but so was the first. There are none who complete the word of God. None of us are perfect. None of us have been good all our lives. We all sin. Just like we should take note that God does not play favorites, we should do well to remind ourselves that all of us have failed God. Yet, what this also means is that, just like the first son, who blew it with his mouth, there is always a chance to repent. We CAN turn it around. We CAN read our Bibles for once. We CAN pray a little prayer everyday. We CAN invite our friend to church we have neglected for so long. There is never a time when we CANNOT start working in the vineyard for Jesus. The question is, how do we get to the vineyard, and the answer is in the Benedictine concept of “obedience.” Hear what the Benedictine Rule says,  “Listen, carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.”  It means that if the Father tells you that the intent is to bring more people into the Church, then you are to do the loving thing, the kind thing that exhibits hospitality and welcoming others like that person is Christ. It does NOT mean that you would make people feel like they are outsiders and ostracized, lacking the love of God. Let me be clear, I am not advocating everything goes, by no means! I am advocating that we treat everyone with the same love with which God loves them. Does God send sunshine or rain on some, but not others? No, of course, not. Our approach is not to make everyone keep every jot and tittle of the law like we cannot do. It is to invite them to think of what the Father is asking of us, let it sink into our hearts and then invite them to turn from the way they were living and moving to a life that is in love with the Father. It is an invitation to a life that respects the Father and his requests. It is an invitation to a life of love of the other. It is a life that desires to love perfectly. All of these things are at the heart of what love is about. When Jesus was asked which of the commandments was the greatest, he answered that upon one commandment hung all the law AND the prophets: to love God, and the second was like it, to love your neighbor.  To be obedient to God is to ask in every situation, what is the loving thing? What is the thing that shows the greatest concern and care for the person standing right in front of me? Sometimes that means giving a little more mercy than is called for. Sometimes it means standing sadly and lovingly firm. Whatever it is, it is to love. The point of this parable is that we are to serve God out of love, not out of a sense of weaseling out of what we don’t want to do for the Father who loves us so. The point of the parable is that we don’t want to be like THAT GUY. Are you? Are you “THAT GUY?”In the coming week I challenge all of us to think of two things. First, wake up every day and realize that God loves us like he loves everyone. There is no one who is more valuable than us. We are no more valuable than anyone else. Second, what is it that God is asking you to do this day that you have been neglecting to do? Do it. He loves you, start to do it now. Amen? Amen.

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Commentary on Matthew 21:28-32

It helps to be aware that today’s Gospel reading follows immediately on yesterday’s when the authority of Jesus was called into question. Today Jesus offers the religious leaders a parable. It is about two sons who were asked by their father to go and work in his vineyard. One refused to go, but later repented and went. The other son said he would go, but did not. The question is then: “Which of the two did the will of his father?” The parable can be read on two levels. On a more general level, it is the common theme of the Gospel that doing is more important than mere words. “It is not those who just say, ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the Kingdom…” The important thing is actually to carry out the will of God in our daily lives. On a more particular level, the parable points to the situation which Jesus was facing.The religious leaders and many of the apparently religious people, who believed they were following God’s ways, refused to believe in John the Baptist and, after him, Jesus himself. On the other hand, people who were rated as deeply sinful and violators of the Law – tax collectors and prostitutes, responded to the call of John to repentance. They were deeply moved by John’s preaching, changed their ways and were baptised by him in the Jordan. Even after that, the religious leaders still made no move. When Jesus came, again the religious leaders refused to see God’s hand in all he was doing, while huge crowds gathered round him.The religious leaders are like the son who said ‘Yes’ to the Lord’s word but did not follow it out in their lives. They were experts in the wording and interpretation of the Law. The sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, who had constantly violated the Law of God, repented and changed their ways. It is clear which group is finding its way into the Kingdom. Of course, we are not reflecting on these readings just to know how proud and arrogant the chief priests and elders were. They are for us to reflect on for our own lives. Do we think that because we are practising Christians we are in a privileged and untouchable position? Do we spend a lot of time praying in church but not doing much loving outside of it? Do we find ourselves speaking in a critical or condescending way of less devout Christians or of people who do not seem to be very moral by our standards? We have said Yes to God by our baptism and membership of the Church but can we say that we always carry out what God is asking us to do? Probably, after some honest reflection, we would have to admit that we are not really in a position to sit in judgment on others. Given the gifts and graces we have received as Christians, we may not be doing very well compared with those who have never enjoyed the support of a Christian faith and a Christian environment. As Christmas approaches, let us be followers of the Lord in deeds as well as words.

