03/10/2026
📆 October 4, 2026
🙏 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading presents the beautiful but painful image of a vineyard. The prophet Isaiah speaks of a beloved owner who carefully prepared his vineyard: he chose fertile land, cleared away the stones, planted the best vines, built a watchtower, and prepared a w**epress. Naturally, the owner expected the vineyard to produce good grapes. Instead, it produced wild and worthless fruit.
The vineyard represents the people of Israel and Judah, while the owner represents God. God had given His people everything they needed—His guidance, protection, commandments, blessings, and loving care. Yet instead of producing the fruits of justice, faithfulness, compassion, and righteousness, they allowed injustice, violence, selfishness, and wrongdoing to grow among them.
This passage reminds us that God’s blessings also bring responsibility. Like the vineyard, our lives have been carefully nurtured by God. He gives us talents, opportunities, families, friends, communities, education, and countless chances to do what is right. God does not expect perfection, but He desires that His love within us bear good fruit. These fruits can be seen in the way we treat others—with kindness, honesty, forgiveness, fairness, generosity, and concern for those who are suffering. When our blessings are used only for ourselves, or when we ignore injustice and the needs of others, we become like the vineyard that produces wild grapes.
Isaiah’s message is also very relevant today. Our world has made great advances in knowledge, technology, wealth, and communication, yet we still see corruption, violence, discrimination, dishonesty, greed, and indifference toward the poor and vulnerable. We may call ourselves people of faith, but God asks us to look at the fruits of our lives. Do our words bring peace or division? Do our actions help or hurt others? Do we use our positions, resources, and influence to serve, or only to benefit ourselves? God desires more than religious words or appearances; He wants lives that reflect justice and goodness.
For us, this reading is an invitation to examine our own “vineyard.” God has patiently cared for me through both joyful and difficult seasons. He has given me many blessings, lessons, people to love, and opportunities to serve. The question is: What kind of fruit am I producing? Isaiah 5:1–7 encourages us not to take God’s goodness for granted. Every day is another opportunity to grow in faith and allow our lives to bear good fruit. May we become people whose lives show compassion where there is suffering, honesty where there is corruption, forgiveness where there is hurt, and hope where there is despair. In this way, the vineyard of our lives can become fruitful and pleasing to the God who lovingly planted and continues to care for us.
1st Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7
Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a w**e press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.
Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do with my vineyard: take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it. The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant; he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry!
The Word of the Lord.
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Responsorial Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted; you drove away the nations and planted it. It put forth its foliage to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls, so that every passer-by plucks its fruit, the boar from the forest lays it waste, and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. O LORD, God of hosts, restore us; if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
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Today’s second reading gives us a beautiful reminder not to allow worry to control our hearts. Saint Paul tells us to bring everything to God through prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. This does not mean that problems will immediately disappear, but it assures us that we do not have to carry our burdens alone. When we sincerely place our fears, needs, and uncertainties before God, His peace can guard our hearts and minds. It is a peace that may not always change our situation right away, but it changes the way we face it.
This reading also teaches us to be careful about what we allow to fill our minds. Saint Paul encourages us to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, and worthy of praise. In today’s world, we are constantly surrounded by bad news, arguments, negativity, and many things that can disturb our peace. If we continuously feed our minds with fear, anger, and bitterness, these can also affect our words and actions. But when we choose to focus on goodness, truth, gratitude, and hope, we become more capable of bringing peace to others.
Moreover, this passage is an invitation to trust God more deeply, especially during times when life becomes difficult or uncertain. There are moments when we cannot control what happens around us, but we can choose to pray instead of panic, to trust instead of despair, and to be grateful even while waiting for answers. God may not always remove every problem, but He promises to remain with us in the middle of it. When we surrender our worries to Him and continue doing what is good, His peace slowly settles within us.
Above all, Philippians 4:6–9 reminds us that peace begins when we place our lives in God’s hands. We may still experience sadness, fear, disappointment, or uncertainty, but these do not have to rule us. Prayer keeps us connected to God, gratitude helps us recognize His blessings, and good thoughts lead us toward good actions. May we learn each day to worry less, pray more, think about what is good, and trust that the God of peace is always walking with us.
2nd Reading: Philippians 4:6-9
Brothers and sisters: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.
The Word of the Lord.
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After all the love and care God has given us, what kind of fruit are our lives producing?
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants. A landowner carefully prepares a vineyard, puts a fence around it, digs a w**epress, builds a tower, and then leases it to tenants before going away. When harvest time comes, he sends his servants to collect what is due to him. Instead of welcoming them, the tenants beat, stone, and even kill the servants. The owner patiently sends more servants, but they are treated in the same cruel way. Finally, he sends his own son, thinking that they will respect him. Instead, the tenants kill the son because they want to take the inheritance for themselves.
The vineyard represents what God has entrusted to His people. The landowner represents God, the servants represent the prophets whom God sent throughout history, and the son points to Jesus Himself. God had lovingly cared for His people and expected them to produce the fruits of justice, faithfulness, mercy, and righteousness. But many rejected His messengers and eventually rejected Jesus. This is why Jesus warns that the Kingdom of God will be given to people who will produce its fruits. The message is clear: receiving God's blessings is not enough; we are also responsible for how we use them.
This parable is very relevant today because each of us is also a tenant rather than the absolute owner of everything we have. Our life, talents, positions, education, possessions, authority, families, communities, and even the world around us are gifts entrusted to our care. Sometimes we behave like the tenants when we begin to think, “This belongs to me, and I can do whatever I want with it.” We forget that our blessings carry responsibilities. A position of authority should be used to serve, not to control; wealth should not make us indifferent to the poor; knowledge should be used to help others rather than to look down on them; and leadership should promote justice rather than personal interest.
We can see the warning of this Gospel in many situations today. When leaders use public resources for themselves, when people abuse power, when the weak are ignored, when workers are treated unfairly, when dishonesty becomes acceptable, or when people become so concerned with personal gain that they forget the common good, we see something of the attitude of the wicked tenants. Even in our ordinary lives, we can fall into the same trap whenever pride prevents us from accepting correction, when we refuse to listen to people who tell us the truth, or when we think that our success is entirely our own doing.
The parable also challenges us to ask ourselves: What fruit is God finding in the vineyard of my life? If God has given me opportunities, have I used them to help others? If He has given me influence, have I used it to encourage rather than hurt? If He has entrusted people to my care, have I treated them with compassion and fairness? God does not expect us merely to say that we believe in Him. He desires to see the fruits of that faith in our choices, relationships, and actions.
For us, this scripture passage is a reminder to live with humility and gratitude. Nothing we possess lasts forever, and nothing has been given to us simply for ourselves. We are caretakers of God's gifts. One day, we will have to account for how we have used what was entrusted to us. May we therefore become faithful tenants who produce the fruits of love, justice, honesty, compassion, forgiveness, and service. Instead of trying to take ownership of God's vineyard, may we remember that our greatest privilege is to work faithfully in it and allow our lives to bear good fruit for Him and for others.
Verse before the Gospel: Cf. John 15:16
I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:33-43
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a w**e press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
The Gospel of the Lord.🙏
