20 September 2026 Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel: Matthew 20:1–16a
Today is the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The passage taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew presents to us a parable spoken by Jesus. This brings to mind the ordinary state of Christian life today. For the shifting world in which we now live, beyond ties of flesh and blood, is also ordered by the relationship between employers and employees. The employees spoken of here are those whom employers recruit from the labour market, or those unemployed for various reasons: they seek job postings matching their career aspirations through online job portals, in-person job fairs, or internal company referrals, and submit their CVs via these platforms, email, or post, that they may finally enter the company they long to join. The employers spoken of here are those who post job vacancies; like the householder in the parable Jesus told his disciples (cf. Matthew 20:1–7), they recruit all manner of talent from the labour market to meet the needs of production and operation.
Today, the landowner in Jesus’ parable is God, who invites those “made in his own image” (cf. Genesis 1:27–28) to undertake all manner of work in his vineyard. Those who receive this invitation are those who, in this shifting world, through earnest penance and prayer, or at a particular moment, hear God’s call to them. When they accept this invitation, they are responding generously to their vocation; when they enter the vineyard to work, they are fulfilling the mission God has entrusted to them in the way they judge right.
Once, when I was at a parish speaking with some altar servers, a number of them often complained: “I arrive earlier than the other servers, I am always preparing the various liturgical items, yet my parish priest has never praised me, let alone commended me. Instead, he commends brothers who joined the parish liturgy team after me.” I think this is precisely the attitude of the workers in today’s Gospel who grumbled against the landowner for treating those who worked only one hour with such generosity (cf. Matthew 20:12), for in their eyes, they deserved a greater wage.
Today, I would say to these altar servers who complain that their parish priest is unjust: “You have put to good use the gifts of intellect and talent God has given you, serving the parish diligently; God will surely reward you according to all you have done. But you must also pray for those brothers who come after you, that they too may be filled with zeal for the Word of God and for God’s altar. For only thus will the seed of God’s Word in your heart bear yet more abundant fruit. In this way, you will have won your brother.” I also invite him, and all of us, to pray with me to God:
O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbor, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
19 September 2026 Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Luke 8:4–15
Today is Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke presents to us the parable of the Sower spoken by Jesus.
First, Luke tells us: At that time, a great crowd gathered, and people from town after town came to Jesus. (Luke 8:4) This is a beautiful image. Jesus comes out of the house and sits down by the sea, and a great multitude gathers around Him. This image recalls to my mind our Holy Father Pope Francis. Pope Francis did not choose to reside in the Apostolic Palace but lived in the Domus Sanctae Marthae until his death. Like Jesus, he kept the People of God close to himself. He continually taught the flock entrusted to him in faith. Likewise, our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, following the example of his predecessor, constantly gathers the People of God in Saint Peter’s Square.
From the parable of the Sower spoken by Jesus (cf. Luke 8:5–8), we see the relationship between the People of God and the Word of God. Still more clearly, from Jesus’ own explanation of this parable (cf. Luke 8:10–15), we perceive the relationship between the Word of God, the People of God, and this world. For the seed is the Word of God. The Word of God was with God in the beginning. (John 1:2) From the moment we come forth from the womb and enter this world, God unceasingly reveals to us the mysteries of the Kingdom through “all things were made through Him and for Him” (cf. John 1:3). With His infinite mercy, God further reveals the mysteries of the Kingdom to us through our parents and elders, our schoolmates and teachers, our colleagues and superiors—all fellow creatures—who by their toil and sweat water the seed God has sown in our hearts, so that it may sprout and grow. Our hearts, the environment in which we live, our parishes, our communities, and the integrity of those who proclaim the Word of God to us—all these determine whether the Word of God can take deep root within us and bear fruit. Likewise, our conduct reflects our understanding of the Word of God. If we fail to grasp the Word of God fully, integrally, and rightly, those who live with us may, on account of our imperfect words and deeds, come to a mistaken understanding of the Word, so that the Word cannot bear abundant fruit in this passing world through the faithful proclamation of the People of God. Yet if we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God and act according to His holy will, the seed of the Word sown by God in our hearts will bear abundant fruit—and likewise in the hearts of all those whom He is pleased to enlighten.
Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
18 September 2026 Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Gospel: Luke 8:1–3
Today is Friday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke shows us the disciples and the women who were with Jesus. This brings to mind our own parishes and Christian communities.
Today, Saint Luke tells us that Jesus went through cities and villages proclaiming and announcing the good news of the Kingdom of God (cf. Luke 8:1). By this he wishes to tell the Christian community to which he writes that Jesus did not choose to remain in Nazareth, still less in Capernaum; He chose to leave the place where He was. He did not cease His preaching but came to city after city and village after village, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom.
In our own parishes and Christian communities, we often see those conservative Christians who are unwilling to leave the place that makes them feel comfortable. They are content to share their experience of faith only with the brethren and sisters they already know in the parish, and are reluctant to share it with those brothers and sisters who have just begun coming to the parish for Mass. Therefore, I wish, on this occasion, to remind such brothers and sisters: as Christians, we are called to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world. We are to proclaim it not only to our parents and relatives and friends, but also to everyone we meet in daily life, practicing charity and bearing witness by our lives to the Gospel we preach.
Then Saint Luke tells us: with Him were the Twelve Apostles and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary, who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, steward of Herod; and others who provided for them out of their resources (cf. Luke 8:2–3).
From Luke’s description we see another mark of the Christian. The Christian is by no means a solitary figure within the Church; he lives in community—in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church; in the communion of saints; in a Church marked by fraternal charity. Those Christians who live with us have the same experiences as we do; like us, they encounter the love of God in ordinary daily life. Like us, they have received the one Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, the anointing of the one Holy Spirit, and, by the same faith, the one Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Together with the women and the Apostles mentioned in the Gospel, they generously assist the Church in fulfilling her mission.
Today, let us imitate those disciples who followed Jesus—Mary Magdalene, called the “Apostle to the Apostles,” and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, steward of Herod—and generously respond to the call of God, so as to fulfill worthily the mission that is ours.
Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
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