The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
As I sit with today's readings, this reflection rises from my heart:
Father, I thank you for your invitation into the vineyard.
I pray that I accept your invitation to work each day with open eyes, an earnest heart, and a yearning soul. As I labor in the field, I ask that you break my heart where it breaks yours.
That my heart may be in union with yours and that I may know how you see your children with Fatherly Eyes.
Father, when you look upon me as your son — what does it mean? How can I be an heir to the kingdom of the God of the universe? How can it be that you say, "They will respect my son," yet I, your son and beloved servant, am the one that betrays your Beloved?
How can I deserve such an inheritance with such a murderous heart and so little fruit from my time in the vineyard?
Yet, you explain to me with a gentle heart, "because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you." And before the lies and previous sins come to mind, you proclaim:
"I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."
Father, I thank you for the freedom and newness that you have given me. I thank you for creating a new river in the desert parts of my soul. I look forward to trailblazing with you in the wilderness and for the new boldness that you ask of me. Please give me the grace and strength to continue working in the vineyard until I may join you at the dinner table with a basket full of fruit.
Please, Lord, forgive me if my basket is full of mangoes — you know how delicious they are.
Frankie Garcia has spent the past five years working with charities of all shapes and sizes and has traveled around the world capturing photos, videos, and stories to help social impact nonprofits tell their stories in new and compelling ways. You can find him either skateboarding, hiking, or talking to strangers (most likely a combination). You can find out more about him here.