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From Matthew 20:17 to Matthew 21: 28

There is, as you can see, a gap between the gospel of the 25th Sunday and the Gospel of the 26th Sunday. In Chapter 20,on the 25th Sunday, we left Jesus speaking to his disciples about the laborers in the vineyard, trying to teach them that God’s economy is different from the world’s. At that point Jesus started what we now know was his final journey to Jerusalem. A lot of these events show up elsewhere in the liturgical cycle or are found in other liturgical cycles. He made his third and final prophecy of the passion; the mother of the sons of Zebedee made a request on their behalf that her sons get preference in the coming kingdom (we know how THAT turned out) and this led him to make remarks to the other 10 disciples about the importance of leaderships with service. Leaving Jericho, they met two blind men sitting by the side of the road who shouted a plea to Jesus to cure them. Out of pity , he did so. Chapter 21 opens with the approach of Jesus and disciples to Jerusalem. These stories show up in the Holy Week narratives, and include Jesus sending disciples to obtain a donkey, which He rode into Jerusalem (miming the entrance of the Roman soldiers from another gate, on large horses, with all the trappings of power). We see the enthusiastic greeting of the crowds, a story recalled in the Palm Sunday liturgy. Once in Jerusalem, Jesus proceeds to the temple and drives out the money changers, excoriating them for their greed and disrespect. After staying overnight in Bethany, Jesus returns to Jerusalem. On the way, he curses a barren fig tree for being useless, and it withers and is thrown into the sea. This event I s followed by Jesus teaching the temple, where his authority to do so is challenged by the chief priests and elders.  He refuses to tell them by what authority he has been preaching, and this is the place here we pick up today’s story. The parable of the two sons seems to have been addressed to those in authority at the temple and the Jewish leadership writ large. It is all about lip service versus actual engagement, and strikes at the hypocrisy of those who pretend to be more obedient to God than they really are.

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ENCOUNTER CHRIST REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS

Preparation for the Session

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence.  Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

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Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to remember that the kingdom of heaven is not promised to the charmers, but to those whose life would make no sense if God did not exist. Help me to examine my behaviors and  focus on the times I have failed to live up to promises I have made. Keep me focused on my behavior and my lapses, rather than the failures and lapses of others. You see into my heart, and know what is there. Help me to fill my heart with love for you and others so that I may have the courage and the energy to follow through on promises I have made. 

