Sunday<\/p>\n
Luke 20:1<\/p>\n
Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that<\/i> the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him<\/i> <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>and spoke to Him, saying, \u201cTell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 3\u00a0<\/sup>But He answered and said to them, \u201cI also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:<\/span> <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>The<\/span> baptism of John\u2014was it from heaven or from men?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 5\u00a0<\/sup>And they reasoned among themselves, saying, \u201cIf we say, \u2018From heaven,\u2019 He will say, \u2018Why [a<\/a>]<\/sup>then did you not believe him?\u2019 <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>But if we say, \u2018From men,\u2019 all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.\u201d <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>So they answered that they did not know where it was<\/i> from.<\/span><\/p>\n 8\u00a0<\/sup>And Jesus said to them, \u201cNeither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 O Lord, our God, in Thy goodness and love for men forgive me all the sins I have committed today in word, deed or thought. Grant me peaceful and undisturbed sleep. Send Thy Guardian Angel to guard and protect me from all evil. For Thou art the guardian of our souls and bodies, and to Thee we ascribe glory, to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Monday Our Lord\u2019s public ministry is coming to an end. He has gone up from Jericho to Jerusalem on his last journey. He will stay in the city and its environs until his death. He has made his entry as Messiah into the Temple and has cleansed it. And with the authority of the Messiah he now preaches in the courtyards of the Temple. In this chapter the evangelist narrates a series of arguments provoked by Pharisees and Sadducees \u2014 about Jesus\u2019 authority<\/p>\n To these sly questions Jesus replies immediately and very much to the point. The question \u201cBy what authority do you do these things\u201d refers to everything our Lord has done. Therefore, the technical term \u201cauthority\u201d must be taken in all its depth of meaning: What is the nature of Jesus\u2019 authority and power. Because of the evil motivation behind the question, our Lord avoids giving a direct answer, countering instead by asking a question about John\u2019s baptism. When the priests and scribes give an evasive reply our Lord simply closes the discussion: he asserts that he has the authority and he refuses to say how he got it. A few days later, when in the presence of the whole Sanhedrin he is solemnly asked if he is the Messiah and Son of God, he will reply by saying quite clearly that he is, thereby showing the basis of his authority and explaining why he has acted in the way he has<\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 O come, let us worship God our King. Tuesday 9\u00a0<\/sup>Then He began to tell the people this parable: \u201cA certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to<\/span> ]<\/sup>vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.<\/span> <\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>Now at<\/span> vintage-time he<\/span> sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him<\/i> away empty-handed.<\/span> <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him<\/i> shamefully, and sent him<\/i> away empty-handed.<\/span> <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him<\/i> out.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 13\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen the owner of the vineyard said, \u2018What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him<\/i> when they see him.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, \u2018This is the<\/span> heir. Come,<\/span> let us kill him, that the inheritance may be<\/span> ours.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>So they cast him out of the vineyard and<\/span> killed him.<\/i> Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?<\/span> <\/span> 16\u00a0<\/sup>He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to<\/span> others.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And when they heard it<\/i> they said, \u201cCertainly not!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 17\u00a0<\/sup>Then He looked at them and said, \u201cWhat then is this that is written:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u2018The stone which the builders rejected<\/span><\/span> 18\u00a0<\/sup>Whoever falls on that stone will be<\/span> broken; but<\/span> on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 19\u00a0<\/sup>And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they ]<\/sup>feared the people\u2014for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 Soul of Christ, sanctify me, Body of Christ, save me Blood of Christ, inebriate me, Water from Christ’s side, wash me, Passion of Christ, strengthen me, O good Jesus, hear me, Within Thy wounds hide me, Suffer me not to be separated from Thee, From the malicious enemy defend me, In the hour of my death call me, And bid me come unto Thee, That I may praise Thee with Thy saints, and with Thy angels, Forever and ever, Amen.<\/p>\n Wednesday As the days of his Passion draw near, our Lord spells out to the priests and scribes the seriousness of the sin they are committing by rejecting him, and the terrible consequences which will follow. That is the purpose of this parable, whose central theme is deeply rooted in Sacred Scripture and is very familiar to his listeners: the people of Israel are the vineyard of the Lord. Of the many places where this comparison is to he found in the Old Testament (Hos 10:1; Jer 10:21; 12:10; Ezek 19:10-14; Ps 80:8-19) one has special resonance \u2014 the Song of the vineyard which instead of yielding good grapes yielded only sour grapes (Is 5:1-7).; our Lord\u2019s words seem to evoke that ancient prophetic complaint: \u201cWhat more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?\u201d Every character in the Gospel parable is very easy to identify: the vineyard is Israel; the tenants are the leaders of Israel; the servants sent by the lord to the vineyard are the prophets, so often ill-treated; the son is Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.\u00a0 Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Thursday Jesus alludes to his death on the outskirts of the city; the tenants cast him out of the vineyard \u2014 Jerusalem \u2014 and put him to death. The owner of the vineyard is God. The leading priests and scribes understand what the end of the parable means and they are horrified, which is why they cry, \u201cGod forbid!\u201d. For our Lord is saying that the owner of the vineyard will put the tenants to death and hand over the vineyard to others: the leaders of the people will be rejected. To underline the teaching in the parable our Lord concludes by applying to himself the words of Psalm 118:22: \u201cThe stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner,\u201d The parable contains a clear lesson for all of us: it is a grave sin to reject the Lord, to despise God\u2019s grace. If our heart becomes hardened like those of those priests and scribes, we will inevitably hear from our Lord\u2019s lips similar words of rejection.<\/p>\n The passage ends on a sad note: wounded in their pride by the clarity of what Jesus says, their hearts became even more hardened, to the point of planning to kill him.<\/p>\n Prayer:\u00a0 Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,\u00a0 grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.<\/p>\n Friday 21\u00a0<\/sup>Then they asked Him, saying, \u201cTeacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: <\/span> 22\u00a0<\/sup>Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 23\u00a0<\/sup>But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, [e<\/a>]<\/sup>\u201cWhy do you test Me?<\/span> <\/span> 24\u00a0<\/sup>Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n*(Evening Prayer and Confession of Sins)<\/p>\n
\nNavarre Bible Commentary on Jesus’ Question<\/p>\n
\nO come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and God.
\nO come, let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God.<\/p>\n
\nLuke 20:<\/p>\n
\nHas become the chief cornerstone\u2019?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nNavarre Commentary on the Vinedressers Part 1<\/p>\n
\n*Memorare<\/p>\n
\nPart 1 commentary…<\/p>\n
\nLuke 20:20\u00a0<\/sup>So they watched Him,<\/i> and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.<\/span><\/p>\n