October 24, 2026 Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time or Optional Memorial of Saint Anthony Mary Claret Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
Today is Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. The Church today celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop. The recently published Roman Missal tells us: Saint Anthony Mary Claret (1807–1870) was born near Barcelona, Spain. In 1849, he founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians) and was appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He worked tirelessly to spread the Gospel and strove to improve the living conditions of slaves. Anti-clerical sentiment at the time was so severe that he survived no less than fifteen attempts on his life. In 1857, he returned to Spain and served as confessor to Queen Isabella II.
Today, the passage from the Gospel of Saint Luke presents us with a parable Jesus told His disciples on His journey to Jerusalem—a parable about a fig tree, the owner of the orchard, and the gardener. Let’s try to understand.
We often experience hardship in life—illness, the death of loved ones, setbacks in our careers. Whenever we encounter these things, it is easy to judge according to our own private opinions: those who suffer must have committed grave sins, and so God punished them. But Saint Paul tells us: sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and thus death came to all, because all have sinned (cf. Rom 5:12-14). Yet God, rich in mercy, sent Christ into the world, “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God, he made him to be sin who did not know sin” (2 Cor 5:21). The infinitely merciful Christ poured out His precious blood on the Cross, pleading for those who hurt Him: “Father, forgive them!” (Luke 23:34). Therefore, whenever we experience some suffering in life, we should thank God for the pain we endure—for it is through suffering that we more deeply experience Christ’s love, so that our thoughts, words, and deeds may become ever more like His.
Some told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus answered: “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! And if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Luke 13:1-5). We might be filled with righteous indignation, hoping that Jesus would condemn Pilate. But Jesus teaches us a different worldview: God is love, and He loves everyone—including those who hurt Him. Pope Leo XIV said: “God’s love is infinite. It does not come with a discount, because He loved us first!” Saint Paul also says: “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:3-4).
In the parable Jesus tells today, we see for three years the owner found no fruit on the fig tree and wanted to cut it down; the gardener begged to let it remain one more year, to dig around it and fertilize it (Luke 13:6-9). The Father is the owner; Jesus is the gardener. The fig tree represents us—if we do not bear fruit of righteousness, we shall be cut down. Jesus desires that we be united to Him through Baptism, for He is the true vine; if we abide in Him, we shall bear much fruit (John 15:5). When we become like Him, we will no longer focus only on ourselves, but on the marginalized and the vulnerable in society, willingly serving them and defending their rights. Whenever we do this, we are bearing fruit worthy of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). For only in this way can we remain in God’s vineyard, be with Jesus at every moment, and become His missionary disciples of love.
O God, who for the evangelization of peoples strengthened the Bishop Saint Anthony Mary Claret with admirable charity and long-suffering, grant, through his intercession, that, seeking the things that are yours, we may earnestly devote ourselves to winning our brothers and sisters for Christ. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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