To serve the Lord is already an undeserved honor

 

It is surprising that the father of the family left at the last minute, when there was hardly any time left to work; and it is also surprising the reason given by those who were hired at this late hour: No one hired us, no one told us the good news that the owner of the field was looking for workers to work in his vineyard. It is the same answer that would now be given by many who were baptized, but who find their faith languishing at times, because no one took care of them. "You have had a conversation with this one, with that one, with the one beyond, because you are consumed with zeal for souls. -Persevere: let none can afterwards excuse himself by affirming "quia nemo nos conduxit"-no one has called us." None of our relatives, friends, neighbors..., of those who spent a single afternoon with us, or made the same trip, or worked in the same company, or studied in the same Faculty... should say that they did not feel infected by our love for Christ. When the desire is great, it manifests itself in the smallest opportunity.


Many will be moved by our words that speak with vigor and joy of the Master, others will be helped by the example of a job well done, or by our serenity in the face of pain and difficulty, or perhaps by the cordial treatment that is rooted in the virtue of charity..., and all will feel urged by our prayer and by a deep joy, a consequence of following Christ. No one who has known us in any circumstance should be able to say at the end of his days that there was no one to take care of him.


Some of those hired in the vineyard protested at the time of receiving their wages. Without reason, for each was given what had been agreed upon with him: a denarius. They did not understand that to serve the Lord is already an undeserved honor. To work for Christ is to reign, and a cause for thanksgiving for having been called from the public square to God's property. In the very service to God, being apostles in the midst of the world, we find the reward, because in reality we seek nothing for ourselves: only to love Christ more and more and to serve him, calling others to go and work in his field. The Lord will never forget us. We must keep in mind that in the denarius of wages "is incised the image of the King": God himself is given to us in this life. And, in the evening, he will give us endless glory: each one will receive according to the measure of his work.


"Come with me to the Mother of Christ. Our Mother, who has seen Jesus grow, who has seen him make the most of his passage among men: teach me to use my days in the service of the Church and of souls; teach me to hear in my inmost heart, as an affectionate reproach, good Mother, whenever it is necessary, that my time does not belong to me, because it belongs to Our Father who is in Heaven." Let us ask St. Joseph to teach us to spend our lives in the service of Jesus, while we joyfully carry out our work in the world.


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