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MEDITATION FOR JANUARY 27
PARABLE OF THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard” (Matt. 20, 1).
First Prelude: Hear Jesus relating this parable to His disciples.
Second Prelude: Pray for the grace to be a true laborer in the Lord’s vineyard, that you may merit a great heavenly recompense.
FIRST POINT
NECESSITY OF SERVING GOD
God is our supreme, sole Master; we are His property. Therefore, we are obliged to think, to speak, and to live for Him alone. By fulfilling this sacred obligation, we pay homage to Him as our Lord and God. This service, however, redounds to our own advantage, since to glorify God and to work at our perfection are one and the same—the one is impossible without the other. In today’s gospel narrative our Saviour likens the service of God, the sanctification of self, to the strenuous labor in a vineyard. The stony soil of the vineyard must be tilled, the vines must be pruned and trimmed that they may bring forth fruit. We must accomplish this hard and laborious task in ourselves by mortification of our inclinations, by combat of our ill-regulated desires, by extirpation of our faults and by the implanting of virtues. No one is exempt from the duty of sanctifying self, no one may be idle, but every one must work according to his ability. Neither riches nor poverty, neither health nor infirmity, nor yet age, can exempt us from this duty. If God demands our service He, in turn, will serve us, since we can do nothing without the assistance of His grace. In His merciful love, He will support us in this long and tedious task. What does He not do for them that serve Him with constant fidelity? He abides in their hearts and imparts to them abundant graces and consolations. He grants them true peace and inexpressible happiness even here below.
How unhappy, on the contrary, are they who resist the impulse of grace, serve God with reserve, and spend hours and days in spiritual idleness, waiting in the world’s mart without thought of the honor of God and their own salvation. He who does not labor incessantly for God is a victim of a most baneful inactivity. Every moment which we do not employ for God is an infringement on His rights.
Shall I not one day be deserving of the reproach that I have idled away the greater portion of my life? Oh, how many would serve God with far greater fidelity than I, if they had the means of grace which the good God affords me! How often, even in religion, have I preferred self-will to the loving exhortations of the Lord! Can I still resist the grace of God, which urges me so powerfully to be solicitous in the all-important affair of my salvation.
SECOND POINT
THE RECOMPENSE OF THE LABOR
How welcome is evening to the patient toiler, who, in the sweat of his brow, has borne the burden and heat of the day! How joyously he awaits the well-earned recompense at the hands of his master! Will not the evening of life be infinitely rich in blessings for pious religious who have labored faithfully in the Master’s vineyard! This evening will afford abundant compensation for the many sacrifices they have made in the daily discharge of their duties. Oh, my soul, be mindful of this consoling truth when the sufferings of life weigh heavily upon, and well-nigh crush you. Likewise, bear in mind that in meting out the recompense, God shall consider neither age nor the number of days spent in His service, but rather the love and fervor with which you have served Him. It will avail us little to have spent many years in religion, if we have not acquired facility in the practice of mortification, of obedience, of humility, of pure intention.
Have you, perhaps, cause to blush for shame and to consider yourself the least among your companions? What a powerful incentive to virtue in the words of the Saviour: “The last shall be the first and the first, the last!” If the grace of God has called you to His vineyard in early youth, be on your guard lest you grow negligent and suffer those that entered “last” to outstrip you in zeal. However, even the “last” should not be disheartened, mindful that by redoubled effort they may still merit the compensation of the first.
Has my fervor always been commensurate with the graces imparted to me so generously? Would it not be presumption, were I to esteem myself superior to others, who may have had the misfortune to fall? By humility and zeal, they may easily surpass me, who am so negligent in the affair of my salvation. Should I not strive from this day forward to be more zealous in the service of God that I may not be among the last in heaven?
Affections: O my God, in Thy infinite goodness and mercy Thou hast called me to labor in Thy vineyard, to work out my salvation, to strive for perfection! How much of the precious time allotted to me have I squandered in idleness and neglect! Henceforward, I will labor faithfully and perseveringly, with Thy grace, to the evening of my life, in order to regain lost time. To incite my fervor, and to render myself deserving of a high degree of reward in heaven, I will, in all humility, consider myself as one of the last in Thy service. Grant me, O Jesus, the spirit of immolation characteristic of Thy true followers, that, performing all my actions in the spirit of love, I may attain the degree of perfection to which Thy infinite mercy has called me.
Resolution: I will be zealous in the practice of that virtue of which I am most in need.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Why stand ye here all day idle? Go ye also into my vineyard.”
Prayer: Take, O Lord . . .
