Poem: “Song at the Beginning of Autumn” by Elizabeth Jennings

 Now watch this autumn that arrives

In smells. All looks like summer still;

Colours are quite unchanged, the air

On greens and white serenely thrives.

Heavy the trees with growth and full

The fields. Flowers flourish everywhere.

 

Proust who collected time within

A child’s cake would understand

The ambiguity of this – 

Summer still raging while a thin 

Column of smoke stirs from the land

Proving that autumn gropes for us.

 

But every season is a kind

Of rich nostalgia. We give names – 

Autumn and summer, winter, spring – 

As though to unfasten from the mind

Our moods and give them outward forms.

We want the certain, solid thing.

 

But I am carried back against

My will into a childhood where

Autumn is bonfires, marbles, smoke;

I lean against my window fenced

From evocations in the air.

When I said autumn, autumn broke.

Photo: Mary Oliver

 

Spirituality: Mass on the World, Teilhard de Chardin SJ

Since once again, Lord, I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar to say Mass,

I will make the whole earth my altar
and on it will offer you all the labors and all the sufferings of the world.

Instead of bread, I will offer the harvest to be won by today’s labors. Lord, say again the words: This is my Body over every living thing which will spring up, grow, flower, ripen during this day.

Instead of wine, I will offer every activity and force that withers, corrodes, fails, and dies; into my chalice I shall pour all the sap to be pressed from the earth’s fruits. Lord, say again the words: This is my Blood

All the things which today will increase;
all those that will diminish or die:
all of them, Lord, I try to gather into my arms, holding them out to you.

We believe you are present in them.
This is the Mystery of Faith.

Poem: “Equinox” By: Rainer Maria Rilke

The garden is growing dark.
The stars are shining.
Let us, then, bow our heads to earth’s rhythms
And acknowledge the wisdom of change.

We are Tenants, not Owners: The Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026

                                           We are Tenants, not Owners:

The Twenty-Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026 

October 4, 2026

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Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

 

 

I was speaking to a friend after Mass last week and he said that he found all of these parable stories quite boring. Previously, I said to a Jesuit in my community that I found all these parables so energizing because it challenges all the presumptions that we hold. It has the potential to rock our spiritual world. We cannot read this as an historical account. This Gospel passage seems particularly fragile because it asks what we are doing today. It asks the question: Does our tenancy in the vineyard produce fruit because it belongs it to the one who produces much fruit?

 

A typical Catholic reading of this passage may produce this response: The kingdom has been taken away from the Jews and it now belongs to the Catholics. Sometimes Catholics act with exceptionalism and presumption. We see that passage as an historical fact that Jews did not recognize Jesus, but Gentiles did, and so we are the owners. We see it as an allegory of the trial and Crucifixion because they did not recognize Jesus, the owner’s son, who was put to death. We rest in the assurance that we have got it right. We think we have acted responsibly and have to do nothing more. Uh oh!

 

We have to read this in the present as if it is unfolding before us today. We first have to realize that we are tenants – not the owners. The vineyard, the faith, the kingdom, does not belong to us. We are stewards of something that belongs to God, who will give it to whomever does the work of God. We think we do the work of God, and no one else does it as fully. The problem in the story is about the refusal to recognize God, the one to whom the vineyard belongs. Jesus is confronting religious leaders who have been entrusted with God’s people but failed to recognize what responsibility means. They have confused being entrusted with the kingdom to owning it.

 

The warning about responsibility has consequences: The kingdom will be taken away from you and it will be given to others who will produce its fruit. The kingdom is not a reward for those who have accumulated the greatest religious credentials or have the long-lasting, enduring structure, like the Papacy. Religious privilege does not earn God’s favor. None of the Christian churches can say, “We have always been God’s people, therefore, the kingdom belongs to us.” The question is: are we producing the fruit of the kingdom? It requires our constant conversion and discernment. If not, it can be given to “new tenants” who respond differently to God’s invitation. It is not about superior moral achievement. It is about God bringing forth something new with those who accept responsibility for the kingdom.

 

What kind of tenants are we? What are we doing with it? Are we cultivating it for others and using it for God’s intended purposes? Are people experiencing mercy through us? Are people that we might have once considered sinners find welcome in our hearts? Or do they experience our wrathful judgment? Do we allow the wounded to find healing? Or the excluded finding a place with us? Are we certain that we are listening to God? Are we so convinced of our rightness and righteousness, are we so certain, that we stop listening to the owner? 