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Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions“ 2008, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Remember index cards? I still use them and I notice some public speakers and preachers do too. Here is an index-card exercise. Think of the times people said they would do something for you—and didn't. Include the people who said they would do something, were sincere about it, but then changed their minds or, their hearts turned away from you.   Remember your disappointment? Write each time on a different index card. Warning: this can be a painful exercise. Then stack the cards in front of you. Are there a lot of cards in that stack? This will bring to mind incidents going all the way back to childhood when a friend made a promise with words and gesture, "cross my heart and hope to die." When a group of friends said they would get you through a difficult period or trial in your life and then, after initial responses, drifted away and got distracted by their own activities. A loved one dies and at the funeral home a cousin or sibling promises, "I will be there for you," and they weren't. A first date promised, but never called back and dropped off the face of the earth. I think we would have preferred outright rejections, a "No, I can't do that for you," is much more honest than a "Yes," that turns out to be a "No." When someone we trust or seems honest, gives us a "Yes" and doesn't follow through, we get blind-sided. We are caught off guard and are vulnerable, since we invested ourselves in their initial "Yes."  We thought we could fall back on their word; that we could rely on them when we needed them, but they never showed up; never even followed through to tell us why they weren't there for us when we needed them. "But you said...," we want to protest. They aren't there to hear our disappointment. There are some very serious moments in life when a person has given a "Yes" with solemnity and profundity. That kind of "Yes" is so serious it is placed in the context of a ceremony. Someone promises to love and be there in "good times in bad, in sickness and in death, till death do us part." But we come to discover that, even with all those words and ritual, the "Yes" was an empty one. Or, it was half-hearted. Or, after a while, a heart chilled, turned away and the "Yes" became a "No." How could we not be affected till this present moment by those disappointments? As we look at the index cards of empty promises, who would blame us for locking our heart in a box—locking it up and never again giving it away or entrusting it to another's promise? We look on those index cards with heavy hearts, scarred by the disappointments they represent. But we need to also acknowledge the times we too have said our "Yes"—and not followed through. Our "Yes" has become a ‘No." Do we remember? Should we write those occasions on another stack of cards to examine them and reflect on the effects those unfulfilled promises have had on others? We tried to please someone and said "Yes," but meant "No." We said "Yes," to avoid a confrontation—we were less than honest. We too gave our share of half-hearted "yeses."  People thought they heard commitment behind our "Yes," but our heart wasn't in it and it never left home; it stayed back in fear or indifference. Those who trusted our "Yes" were disappointed. Those of us who took vows, may have become less than committed, while not unfaithful, still not given a whole-hearted and responsive "Yes." We may have taken another for granted; let things slide; become unwilling to invest ourselves again when the going got tough. Through our baptism and the subsequent renewals of our baptismal promises, we have said our "Yes" to Jesus many times. But has that "Yes" now become a "No?" Have our religious practices become merely ritualistic?  Do we give the impression of being committed to our faith—but we know better. We may just be following the routine made firm by years of repetition. Our hearts aren't really in it; our "Yes," truth be told, is really a "No." We suspect that if we wanted to make an authentic "Yes" to Christ and his service, we would have to make some serious changes in our lives and we have decided not to do that. We might be well aware of our deep-down resistance to God. We may be like people who go to a twelve-step program, listen to the witness of people who have been helped; hear what will be required of us to make a similar change, and decide to just go along pretending to what is not true—our words don't measure up to the reality of our actions.  We say a public "Yes," but we know our hearts aren't in it. To this Sunday’s Eucharist we bring both stacks of index cards. We bring our hearts that have been wounded by the disappointments and betrayals we have experienced in our lives. We bring the hurts caused by promises made to us, that went unfulfilled. We ask for healing, so that our hearts, once hardened by betrayals great and small, might be softened by the Christ who is present to us in this sacrament and who knows himself the wounds of betrayal caused by those closest to him. We ask for healing. We also ask for forgiveness for those we have disappointed with our empty or half-hearted "Yeses." They put trust in us, perhaps at their most vulnerable times, and we did not follow through and were not there when we promised we would be. What I find interesting in today's parable is that there is no mention in it of how things turned out. How hard of a worker was the first son when he finally got to the vineyard to work?  Did he meet his quota; do what was expected of him? There are no standards of measurements laid out for us in this story.  The emphasis is just on someone who changed his mind; who in the end, responded to an invitation. Maybe that is what is pleasing to God: our desire to serve; our attempts to respond—while we leave plenty of room for God to step in and fill in the gaps. The big ones and the small ones.  

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Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions:

What are the subtle ways in which a “yes” becomes a “no”?

Have I ever said “yes” to someone or to a group but really meant “no”?  

Have I ever said “yes” but somehow never got around to living out that “yes”?
What were the reasons—to keep the peace in the moment; to avoid public embarrassment; to avoid conflict, laziness or forgetfulness for example?
Did it change my relationship to the person or to the group?

Did I ever acknowledge my failure to follow through or did I just ignore it, hoping no one would notice?
How did it work out?

It is easy to give words of assent, and harder to follow through with time, effort and attention. With which of these two sons do I identify myself? 
Which am I—the smooth but unreliable daddy-pleaser, or the guy who, even with a bad grace, does the job?

How many times did someone in my life say he or she would do something, and then did not?
How did I feel?  
Did it alter our relationship?

Has my response to such a disappointment been an unwillingness to trust anyone again, or an unwillingness to take a risk?

