Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial of Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop

First Reading: Ephesians 4:7-16

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Daily readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102426.cfm

Paul begins today’s reading with good news: grace was given to each of us, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Each of us. Not only the gifted speakers or the people who seem to have it all together. Whether our gifts show up in teaching, in caring for a child, in fixing what is broken, or in quietly praying for others, they are meant to build up the Body of Christ. Paul says we are called to grow, no longer tossed around by every passing wind, but living the truth in love. Every part of the Body matters, and the whole Body grows as each part does its work.

In the Gospel, Jesus is told about tragedies and he refuses to turn them into a lesson about who deserves what. Then he tells the story of a fig tree that has not borne fruit for three years. The owner says cut it down. The gardener says: leave it one more year. I will dig around it and give it fertilizer. Maybe next year it will bear fruit. That is a picture of Jesus. He is patient with us. He does not rush us, shame us, or give up on us. He gets his hands dirty and works on the ground around our hearts. Repentance, in this light, is not fear of punishment. It is turning toward the gardener who is already tending us.

Today the Church remembers Saint Anthony Mary Claret. He was a weaver’s son from Catalonia, in Spain, who learned Latin and printing in his spare time. He became a priest, a preacher who traveled on foot, and later Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba. He used every gift he had, from preaching to writing and publishing, to bring people closer to God. He is remembered, too, for surviving an assassination attempt and then pleading for his attacker’s life. That is the gardener’s patience lived out: giving someone another year.

A few questions to sit with tonight:

1. What gift has God given me that I might be underusing, perhaps because I think it is too small or ordinary?

2. How did I help build up someone else today, even in a small way?

3. Where do I feel like that fig tree, tired and not bearing much fruit? Can I let Jesus tend the ground around me?

4. Who in my life could use a bit of the gardener’s patience from me, another year, another chance, another kind word?

For tomorrow:

Tomorrow is Sunday. Before Mass, take a moment to ask Jesus to show you one gift you can offer to your family or parish community. Then offer it in some simple way, whether by greeting someone, helping at home, or praying for a person by name.

Lord Jesus, you are the patient gardener of my heart. Thank you for giving me time, for tending me, and for never giving up on me. Help me to turn toward you each day and to bear the fruit you hope for. Show me the gifts you have placed in me, and teach me to use them to build up your Body in love. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, pray for me, that I may have your courage and your mercy. Amen.

If you would like to share: whose patience has helped you grow, and who could you extend that patience to this week?

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