 

The vineyard does not belong to us. We need to be responsible stewards. We have to be very careful. When we who are entrusted with God’s work use that trust for ourselves rather than for God’s purposes, God has no hesitation to entrust the work to others who will bear its fruit. This is a serious responsibility. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass 

Monday: (Galatians 1) I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.

 

Tuesday: (Galatians 1) You heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism
beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.

 

Wednesday: (Galatians 2) After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–but privately to those of repute–so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.

 

Thursday (Galatians 3) O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?

 

Friday (Galatians 3) Realize that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.
Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, Through you shall all the nations be blessed.

 

Saturday (Galatians 3) Scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed.

 

Gospel:  

Monday: (Luke 10) There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind,

 

Tuesday: (Luke 10) Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 

 

Wednesday (Luke 11) Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."

 

Thursday (Luke 11) “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him.’

 

Friday (Luke 11) When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

 

Saturday (Luke 11) While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.”

 

Saints of the Week

 

October 4: Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was from the wealthy Bernardone family who sold silk cloths. After serving as soldier as a prisoner of war, Francis chose to serve God and the poor. He felt called to repair God's house, which he thought was a church. His father was angry that he used family money so he disinherited him. He began to preach repentance and recruited others to his way of life. His order is known for poverty, simplicity, humble service, and delighting in creation.

 

October 6: Bruno, priest (1030-1101), became a professor at Rheims and diocesan chancellor. He gave up his riches and began to live as a hermit with six other men. They had disdain for the rampant clerical corruption. The bishop of Grenoble gave them land in the Chartreuse mountains and they began the first Carthusian monastery. After serving in Rome for a few years, Bruno was given permission to found a second monastery in Calabria.

 

October 7: Our Lady of the Rosary recalls the events in 1571 of the Christian naval victory over the Turks at Lepanto near Corinth. Victory was credited to Mary as confraternities prayed the rosary for her intercession. 

 

October 9: Denis, bishop and martyr, and companion martyrs (d. 258), was the first bishop of Paris. He died during the Decian persecutions by beheading at Montmarte, the highest hill in the city. Lore has it that he picked up his head after the beheading and walked six miles while giving a sermon. Denis was sent to Paris to bring Christianity and was thereby called, “The apostle to the Gauls.”

 

October 9: John Leonardi (1542-1609), was a pharmacist’s assistant before studying for the priesthood. He became interested in the reforms of the Council of Trent and gathered laymen around him to work in prisons and hospitals. He contracted the plague while ministering to those who were sick. He founded the Clerks Regular of the Mother of God to care for the sick.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• October 4, 1820. In Rome, great troubles arose before and during the Twentieth General Congregation, caused by Fr. Petrucci's intrigues. He sought to wreck the Society and was deposed from his office as Vicar General, though supported by Cardinal della Genga (afterwards Leo XII). 
• October 5, 1981. In a letter to Father General Arrupe, Pope John Paul II appointed Paolo Dezza as his personal delegate to govern the Society of Jesus, with Fr. Pittau as coadjutor. 
• October 6, 1773. In London, Dr James Talbot, the Vicar Apostolic, promulgated the Brief of Suppression and sent copies to Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
• October 7, 1819. The death of Charles Emmanuel IV. He had been King of Sardinia and Piedmont. He abdicated in 1802 and entered the Jesuits as a brother in 1815. He is buried in San Andrea Quirinale in Rome. 
• October 8, 1871. The Great Chicago Fire. Most of the city was destroyed, but it missed Holy Family, the Jesuit parish, as the fire turned north thanks to the prayers of Fr. Arnold Damen. The fire lasted three days; 250 were killed. 
• October 9, 1627. Jansenius left Louvain for Salamanca to foment antipathy against the Jesuits and thus prevent Philip IV from giving the Society a large college in Madrid. The theological faculty at Salamanca were hostile to the Society. 
• October 10, 1806: The first novitiate of the Maryland Mission opened as ten novices began their Long Retreat under the direction of Fr. Francis Neale (himself a novice who had entered the Jesuits that day.)

