Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded of the need for all of us to embrace God’s call and listen to Him calling us to follow Him. And as Christians, as God’s holy and beloved people, we have also been tasked with the various missions, responsibilities and opportunities through which we are expected to do our part as members of the Church of God, to do our actions and deeds in accordance to what God Himself has shown and taught us to do. Each and every one of us have these responsibilities and duties that God has entrusted to us, and we should not ignore or neglect them, because then the Lord will ask us to account for everything that we have done, and what we have failed to do, in the end, at the time of Judgment.

In our first reading today, we heard of the passage from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel in which the Lord issued strong rebuke and condemnation against those shepherds of Israel who have not done as they should in guiding and taking care of the people of God, the flock of Israel, God’s own beloved people. This was a reference to how the kings and the other leaders of the Israelites had not done what they were supposed to do in leading the people of God and shepherding them properly as they should have done. They instead misled them down the path of sin, by disobeying God’s Law and commandments, worshipping pagan gods and false idols that led the people away from the worship of God, the one and only True God Whom alone they ought to worship.

In their lack of faith and obedience to God, that was why the Lord warned all those wicked shepherds, leaders and guides, reminding them all how misfortune and sufferings would befall them as a just consequence for their lack of virtue and commitment to the missions entrusted to them. And to us all, this is a reminder that we ourselves are also entrusted with similar tasks, missions and responsibilities in our own paths and journeys in life. And if we do not make the necessary efforts to live our lives worthily of the Lord and be the good role models and inspirations for one another, then we shall also be held accountable by the Lord as well. We must not this happen to us, and we should always remind ourselves to be ever more committed and true to our faith in God at all times.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard from the Gospel according to St. Matthew in which we heard the words of the Lord to His disciples as He told them the parable of the workers in a vineyard, called and chosen by the master of the vineyard to be working in his field at different appointed times, right up to the very last moments. In that parable we heard how different people responded to the master’s call at different times, some earlier while some later, and in the end, they all received the same pay and compensation from the master of the vineyard, a silver coin each as he had agreed with each and every one of them. But as we heard, some of those people were unhappy because they had answered the master’s call earlier and worked for longer, and yet, they were not rewarded more. They had likely expected that they would be awarded more for their efforts.

This is an important reminder for each and every one of us that we should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly desires, ambitions and the seeking of attainments and achievements in this world. God gives us all freely His love and salvation, assuring each and every one of us of His equal and most generous love, but He does not discriminate us by our efforts, nor that we can be more worthy or any better than our fellow brethren simply by us thinking that we have done more good things and deeds in our lives, or that we have observed more of God’s Law and commandments. This was in fact also a veiled criticism that the Lord directed towards the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of His time, many of whom had elitist attitudes and often looked down on those whom they viewed as inferior and unworthy of God’s salvation, love and grace.

Instead of being jealous of one another or thinking that we are in any way superior than one another, we should help each other in our path towards the Lord. And rather than comparing ourselves with others, thinking that we are superior and better, or by being endlessly preoccupied with finding out whether we are more worthy or not, we should instead focus our thoughts, efforts and attention to reorientate our lives towards the Lord and to do our best at every opportunities that have been given to us so that we may remember to do our works, our every actions, efforts and deeds all for the sake and glory of God instead of for our own glorification, fame, power or benefits instead. If we allow the temptations of our ego, pride and desire to corrupt and turn us away from the focus that we ought to have in God, then we may end up falling through the slippery slope of sin instead of coming closer to God and His salvation.

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pope St. Pius X, a great and holy Pope well-remembered for his great piety and devotion to God, his many works and contributions to the Church, especially in championing the easier access to the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist to the children of a younger age, that he is now known as the Pope of the Eucharist. Pope St. Pius X was born into a poor Italian family as Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the second of ten children. His parents, while poor, was very devout to the Lord and valued education and formation for their family, ensuring that the young Giuseppe was properly educated despite their poverty and situation. Eventually, Giuseppe Sarto continued to do well in his education and eventually received a scholarship to continue with his priestly formation in a seminary, eventually ordained as a priest.

During his priestly ministry, he was well-known for his great holiness and care for his flock, and was very dedicated in one occasion as the Archpriest of Salzano, where he helped to restore the church that had been run down at the time and building expansion to the local hospital, which he managed to support from his efforts, including even begging and other things that he had done for his flock. He also cared greatly for the people under his care during an epidemic of cholera that struck the area. Eventually this gained the attention of the diocese, and he was trusted as a canon of the Cathedral and then as the Chancellor for the Diocese of Treviso in northern Italy. He continued to do his best to care for the needs of the people entrusted to him, placing a lot of emphasis on the youth, on their education and upbringing, which he would continue as the Pope many years later.

Then, the future Pope St. Pius X was appointed and ordained as the Bishop of Mantua, continuing with his many earlier good works and efforts. He was made a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and then soon after the Patriarch of Venice, entrusted with the care of one of the largest and the most prominent dioceses in the Church at the time. He continued to labour hard for the sake of his beloved flock, being a very pastoral shepherd to his people, reaching out to them and being concerned about their needs, both physical and spiritual. Then, he was eventually elected as Pope, taking the name of Pius, in the Year of Our Lord 1903, during whose Pontificate, he was truly well known as mentioned, for his championing of the cause of earlier age for the reception of the First Holy Communion by the young children as long as they have reached the age of reason and received proper catechesis and preparation.

He was also renowned for his hard work against the dangers of modernism that was then harming the Church and the Christian community. He continued to work hard to the very end, dying heartbroken over the terrible wars that began in Europe, which would become the First World War. To that very end, Pope St. Pius X showed us that he was truly a great and loving shepherd to all of God’s flock and people, whom he has always been concerned about, thinking about them at each and every moments, worrying about their well-being and salvation at all times. The courageous and faithful life, work and dedication of Pope St. Pius X, holy man of God should indeed be great inspirations for all of us to follow in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we remembered what we have just discussed from the Sacred Scriptures regarding the need for all of us as Christians to live our lives to the fullest and focus ourselves on the Lord instead of upon our own selfish desires and ambitions, and inspired by the great examples of Pope St. Pius X, his dedication and commitment to God, in everything that he had done throughout his life from his early years up to his Pontificate and leadership of the Universal Church, let us all hence do our part as holy and beloved people of God so that we may truly live our lives worthily of the Lord from now on if we have not done so. Each and every one of us have been called by the Lord to follow Him, to do what He has tasked and entrusted us to do, and let us all hence do our best to live up to what He has expected us to do in each and every moments of our lives henceforth.

May the Lord be with us always, and may He continue to empower each and every one of us so that we may continue to draw ever closer to Him, and continue to focus our efforts and attention on Him, putting Him as the focus and centre of our whole lives and existence. May God be with us all His Church and His beloved disciples and followers, and may He empower us all to continue to be able to persevere and to be strong in our Christian faith and living, despite all the challenges and trials that we may have to face, now and always. Amen.