“A drop of ink makes thousand perhaps millions think.” As John Donne wrote it so the Lord spoke it. It is recorded that our blessed Lord wrote once in Scripture when He bent down and began tracing in the sand the sins of the Jews who brought a woman caught in adultery to Him. Today at the hours of prayer the master of the vineyard comes to the men in the marketplace to put them to their eternal task: to save their souls. Unless you save another’s soul you will never save your own. The story is one that reminds all of us of the urgency of this endeavor. So let’s reflect on some of the details of the story, the drops of divine ink.
First consideration is the focus on the times which the master approaches each group. It is an hour of prayer. The day is divided into 7 hours for each priest in order to pray for the salvation of souls. First hour is that of matins and lauds early in the morning upon rising. It is followed by prime which is then followed by terse (midmorning). After that we offer the prayer of sext at noontime. When the three o’clock hour comes we pray the office of none. Later in the afternoon we turn to vespers which will be followed by compline ending the day and the prayer of the priest for the Church at large. Now these seven hours also lead us to an understanding of our own lives.
In each normal physical life there are seven stages. We enter the world as babes from the wombs of our mothers. Childhood meets each of us in our development. About the age of seven we reach the age of reason. This prepares us for our adolescence. Finally, we become young adults to make our way in the world. Age takes over and we mature as adults and then in a moment that we cannot determine we become the senior citizens of society. Then a day will come in which the soul must depart from this body and face judgment. Each of the seven ages has its challenges and bears an eternal fruit if we submit to God’s will.
Now we have seen the seven hours of prayer and the seven stages of life but this parable touches the seven ages of the world. From Adam to Noah – the first age; from Noah to Abraham – second age; from Abraham to Moses – third age; from Moses to David – 4th age; from David to the Babylonian exile – 5th age; from the Exile to Israel’s return – 6th age; and from the prophets to Jesus – 7th age. In every age, in every day, in every stage of our personal development the coin of exchange is salvation.
This beautiful parable touches all life without exception and presents the one goal which all will receive if they bear the fruit of that life. What is the fruit that is needed to enter the kingdom of God: humility. The first will come last and the last shall be paid first. The first must humble themselves and realize that we are made in the image of the master and He has shown us the way to walk in this world so that we might follow in His footsteps. Those footsteps are clear to us for He humbled Himself to become a man; He further humbled Himself to be crucified by those He created; and He humbles Himself at every holy mass to become our Bread of Life. Follow Him as Mary followed Him and you will pass through the seven sorrows of our Lady to reach the perfection of your spiritual lives.
In a few weeks we have the opportunity to work more carefully on the vineyard of our soul in our Lenten forty days of penance and purification. Let’s turn to our Lady and seek the plan of life that those day might bring us to the gate of heaven. Let us deny ourselves by mortifying the senses, increasing our prayer time and offering some special spiritual work of mercy to help our neighbor increase in their love for God. Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to do these fruitful acts – choose to act on them now. God bless you, your families and your efforts.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt
Comments are closed.