Gospel: March 6, 2026
March 6, 2026 (Friday)
2nd Week of Lent
Psalter: Week 2 (Violet)
Day of abstinence from meat (age 14 and up)
Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
1st Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a*
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46
Listen to another example: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole
for the wine press, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then, went to a distant country. When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.
Again, the owner sent more servants; but they were treated in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.”
And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it. Therefore, I say to you: the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will produce its fruits.
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realized that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded him as a prophet.
Reflection:
They are not ready to receive this gift.
What may have contributed to the tenants’ wickedness is their unconscious worldview. In their perception of reality, ownership is not something to be taken lightly; instead, the use of power and even violence is considered necessary to retain what they have. From their limited perspective, the world is full of scarcity, and those who ultimately survive are those willing to do anything, including murder, to maintain their possessions.
In today’s Gospel, the chief priests and Pharisees perceived Jesus as a threat to their authority and status, endangering the social hierarchy that placed them at the top. Like the tenants of the vineyard, they regarded Jesus with jealousy and malice.
For individuals like the tenants, priests, and Pharisees, the kingdom of heaven—characterized by love, peace, and justice—cannot belong to them simply because their hearts are not open to accepting such a message; they are not ready to receive this gift.
May we learn from their example and ask God for the grace that our worldview aligns with His.