PARABLE OF THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD
“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard” (Matt. 20, 1).
First Prelude: Hear Jesus relating this parable to His disciples.
Second Prelude: Pray for the grace to be a true laborer in the Lord’s vineyard, that you may merit a great heavenly recompense.
FIRST POINT
NECESSITY OF SERVING GOD
God is our supreme, sole Master; we are His property. Therefore, we are obliged to think, to speak, and to live for Him alone. By fulfilling this sacred obligation, we pay homage to Him as our Lord and God. This service, however, redounds to our own advantage, since to glorify God and to work at our perfection are one and the same—the one is impossible without the other. In today’s gospel narrative our Saviour likens the service of God, the sanctification of self, to the strenuous labor in a vineyard. The stony soil of the vineyard must be tilled, the vines must be pruned and trimmed that they may bring forth fruit. We must accomplish this hard and laborious task in ourselves by mortification of our inclinations, by combat of our ill-regulated desires, by extirpation of our faults and by the implanting of virtues. No one is exempt from the duty of sanctifying self, no one may be idle, but every one must work according to his ability. Neither riches nor poverty, neither health nor infirmity, nor yet age, can exempt us from this duty. If God demands our service He, in turn, will serve us, since we can do nothing without the assistance of His grace. In His merciful love, He will support us in this long and tedious task. What does He not do for them that serve Him with constant fidelity? He abides in their hearts and imparts to them abundant graces and consolations. He grants them true peace and inexpressible happiness even here below.
How unhappy, on the contrary, are they who resist the impulse of grace, serve God with reserve, and spend hours and days in spiritual idleness, waiting in the world’s mart without thought of the honor of God and their own salvation. He who does not labor incessantly for God is a victim of a most baneful inactivity. Every moment which we do not employ for God is an infringement on His rights.
Shall I not one day be deserving of the reproach that I have idled away the greater portion of my life? Oh, how many would serve God with far greater fidelity than I, if they had the means of grace which the good God affords me! How often, even in religion, have I preferred self-will to the loving exhortations of the Lord! Can I still resist the grace of God, which urges me so powerfully to be solicitous in the all-important affair of my salvation.
SECOND POINT
THE RECOMPENSE OF THE LABOR
How welcome is evening to the patient toiler, who, in the sweat of his brow, has borne the burden and heat of the day! How joyously he awaits the well-earned recompense at the hands of his master! Will not the evening of life be infinitely rich in blessings for pious religious who have labored faithfully in the Master’s vineyard! This evening will afford abundant compensation for the many sacrifices they have made in the daily discharge of their duties. Oh, my soul, be mindful of this consoling truth when the sufferings of life weigh heavily upon, and well-nigh crush you. Likewise, bear in mind that in meting out the recompense, God shall consider neither age nor the number of days spent in His service, but rather the love and fervor with which you have served Him. It will avail us little to have spent many years in religion, if we have not acquired facility in the practice of mortification, of obedience, of humility, of pure intention.
Have you, perhaps, cause to blush for shame and to consider yourself the least among your companions? What a powerful incentive to virtue in the words of the Saviour: “The last shall be the first and the first, the last!” If the grace of God has called you to His vineyard in early youth, be on your guard lest you grow negligent and suffer those that entered “last” to outstrip you in zeal. However, even the “last” should not be disheartened, mindful that by redoubled effort they may still merit the compensation of the first.
Has my fervor always been commensurate with the graces imparted to me so generously? Would it not be presumption, were I to esteem myself superior to others, who may have had the misfortune to fall? By humility and zeal, they may easily surpass me, who am so negligent in the affair of my salvation. Should I not strive from this day forward to be more zealous in the service of God that I may not be among the last in heaven?
Affections: O my God, in Thy infinite goodness and mercy Thou hast called me to labor in Thy vineyard, to work out my salvation, to strive for perfection! How much of the precious time allotted to me have I squandered in idleness and neglect! Henceforward, I will labor faithfully and perseveringly, with Thy grace, to the evening of my life, in order to regain lost time. To incite my fervor, and to render myself deserving of a high degree of reward in heaven, I will, in all humility, consider myself as one of the last in Thy service. Grant me, O Jesus, the spirit of immolation characteristic of Thy true followers, that, performing all my actions in the spirit of love, I may attain the degree of perfection to which Thy infinite mercy has called me.
Resolution: I will be zealous in the practice of that virtue of which I am most in need.
Spiritual Bouquet: “Why stand ye here all day idle? Go ye also into my vineyard.”
Prayer: Take, O Lord . . .
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