Somos inquilinos, no propietarios: Vigésimo séptimo domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

                                     Somos inquilinos, no propietarios:

Vigésimo séptimo domingo del tiempo ordinario de 2026

4 de octubre de 2026

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Isaías 5:1-7; Salmo 80; Filipenses 4:6-9; Mateo 21:33-43

 

 

La semana pasada, después de misa, hablé con un amigo y me comentó que todas esas parábolas le parecían bastante aburridas. Antes, le dije a un jesuita de mi comunidad que a mí me resultaban muy estimulantes porque cuestionan todas nuestras ideas preconcebidas. Tienen el potencial de transformar nuestra vida espiritual. No podemos interpretarlas como un simple relato histórico. Este pasaje del Evangelio parece particularmente delicado porque nos pregunta qué estamos haciendo hoy. Nos plantea la siguiente pregunta: ¿Acaso nuestra participación en la viña da fruto porque pertenece a aquel que produce mucho fruto?

 

Una lectura católica típica de este pasaje podría producir esta respuesta: El reino ha sido arrebatado a los judíos y ahora pertenece a los católicos. A veces, los católicos actúan con excepcionalismo y presunción. Vemos ese pasaje como un hecho histórico: los judíos no reconocieron a Jesús, pero los gentiles sí, y por lo tanto, nosotros somos los dueños. Lo vemos como una alegoría del juicio y la crucifixión porque no reconocieron a Jesús, el hijo del dueño, quien fue condenado a muerte. Nos tranquilizamos al creer que hemos actuado correctamente. Pensamos que hemos actuado con responsabilidad y que no tenemos que hacer nada más. ¡Uy!

 

Debemos leer esto en presente, como si estuviera ocurriendo hoy ante nosotros. Primero, debemos comprender que somos inquilinos, no dueños. La viña, la fe, el reino, no nos pertenecen. Somos administradores de algo que pertenece a Dios, quien lo dará a quien haga su obra. Creemos que nosotros hacemos la obra de Dios, y nadie más la hace con la misma plenitud. El problema en esta historia radica en la negativa a reconocer a Dios, a quien pertenece la viña. Jesús confronta a los líderes religiosos a quienes se les ha confiado el pueblo de Dios, pero que no han comprendido el significado de la responsabilidad. Han confundido el hecho de que se les haya confiado el reino con poseerlo.

 

La advertencia sobre la responsabilidad tiene consecuencias: el reino les será arrebatado y se les dará a otros que produzcan sus frutos. El reino no es una recompensa para quienes han acumulado las mayores credenciales religiosas o poseen una estructura duradera y perdurable, como el Papado. El privilegio religioso no otorga el favor de Dios. Ninguna iglesia cristiana puede decir: «Siempre hemos sido el pueblo de Dios, por lo tanto, el reino nos pertenece». La pregunta es: ¿estamos produciendo el fruto del reino? Esto requiere nuestra constante conversión y discernimiento. De no ser así, puede ser entregado a «nuevos inquilinos» que respondan de manera diferente a la invitación de Dios. No se trata de logros morales superiores, sino de que Dios produzca algo nuevo con aquellos que asumen la responsabilidad del reino.

 

¿Qué clase de inquilinos somos? ¿Qué hacemos con ello? ¿Lo cultivamos para los demás y lo usamos para los propósitos divinos? ¿Experimentan las personas misericordia a través de nosotros? ¿Encuentran en nuestros corazones quienes antes considerábamos pecadores? ¿O sufren nuestro juicio airado? ¿Permitimos que los heridos sanen? ¿O que los excluidos encuentren un lugar entre nosotros? ¿Estamos seguros de que escuchamos a Dios? ¿Estamos tan convencidos de nuestra rectitud y justicia, tan seguros, que dejamos de escuchar al dueño?

 

La viña no nos pertenece. Debemos ser administradores responsables. Tenemos que ser muy cuidadosos. Cuando quienes recibimos la obra de Dios la usamos para nuestro propio beneficio en lugar de para sus propósitos, Dios no duda en confiarla a otros que darán fruto. Esta es una gran responsabilidad.

 

Lecturas bíblicas para la Misa diaria

Lunes: (Gálatas 1) Me asombra que tan pronto abandonen a quien los llamó por la gracia de Cristo para seguir un evangelio diferente (no es que haya otro). Pero hay algunos que los perturban y desean pervertir el Evangelio de Cristo.

