Faith Sharing Class for Confirmation Year 1 and Year 2 is September 25, 2023, from 7pm to 8:30pm.
Please bring your Bibles, Notebooks and Pens.
RITUAL FOR CONFIRMATION YEAR 1
Ritual for Confirmation Year 1 – “Beginning the Journey” is on October 8, 2023. Please arrive at 4:30pm and proceed to the Church for Ritual Instructions. Your Sunday’s best dress attire is a must. Parents and Teens must attend the Youth Mass.
Annual Walk & Pray for the Hungry
Our “Annual Walk and Pray for the Hungry” is set for October 14, 2023 from 8am to 12nn. This is a mandatory event and our one and only fundraiser to help us for our “Christmas Toy-Give-Away.” Please make sure you are working on your sponsorship for your walk. Deadline to submit the form is on the day of the Walk.
CHALLENGE
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A – In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, Jesus teaches about God's generous mercy.
Background on the Gospel Reading
In today's Gospel, Jesus moves from Galilee to teach in Judea where he is sought out by great crowds and tested by the Pharisees on issues such as marriage and divorce. Jesus also encounters a rich young man who is unable to accept Jesus' demand that he leaves his possessions to follow him. Jesus' response to the rich young man sounds very much like the conclusion we will find in today's Gospel: the first will be last and the last will be first.
On the surface, the parable of the workers in the vineyard appears to be an offense to common sense. Those who work a longer day ought to be paid more than those who work just an hour or two. When viewed in this way, the landowner seems unfair. That is because we are reading into the parable our own preconceived notions of how fairness and equality should be quantified.
A close read shows us that the landowner paid on the terms that were negotiated. The landowner, it seems, has acted completely justly. The parable goes beyond that, however, and we come to see that the landowner is not simply just, he is exceptionally just. He is radically just. He has given those who labored in the field for a full day their due pay. But he has also given a full-day's wage to those who worked only a single hour. No one is cheated, but a few receive abundantly from the landowner just as we receive from God more than what is merely justifiable or due. God, like the landowner, is radically just and abundantly generous. The workers who complain are made to look foolish as they lament the fact that landowner has made all workers equal. Indeed, what more could one ask for than to be treated as an equal at work or anywhere else?
The parable reminds us that although God owes us nothing, he offers abundantly and equally. We are occasionally tempted to think that our own actions deserve more reward, more of God's abundant mercy, than the actions of others. But God's generosity cannot be quantified or partitioned into different amounts for different people. When we think that way, we are trying to relate to God on our terms rather than to accept God's radically different ways.
Matthew 20:1-16
If you can attend Mass in person and you are longing for Him in the Eucharist, then Jesus wants to see you. Come to Mass this Sunday and be transformed by His Word and by the Eucharist.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7