Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 19, 2026
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
Reflection
Often enough, we toss off such words as, “Oh, I’m envious of your trip to Paris!” or, “Your new car is marvelous—I’m envious!” But real envy, envy with fangs, is the one that grows in the dark places of the heart. This envy sorrows over the good fortune of others; it hates the success and honor accorded to others. For, when someone else is noticed and favored, when another gets the promotion I desired, I am thereby diminished. This envy works through gossip and detraction to lower the reputation of those “shining ones” who cast a shadow upon my existence; this envy rejoices over the reversal of happiness in the envied one. This envy challenges God’s providence and goodness.
“Are you envious because I am generous?” Such is the stinging question from the landowner in this parable—and note, it’s a rhetorical question. The vineyard owner sees into the heart of the offended laborer—and into our own hearts! The foreman is instructed to pay the 5 p.m. late arrivals first, precisely to unveil to the laborer his envious inclinations. Imagine these workers rejoicing and laughing over their good fortune in having received a full day’s wage!
Would we celebrate with those blessed by the unexpected generosity of the vineyard owner? Could we rejoice over their windfall? Perhaps we might, if, like those workers still awaiting their pay, we entertained the possibility of a greater compensation for our long day of sweating under the sun. But when those expectations are not fulfilled, the foul chorus of grumbling begins.
“My friend, I am not cheating you.” Notice the generous address of the landlord, in spite of the laborer’s rude complaint. Still, he bids the laborer to take what is his and go out of the vineyard. In God’s kingdom, there is no place for an envious and begrudging heart.
Prayer
Lord God, we are thankful that we may come before you, confused, even puzzled at times, at our failures and weakness in serving you. We know that if we seek forgiveness, we shall find it. You have assured us that even the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner turning back to the Lord of love and forgiveness. Hear our prayer, Lord, and look not at our failures, but at our hearts that desire to be one with you. Let us honor you in word and deed. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. John Eudes captured the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary by honoring them in the liturgy. Thanks to this saint, Holy Cross priests have as their patron Jesus’ Sacred Heart, and Notre Dame has a Basilica dedicated to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Even though John was canonized a saint after the Basilica was constructed, he is depicted there in a stained glass window leading people in devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
John’s parents were farmers in the Normandy region of France and were childless until they went to a nearby shrine to Mary. Nine months later, in 1601, John was born, and five more children arrived after him.
John was educated at a Jesuit school, and he went on to seek ordination. He was a very good preacher, and gained the admiration of his superiors by his excellent conduct. He spent his early priesthood at an oratory—a special church (not a parish) set aside for prayer and Mass. When plague broke out in Normandy, John volunteered to return to his region to serve the sick there. He spent two months ministering to the sick and dying.
He returned to the oratory and lived there until the plague reached that area. Again, he went out into the city to tend to the sick and dying. To prevent his brother priests from becoming infected from him, he did not live in the rectory—he lived in a large cask or barrel in a field; nuns from a nearby convent brought him food.
He went on to become a distinguished preacher, and would travel the countryside offering missions to parishes to reinvigorate the faithful. He was widely known as the best preacher people had ever heard.
During his travels, he came to see that the priests needed as much reform as the faithful, so he concentrated his efforts on seminary training. He established several seminaries that were dedicated to producing zealous and well-trained parish priests.
John’s spirituality focused on the love of Jesus and Mary, symbolized in their sacred hearts. He began a feast day for people to honor the heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus; these feast days spread quickly and were taken up around the Church. While John was not the first to be devoted to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, he was the first to capture this devotion in the liturgy, which gave the Church a way to participate and spread it.
He died after giving a parish mission in his old age that left him sick and weak—he preached outdoors, in the winter, every day for nine weeks, and never recovered. He died on this date in 1680.
“Our wish, our object, our chief occupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make his spirit, his devotion, his affections, his desires, and his disposition live and reign there,” St. John wrote. “All our religious efforts should be directed to this end. It is the work that God has given us to do unceasingly.”
St. John Eudes, you helped people form their hearts in the shape of Jesus’ Sacred Heart—pray for us!