What is the difference between a casual promise to do something and a solemn promise to do something (a dinner date or a vacation plan vs marriage vows, religious vows, a confidentiality promise, a legal agreement)?

Who, in today’s world, would be the ones society considers “righteous ones”?
Today, who are the “prostitutes” and the “publicans” who say: “I do not want to”, but who end by doing the will of the Father?

Jesus, on his last journey to Jerusalem, makes it clear to the important religious leaders within his hearing that He considers them people who practice lip service, but whose hearts are far from God. Again, He states a preference for those the world deems unworthy or sinful, but who change their hearts and minds to do God’s will. How comfortable am I with that idea?

Have I ever been complacent about my relationship with God?
Have I ever fallen away, even a little, from my commitment to Jesus and the gospel?   

In other words, Have I ever said “yes” to God, but failed to keep my promise? 
What were the reasons?
Can I recommit?  
Why or why not?

Do I see in this gospel a message that it is never too late to turn back to doing what God wants?

Conversion is a lifetime process, so where am I in the process of conversion?

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Closing Prayer

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for: 

Lord, help me to say yes when I am supposed to and no when I have to—discerning what my answer should be through prayer and reflection. May your will be done, and may I be a manifestation of that will. Help me to be honest and true, faithful and giving without strings attached…Please show your kindness and understanding to those who were not able to follow through, who failed you for one reason or another.  Help me to be an instrument of your kindness and understanding to those ion my life who have failed me or failed themselves.

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For the Week Ahead

Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today's session: Which of the two did the Father’s will?

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Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
I think of those people in my life who have disappointed me in one way or another.  Have I forgiven them?  Was that forgiveness extended in such a way that I was able to use it as way of reminding them how they failed me in the past? Was it a revisiting  of the sense of betrayal I felt so they could feel guilty all over again?   How could I forgive people for failing me without dredging up those failures?  Can I forgive myself  for the times I have failed another, or failed God?   What does that process look like?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Often, when people are attracted to a certain religion or when people who are repelled by the same, there has been an experience with a person who mirrored for them a certain notion of religion.  People who encounter scandalous, indifferent, ignorant, judgmental or intolerant Catholics are going to be repelled. People who encounter joyful Catholics who believe and can be honest with their joys and struggles might be attracted and even converted. So the challenge is this: Can you give an account of your faith?  Can you avoid defensiveness and “church-speak” when discussing your religious views? Are you a welcoming and understanding person?  Are you re-making the Church and God in your own image and presenting that image as truth? Are you slapping quick and uncompromising theological answers on some really painful dilemmas people have?  Are you listening for what is not being said?  Are you mirroring Jesus as he talked to tax collectors and sinners? Is your version of Church always right, or can you enter into dialogue? In your interactions this week try to reflect on the version of Catholicism you are presenting to those you meet. It really matters!

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
(From “Sacred Space,” A service of the Irish Jesuits)
Jesus says to me: ”What do you think”? Do I take time out to think about where I stand in relation to God? Do I give my soul an opportunity to catch up? I ask the Lord to help me to give time to thinking about things that really matter…I review the statements and declarations I have made; I ask God to help me abide by them and accept God’s forgiveness for where I have fallen short…Jesus speaks this parable to me. I avoid applying it to others right now and simply accept Jesus’ warmth as he sees how I have served. I listen for his invitation as he shows me where I hold back…To live in the kingdom is to be ready to rub shoulders with all kinds. God’s love is given freely and is accepted by many. I pray  for a heart that is open to those who are not like me…

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Poetic Reflection

This poem by e.e.cummings demonstrates the complacency of those who are sure they do no wrong, are sure that they have always said “yes”, but who have often said “no” to what matters, like humility, caring for others, not bad-mouthing or gossiping about others, listening to the voice of God in their lives, etc.

the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls
are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds
(also, with the church's protestant blessings
daughters, unscented shapeless spirited)
they believe in Christ and Longfellow, both dead,
are invariably interested in so many things-
at the present writing one still finds
delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles?
perhaps. While permanent faces coyly bandy
scandal of Mrs. N and Professor D
....the Cambridge ladies do not care, above
Cambridge if sometimes in its box of
sky lavender and cornerless, the
moon rattles like a fragment of angry candy