 

Martes: (Gálatas 1) Ustedes han oído hablar de mi antigua forma de vida en el judaísmo, de cómo perseguí a la Iglesia de Dios sin medida y traté de destruirla, y de cómo progresé en el judaísmo 
más que muchos de mis contemporáneos de mi raza, ya que era aún más celoso de las tradiciones de mis antepasados.

 

Miércoles: (Gálatas 2) Después de catorce años, volví a Jerusalén con Bernabé, llevando también a Tito. Subí conforme a una revelación, y les presenté el Evangelio que predico a los gentiles, pero en privado a los que gozan de buena reputación, para que mi viaje no haya sido en vano.

 

Jueves (Gálatas 3) ¡Oh, insensatos gálatas! ¿Quién los ha embrujado, a ustedes que vieron a Jesucristo crucificado públicamente? Solo quiero saber esto de ustedes: ¿recibieron el Espíritu por las obras de la ley o por la fe en lo que oyeron?

 

Viernes (Gálatas 3) Comprenda que quienes tienen fe son hijos de Abraham. 
La Escritura, que previó que Dios justificaría a los gentiles por la fe, anunció las buenas nuevas a Abraham, diciendo: «Por medio de ti serán benditas todas las naciones».

 

Sábado (Gálatas 3) La Escritura confinó todas las cosas bajo el poder del pecado, para que, mediante la fe en Jesucristo, se diera la promesa a los que creen. Antes de que llegara la fe, estábamos bajo custodia de la ley, confinados a la espera de la fe que había de ser revelada.

 

Evangelio:  

Lunes: ( Lucas 10) Un discípulo de la ley se levantó para poner a prueba a Jesús y le dijo: 
«Maestro, ¿qué debo hacer para heredar la vida eterna?» Jesús le dijo: «¿Qué está escrito en la ley? ¿Cómo la lees?» Él respondió: «Amarás al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma, con todas tus fuerzas y con toda tu mente,

 

Martes: (Lucas 10) Jesús entró en una aldea donde una mujer llamada Marta lo recibió. Tenía una hermana llamada María, quien se sentó a los pies del Señor para escucharlo hablar.

 

Miércoles (Lucas 11) Jesús estaba orando en cierto lugar, y cuando terminó, uno de sus discípulos le dijo: "Señor, enséñanos a orar como Juan enseñó a sus discípulos".

 

Jueves (Lucas 11) “Supongamos que uno de ustedes tiene un amigo a quien va a medianoche y le dice: ‘Amigo, préstame tres panes, porque un amigo mío ha llegado a mi casa de viaje y no tengo nada que ofrecerle’”.

 

Viernes (Lucas 11) Cuando Jesús expulsó a un demonio, algunos de la multitud decían: «¡Por el poder de Belzebú, príncipe de los demonios, expulsa a los demonios!». Otros, para ponerlo a prueba, le pedían una señal del cielo.

 

Sábado (Lucas 11) Mientras Jesús hablaba, una mujer de entre la multitud le gritó: «¡Bendito el vientre que te llevó y los pechos que te amamantaron!».

 

Santos de la semana

 

4 de octubre: Francisco de Asís (1181-1226) pertenecía a la acaudalada familia Bernardone , dedicada al comercio de telas de seda. Tras servir como soldado y prisionero de guerra, Francisco decidió dedicarse a servir a Dios y a los pobres. Sintió la vocación de restaurar la casa de Dios, que él consideraba una iglesia. Su padre, enfadado porque había malgastado el dinero familiar, lo desheredó. Comenzó a predicar el arrepentimiento y a atraer a otros a su forma de vida. Su orden se caracteriza por la pobreza, la sencillez, el servicio humilde y el devoción a la creación.

 

6 de octubre: Bruno, sacerdote (1030-1101), se convirtió en profesor de Reims y canciller diocesano. Renunció a sus riquezas y comenzó a vivir como ermitaño con otros seis hombres. Sentían desdén por la rampante corrupción clerical. El obispo de Grenoble les cedió tierras en la sierra de Chartreuse y fundaron el primer monasterio cartujo. Tras servir en Roma durante algunos años, Bruno recibió permiso para fundar un segundo monasterio en Calabria.

 

7 de octubre: Nuestra Señora del Rosario recuerda los acontecimientos de 1571, cuando la armada cristiana venció a los turcos en Lepanto, cerca de Corinto. La victoria se atribuyó a María, ya que las cofradías rezaron el rosario pidiendo su intercesión.

