“You too go into my vineyard”
We are all called to work in God’s vineyard, which means we are all called to evangelize and cultivate the kingdom of God here on earth. In this Gospel, the landowner continues to go out throughout the day seeking more workers. This is because only a few people are willing to even begin working. As Christ remarks in Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” May we be assured that this work is our vocation, what we were created by God to accomplish.
The commercial shows a few people hearing the call to become a marine. The spokesperson tells us that although few will actually hear the call, fewer still will get through the training. However, those that do will be a part of something that is a high and proud honor. In our Catholic faith few will answer the call to work in the Lord’s vineyard. Those that do get into the work find it very hard as you see in the video. However, the followers of Christ who work diligently will be able to reap the reward of eternal joy with Jesus in Heaven.
Saint John Paul the Great said, “Since the work that awaits everyone in the vineyard of the Lord is so great, there is no place for idleness. With even greater urgency the ‘householder’ repeats his invitation: ‘You go into the vineyard too’.” [1]
What work is there to be done? So few people truly know that Christ has brought salvation to the world. Even worse, there are those that have been taught it, but have either forgotten it or have received poor catechesis. The work to be done is to go to our homes, our work and our communities and proclaim the saving power of Jesus Christ through our words and actions. We are called to work out our salvation with humility and a life of service to the Lord for each other. We have a responsibility and an obligation to do the work of God. One of the five precepts of the Church is “You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.” This is not a suggestion but an obligation. What are the needs of the Church? The Church needs souls willing to imitate Christ and be Christ in the world. The Church needs the faithful to live out their call to holiness by acting in faith, hope and charity, living all the virtues to a heroic degree. “No one who has crossed our path in this life should be able to say that he was not encouraged, by our example and word, to love Christ more. None of our friends, none of our relatives, should be able to say at the end of their lives that they had no one who was concerned about them.” [2]
Why do we hesitate in taking up the work of God? Many times we give the excuse that we did not know what to do or what is expected of us. The “work” of God is many things and we must listen to God’s call in prayer, in fact prayer itself is the work of God. If we are very confused or unsure about what to do we can look to the works of mercy, there are seven corporal works of mercy and seven spiritual works of mercy. The works of mercy are a good starting point to doing the work of God.
What are the seven corporal works of mercy? Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. Visit the sick. Visit the imprisoned. Bury the dead.
What are the seven spiritual works of mercy? Counsel the doubtful. Instruct the ignorant. Admonish the sinners. Comfort the afflicted. Forgive offenses. Bear wrongs patiently. Pray for the living and the dead.
If we still do not know what to do we can remember the prayer, “Remember Christian Soul.” Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life: God to glorify, Jesus to imitate, A soul to save, A body to mortify, Sin to expiate, Virtues to acquire, Hell to avoid, Heaven to gain, Eternity to prepare for, Time to profit by, Neighbors to edify, The world to despise, Devils to combat, Passions to subdue, Death perhaps to suffer, And judgment to undergo.
Where does the work have to be done? The work has to be done where we are in our state in life. “It is in our very own family and no other that we have to become saints. Likewise it is in our job that we meet God and introduce others to him. This is the vineyard.” [3]
What if we are already working in the vineyard? If we are already working in the vineyard then praise God for answering the call! The next step is to consider how hard we are working. We all have ebbs and flows in our spiritual life. At times we can feel completely filled with the Holy Spirit and at other times we feel we are in a drought. We also must look at how lethargic or energetic we are at proclaiming salvation to the world. “Each one should examine themselves to see how energetically they are working in the vineyard of the divine Sower. Perhaps we have not dedicated everything we have to the service of the Lord. The people who really work for him...are those who are anxious to win souls and bring others to the vineyard.” [4]
Can “everybody” work in the vineyard? Yes, of course. It doesn’t matter what someone’s age, gender, race, sex, ethnicity, health, or anything else is because all are called to be “living witnesses of Christ among their companions.” [5] Not only can everyone work, but we are useful to God no matter what occurs in our life. A person always has dignity and is always useful. There are many stories of instances in life when a person would have be written off and considered useless, this is never the case in the vineyard.
STORY - Father Eugene Hamilton [6]
Father Eugene Hamilton was ordained on January 24, 1997, less than three months after his 24th birthday. Three hours later he was dead. He was ordained as he lay on his deathbed, short of breath and unable to speak. He is now, almost certainly, in heaven, a priest forever. Tu es sacerdos in aeternum You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Fr. Hamilton was a seminarian for the Archdiocese of New York who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early years of his formation. He fought bravely, but the ravages of cancer made it apparent that he would not live to finish his seminary formation without a miracle. For this he prayed to the Servant of God, Terence Cardinal Cooke, former Archbishop of New York, who had lived with cancer for many years himself before his death.
The outstanding piety and holiness of Fr. Hamilton brought him to the attention of Fr. Groeschel, postulator of the cause of Cardinal Cooke and others. Moved by Fr. Hamilton's great love for the priesthood and his heroic virtue in the face of great suffering, his superiors at St Joseph's Seminary in New York suggested that he be ordained early. John Cardinal O'Connor petitioned the Holy See for a dispensation to ordain him early and it was granted immediately. The Holy Father, when advised of the case, gave his approval toto corde with his whole heart.
Fr. Hamilton did not have a long life as a priest on this earth, but is a priest forever in heaven. He and the other Saints live out the words of Saint Therese, who on her deathbed said, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.”
[1] John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles laivi, December 1988, 3
[2] In conversation with God 5, 10.2
[3] In Conversation with God 5, 10.2
[4] St. Gregory the Great, Homilies on the Gospels, 19, 2
[5] Second Vatican Council, Apostolicam actuositatem, 12
[6] Raymond de Souza, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kingston