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Hi and welcome to The Modern Psalmist podcast. I'm Rebecca De La Torre and this weekend we're celebrating the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A. The psalm for this Sunday is from chapter 145: "The Lord is near to all who call upon him." Let's listen to the refrain: <play refrain> I find that I really need to think about these words. I tried to compose this psalm setting as more of a soulful meditation, almost like I'm reminding myself that we need to call on the Lord continually - not only when we need help, but to praise his name for the many blessings in our lives. Here's the entire psalm: <play psalm 145 entirely> That was my version of "Psalm 145: The Lord is Near" for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A. You can find the link to the psalm recording and sheet music online in the show notes or at TheModernPsalmist.com In the gospel reading for today from Matthew chapter 20, Jesus tells his disciples that the Kingdom of heaven is like the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Essentially the vineyard owner hires workers at different times throughout the day to work in his vineyard. But at the end of the day, he pays everyone the same wage. The workers who had been laboring all day in the vineyard grumbled about getting the same pay as those who only worked an hour. But the owner responds in a way that really makes me think, saying: "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?’" And Jesus concludes the parable saying: "Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” I wonder - am *I* envious when the Lord is generous to others? But by the same token, what If I am, or someone I love is, the last one? What If I'm the one who barely makes it into the kingdom - the one who labors little but still receives the great reward of eternal life in heaven? I can't help but remember when my life was on a dark path. How thankful I am that I was redeemed from that life and able to seek the Lord anew. Our God is gracious and compassionate and merciful... We can't be smug in our situations. We can't assume that we are always in the right that others are wrong, but instead, we need to remain humble and always seek God in everything that we do. And I admit, I fail at this regularly. I don't seek the Lord nearly as often as I should. Therefore I am all the more grateful for his patience with me. The gospel reading for this Sunday really makes me think about the unity of the body of Christ - I know I'm extrapolating a bit from the main parable in the gospel, but seriously, it all comes down to all the workers receiving the same payment, no matter how long or hard they labored. All of us that form the body of Christ ultimately will receive the same reward, regardless of what percentage of our lives we spent devotedly following Jesus. Let's not get tripped up by any "misguided piety" but instead, remain humble and eternally grateful for our Lord's generous mercy. In that same spirit, I composed this simple meditative piece titled, "We Are Yours" <play We Are Yours> That was my original piece, composed specifically for this weekend titled "We Are Yours" That's it for this week! Tune in again next week for more original Catholic liturgical music and psalms. You can also check out the same version of this podcast in Spanish, El Salmista Moderna. Have a great week, and may God bless you! _________________________________________________________________________ Show Notes This weekend we're celebrating the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A. The psalm for this Sunday is from chapter 145: "The Lord is near to all who call upon him." Featured Songs: Psalm 145: The Lord is Near (Rebecca De La Torre) We Are Yours (Rebecca De La Torre)
Podcast: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Featured Songs: Psalm 145: The Lord is Near (Rebecca De La Torre)
https://themodernpsalmist.com/songs/psalm-145-3/
We Are Yours (Rebecca De La Torre)
https://themodernpsalmist.com/songs/we-are-yours/