 

9 de octubre: Dionisio, obispo y mártir, junto con sus compañeros mártires (fallecido en 258), fue el primer obispo de París. Murió decapitado durante las persecuciones de Decio en Montmartre , la colina más alta de la ciudad. Cuenta la tradición que, tras la decapitación, recogió su cabeza y caminó diez kilómetros mientras predicaba. Dionisio fue enviado a París para llevar el cristianismo, por lo que se le conoció como «el apóstol de los galos».

 

9 de octubre: Juan Leonardi (1542-1609) fue ayudante de farmacéutico antes de estudiar para el sacerdocio. Se interesó por las reformas del Concilio de Trento y reunió a laicos para trabajar en prisiones y hospitales. Contrajo la peste mientras atendía a los enfermos. Fundó la Orden de los Clérigos Regulares de la Madre de Dios para cuidar a los enfermos.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 4 de octubre de 1820. En Roma, surgieron grandes problemas antes y durante la Vigésima Congregación General, a causa de las intrigas del padre Petrucci. Este intentó destruir la Compañía de Jesús y fue depuesto de su cargo como Vicario General, a pesar del apoyo del Cardenal della Genga (posteriormente León XII).
• 5 de octubre de 1981. En una carta dirigida al Padre General Arrupe, el Papa Juan Pablo II designó a Paolo Dezza como su delegado personal para gobernar la Compañía de Jesús, con el Padre Pittau como coadjutor.
• 6 de octubre de 1773. En Londres, el Dr. James Talbot, vicario apostólico, promulgó el Breve de Supresión y envió copias a Maryland y Pensilvania.
• 7 de octubre de 1819. Fallece Carlos Manuel IV. Fue rey de Cerdeña y Piamonte. Abdicó en 1802 e ingresó en la Compañía de Jesús como hermano en 1815. Está enterrado en San Andrea Quirinale, en Roma.
• 8 de octubre de 1871. El Gran Incendio de Chicago. La mayor parte de la ciudad quedó destruida, pero la parroquia jesuita de la Sagrada Familia se salvó, ya que el fuego se dirigió hacia el norte gracias a las oraciones del padre Arnold Damen. El incendio duró tres días y causó la muerte de 250 personas.
• 9 de octubre de 1627. Jansenius partió de Lovaina hacia Salamanca para fomentar la antipatía contra los jesuitas y así impedir que Felipe IV les concediera un gran colegio en Madrid. La facultad de teología de Salamanca era hostil a la Compañía.
• 10 de octubre de 1806: Se inauguró el primer noviciado de la Misión de Maryland cuando diez novicios comenzaron su Retiro Largo bajo la dirección del Padre Francis Neale (él mismo un novicio que había ingresado en la Compañía de Jesús ese mismo día).

Photo: The Altar

 

Spirituality: Macrina Wiederkehr in A Tree Full of Angels

For your prayer

your journey into God,
may you be given a small storm
a little hurricane
named after you, persistent enough
to get your attention
violent enough
to give you to new depths
strong enough
To shake you to the roots
majestic enough to remind you of your origin:
made of the earth
yet steeped in eternity
frail human dust
yet soaked with infinity.

Photo: Jesuits relaxing

 

Poem: from the hymn "Saint Patrick's Breastplate"

 I bind unto myself today

The virtues of the starlit heavens,
The glorius sun's lifegiving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

Photo: Follow the Lines

 

Prayer: Nan Merrill from Meditations And Mandalas

Let us sing to the Creator of the cosmos,

to the divine power of love!
When we look at the wondrous display
of the heavens,
at the Earth with its infinite
variety of life,
Who are we that You love us, that You
rejoice in our being;
that You trust us to care for creation
in all its splendor,
inviting us to become co-creators
with You?
Let us celebrate the mystery of life!
Let us commit our lives to
the Divine Plan!

Poem: “Roses. Late Summer” by Mary Oliver

 What happens 

to the leaves after 

they turn red and gold and fall 

away? What happens 

 

to the singing birds 

when they can’t sing 

any longer? What happens 

to their quick wings? 

Do you think there is any 

personal heaven 

for any of us? 

Do you think anyone, 

 

the other side of that darkness, 

will call to us, meaning us? 

Beyond the trees 

the foxes keep teaching their children 

 

to live in the valley. 

