Daily Gospel Reflection
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August 20, 2025
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.”
Reasoning with the parables in the gospels to understand their meaning for our lives is never easy. Parables often lack specific details, and Jesus did not always give thorough explanations. This challenges us more today, as our backdrop for understanding is different from centuries ago.
We tend to take the passages too literally. I fall into this trap more easily than most. My favorite marketing professor at Notre Dame, Steve Dee, called me a “ready, shoot, aim” guy. When assigned a real-world business scenario, I wanted to solve the first problem I saw, assuming that was the answer. Today’s gospel, like all the one-page papers assigned in Professor Dee’s class, requires us to go past our initial thoughts and dig to find the deeper message that Jesus conveys.
While equitable pay can undoubtedly be an issue here on earth, in heaven, we all receive the exact same promised graces, no matter if we were lifelong practicing Catholics or recent converts to the church. The time spent at Mass and adoration or the number of times we go to confession does not provide for a different reward once in heaven.
Going deeper, though, what is Jesus asking of us in this parable? Could Jesus be asking us to go out each day to evangelize or to find laborers to bring to the vineyard? Could Jesus be telling us that if we have fallen away from the church and its teachings, there is still time to reach heaven?
No matter which of these questions resonates with us or where we are in our faith life, don’t we all have a family member, friend, neighbor, or even a stranger in need that we can invite to the vineyard to receive the equal reward God promises each of us?
Prayer
Lord God, we are thankful that we may come before you, confused, even puzzled at times, at our failures and weaknesses 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, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Bernard of Clairvaux had words sweet as honey, and he used them to reinvigorate monasteries where men and women gave their lives to God in prayer.
He was born in 1090 in France and excelled in his education as a child. As a youth, he was well-loved by many—he was witty, attractive, and the depth of his character shone. Gradually, the idea formed in his mind that he was to leave the world for life as a monk. A community of monks had recently formed a monastery nearby and lived a strict life together. Bernard wondered if he might be called to join them.
One day, filled with anxiety about this decision, he went into a church and prayed that God would direct him to discover and follow God’s will. He received the firm resolution to enter the monastery. His many friends tried to dissuade him, but in conversations with him, they suddenly discovered a desire to join him in giving their lives to prayer—even those who had never considered religious life before. Because of his influence, 31 men in all followed him into the monastery. His eloquent appeals were irresistible.
Bernard entered the monastery wanting to disappear and be forgotten so as to only attend to God. After a few years, the abbot, seeing his extraordinary abilities, asked him to found another monastery with a dozen other monks. His holiness and witness encouraged others to join, and soon 130 lived in the monastery in a valley that came to be known as Clairvaux.
Healings and miracles began to be ascribed to him, including the restoration of the power of speech to a converted nobleman who was dying so that he could properly confess his sins. Bernard was sought after for his wisdom—princes and popes asked for his counsel in their affairs, and he struggled to meet the needs of those around him and still maintain a healthy prayer life, which he most desired. He never refused a challenge.
He was known for his preaching, especially his commentary on the Song of Songs. Bernard’s Clairvaux community spawned many more monasteries—nearly 70— ranging as far as Ireland.
Bernard died in 1153 and has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 38 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. St. Bernard was given the title Doctor Mellifluus—the “honey-sweet doctor”—for his eloquence. He is the patron saint of beekeepers and candlemakers and is depicted in stained glass in the Dillon Hall chapel (top image). His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Bernard, the honey-sweet doctor, you convinced 31 of your friends to enter the monastery with you—pray for us!