So they never seem to vanish, they are always there 

in the blossom of light 

that stands up every morning 

 

in the dark sky. 

And over one more set of hills, along the sea, 

the last roses have opened their factories of sweetness 

 

and are giving it back to the world. 

If I had another life 

I would want to spend it all on some 

unstinting happiness. 

 

I would be a fox, or a tree           

full of waving branches. 

I wouldn’t mind being a rose 

in a field of roses. 

Fear has not yet occurred to them, nor ambition. 

Reason they have not yet thought of. 

Neither do they ask how long they must be roses, 

and then what. 

Or any other foolish question.

Photo: Cloistered Abbey

 

Poem: Wendell Berry, Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

 …Plant sequoias.

Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Photo: From Ignatius to Francis

 

Spirituality: from In the Presence of Fear by Wendell Berry

 In an essay on the origin of civilization in traditional cultures, A.K. Coomaraswamy wrote that "the principle of justice is the same throughout: that each member of the community should perform the task for which he or she is fitted by nature." The two ideas, justice and vocation, are inseparable. It is by way of the principle and practice of vocation that sanctity and reverence enter into human economy. It was thus possible for traditional cultures to conceive that "to work is to pray."

Poem: “Love Does That”, German mystic, Meister Eckhart

All day long a little burro labors, sometimes

with heavy loads on her back and sometimes just with worries 

about things that bother only 

burros.

And worries, as we know, can be more exhausting

than physical labor.

Once in a while a kind monk comes

 to her stable and brings

 a pear, but more 

than that,

he looks into the burro’s eyes and touches her ears

and for a few seconds the burro is free 

and even seems to laugh,

because love does

 that.

translated by Daniel Ladinsky in his anthology, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West.

Learning to Say Yes: The Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026

                                                         Learning to Say Yes:

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026 

September 27, 2026

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Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32

 

 

This Gospel passage continues the discussion on the qualities of God’s divine project and how God’s justice is radically different from human justice. Jesus addresses the chief priests and the elders about a low-level response to the question about the actions of the two brothers. It is easy to show that there is a great distinction between what one says and what one does. That is easy to figure out, so what is the deeper layer here? Jesus is trying to move them beyond a sin-retribution or reward-punishment spirituality and is focusing upon the need for conversion in one’s way of seeing, judging, and living. God’s justice allows for the possibility that a person can change and is concerned about where the person may be going, not where a person has been. God does not hold us back in the past. We do that. Why? No one is asking you to do that. 

 

The beginning of our conversion is recognizing our need for God. In this story, the tax collectors and prostitutes believed in Jesus and changed direction. The religious leaders saw what happened with the former sinners and still refused to change their minds. This parable is aimed for those who remain closed and refuse to open their minds and hearts. The refusal to change holds good people back. When we hold onto, “What we always taught,” we are no longer open. There is nothing wrong with being wrong; What is wrong is one’s refusal to change. This statement was shocking for religious leaders who saw that those they regarded as sinners were capable of becoming disciples, while they, whom they considered righteous, were made incapable of hearing God's invitation. Those who were societally rejected were included into God’s project, while the sacred and prominent religious leaders were not there yet. Notice what God says to the religious leaders. “You have gone in the wrong direction; will you turn around and come home?” God does not punish or reject. 

 

For so many years the church has preached “avoid sin, make amends.” It has focused upon one’s individual salvation, personal actualization, and doing all one can to make it into heaven. Some have written about the perfection of the soul and one’s individual piety. That type of preaching misses the mark. It does not hear what God is saying. Today’s preaching has to be about transformation, which is about reflecting on God’s message and being ready to pivot to a greater understanding of God’s purposes for us. We have to see rightly and then profess our faith through action.

 

Remember that faith is not simply professing what we believe about God. Faith is allowing God to change what we do. We may have to ask ourselves this question: Where have I become so certain that I no longer allow God to change my mind? Certitude is the enemy of faith. Conversion is not only for people who have done regrettable things. Conversion is for us all whenever God shows us that we have misunderstood something or that we have to deal with new concepts in an increasingly complex world. It is for those times when our hearts have become hardened or we no longer think we have to learn or listen. 

 

So, we have to put before ourselves today, “What am I doing now with the grace that is being offered to me?” What is God asking of us as a community today? God sometimes asks us to expand our consciousness. The question is whether we can hear God’s voice and remain open to change our minds and go deeper into the vineyard. It does not matter if you once said “no.” “No” does not have to be the final answer. It is about learning, and relearning, and being open to say “Yes.” When you say “Yes,” the possibilities seize your imagination and affects everything. It will help you decide the important moments of your day. It will re-teach you, especially about where to seek God’s values, and it amaze you with joy and gratitude. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass 

Monday: (Job 1) One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant, Job.

 

Tuesday: (Daniel 7) One like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship.

 

Wednesday: (Job 9)  I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;

 

Thursday (Job 19) Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me?

 

Friday (Job 38) The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface?

 

Saturday (Job 42) I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

 

Gospel:  

Monday: (Luke 9) An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

 

Tuesday: (John 1) Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"

 

Wednesday (Luke 9) As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."

 

Thursday (Luke 10) Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”

 

Friday (Matthew 18) The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.

 

Saturday (Luke 10) The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power.”

 

Saints of the Week

 

September 27: Vincent de Paul, priest (1581-1660), was a French peasant who selected to be chaplain at the Queen's household after his ordination. He provided food and clothing to the poor, including prostitutes, the sick, disabled, and homeless. He founded the Congregation of Missions (Vincentians) to preach and train clergy and he co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac.

 

September 28: Wenceslaus, martyr (907-929), was raised a Christian by his grandmother while his mother and brother were opposed to Christianity. His brother opposed him when he became ruler of Bohemia in 922. He introduced strict reforms that caused great dissatisfaction among nobles and political adversaries. His brother invited him to a religious ceremony where he was killed in a surprise attack.

 

September 28: Lawrence Ruiz and 15 companion martyrs, (seventeenth century), were killed in Nagasaki, Japan during 1633 and 1637. Most of these Christians were friends of the Dominicans. Lawrence, a Filipino, was a husband and father. He and these other missionaries served the Philippines, Formosa, and Japan.

 

September 29: Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels are long a part of Christian and Jewish scripture. Michael is the angel who fights against evil as the head of all the angels; Gabriel announces the messiah's arrival and the births of Jesus and John the Baptist; and Raphael is a guardian angel who protects Tobias on his journey. Together, they are venerated to represent all the angels during a three-day period.

 

September 30: Jerome, priest and doctor (342-420), studied Greek and Latin as a young man after his baptism by Pope Liberius. He learned Hebrew when he became a monk and after ordination he studied scripture with Gregory Nazianzen in Constantinople. He became secretary to the Pope when he was asked to translate the Bible into Latin.

 

October 1: These of Lisieux, doctor (1873-1897), entered the Carmelites at age 15 and died at age 24 from tuberculosis. During her illness, Pauline, her prioress, asked her to write about her life in the convent. These stories are captured in "The Story of a Soul." He focused on her "little way" of pursuing holiness in everyday life.

 

October 2: The Guardian Angels are messengers and intermediaries between God and humans. They help us in our struggle against evil and they serve as guardians, the feast we celebrate today. Raphael is one of the guardians written about in the Book of Tobit. A memorial was added to the Roman calendar In 1670 in thanksgiving for their assistance.

 

October 3: Francis Borgia, S.J. became a duke at age 33. When his wife died and his eight children were grown, he joined the Jesuits. His preaching brought many people to the church and when he served as Superior General, the Society increased dramatically in Spain and Portugal. He established many missions in the new territories. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• September 27, 1540. Pope Paul III signed the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, which established the Society of Jesus. 
• September 28, 1572. Fifteen Jesuits arrived in Mexico to establish the Mexican Province. They soon opened a college. 
• September 29, 1558. In the Gesu, Rome, and elsewhere, the Jesuits began to keep Choir, in obedience to an order from Paul IV. This practice lasted less than a year, until the pope's death in August, 1559. 
• September 30, 1911. President William Howard Taft visited Saint Louis University and declared the football season open. 
• October 1, 1546. Isabel Roser was released from her Jesuit vows by St Ignatius after eight months. 
• October 2, 1964. Fr. General Janssens suffered a stroke and died three days later. During his generalate, the Society grew from 53 to 85 provinces, and from 28,839 to 35,968 members. 
• October 3, 1901. In France, religious persecution broke out afresh with the passing of Waldeck Rousseau's "Loi d'Association."